HealthCare

Electric toothbrushes are better than manual toothbrushes because they take out the human error in brushing and help to keep your teeth healthy.
 
Transcript: "Hi there. Thanks for the question. Are electric toothbrushes better than manual toothbrushes? I would say they are. The reason being is that electric toothbrushes take out the human error in brushing. If you brush too hard or incorrectly, you can cause damage to the tooth structure in the form of abrasion or the gum line in the form of recession. The electric toothbrush allows the person who's using it to just go from tooth to tooth and the brush does the work for you. A manual toothbrush isn't necessarily bad, but if you're not using it correctly, you can cause that damage that we just spoke about. If you're using a manual toothbrush, please review with your dentist or your hygienist the proper brush technique. And remember, consistency is key. Always brush twice a day every day."

Annual periodicity, or taking a step back and thinking about a full year calendar as it relates to performance and health, is an uncommonly practiced fitness practice that is highly effective. Designating times of high volume/high intensity as well as times of rest and recovery is key to optimizing performance and long term health.
 
Transcript: "Hey Andrew, this is Dr. Baggish. Your question, what uncommon or controversial fitness practice do you believe are highly effective? Really caught my attention, and I wanted to share with you my thoughts. As someone that has the opportunity to work with a lot of high level athletes who are coached by some of the world's best coaches, one of the things I see, not practice with nearly enough attention is the concept of annual periodicity. And this is really stepping back and thinking about a full year calendar and as it relates to performance as well as health. The rough rule of thumb we use in our practice is that when you think about a 12 year calendar, at least three months out of that 12 month year should be spent in a phase of active recovery, which we define as decreasing both volume and intensity by at least 50%. The truth is that most fit people do the same thing over and over, day in day, out week in week out. And while this may help maintain some baseline level of fitness, it really is not the key to optimizing performance nor is it the key to long term health. So in essence, stepping back and thinking about the full year and designating times of high volume high intensity as well as times of rest and recovery is really one of the most controversial and uncommonly practiced things I see. I hope that helps and keep the questions coming."

The American Academy of Dermatology recommends using broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher. An SPF of 30 blocks about 97% of UVB rays, and an SPF of 50 blocks about 98%. An SPF of 100 blocks 99%, but giving people a false sense of security as they may stay in the sun longer and get more sunburns. It is important to reapply every 2 hours regardless of SPF.
 
Transcript: "So the American Academy of Dermatology recommends sunscreens be broad-spectrum, UVA/UVB coverage, that is an SPF of 30 or higher. And what that means, SPF of 30, is that it blocks about 97% of the sun's UVB rays. And UVB is what's responsible for burns and skin cancer. When you get up to an SPF of 50, you're blocking about 98%. And when you're at an SPF of 100, you're blocking 99%. So certainly that higher SPF is going to give you a little better blockage. But what we found is that these higher SPFs of 100, give people a false sense of security. And then they end up in the sun longer, and then they do get more sunburns. So what's important to know, regardless of the SPF, you need to reapply every 2 hours. If you have an SPF of 100, that doesn't mean it will last longer. Every 2 hours, you need to reapply an SPF 30, an SPF 50, or an SPF 100. So you know, pick your whatever sunscreen you're actually going to use, whether it's a lower number or a higher number at least 30 or higher though, and just reapply every 2 hours."

To prevent memory loss, exercise for 30 minutes five times a week, eat right, stay mentally active and socially engaged, and get a good night's sleep.
 
Transcript: "There are a number of things you can do to prevent memory loss. The most important thing is to exercise. The goal is to exercise for 30 minutes five times a week. It's also important to eat right. Avoid overeating, and avoid excessive alcohol. Stay mentally active and socially engaged. It's always good to challenge yourself with learning new activities. Staying socially engaged helps you prevent loneliness and depression, all things that can affect your memory. It's also very important to get a good night's sleep. Sleep is actually a restorative time for your brain. It helps your body reset. So four simple things to do to prevent memory loss is to eat right, exercise, stay active, and get a good night's sleep."

The benefits of using birth control, such as preventing unwanted pregnancy, usually outweigh the risks, which are minimal in terms of an increased risk of breast cancer. In fact, birth control pills are associated with a decreased risk of ovarian cancer.
 
Transcript: "For most women, the benefits of use of birth control, specifically the prevention of unwanted pregnancy, significantly outweigh the risks. The doses of hormone that are included in today's birth control pills are very small and are associated with a very small increased risk of breast cancer even in the setting of a significant family history of breast cancer. And so usually, the benefits of birth control pills do outweigh the risks. And it's also important to note that birth control pills are associated with a reduced risk of ovarian cancer."

Lightheadedness is a common complaint in internal medicine, and can have three main causes: orthostatic hypotension, cardiac causes, or vasovagal syncope. It is important to get checked if this is a new symptom for you.
 
Transcript: "So lightheadedness is a really common complaint in internal medicine and the causes can range from benign to serious. I will encourage you to get checked if this is a new symptom that you have. But maybe just describing an approach that many physicians take to it will be helpful. The language you use is really important. When we say dizziness, your health care provider usually thinks of dizziness as an altered relationship in space. And vertigo is the description of a motion sensation that's often described as spinning, either the room is spinning around a person or the person is spinning around in a room. And those causes of dizziness and vertigo are separate than lightheadedness. Now lightheadedness really has three main causes in internal medicine. One is orthostatic hypotension, your blood pressure dropping as you go to a sitting or standing position. The second is cardiac causes, so the heart's just not able to respond appropriately to get enough blood to the brain and you get symptoms of lightheadedness. And that can be due to an arrhythmia or to a valvular abnormality. And the final one is vasovagal syncope, which is actually quite common. And we have a nerve in our body, the vagus nerve, that when stimulated can really slow down the heart rate and cause symptoms of either almost fainting or fainting itself. And a number of things can stimulate your vagus nerve such as pain. So when people that faint, when they get their blood drawn, it often makes you think of vasovagal syncope. Thank you very much and keep the questions coming."