The Body of Evidence

In this special episode, Jonathan asks Chris to rank medical specialties from super-amazing to garbage! You totally won't believe the specialty he ranks at the very top! But hey, while he's ranking them, you might learn a thing or two about what these different breeds of doctors do! The recording ran long, so we're splitting this into two episodes. Part 2 will be released at some point in the future. Subscribe so that you don't miss it! * 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!

UTIs: sex differences / antibiotics / self-diagnosis / cranberry juice / probiotics / D-mannose / drinking water / peeing after sex / contraception / topical estrogen. iPhone 12's effect on pacemakers and implanted defibrillators. COVID-19 vaccines: Johnson & Johnson's / AstraZeneca's / variants / scams. * 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/. Patrons get a bonus show on Patreon called "Digressions"! Check it out! References: 1) Statistics from the American Urological Association: https://www.urologyhealth.org/healthy-living/urologyhealth-extra/magazine-archives/summer-2016/understanding-utis-across-the-lifespan 2) Urinary Tract Infection Syndromes: Occurrence, Recurrence, Bacteriology, Risk Factors, and Disease Burden: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891552013000743?via%3Dihub 3) Patient-initiated treatment of uncomplicated recurrent urinary tract infections in young women: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11434727/ 4) Antibiotic sparing strategy: https://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h6544 5) Cochrane review on Cranberries for preventing urinary tract infections: https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD001321.pub5 6) Cranberry Extract for Symptoms of Acute, Uncomplicated Urinary Tract Infection: A Systematic Review: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/10/1/12 7) Cochrane review on Probiotics for preventing urinary tract infections in adults and children: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD008772.pub2/full 8) Systematic review of the literature on D-mannose for recurrent UTIs: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32972899/ 9) Fluid intake to prevent recurrent UTIs: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6584323/ 10) Prevention and treatment of uncomplicated lower urinary tract infections in the era of increasing antimicrobial resistance-non-antibiotic approaches: a systemic review: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00404-019-05256-z 11) The Role of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Young Women With Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections: To Treat or Not to Treat? https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/cis534 12) INESSS Antibiotic Guidelines: https://www.inesss.qc.ca/fileadmin/doc/INESSS/Outils/GUO/Anglo/Guide_InfectionUrinaire_EN_WEB.pdf Music Credits: Joy And Optimism (loopable) by chilledmusic Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7580-joy-and-optimism-loopable- License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Long Road Ahead by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/3996-long-road-ahead License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Jonathan and Chris discuss the impact of racism within the Canadian healthcare system with Dr. OmiSoore Dryden, an associate professor at Dalhousie University and the current holder of the James R. Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies. They talk about the effect of the pandemic on minorities and racialized groups, and why there's more to Africa than elephants. 1:58 A Chair in Black Canadian Studies 4:40 Black medical students 11:14 The pandemic's effect on minorities 17:08 The grey economy 18:07 Biological versus socioeconomic risk factors 28:48 How to have conversations about systemic racism 32:53 Canada's "universal healthcare" 38:00 The meaning of anti-racism 43:00 #GotBlood2Give and the barriers to donating blood 53:23 The tainted blood scandal 55:42 Racism is impacting your patients' lives * 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) OmiSoore Dryden's personal website: https://omisooredryden.com/ 2) OmiSoore Dryden's profile at Dalhousie University: https://medicine.dal.ca/departments/department-sites/community-health/our-people/our-faculty/omisoore-dryden-.html 3) OmiSoore Dryden on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JRJCHAIR 4) Her article in The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-discriminates-against-black-lives-through-surveillance-policing-and-the-absence-of-health-data-135906 5) Jonathan's article about race and biology: https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/health-general-science/are-you-there-race-its-me-dna

Changing lifestyle habits: advertising, taxes, behavioural counselling, incentives, text messages, apps, scared straight, genetic information, city design // Delaying the second COVID-19 vaccine dose // COVID-19 update: colchicine, rapid tests, children and variants. * 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/ Patrons get a bonus show on Patreon called "Digressions"! Check it out! References: 1) Food marketing to children: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC416565/ 2) Generalizable and robust TV advertising effects: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3273476, https://freakonomics.com/podcast/advertising-part-1/, https://freakonomics.com/podcast/advertising-part-2/ 3) American Heart Association's 7 ideal lifestyle factors: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4556343/ 4) Cigarette taxes: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0204416 5) Cigarette tax in Colombia: https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/28/4/374 6) Cigarette tax in China: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(15)70095-1/fulltext 7) Cigarette tax in Lebanon: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5115647/ 8) Cigarette tax in Korea: https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/25/2/141 9) Sugar tax in Philadelphia: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2733208 10) Sugar tax in Spain: https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-019-7908-5 11) Cochrane review on smoking cessation: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD013229.pub2/abstract 12) Review of smoking cessation apps: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21335258/ 13) Cochrane review on encouraging exercise: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010392.pub2/full 14) Implementing sidewalks: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24380471/ 15) The walking school bus: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3164094/ 16) Impact of new bike lanes: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23334767/ 17) Recess in elementary school: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3074953/ 18) Gym class: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17328052/ 19) Chris' Montreal Gazette article on delaying the second vaccine dose: https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-risks-of-altering-vaccination-protocols-are-unknown 20) Annals of Internal Medicine modelling study on alternative dose allocation strategies: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/m20-8137 21) McGill OSS live stream with Dr. Don Sheppard: https://youtu.be/peursUpKnx8 22) Report from Israel about effectiveness of one dose: https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n217 23) BBC article about Israel vaccine fears 'out of context and inaccurate': https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55734257 24) Press release for colchicine trial: https://www.icm-mhi.org/en/pressroom/news/colchicine-reduces-risk-covid-19-related-complications 25) Pre-print manuscript for colchicine trial: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.26.21250494v1 26) Spartan Bioscience says Health Canada approves rapid COVID-19 test: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/spartan-bioscience-covid-19-test-approved-1.5885284 Music Credits: End Of Summer by Frank Schröter Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6633-end-of-summer License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Dramatic Riser by Rafael Krux Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5401-dramatic-riser- License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Dramatic Trailer by Rafael Krux Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5633-dramatic-trailer- License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Cinema Blockbuster Trailer 15 by Sascha Ende Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4952-cinema-blockbuster-trailer-15 License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Cinema Blockbuster Trailer 13 (99FIRE-FILMS AWARD) by Sascha Ende Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/3137-cinema-blockbuster-trailer-13-99fire-films-award- License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Chris and Jonathan discuss expertise and intellectual humility with Alan Levinovitz, a professor of religion, frequent guest on A User's Guide to Cheating Death, and the author of the book Natural. As facts, arguments, and content flood our attention, how can we know whom to trust when our health is at stake? This month's drinking game revolves around the word "adjudicate." Drink responsibly! 1:11 The Anthony Fauci lie 2:14 A theologian on expertise 9:12 Tribalism 16:04 John Ioannidis and COVID-19 21:34 ScientificConsensus.com 26:09 The onslaught of contrarian content 32:30 People should be suspicious of sexiness in their epidemiology 35:25 When your job is to uncover hidden truths…. 39:30 A looming epistemic crisis and how to avoid it 49:16 On intellectual humility 57:33 Twitter hiatus * 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) Alan Levinovitz on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlanLevinovitz 2) Alan Levinovitz's book, Natural: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/50128614 3) Thorpe's Science editorial on the value of debating science in the public arena: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/371/6526/213/tab-pdf

Jonathan and Chris take the time to go over the data on COVID-19 vaccines and to answer the many, many questions they have received about them. * Cover of "Ooh Child" by Joseph Hackl * Theme music: "Fall of the Ocean Queen" by Joseph Hackl. * Assistant researcher: Nicholas Koziris * Special guest star: Morgan Sweeney of the Magic of the Mind podcast 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! Index: Vaccine Development 04:20 Types of COVID-19 vaccines 09:55 RNA vaccine technology 14:45 Rushed vaccines 20:18 COVID vaccine but no HIV vaccine? 23:44 Vaccine ingredients 27:31 COVID vaccines linked to HIV? 36:21 Manufacturing only Pfizer's vaccine Efficacy 40:20 Efficacy at preventing COVID-19 47:07 Vaccines and asymptomatic transmission 48:37 Duration of protection 50:23 Virus mutations and vaccines Safety 54:06 Claim about RNA vaccines altering the genome 55:11 Claim about infertility 56:13 Side effects from the vaccines 58:50 Bell's palsy and fainting 1:01:58 Long-term safety 1:05:06 Conspiracy theory about Big Pharma and liability Practical Considerations 1:12:25 Cold storage 1:13:58 Two doses 1:15:17 Choosing your favourite vaccine 1:16:28 Who gets vaccinated first? 1:18:50 Masks and physical distancing after vaccination 1:19:27 What if if you have had COVID? 1:20:30 What if you are pregnant? 1:21:37 What if you are immunocompromised? 1:22:56 What if I have a history of severe allergies? 1:24:50 What if I am young and healthy? 1:25:46 What if I am a child? 1:26:29 When will things go back to normal? References: 1) COVID19 Vaccine Tracker: https://covid19.trackvaccines.org/how-do-vaccines-work/ 2) Previous segment on RNA vaccines: https://bodyofevidence.ca/062-infertility-and-rna-vaccines 3) Episode of Sawbones on COVID-19 vaccines: https://maximumfun.org/episodes/sawbones/covid-vaccine-questions-and-answers/ 4) Previous episode on HIV: https://bodyofevidence.ca/061-hiv-and-covid-19-therapies 5) AntiAntiVax: https://antiantivax.flurf.net/ 6) Ingredients in Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine: https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/12/09/1013538/what-are-the-ingredients-of-pfizers-covid-19-vaccine 7) Ingredients in Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-products/covid19-industry/drugs-vaccines-treatments/vaccines/moderna.html#a11 8) The University of Queensland's COVID vaccine and false positive HIV tests: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australian-covid-vaccine-terminated-due-to-hiv-false-positives-20201210-p56mju.html 9) The Lancet letter about the use of adenovirus type 5 used in vaccines: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32156-5/fulltext 10) FDA briefing document on Pfizer's vaccine: https://www.fda.gov/media/144245/download 11) FDA briefing document on Moderna's vaccine: https://www.fda.gov/media/144434/download 12) Data on duration of protection from vaccine in phase I trial participants: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2032195?query=RP 13) An in-depth, very scientific explanation for why RNA vaccines can't alter your genome: https://www.deplatformdisease.com/blog/no-really-mrna-vaccines-are-not-going-to-affect-your-dna 14) The nurse who fainted during vaccination did not die: https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-nurse-covid-vaccine-dead-idUSKBN29629G 15) Canadian no-fault vaccine injury program announcement: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/news/2020/12/government-of-canada-announces-pan-canadian-vaccine-injury-support-program.html 16) A look at vaccine safety in the past 20 years: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-2726

Breast implants: reasons why, the (not so) good old days of regulatory freedom, benefits, risks, silicone vs. saline; the fear of statin side effects; a very special kind of cat video. * 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/. Patrons get a bonus show on Patreon called "Digressions"! Check it out! References: 1) The number of breast implants per year: https://www.plasticsurgery.org/news/press-releases/new-statistics-reveal-the-shape-of-plastic-surgery & https://www.plasticsurgery.org/documents/News/Statistics/2018/plastic-surgery-statistics-report-2018.pdf 2) A report of a study by the Institute of Medicine: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK44775/ 3) Survey of breast augmentation surgery satisfaction: https://journals.lww.com/plasreconsurg/Abstract/1994/12000/The_Efficacy_of_Breast_Augmentation__Breast_Size.9.aspx & https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5682175/ 4) FDA recommendations on breast implant complications and screening post-implantation: https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/breast-implants/risks-and-complications-breast-implants 5) Study linking textured implants to anaplastic large cell lymphoma: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/fullarticle/2667737 6) Health Canada recall of textured breast implants: https://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2019/69520a-eng.php 7) Silicone gel implants taken off the market in 1992: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199206183262525 8) Silicone gel implants reinstated in 2006: https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/17/washington/17cnd-breast.html 9) New England Journal of Medicine review of implant safety: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK68334/ 10) Annals of Internal Medicine review: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M15-1169?doi=10.7326%2FM15-1169 11) Institute of Medicine report on implants: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK44775/ 12) Re-operation rates: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26202563/ 13) Trailer for the TV show NURSES (for no reason): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm_cWMDtD28 14) Chris' Gazette article on people reporting side effects from statins: https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-statins-have-a-proven-track-record 15) Catspiracy: https://vimeo.com/482278265 Music Credits: Summer Swing 2018 by Sascha Ende Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/3160-summer-swing-2018 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Loving Modern Technology by MusicLFiles Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7056-loving-modern-technology License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Blockbuster Atmosphere 9 (Sadness) by Sascha Ende Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/304-blockbuster-atmosphere-9-sadness- License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Inspiring Advertising by Rafael Krux Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5515-inspiring-advertising- License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Lights by Rafael Krux Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5309-lights- License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Jingle Bells by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/3942-jingle-bells License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Jonathan talks with Matthew Remski, the co-host of the Conspirituality podcast, on the merger between the worlds of spirituality and of grand conspiracy theories. The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by a rise in people who believe that nothing is as it seems, that everything is connected, and that the world is on the verge of a major awakening. Matthew himself once trusted his intuitive knowledge of his body until it landed him in the hospital. 2:22 What is conspirituality 6:41 The yearning for an awakening 11:00 Intuition as a guide to knowledge 16:50 The red pill… and the black pill 23:45 The X-Files 29:19 JP Sears and COVID-19 38:11 The self vs. the common good 42:00 The false medical claims of yoga 47:20 Manipulative fraud or self-deluded? 52:36 How Matthew talks to conspiritualists 1:00:35 Conspirituality in 2021 * 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) Matthew Remski's Conspirituality podcast: https://conspirituality.net/ 2) Matthew Remski's website: https://matthewremski.com/wordpress/ 3) Matthew Remski on Twitter: https://twitter.com/matthewremski 4) The 2011 paper that defined "conspirituality": https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13537903.2011.539846 5) Jonathan's article on JP Sears: https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19-critical-thinking-pseudoscience/clown-prince-wellness 6) Conspirituality podcast episode on BKS Iyengar: https://conspirituality.net/wellness/bonus-yoga-teachers-are-not-doctors-doctors-are-not-priests/ 7) Jonathan's article on Sayer Ji: https://mcgill.ca/oss/article/pseudoscience/popular-health-guru-sayer-ji-curates-scientific-literature-his-bachelors-degree-philosophy 8) Matthew's article on QAnon in Canada: https://thewalrus.ca/when-qanon-came-to-canada/

Chris and Jonathan interview Dr. Ivan Oransky, the co-founder of Retraction Watch which tracks retractions of scientific papers. They discuss how papers get published, how they get retracted, and what a better system might look like. 1:29 How scientific papers get published 3:44 Journals are businesses with a bizarre business model 13:52 No more COVID-related retractions than expected 17:10 Science by press release in part to prevent insider trading 20:04 Jade amulets against COVID-19 26:33 Zombie papers 30:43 A dramatic increase in retractions but they are still rare 36:50 Why are mistakes caught after publication? 42:20 Going to science heaven * 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 Retraction Watch website: https://retractionwatch.com/ 2) Retraction Watch on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RetractionWatch 3) Ivan Oransky on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ivanoransky 4) The Retraction Watch newsletter: https://us12.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=4f35c1f2e9acc58eee0811e78&id=a15d7de264 5) Jonathan's article on the jade amulet: https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19-critical-thinking-pseudoscience/paper-argues-amulet-may-protect-covid-should-it-have-been-published 6) Retraction Watch's original article on the jade amulet: https://retractionwatch.com/2020/10/29/amulets-may-prevent-covid-19-says-a-paper-in-elsevier-journal-they-dont/ 7) The jade amulet paper's retraction notice: https://retractionwatch.com/2020/11/16/co-authors-of-paper-on-covid-19-and-jade-amulets-blames-the-online-press-and-social-media-for-misinterpretation-in-retraction-letter/ 8) The Surgisphere retractions: https://retractionwatch.com/2020/06/04/lancet-retracts-controversial-hydroxychloroquine-study/

Diabetes: different types and what to do about them // Mask misinformation // To bank or not to bank your newborn's cord blood * 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/ Patrons get a bonus show on Patreon called "Digressions"! Check it out! References: 1) The DiRECT Study: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)33102-1/fulltext 2) The DiRECT Study, Two-Year Follow-Up: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(19)30068-3/fulltext 3) 2017 JAMA study on lifestyle interventions: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2648632 4) LABS study on bariatric surgery: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/fullarticle/2664662 Music Credits: Cinema Blockbuster Trailer 14 by Sascha Ende Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4662-cinema-blockbuster-trailer-14 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/