Nick Tiller returns to discuss whether saunas actually have health benefits and possibly completely contradict himself after his previous episode about ice baths. We dig into the data from Kuopio and the Finnish Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor study and investigate whether there might be some risks associated with saunas.

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Editor: Robyn Flynn

Theme music: “Fall of the Ocean Queen“ by Joseph Hackl

Rod of Asclepius designed by Kamil J. Przybos

Chris’ book, Does Coffee Cause Cancer?: https://ecwpress.com/products/does-coffee-cause-cancer

Obviously, Chris is not your doctor (probably). This podcast is not medical advice for you; it is what we call information.

References:

1) Nick’s Skeptical Inquirer article on the subject of saunas: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/are-saunas-good-for-you-yes-but/

2) The study purporting to show a 60% benefit in cardiovascular risk

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/07853890.2017.1387927#d1e290

3) A scientific review of the health benefits of sauns from the same authors: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025619623000083

4) One of the few RCTs on the issue although it only uses surrogate endpoints: https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00322.2023

EPISODE 152 – Why RFK Jr. is wrong to claim that Tylenol causes autism.

According to the Wall Street Journal, RFK Jr. and the HHS are planning to release a report claiming acetaminophen (Tylenol/paracetamol) is inked to autism spectrum disorder. The evidence says he’s wrong. Not just because the better quality studies show no link, not just because autism is probably mostly genetic with some minor environmental factors impacting its prevalence, but also because the alternatives to Tylenol for pain/fever control are much worse.

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Editor: Robyn Flynn

Theme music: “Fall of the Ocean Queen“ by Joseph Hackl

Rod of Asclepius designed by Kamil J. Przybos

Chris’ book, Does Coffee Cause Cancer?: https://ecwpress.com/products/does-coffee-cause-cancer

Obviously, Chris is not your doctor (probably). This podcast is not medical advice for you; it is what we call information.

References:

1) The Wall Street Journal article: https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/rfk-jr-hhs-to-link-autism-to-tylenol-use-in-pregnancy-and-folate-deficiencies-e3acbb4c

2) Chris article in the Montreal Gazette: https://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/article1154467.html

3) The safety warning about NSAIDs in pregnancy: https://www.fda.gov/safety/medical-product-safety-information/nonsteroidal-anti-inflammatory-drugs-nsaids-drug-safety-communication-avoid-use-nsaids-pregnancy-20

4) The 2024 Swedish study that used sibling controls: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2817406

5) Data showing the roughly 3:1 preponderance of males vs. females with autism https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34855727/

6) Some of the environmental factors that may affect autism spectrum disorder https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21746727/

A viewer question prompts Chris and Sophie to look into scrambler therapy. A medical therapy for chronic pain with a silly name that sounds like it should be pseudoscience, but actually isn’t. How is it different from Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)? How good is the evidence and how much of the benefit is actually a placebo response.

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Email us your questions at thebodyofevidence@gmail.com.

Editor: Robyn Flynn

Theme music: “Fall of the Ocean Queen“ by Joseph Hackl

Rod of Asclepius designed by Kamil J. Przybos

Chris’ book, Does Coffee Cause Cancer?: https://ecwpress.com/products/does-coffee-cause-cancer

Obviously, Chris is not your doctor (probably). This podcast is not medical advice for you; it is what we call information.

References:

1) 2016 review of scrambler therapy for chronic pain

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-016-3177-3

2) 2018 update https://doi.org/10.1177/1534735419845143

• Key studies:
• • Sabato (2005) – 226 patients: 80% had >50% pain reduction
  • Marineo (2011) – RCT: 91% pain reduction in Scrambler group vs. 28% in controls
  • Ricci (2012) – 82 patients: Mean pain scores dropped from 6.2/10 prior to treatment to 1.6 just after completing 10 treatment days to 2.9, 2 weeks after finishing treatment.
  • Compagnone (2015) – 201 patients: pain went from 7.41 to 1.6
  • Notaro (2015) – All patients had ≥50% pain reduction; relief lasted ~8 weeks; sleep improved
  • Pachman (2014) – 37 patients: 53% average pain reduction; effect lasted 10 weeks
• One ‘no results’ study: Campbell (2013) – 14 patients, RCT with sham control; no improvement—but team lacked experience, which may have skewed results.

Rodney Schmaltz joins Chris to talk about teaching scientific skepticism to university students. How does learning about Big Foot, debunking photos of fairies, and going on a ghost hunt make you better at debunking pseudoscience? Also, how to speak to believers in pseudoscience without making the other person hate you.

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Email us your questions at thebodyofevidence@gmail.com.

Editor: Robyn Flynn

Theme music: “Fall of the Ocean Queen“ by Joseph Hackl

Rod of Asclepius designed by Kamil J. Przybos

Chris’ book, Does Coffee Cause Cancer?: https://ecwpress.com/products/does-coffee-cause-cancer

Obviously, Chris is not your doctor (probably). This podcast is not medical advice for you; it is what we call information.

References:

1) Rodney’s website that also hosts his Tedx talk: https://www.rodneyschmaltz.com/

2) The Lilienfeld Alliance: https://sites.google.com/view/lilienfeldalliance/lilicon-2026?authuser=0

Leaky Gut Syndrome. Always a favorite of the pseudoscience crowd. But is there any medical validity to the concept. Chris and Sophie look deep into the concept to find out if the diagnosis of Leaky Gut holds water or is just full of holes.

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Email us your questions at thebodyofevidence@gmail.com.

Editor: Robyn Flynn

Theme music: “Fall of the Ocean Queen“ by Joseph Hackl

Rod of Asclepius designed by Kamil J. Przybos

Chris’ book, Does Coffee Cause Cancer?: https://ecwpress.com/products/does-coffee-cause-cancer

Obviously, Chris is not your doctor (probably). This podcast is not medical advice for you; it is what we call information.

The opening of a new private clinic spurs Chris and Sophie to ask whether Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is real medicine or pseudoscience. How does a magnetic field stimulate the brain and how is this different from electric convulsive therapy (ECT)? Also, a brief digression on One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and other classic movies Sophie has never seen.

Become a supporter of our show today either on Patreon or through PayPal! Thank you!

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Email us your questions at thebodyofevidence@gmail.com.

Editor: Robyn Flynn

Theme music: “Fall of the Ocean Queen“ by Joseph Hackl

Rod of Asclepius designed by Kamil J. Przybos

Chris’ book, Does Coffee Cause Cancer?: https://ecwpress.com/products/does-coffee-cause-cancer

Obviously, Chris is not your doctor (probably). This podcast is not medical advice for you; it is what we call information.

References:

1) A study on the efficacy of ECT by Slade et al. http://jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.1378

5) Network meta-analysis comparing different TMS modalities https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.3644

6) The durability of response after TMS treatment: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brs.2018.10.001

7) RCT comparing ECT and TMS and showing ECT is more effective: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17202547/

8) The older cochrane review from 2002 suggesting little benefit: https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD003493

How does genetic testing help doctors treat patients? How accurate are private companies like 23andMe? Does knowing your genetic risk help people lead healthier lives or is it just a waste of time and money? Sophie had a bunch of questions about how genetic testing is used in everyday medical practice and Chris was here to answer!

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Email us your questions at thebodyofevidence@gmail.com.

Editor: Robyn Flynn

Theme music: “Fall of the Ocean Queen“ by Joseph Hackl

Rod of Asclepius designed by Kamil J. Przybos

Chris’ book, Does Coffee Cause Cancer?: https://ecwpress.com/products/does-coffee-cause-cancer

Obviously, Chris is not your doctor (probably). This podcast is not medical advice for you; it is what we call information.

References:

1. Studies evaluating the accuracy of Direct to Consumer genetic testing companies:

   1. Ng PC, Murray SS, Levy S, Venter JC. An agenda for personalized medicine. Nature. 2009 Oct 8;461(7265):724-6. doi: 10.1038/461724a. PMID: 19812653.

   2. Imai K, Kricka LJ, Fortina P. Concordance study of 3 direct-to-consumer genetic-testing services. Clin Chem. 2011 Mar;57(3):518-21. doi: 10.1373/clinchem.2010.158220.

2. Studies looking at how knowing the results of genetic testing affect medical treatment and lifestyle factors.

   1. Mega JL, et al. Genetic risk, coronary heart disease events, and the clinical benefit of statin therapy: an analysis of primary and secondary prevention trials. Lancet. 2015 Jun 6;385(9984):2264-2271. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61730-X

   2. Khera AV, Emdin CA, Drake I, Natarajan P, Bick AG, Cook NR, Chasman DI, Baber U, Mehran R, Rader DJ, Fuster V, Boerwinkle E, Melander O, Orho-Melander M, Ridker PM, Kathiresan S. Genetic Risk, Adherence to a Healthy Lifestyle, and Coronary Disease. N Engl J Med. 2016 Dec 15;375(24):2349-2358. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1605086.

3. The Cochrane review and MI-GENES study which showed that genetic information did not change lifestyle behavior

   1. Hollands GJ, French DP, Griffin SJ, Prevost AT, Sutton S, King S, Marteau TM. The impact of communicating genetic risks of disease on risk-reducing health behaviour: systematic review with meta-analysis. BMJ. 2016 Mar 15;352:i1102. doi: 10.1136/bmj.i1102.

   2. Kullo IJ, et al. Incorporating a Genetic Risk Score Into Coronary Heart Disease Risk Estimates: Effect on Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Levels (the MI-GENES Clinical Trial). Circulation. 2016 Mar 22;133(12):1181-8. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.020109

Chris and Sophie tackle Radon, the odorless, colorless, tasteless and very toxic gas that is present in about 1 in 5 homes. Why do we care? How do you test for it? What should do about it? And why don’t we talk about it more? Also Sophie’s mind gets blown by a Patron question.

Become a supporter of our show today either on Patreon or through PayPal! Thank you!

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Email us your questions at thebodyofevidence@gmail.com.

Editor: Robyn Flynn

Theme music: “Fall of the Ocean Queen“ by Joseph Hackl

Rod of Asclepius designed by Kamil J. Przybos

Chris’ book, Does Coffee Cause Cancer?: https://ecwpress.com/products/does-coffee-cause-cancer

Obviously, Chris is not your doctor (probably). This podcast is not medical advice for you; it is what we call information.

References:

1) The 2024 Cross-Canada Radon Survey: https://crosscanadaradon.ca/survey/

2) How Radon gets in your home: https://www.quebec.ca/en/housing-territory/healthy-living-environment/residential-radon

3) Where to order valid Radon tests: http://takeactiononradon.ca

4) Distribution of Radon geographically across Canada and the US: https://www.epa.gov/radon/epa-map-radon-zones-0

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1655364/gaz-radon-normes-quebec-canada

5) Cochrane review on balneotherapy: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD000518.pub2/full?contentLanguage=en