Health Podcast: Winter Sunscreen; Smiling is Contagious; Vegan Hair Loss

In this episode we feature:

An interview with dermatologist Dr. Stacy Chimento.

The Light Emotion Connection

Tai Chi: The balance miracle

You are not washing your hands long enough!

And more ways you can improve your health today!

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Our Hosts:
John Tesh: Instagram: @johntesh_ifyl facebook.com/JohnTesh
Gib Gerard: Instagram: @GibGerard facebook.com/GibGerard X: @GibGerard

Transcript

Unknown: 0:38

Gib. Hello and welcome to another episode of the podcast. I'm Gib Gerard here with another special intelligence for your health edition of the podcast, Connie's guest this week is dermatologist Dr Stacy shemento. She'll explain why it's important to wear sunscreen even in the winter. So stay tuned for that here, of course, without further ado, is intelligence for your health. With Connie Celica, science has proven that smiles are contagious. According to the Journal of Behavioral Neuroscience, the amount we smile during a conversation is significantly influenced by how much the other person smiles. For the study, participants had face to face conversations, while researchers used software to figure out the amount of smiling during the conversations, and they found that when listeners smiled more, the people speaking tended to smile more too. The study also found that the more a person smiled, the friendlier they were thought to be, and the more both people enjoyed the conversation. So if you want someone to smile, smile yourself, do you have to keep a fan on at night to help you sleep? Or a noise machine? A lot of people say they're addicted to white noise for good sleep. Well, according to doctors and sleep experts, there are a few reasons we may need noise to sleep, and it's not necessarily a bad thing. It can help with anxiety, because silence can make a person's mind race. So having some background noise can be calming, leaving a fan on or a noise machine can help people with ADHD. That's because people with ADHD often find that steady sounds help them focus and relax, and a little noise at night can help people feel less alone. It can be helpful for people who have lost their partner, are living on their own for the first time, or are extroverted and just like having other people around, if you want to eliminate disease causing germs on your hands, especially after using the bathroom or a gas pump, you must wash up for a minimum of 15 to 20 seconds. But most of us wash for only about six seconds. A lot of us don't even bother to use soap. It's no wonder that improper hand washing contributes to half of all cases of foodborne illness. Again, if you want to be germ free, wash your hands for a minimum of 15 to 20 seconds with soap. More younger people between the ages of 20 and 50 are complaining about memory problems from losing their train of thought to struggling to retain new information. Dr Gary small is the chair of psychiatry at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey. He thinks that memory problems have grown due to increased stress and exploding technology use, because these days we have to remember all kinds of random things like web addresses, usernames, passwords, security codes and pins, and our memory didn't evolve to hang on to seemingly random information like that. Elizabeth Kessinger is a psychology professor who studies memory at Boston College. She agrees she doesn't think that our memory skills have declined. Instead, she thinks we're inundated with mental junk like social media and emails, and that mental clutter makes our brains work harder to keep track of things that are actually important. So how can we stay sharp with so much mental junk to sift through, aside from exercising and getting enough sleep control your stress. In experiments, when people were injected with the stress hormone, their memories were immediately impaired, but the effect is temporary, so find ways to control your stress and your memory will likely improve. Okay, listen to this if you have trouble reaching your goals, write them down, like lose five pounds, then date it and put it on your fridge or bathroom mirror. Researchers from the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania found making a pledge, even if we're the only one who sees it, makes us feel more committed, and that gets us from the thinking about it, stage to the taking action stage, and makes us 10 times more likely to reach our goal. So to reach a goal, write it down, date it and put it somewhere. You'll see it all the time. Today, our guest is board certified dermatologist, Dr Stacy shemento. She says about one in five North Americans will develop skin cancer at some point, which is why we're always told to wear sunscreen any time we go out in the sun. It's one of the easiest ways to prevent skin cancer, but most people think that rule only applies in the summer, when we're most likely to be outside. So I asked Dr chimento Why it's also important to wear sunscreen when. When the weather gets cold, it's very funny. Kind of you say that? Because I get this question all the time, because even though I live in sunny Miami, where it's always hot, but a lot of my snowbirds, you know, they ask me this question, and I'll tell you the real reason why is, number one, the ozone layer is so much thinner when it's cold, so that's why you actually have less protection from the sun. So even though the winter outside is colder, your skin may actually be absorbing more of those ultraviolet rays. So you know it is definitely necessary at all times when you're outdoors, regardless of the time again, whether you're in a warm weather or really cold weather, sunscreen is absolutely necessary. Today we're talking to Dermatologist, Dr Stacy shemento, and since we always hear that wearing sunscreen is the most effective way to prevent skin cancer, one might assume that cancer cells only form in areas that have direct exposure to UV rays from the sun. But the reality is, skin cancer can crop up anywhere on the body. So I asked Dr chimento Why it's possible to get skin cancers even in areas that never see sunlight. So just a quick little brief you know, there's three types of skin cancers. You have, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. We all know that melanoma is pretty much and that is the deadly form of skin cancer that you really should worry about. However, with basal cells and squamous cells, sometimes with squamous cell carcinoma, you can find it in places that you would never think. Some people that are more predisposed to this could be genetics. Whether your mom and dad had a history of having a lot of skin cancers, you're more prone to them if you have had multiple blistering sunburns, you know, less than 18 years old, you're also more prone to that. And we do know that with tanning bed history, which is pretty much was very common back in the 90s, and two, you know, new decade that you know, we're seeing a higher incidence of melanoma. But for instance, with squamous cell patients that have had extensive burn history or radiation from cancer. Patients also that are predisposed or immunocompromised or immunosuppressed, they're more prone to developing certain skin cancers, again, areas that could be very not exposed to sun, in places like the short area. Many patients are getting skin cancers there. The light in the room can affect your mood. The brighter the light, the stronger your emotions will be. That's according to research from the University of Toronto. So keep the lights bright if you want to tell your partner how much you love them, but dim the lights if you're arguing. Today's medical term cervical radiculopathy, that's a fancy way of describing a pinched nerve. Pinched nerves can occur anywhere in the body. When something puts too much pressure on one of your nerves, most often it's the surrounding bones, muscles or tendons, that do the pinching, like when you've been sitting in one position for too long, that causes your gluteal muscles to compress the sciatic nerves running down the back of your legs. And as you probably know, when nerves get pinched, it almost always triggers pain or a tingling pins and needles sensation. And the longer the pinch lasts, the higher your risk for permanent nerve damage. It's one reason why the Mayo Clinic recommends seeing a doctor about any unexplained symptoms of a pinched nerve that do not resolve quickly, because that tingling or pain you feel could be the result of an internal injury, arthritis or even an early warning sign of diabetes, because high sugar levels in your blood are known to increase the risk for nerve damage, and that's today's medical term cervical radiculopathy, also known as a pinched nerve to boost your immune system. Take up drumming. Neurologist Dr Barry Bittman found that drummers have higher levels of immune system, boosting T cells, higher levels of endorphins and lower blood pressure, which are linked to better health and well being. That's because it triggers so called hemispheric synchronization, where both sides of the brain work at the same time, and that allows people to feel two opposite emotions simultaneously, energized and relaxed. So if you're looking to feel good and boost your immunity, bang a drum. If you de stress by spending time with your dog, you are onto something. A new study from the University of Saskatchewan finds that interacting with dogs can strengthen your brain, giving you increased energy and positive emotions and a lower risk for memory loss, depending on the type of interaction you have. For the study, people interacted with dogs in several different ways while having their brains monitored. They played, fed, massaged, brushed, photographed, hugged and walked dogs and different activities had different effects on. Participants brain waves, playing and walking with a dog, increased alpha brain waves, which has been linked with improved memory, grooming and feeding a dog, was linked with beta brain waves, which is associated with heightened attention and concentration. And hugging a dog activated a relaxation response. Participants also felt significantly less depressed, stressed and fatigued. This means that you can select pet related activities to help you achieve a desired brain state, whether that's relaxation, increased attention and concentration, or less stress. Okay, listen to this. If you're prone to dizziness or vertigo, take up Tai Chi. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary says patients who practiced tai chi for two months had improved symptoms. It works through a combination of improved balance, cardiovascular function and more stable walking and even if you don't have problems with dizziness, Tai Chi is recommended by the National Institutes of Health for everyone from cancer survivors to patients battling Fibromyalgia to people with chronic heart failure and depression, because it improves muscle tone balance and reduces pain back with more health intelligence from board certified dermatologist, Dr Stacey chimento, and if you Want the healthiest possible skin. She says a growing body of research shows it helps to have a healthier diet, particularly one that's low in sugar. So I asked Dr chimento To explain why sugary diets tend to be bad for our skin. We now know that sugar in excess is never a good thing. I mean, even for people that you can develop diabetes or blood pressure, but we now know from a dermatological and esthetic perspective that sugar is not a good thing. A high glycemic diet, we know can lead to things such as acne, so you can get more breakouts, but we do know that it causes a very significant inflammatory response in the body, and not just in the body, but it does show in the skin itself. So when you increase this inflammation, then you can start seeing those pesky things that we hate, such as redness, dark circles under the eyes. It definitely with baggy eyes, is highly associated with dehydration and also the sagging skin can basically come from sugar working on the receptors and certain components within the actual dermis of the skin. And then you get damaged elastin, which is that snap back in the skin. So then you're creating more wrinkles than you ever had before, more health intelligence from Dermatologist, Dr Stacy shemento, and when it comes to do it yourself. Treatments, something that's been making a comeback in recent years is people trying to get rid of their under eye bags by applying Preparation H. Is something you may have heard about on social media, and I asked Dr chimento Why people are doing this. The reason why is because when you apply preparation age. It does help to decrease the inflammation, and because that's what it is, it's basically a 1% hydrocortisone cream, which is a steroid cream that's really used to, you know, to improve the itching or pain or inflammation associated with hemorrhoids. But people have taken another beauty step, and they're applying it under the eyes. Yes, it could be a great quick fix, because it constricts the blood vessels so the eye looks less red. You see less lymphatic buildup, less inflammation, so you get a temporary fix the problem or the side effects. Could, you know, really outweigh the risk of using this even temporarily, things like steroids can surely thin out the skin and over repeated usage, then you look actually worse than you've ever did, because it's going to decrease that collagen production and elastin, so you're more prone to getting wrinkles and not to mention long term usage can lead to things like glaucoma and cataracts, which could be very devastating. Okay, we don't want to be rubbing steroids under our eyes and potentially hurting our vision. What do you recommend for treating under eye bags? Well, I mean, some of the easy things we can do, you know, putting a little cool compress. There's nothing wrong with getting a little nice, little beauty ice pack and kind of putting it on the eye and kind of let it sit for about five or 10 minutes at a time, that will constrict those blood vessels so it's going to improve the redness and also kind of flush out all those toxins and lymphatics and inflammation. And that's very easy to do, but rather than go with some of these, I say Tiktok hacks, or do it yourself hacks, I think the better approach is to maybe invest in a very nice eye cream that can also help to reduce inflammation in a more natural and safe manner, and give you the extra benefit of improving the eye for fine lines and wrinkles, lymphatics and dark circles as well. If you have 60 seconds, you can improve your health just do a plank. Dr Sherry pigado is. A professor of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, she says, planks target your abs and your lower back, strengthening your core and making your spine more stable. That will help you avoid injuries and pain if you can't hold a plank for a minute at first try 20 seconds, and work your way up more intelligence for your health from dermatologist Dr Stacy chimento. And according to the latest data, about one in eight people worldwide already follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, and half of us say we've considered making the switch at some point. Of course, there are many health benefits to eating only plant based foods, but Dr schimento says one potential drawback is that you may start experiencing significant hair loss. Having a vegan diet, it's not going to directly cause hair loss, but a lot of patients will come in complaining of a lot of hair shedding, which we call telogen effluvium. You know, the hair is so sensitive, and I do put that is in the actual category of the skin itself, because, again, the hair is meant to be a protection for our scalp. So you know, a lot of times when you're vegan, your diet is actually lacking to specific nutrients. Your body needs protein, it needs iron, it needs zinc. So a lot of times with vegan diets. These are the three components that we see that they're having a deficiency. So whether you do a supplementation for that to augment your current diet, that's always advisable. And you know, a lot of times when patients start adding in these supplements back into the diet, they will see that the hair shedding itself will also lessen. Obviously, you know, patients that don't have these specific nutrients, you know, the skin, again, needs amino acids and needs very good nutrients in order for it to basically be healthy and to thrive. So it's okay to have you know, of course, it's okay to be vegan, but again, it's just to make sure that you're getting the proper nutrition that your skin and your hair needs if you have a problem and you're not sure what to do about it, climb some stairs. According to the journal Scientific Reports, climbing just three flights of stairs improves creative thinking, and it enables people to come up with 60% more solutions. That's because carefully placing your feet on the next step activates the brain's prefrontal cortex. That's the brain region involved in planning and problem solving. So you'll come up with more imaginative ideas and be more able to switch between them more quickly. Here's an email I received at Connie at intelligence for your health.com It comes from Gabrielle Perez, who writes, do you have a home remedy for a stuffy nose? Oh, I do. Gabrielle, try eucalyptus oil. Researchers at the Clayton College of Natural Health say eucalyptus oil fights stuffy noses and sore throats because it's a natural anti inflammatory and expectorant, which means it loosens phlegm and soothes a painful sore throat. So try this warm a damp washcloth in the microwave for a few seconds, then squeeze on a drop of eucalyptus oil, which you can get at a health food store, bring it to your face and inhale. You can do that daily when you're fighting a cold or allergies. Thank you for your email. Gabrielle, I hope this helps. Okay, listen to this. Anytime is a good time to exercise, but if you find it hard to exercise consistently, plan your workouts for the morning, because a new study in the journal exercise and sports sciences reviews found morning workouts are the most likely to become a regular habit that boosts fitness and weight loss. When scientists reviewed data on 1000s of overweight adults, they found those who exercised in the morning were the least likely to get sidetracked and cancel a workout, say because something came up or they just felt tired. The latest research is clear, if we want to add years to our lives, then we should be doing more activities that tap into our artistic and creative side, that includes writing, scrapbooking, doodling and taking pictures. University of Rochester researchers say one of the things people who live the longest have in common is taking opportunities to be creative human development professor Dr Nicholas turiano says creativity uses a variety of neural pathways in the brain, which is why it keeps us sharp. On top of that, creative people are also better at handling stress because they have an outlet for it. Being creative is a great way to sidestep our stressors and re channel our energy in a productive way. More intelligence for your health from Dermatologist, Dr Stacy shemento. If you'd like to know more about her, you can follow her on Instagram. Her handle there is Dr Stacy shemento, underscore, CP, and her last name is spelled C, H, I, M, E N, T. CEO, and in the past year, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons reported nearly 5 million cosmetic procedures involving injectables like Botox. And Nowadays it seems like you can get Botox anywhere, including at the dentist or a day spa. So I asked Dr chimento for some guidance on the safest people to turn to if you are considering getting an injectable. That's actually a very great question. Connie and I mean, obviously I'm biased, because I'm a dermatologist, but I always say, I always think it's best to actually seek a board certified dermatologist or even a board certified plastic surgeon for more invasive procedures, particularly if you're doing things to your face. So things such as neurotoxins or injectable fillers, should be sought out by professionals that have had extensive training in these subjects. As dermatologists, we have had, you know, five plus years training on all of these various injectables. And we know the skin better than anyone else. What I always say, you know, there's a lot of great injectors with the surge and esthetic world. There's a lot of medi spas and other providers that are doing injectables. And there's some great, you know, injectors. The issue that it comes down to is that when you do these injectables, and you do enough of them, you will have a complication. Everyone will have a complication at some point. And so it's important to go with a provider that can manage the complication quickly and they know what to do. And a lot of these providers are not extensively trained in this, nor are they extensively trained in facial anatomy or body anatomy, particularly with body contouring. So it's important to really, you know, vet your provider, find out what they're capable of, get their certification, and just to make sure that if there's a complication, you're in good hands. That's it for our show today, our special intelligence for your health with Connie Selig. Edition of the podcast, I'm Gib Gerard. Don't forget to rate comment and subscribe on Apple podcast. Spotify, wherever you get your podcast. It helps us out a lot, and also, you can reach out to us on social media. All of our links are listed down in the show notes. We try to respond to every DM, every mention of the show, because ultimately, we do the show for you guys. So thank you so much for listening. You.