Posted March 24, 2019
Jonathan and Chris interview Jonathan Howard, a neurologist in New York who wrote a book that will make you, the patient, understand a bit more how your doctor is thinking. Howard is interested in how the brain fires (and misfires), which led him to write this book about the biases in the thinking of doctors and patients that can lead to correct answers... but that sometimes result in errors.
This episode plunges you into a real-life episode of ER, with medical scenarios that will illustrate what went wrong. It's medicine from the brain's side of the gurney!
LINKS:
The book: https://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319932231
Jonathan Howard on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JHowardBrainMD
Theme music: "Troll of the Mountain Swing" by the Underscore Orkestra.
To contribute to The Body of Evidence, go to our Patreon page at: http://www.patreon.com/thebodyofevidence/.
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Posted March 10, 2019
Chris loses his mind when he misses his after-dinner cookie, which leads the boys to talk about fasting! Ada asks students about their thoughts on the issue, which range from mentioning Terry Crews to believing monks can survive for months without eating. Back in the studio, it's time to catch up on the hundreds of definitions of fasting and to answer the questions: does fasting work? compared to what? and can people stick with it? Oh, and does it make you live longer? Also: Color Genomics' DNA kit and what happens when you bypass a genetic counsellor and medical geneticist to find out if you have disease-causing mutations in your genes; young blood transfusions and the confusion over Elizabeth Bathory's fate; and our first ever contest with prizes! Don't wait 3 months to listen to this episode!
Vox pop by Ada McVean of the McGill Office for Science and Society.
Jingle by Jillian Kate.
Additional music by Seth Donnelly and Kevin MacLeod.
Theme music: "Troll of the Mountain Swing" by the Underscore Orkestra.
To contribute to The Body of Evidence, go to our Patreon page at: http://www.patreon.com/thebodyofevidence/.
Patrons get a bonus show on Patreon called "Digressions"! Check it out!
REFERENCES
Meta-analysis of fasting trials: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=26135345
JAMA Internal Medicine 2017 study on intermittent fasting: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=28459931
Calorie restriction on markers of longetvity: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=16595757
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Posted February 3, 2019
Chris gets surprisingly aggressive (and hairy) during a football match, which leads the boys to discuss concussions. Jacob goes to a hockey game and finds a lot of people who are intimately familiar with mild traumatic brain injuries. How common are they, what's the treatment for them, and should you let someone with a concussion fall asleep? Perhaps more importantly, would you let your kid play football (or hockey)? Also: a new iteration of the Canadian Food Guide gets rid of food groups; talcum powder strikes back; probiotics make surprising appearances in our food supply if we are to believe Canadians; and a joke few people will get. It's Skeptics with a-wait, wrong show.
As always, also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher. Just look for "The Body of Evidence"!
Vox pop by Jacob Meza of the So It Is Told podcast.
Jingle by Joseph Hackl.
Additional music by Seth Donnelly and Kevin MacLeod.
Theme music: "Troll of the Mountain Swing" by the Underscore Orkestra.
To contribute to The Body of Evidence, go to our Patreon page at: http://www.patreon.com/thebodyofevidence/.
Patrons get a bonus show on Patreon called "Digressions"! Check it out!
-
References
*Studies showing that helmet use reduces injuries in sports
1. Johnston KM, McCrory P, Mohtadi NG, Meeuwisse W. Evidence-Based review of sport-related concussion: clinical science. Clin J Sport Med 2001; 11:150.
2. Sulheim S, Holme I, Ekeland A, Bahr R. Helmet use and risk of head injuries in alpine skiers and snowboarders. JAMA 2006; 295:919.
3. Russell K, Christie J, Hagel BE. The effect of helmets on the risk of head and neck injuries among skiers and snowboarders: a meta-analysis. CMAJ 2010; 182:333.
4. Hollis SJ, Stevenson MR, McIntosh AS, et al. Incidence, risk, and protective factors of mild traumatic brain injury in a cohort of Australian nonprofessional male rugby players. Am J Sports Med 2009; 37:2328.
*Study of cognitive rest in adolescents post concussion
Thomas DG, Apps JN, Hoffmann RG, et al. Benefits of strict rest after acute concussion: a randomized controlled trial. Pediatrics 2015; 135:213.
*Study about prognosis post concussion
Triebel KL, Martin RC, Novack TA, et al. Treatment consent capacity in patients with traumatic brain injury across a range of injury severity. Neurology 2012; 78:1472.
*Studies about CTE
1. Bieniek KF, Ross OA, Cormier KA, et al. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy pathology in a neurodegenerative disorders brain bank. Acta Neuropathol 2015; 130:877.
2. Mez J, Daneshvar DH, Kiernan PT, et al. Clinicopathological Evaluation of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Players of American Football. JAMA 2017; 318:360.
*Study linking NFL and Alzheimer's
Lehman EJ, Hein MJ, Baron SL, Gersic CM. Neurodegenerative causes of death among retired National Football League players. Neurology 2012; 79:1970.
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Posted January 13, 2019
Don't mind Chris' newfound psychic powers; do fitness trackers like Fitbits actually work? They monitor our heart beats, they count our steps and calories burnt, but do they do it accurately? And can they help us lose weight? Also: you'll never believe what actually motivates people to exercise; early detection is not as easy as it sounds; does Johnson & Johnson's baby powder cause cancer and should you even use baby powder in the first place; and how to judge the merits of a scientific paper when you're not a scientist.
Vox pop by Ada McVean of the McGill Office for Science and Society.
Jingle by Jillian Kate.
Additional music by Seth Donnelly and Kevin MacLeod.
Theme music: "Troll of the Mountain Swing" by the Underscore Orkestra.
To contribute to The Body of Evidence, go to our Patreon page at: http://www.patreon.com/thebodyofevidence/.
Patrons get a bonus show on Patreon called "Digressions"! Check it out!
REFERENCES
Sales of fitness trackers:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/paullamkin/2018/02/22/smartwatch-popularity-booms-with-fitness-trackers-on-the-slide/#68e947c87d96
HR accuracy of fitness trackers:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamacardiology/fullarticle/2566167
Energy expenditure accuracy of fitness trackers:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28538708
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26684758
Fitness trackers for weight loss (The IDEA trial):
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2553448
Fitness trackers and lack of motivation
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2089651?redirect=true
Fitness trackers and cash incentives:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(16)30284-4/fulltext
Fitness trackers and hard outcomes:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2679277?widget=personalizedcontent&previousarticle=2089651
Apple Watch accuracy:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamacardiology/article-abstract/2675364
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Posted December 23, 2018
Jonathan and Chris interview Pixie Turner, a London-based nutritionist who used to be, according to her, a "wellness wanker". And then she publicly changed her mind about food.
They discuss her formerly obsessive relationship with nutrition; eating for Instagram; the turning point in her life; the vicious Instagram vegan posse; becoming an inadvertent Trojan horse on social media; why wellness mainly targets women; her thoughts on the carnivore diet; the demonization of carbs; orthorexia; Belle Gibson and the Medical Medium; which nutrition books to trust; how to fight misinformation; and why so many of her clients ask her, "Can I eat this?"
LINKS:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pixienutrition/
Website: http://www.pixieturnernutrition.com
Pixie's First Book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36272948-the-wellness-rebel?from_search=true
Pixie's Second Book (pre-order): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40969801-the-no-need-to-diet-book?from_search=true
Theme music: "Troll of the Mountain Swing" by the Underscore Orkestra.
To contribute to The Body of Evidence, go to our Patreon page at: http://www.patreon.com/thebodyofevidence/.
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Posted December 9, 2018
The boys end up in the jungle with varying degrees of immunological protection and Chris subdues a jungle cat. So what are the arguments against vaccination and are they warranted? They discuss arguments like better sanitation, Big Pharma conspiracies, aborted fetuses, autism, chemical preservatives and "too many, too soon". In a surprising twist, the Catholic Church comes to their defence. Also: Jacob Meza sees a big difference in how young and old people view vaccines; the world's first genetically edited babies are here (maybe); and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada recommends people with the disease up their dosage of vitamin D.
Vox pop by Jacob Meza of the So It Is Told podcast.
Jingle by Joseph Hackl.
Additional music by Seth Donnelly and Kevin MacLeod.
Theme music: "Troll of the Mountain Swing" by the Underscore Orkestra.
To contribute to The Body of Evidence, go to our Patreon page at: http://www.patreon.com/thebodyofevidence/.
Patrons get a bonus show on Patreon called "Digressions"! Check it out!
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Posted November 25, 2018
Jonathan and Chris interview Nick Saik from Know Ideas Media, a filmmaker who specializes in communicating about food and agriculture online.
They discuss trust in farmers; going to filmmaking school and ending up working on the set of Supernatural; GMOs; precision agriculture; antibiotics in meat; the A&W dilemma; the romantic ideation of food production; RoundUp; orthorexia; chemical-free food; trust in institutions; why only big companies can afford to sell you GMOs; lab-grown meat; what if almonds had nipples; the skeptical movement; how to argue online; and why raising money to do this type of communication is extremely challenging.
WORD OF THE WEEK:
Ag = agriculture
LINKS:
The cat herding commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ0ur5GKC0w
Nick's nut milking video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJCTIPWPNtw
Know Ideas Media on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/knowideasmedia
Theme music: "Troll of the Mountain Swing" by the Underscore Orkestra.
To contribute to The Body of Evidence, go to our Patreon page at: http://www.patreon.com/thebodyofevidence/.
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Posted November 18, 2018
Jonathan and Chris interview Cameron M. Smith, professor in the department of anthropology at Portland State University. They discuss what is anthropology; what it's like teaching evolution in the United States; what the theory of evolution is; what we've learned from the fossil record; whether or not humans are still evolving; what a hominin is; the revival of Lamarck's theory; and Cameron's real-life adventures on inhospitable terrain and his prediction for humanity's new space age. And you will learn a new word: gemmule!
Cameron Smith was a guest of the Trottier Public Science Symposium in October 2018 in Montreal, and you can watch his talk on the space suit he designed by clicking here: https://youtu.be/h7uIV2PFD70?t=2810
Theme music: "Troll of the Mountain Swing" by the Underscore Orkestra.
To contribute to The Body of Evidence, go to our Patreon page at: http://www.patreon.com/thebodyofevidence/.
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Posted November 4, 2018
A risky session on Tinder brings up the topic of Chris' cat allergy. Meanwhile, comedian Jacob Meza learns from college students that the rise in allergies might be due to chemicals, antibiotics, or GMOs. Back in the studio, the boys talk about just how common allergies are, problems with the hygiene hypothesis, and what treatments are available. Also: is there a link between organic food consumption and cancer risk, and Jonathan talks about how amazing QED was while Chris reports back on his conference experience and on the relativists who want more farm animals to save us from global climate change!
This podcast is now available with more puppies than ever.
Vox pop by comedian Jacob Meza. His podcast is So It Is Told.
Jingle by Jillian Kate.
Additional music by Seth Donnelly and Kevin MacLeod.
Theme music: "Troll of the Mountain Swing" by the Underscore Orkestra.
To contribute to The Body of Evidence, go to our Patreon page at: http://www.patreon.com/thebodyofevidence/.
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Posted October 7, 2018
It's Two Men and a Baby as Jonathan realizes that Chris takes odd bets and ends up with an infant to care for. Has childbirth been over- or under-medicalized? Ada talks to clueless university students about the miracle of life. Do epidurals make mothers too "chill"? The boys discuss maternal mortality rates, what can go wrong while giving birth, and water births (wait! how does the baby not drown?). Also: how can crowdfunding platforms identify appeals for quack cancer treatments, and the difference between primary and secondary prevention when it comes to "an aspirin a day". It's episode 42, meaning it contains the answer to life, the universe, and everything. And there's a special guest star who's totally not the boyfriend of one of our contributors.
Vox pop by Ada McVean of the McGill Office for Science and Society.
Jingle by Joseph Hackl.
Additional music by Seth Donnelly and Kevin MacLeod.
Theme music: "Troll of the Mountain Swing" by the Underscore Orkestra.
To contribute to The Body of Evidence, go to our Patreon page at: http://www.patreon.com/thebodyofevidence/.
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