Radio/The Dose

The Dose25:38How do cosmetics affect my skin health?Read the label on the average cosmetics product in your local drug store, and you'll come across a variety of promises. A foundation brand may claim to be able to cover up any and all blemishes, while some skin creams go so far as to suggest they can make you look 10 years younger. Belief in those promises is likely why Canadians spent almost $9 billion US on cosmetics in 2024, contributing to the global cosmetics industry's roughly $650 billion in revenue.It's also why Hailey Bieber recently sold her Rhode brand for $1 billion. Still, most of us know that the average anti-wrinkle cream won't actually turn back the clock, but it's not always clear how much cosmetics actually influence our skin health. Dermatologists agree that sunscreen, ...

Many people with advanced prostate cancer are living much longer due to new treatments, leading prostate cancer doctors say. Though they're not often a cure, these innovations are turning a disease once considered a death sentence into a chronic illness that can be managed for years in some patients.Dr. Laurence Klotz, a urologic oncologist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and chair of prostate cancer research at the Toronto hospital, said patients with metastatic prostate cancer — meaning it's spread to other parts of the body — live "roughly twice as long now as they did 10 or 15 years ago, which is really a significant achievement.""The disease can be controlled, often for a long time — but a cure is generally not in the cards," Klotz told Dr. Brian Goldman, host of CBC podcast The ...

The Dose22:15What do I need to know about the federal government's role in health care?Most Canadians know it's a provincial or territorial health card they carry in their wallets, not a federal one.Still, the election April 28 does present an opportunity to have a say on certain aspects of health care the federal government controls, and to hold lawmakers — and would-be lawmakers — to account, health policy experts say.Medical sociologist Amélie Quesnel-Vallée, Canada Research Chair in Policies and Health Inequalities, says the federal government can "play an important role in aligning our various health systems, especially as we are facing an aging population with increasing needs and burdens."Although tariffs and annexation threats stemming from the U.S. have eclipsed health care as a m...

The Dose19:40What do I need to know about benzodiazepines?Within 10 minutes of disclosing his sleepless nights to his family doctor, Georges Marcoux had a little white pill in his hand.His doctor in Shediac, N.B., prescribed him a sleeping pill, Oxazepam, which gave him relief for a few weeks."I got the prescription, and that's it. Nobody was asking questions. I was not asking questions."But 35 years later, Marcoux realized he had been taking the same pill to help him sleep every night.After seeing a story in the paper about a study correlating long-term benzodiazepine use to risk of cognitive impairment, he knew it was time to quit. These pills, part of a class of drugs called benzodiazepines, have been around since 1955. Their use and misuse are portrayed in songs, movies and most recent...

The Dose22:51What does the research show about the benefits of creatine supplements?Creatine is a naturally occurring compound that provides energy to our muscles and brain, but it also comes in supplement form. It's long been used by athletes and bodybuilders, but now some research suggests it may also improve cognition. Darren Candow, professor and director of the University of Regina's Aging Muscle and Bone Health Laboratory, explains the science behind creatine's effect on muscles and bones, and why supplements could also help with mental stress. For transcripts of The Dose, please visit: lnk.to/dose-transcripts [https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/the-dose-transcripts-listen-1.6732281]. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. For more episodes of this ...