The Body of Evidence

Dr. Christopher Labos
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May 23, 2021 • 1h 2min

Interview - Clay Jones on Newborns and Kids

Jonathan and Chris delve into the world of newborns and medical care for children with Dr. Clay Jones, a paediatrician who practices in Massachusetts and who regularly writes for the Science-Based Medicine blog. From preventing SIDS to treating a fever (or not), we go through our listeners' questions. In a week, our patrons will get a bonus episode with more from Clay! 2:04 COVID-19 vaccines in kids 6:27 "I'm not anti-vaccine but…" says Texas paediatrician 12:17 Chiropractic in children and babies 20:07 Best temperature for newborns (in Fahrenheit!) 22:36 Are diapers bad for the baby? 25:25 Safe sleeping 30:00 What predisposes to SIDS? 32:16 Do newborns dream? (An Inception on Elm Street) 37:37 Baby slings and hip dysplasia 42:57 Long-term outcome of very premature babies 45:44 Apgar scores (to get into daycare) 48:28 Fever 51:49 Teething 54:44 Recurring infections in kindergarten 57:16 RyRy's impossible question * Theme music: "Fall of the Ocean Queen" by Joseph Hackl. 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! Links: 1) Clay Jones at Science-Based Medicine: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/author/clayjones/ 2) Clay Jones on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SBMPediatrics
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May 9, 2021 • 1h 3min

071 - Menopause and Psychedelics

Menopause: definition, early menopause, hot flashes, gabapentin, clonidine, CBT, mindfulness, exercising, phytoestrogens, black cohosh, acupuncture, and hormone replacement therapy // Magic mushrooms versus antidepressants // A rant about merchants of doubt * Jingle by Joseph Hackl * Theme music: "Fall of the Ocean Queen" by Joseph Hackl. * Assistant researcher: Nicholas Koziris 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: 1) Age at menopause: https://academic.oup.com/humrep/article/16/9/2014/2915909 2) Age at menopause: https://doi.org/10.1097/gme.0b013e31820ed6d2 3) Ethnicity as a predictor of menopause: https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwn046 4) Ethnicity as a predictor of menopause: https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/153.9.865 5) Complementary therapies for menopause: https://doi.org/10.1016/s0029-7844(02)02005-7 6) Complementary therapies for menopause: https://doi.org/10.1097/gme.0b013e318199d5e6 7) Non-hormonal treatment for hot flashes: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK72751/ 8) Cochrane review of phytoestrogens: https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd001395.pub4 9) Cochrane review of black cohosh: https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD007244.pub2 10) Cochrane review of acupuncture: https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd007410.pub2 11) Women's Health Initiative study: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/195120 12) New trial comparing psilocybin to escitalopram for depression: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2032994 13) Jonathan's video about the psychedelic renaissance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlYDMbxAdoo 14) Our episode on nootropics: https://bodyofevidence.ca/053-smart-drugs-and-fluoride 15) Our episode on antidepressants: https://bodyofevidence.ca/029-antidepressants-and-fluoride Music Credits: Tribute To Commondore by Frank Schröter Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7791-tribute-to-commondore License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
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Apr 18, 2021 • 1h 5min

070 - Car Safety and the AstraZeneca Saga

Car safety: the evidence behind seatbelts, air bags, booster seats, winter tires, and turning right on red // the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine saga, with the risk of blood clots explained // the claim that 1 in 3 people with COVID-19 will develop a neuropsychiatric condition. * Jingle by Jillian Correia of Roctavio Canada * Theme music: "Fall of the Ocean Queen" by Joseph Hackl. * Assistant researcher: Nicholas Koziris 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: 1) Causes of death according to the CDC: https://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/leadcause.html 2) Traffic safety facts from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA): https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812683 3) Booster seat use in older children in Washington state: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5522634/ 4) The danger of premature graduation to seat belts for young children: https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/105/6/1179 5) A new measure making winter tires mandatory in Quebec: http://conf.tac-atc.ca/english/resourcecentre/readingroom/conference/conf2010/docs/k2/fournier-e.pdf 6) Hilda Bastian's article on the risk of clotting with AZ's vaccine: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/03/astrazeneca-vaccine-blood-clot-issue-wont-go-away/618451/ 7) The Lancet Psychiatry study on neuropsychiatric outcomes of COVID-19 patients: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(21)00084-5/fulltext Music Credits: Dark Secrets (DECISION) by Sascha Ende® Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/246-dark-secrets-decision- License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Funny Adventures by WinnieTheMoog Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6048-funny-adventures License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
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Apr 4, 2021 • 53min

Interview - Gid M-K on Australia's COVID-19 Response

Chris and Jonathan discuss Australia's COVID-19 response with epidemiologist Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz and compare it to Canada's. Do lockdowns work? Are school closures necessary? Have we learned anything about how to manage a pandemic? The answers often turn out to be, "It depends…." 1:47 Gid in the eye of the European storm 3:45 Australia's immediate response to COVID-19 5:52 Canada's jet-lagged mandate to quarantine travellers 8:00 Was Australia lucky? 10:33 The May 2020 outbreak 14:58 Australians do love their laws / Right-wing liberals 20:00 Contact tracing in Quebec and Australia 25:45 The best approach to contain a pandemic 29:25 Did we learn anything? 35:12 Do lockdowns work? 38:30 Do lockdowns cause more benefits or harm? 40:45 Are school closures necessary? 44:55 The problem with the news 49:04 Predictions * Theme music: "Fall of the Ocean Queen" by Joseph Hackl. 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! Links: 1) Gid M-K on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GidMK 2) Gid M-K's blog on Medium: https://gidmk.medium.com/ 3) Gid M-K's podcast, Sensationalist Science: https://soundcloud.com/senscipod
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Mar 21, 2021 • 58min

Special - Medical Specialties Part 1

In this special episode, Jonathan asks Chris to rank medical specialties from super-amazing to garbage! You totally won't believe the specialty he ranks at the very top! But hey, while he's ranking them, you might learn a thing or two about what these different breeds of doctors do! The recording ran long, so we're splitting this into two episodes. Part 2 will be released at some point in the future. Subscribe so that you don't miss it! * Theme music: "Fall of the Ocean Queen" by Joseph Hackl. 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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Mar 9, 2021 • 58min

069 - UTIs and the iPhone 12

UTIs: sex differences / antibiotics / self-diagnosis / cranberry juice / probiotics / D-mannose / drinking water / peeing after sex / contraception / topical estrogen. iPhone 12's effect on pacemakers and implanted defibrillators. COVID-19 vaccines: Johnson & Johnson's / AstraZeneca's / variants / scams. * Jingle by Joseph Hackl * Theme music: "Fall of the Ocean Queen" by Joseph Hackl. * Assistant researcher: Nicholas Koziris 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: 1) Statistics from the American Urological Association: https://www.urologyhealth.org/healthy-living/urologyhealth-extra/magazine-archives/summer-2016/understanding-utis-across-the-lifespan 2) Urinary Tract Infection Syndromes: Occurrence, Recurrence, Bacteriology, Risk Factors, and Disease Burden: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891552013000743?via%3Dihub 3) Patient-initiated treatment of uncomplicated recurrent urinary tract infections in young women: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11434727/ 4) Antibiotic sparing strategy: https://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h6544 5) Cochrane review on Cranberries for preventing urinary tract infections: https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD001321.pub5 6) Cranberry Extract for Symptoms of Acute, Uncomplicated Urinary Tract Infection: A Systematic Review: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/10/1/12 7) Cochrane review on Probiotics for preventing urinary tract infections in adults and children: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD008772.pub2/full 8) Systematic review of the literature on D-mannose for recurrent UTIs: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32972899/ 9) Fluid intake to prevent recurrent UTIs: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6584323/ 10) Prevention and treatment of uncomplicated lower urinary tract infections in the era of increasing antimicrobial resistance-non-antibiotic approaches: a systemic review: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00404-019-05256-z 11) The Role of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Young Women With Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections: To Treat or Not to Treat? https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/cis534 12) INESSS Antibiotic Guidelines: https://www.inesss.qc.ca/fileadmin/doc/INESSS/Outils/GUO/Anglo/Guide_InfectionUrinaire_EN_WEB.pdf Music Credits: Joy And Optimism (loopable) by chilledmusic Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7580-joy-and-optimism-loopable- License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Long Road Ahead by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/3996-long-road-ahead License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
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Feb 21, 2021 • 60min

Interview - OmiSoore Dryden on Racism in Healthcare

Jonathan and Chris discuss the impact of racism within the Canadian healthcare system with Dr. OmiSoore Dryden, an associate professor at Dalhousie University and the current holder of the James R. Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies. They talk about the effect of the pandemic on minorities and racialized groups, and why there's more to Africa than elephants. 1:58 A Chair in Black Canadian Studies 4:40 Black medical students 11:14 The pandemic's effect on minorities 17:08 The grey economy 18:07 Biological versus socioeconomic risk factors 28:48 How to have conversations about systemic racism 32:53 Canada's "universal healthcare" 38:00 The meaning of anti-racism 43:00 #GotBlood2Give and the barriers to donating blood 53:23 The tainted blood scandal 55:42 Racism is impacting your patients' lives * Theme music: "Fall of the Ocean Queen" by Joseph Hackl. 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! Links: 1) OmiSoore Dryden's personal website: https://omisooredryden.com/ 2) OmiSoore Dryden's profile at Dalhousie University: https://medicine.dal.ca/departments/department-sites/community-health/our-people/our-faculty/omisoore-dryden-.html 3) OmiSoore Dryden on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JRJCHAIR 4) Her article in The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-discriminates-against-black-lives-through-surveillance-policing-and-the-absence-of-health-data-135906 5) Jonathan's article about race and biology: https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/health-general-science/are-you-there-race-its-me-dna
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Feb 7, 2021 • 1h 4min

068 - Health Behaviour Change and Delayed Second Doses

Changing lifestyle habits: advertising, taxes, behavioural counselling, incentives, text messages, apps, scared straight, genetic information, city design // Delaying the second COVID-19 vaccine dose // COVID-19 update: colchicine, rapid tests, children and variants. * Jingle by Jillian Correia of Roctavio Canada * Theme music: "Fall of the Ocean Queen" by Joseph Hackl. * Assistant researcher: Nicholas Koziris 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: 1) Food marketing to children: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC416565/ 2) Generalizable and robust TV advertising effects: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3273476, https://freakonomics.com/podcast/advertising-part-1/, https://freakonomics.com/podcast/advertising-part-2/ 3) American Heart Association's 7 ideal lifestyle factors: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4556343/ 4) Cigarette taxes: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0204416 5) Cigarette tax in Colombia: https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/28/4/374 6) Cigarette tax in China: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(15)70095-1/fulltext 7) Cigarette tax in Lebanon: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5115647/ 8) Cigarette tax in Korea: https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/25/2/141 9) Sugar tax in Philadelphia: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2733208 10) Sugar tax in Spain: https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-019-7908-5 11) Cochrane review on smoking cessation: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD013229.pub2/abstract 12) Review of smoking cessation apps: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21335258/ 13) Cochrane review on encouraging exercise: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010392.pub2/full 14) Implementing sidewalks: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24380471/ 15) The walking school bus: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3164094/ 16) Impact of new bike lanes: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23334767/ 17) Recess in elementary school: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3074953/ 18) Gym class: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17328052/ 19) Chris' Montreal Gazette article on delaying the second vaccine dose: https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-risks-of-altering-vaccination-protocols-are-unknown 20) Annals of Internal Medicine modelling study on alternative dose allocation strategies: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/m20-8137 21) McGill OSS live stream with Dr. Don Sheppard: https://youtu.be/peursUpKnx8 22) Report from Israel about effectiveness of one dose: https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n217 23) BBC article about Israel vaccine fears 'out of context and inaccurate': https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55734257 24) Press release for colchicine trial: https://www.icm-mhi.org/en/pressroom/news/colchicine-reduces-risk-covid-19-related-complications 25) Pre-print manuscript for colchicine trial: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.26.21250494v1 26) Spartan Bioscience says Health Canada approves rapid COVID-19 test: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/spartan-bioscience-covid-19-test-approved-1.5885284 Music Credits: End Of Summer by Frank Schröter Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6633-end-of-summer License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Dramatic Riser by Rafael Krux Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5401-dramatic-riser- License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Dramatic Trailer by Rafael Krux Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5633-dramatic-trailer- License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Cinema Blockbuster Trailer 15 by Sascha Ende Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4952-cinema-blockbuster-trailer-15 License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Cinema Blockbuster Trailer 13 (99FIRE-FILMS AWARD) by Sascha Ende Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/3137-cinema-blockbuster-trailer-13-99fire-films-award- License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
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Jan 24, 2021 • 1h

Interview - Alan Levinovitz on Expertise

Chris and Jonathan discuss expertise and intellectual humility with Alan Levinovitz, a professor of religion, frequent guest on A User's Guide to Cheating Death, and the author of the book Natural. As facts, arguments, and content flood our attention, how can we know whom to trust when our health is at stake? This month's drinking game revolves around the word "adjudicate." Drink responsibly! 1:11 The Anthony Fauci lie 2:14 A theologian on expertise 9:12 Tribalism 16:04 John Ioannidis and COVID-19 21:34 ScientificConsensus.com 26:09 The onslaught of contrarian content 32:30 People should be suspicious of sexiness in their epidemiology 35:25 When your job is to uncover hidden truths…. 39:30 A looming epistemic crisis and how to avoid it 49:16 On intellectual humility 57:33 Twitter hiatus * Theme music: "Fall of the Ocean Queen" by Joseph Hackl. 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! Links: 1) Alan Levinovitz on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlanLevinovitz 2) Alan Levinovitz's book, Natural: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/50128614 3) Thorpe's Science editorial on the value of debating science in the public arena: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/371/6526/213/tab-pdf
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Jan 5, 2021 • 1h 34min

067 - The COVID-19 Vaccines

Jonathan and Chris take the time to go over the data on COVID-19 vaccines and to answer the many, many questions they have received about them. * Cover of "Ooh Child" by Joseph Hackl * Theme music: "Fall of the Ocean Queen" by Joseph Hackl. * Assistant researcher: Nicholas Koziris * Special guest star: Morgan Sweeney of the Magic of the Mind podcast 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! Index: Vaccine Development 04:20 Types of COVID-19 vaccines 09:55 RNA vaccine technology 14:45 Rushed vaccines 20:18 COVID vaccine but no HIV vaccine? 23:44 Vaccine ingredients 27:31 COVID vaccines linked to HIV? 36:21 Manufacturing only Pfizer's vaccine Efficacy 40:20 Efficacy at preventing COVID-19 47:07 Vaccines and asymptomatic transmission 48:37 Duration of protection 50:23 Virus mutations and vaccines Safety 54:06 Claim about RNA vaccines altering the genome 55:11 Claim about infertility 56:13 Side effects from the vaccines 58:50 Bell's palsy and fainting 1:01:58 Long-term safety 1:05:06 Conspiracy theory about Big Pharma and liability Practical Considerations 1:12:25 Cold storage 1:13:58 Two doses 1:15:17 Choosing your favourite vaccine 1:16:28 Who gets vaccinated first? 1:18:50 Masks and physical distancing after vaccination 1:19:27 What if if you have had COVID? 1:20:30 What if you are pregnant? 1:21:37 What if you are immunocompromised? 1:22:56 What if I have a history of severe allergies? 1:24:50 What if I am young and healthy? 1:25:46 What if I am a child? 1:26:29 When will things go back to normal? References: 1) COVID19 Vaccine Tracker: https://covid19.trackvaccines.org/how-do-vaccines-work/ 2) Previous segment on RNA vaccines: https://bodyofevidence.ca/062-infertility-and-rna-vaccines 3) Episode of Sawbones on COVID-19 vaccines: https://maximumfun.org/episodes/sawbones/covid-vaccine-questions-and-answers/ 4) Previous episode on HIV: https://bodyofevidence.ca/061-hiv-and-covid-19-therapies 5) AntiAntiVax: https://antiantivax.flurf.net/ 6) Ingredients in Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine: https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/12/09/1013538/what-are-the-ingredients-of-pfizers-covid-19-vaccine 7) Ingredients in Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-products/covid19-industry/drugs-vaccines-treatments/vaccines/moderna.html#a11 8) The University of Queensland's COVID vaccine and false positive HIV tests: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australian-covid-vaccine-terminated-due-to-hiv-false-positives-20201210-p56mju.html 9) The Lancet letter about the use of adenovirus type 5 used in vaccines: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32156-5/fulltext 10) FDA briefing document on Pfizer's vaccine: https://www.fda.gov/media/144245/download 11) FDA briefing document on Moderna's vaccine: https://www.fda.gov/media/144434/download 12) Data on duration of protection from vaccine in phase I trial participants: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2032195?query=RP 13) An in-depth, very scientific explanation for why RNA vaccines can't alter your genome: https://www.deplatformdisease.com/blog/no-really-mrna-vaccines-are-not-going-to-affect-your-dna 14) The nurse who fainted during vaccination did not die: https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-nurse-covid-vaccine-dead-idUSKBN29629G 15) Canadian no-fault vaccine injury program announcement: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/news/2020/12/government-of-canada-announces-pan-canadian-vaccine-injury-support-program.html 16) A look at vaccine safety in the past 20 years: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-2726

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