053 - Smart Drugs and Fluoride

A questionable plate of spaghetti produces something unexpected: Chris' teddy bear can now speak! Once the acid trip wears off, Jonathan and Chris discuss study aid drugs or "nootropics", like Ritalin being used by 12-year-olds to get better grades. Do these stimulants work and are there side effects? They also discuss Adderall, racetams, omega-3s, ginseng, gingko biloba, and the cocaine of Silicon Valley bros, modafinil. Also: a comprehensive look at the fluoride-and-IQ study that came out and should certain populations all get a combo pill regardless of whether individuals need it?

Vox pop by Ada McVean of the McGill Office for Science and Society.  

Jingle by Jillian Correia of Roctavio Canada.

Additional music by Seth Donnelly, Epidemic Sound, and Kevin MacLeod.

Theme music: "Troll of the Mountain Swing" by the Underscore Orkestra.

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LINKS: The Body of Evidence video on ear candles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GfunNxHHkw

Fluoride and IQ study: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2748634

REFERENCES: FDA warning letter against nootropics: https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-inve...

Ritalin and academic performance: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29353323

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/06/study-ritalin-doesnt-...

Health Canada warning on modafinil https://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2019/70201... Cochrane reviews on omega-3s, gingko, and ginseng:https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD007986.pub2/...https://www.cochrane.org/CD003120/DEMENTIA_there-is-no-convincing-eviden...https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD007769.pub2/...