Month: October 2019

Air Pollution Exposure Linked to Neurological Risks in Children

  Based in Portland, Maine, Dr. Dave Steuer has an extensive background providing patient-centered oral and plastic surgery care. With a longstanding interest in health and fitness, Dr. Dave Steuer has a particular focus on the intertwined roles of physiology and neurochemistry.

A recent study by University of Cincinnati researchers published in Environmental Health Perspectives brought focus to the risks posed to children’s mental health by even short-term air pollution exposure. Classified by the World Health Organization as a carcinogen, outdoor air pollution is also associated with stroke, asthma, and heart disease.

Analyzing medical records encompassing 6,000 children and 13,000 psychiatric visits to emergency departments revealed that, following particularly severe air pollution days, children had higher rates of depression and anxiety, as well as stress-related conditions and adjustment disorders. The highest spike saw children who attempted, contemplated, or completed suicide.

The researchers postulate that exposure to traffic and other sources of urban pollution can generate neurochemistry changes linked to anxiety in children. In particular myo-inositol levels, linked to neuroinflammatory response, spike after pollution exposure. This reflects a situation in which air pollution not only does damage to the lungs, but triggers a cascade of inflammation throughout the body.

Circadian Rhythms and the Importance of Front-Loading Calories

Dr. Dave Steuer is an established Portland physician who guided Maine Endodontic Partners for many years. Health focused in his personal as well as professional life, Dr. Dave Steuer’s areas of interest include nutrition and weight loss, and he has authored books on the topic.

Beyond diet and fitness, one of the major factors involved in weight loss is the circadian rhythm, or the 24-hour cycle of mental, physical, and behavioral changes. Driven by a biological clock within the brain, the circadian rhythm is highly influenced by exposure to light.

The body’s master clock is linked with “peripheral clocks” in the organs and muscles that together impact the way in which carbs, calories, and fats are metabolized. As reported by CNN, one 2013 study focused on 420 obese and overweight participants who were separated into late and early-eater groups.

The latter group tended to eat full calorie breakfasts and consume lunch before 3 p.m., while the late eaters consumed lunch after 3 p.m. They also ate smaller breakfasts or skipped their morning meal altogether. After a 20-week study period, during which all participants consumed 1,400 calories each day and ate similar amounts of protein, fat, and carbs, the late eaters lost only 17 pounds, while the early eaters lost 22 pounds.

Researchers surmised that the circadian system impacted the way in which the nutrients consumed were absorbed, digested, and metabolized depending on time, through a process known as “diet-induced thermogenesis.” A key recommendation was that it makes sense to eat breakfast and “front-load” wherever possible, even to the point of consuming what would normally be eaten for dinner at lunchtime.