Tag Archives: behavior

Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #60 – Moshe Szyf, Ph.D. – Hope and Epigenetics Part 2

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This week’s guest is Professor Moshe Szyf.
This is the second story of hope for us as a species. We have a level of control over our outcome that is baked into our DNA.
Dr. Moshe Szyf joins the show today to discuss the social programming of the epigenome. Dr. Szyf and his colleague Dr. Meaney proposed over two decades ago the first set of evidence that the “social environment” early in life can alter DNA methylation launching the emerging field of “social epigenetics”. He also has illustrated that DNA methylation is a prime therapeutic target in cancer and other diseases to be explored and potentially manipulated for health.
“Together, they discovered that our genetic code, the actual sequential structure of our DNA, can pretty much shrug off the influence of any external environmental factors, short of massive radiation. However, the expression of individual genes within that sequence can be permanently altered by such seemingly innocuous influences as diet or how others treat us. Once triggered, a group of molecules called a methyl group attaches itself to the control centre of a gene, permanently switching on or off the manufacture of proteins that are essential to the workings of every cell in our body. In most tumours, this DNA methylation pattern has been knocked awry, leading to a gene being completely deactivated or triggered to abnormally high activity.” (McGill Reporter)
Dr. Szyf received his Ph. D from the Hebrew University and did his postdoctoral fellowship in Genetics at Harvard Medical School before he joined the department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He currently holds the James McGill Professorship in Pharmacology. He is the founding co-director of the Sackler Institute for Epigenetics and Psychobiology at McGill and is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Experience-based Brain and Biological Development program. Szyf has been the founder of the first “Pharma” to develop epigenetic pharmacology “Methylgene Inc.” and the first journal in epigenetics “Epigenetics”.
Please enjoy my conversation with Dr. Moshe Szyf,
Enjoy,
Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 13 Issue 46

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Delaying Gratification and Dopamine
When we think of our current societal view on raising children, we have a conundrum. We want our children to experience the world as it is progressing through a technological viewpoint, a growth mentality. What does that mean? . When technology enters the learning process, we progress at log rates. We can process more information and incorporate it into our memory. For a simple example, let’s look back in time. When I was in school, I had to go to the library and search through the library’s archaic dewey decimal system to find a book to reference for information for a project or assignment. Time wasting to say the least compared to the internet age. It took forever to accumulate old data that was in a book. No real time action…Also a mini literature review and a recipe of the week.
Enjoy,
Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 13 Issue 45

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Nature Deprivation Disorder: As we are getting closer to the end of the year and the cold strikes us hard in the face, we have a tendency to hunker down indoors and avoid the outside. Video games and screens are omnipresent in many of our children’s lives. They pervade their thoughts. They significantly limit their self-driven need and desire to explore, imagine and be present with nature, silence and life as it exists around them. Nature and natural actions are some of the best teachers of rational action and normalcy in any ecosystem….Autism etiology and a recipe round out the week.

Enjoy,

Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 13 Issue 41

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Literature Review:

  1. Over the past 15 years we have noted a connection between the intestinal microbiome and allergic/autoimmune disease activity in humans. This study continues to pull on this thread of knowledge. We see a direct correlation between a dysbiotic microbiome and human disease risk as young as 5 years of age. The upstream targets remain the same. Healthy food, avoidance of chemicals, consistent daily movement, exposure to normal macrobes and microbes, chronic stress mitigation, vaginal deliveries, breast feeding, avoidance of antibiotics/antacids and more…..Then Section II with – Are we addicted to food? and the recipe of the week.

Enjoy,

Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 13 Issue 40

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Maternal Microbiome Part II
Mom has a gut microbiome that directly seeds her babies microbiome. This microbiome dictates human long term and short term health. Eating a diet loaded with fiber based fruits, legumes and vegetables will cause a highly diverse bacterial microbiome to exist and this existence is correlated with better long term health……plus a section on mate matching as well as the recipe of the week!
Enjoy,
Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 13 Issue 38

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Literature Review

1) “Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common mental behavioral disorder in children. Alterations in gut microbiota composition are associated with neurological disorders….Also discussions on CTE, Covid, Omega 3 Fats, and more…
Part II is about learning how to talk to your children and finally the recipe of the week.
Enjoy,
Dr. M

Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #51 – Paul Smolen, MD – Parenting Class

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This weeks guest is my friend, Dr. Paul Smolen, also known as Doc Smo by his friends, is a pediatrician with 38 years of experience caring for children and families. He is a graduate of Duke University (1974), Rutgers Medical School (1978), and Wake Forest University-N.C. Baptist Hospital (1982). At Wake Forest University he completed a residency in general pediatrics, served as chief resident, and completed a fellowship in ambulatory pediatrics. For over 38 years, he was an Adjunct Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill helping to train a generation of medical students and pediatric residents as well as author several research papers. He is also the author of two parenting books,  Can Doesn’t Mean Should (2015) and Great Kids Don’t Just Happen (2019). Doc Smo is a bona-fide expert in knowing what parents want and need to know about parenting and child health. Imparting practical and useful advice is the goal of every “Pedcast” that he produced over his podcasting career.
This week we discuss his book Great Kids Don’t Just Happen.
Enjoy,
Dr. M

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