Dr. M's Women and Children First Podcast

Coronavirus Update #56 – This audiocast is a deeper dive into covid and children's mental health. In my opinion, our children’s mental and physical health need to take primacy over pandemic fear at this time. We will dive deeply here. Also, Omicron's sibling is the new variant BA.2. It appears to be very very similar to Omicron from the same lineage genetically with 50 amino acid changes. It is more infectious by 10-30% by most recent data. No data that it is more deadly to date in humans although a preprint article from a Japanese research group noted that in an animal model the disease is worse than BA.1 Omicron. (Yamasoba et. al. 2022) They noted more cellular fusion increasing infectivity and also more lung cell infection increasing morbidity. The immune protection from BA.1 against BA.2 was reduced by 6X. This does not mean that humans will respond the same way as the animal model results. It bears watching. So far, I have seen no data that humans are suffering worse disease. United States BA.2 numbers remain less than 10% likely due to the quality immunity achieved following the massive Omicron BA.1 surge the past 8 weeks. Our T and B cell immunity from BA.1 should serve to protect most of us from any issues with BA.2. Time will tell, but so far so good. Be well, Dr. M

Putting It All Together #3 - Dr. Rick Johnson and the Continued Fructose Story In this podcast, we go deeper into the amazing "Survival Switch" research of Dr. Johnson and his team. The evolutionary realities that are at play here are nothing short of astounding for every human alive. To understand this research is to understand a major piece of human disease etiology where the rubber meets the road. Please listen to Dr. Johnson's podcast #14 - link. before listening to this podcast if possible as they are reinforcing of each other. Best, Dr. M

Covid Update # 55 Now that we are passed the opinion Covid newsletter from 2 weeks ago, let us get back to the business of literature review. We need to maintain a sharp focus as a culture on inflammation reducing lifestyle choices to aid our long term survival. The powers that be need to push a stronger narrative around healthy living through education. These issues should be straight forward education with a love bend. This is not a time for the policy makers to act as if they know what is best for us. More that we could all benefit by making these choices for our collective health. We need congress to subsidize healthy food over processed junk as is occurring now. This week is a heavy focus on Long Covid or PACS. Next covid update will focus on mental health. Enjoy, Dr. M

SPA Audiocast Newsletter Letters 4, 6 and 8 In this issue we discuss the story of fructose, letting go and forgiveness and preparation for allergy season. There is a lot of news to use in this audiocast for allergy season preparation and how to release emotional hurts. Enjoy, Dr. M

Today's guest is Ashley Merryman the best selling author of Nurture Shock. As a social science writer of distinction, she has written for Newsweek, Time, the New York Times, the Washington Post on various topics related to parenting and children. Her work has been cited as a research authority in 80 academic journals and 260 books, and it is being used as text in universities around the world. Educational stops included a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, a J.D. from the Georgetown University’s Law Center, and a Certificate in Irish Studies from Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland. What she really is is a great speaker on the hard topics of science and social existence. This is a one hour journey through 2 major topics. Please enjoy my conversation with Ashley Merryman, Dr. M

Journal Club #1 with Andrew Brackins MSIII and Zach Strong, FNP – Topic #1 - Milk and Health - Is milk necessary for health? Is it possibly unhealthy? Do we need it for bone health? What are the milk based diseases of intolerance and allergy. These questions and more are explored. Multi Inflammatory Syndrome - Dr. Alessio Fasano has published some landmark research on children who suffer a post COVID inflammatory disease that is deadly. We break down his research and what we can takeaway from it for health. Enjoy, Dr. M

Docsmo and I do a book review for you of How to Raise Kids Who Aren't Assholes. I hope you enjoy our discussion of the merits of this book. Dr. M

Coronavirus Update #54 - This audiocast is a deeper dive into policy and opinion based on the same for Omicron. In my opinion, our children's mental and physical health need to take primacy over pandemic fear at this time. They are in a very very very low risk scenario from COVID, however, they remain in a high risk scenario from a mental and metabolic health perspective. The scales do not favor current school based mitigation measures based on risk and health from Omicron and the downstream events relate to it. If you are a young person, boosting is questionable, especially if you are a male with myocarditis risk. The WHO and European Union are not recommending it at this time. The CDC is recommending down to age 12. Let us say that you are 18 years old and male. If a young adult receives a third dose of an mRNA vaccine which provides marginal to no transmission benefit for 90 to 110 days and minimal disease severity reduction because it is already almost zero after a 2 dose series, what is the point. Are our youth supposed to protect the unvaccinated? The vaccinated and boosted with risk factors? For how long? Then what? Do it again, and again every three months as immunity wanes rapidly? Has this ever been done before or well studied? Nope. Be well, Dr. M

Richard J. Johnson, M.D. is the Tomas Berl Professor of Medicine and the Chief of the Renal Division and Hypertension at the University of Colorado since 2008. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with a major in Anthropology, and a graduate of the University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, he is a physician and nephrologist whose research has focused on the role of sugar, and especially fructose, in driving obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease. Much of this work has explored the role of fructose metabolism, especially the generation of uric acid, in driving this phenotype, and his work has included studies ranging from molecular biology, integrative physiology, and evolutionary biology. He is the author of The Sugar Fix which introduced the first low fructose diet, and also The Fat Switch which explores the role of fructose in driving the obesity epidemic. His newest book, Nature Wants Us To Be Fat, is a tour de force of the entire pathway of survival via metabolic events in the body related to fructose and the polyol pathway. This is a must read book. This podcast will introduce you to the exceptional work of Dr. Johnson and how we are now mismatched metabolically for the environment of modern America and our food systems. Please enjoy this wide ranging conversation. Dr. M

11 Years Gone by! What have we learned in 2021? 1) Covid is truly remarkable and also a major pain in the .... Messaging and political policies have been mostly dysfunctional and persist in many places today. The vaccine effort has been nothing less than heroic and saved countless lives. Media companies and the CDC continue to avoid the elephant in the room, poor quality nutrition, obesity and metabolic self induced derangements. Life continues for most of us while we mourn the loss of those that have succumbed to COVID. Getting significant COVID illness portends high death risk acutely and during the first year after recovery by a significant margin. Vaccination for high risk groups is the only chance of reducing this risk. See this mortality Graph (Manious et. al. 2021) Lymphatics Lymphatics - a plumbing system that follows the circulatory system throughout the body including the brain where it is called the glymphatics. The function of these passively moving tubes is to transport fats around the body, clear cellular debris returning it to the liver and spleen, move fluid in and out of tissue to maintain fluid balance, transport and help immune cells function. These are critical functions of metabolism, immunity and detoxification that when disrupted lead to chronic diseases of aging including edema, hypertension, autoimmunity and cardiovascular disease. Enjoy, Dr. M For the written newsletter visit: https://www.salisburypediatrics.com/patient-education/dr-magryta-s-newsletter

COVID Omicron Update #2: Let’s continue to breakdown the new variant and what we know overall. The world according to SARS2 Covid 19 is now the world according to Omicron. What does this mean for us today? How are the vaccines faring? Boosters? Natural illness? Enjoy, Dr. M

Dr. Peter Rowe is a Professor of Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is the inaugural Sunshine Natural Wellbeing Foundation Professor of Chronic Fatigue and Related Disorders and serves as the Director of the Chronic Fatigue Clinic at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. His areas of clinical expertise include chronic fatigue syndrome and other disorders characterized by fatigue and orthostatic intolerance. Dr. Rowe and his colleagues were the first to describe the relationship between chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and treatable orthostatic intolerance syndromes, as well as the association between Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and CFS. In this episode, Dr. Rowe and I dive deep into CFS and long Covid for both the parent and the clinician. We set the stage for a better understanding of this complex disorder in order to encourage earlier diagnosis and better therapy. Please Enjoy, Dr. M

COVID Omicron Update: There is a ton of interesting information flying around about Omicron and the pandemic in general. Today, I breakdown the new variant and what we know overall. It is time to get the facts out there and not just the case volume hype. COVID Omicron Update: Let's breakdown the new variant and what we know overall.We need a new look at this situation. The world according to SARS2 Covid 19 Delta is changing to a newer Omicron reality. What does this mean? Enjoy, Dr. M

Coronavirus Updates #50 and 51 – Listen to the latest data driven perspectives on the pandemic and soon to be endemic COVID world. Omicron, vaccines, boosters, prevention and what is happening now are covered. For the written versions please visit: https://www.salisburypediatrics.com/patient-education/dr-magryta-s-newsletter

This week on the show, I sit down to put the recent four maternal/child health podcasts into perspective. How are these four experts tied together? We, again, examine the basic underpinnings of maternal health risks through the eyes of these thought leaders in preparation for the next series of discussions. Laying important foundations to build our health literacy upon, is critical in my mind. This show is also a way for the folks that are "on the go" to get a summary of the podcasts for their benefit. Enjoy, Dr. M

Newsletter #48 - Biological Clock and Aging What do we really know about aging? We know that it accelerates under chronic unremitting stress of varied sources. Including - chronic high fat and sugar laden westernized diets, chronic chemical or drug exposure or acute if a toxic load, chronic sedentary behavior, chronic metal sadness or abuse, physical abuse, injury that is profound and much more. It is no wonder looking at that list that we are aging poorly now despite high quality medical interventions that keep us alive. Thus, what is our biological clock say about our age versus the chronological clock of age. Think of this as how old do you appear biologically or cellularly versus how old you really are by days. Newsletter #50 - Breastmilk is a Miracle of Evolution After the birth of a child, a beautiful event occurs and provides a point of visceral connection physically and epigenetically between mom and her babe. That event is breastfeeding. Mother’s milk is an evolutionary marvel whereby a mother dedicates part of her energy stores to her offspring for survival. She gives of herself literally and figuratively even during periods of food scarcity. Over thousands of years, humans have evolved this dynamic and rich fluid to promote species survival in the context of our dependent selves as babies. We have massive brains needing large amounts of energy to grow and mother’s milk is the culmination of the species learned process of survival. Human milk is the perfect dynamic personalized food for an infant to thrive. It is different for each mother child dyad. It changes based on environmental and human flux. It is in simple terms the best food for a newborn while simultaneously being the best medicine for all that ails a newborn. Enjoy, DR. M For the written newsletter visit: https://www.salisburypediatrics.com/patient-education/dr-magryta-s-newsletter

Lily Nichols and I had a lovely discussion on maternal nutrition for podcast episode #12. Lily Nichols is a registered dietician and a seeker of best practices in nutrition based on cutting edge science and not American Diatetic Association dogma. She is thoughtful and dedicated to helping mothers and mother's to be navigate the crazy world of food and health. Her website states: Standard prenatal nutrition advice is due for an overhaul. Evidence is mounting that real food offers optimal nourishment for mamas and babies. This statement encapsulates everything that I believe in. We need change around our relationship to food and health and there is no more important place to start than with mom. I hope that you enjoy my conversation with Lily Nichols, Dr. M

Coronavirus Updates #48 and 49 – Listen to the latest data driven perspectives on the pandemic and soon to be endemic COVID world. Vaccines, boosters, prevention and what is happening now are covered. For the written versions please visit: https://www.salisburypediatrics.com/patient-education/dr-magryta-s-newsletter Enjoy, Dr. M

Dr. EA Quinn and I had a wide ranging discussion on breastmilk from an evolutionary perspective for podcast episode #11. Dr. Quinn is a biological anthropologist with a specialty in human biology. Her research is broadly focused on understanding the ways in which human milk is an essential part of human biological variation and how such variation has been selected for by different ecological pressures. Her primary research project at present is Infancy @Altitude, a longitudinal birth cohort study of ethnic Tibetan mothers and infants living in the Nubri Valley, Nepal. She is investigating the ways in which ecological pressures – in this case the ecological pressures of hypoxia, chronic cold stress, shorter growing seasons, UV radiation, and infectious diseases – create selective pressures on human milk and how this translates into adaptive patterns of child growth. One of the major findings of this research was elevated milk fat in the high altitude sample compared to other previously studied human populations and lower levels of metabolic hormones than predicted based on maternal body composition. Breastmilk is a magical human derived food and medicine all wrapped up into one. The magnificence of human milk is on full display during this hour long podcast. I hope that you enjoy my conversation with Dr. EA Quinn, Dr. M

Dr. Danny Benjamin joins me again to discuss COVID19 delta variant in children, vaccines and the critical research that his team performed regarding back to school in North Carolina. He is the Kiser Arena Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics at Duke University and the Principle Investigator of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Pediatric Trials Network. His group performed two large trials of children going back to school in 2020 effectively proving that children being in school face to face was and is safe. We discuss the safety of the mRNA vaccines in the 5 to 12 year old age group. Enjoy my conversation with Dr. Danny Benjamin, Dr. M

Audiocast #44 - Emulsifiers The science behind emulsifiers and human safety is in question. What do we know about emulsifiers currently? Do we understand the mechanisms of risk? Can we make better decisions based on the science? We explore these questions and more this week. Audiocast #46 - Fluoride Why do we use fluoride to protect our teeth? Does it make evolutionary sense? What does the science say about the effects of flouride on our teeth? Can we do a better job of protecting our teeth via other avenues? These are the topics explored here today. Enjoy, Dr. M

Dr. Tracy Shafizadeh is a nutritional scientist, speaker, and author with over 15 years of experience in scientific communications and life science research. Prior to serving as the Director of Scientific Communications at Evolve BioSystems, she led both product development and research services at various start-up life science companies, including Lipomics Technologies, Tethys Bioscience and Metabolon, Inc. Dr. Shafizadeh received her PhD in nutritional biology from UC Davis, studying intestinal development and folate metabolism in newborns. Today, we spend the hour discussing the maternal and infant microbiome with respect to maternal breastmilk, human milk sugars and childhood outcome. Evolve Biosystems has produced a probiotic with excellent science to help guide us in new therapeutic discovery. We head to the beginnings of disease onset when the infant is only starting to take his or her first breaths. I hope that you enjoy my conversation with Dr. Tracy Shafizadeh, Dr. M

Coronavirus Updates #46 and 47 – Listen to the latest data driven perspectives on the pandemic and soon to be endemic COVID world. Vaccines, boosters, prevention and what is happening now are covered. For the written versions please visit: https://www.salisburypediatrics.com/patient-education/dr-magryta-s-newsletter Best, Dr. M