The Body of Evidence

Latest Episodes:

Special - Dr. Labos on Weight Bias in Healthcare on HFMA's Voices in Healthcare Finance Podcast May 22, 2022

Show notes

The Body of Evidence is releasing an episode of HFMA’s Voices in Healthcare Finance podcast, which features an interview with Dr. Christopher Labos on the topic of weight bias in healthcare, including what health indicators to focus on instead of weight and how to help patients who are at risk improve their health outcomes without explicit or implicit fat shaming.

If you enjoy Voices in Healthcare Finance, you can find the show and subscribe to it here: https://hfma.podbean.com/

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!

081 - MSG / Artificial Sweeteners / Boosters Forever May 08, 2022

Show notes

What does the body of evidence say on the topic of MSG? Plus: we dig into a new study that alleges that artificial sweeteners are associated with a higher risk of cancer (but But BUT!), and will we keep boosting people against COVID every four months?

Block 1:

(2:05) MSG: what it is, where it comes from, and where it is used

Block 2:

(8:41) MSG: what it tastes like, the story of how it was maligned, and whether or not it causes harm

Block 3:

(27:26) New study on artificial sweeteners and cancer, and its pitfalls

Block 4:

(39:11) Forever boosters for COVID-19

* 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/.

To make a one-time donation to our show, you can now use PayPal! https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=9QZET78JZWCZE

Patrons get a bonus show on Patreon called “Digressions”! Check it out!

References:

1) The original paper on “Chinese-restaurant syndrome:” https://doi.org/10.1056/nejm196804042781419

2) The Colgate University article on Dr. Howard Steel: https://news.colgate.edu/magazine/2019/02/06/the-strange-case-of-dr-ho-man-kwok/

3) This American Life’s episode on Dr. Steel and Dr. Kwok: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/668/the-long-fuse

4) The only other scientific paper penned by Dr. Kwok: https://doi.org/10.1016/s0022-3476(67)80272-5

5) Study on intravenous administration of MSG: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.163.3869.826

6) Study #1 on MSG and flushing: https://doi.org/10.1016/s0190-9622(86)70161-8

7) Study #2 on MSG and flushing: https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/130.4.1058s

8) Study on MSG and headaches: https://doi.org/10.1186/s10194-016-0639-4

9) The FDA’s findings on MSG: https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/questions-and-answers-monosodium-glutamate-msg

10) Adam Ragusea’s video on MSG: https://youtu.be/E-POAKKH5IM

11) New study on artificial sweeteners and cancer risk: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003950

12) Second COVID booster has ‘marginal benefits’ in small study: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/972198

13) Jonathan’s article on a pan-coronavirus vaccine: https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19/future-proof-coronavirus-vaccine

Music Credits:

Shine Of Happiness by MusicLFiles

Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7537-shine-of-happiness

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Interview - Paul Ingraham on Quitting Massage Therapy Apr 24, 2022

Show notes

Chris and Jonathan welcome back to the show Paul Ingraham, the founder of PainScience.com. He charts his early days as a woo believer, his transformation into a skeptic, and the thing that got him in trouble with his massage therapy regulatory body: tone. Do healthcare regulators care for snark? Is it their role to tone-police their members? The Internet took many regulators by surprise and some overreacted. How do you kick the foxes out of the henhouse of massage therapy if the rule is that foxes should be treated as hens?

No time stamps for this one. It’s a story that goes from “crack” addiction to growing out of the adolescent phase of skepticism to the difference between evidence-based medicine and science-based medicine. And for the first time ever, our podcast has been turned all the way up to 11.

* 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) Paul Ingraham’s website: https://www.painscience.com/

2) Paul Ingraham’s Science-Based Medicine post on why he quit being a massage therapist: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/why-i-quit-my-massage-therapy-career/

Special - What's in a Name? Medical Edition Apr 10, 2022

Show notes

Fingers on buzzers! It’s the first (and possibly last) episode of What’s in a Name: Medical Edition! Join host Jonathan and his three contestants in figuring out the origin of common words used in biology and medicine! It’s fun, we swear!

In the hot seat: social media manager Melissa, medical resident Niko, and cardiologist Chris!

Who will win? Who will lose? Will their egos recover? Do points even matter? What are the rules again? You’ll hear about biceps, botulism, and that disease that got its name from a really old poem!

It’s What’s in a Name: Medical Edition!

Recorded in late December, 2021.

To contribute to The Body of Evidence, go to our Patreon page at: http://www.patreon.com/thebodyofevidence/.

To make a one-time donation to our show, you can now use PayPal! https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=9QZET78JZWCZE

Patrons get a bonus show on Patreon called “Digressions”! Check it out!

Music Credits:

Dark Secrets (DECISION) by Sascha Ende®

Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/246-dark-secrets-decision-

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Interview - Barbara Hofer and Gale Sinatra on Science Denial Mar 20, 2022

Show notes

Jonathan and Chris talk to Dr. Barbara Hofer and Dr. Gale Sinatra, the authors of the book Science Denial: Why It Happens and What to Do About It. It’s a course in skepticism 101 as they discuss decision-making, doing your own research, and the post-truth era.

1:46 Why write a book about science denial now?

4:50 Irrational decision-making

6:17 Politicizing science and manufacturing doubt

16:30 Just asking questions and doing your own research

22:51 How to refute misconceptions and a note on the backfire effect

30:43 Patience and empathy in the time of the pandemic

32:38 Algorithmic literacy

33:55 Are the deniers aware of the true reasons for their science denial?

36:00 The post-truth era

39:32 Solutions for harm reduction

* 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) The book Science Denial: https://www.sciencedenialbook.com/

2) The Debunking Handbook: https://www.climatechangecommunication.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/DebunkingHandbook2020.pdf

Cartoon #11: Contrarians in the Media Mar 11, 2022

Show notes

080 - Asthma / Screen Time / Exercise Motivation Mar 06, 2022

Show notes

What does the body of evidence say on the topic of asthma? Plus: how much time children spend in front of screens, and how to nudge people to go to the gym.

Block 1:

(3:15) Asthma: wheezing, similar diseases, how asthma is diagnosed

Block 2:

(10:53) Asthma: exercise-induced “asthma,” what is asthma, cold and thunderstorms as triggers, allergies, infections, treatments

Block 3:

(29:31) Screen time in children

Block 4:

(40:06) Nudging people to go to the gym

To leave a rating and/or review on iTunes (please do!!),

1) Click here: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-body-of-evidence/id980972442

2) Click on “Listen on Apple Podcasts” toward the top, under “Health & Fitness”

3) It will prompt you to open iTunes. Allow the pop-up and switch to iTunes

4) In iTunes, click on “Rating and Reviews”

If you already listen on an Apple device, you should be able to leave a review by accessing the show on that device’s native podcasting app.

* 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/.

To make a one-time donation to our show, you can now use PayPal! https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=9QZET78JZWCZE

Patrons get a bonus show on Patreon called “Digressions”! Check it out!

References:

1) Episode 43 on allergies: https://bodyofevidence.ca/043-allergies-and-organic-food

2) The 2019 Global Initiative for Asthma report: https://ginasthma.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Whats-new-in-GINA-2021_final_V2.pdf

3) How will new recommendations from the GINA report affect practice in Canada: https://www.cmaj.ca/content/192/17/E456?ijkey=00df329033338403c174cbb90af80401afad6136&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha

4) GINA FAQ on asthma: https://ginasthma.org/about-us/faqs/

5) Trial on combined budenoside-formoterol as needed in mild asthma: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1715274

6) Systematic review and meta-analysis on screen time in children 5 years and younger: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2789091

7) American Academy of Paediatrics’ guidelines on screen time: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/Pages/Where-We-Stand-TV-Viewing-Time.aspx

8) Canadian Paediatrics Society’s guidelines on screen time: https://caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/behavior-and-development/screen-time-and-young-children

9) Megastudy on nudging people to go to the gym: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-04128-4

Music Credits:

Lofi Chill Hip-Hop by WinnieTheMoog

Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6347-lofi-chill-hip-hop

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Tutorial 2 by Frank Schröter

Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/8965-tutorial-2

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Ambient Relaxing Background by MusicLFiles

Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/9007-ambient-relaxing-background

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Over The Rainbow by Sascha Ende®

Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/319-over-the-rainbow

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Interview - Brooke Binkowski on Joe Rogan and the Internet Feb 20, 2022

Show notes

Chris and Jonathan welcome back to the show journalist Brooke Binkowski from Truth or Fiction to discuss the Joe Rogan/Spotify controversy and how we got here. The discussion includes what makes someone a journalist in 2022 and how reactionaries and extremists were early adopters of the Internet.

2:10 Addressing common accusations

3:44 The saga

5:26 The mainstreaming of falsehoods

8:21 Lack of responsibility and JAQing off

10:06 The aesthetics of masculine rationality and The X-Files

15:15 From harmless folklore to antisemitism

18:35 What makes someone a journalist

26:31 Moderating audio content

29:20 The 1988 Internet and surf Nazis

36:14 Monster Island, Galt’s Gulch, and Ram Ranch

42:13 The Spotify seal of approval and YouTube’s feeble moderation

46:08 The next five years of reactionary populism

* 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!

And patrons will get a bonus segment from this interview in a week!

Links:

1) The Daily podcast on the Joe Rogan saga: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/11/podcasts/the-daily/joe-rogan-spotify.html

2) Jonathan’s article on Joe Rogan: https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19-health-and-nutrition-pseudoscience/science-vs-joe-rogan

3) The open letter to Spotify: https://spotifyopenletter.wordpress.com/2022/01/10/an-open-letter-to-spotify/

4) Aaron Rabinowitz’s article on Monster Island: https://www.skeptic.org.uk/2020/10/monster-island-free-speech-experiment/

5) God Awful Movies’ review of Atlas Shrugged, Part 1: https://www.stitcher.com/show/god-awful-movies/episode/337-atlas-shrugged-part-one-90134592

6) Truth or Fiction: https://www.truthorfiction.com/

7) Brooke on Twitter: https://twitter.com/brooklynmarie

079 - Dementia / Long COVID / No-Vax Tax Feb 07, 2022

Show notes

What does the body of evidence have to say on the topic of dementia or, to use a more recent term, major cognitive disorder? Plus: what (little) we know about long COVID, and we go over arguments for and against the no-vax tax that was recently debated in Quebec.

Block 1:

(3:04) Dementia: types of memory

Block 2:

(11:53) Dementia: Alzheimer’s, ApoE, vascular dementia, Lewy body disease, frontotemporal dementia, how to screen for and diagnose dementia, treatments, vitamin E, ginkgo, Aduhelm, preventative measures

Block 3:

(32:32) Long COVID: prevalence, symptoms, scientific challenges, hypotheses, vaccination

Block 4:

(49:35) No-vax tax debate

* 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/.

To make a one-time donation to our show, you can now use PayPal! https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=9QZET78JZWCZE

Patrons get a bonus show on Patreon called “Digressions”! Check it out!

References:

1) Cochrane review on cholinesterase inhibitors: https://www.cochrane.org/CD001190/DEMENTIA_donepezil-people-dementia-due-alzheimers-disease

2) Cochrane review on memantine: https://www.cochrane.org/CD003154/DEMENTIA_memantine-treatment-dementi

3) Cochrane review on vitamin E: https://www.cochrane.org/CD002854/DEMENTIA_use-vitamin-e-treatment-mild-cognitive-impairment-and-alzheimers-disease-ad

4) Vitamin E and heart failure: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15769967/

5) Vitamin E and mortality: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15537682/

6) Ginkgo biloba: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003120.pub3/full

7) Aduhelm: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2111320

8) Jimmy Fallon and Paris Hilton on NFTs: https://youtu.be/5zi12wrh5So?t=222

9) Impossible MoCA: https://twitter.com/juliareillymd/status/1237531126723252225

10) Jonathan’s article on long COVID: https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19/debilitating-puzzle-box-long-covid

11) Post-COVID Care Centers: https://www.survivorcorps.com/pccc

12) Public Health Agency of Canada’s living systematic review on long COVID: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.03.21258317v2

13) Canadian paper on the experiences of people living with long COVID: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.20.22269617v1

14) Long COVID hypotheses: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.698169/full

Music Credits:

Heroic Trailer by Rafael Krux

Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5359-heroic-trailer-

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Interview - Olivier Drouin on Children and COVID Jan 23, 2022

Show notes

Jonathan and Chris speak to Olivier Drouin, MD, MPH, a paediatrician and researcher in Montreal. The risk-benefit analyses regarding children, COVID-19, and the vaccines have received a lot of attention by journalists, parents, and peddlers of misinformation alike. “Myocarditis” is now a “boogeyword.” Olivier weighs in on how COVID affects children, the safety of the vaccines, and what to do about schools.

1:20 Not *that* Olivier Drouin

2:36 How COVID affects children

6:00 Risk factors

9:29 How Omicron affects children

13:25 Speculating on increased diabetes diagnoses

16:19 Vaccine safety in children and the focus on peri- and myocarditis

24:04 Vaccine hesitant parents

28:29 The school debate

41:58 Our elected officials

47:00 Research beyond COVID

* 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/.