Notes: HealthNews RoundUp - 1st Week of September, 2019

9/6/19

 

I’m Dr. Howard Smith, PENTA Medical Network, reporting from NYC with the Health News Roundup for the 1st week of SEPTEMBER, 2019.   This is Health News You Should Use, the latest medical discoveries that you can use to keep yourself and your family healthy.

 

Here are this weeks stories :

Too Much Sleep Or Too Little May Trigger Heart Attacks

A Pregnant Woman’s Surroundings Impact Her Child’s Later Blood Pressure

Lifestyle Outweighs Family History Of Premature Heart Disease

Plant-Based Meat Substitutes A Danger To Your Thinking

Eat Nuts And Have A Heart

How To Stay Safe On An EScooter

All Menopausal Hormonal Therapy Risks Breast Cancer

Second-Hand Vaping A Risk For Teens

Protein Shakes Not The Best Post-Exercise Drink

Under Tongue Peanut Allergy Therapy Is Safe and Effective

Healthy Foods Out-Perform Fad Diets For Maintaining Healthy Hearts

Marijuana Users More Likely To Father Autistic Kids

Mouthwash Use After Exercise Blunts Beneficial Blood Pressure Lowering

Congenital Seizures Respond To Ketogenic Diet

High Potency Weed Infiltrating High Schools

 

For show notes and references to for the stories, check out my website at:

www.drhowardsmith.com

​

#Sleep #heartattack #Pregnancy #walking #fish #BPA #hypertension #Lifestyle #genetics #prematureCAD #prematureheartdisease #Plantbasedprotein #choline #pregnancy #brain #impossibleburger #beyondmeat #Nuts #cardiovasculardisease #stroke #Escooters #helmets #fractures #headtrauma #Menopause #hormonaltherapy #MHT #cancer #breast #Vaping #secondhandsmoke #pneumonitis #Proteinshakes #exercise #muscles #pain #SLIT #sublingualimmunotherapy #peanuts #Influenza #mask #respirator #N95 #Diets #fruits #vegetables #cardiovasculardisease #Sperm #cannabis #autism #Blood pressure #mouthwash #exercise #nitrates #Seizures #ketogenicdiet #pediatrics #Marijuanaconcentrate #addiction #vaping #marijuana

 

 

Here’s this weeks news:

Too Much Sleep Or Too Little May Trigger Heart Attacks

Here comes another loud cheer for sleep moderation from the Harvard-MIT Broad Biomedical Institute, the University of Colorado-Boulder, and the UK’s University of Manchester.  Those sleeping fewer than 6 hours a night had a 20% higher heart attack risk, but sleeping longer than 9 hours was even more dangerous elevating the risk of heart attack by 34%.

 

The researchers studied more than 460,000 subjects 40-69 years of age with sleep, cardiac, genetic as well as 27 other categories of data in Britain’s huge Biobank The large size of the study group permitted the investigators to isolate the impact of sleep on cardiovascular disease.  Sleep is such a powerful body rejuvenator that the proper amount of it can even help to neutralize those genetic factors that predispose many to heart attacks. 

 

Hours of sleep is another of those numbers to track regularly.  Add it to weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, and calories burned in order to keep the machine that is your body chugging along in optimal shape.

 

Iyas Daghlas, Hassan S. Dashti, Jacqueline Lane, Krishna G. Aragam, Martin K. Rutter, Richa Saxena, Céline Vetter. Sleep Duration and Myocardial Infarction. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2019; 74 (10): 1304 DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2019.07.022

 

Sleep, heartattack

#Sleep #heartattack

 

 

A Pregnant Woman’s Surroundings Impact Her Child’s Later Blood Pressure

Women who are walkers, live near green spaces in temperate to warm climates, eat only moderate amounts of fish, and avoid BPA-containing plastic water bottles are more likely to have kids with normal blood pressures during mid to late childhood.  Spanish researchers just published these finding in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

 

The investigators studied nearly 1300 mother-child pairs from across Europe for whom data was available from their gestational periods through 6-11 years of age.  Their findings confirm and extend previous work that emphasizes the value of exercise, dietary moderation, avoidance of known toxins, and time spent outdoors in the clean air of green spaces.

 

Normal blood pressure during childhood, like normal body weight, normal cholesterol and lipid levels, and frequent exercise, is critically important for preventing mid-life  heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease, and early death.

 

Charline Warembourg, Léa Maitre, Ibon Tamayo-Uria, etal. Early-Life Environmental Exposures and Blood Pressure in Children. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2019; 74 (10): 1317 DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2019.06.069

 

Pregnancy, walking, fish, BPA, hypertension

#Pregnancy #walking #fish #BPA #hypertension

 

 

Lifestyle Outweighs Family History Of Premature Heart Disease

Lack of exercise, smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes are more important than genetic factors when it comes to the early development of cardiovascular disease.  This conclusion stems from a Portuguese study just presented to the European Society of Cardiology.

 

The researchers analyzed data from just over 1,000 mostly male patients under the age of 50 half of whom had developed premature coronary artery disease.  The tabulated results showed that 73% of those who did fall ill had at least 3 of the 5 risk factors versus only 31% of the healthy controls.  The probability that a young person will fall victim to heart disease rises even higher by a factor of 3 with the addition of 1 more risk factor, escalates 7 fold with two more factors,, and soars 24 times higher with 3 additional factors.

 

Lifestyle factors far outweigh any genetically-controlled family history of early cardiac disease.  The good news is that, unlike our genetics, we have the power to control our destiny by exercising, avoiding smoking and vaping, eating healthy, and controlling our weight.

 

European Society of Cardiology. "Lifestyle, not genetics, explains most premature heart disease." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 2 September 2019. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190902181602.htm

 

Lifestyle, genetics, prematureCAD, prematureheartdisease

#Lifestyle #genetics #prematureCAD #prematureheartdisease

 

 

Plant-Based Meat Substitutes A Danger To Your Thinking

The Impossible Burger, Beyond Burger and Beyond Sausage, and Tyson’s Raised and Rooted Chicken Nuggets are all the rage.  Besides the debate about the taste and the genetically-engineered content of these plant-based products compared with the meats they replace, a UK nutritionist sounds the alarm in the British Medical Journal that exclusive use of meatless foods threatens a choline deficiency that could cause brain damage.

 

Choline is an essential brain-building nutrient that our bodies cannot synthesize in sufficient quantities, and most of us obtain it from meat and fish.  It is necessary for brain health and particularly critical for the developing fetal brain.  The minimum daily intake is 425 mg for women, 550 mg for men, and 450-550 mg for pregnant and breastfeeding women.

 

Pregnant women should probably avoid plant-based meat and fish fakes in order to maintain a healthy choline intake.  They and those of us who do use the plant-based products can boost our choline intake by eating eggs and other dairy products, nuts, beans, and broccoli.

 

Emma Derbyshire. Could we be overlooking a potential choline crisis in the United Kingdom? BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health, 2019; bmjnph-2019-000037 DOI: 10.1136/bmjnph-2019-000037

 

Plantbasedprotein, choline, pregnancy, brain,, impossibleburger, beyondmeat

#Plantbasedprotein #choline #pregnancy #brain #impossibleburger #beyondmeat

 

 

 

Eat Nuts And Have A Heart

Eat nuts, virtually any type of nuts, twice a week, and you’ll cut your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 17%.  That’s the bottom line from an Iranian study just presented to the World Congress of Cardiology.

 

Nearly 5500 participants 35 years or older who were disease-free at study onset were followed for 12 years.  Their consumption of walnuts, almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, and seeds as well as their incidence of fatal and non-fatal heart disease and stroke were tabulated.

 

The recommended nut consumption is 30 grams of unsalted, raw nuts a day, and that’s one-quarter cup..  Nuts are a great source of unsaturated, healthy fat, but they also contain lots of protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

 

European Society of Cardiology. "Eating nuts linked with lower risk of fatal heart attack and stroke." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 31 August 2019. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190831155847.htm

 

Nuts, cardiovasculardisease, stroke

#Nuts #cardiovasculardisease #stroke

 

 

How To Stay Safe On An EScooter

Electric scooters are all the rage, but their use in the US and around the world has fostered an epidemic of injuries.  A study by surgeons at UC-San Diego shows that most scooter disasters occur when their users drink alcohol, use drugs, and fail to wear helmets.

 

The investigators tabulated eScooter-related admissions to their emergency department over just one year.  The 103 patients with an average age of 37 years were two-thirds male, and only 2% of them were wearing helmets.  Half of them were legally drunk, and at least 30% had a positive drug screen.

 

One-third of the patients admitted went to the operating room for treatment of intracranial bleeding or severe extremity or facial fractures. EScooters provide convenient, alternative transportation, but their use on urban streets requires intense vigilance, clear mind, and a helmet-protected brain.

 

Leslie M Kobayashi, Elliot Williams, Carlos V Brown, Brent J Emigh, Vishal Bansal, Jayraan Badiee, Kyle D Checchi, Edward M Castillo, Jay Doucet. The e-merging e-pidemic of e-scooters. Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open, 2019; 4 (1): e000337 DOI: 10.1136/tsaco-2019-000337

 

Escooters, helmets, fractures, headtrauma

#Escooters #helmets #fractures #headtrauma

 

 

All Menopausal Hormonal Therapy Risks Breast Cancer

Systemic therapy with estrogens, progesterones, or a combination of both can more than double a post-menopausal woman’s risk of developing breast cancer.  This frightening warning comes from a collaborative study just published last in The Lancet.

 

The research focused on nearly 107,000 postmenopausal breast cancer victims half of whom had received hormonal therapy.  The more hormones a woman receives and the longer she receives them will drive the risk of cancer from a low of 17% for a 1-4 year course of estrogen only up to 230% for estrogen-progestin combo therapy for 5-14 years.  The only hormonal therapy that did not increase the cancer risk was topical vaginal therapy.  

 

This sobering study is proof positive that menopausal systemic hormonal therapy is dangerous.  Women suffering from severe menopausal symptoms have found significant relief from moisturizing topical agents, counseling, anti-depressants, Vitamin E, and acupuncture.

 

Raja Dhar et al. Type and timing of menopausal hormone therapy and breast cancer risk: individual participant meta-analysis of the worldwide epidemiological evidence. The Lancet, 2019 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)31709-X

 

https://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/AlternativestoPostmenopausalHormones.html

 

Menopause, hormonaltherapy, MHT, cancer, breast

#Menopause #hormonaltherapy #MHT #cancer #breast

 

Second-Hand Vaping A Risk For Teens

One-third of middle school and high school students are exposed to the lung-sickening toxins that spew from electronic cigarettes.  This warning comes from Harvard’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and their analysis of data from the National Youth Tobacco survey for 2018

 

The numbers of students who report inhaling the fumes generated by their friends’ vaping devices has risen by 30% compared with reports from the 3 previous years.  These second-hand aerosols contain nicotine, heavy metals, aldehydes, glycerol, and antifreeze.

 

Vaping damages lungs, and it is producing a generation of pulmonary cripples.  If a teen won’t stop vaping to save themselves, they should do it for their friends.

 

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. "Exposure to second-hand e-cigarettes increasing among young people: A national survey shows one-third of middle and high-school students exposed to second-hand e-cigarettes in the past year." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 28 August 2019. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190828111242.htm

 

Vaping, secondhandsmoke, pneumonitis

#Vaping #secondhandsmoke #pneumonitis

 

 

Protein Shakes Not The Best Post-Exercise Drink

It’s exercise doctrine that strength-boosting sessions should be followed by a protein shake to permit muscle recovery and reduce ache and pain.  Now a study from Britain’s University of Lincoln suggests that these shakes are no better than carbohydrate drinks.

 

University exercise physiologists provided 30 male subjects with one of three drinks, a whey protein shake, a milk-based shake, or a carbohydrate shake, without identifying the type of drink.  When the results were decoded, all 3 drinks were associated with the same degree of muscle soreness and functional muscle recovery.

 

The researchers and other exercise nutritionists recommend foregoing post-exercise protein shakes in favor or eating real food that provides needed proteins, amino acids, and carbs.  They suggest eggs, oily fish such as tuna, meat, soy, and quinoa.  Most of these can easily replace the shakes in your gym bag.

 

Thomas I Gee, Thomas J Woolrich, Mark F Smith. Effectiveness of Whey Protein Hydrolysate and Milk-Based Formulated Drinks on Recovery of Strength and Power Following Acute Resistance Exercise. Human Kinetics, 2019 DOI: 10.2478/hukin-2019-0066

 

Proteinshakes, exercise, muscles, pain

#Proteinshakes #exercise #muscles #pain

 

 

Under Tongue Peanut Allergy Therapy Is Safe and Effective

 

To induce tolerance to peanuts in those allergic to them, tiny amounts of peanut butter under the tongue, so called Sublingual Immunotherapy or SLIT, work better with fewer dangerous side effects than swallowing the peanut butter or wearing a peanut patch.  Allergists at The University of North Carolina announce this conclusion from their ongoing study of 48 patients treated with daily tongue immunizations and followed over the past 8 years.

 

Two-thirds of the patients were successfully immunized so that they tolerated a reasonable peanut exposure without serious consequences.  The goal of peanut allergy therapy is to prevent a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction rather than to permit kids to safely ingest a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch.

 

SLIT therapy for peanut allergy appears to be effective, safe, and cheap.  It will permit more kids to participate in more activities more freely without fear of impending disaster.

 

Edwin H. Kim et al. Long-term sublingual immunotherapy for peanut allergy in children: Clinical and immunologic evidence of desensitization. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2019 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2019.07.030

 

SLIT, sublingualimmunotherapy, peanuts

#SLIT #sublingualimmunotherapy #peanuts

 

 

Cheap Surgical Masks Equal Respirators For Stopping Flu Transmission

When it comes to preventing the spread of the flu, a paper surgical mask works just as well as the N95 respirator mask costing nearly 20 times more.  Both masks are readily available from Amazon.com

 

A multi-site study, organized by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the CDC, reviewed the spread of influenza when more than 2800 participants wore either the N95 respirator or the paper mask.  There were no significant differences when wearing either mask type in confirmed influenza events.

 

The paper masks cost as little as 7 cents a piece, and can easily be worn if you are at high risk for the flu or f you have the flu and don’t want to infect others with whom you live or work.  They are available in decorator colors and designs.

 

Lewis J. Radonovich, Michael S. Simberkoff, Mary T. Bessesen, etal. N95 Respirators vs Medical Masks for Preventing Influenza Among Health Care Personnel. JAMA, 2019; 322 (9): 824 DOI: 10.1001/jama.2019.11645

 

Influenza, mask, respirator, N95

#Influenza #mask #respirator #N95

 

 

Healthy Foods Out-Perform Fad Diets For Maintaining Healthy Hearts

Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is more critical for preventing cardiovascular disease than consuming a particular diet that emphasizes unsaturated fat, protein, or carbohydrates.   This nutritional commandment comes from researchers at Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital.

 

The study focused on 150 participants,54 years on average, with as yet untreated elevated blood pressures.   Each person was sequentially fed three diets emphasizing either protein, fat, or carbohydrate.  All diets included fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and fiber while avoiding saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium.  

 

Participants showed immediate improvement with reduced signs of cardiac damage no matter which of the diets they followed.  You can enjoy the same benefits if you regularly consume 4-6 servings of fruits and vegetables a day and moderate your intake of other foods.  Make’s controlling your weight easy doesn’t it?

 

Lara C. Kovell, Edwina H. Yeung, Edgar R. Miller, Lawrence J. Appel, Robert H. Christenson, Heather Rebuck, Steven P. Schulman, Stephen P. Juraschek. Healthy diet reduces markers of cardiac injury and inflammation regardless of macronutrients: Results from the OmniHeart trial. International Journal of Cardiology, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2019.07.102

 

Diets, fruits, vegetables, cardiovascular disease

#Diets #fruits #vegetables #cardiovasculardisease

 

 

Marijuana Users More Likely To Father Autistic Kids

Cannabis use mutates a gene in sperm that is associated with autism.  Duke University investigators compared the sperm of weed users with those of non-users.

 

The cannabis users sperm showed widespread DNA methylation changes including reduced methylation of the DLGAP2 gene.  Modifications of DLGAP2 are associated with a number of neurological and psychiatric problems including autism spectrum disorder.

 

Men and women considering becoming parents should abstain from cannabis use as early as possible, since studies do show that this drug affects stem cells in the testis.  That being the case, it is likely that all sperm produced from these affected testicular cells will be flawed.

 

Rose Schrott, Kelly Acharya, Nilda Itchon-Ramos, Andrew B. Hawkey, Erica Pippen, John T. Mitchell, Scott H. Kollins, Edward D. Levin, Susan K. Murphy. Cannabis use is associated with potentially heritable widespread changes in autism candidate gene DLGAP2 DNA methylation in sperm. Epigenetics, 2019; 1 DOI: 10.1080/15592294.2019.1656158

 

Sperm, cannabis, autism

#Sperm #cannabis #autism

 

 

Mouthwash Use After Exercise Blunts Beneficial Blood Pressure Lowering

Using a mouthwash following your exercise session may prevent the beneficial lowering of your blood pressure that physical activity triggers.  This observation was just published in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine.

 

A group of 23 healthy adults ran on the treadmill for 30 minutes during two separate sessions.  At 30 minute intervals following the exercise, they rinsed out their mouths with either an antibacterial mouthwash or mint-flavored water.  Blood pressure measurements revealed that the antibacterial mouthwash reduced by blood pressure lowering by one-half.

 

The researchers found that the antibacterial mouthwash prevented a bacteria-triggered synthesis of the nitrites and nitrates that open blood vessels and drop the blood pressures.  This piece of the puzzle suggests that those suffering from elevated blood pressures should avoid anti-bacterial mouthwashes.

 

C. Cutler, M. Kiernan, J.R. Willis, L. Gallardo-Alfaro, P. Casas-Agustench, D. White, M. Hickson, T. Gabaldon, R. Bescos. Post-exercise hypotension and skeletal muscle oxygenation is regulated by nitrate-reducing activity of oral bacteria. Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 2019; 143: 252 DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2019.07.035

 

Blood pressure, mouthwash, exercise, nitrates

#Blood pressure #mouthwash #exercise #nitrates

 

 

Childhood Seizures Respond Well To Ketogenic Diet

Nearly 40% of children whose seizures cannot be controlled with any medications will respond to the ketogenic diet.  This is the finding of a study from Northwestern’s Lurie Children’s Hospital.

 

Pediatric neurologists there studied 109 patients with seizure disorders persisting despite conventional management with usually-effective medications.   After going on the high fat, low carb, and protein-restricted diet that is the ketogenic diet, 42 patients enjoyed more than 50% seizure reduction and nearly half of those 42 achieved complete seizure control.  The seizure disorder most responsive to the ketogenic diet had a genetic etiology.

 

This excellent hospital’s successful 10 year experience with the ketogenic diet proves its medical effectiveness.  Implementing this diet is difficult for many parents who require much support from nutritionists but also counselors.

 

Se Hee Kim, Alexandra Shaw, Robyn Blackford, Wesley Lowman, Linda C. Laux, John J. Millichap, Douglas R. Nordli. The ketogenic diet in children 3 years of age or younger: a 10-year single-center experience. Scientific Reports, 2019; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-45147-6

 

Seizures, ketogenicdiet, pediatrics

#Seizures #ketogenicdiet #pediatrics

 

 

High Potency Weed Infiltrating High Schools 

Marijuana concentrate, a form that contains 3 times higher levels of the psychoactive agent THC, is flooding high schools.  This form of weed is associated with more addiction, cognitive problems, and psychiatric disease.

 

A study from Arizona State University looking at 50,000 high school students finds that one in every three used some form of marijuana and some 24% tried the concentrate.  Those teens using the concentrate showed significantly more addiction risk factors including peer substance abuse, drug-using parents, and academic failure.

 

Marijuana concentrate users are also likely e-cigarette users, and this route delivers ever higher concentrations of the drug to young lungs and brains increasing the chances for psychosis and addiction.  If your children are using cannabis, be certain that they are aware of freakishly powerful forms of the drug that must be avoided to prevent disaster.

 

Madeline H. Meier et al. Cannabis Concentrate Use in Adolescents. Pediatrics, Aug. 26, 2019 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2019-0338

 

Marijuanaconcentrate, addiction, vaping, marijuana

#Marijuanaconcentrate #addiction #vaping #marijuana

 

 

That’s “Health News You Should Use.”  Until we next speak keep a smile on your face #your brain active, and your body in motion....these are THE best medicines.