The Dose

Blood sugar levels can be affected by stress, sleep and a lack of exercise. But what role does food play when it comes to blood glucose? This week on The Dose, registered dietitian Anar Allidina talks about the role diet plays, how eating certain foods can help regulate your blood sugar and when to know it's time to see a doctor. For transcripts of The Dose, please visit: lnk.to/dose-transcripts. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Oral cold and cough medicine containing a popular decongestant was pulled from some U.S. pharmacy shelves this week. This comes after a panel of experts said phenylephrine is no better than a dummy pill at relieving congestion. But what actually works to treat cold symptoms? Family doctor and CBC Radio house doctor Dr. Peter Lin provides tips on how best to treat a cold or cough, and weighs in on popular home remedies. For transcripts of The Dose, please visit: lnk.to/dose-transcripts. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

It's RSV season and this year, seniors have the option to get a newly approved vaccine to protect against the respiratory virus. But the new vaccine comes at a cost to most seniors in Canada. Nurses and doctors are worried that cost will prohibit people from getting the RSV vaccine. This week on The Dose, we hear from Anne Summach, a nurse practitioner and assistant teaching professor in the University of Alberta’s nursing department.

Some countries are moving towards stopping the next generation from ever legally being sold cigarettes. The British government recently proposed a ban on selling cigarettes to anyone currently 14 or younger, in hopes of creating the first "smoke free generation." New Zealand has passed a similar law. Michael Chaiton, senior scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, weighs in on these bans and speaks to the Canadian context.

We may know it’s important to take breaks at work, but sometimes when deadlines pile up, it feels impossible to find the time. Katharine Coons, national senior manager at the Canadian Mental Health Association, explains why that ten-minute break is so important — and how it can improve your mental health. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-dose-transcripts-listen-1.6732281

Many of us aren't sleeping enough, and that can have a big impact on our physical and mental health. Dr. Michael Mak, staff psychiatrist and sleep medicine specialist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, talks about how to know if you're getting enough sleep — and what you can do to improve your night's rest.

There are many factors that influence our mood, but one we may not think about is our diet. It turns out the emotions you feel have a lot to do with what’s happening in your gut, or your gastrointestinal tract. Dr. Mary Sco., a family doctor with a PhD in nutrition, breaks it down for us. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-dose-transcripts-listen-1.6732281

We know that energy drinks are popular with teens and pre-teens. What are the health risks that come with these caffeinated, sugary drinks? Pediatrician and clinician scientist Dr. Olivier Drouin shares what you need to know. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-dose-transcripts-listen-1.6732281

With fall on the horizon and kids back in school, cases of COVID-19 are starting to tick up in some parts of the country, and there are new subvariants popping up too. So should you get another COVID booster shot now, or wait until the updated vaccines come out this fall? Infectious diseases physician and epidemiologist Dr. Allison McGeer shares what you need to know. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-dose-transcripts-listen-1.6732281

Noises like traffic, airplanes passing and construction don’t just harm our hearing. They can also have other long-term effects on our health. We speak to a researcher about those effects and why we need more awareness about the noise in our environment. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-dose-transcripts-listen-1.6732281