Outdoor Yard SafetyYard work season is here and for me, lots of happy times spent outdoors. I remember as a youth earning money mowing lawns. The work was fun and the money was happily accepted. My father was my mower safety coach. Unfortunately, despite good teaching, I still burned myself on the engine by not paying attention to where I was touching. I still spilt gasoline on myself. I still ran over projectile objects in the grass carelessly. Ah, youth....Have a great day,Dr. M

Outdoor Yard Safety Yard work season is here and for me, lots of happy times spent outdoors. I remember as a youth earning money mowing lawns. The work was fun and the money was happily accepted. My father was my mower safety coach. Unfortunately, despite good teaching, I still burned myself on the engine by not paying attention to where I was touching. I still spilt gasoline on myself. I still ran over projectile objects in the grass carelessly. Ah, youth.... Have a great day, Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 13 Issue 28

Let us head back to the headwaters of HDL biology to find some more answers. If you did not read the original HDL piece or remember the basics of HDL biology, go back to Newsletter V13 #15 for a review. HDL as an associated biomarker of death risk has a U shaped curve with higher all cause mortality at very low and high levels of volume. Let us understand why? (Madsen et. al. 2017) Anything that causes more LDL, low density lipoproteins, to stay in circulation will raise one's risk of ASCVD or heart attack. The historical reality (as I have discussed for years) for why we would have these genomic mutations to have more LDL particles in circulation is 1) as a protection mechanism against bacterial infections which were common for thousands of years. The HDL and LDL particles have receptors on their surface to grab bacterial cell wall debris like LTE or LPS and remove them via the liver. This is a massive beneftit to the human species until recent times. 2) as a storage mechanism for calories/recirculation of metabolically expensive cholesterol. (Maile et. al. 2020)(Feng et. al.. 2019)(Trinder et. al. 2021).......Enjoy,Dr. M

Let us head back to the headwaters of HDL biology to find some more answers. If you did not read the original HDL piece or remember the basics of HDL biology, go back to Newsletter V13 #15 for a review. HDL as an associated biomarker of death risk has a U shaped curve with higher all cause mortality at very low and high levels of volume. Let us understand why? (Madsen et. al. 2017) Anything that causes more LDL, low density lipoproteins, to stay in circulation will raise one's risk of ASCVD or heart attack. The historical reality (as I have discussed for years) for why we would have these genomic mutations to have more LDL particles in circulation is 1) as a protection mechanism against bacterial infections which were common for thousands of years. The HDL and LDL particles have receptors on their surface to grab bacterial cell wall debris like LTE or LPS and remove them via the liver. This is a massive beneftit to the human species until recent times. 2) as a storage mechanism for calories/recirculation of metabolically expensive cholesterol. (Maile et. al. 2020)(Feng et. al.. 2019)(Trinder et. al. 2021)....... Enjoy, Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 13 Issue 27

Do you know if you have periodontal disease?Do your gums bleed? Do your teeth hurt? Do you have red and beefy appearing gums? Do you floss daily? Do you brush two times a day? Do you have sleep apnea?Why does this matter? Well it turns out that gingival and tooth related disease is highly associated with cardio metabolic diseases. The main reason is that the bacterial microbes in the oral cavity can travel via the bloodstream to places far and wide in the body leading to inflammation and heart disease when the oral cavity is damaged and then manipulated. This especially occurs during tooth decay and periodontal decay phases of oral disease. There are also associations with autoimmune diseases making your oral health very important.....Enjoy,Dr. M

Do you know if you have periodontal disease? Do your gums bleed? Do your teeth hurt? Do you have red and beefy appearing gums? Do you floss daily? Do you brush two times a day? Do you have sleep apnea? Why does this matter? Well it turns out that gingival and tooth related disease is highly associated with cardio metabolic diseases. The main reason is that the bacterial microbes in the oral cavity can travel via the bloodstream to places far and wide in the body leading to inflammation and heart disease when the oral cavity is damaged and then manipulated. This especially occurs during tooth decay and periodontal decay phases of oral disease. There are also associations with autoimmune diseases making your oral health very important..... Enjoy, Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 13 Issue 26

Richard Johnson

This weeks guest is my favorite researcher, Dr. Richard Johnson.He is the Tomas Berl Professor of Medicine and the Chief of the Renal Division and Hypertension at the University of Colorado since 2008. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with a major in Anthropology, and a graduate of the University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, he is a physician and nephrologist whose research has focused on the role of sugar, and especially fructose, in driving obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease. Much of this work has explored the role of fructose metabolism, especially the generation of uric acid, in driving this phenotype, and his work has included studies ranging from molecular biology, integrative physiology, and evolutionary biology. He is the author of The Sugar Fix which introduced the first low fructose diet, and also The Fat Switch which explores the role of fructose in driving the obesity epidemic. His newest book, Nature Wants Us To Be Fat, is a tour de force of the entire pathway of survival via metabolic events in the body related to fructose and the polyol pathway. This is a must read book.This podcast will follow up on the original conversation, podcast #14, and the exceptional work of Dr. Johnson this time looking at how we are mismatched metabolically for the environment of modern America and our food systems from the maternal health and perinatal perspective.Enjoy,Dr. M

This weeks guest is my favorite researcher, Dr. Richard Johnson. He is the Tomas Berl Professor of Medicine and the Chief of the Renal Division and Hypertension at the University of Colorado since 2008. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with a major in Anthropology, and a graduate of the University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, he is a physician and nephrologist whose research has focused on the role of sugar, and especially fructose, in driving obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease. Much of this work has explored the role of fructose metabolism, especially the generation of uric acid, in driving this phenotype, and his work has included studies ranging from molecular biology, integrative physiology, and evolutionary biology. He is the author of The Sugar Fix which introduced the first low fructose diet, and also The Fat Switch which explores the role of fructose in driving the obesity epidemic. His newest book, Nature Wants Us To Be Fat, is a tour de force of the entire pathway of survival via metabolic events in the body related to fructose and the polyol pathway. This is a must read book. This podcast will follow up on the original conversation, podcast #14, and the exceptional work of Dr. Johnson this time looking at how we are mismatched metabolically for the environment of modern America and our food systems from the maternal health and perinatal perspective. Enjoy, Dr. M

Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #50 – Richard Johnson, MD – Fructose and Perinatal Issues

This week we talk all about sweat and heat liberation.Sweating is a very important tool that the human body and most mammals use to eliminate unwanted stuff. In this case, the body primarily is eliminating heat and toxins via liquid sweat.When we exercise vigorously or it is a hot day or we find ourselves overheating while fighting an infection, sweat will pour from our skin through glands and an endothermic reaction. The water that is released caries heat from the body with it. It evaporates into the air liberating the heat and thus cooling the body.In this sweated liquid are electrolytes and toxins. Primarily, the sweat fluid has a natural release of small amounts of sodium and to an even lesser extent, potassium and calcium. This fluid will also facilitate the release of chemicals that the body does not like..... plus a few articles in a literature review.Enjoy,Dr. M

This week we talk all about sweat and heat liberation. Sweating is a very important tool that the human body and most mammals use to eliminate unwanted stuff. In this case, the body primarily is eliminating heat and toxins via liquid sweat. When we exercise vigorously or it is a hot day or we find ourselves overheating while fighting an infection, sweat will pour from our skin through glands and an endothermic reaction. The water that is released caries heat from the body with it. It evaporates into the air liberating the heat and thus cooling the body. In this sweated liquid are electrolytes and toxins. Primarily, the sweat fluid has a natural release of small amounts of sodium and to an even lesser extent, potassium and calcium. This fluid will also facilitate the release of chemicals that the body does not like..... plus a few articles in a literature review. Enjoy, Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 13 Issue 25

Breastfeeding Versus FormulaScience versus OpinionI read with somewhat of a frustrated feeling a recent article in Scientific American entitled: It's Okay Not to Breastfeed by Kavin Senapathy. In principle, the reality of this statement is reasonable. Then you read the article as to what makes this reasonable. She states: "Exclusive breastfeeding is not imperative, and the “breast is best” mantra can be harmful to babies and parents, especially among marginalized people."(K. Senapathy 2023) Again, at first blush this may seem reasonable. Let's dig into the science and the truth of breast versus cow milk based formula for optimal health for a child. Does formula in all of its forms work for infant nutrition in order to grow and survive in a reasonable way? The answer is a resounding yes, however, this does not tell the whole story, far from it.....Enjoy,Dr. M

Breastfeeding Versus Formula Science versus Opinion I read with somewhat of a frustrated feeling a recent article in Scientific American entitled: It's Okay Not to Breastfeed by Kavin Senapathy. In principle, the reality of this statement is reasonable. Then you read the article as to what makes this reasonable. She states: "Exclusive breastfeeding is not imperative, and the “breast is best” mantra can be harmful to babies and parents, especially among marginalized people."(K. Senapathy 2023) Again, at first blush this may seem reasonable. Let's dig into the science and the truth of breast versus cow milk based formula for optimal health for a child. Does formula in all of its forms work for infant nutrition in order to grow and survive in a reasonable way? The answer is a resounding yes, however, this does not tell the whole story, far from it..... Enjoy, Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 13 Issue 24

This weeks guest is Professor Marcel Nold, MD. Dr. Nold is a clinician scientist in the research environment of neonatal immunology and microbiomes at Monash University in the city of Monash in Melbourne, Australia. Professor Nold received his Doctor of Medicine degree at the JW Goethe-University at Frankfurt am Main, Germany, including final year rotations in Zürich (Switzerland), Montréal (Canada) and Capetown (South Africa). For his biomedical research training he spent six years at the Pharmazentrum at Frankfurt am Main and three years as a research Fellow at the laboratory of Professor Dinarello, at the University of Colorado Denver. In 2009 he was recruited to The Ritchie Centre in Melbourne and finished his specialist training at Monash Newborn. Professor Nold is a leading researcher worldwide in the field of immune cytokine signaling and was the key contributor to identifying Interleukin 37 or IL37. His research has been published in the journals Nature Immunology, Science Immunology and many others. His academic Inflammation in Neonatal Diseases Research Group and his industry programs aim to characterise underlying pathways of inflammation in early life diseases, with a focus on interventional immunology in cardiopulmonary and intestinal diseases of the preterm.For the purposes of this interview, Dr. Nold is a researcher with a view of the maternal child dyad that is prevention focused and health span conscious. His research has led to many critical discoveries in the neonatal health space that I find deeply intriguing. We get into some deep immunology at times which is critical for total understanding.Enjoy,Dr. M

This weeks guest is Professor Marcel Nold, MD. Dr. Nold is a clinician scientist in the research environment of neonatal immunology and microbiomes at Monash University in the city of Monash in Melbourne, Australia. Professor Nold received his Doctor of Medicine degree at the JW Goethe-University at Frankfurt am Main, Germany, including final year rotations in Zürich (Switzerland), Montréal (Canada) and Capetown (South Africa). For his biomedical research training he spent six years at the Pharmazentrum at Frankfurt am Main and three years as a research Fellow at the laboratory of Professor Dinarello, at the University of Colorado Denver. In 2009 he was recruited to The Ritchie Centre in Melbourne and finished his specialist training at Monash Newborn. Professor Nold is a leading researcher worldwide in the field of immune cytokine signaling and was the key contributor to identifying Interleukin 37 or IL37. His research has been published in the journals Nature Immunology, Science Immunology and many others. His academic Inflammation in Neonatal Diseases Research Group and his industry programs aim to characterise underlying pathways of inflammation in early life diseases, with a focus on interventional immunology in cardiopulmonary and intestinal diseases of the preterm. For the purposes of this interview, Dr. Nold is a researcher with a view of the maternal child dyad that is prevention focused and health span conscious. His research has led to many critical discoveries in the neonatal health space that I find deeply intriguing. We get into some deep immunology at times which is critical for total understanding. Enjoy, Dr. M

Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #49 – Marcel Nold, MD – Neonatal Immunology

Literature Review: This week we discuss articles about the Inhalation of polyamides or nylon in microsizes, masking and effectiveness, cannabis use in youth and covid 19 versus influenza and more. Part two is a look at research related to pollution and the risk of cardiac disease.Enjoy,Dr. M

Literature Review: This week we discuss articles about the Inhalation of polyamides or nylon in microsizes, masking and effectiveness, cannabis use in youth and covid 19 versus influenza and more. Part two is a look at research related to pollution and the risk of cardiac disease. Enjoy, Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 13 Issue 23

Mental Health and Sleep for teens and college students, Mother's Day and a poem about mothers.Here are some highlights: Teenagers are sleep deprived and have been for decades. Nighttime sleep duration has consistently declined over the past few decades. Peak declinations occurred in the late 1990's and early 2000's. Girls were less likely than boys to sleep for 7 hours or more per night....Enjoy,Dr. M

Mental Health and Sleep for teens and college students, Mother's Day and a poem about mothers. Here are some highlights: Teenagers are sleep deprived and have been for decades. Nighttime sleep duration has consistently declined over the past few decades. Peak declinations occurred in the late 1990's and early 2000's. Girls were less likely than boys to sleep for 7 hours or more per night.... Enjoy, Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 13 Issue 22

The Growing Brain and the Upstream Etiologies of Neurodevelopmental disorders - AUTISMThis weeks guest is me! I re-recorded a lecture that I gave in Florida this month at the Annual International Conference for the Institute for Functional Medicine. My goal in this lecture is to look at the upstream reasons that we are seeing more Autism and neurological diversity in children year upon year. It is a wide ranging look at the current state of the science and my thoughts on a unifying theory. As with Dr. Stone's interview last week with Grow Baby, this is a follow up discussion that is a critical primer for "mother's to be" regarding disease avoidance measures that can be taken for the best health of the maternal child dyad.Enjoy,Dr. M

The Growing Brain and the Upstream Etiologies of Neurodevelopmental disorders - AUTISM This weeks guest is me! I re-recorded a lecture that I gave in Florida this month at the Annual International Conference for the Institute for Functional Medicine. My goal in this lecture is to look at the upstream reasons that we are seeing more Autism and neurological diversity in children year upon year. It is a wide ranging look at the current state of the science and my thoughts on a unifying theory. As with Dr. Stone's interview last week with Grow Baby, this is a follow up discussion that is a critical primer for "mother's to be" regarding disease avoidance measures that can be taken for the best health of the maternal child dyad. Enjoy, Dr. M

Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast – The Growing Brain and Autism

Providing listeners with cutting edge science based information for maternal and child health

Very informative and could really help someone out

Docsmo

You have so much to offer to new &amp; experienced parents! Your a great pediatrician ;)

Excellent resource!

Dr. M's Women and Children First Podcast

Our great grandmothers knew that vitamin D deficiency was a big problem for her children, hence the daily fight over giving your grandfather his cod liver oil. Great Grandma didn't know what vitamin D was or what was in cod liver oil, but she knew it kept her kids healthy. How did she figure all this out, long before the era of biochemistry? I don’t know. All I can figure is that she was truly a genius. But now this old fashion disease, vitamin D deficiency, and its many variants, are making a comeback. So in this pedcast, we are going to learn more about vitamin D and how you can avoid your children from becoming D-ficient in this important chemical of their bodies.Musical IntroPediatricians Catch on Faster than Adult DoctorsI think it is fair to say that pediatricians catch on faster than adult doctors. First, diseases are recognized in babies, then in older people. That's the way it seems to play out. Remember toxic shock back in the 70’s that terrible deadly ICU type disease that adult women were getting. Eventually, that disease was pinned down to these women's use of super-absorbent tampon that promoted an overgrowth of a toxigenic staph aureus.  This germ was deadly. Pediatricians had recognized a similar disease in non-tampon using children years earlier and called it staph scalded skin disease. Oh, and what about in the 1980’s when the flesh eating strep made an appearance? Well, pediatricians have known about that for a long time as well. They called it erysipelas. Oh and shingles, don’t forget shingles. Well, shingles is nothing more than chickenpox, a baby disease, coming out in a localized way. Now old people get a chickenpox shot to make sure that they don’t get this dreaded old age disease. Well, the latest baby disease to make adult headlines is rickets and vitamin D deficiency. Rickets is a baby bone disease usually caused by vitamin D deficiency. And you know it; adult doctors have begun to recognize that many of adults are vitamin D deficient. Furthermore, many adult diseases are being tracked down to vitamin D deficiency. Adults don’t get rickets because they are not growing but they can have other problems from a lack of vitamin D, as you are about to see.Science Lane- Essential facts to Know about Vitamin DSometimes in these talks, I take a stroll down Opinion Lane, but today, we are going to make a detour down Science Drive.  Vitamin D, what is it?  It’s a fat-soluble vitamin, meaning this vitamin is stored in fat for long periods of time. A little vitamin D comes from foods, but the vast majority of the vitamin D that your child has in their body comes from their own production of it. Production occurs in their skin when they are exposed to ultraviolet light, particularly UVB light.  Once this vitamin/hormone is formed in their skin, their livers and kidneys put some final touches on it and it becomes an active substance in their bodies. And here is a key point to remember- vitamin D unlocks your child's absorption of calcium and phosphorus, the minerals that are needed for them to make strong bones. Without enough vitamin D, infants, children and adults just can’t keep their bone strength optimal. There are just not enough minerals absorbed to make their bones really hard. If there is a severe deficiency of minerals in the bones, we call that disease rickets in babies or osteoporosis in adults.Vitamin D deficiency is not just for babies anymore.As I said before, the whole vitamin D story has been getting more complicated recently now that adult investigators have linked its deficiency to a whole host of adult diseases—namely multiple sclerosis, adult onset diabetes, immune dysfunction and certain types of cancer- colon and breast. It turns out that there are vitamin D receptors on every cell in your body so it makes sense that vitamin D deficiency may cause some other disease processes other than simply bone diseases. Which brings us back to great grandma and to today’s D...

Our great grandmothers knew that vitamin D deficiency was a big problem for her children, hence the daily fight over giving your grandfather his cod liver oil. Great Grandma didn't know what vitamin D was or what was in cod liver oil, but she knew it kept her kids healthy. How did she figure all this out, long before the era of biochemistry? I don’t know. All I can figure is that she was truly a genius. But now this old fashion disease, vitamin D deficiency, and its many variants, are making a comeback. So in this pedcast, we are going to learn more about vitamin D and how you can avoid your children from becoming D-ficient in this important chemical of their bodies. Musical Intro Pediatricians Catch on Faster than Adult Doctors I think it is fair to say that pediatricians catch on faster than adult doctors. First, diseases are recognized in babies, then in older people. That's the way it seems to play out. Remember toxic shock back in the 70’s that terrible deadly ICU type disease that adult women were getting. Eventually, that disease was pinned down to these women's use of super-absorbent tampon that promoted an overgrowth of a toxigenic staph aureus.  This germ was deadly. Pediatricians had recognized a similar disease in non-tampon using children years earlier and called it staph scalded skin disease. Oh, and what about in the 1980’s when the flesh eating strep made an appearance? Well, pediatricians have known about that for a long time as well. They called it erysipelas. Oh and shingles, don’t forget shingles. Well, shingles is nothing more than chickenpox, a baby disease, coming out in a localized way. Now old people get a chickenpox shot to make sure that they don’t get this dreaded old age disease. Well, the latest baby disease to make adult headlines is rickets and vitamin D deficiency. Rickets is a baby bone disease usually caused by vitamin D deficiency. And you know it; adult doctors have begun to recognize that many of adults are vitamin D deficient. Furthermore, many adult diseases are being tracked down to vitamin D deficiency. Adults don’t get rickets because they are not growing but they can have other problems from a lack of vitamin D, as you are about to see. Science Lane- Essential facts to Know about Vitamin D Sometimes in these talks, I take a stroll down Opinion Lane, but today, we are going to make a detour down Science Drive.  Vitamin D, what is it?  It’s a fat-soluble vitamin, meaning this vitamin is stored in fat for long periods of time. A little vitamin D comes from foods, but the vast majority of the vitamin D that your child has in their body comes from their own production of it. Production occurs in their skin when they are exposed to ultraviolet light, particularly UVB light.  Once this vitamin/hormone is formed in their skin, their livers and kidneys put some final touches on it and it becomes an active substance in their bodies. And here is a key point to remember- vitamin D unlocks your child's absorption of calcium and phosphorus, the minerals that are needed for them to make strong bones. Without enough vitamin D, infants, children and adults just can’t keep their bone strength optimal. There are just not enough minerals absorbed to make their bones really hard. If there is a severe deficiency of minerals in the bones, we call that disease rickets in babies or osteoporosis in adults. Vitamin D deficiency is not just for babies anymore. As I said before, the whole vitamin D story has been getting more complicated recently now that adult investigators have linked its deficiency to a whole host of adult diseases—namely multiple sclerosis, adult onset diabetes, immune dysfunction and certain types of cancer- colon and breast. It turns out that there are vitamin D receptors on every cell in your body so it makes sense that vitamin D deficiency may cause some other disease processes other than simply bone diseases. Which brings us back to great grandma and to today’s D...

It’s Winter, Are Your Children Vitamin D Deficient? (Archived Pedcast)

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Best Non-Current Politics Podcasts

The best episodes for anyone looking to learn more about topics such as happiness, fulfillment, depression and psychology/mental health in general. With interviews with industry experts, personal stories of individuals, this topic has lessons applicable to everyone. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!