Hashtag Health: A Health and Medical Podcast

Injuries of any kind are devastating for players, teams, and fans alike. But some of them are much worse than others. In this weeks episode, we talk to Dr. Chris Raynor about the medicine behind achilles and ACL injuries, what rehab looks like, and the dangers of coming back too soon. We also discuss the world of elite sports medicine.

Can one man's waste be another's... treasure? And by treasure we mean medical treatment. Modern medicine has evolved quite a bit from what it used to be hundreds of years ago... but as it turns out, to treat certain aggressive gastrointestinal diseases (ie c difficile infections) we may have to revert to the ancient technique of ingesting fecal matter. In this episode, we chat with gastroenterologist Dr. Karim Qumosani and a chronic fatigue syndrome patient about fecal microbiota transplants.

How does a Forbes' 30 under 30 boy genius get dubbed the most hated man in America? How about hiking up the price of a life-saving drug by 5000 percent. Is Shkreli just a bad egg, or is he one manifestation of Big Pharma's underlying dynamics when dealing with life-saving therapies? To help answer this question, we interviewed Neil Johnson, the Vice President of Cancer Care at LHSC. In addition to his current leadership role at LHSC, Neil has decades of experience working in oncology and pharmacare due to his background as a palliative care pharmacist.

What's the difference between mental illness and healthy mental functioning? Revisions to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM V - also known as the bible of psychiatry) has left some psychiatrists wondering if the changes made to the DSM will make it too easy for people to be unnecessarily diagnosed with a mental condition. On the other hand, what if the increased diagnoses we see are just a result of more people reaching out and asking for help?

To close our our 3 part series on Xanax and other benzodiazepines, we talk with Chief of Psychiatry at STEGH, Dr. Giuseppe Guaiana. Dr. Guaiana's research investigates the effectiveness of benzodiazepines for treating anxiety compared to other modalities like SSRIs. Did you know that they're actually equally effective? To hear more from Dr. Guaiana, tune into this episode.

Does the fact that the average desk top is home to around 21,000 bacteria per square inch gross you out? Now don’t reach over and grab some hand sanitizing gel just yet. You might be surprised to learn that this might not be such a good idea. This week on Hashtag Health, we’re bringing you the case for why we as a society are maybe being TOO clean.

B fragilis is the “probiotic” that one paper claimed would help treat specific aspects of autism associated behaviour. Not surprisingly, this conclusion sparked a media frenzy as well as celebrations among child autism communities. What’s unsettling about all of this is that B Fragilis isn’t even a probiotic...

Even if you've never been prescribed Xanax, you probably know about it just from listening to the radio. However, there is another group of lesser known benzodiazepines called Z drugs, which are prescribed for insomnia. In part 2 of #Xanax we talk to Dr. Vozoris about Z drugs, non-selective benzodiazepines like Xanax, and the dangerous outcomes when combining these drugs or taking them with opioids.

For those of you who have ever been tempted to spend the extra money to buy probiotic infused foods... this episode is for you. From probiotic granola bars to probiotic baby formula, consumers are seeing more "gut health" promoting foods than ever before. But do probiotic foods work to the same degree as taking a probiotic supplement or are they just the newest marketing ploy to attract consumer attention? Dr. Reid is one of the pioneers of probiotic research and to the companies selling pasteurized kombucha - he's got something to say.

"Moms everywhere eating their organs after childbirth" ... that might have you thinking that the zombie apocalypse is finally among us. It's not -- but to some, what's really happening is just as strange. What's with the placenta eating? Well, many celebrities rave about the health benefits they experienced after eating their placentas after childbirth. The good news from them is that you too can indulge in this all natural, "made just for you" health product. But here’s their little secret… eating placentas can cause a life-threatening disease in newborns. All of this and more in this week’s episode of Hashtag Health.