Healthy Talk w/ Dr. Michael Smith

Anti-Cancer Properties of Saffron

Saffron has been used as a natural treatment against many health aliments.

Additional Info

Segment Number 1
Audio File healthy_talk/1513ht4a.mp3
Organization Life Extension
Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
Length (mins) 10
Waiver Received No
Internal Notes NO GUEST
Host Mike Smith, MD

Ask Dr. Mike: Dosing for Capsaicin & Is There More EMF in Larger Cellphones?

Listen in as Dr. Mike provides the answers to a wealth of health and wellness questions.

Additional Info

Segment Number 5
Audio File healthy_talk/1513ht3e.mp3
Organization Life Extension
Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
Transcription RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: March 25, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD

It's time to be a part of the show. Email or call with questions for Dr. Mike now. Email: AskDrMikeSmith@RadioMD.com or call: 877-711-5211. What are you waiting for? The doctor is in.

DR. MIKE: Alright. My next question is a follow up to a segment I did on chili peppers. I think the segment was titled, "Feel the Healthy Burn of Chili Peppers". I talked a little bit about how I, coming from Texas, eat a lot of chili peppers and salsa, but I'm not that crazy with it, right? The jalapeno is about as hot as I can go.

So, here's the question. It's a follow up. "Hi, Dr. Mike. Like you, I love salsa and chili peppers, but I love the extreme burn! My question is about dose, really, in regards to capzasin. Is the hotter the pepper better?"

Well, first of all, I told you before. I love follow up questions because that means somebody is listening, but what's really cool about this question, what I love about this, because I've talked about dose before. I've talked about dose range, appropriate dose, more is not always better. These are common themes that you'll hear in my segments and stuff, so this is great. I love this question.

"So, is the hotter the pepper, better?"

Again, this is in terms of, you know, of capzasin dose. Because the hotter the pepper, the more capzasin. Again, the heat of a pepper is measured in the Scoville unit or sometimes what is simply called a "heat unit". So, very simply the answer to that question is "no". The hotter is not better. Like everything—and I've said this before—like everything, there is a dose range and capzasin is the same way. Capzasin does have health benefits if you ingest it, both in the food source and in a dietary source which means it has a dose range, okay? If you're below that dose range...As a matter of fact, I mean, lots of money is spent by pharmaceutical companies, for instance, trying to figure out dose range of their chemical prescription drug. I mean, most of the money goes into that.

You have to know what's going to be the lower end of the dose and the higher end of the dose where I get maximum and I minimize side effects. That's the dose range. Benefit is high. Risk is low. That's what you want. If you take something like capzasin, for instance, and you're below that range, right? That ideal range. I say "range" because most things are a range. It's not like there's one, absolute perfect dose. Usually, it's between 50 and 100 mg. Or, you know, whatever. There's usually a range, right? And, on the lower end of that range, you get a little bit of benefit. Almost no side effect.

On the upper end of that range, you get lots of benefit, but then the side effects start coming in, so you have to be careful. Don't get too high. So, that's what I mean by dose range. It's all about benefit/risk. Capzasin is the same thing. If you're going to ingest it, right? If you're going to eat the pepper or take a capsule. There are capsules of capzasin. So, if you're below that range, you're not going to get any benefit. You're not going to get any side effects either, but it's just not going to do you any good. You're wasting your money. But, if you're above that range, that's where benefit is gone and side effects come on. So, I looked up capzasin which, by the way, you can find chili pepper supplements and you're going to find them concentrated with capzasin or another name you're going to see is "cayenne". It's basically the same thing, cayenne/capzasin. Same thing.

So, I just did a search of all the capzasin-based chili pepper products out there and the dose range to get the benefit of maybe resting metabolism which will affect weight; cardiovascular; immune; all those things that we've talked about; pain; that capzasin can play a role in. That range was 500-1000mg. Now, there were a few that were higher than that. There was one product that went up to about 1500mg of capzasin, but if you just look at the research and you look at the products available, you're talking about a range of about 500-1000mg of capzasin.

Now, some of the products, though...They don't list necessarily the milligram dose of the capzasin. What they're listing is called the "heat units" or "h.u." So, 500-1000mg or so of capzasin would be equivalent to 20,000 – 40,000 heat units. So, you have two different ways of measuring capzasin.

You've got the milligram way and the heat unit way. The milligram way, 500-1000. The heat unit way, 20,000-40,000. That seems to be the right dose. So, if you're just going to eat...In that segment I did, what was the name of that hottest pepper? Carolina Reaper? Yes. Carolina Reaper made by some guy in the Carolinas. He figured out a way to...It's like...I can't even remember what. It's like over 2 million heat units. Crazy.

So, if you eat that, you're way over the capzasin dose range, basically, so, yes. You're not getting a lot of benefit from it, but, boy, you're getting a lot of side effects. Perfect example. So, no, the hotter the pepper is not necessarily better. You want to be in a nice, appropriate range. Good. Love that question. Moving on.

"Is the bigger cell phone releasing more EMF than smaller ones?"

So, let's first talk about EMF, electromagnetic frequency or radiation. Anything that has a current in it releases an EMF and if you're really close to that current or that EMF, there are some people that believe that that can lead to DNA mutations, cancers, immune dysfunction, oxidative stress. I mean, there is a whole list of things. Confusion, cognitive issues. You know, and I don't know if anybody really argues that a lot of EMF can do those things. The question is how much, how long, how close do you have to be? I think that's what most of the debate is really centered around. This is a fantastic question.

It's funny, isn't it? When cell phones first came out, they were huge, right? Remember the late 80's, 90's, it was like a brick? Then, they got smaller and smaller and smaller. I even had one phone, I don't know. Not even long ago. Maybe 10 years ago and it was like not even ...my palm was bigger. I mean, it was like the smallest little thing. Now, the trend is completely the opposite. They're getting bigger and bigger. I now have a smart phone that's pretty big. You know? It's like twice what I...so, they are getting bigger. I think this is a really good question. If you are worried about EMF, I don't want this to be a debate about EMF. Let's just make the assumption that we want to avoid EMF, this electromagnetic frequency from phones, as much as possible. Let's just make that assumption for now. The question being, "Is a bigger cell phone, some of these smart phones, worse for you than the smaller ones?" You know, my gut feeling is "yes" because the more current that has to be generated to run the cell phone.

For instance, maybe a bigger battery, you know, the worse the EMF is going to be. The greater the EMF is going to be. The greater the impact it could be. So, I think my gut feeling to this is "yes" and if that's an issue for you, you might want to avoid the smart phones will all those apps. You might want to go with a smaller phone. They still offer some of those around. So, that's my gut feeling.

If you a better answer, a more specific answer, some references for me, please share it with me: AskDrMikeSmith@RadioMD.com. Tell me what you think the answer is, send me your reference. I'm all about learning. I learn every day, you know? I love it. So, I'm just kind of giving you my gut answer here.

To me, yes, the bigger the cell phone, the greater the current, the greater the EMF, potentially the more damage. So, there you go. Use a smaller one. That's my best advice. Alright. Thank you very much. This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well.
Length (mins) 10
Waiver Received No
Internal Notes NO GUEST
Host Mike Smith, MD

Ask Dr. Mike: New Treatment Options for ALS

Listen in as Dr. Mike provides the answers to a wealth of health and wellness questions.

Additional Info

Segment Number 4
Audio File healthy_talk/1513ht3d.mp3
Organization Life Extension
Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
Transcription RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: March 25, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD

RadioMD. It's time to Ask Dr. Mike. Do you have a question about your health? Dr. Mike can answer your questions. Just email: AskDrMikeSmith@RadioMD.com or call now: 877-711-5211. The lines are open.

DR. MIKE: That's AskDrMikeSmith@RadioMD.com. I love receiving our questions either by phone or email. It's all great. This one came through, so I'm going to probably have to spend a little time with this one, but I thought it was a real good question. To be honest, this is where working for Life Extension really comes to my advantage because of the amount of information we publish at the Foundation.

So, here's the question: "My dad was diagnosed with ALS." Now, that's Lou Gehrig's disease. Very, very devastating neurodegenerative disorder. It has a very poor prognosis overall. So, anyway. So, let' me get back to this.

"So, my dad was diagnosed with ALS two years ago. He's actually doing pretty well. He's on a common drug. I think it's called riluzole. I was wondering if there's anything new on the horizon. Thanks."

So, I think, first of all the drug that he's on, riluzole, that is the drug. It's been around, gosh, I don't know, maybe 15-20 years and it's kind of the mainstay, the main "go to" drug for conventional medicine. It has to do with glutamine and glutamate receptors. I don't remember the whole thing, but it maybe slows the progression down a little bit. It's not anything impressive. So, I just thought this was a great opportunity, in answering this question, and doing some research, going to the Foundation I work at, seeing what we've looked into over the past few years. I came up with a nice little list. By the way, this protocol on ALS is available at LifeExtension.com. So, I wanted to mention three things that we have written about recently. Stem cells for ALS, something called the TAR DNA 43, TDP43 and the insulin-like growth factor and growth hormones. So, I'm going to talk about those in answering this question.

The first thing I think is probably the most exciting and has probably the most potential in treating ALS is stem cells. Basically, a stem cell is an immature cell that can differentiate into a nerve, a heart, a liver cell. You know, whatever it needs to be. As we get older, we have what are call "adult stem cells" that literally are in your blood, in your bone marrow and when needed, they can be released. They can get into the area they're needed. They can, then, differentiate into that more specialized cell if it's needed in the heart, liver, whatever. So, the basic theory is, okay, if there's a destruction of certain brain cells in ALS, is it possible for us to transplant or deliver stem cells into that part of the brain and create new brain cells, a new brain cell environment and would that have benefit? I think there's a lot of potential here.

The problem is over the past maybe 10 years, stem cell research has gone slowly and some of that has to do with the debate about stem cell research, embryonic stem cell research, and so we're not really where we should be, in my opinion, with stem cells in treating all kinds of disorders. By the way, the good news is, you don't have to use embryonic stem cells anymore. There is a way to take skin cells. Dr. Michael West, I want to say he's out in California. Dr. Michael West did a lot of research in creating stem cells from skin cells, totally skipping the embryo, so taking that completely out of the debate and his research is quite exciting and, I think, is going to really change the attitude of stem cells for most people in this country.

So, anyway, bottom line, there's been few trials because of the embryonic stem cell debate, Dr. West's research has not really been known and shared yet. It needs to be, so there's just not a lot of trials using stem cells in ALS. But, there are some. I want to mention a couple here. So, there was one study published in Cytotherapy, I want to say, 2009, maybe 2010, which showed bone marrow derived stem cell transplantation in the motor cortex delays ALS progression and improves quality of life.

So, what they did was, they took stem cells that they grew in a petri dish. Remember, those are immature cells that can pretty much become anything. They injected them into the motor cortex in ALS patients and these patients did quite well. I think there was about 50 people in this study. Again, it's not a conclusive study. It's just the beginning. By the way, before this was done in humans, there were a few animal models that they looked at as well and it was quite successful. So, I think there's a lot of promise there.

Another research study using stem cells was published in Neural Research, 2012, and they did, again, bone marrow injections. So, in this case, they didn't really isolate specific stem cells, they just did a bone marrow aspirate. You know, you go into the bone marrow of a long bone like a femur. You just draw out some of the fluid and they injected it directly into the frontal motor cortex of human ALS patients. It was well-tolerated, safe and there was a quick improvement in symptoms and in cognition and in motor control. Again, these studies were limited, so they weren't able to follow these patients for a long time. So, there's limited information about how long something like that would last. Does it really take hold? Are they really creating new brain cells? I mean, there are still a lot of questions there, but this idea of taking a stem cell, transplanting it or injecting it into the brain, into the motor cortex, is showing a lot of promise. So, personally, I think that this is the best potential we have for treating this very devastating disease, this stem cell research.

Now, there's another one called "TAR DNA binding protein 43". Research has identified the cellular protein TDP43, TAR DNA binding protein as an important factor in the cause of ALS, especially the sporadic forms. TDP43 binds DNA and RNA in cells, including motor neurons. What they find in patients with ALS is that this protein, this TDP43 protein that binds to the DNA and RNA gets kind of clumpy, if you will. You know, like in Alzheimer's, we have the abnormal protein deposits in the brain, but they're called "protein aggregates". It's the same thing here, this protein. So, Alzheimer's has it's abnormal protein. Well, it turns out ALS might have its abnormal protein. So, that's kind of interesting research.

So, this protein, this DNA/RNA binding protein, it just clumps. It doesn't bind properly and that results in some of the pathology that we see and symptoms that we see in ALS. So, what does this mean in the future? Well, it means gene therapy. I mean, if we've isolated a protein, we can, then, find the gene coating that protein and we can see where those mutations are and start trying to correct that, injecting the actual gene, a better gene, a healthy gene into the patient and that might actually allow this DNA binding protein to do what it's supposed to do and not clump. So, there's some research there and then, of course, insulin growth factor and growth hormone have been shown to be beneficial in ALS patients. Still a lot of research to go. Growth hormone, that's a good name for the hormone in kids, but growth hormone is really better known as the "repair and regeneration hormone" in adults, so more research is looking at growth hormone and IGF-1, which is a marker of growth hormone production, using that in ALS patients.

So, stem cells, the TAR DNA binding protein and growth hormone offer some really good opportunities in ALS patients. This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well.
Length (mins) 10
Waiver Received No
Internal Notes NO GUEST
Host Mike Smith, MD

He Loves You, He Loves You Not: Finding the Right Man

What if one simple test could determine if you're truly with the right person?

Additional Info

Segment Number 3
Audio File healthy_talk/1513ht3c.mp3
Featured Speaker Susan Edelman, MD
Book Title Be Your Own Brand of Sexy: A New Sexual Revolution for Women
Guest Website Susan Edelman
Guest Bio Dr. Susan Edelman is a board-certified psychiatrist and an Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor at Stanford University's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She has a private practice in Palo Alto, California, specializing in women's issues.

After 29 years of listening to women's stories, she realized a dangerous trend—despite advances, women across generations still struggle with having a voice and standing up for themselves. We think it's getting better, but it's not. That same struggle is why they don't get what they want from men. It's painful and in many
cases it stops them from getting what they want out of life.

Dr. Edelman believes her patients deserve better and women across the world deserve better. That's why she wrote this book. She wants to support the women who will never walk through her office door, yet need a helping hand.
Transcription RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: March 25, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD

Healthy Talk with Dr. Michael Smith, MD. And now, here's the country doctor with the city education, Dr. Mike:

DR. MIKE: So, I'm talking with Dr. Susan Edelman. She's a board certified and an adjunct associate professor at Stanford University. She specializes in women's issues. She wrote a book, Be Your Own Brand of Sexy. She has a website for that as well, BeYourOwnBrandOfSexy.com. Dr. Edelman, welcome back to Healthy Talk.

So, we're going to get into this idea of figuring out if a guy is...Again, we're speaking to my listening audience, which is mostly women, but this, actually...I mean, I'm looking at what you're talking about here, Dr. Susan. It applies to me, too.

The question is, "Is he into you?" and we're going over four things that you think are really important. Kind of like a little test to know if this guy is really into you. So, let's go back up into these four. Let's start with the first one and you mentioned about calling for no reason.Why is that important?

DR SUSAN: Well, that's a great question because if he calls you more often than just to ask you out or to confirm your date, then it says he really wants to talk to you and that you're important to him, so that's a good sign.

DR MIKE: Yes, it's not just about sex. It's not just about the date.

DR SUSAN: It's not just, "Oh, we're going to have a date."

DR MIKE: The second one you mentioned. Let's see. That was calling for no reason. What was the second one you had mentioned?

DR SUSAN: Does he want to see you often and it's not just about sex?

DR MIKE: So, that might be a walk in the park. That might just hanging out for coffee. That might be different venues, different things. Not even a formal date, right?

DR SUSAN: Yes. He just wants to talk and enjoy your company. He just wants to be with you.

DR MIKE: Maybe walk dogs?

DR SUSAN: Walking dogs, yes.

DR MIKE: You can tell that's an important one to me, isn't it? (laughter)

DR MIKE: Does he want to see you often? What was the third way we might be able to know if someone is into us?

DR SUSAN: The third way is does he make time for you? So, say he's going on a business trip but he wants to see you before he goes or he wants to talk to you while he's away or he wants to get together when he gets back. It's not just, "Okay, bye." Or some guys don't even mention it, the just show up a few weeks later. "Oh, I've been away."

DR MIKE: Yes, and I know that's not fun for anybody when you think somebody is becoming important in your life, right? And something...They go off on a vacation, a business trip...something in their life is happening and you would think they would share that with you, right? And they don't. That hurts.

DR SUSAN: It can really hurt, yes.

DR MIKE: Then, the fourth one. This one I found really interesting. Does his or her friends know about you? Now, that's...I like this one. Why is that important, Dr. Susan?

DR SUSAN: Well, if he's showing you off to his friends, he's excited about your relationship. So, you might know about this because maybe you meet his friends and they say, "It's great to finally meet you." Or, maybe he just says, he just tells you he's been telling his friends or family about you. So, that means this guy is really into you.

DR MIKE: So, it's kind of like...This fourth one is interesting, isn't it? So, if he is telling his friends about you, that probably means he's doing the other 3, isn't he? He's probably making time for you. He's probably wanting to see you often. He's probably calling you for no reason. So, I really like that fourth one because I think it reflects all those other ones we kind of went over. This test, right?

DR SUSAN: Yes. They go together, don't they?

DR MIKE: Yes, they do.

DR SUSAN: They really do.

DR MIKE: Let's flip this, though. Let's flip this, Dr. Susan. What's a sure fire way for anybody, man or woman, to turn away a potential partner?

DR SUSAN: Oh, that's a really good question. I think that one sure fire way, especially for a woman, is to obsess about a man. Because if you're listeners are spending a lot of time and energy thinking about this guy and wondering how he feels about her and trying to figure out why he's doing what he's going, his listeners could be losing themselves in the relationship and when these women make him the center of their world, they lose themselves in the relationship a bit. How can he connect with you when you're kind of losing who you are?

DR MIKE: Oh, wow. Really good point.

DR SUSAN: It's a really good point for everybody, but especially, I think, women, it can push guys away even more because he's going to feel pressured to make you happy. So, you want to stay focused on what makes you happy outside of the relationship and then he'll feel more comfortable.

DR MIKE: Let's be honest, though, about that, Dr. Susan, because that's not necessarily easy for a woman because a woman is usually more emotionally connected to the other person than a man. I mean, I don't think that's a crazy thing to say. I think women are more about the closeness in a relationship. Men are often about what's outside the relationship; how the relationship looks to the world. So, the fact that the woman might focus on the man, initially, that's...I think that's what most women do, so telling them not to. That's not an easy thing for women to do. I think that it's natural for the woman, maybe, to do that a little bit. So, how can a woman avoid doing that and becoming obsessed?

DR SUSAN: Well, I think...I think it's true that a lot of women get into this and it's a level, you know, to do it a little bit. It's exciting to start dating someone and to be excited about him. I think some of that is just fine. But, what I'm talking about is when women are spending so much time thinking about the guy that they're not able to really focus on their own lives. Like the woman who loses all her friends when she's dating someone new because she's focusing entirely on the man. So, you want to keep your friends. You want to think about the other things that you were doing when you were more single and really focus on what makes you happy outside of the relationship. You know, a lot of women, their friends lose interest in they only show up when they break up with the guy.

DR MIKE: Yes. Yes.

DR SUSAN: And, you want to retain your life.

DR MIKE: So, signs of a good attraction, a healthy attraction, would be things like calling for no reason, seeing you often, if the guy is telling his friends about you. Those are all positive signs. The negative sign for a woman might be, all of a sudden, you're not talking to your own friends and you're so focused on the guy. That might be a sign that you're going to start pushing him away.

DR SUSAN: Exactly. I think it's important to be careful about that and I think the relationship goes better if you have your own life and he doesn't feel like he's all you've got.

DR MIKE: What's your feeling, Dr. Susan, about...because I think this is debated. Is it okay today for the woman to be the pursuer in all of this?

DR SUSAN: That's such a great question. Of course it's okay. The problem becomes whether it's going to backfire on you. So, I think some men want to be the pursuer and they're a little more turned on if they're doing the pursuing. Now, if that's not the kind of guy you want, then it works out just fine. I think the other problem women get into when they're the pursuer, though, is that it's harder to tell if the guy is into you. If you're doing all the calling, how can you tell if he's calling you for no reason because you're the one doing the calling? So, it just makes it a little more complicated to figure out if he's into you, so I think those more old-fashioned ways do make it easier to tell if the guy is into you and sometimes can help you and can help you protect yourself emotionally a little bit better.

DR MIKE: Got you. So, the title of your book, Dr. Susan, is Be Your Own Brand of Sexy. In like 30 seconds, tell me why you chose that title.

DR SUSAN: Well...

DR MIKE: I know. I put you on the spot.

DR SUSAN: It's a great question. I chose the title because I think that for a lot of women, we're doing what we think is expected of us, whether it's by our culture and media messages or by family and friends and the guys we date, but I think that I want to bring women back to doing what's best for us as individuals because I think that's part of the problem with what's going on in younger campuses, too.

DR MIKE: Yes. Let's leave it there, Dr. Susan. We're going to have to leave it there. It's Be Your Own Brand of Sexy. The website is BeYourOwnBrandOfSexy.com. I'm sure the book is available there.

Dr. Susan, thanks for coming on. This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well.
Length (mins) 10
Waiver Received No
Host Mike Smith, MD

How to Attract Your Ideal Partner

Is there really one special person made just for you?

Additional Info

Segment Number 2
Audio File healthy_talk/1513ht3b.mp3
Featured Speaker Susan Edelman, MD
Book Title Be Your Own Brand of Sexy: A New Sexual Revolution for Women
Guest Website Susan Edelman
Guest Bio Dr. Susan Edelman is a board-certified psychiatrist and an Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor at Stanford University's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She has a private practice in Palo Alto, California, specializing in women's issues.

After 29 years of listening to women's stories, she realized a dangerous trend—despite advances, women across generations still struggle with having a voice and standing up for themselves. We think it's getting better, but it's not. That same struggle is why they don't get what they want from men. It's painful and in many
cases it stops them from getting what they want out of life.

Dr. Edelman believes her patients deserve better and women across the world deserve better. That's why she wrote this book. She wants to support the women who will never walk through her office door, yet need a helping hand.
Transcription RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: March 25, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD

Anti-aging and disease prevention radio is right here on RadioMD. Here's author, blogger, lecturer and national medical personality, Dr. Michael Smith, MD, with Healthy Talk:

DR. MIKE: Alright. So, how can you attract the ideal partner? I don't know. I'm not good at this. I'm single. I have a bad track record and all this. So, I'm glad I have an expert that maybe can help me out, which is why I have her on. This was a personal segment that I put together.

My guest is Dr. Susan Edelman. She's a Board Certified psychiatrist and an adjunct clinical associate professor at Stanford University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She specializes in women's issues, so we're going to be talking mostly about women in this segment, but I'm going to do my best to bring it over to myself as well.

She's author of Be Your Own Brand of Sexy and she believes that her patients deserve better and women across the world deserve better and that's why she wrote the book.
Dr. Susan, welcome to Healthy Talk.

DR SUSAN: Thank you so much for having me, Dr. Mike. It's great to be here.

DR MIKE: Let's hear a little bit about your inspiration. I mean, I mentioned here you believe women deserve better. What does that really mean and how did that inspire you to write your book?

DR SUSAN: You know, I knew this young woman, I still know her, and she went off to college and called me for dating advice. She said, "Susan, guys are asking me to come over and hang out. What does that mean?" I wasn't sure, which is kind of embarrassing since I was supposed to be the knowledgeable person. It turns out these guys in college were looking for casual sex and she wasn't interested in that.

DR MIKE: Yes.

DR SUSAN: I began to wonder what had happened to courtship and romance and she finally said, "Susan, you have to do something about this." I thought, "This is not what we had in mind with the women's movement and the sexual revolution. We thought women would be treated better when we were seen as equals, not that men would take casual sex for granted." So, I was determined to figure out how we got here and what we could do about it.

DR MIKE: Yes. This brings up, I think, a whole other segment, maybe. We'll have to have you back on the show and we can talk a little bit about some of the things you just mentioned. So, let's bring this back, though, to attracting your ideal partner. What are the top 3 things a woman can do? You know, most of my listeners, by the way, Dr. Susan, are women, so you are speaking to the perfect audience right now.

DR SUSAN: Right.

DR MIKE: What are the top 3 things my listeners can do to attract that ideal partner?

DR SUSAN: I think number one is to think about how you feel in that ideal relationship that you're imagining because I think a lot of women, and men, too, make a list. You know the list, Dr. Mike. The list that says, "He must be 6 feet tall with brown hair and blue eyes. Must have a stable job."

DR MIKE: Yep.

DR SUSAN: And things like that. Those things are great.

DR MIKE: You have to have a dog. That's my list.

DR SUSAN: But, it doesn't really address how you feel in the relationship. What?

DR MIKE: Dr. Susan, I'm going to add one thing to that list. You have to have a dog. That's important to me, anyway.

DR SUSAN: That's on your list? You have to have a dog?

DR MIKE: Go ahead. That's on my list. I didn't mean to interrupt you. Go ahead.

DR SUSAN: That's okay. So, everyone has that list and I think the list is great, but it's even more important to know how you want to feel in the relationship because a guy can meet all of your criteria on paper, but still be wrong for you. The fit is just wrong if you don't connect in more meaningful ways, right?

DR MIKE: Well, that makes sense, but you're not...Let's go back to the list, though. I mean, isn't that where, I guess, most people do start, though, right? I mean, there's nothing wrong with saying, "Okay. What is the kind of person I'm attracted to?" I mean, that's kind of where everybody begins. There's nothing wrong with that, but that shouldn't be maybe set in stone like it is for some people.

DR SUSAN: It shouldn't be set in stone and it shouldn't be the only thing you're thinking about. So, this is broadening your list to think about how you feel when you're with that person. I do think men, the studies show, men are more visual in their choices, so who you're attracted to as a guy may even be more important than for women, but I think even for guys, it's really important to broaden that because in the relationship, if you don't connect, if you don't feel comfortable with the person, it's not going to work no matter how attracted you are to her.

DR MIKE: So, Dr. Susan, what you're saying is, when we make this list, "So, 6 foot, blond hair," whatever that list is, it's usually physical. We then need to add to that things like, "I want to be active with this person. I want to feel this way or that way. I don't like to travel or I do like to travel." Those are the types of things we should be adding to this.

DR SUSAN: Exactly. Exactly. Do you want lots of laughter? Do you want him to be your best friend? How do you want disagreements to be handled? Do you want sexual monogamy? Do you want to be able to communicate easily? Do you want kids?

DR MIKE: All of that has to be...

DR SUSAN: A lot of people don't think about those things. They just go for the person they're attracted to.

DR MIKE: Right. Right. So, when women are putting this type of...Now, when we go back to these, "how to attract that ideal partner", that is maybe more about what I'm attracted to, though. Okay. But, the question becomes, how do I...So, I find somebody or I have this list. I have this perfect, I don't want to say perfect, but I have this ideal person that I think I would be good with. How do I get them to look at me? Right. Isn't that the other side of this?

DR SUSAN: Right. So, when you're in the mindset of figuring out the relationship you want, then, it becomes a little deeper in terms of how to connect with this person. So, especially for women, if you're into, "Hey, here's a nice guy who's making me feel special," then, it's important to appreciate how he treats you. So, if he's treating you with kindness and respect, then you say something like, "Thank you," or "That's so sweet of you. I like it when you do that." If he's bringing you flowers or opening your door or something that you like, a good man wants to be your hero. So, the more you appreciate the nice things he does for you, the more attractive you can become to him. So, I think that's part of how those two points relate to each other, right? Because if you're in the space of, "Hey, this is a nice guy. He's treating me well." Then, it's easier to think, "Hey, this is a good thing. I should appreciate this and the guy." I think it's true for men, too. You know, if they do special things for the lady they're interested in, that usually gets some points. I mean, I've talked to guys who tell me they got slapped when they opened a woman's door before, so it doesn't always work. But, I think, in general, it does.

DR MIKE: You know, it's funny you're talking opening up doors. I just saw...Now, listen, I'm just going to tell you what I just saw. I haven't really looked at the study, so I don't want to...but, basically, what they found was guys that open up doors for women actually are usually the guys who are the most controlling in a relationship.

DR SUSAN: Really? I haven't seen that study. I'd love to see it.

DR MIKE: It was really interesting. I thought, "Well, great. What am I supposed to do now? Am I supposed to open her door?" But that was just an interesting report that I saw a couple weeks ago. So, okay. So, what are some of the...So, again, for my listeners. I have a lot of women listeners, 30-50. In that age range. What are some of the signs that they can kind of rely on that a guy is interested in them?

DR SUSAN: Well, that's just a great question. I think that there's a lot of ways to tell and number one is, is he calling you for no reason at all? Because if he's calling more often than just to set up a date or to confirm a date, then he's showing you're important. I'm sorry. Did I interrupt you?

DR MIKE: No, no, no. We just have about 60 seconds. So, that was the first one. Let's get through the next two real quick. So, calling for no reason is good. What's another one?

DR SUSAN: Does he want to see you often and it's not just about sex? Does he make time for you, is number three. Number four, is have his friends heard about you or are you meeting his friends, right?

DR MIKE: Oh, that's an interesting one. Wait. We're going to have to come back and talk about that one. That's an interesting one. Have his friends heard about you?

So, we're going to pick that up and also, when we come back, we'll get into a simple test to really find out if he's into you.I'm here with Dr. Susan and this is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well.
Length (mins) 10
Waiver Received No
Host Mike Smith, MD

Is Zebrafish the Key to Beating Osteoporosis?

The genes of a Zebrafish are roughly 90 percent identical to yours.

Additional Info

Segment Number 1
Audio File healthy_talk/1513ht3a.mp3
Organization Life Extension
Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
Transcription RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: March 25, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD

Anti-aging and disease prevention radio is right here on RadioMD. Here's author, blogger, lecturer and national medical personality, Dr. Michael Smith, MD, with Healthy Talk:

DR. MIKE: Is the zebra fish the key to beating osteoporosis? Zebra fish? Do you know what a zebra fish is? I Googled it. That's how I know what it is. Thank God for Google, right? I just went right to the images. It's striped, right? So, I guess that's where the zebra part comes in. But, it's definitely a fish—a small little fish. Some of them are black and white stripes. There's the zebra connection. Some of them, there's a cool looking one with what looks like blue and gold looking stripes. Why am I talking about this fish that's striped like a zebra?

It turns out that this fish is the regeneration master throughout nature. What do I mean by that? It turns out that this fish is pretty awesome. It's able to regenerate bones and its internal organs like its heart and liver. That is something we would love to be able to do as humans, right? As a matter of fact, there's a whole field of study called "regeneration medicine" looking at how can we help the body regenerate its own organs so that if there's a damaged heart muscle or damaged liver, kidney, what have you, you regenerate your own either right in your own body or in a petri dish and then we put it back in you.

I mean, you don't have to worry about rejection. It's a pretty powerful form of medicine so a lot of researchers are looking at this little guy—this little fish--because it apparently has figured out how to do it. It's just a little fish. Pretty smart, huh? As a matter of fact, this fish is being studied at the National University of Singapore and they're really interested in the genes involved in regenerating, specifically the fins, and the bones the make up the fin.

So, some of the researchers at the National University of Singapore made mention that we have about 90% of the same exact genes as this fish. So, wouldn't it be cool if we could figure out which genes the fish is using to regenerate bone and then find those genes or the similar genes—the cousin genes to the fish's genetic makeup—find those in humans, in us, and then turn them on so that we can make bone? I mean, that would be really awesome. Because, remember, what is osteoporosis? Osteoporosis is porous bone. It's low bone density and instead of being a nice, flexible, strong structure, it's almost like Swiss cheese. The bone becomes brittle and it's going to break. There are two types of cells that are involved in making bone and breaking bone. The cells that make bone are called "osteoblasts" and the cells that destroy bone are called "osteoclasts".

As you're growing and making bone, you tend to be balanced towards the osteoblasts because you're making lots of bone, but as we get older, we tend to be balanced towards the osteoclasts, the bone destruction cell. So, the researchers are wondering, is there a way, maybe, that we can rebalance the body by turning on and turning off certain genes involved in bone formation—in making osteoblasts? I think that's an awesome and interesting question.

You know, it's funny because the FDA has approved certain drugs for osteoporosis but most of those drugs have to do with the osteoclasts—inhibiting the cells that destroy bone. As far as I know, there's only one FDA approved drug that focuses on the bone forming cells—the osteoblasts. So, this type of genetic research could really open up the door for more of the bone forming medicines--bone forming nutrients--and I think that that is a great research path to go down in figuring out how to help people with osteoporosis. It's a significant disease. especially in post-menopausal women. If you were to take a bunch of women and just ask them to list out the diseases that scare them the most, osteoporosis may not even make the list. They're going to talk about breast cancer, other types of cancers, heart disease, all that. I'm not saying that's wrong.

All I'm saying, though, is osteoporosis should be right up there along with everything else that they list because as a woman gets older, especially if you get in your 60's, 70's, if you fracture a bone because you have osteoporosis, there's a high mortality rate, greater than 50% chance of dying after you break a bone—a big bone like a femur or a hip—because of osteoporosis. So, it's a significant disease with a significant morbidity and mortality associated with it. So, this is an important line of research.

So, here you have a zebra fish that has a genetic makeup very similar to humans. It's able to regenerate all kinds of organs like bones. So, you've got researchers like here at the National University of Singapore looking at what those genes are, finding the equivalent in humans and trying to find ways to manipulate those genes so we can turn on bone formation—we can activate the osteoblasts. I think that's an awesome line of research and we'll kind of have to see where this goes in the future.

But, what can you do today if you have osteoporosis? What is something you can do right now? Hopefully, you're on a good bone formula. You might even be on the FDA approved drugs that knock out the bone-destroying cells. Those are called bisphosphonates. Those are the most commonly prescribed drugs for osteoporosis. What else can you be doing? I want to mention a study that came up recently using strontium and a vitamin D metabolite. Now, strontium has been around for a long time. Strontium has a lot of good research behind it and it's bone-forming, bone-protection type properties.

It fell out of favor in the 1950's because there's also a form of strontium—this is not the form we use in supplementation—but there's a form of strontium that's associated with nuclear fallout and when they were doing nuclear bomb testing in the 50's, people were talking about strontium was now in the environment. It scared people. They thought it was the same strontium used in supplements, so people stopped buying it and the strontium market just kind of fell apart. We need to bring it back because strontium is really good for your bones. What's interesting now is that they're combining strontium with vitamin D metabolites. We know vitamin D is good for the bones, right? Vitamin D helps to manage calcium along with vitamin K2.

But, it turns out vitamin D is heavily metabolized and once you ingest vitamin D or your body makes basic vitamin D, vitamin D3 is what it's known as, it's metabolized in many different ways forming all these different metabolites. Now, there's research looking at what are these vitamin D metabolites really doing in the body when it comes to bone health?

So, they did this study. They took strontium with one of these vitamin D metabolites and they looked at how it might help—the combination of the two-- might help in treating osteoporosis. As a matter of fact, the aim of this study—this was published in Drugs, Research and Development, 2014—the aim of the study was to compare the efficacy in strontium in combination with alfacalcidol which is a vitamin D metabolite, and strontium by itself or placebo. So, you have three arms in this study. You've got a placebo group, a strontium group and a strontium plus a vitamin D metabolite group.

Bottom line is, in these 48 women, they were split up evenly in these groups. The strontium and vitamin D metabolite group significantly improved on all bone density parameters, the radiographic studies and certain blood tests. There are certain proteins we can look at to see how your bones are reforming. All of these parameters improved significantly in the strontium and the vitamin D metabolite group. That's something you can do right now.
In the future, maybe we'll manipulate your genes like the zebra fish.

But, take care of your bones. It's very, very important. This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well.
Length (mins) 10
Waiver Received No
Internal Notes NO GUEST
Host Mike Smith, MD

Ask Dr. Mike: What Is the FTC & What's Its Role in Regulating Supplements?

Listen in as Dr. Mike provides the answers to a wealth of health and wellness questions.

Additional Info

Segment Number 5
Audio File healthy_talk/1513ht2e.mp3
Organization Life Extension
Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
Transcription RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: March 24, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD

You're listening to RadioMD. It's time to Ask Dr. Mike on Health Talk. Call or email to ask your questions now. Email: AskDrMikeSmith@RadioMD.com or call 877-711-5211. The lines are open.

DR. MIKE: Please send me your email questions. I really love this part of my show. I like the challenge. I try to answer, as I said before, most of these questions, just kind of off the cuff here. I do review them beforehand because I think I do a disservice if I don't do some research behind some of the questions, so I can really bring the best answers.

But, some of them, I'll read beforehand and I say, "You know what? I'm not going to think about that one. I'm just going to read it on air and just answer it the best I can." But, this question, I wanted to do a little bit more research and it has to do with the FTC and it really goes back to how supplements are regulated.

By the way, over the past couple of weeks, I have received a lot...I mean, I'm looking at all my emailed questions here and I have at least, maybe 2 pages left, of email questions, so please send me your questions at AskDrMikeSmith@RadioMD.com, but a lot of these are about regulation. About how the government regulates supplements, proof of labels and I think that's just because there's just some stuff out there in mainstream media about supplements.

There was the New York Attorney General, what he did with testing of final products of herbal supplements on the shelf. Those products didn't do very well, but, of course, he was using the wrong form of testing, but that's a whole other story. I've talked about it before, but I think that's where a lot of the questions are coming from right now.

So, I got this question and I wanted to do a little bit more research because I think it's a great one. "What is the FTC and how do they enter into the supplement arena?"

So, the FTC is the Federal Trade Commission and there is...So, you have overarching, in some cases, competing, government institutions. You've got the FDA, right? And then you have the FTC. Both of them play a role in regulating supplements. The best source for me is to go to the FTC and the FDA. So, I went to the FTC website. I found some information about how they're listing out what their role is when it comes to supplements. So, let me just share some of that information with you. Before I do that, let me just, in a nutshell, tell you the difference between the FDA and the FTC in terms of supplements—just in a nutshell.

The FDA has the responsibility of making sure that products are safe and that the labels are correct and that the claims for products are correct. That's the FDA. Now, when it comes to drugs, the FDA does it pre-market, to get approval, and post-market. When it comes to supplements because they're listed as food sources, it's only post-market. So, the FDA does regulate supplements. They do. They require that the product itself has to be made at a factory that follows good manufacturing practices. That has to be done.

At that point, they do follow labels, they pull products off shelves and they test labels to make sure that what's stated on the label is actually in the ingredient. So, the FDA does play a role in regulating supplements. It's a myth to think that they don't. I hear it all the time, especially on mainstream media, usually on news shows, right? There's usually a conventional medical doctor who just makes the blanket statement that, "Oh, supplements should not be taken because they're not regulated by the FDA." That is just a half-truth. No. They're not regulated like drugs, that's true. But, they are regulated in terms of label, safety and claims. So, there is regulation. And, manufacturing. GMP. So, that's the FDA.

The FTC, on the other hand, is more about how the products are being marketed. That's the simple breakdown. So, the FDA—how the product is made, claims, what's in it, label. The FTC – how it's marketed.

So, this is right from the FTC website: "The role of the Federal Trade Commission, which enforcing laws, outlawing unfair or deceptive acts or practices, is to ensure that consumers get accurate information about dietary supplements so they can make informed decisions about these products. As applied to dietary supplements, the FDA has primary responsibility for claims on product labeling including packaging inserts and other promotional materials distributed at the point of sale. The FTC has primary responsibility for claims in advertising including print and broadcast ads, infomercials, catalogues and similar direct marketing materials."

So, that's just the breakdown. I mean, basically, the FTC is there to make sure that any advertisement for any product, really, including supplements, is truthful. It's not misleading, right? And sometimes, it's not just looking at the way something's being advertised and saying, "Well, that's not true." It's also, is the claim substantiated enough? That's where they have to work with the FDA a little bit. You know, it's one thing to say, "Pomegranate can lower blood pressure." I'm not talking about a labelled product—just pomegranate, in general. So, if someone wanted to talk about pomegranate lowering blood pressure, the FTC would maybe ask the FDA,"Is that really substantiated?" Now, if you're talking just about pomegranate, it sure is and I can say that about pomegranate. I may not be able to say that about a specific brand of pomegranate, though. That's a whole other issue.

So, the FTC does work with the FDA and they kind of work together to decide if something is substantiated enough to be allowed on some marketing materials. But, that's it in a nutshell. Supplements are regulated. I think we need to do—when I say "we", those of us who work in natural medicine; integrative doctors; supplement companies; and some of the organizations (trade organizations) in the industry need to do a better job of getting that message out. Supplements are regulated. They are. And, we have to start fighting back against that blanket statement that they're not. I hear it all the time. I just heard it a couple of weeks ago on, I think it was Fox News or something. I can't remember what it was, but, yes.

Usually, it's a medical doctor who, for whatever reason, has a certain bias against using supplements and they use that basic claim, "Oh, but we shouldn't take supplements because they're not regulated." That's my staunchy, medical doctor voice. "They're not regulated." That's not true. It's a half-truth. Okay?

The FDA, one more time. The FDA does regulate the manufacturing; the ingredients; the label and any disease claims and the FTC regulates the marketing materials. They do work together. So, supplements are regulated. Okay. Let's go on to the next question here.

Oh, by the way, there was a follow up question this person had. "Is the FDA and the FTC's regulation of supplements, is it sufficient? Is it good enough?" Yes, it is. We do catch bad products. We catch products out there that have been contaminated with microbes, metals, whatever it is, sometimes on purpose with like drugs, adulterated, where they add drugs to certain supplements. So, we do catch that stuff. If you hear about a supplement having a drug in it, for instance, which is not good. Those companies should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, in my opinion, but the fact that we found it, that shows you that the FDA and the FTC are doing their job.

So, the fact that we have these stories sometimes about some bad products is because we have that regulation. If they really weren't regulated, how would we ever know that? People would just end up being hurt. Keep in mind, too, that when it comes to supplements, how often do you really see supplements causing problems in people? You just don't. You see it a lot with prescription drugs, but not with supplements. But, yes. The regulations are adequate. They are.

That's why we catch some of those bad products. This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well.
Length (mins) 10
Waiver Received No
Internal Notes NO GUEST
Host Mike Smith, MD

Ask Dr. Mike: Carnosine, Resveratrol & Do Your Supplements Impact Your Medications?

Listen in as Dr. Mike provides the answers to a wealth of health and wellness questions.

Additional Info

Segment Number 4
Audio File healthy_talk/1513ht2d.mp3
Organization Life Extension
Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
Transcription RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: March 24, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD

It's time for you to be a part of the show. Email or call with questions for Dr. Mike now. Email: AskDrMikeSmith@RadioMD.com or call 877-711-5211. What are you waiting for? The doctor is in.

DR. MIKE: So, my first question is about carnosine. This came from a listener. It was an email question. AskDrMikeSmith@RadioMD.com and this is from R.F.

R.F. says, "Hello, Dr. Mike. I'm a big fan of your show, so here are my two questions. First, carnosine. They say it is a dipeptide. Now, I have learned that peptides are digested into amino acids, so carnosine will not survive as carnosine in the digestion process. Is this supplement, therefore, a gimmick?"

So, R.F. Great question. Yes, you're right. Carnosine is a dipeptide. It's made up of two amino acids—alanine and histidine, but it does survive the digestive process because the enzymes that break down peptides, they're called peptidases, proteases, they do not act on dipeptides. So, they break down larger and larger proteins into smaller peptides that are then, absorbed. Then, from there, the body processes them further once they are in the cell and stuff. So, alanine and histidine do survive the digestion process. As a matter of fact, I've had this question before, R.F., because I went back and found this research that comes from the 1990's. It was presented or published in the Journal of Physiology and they were looking at this very thing. So, people are doing more protein supplements. People are doing things like carnosine. So, they were looking, in the 90's, at how these proteins were really managed in the body. What they found was that the complete digestion of the protein doesn't always take place in the gut, that it actually...There was further processing within the cell itself. What they found in the journal of physiology in 1991 was that there was...Well, let me explain what they did. They took carnosine, which was one of the dipeptides they looked at, and they labeled the alanine and the histidine with a radioactive labeling, basically, so they could follow the intact carnosine from the digestive system, the bloodstream and, eventually, in the urine.

The thought is, if you give somebody this radioactive—that sounds bad, but it's safe. If you give somebody this radial labelled carnosine and they ingest it and then, eventually, down the line, maybe hours later or a day later, you find it in the urine, that means it went from the gut to the blood to the kidneys to the urine. If you find the radial labelled carnosine in the urine, that means it got through the digestive system intact. If you don't find any of this carnosine that's radial labelled and intact, then that means maybe carnosine doesn't survive the digestive tract. So, what they found in this study was that carnosine was, sure enough, found in the urine intact.

So, the peptidases—the enzymes that break down proteins—were not working on just dipeptides. Now, does that mean all dipeptides where you just have two amino acids stuck together? Does that mean all of them aren't broken down in the gut? No. No. At least, alanine and histidine aren't. When these two are connected together, the peptidases don't work on them and it does come through intact into your body. So, based on this, 1991 research did, in fact, show that carnosine as a supplement, it's not a gimmick. It does work. It does get into your system. I think that was a good question.

Now, the second question that R.F. has for me is about resveratrol.

R.F. asks, "I have resveratrol from Japanese knotweed. Now, I heard some supplement manufacturer emphasize that theirs is not from knotweed. Is this knotweed one inferior?"

No. Resveratrol is a compound found in nature. It falls under the class called "stilbenes". Stilbenes are found in all sorts of dietary sources and plant-based sources. I think classically, people know resveratrol—my dad knows it as the red wine supplement because we talk about the benefits of red wine, the resveratrol, the skin of the red grape and all that kind of stuff. I think that kind of sits in peoples' minds. But, resveratrol and other stilbenes are found in grains, leafy greens and other types of fruits. They're found throughout the plant kingdom, these stilbene compounds. So, I don't know anything specific about Japanese knotweed as a source of resveratrol, but I have no reason to think that it's inferior. The most important thing is that it is the trans- form of resveratrol.

Resveratrol comes in two forms: cis- and trans-. It's the trans- form, trans-resveratrol, that probably has the influence on the anti-aging genes, the sirtuins genes. So, that, to me, is what's more important. The trans- form about 250mg, whether it's coming from the skin of red grape or knotweed, I don't think that that determines whether the resveratrol is better or not. So, trans-resveratrol, 250mg and if you're confident. R.F., just for a moment, forget the knotweed issue. Just look at the final product. Look on the back label. If it says, "trans-resveratrol, 250mg", if you're confident in this company, if you're confident in the label, then it should be just fine.

Now, how do you become confident in the label. Well, I would, personally, call the manufacturer. There should be a manufacturing number on the back of the label. I would call them up and I would ask them for a Certificate of Analysis. I've talked about the C of A's, Certificate of Analysis, on my show. It's a document proof of a label. As a matter of fact, some companies even have a C of A for the raw material—the knotweed—that it is really knotweed and then, they have a C of A for the final product. So, call the manufacturer. Ask them for a Certificate of Analysis. So, look on the back label. Does it say "trans-resveratrol"? Does it say "250mg"? Because that's where the dose should be. Okay. That's good. Now, you want to make sure that label is correct, so you call the manufacturer and you ask for a Certificate of Analysis.

If the person on the other line of this company where you're buying it from, if they have no idea what you're talking about, then you might want to find a different trans-resveratrol. If they do have a Certificate of Analysis, as long as you know that they have it, but if you want even further...If you want to feel better even more, you could ask them to send you the Certificate of Analysis. I know at Life Extension, where I work, we can email it. We'll fax it. We'll do whatever if people want it.

So, again, I don't think it's the source that's so important. I think it's the quality of the resveratrol in the final product which should be in the trans- form, 250mg and as long as you have confidence in that product, that label, then you should be okay.

Great questions.I think I've got a minute or so left, so I'll do a quick one.

"How do I ascertain if a supplement will adversely impact my pharmaceutical medications?"

Well, you know, the only way...Well, first of all, the good news is, there are very few dangerous interactions between supplements and drugs. There are a few out there, but there are very few. That's the good news. But if you really want to know, probably one of the best websites for that is Drugs.com. That's the site I use. It's the site health advisors at Life Extension use.

If you call them up and you have questions about a drug and a supplement, they go to Drugs.com. You just plop in what you're looking at, what you're taking, what you want to use and they'll tell you if there are any interactions. Really simple. Drugs.com. Alright. This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well.
Length (mins) 10
Waiver Received No
Internal Notes NO GUEST
Host Mike Smith, MD

Manic Highs & Depressive Lows: Do You Have Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder tends to run in families and usually appears in your late teenage years or early adult years, but before the age of 25.

Additional Info

Segment Number 2
Audio File healthy_talk/1513ht2b.mp3
Featured Speaker Edward Ginns, MD, PhD
Organization University of Massachusetts
Guest Bio Edward Ginns completed his PhD in Physical Chemistry at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in NY, and went on to receive his MD from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Following a Medical Internship at Baltimore City Hospital, he trained in Neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, NY.

In 1980 he joined the Developmental and Metabolic Neurology Branch, NINDS at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland where he became a tenured Senior Investigator Neurologist in the Molecular and Medical Genetics Section.

In 1986 Dr. Ginns transferred to NIMH as Chief, Section on Molecular Neurogenetics, NIMH.

In 2000 he was recruited to the University of Massachusetts Medical School as founding Director of the Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute from the Intramural Research Program of NIMH where he was Chief, Clinical Neuroscience Branch and Supervising Scientist of the NIMH Transgenic and Targeted Gene Modified Mouse Resource.
Transcription RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: March 24, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD

Healthy Talk with Dr. Michael Smith, MD, and now, here's the country doctor with the city education, Dr. Mike.

DR. MIKE: So, there's been some really interesting research that's come out about bipolar disorder recently. We're going to talk first about bipolar disorder in general and then we'll come back in the next segment about a new genetic finding with bipolar disease.

My guest is Dr. Edward Ginns. He completed his PhD in physical chemistry and went on to receive his MD from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. In 1980, he joined the developmental and metabolic neurology branch at the National Institutes of Health where he became a tenured senior investigator neurologist in the molecular and medical genetic section. Dr. Ginns is the founding director of the Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute. He's Board Certified in neurology and is an elected member of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology.

Dr. Ginns, you've got some great credentials. Thank you for coming on Healthy Talk.

G: Well, Dr. Mike. It's an exciting opportunity to be speaking with you on your radio show.

DR MIKE: Well, I've got to tell you, when I saw what you were doing with this research connecting bipolar to this rare form of dwarfism, which we'll get into later, it was awesome. It caught my eye and I think you're really onto something here. But let's just first talk about bipolar disorder in general for my listeners. Can you just give us a nice, lay definition of what bipolar affective disorder is?

G: Bipolar affective disorder is a very common psychiatric disorder that's characterized by recurrent swings from periods of high energy and mania to those of low energy and sadness. The most serious form, we call "Bipolar I" and during the manic episodes, patients have a reduced need for sleep. They're more talkative and restless and often with a mood ranging from happy to outright irritable. Poorly made decisions and rash behaviors are common during the manic period. There's often little regard for consequences.

At the other end of the polarity, there are cycles that include depression with slow thinking, concentration and actually social isolation and a pessimistic outlook. Patients with bipolar affective disorder, importantly, have a higher risk for self-harm and suicide and, for some reason, especially among the males, a second form of illness is "Bipolar II" where they have less severe episodes of mania along with the depression. Then, there are two other forms of bipolar disorder. We call it "not otherwise specified" and "psychothymic disorder" where the symptoms are minor but include episodes of hyperactivity, manic and depression.

DR MIKE: Right. So, I'm going to tell you a little story, Dr. Ginns. When I was in medical school in my 3rd year in the psychiatric rotation, I remember one of the first patients I interviewed was a patient who was diagnosed with Bipolar I. They were in a manic stage, and by the end of the interview, I was talking just as fast as the patient was and I'm not trying to make light of it, but it was really impressive to see the symptoms of the disease.

How common is bipolar disorder? Do you think we are diagnosing it more simply because we're recognizing it better or is there actually an increase in the incidence and prevalence of this disorder?

DR GINNS: According to the Institute of Mental Health, it's, as I said, a very common disorder that affects 1-2% of the population and, perhaps unappreciated, it's a major of cause of disability to both individuals having the illness and also their families. So, I don't think we're diagnosing more of it. I think that we're understanding the presentation better.

DR MIKE: Right. So, what are the current treatment options for bipolar patients and how well does the conventional therapy work?

DR GINNS: So, current treatment options include not only medication, but also psychotherapy and combinations of both. Lithium is one of the original drugs discovered for a treatment of bipolar affective disorder and it's still one of the mainstays along with the newer drugs of SSRI's. So, the medications include mood stabilizers, anti-psychotics to stave off the delusional episodes and anti-depressants. Psychotherapy can be broken down into cognitive family-based and just education about the stress that may precipitate some of the episodes of the illness. Then, for cases where medication and psychotherapy aren't doing the most, then there's electroconvulsive therapy.

So, what is an unmet need, obviously, is for more effective and personalized treatments particularly with, although the medications work well, some have adverse side effects such as heartbeat acceleration or weight gain and, in fact, aggravating mood swings and breakthrough symptoms. As you're well aware, there hasn't been a new drug in over a decade.

DR MIKE: Yes. So, one of the types of bipolar disorders you talked about, you mentioned when you were listing them was the dysthymia. I think that's how most people know of it. That's kind of like the mild, not quite full-blown manic or depressive, but more of that cycling that's a little bit minor. I've seen some studies where there's an over the counter form of Lythium, Orotate, that has worked somewhat for them. But, you're right, there really hasn't been anything new in a long time. You know, mood stabilizers.

DR GINNS: I think you bring up an important point that if people believe that they or one of their family members or friends might have bipolar disorder, that's important that they get into a professional infrastructure where they could be evaluated.

DR MIKE: Absolutely.

DR GINNS: Because often, taking the wrong medication can worsen symptoms.

DR MIKE: So, where are we at with some of the causes of bipolar disorder? Is there anything new? Now, I know we have your research. We'll get into that, but just what are some of the leading theories, in general, for bipolar disorder? What are the causes?

DR GINNS: So, bipolar disorder occurs in all populations. We really don't have a good handle right now on how to predict those at risk. There are clearly families where there's an increased risk because there are other individuals in the family that are affected. Like many mental illnesses, the common complicated cause for the disease has both genetic and environmental components where many factors likely act together to produce the illness or increase risk. Some others are risk genes. There are many common in the population, each probably having a small affect contributing to the susceptibility to illness and they act together with environmental factors that, together, can trigger precipitation of the symptoms. Environmental factors that we know of include things like life stresses, lifestyles, sleep deprivation and sometimes even diet.

DR MIKE: Sure. So, what do you think about the inherited connection? I mean, we find them in all different types of people. Is there a family connection in a lot of these cases?

DR GINNS: There's clearly a documentation that bipolar disorder tends to run in families and affected individuals often have a close relative with bipolar disorder. If you look at some of the studies that have been done between identical and non-identical twins, the chance of identical twins both having bipolar disorder has been estimated as high as 70-80% in some studies whereas the non-identical twins have a risk of closer to 15%.

DR MIKE: Okay. So, definitely the causes seem to be complicated and multi-factorial. What I want to do is, we're going to take a break here, Dr. Ginns. When we come back, we'll get into the new genetic finding for bipolar disease.

This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. I'm Dr. Mike.
Length (mins) 10
Waiver Received No
Host Mike Smith, MD

Hot Chili Peppers: How to Add this Healthy Burn to Your Meals

Chili peppers are known to help aid in weight loss and alleviating pain.

Additional Info

Segment Number 1
Audio File healthy_talk/1513ht2a.mp3
Organization Life Extension
Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
Transcription RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: March 24, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD

Living longer and staying healthier. It's Healthy Talk with Dr. Michael Smith, MD. Here's your host, Dr. Mike.

MIKE: So, it is a good thing. It's good for your body to feel the burn of chili peppers. Coming from Texas, I love this story.

We put salsa on everything. We just do and I'm pretty good with the heat. I do enjoy the flavor of a lot of peppers and salsas. As a matter of fact, there was a salsa bar in Dallas, Texas. You know how they have tequila bars and such? Well, this was a salsa bar and in one little area, they had maybe 10 different salsas lined up and on the left side it was "mild" and you moved towards the right and it got hotter and hotter. The last couple of salsas are just beyond belief. In fact, one of them, you did have to sign a waiver for. I made it through like half of that. I had a couple of friends that made it close to the end and they were hiccupping and all that kind of stuff. Maybe that's the extreme side of chili peppers, but they are good for you. There's a lot of good evidence that capzasin—that's the key compound in chili peppers—has health benefits to the heart, the brain, immune system, even weight loss. So, we're going to talk a little bit about that today.

By the way, I watched a video, this was a young man, 12 years old, His name was Nick. This was on YouTube. He ate the hottest pepper. This is according to the Guinness Book of World Records, by the way, and this pepper is called the Carolina Reaper. I didn't know that. I thought it was the ghost pepper. Turns out that's not true. The hottest one, it was, I guess, genetically engineered by some guy in the Carolinas and he called it the Carolina Reaper. It has the Scoville measure—that's the measurement. Scoville units measure how hot a pepper is. The more units, the hotter—of 2.2 million.

Now, there are some salsas that they'll make with different peppers and the salsa itself can be hotter, but just as a stand-alone pepper, by itself, taking a bite: 2.2 million Scoville units is the hottest. This kid ate it. He was with his dad in the video. His dad ate it. His dad was dying. I actually thought they were going to have to call the paramedics for his dad. But the kid, Nick, he seemed to be okay. I mean, he had some ice cream and some milk. Milk does help. The reason milk helps, by the way, is that the milk sugar, the lactose, binds to the receptors that capzasin binds to on your tongue. So, milk (dairy) is the best way to decrease the burn, if you will. Very interesting and funny video. So, that's the Carolina Reaper.

But, chili peppers, they're high in beta carotene and vitamin C. That was news to me. I didn't realize peppers were high in vitamin C. Gosh, fiber, and, of course, the capzasin. So, chili peppers can be used definitely in cooking and even in supplement form to improve health.

So, let's look at some of the research about chili peppers. This first one I found really interesting. Capzasin does have anti-cancer properties. As a matter of fact, the first study I want to share with you was a cultured human pancreatic study—pancreatic cancer study. This is important because pancreatic cancer is the number 4 killer in the United States of cancers. It's one of the most malignant, but it's not that the pancreatic cancer in and of itself is any more malignant than, say, lung or breast or prostate or something like that. It's the fact that it's always caught late. What we would call "late stage" where it's already spread and it makes treatment very difficult.

In this study, it was interesting. They did both a petri dish study and a mouse study, all at the same time here using capzasin. They were looking at and they were asking the question, "Could capzasin from chili peppers induce something called "apoptosis" which is cancer cell death, a programmed cell death. All cells in your body have the ability, and it's an important ability, to eventually kill itself. I mean, you don't want old cells to continue to divide and that's when more mutations happen.

I mean, there's a time when cells need to die off and they need to be replaced by newer ones. That's called "apoptosis". Well, cancer cells kind of have a way of inhibiting apoptosis. So, there is a lot of good research looking into ways to reactivate this programmed cell death so we can treat cancer. So, that's what they were looking at here with the capzasin. So, what they did was they took—let's go through the petri dish one first. So, they took a bunch of pancreatic cancer cells and they had these petri dishes and they treated those petri dishes with capzasin. What they found was that there was a dosed-appended inhibition of cell viability, which is important.

So, that means the cancer cells were kind of starting to break down when they were treated with capzasin and, also, there was that induction of apoptosis. They were able to discover the way capzasin was working. Capzasin was activating in these cancer cells what is known as ROS—a reactive oxygen species pathway. That's an oxidative stress pathway. So, capzasin activated this oxidative stress pathway which then caused a decrease in pancreatic cell viability and, eventually, the activation of programmed cell death—apoptosis. Now, when you hear that, you might think to yourself, "Okay, but what would capzasin then do to healthy cells?" Right? So, here you have capzasin causing oxidative stress pathways to activate and in cancer cells that's great.

But, you might think, "Well, is that same thing going to happen to my healthy cells?" And the answer to that was, at least in this study, "no" because they also looked at healthy cells and capzasin added to petri dishes of healthy pancreatic cells did not increase oxidative stress and did not induce an early programmed cell death. So, that's good news. And that's because the cell physiology in a cancer cell is different from a healthy cell.

So, here you have capzasin having a positive effect on pancreatic cancer cells meaning their viability was down; they're killing themselves--apoptosis; but that capzasin had none of those effects in the healthy cell line. So, that's positive. Then, here we had, also, that capzasin was given to mice and, basically, they found the same thing. The authors concluded that tumors from capzasin-treated mice demonstrated increased apoptosis as well.

So, they were able to take that petri dish study, at least into an animal model and it showed a positive result. This was all published a few years ago in the journal called Apoptosis, December 2008. So, that's one property of capzasin. Other properties: weight loss. An article published in The Cochrane Daatabase, 2013, showed that there was an 8% decrease in body weight among rats on a high fat diet given capzasin.

In the study, the capzasin increased the breakdown of fat and increased metabolism and they actually measured resting metabolic rate in these mice and there was an increase of about 4%. So, capzasin does increase what we call "resting metabolic rate". Which, as we get older, by the way, one of the pillars of weight gain is a drop in resting metabolism, meaning you're not burning as many calories at rest compared to when you were younger. So capzasin, at least in this mouse model, showed some benefit there. Capzasin now, I think these kinds of products have been around for a while. Capzasin in topical solutions, topical creams for pain, specifically arthritis pain.

You know, you can take a capzasin-based arthritic cream and rub it right over where it hurts on the knee, the elbow. It seems to work in the bigger joints better and there's been some significant relief of pain for people there. As a matter of fact, a study published in 2013—again, this comes from The Cochrane database—showed that capzasin improved sleep, fatigue, depression and quality of life in people with pain from a herpes neuralgia which is very common. So, capzasin has some properties for cancer cells, weight loss, pain.

Yes. Feel the burn. Don't eat the Carolina Reaper. I wouldn't do that, but, hey, a little chili pepper can go a long way.

This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well.
Length (mins) 10
Waiver Received No
Internal Notes NO GUEST
Host Mike Smith, MD

Start
Prev
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
Next
End

Page 29 of 70