Can just watching sports hurt you?

Q: Does the cloud of white powder that basketball star LeBron James throws into the air before every Cleveland Cavaliers game — to an explosion of cheers from Cavs fans — pose a risk to him, the crowd or the kids who copy him? — Kathy, Cleveland

A: If you're really worried about it, give your season tickets to us (Dr. Mike lives in Cleveland, and saying he likes the Cavs is like saying that hungry bears like to eat). We called the Cavs and found out that the powder is rosin, a compound derived from pine trees that's used to make your grip stickier when you're handling a potentially slippery basketball. (It's also used by baseball pitchers, ballerinas, string instrument players, quarterbacks and gymnasts.). There's no evidence — not one piece of data in the medical literature — that it's toxic, although if you inhaled a lot of any powder, it would likely cause coughing and exacerbate asthma. (A tip of the hat to Cleveland Clinic M.D.s J. Harry Isaacson and Herbert Wiedemann for their consults on this.) And it seems to be metabolized and excreted from your body easily. Since LeBron tosses the powder high, not directly at the crowd, and since it dissipates quickly, it's doubtful that anyone gets a big snootful of it, even fans who go to every game.

Kids doing this at home might be another story. If they use baby powder, it likely contains talc. Inhaling this mineral has been linked to lung cancer, though no scientific referee board has made a definitive call on whether recreational use of talcum powder might affect kids' risk (though you want to prevent babies from inhaling it for sure). Cornstarch powder is probably safer, but common sense says that it's not smart (or pleasant) to breathe in much of any dust or powder. Better: Steal the ball and get on with the game.

Q: I always feel gloomy when my football or baseball team loses before or in the playoffs, and that happens frequently in Cleveland. I think the last time the Indians or Browns won a championship was before my grown son was born. But my friends and I still are crazy rooters. Our wives say the losses are bad for our health — that we shouldn't care so much and that we're going to give ourselves a group heart attack. Are they right?

— Dave, Cleveland

A: Face it: Sometimes the playoffs get the best of your favorite team ... unless you root for the Cavs (Dr. Mike couldn't help bringing them up again, especially since both question askers are from Cleveland this week). And while the defeat puts a momentary gloom over your town, your friends and you, it can also put a real chill on your health — and theirs.

During a stressful World Cup soccer match,

researchers in Germany saw the risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular events (angina and arrhythmias) double! Now scientists in Los Angeles have found that in the two weeks after the home team lost the Super Bowl in a nail-biter of a game (back in 1980), deaths from heart disease and heart attacks jumped, as did deaths from other causes. But when the home team won (in 1984), deaths from all causes decreased by 6 percent.

Fortunately, you can remain a rabid fan in a losing year and stay healthy, too. The easiest way is to change what you chow down on during games. It's a fact that one big, fatty meal can make your blood pressure go haywire when you're exposed to stress. It's not hard to take the fat out of dips: Just make them with fat-free sour cream (or simply switch to hummus). Then scoop them up with plenty of crunchy veggies, not chips. Make oven "fries" (spritz cut-up potato strips with olive oil and bake at 350 degrees till crisp-tender).

Your other best strategy: Get out there and play the game regularly yourself (though if you're over 35 or have a waist size as big as any lineman, play something other than hockey or football). Regular physical activity keeps your heart, arteries and mind young and better able to be cool when the game is heating up.

The YOU Docs — Mike Roizen and Mehmet Oz — are authors of "YOU: Being Beautiful — The Owner's Manual to Inner and Outer Beauty." To submit questions and find ways to grow younger and healthier, go to www.RealAge.com, the docs' online home.