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Posted by: | Posted on: September 8, 2026

What They Don’t Tell You About C-Sections


Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2026/09/08/risks-of-c-sections.aspx

Analysis by A Midwestern Doctor     September 08, 2026

risks of c sections

Story at-a-glance

  • For more than a century, there has been a push to medicalize childbirth and transform it from a natural life event to something requiring major interventions so nothing goes amiss
  • Many of the standard procedures done during hospital births increase your risk of needing other invasive interventions, eventually cascading into requiring a cesarean section
  • Like other major abdominal surgeries, C-sections expose mothers to significant risk, require a prolonged recovery, and leave large scars which can cause a wide range of chronic issues
  • C-sections also expose infants to real risks and predispose them to a variety of chronic autoimmune and neurological issues
  • This article will discuss the risks of C-sections, the situations where they are necessary, and some approaches that can be used to recover from them

Many traditions throughout history have come to view one’s birth as one of the most important moments in a human’s life as it sets the stage for all that follows. Unfortunately, much in the same way we desecrate the death process by over-medicalizing it (to the point research has found that doctors are less likely to seek end of life care at a medical facility1), the same issue also exists with childbirth.

Many physicians I know who are familiar with the hospital birthing process chose to skip it and give birth at home (along with many more doctors featured in a 2016 documentary2).

Conversely, a minority of childbirths do need advanced medical care. For those mothers, access to a hospital greatly benefits them, particularly if actions are taken to mitigate the most dangerous aspects of hospital birth.

As such, childbirth occupies a similar place as many other medical controversies; neither side of the issue is entirely correct. However, the data clearly shows the risk of routine C-sections outweighs their benefits so this article will attempt to expose what they aren’t telling you about them.

The Business of Being Born

For a long time, doctors had no interest in delivering babies, but once a leader in the profession realized grateful mothers they delivered the babies of would become their doctor’s lifelong customer, the medical professional gradually displaced midwives and switched birth from being seen as a natural life event to one that required increasing medicalization.3

While some of those interventions were helpful and saved lives, many were not and put both the mother and child at risk of a variety of immediate and chronic complications.

Since the hospital birthing process does not try to augment the natural birthing process and instead tries to control and manage it, one of the most significant issues with many of its approaches to birth (detailed here) is that they frequently create complications that require more and more invasive methods to be implemented.

In many cases, the end of this pipeline is the mother “having” to bypass the birthing process by cutting open the abdomen and directly extracting the baby (via a costly C-section). While they are sometimes necessary (e.g., the WHO made a good case that in 10% of births, they prevent maternal and infant mortality4), they are done far too frequently (e.g., in 2023, 32.3% of all American births were C-sections5).

Note: One of my least favorite statistics in medicine is that C-section rates dramatically rise at the times doctors typically want to go home.6,7,8

General Risks of C-Sections

Being an abdominal surgery, C-sections carry a variety of issues commonly seen with those procedures such as:

• The mother typically needs a 4 to 6 weeks recovery period.9

• Post-surgical infection (e.g., globally this happens in 5.63% of C-sections10).

• Significant pain (at the most important bonding period of your life).

• Potential reactions to general anesthesia.

• Accidental organ injuries (particularly since some C-sections need to be done very quickly to save the baby’s life).

Additionally, there are some surgical complications more unique to C-sections such as:

• Damage to the lining of the uterus that creates adhesions and scars, which cause the placenta to attach in the wrong place in future pregnancies (e.g., two C-sections make women 13.8 times more likely to have a placenta accreta11).

• The weakened uterine scar can rupture during a subsequent delivery (especially if contraction inducing oxytocin is used during delivery), so one C-section can result in patients needing to have all subsequent births to be C-sections as well (particularly if there’s an abnormal placental attachment).

• The infant can accidentally get cut during the C-section (e.g., 1.5% to 1.9% get facial lacerations12).

• C-section incision scars often cause significant issues for years — if not decades (until they are correctly treated), and in many cases these scars are the hidden cause of chronic pain and a variety of ailments as they continually activate and then dysregulate the autonomic nervous system.

• The general anesthetics used for the C-section can increase an infant’s risk of neonatal complications.13

Note: C-sections also cause a variety of other issues, such as breastfeeding problems, worsened sleep, and emotional challenges (e.g., PTSD or anxiety).14

However, beyond the surgery itself, simply bypassing the normal birthing process can also cause significant issues for infants. For example, hyaline membrane disease (respiratory distress syndrome — RDS) affects approximately 24,00015 infants in the United States annually and is the leading cause of neonatal fatalities.16

The birthing process protects against this (e.g., studies have found premature C-section babies are 2.4 to 3.92 times more likely to have RDS17,18,19), likely due to its mechanical pressure forcing excessive fluids out of the lungs.

Chronic Risks of C-Sections

C-sections have also been linked to a variety of chronic issues, most of which are immunological or neurological in nature.

• Immunologic risks include:

◦ A Kaiser study of 8,953 children found C-sections increased allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (hay fever) by 37% and asthma by 24% (53% in girls and 8% in boys).20

◦ Roughly 2000 studies have assessed the link between C-sections and asthma.21 From them, a 2020 meta-analysis found C-sections increase asthma by 41%,22 while a 2019 meta-analysis found a 20% increase.23

◦ A Danish study of 750,000 children aged 0 to 14 assessed a few autoimmune diseases and found those born by C-sections were roughly 20% more likely to develop laryngitis, asthma, gastroenteritis, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease, and juvenile arthritis (along with pneumonia and other lower respiratory tract infections).24

◦ A later Danish study of 2,699,479 births found that elective C-sections caused a 14% increase in diabetes, a 14% increase in rheumatoid arthritis, a 4% increase in Crohn’s disease, and a 15% increase in irritable bowel disease.25

Generally, the risk for these conditions was higher in women and for elective C-sections (with the exception of Crohn’s increasing by 15% after emergency C-sections). Another similar study also found C-sections significantly increased the risk of asthma, systemic connective tissue disorders, juvenile arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, immune deficiencies, and leukemia.26

◦ A study of 7,174,787 births found C-sections made infants (in the first 5 years of life) 10% more likely to be hospitalized for infections (particularly respiratory, gastrointestinal, and viral ones).27

◦ A study of 33,226 adult women found being born by C-section made them 11% more likely to be obese and 46% more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes.28

Much of this is likely due to C-sections disrupting the microbiome29 (which can persist into adulthood30) as infants depend upon the vaginal flora (and external fecal flora) to initially colonize the gastrointestinal tract (as the microflora of the vagina are predominantly composed of the “good bacteria” our digestion needs and shortly after birth, the stomach starts producing stomach acid so other bacteria can’t easily colonize the GI tract).

In turn, many studies have found C-sections significantly disrupt the microbiome, including a prospective trial that demonstrated that the degree of lasting microbiome disruption in an infant directly correlated to their likelihood of developing asthma and allergic sensitizations.31

Note: One partial solution to this (which does not address harmful hospital microbes displacing the normal microbiome) is to inoculate the infant with the mother’s vaginal secretions immediately after delivery. However, while compelling evidence has emerged for vaginal seeding in the last decade,32,33 it is not currently endorsed by the medical community, and most hospitals do not offer it.

• Neurologic risks include:

◦ A mouse trial found C-sections led to behavioral changes and increased cell death in certain portions of the brain,34 while a retrospective MRI study of 306 children found that C-sections significantly reduced brain white matter and functional neural connectivity.35

◦ A large 2017 study found that C-section children (ages 4 to 9) performed lower on standardized tests than vaginally born children and that this was not due to confounding variables,36 while a 2024 study found C-sections caused lower motor and language development scores during specific age windows in the first three years of life.37

◦ A 2020 Czech study found 5 year old children born via C-section had poorer performance on cognitive tests than children born via vaginal delivery.38

◦ C-sections have been found to increase the rate of ADHD by 15% to 16% and autism by 23 to 26%.39 At the same time, early onset schizophrenia has also been associated with C-sections (much of which may be due to C-sections changing the dopamine receptors in the brain).40,41

Note: As this study shows, the increase in autism is strongly correlated to mothers receiving general anesthesia during the C-section.42

◦ C-sections have been found to impair a newborn’s ability to recognize familiar scents, make them more averse to being touched or hugged, and have poorer sensory integration, visual memory, and visuospatial perception.43 In parallel, mothers of C-section babies have been found to have less attachment to and more negative evaluations of their children.44

Since neurological development is such a complicated process, it’s difficult to say which factor (e.g., anesthesia, reduced maternal bonding, gut microbiome alterations) is ultimately responsible for these changes.

However, many excellent healers I’ve talked to from a variety of traditions (e.g., the New Zealand Maoris) have shared that they noticed there is a loss of vibrancy and vitality in C-section babies which they attribute to them not “getting a spark” the vaginal birthing process facilitates (e.g., because the micro-motion within the skull is catalyzed by the compression experienced during the birthing process).

One of the most interesting conversations I had on this subject was with a doctor who shared that he was taught the vitality of infants directly correlated to how much they cried at birth (which is why, in the older days, doctors would whack a baby’s soles to trigger a vigorous cry).

In turn, when he and his colleagues attempted to help struggling infants with birth trauma by gently compressing the tops of their skulls to recreate part of the birthing process, they found that C-section infants would let out a brief but very vigorous cry, whereas children who had been born vaginally typically had a much softer cry — something they attributed to the initial birthing process not having catalyzed the cry they needed then (which is why it was so loud at the subsequent compression).

Note: This is somewhat similar to the observation in homeopathy that patients who can mount fevers tend to have stronger vitalities and better responses to homeopathic remedies, but as the decades have gone by, people have become less able to mount fevers and now have smaller reactions to homeopathic remedies.

High-Risk Births

One of the major factors in deciding how to approach giving birth is whether or not you have a “high-risk” pregnancy. Unfortunately, determining what constitutes a “high-risk” pregnancy is quite subjective. In turn, that designation being erroneously applied frequently results in a lot of stressful, unnecessary, and potentially harmful interventions throughout the pregnancy.

Note: A pregnancy being “high-risk” is often decided by prenatal ultrasounds. However, as I showed here, and much of the information ultrasounds provide early in pregnancy is either inaccurate or impossible to act upon, while in contrast, prenatal ultrasound exposes infants to real harms — all of which leads to ultrasounds being routinely utilized in instances where their risks outweigh their benefits.45

At the same time, hospital births are sometimes necessary and potentially lifesaving. In addition to an acute emergency where the fetus’s life is at risk (e.g., unexpected vaginal bleeding after a car accident), there are a few common situations that can require hospital births or C-sections:

• The placenta is in the wrong place. This typically requires a C-section. However, in many cases, the placenta can move to the correct position, so if this is diagnosed early in pregnancy with ultrasound, it can lead to a lot of unnecessary stress.46

• The baby faces the wrong direction with the pelvis instead of the head coming out first (a breech presentation). This is a fairly controversial area as many people I know will deliver breech babies (and it went well), but many others will not (as they have seen bad outcomes or infant deaths) following them (e.g., one large study found breech babies are 2.4 times as likely to die from vaginal deliveries47).

Because of this, I believe the best option is to fix the issue before delivery by moving the baby into the correct position (which frequently works — provided it is done correctly).

Note: If one of the infant’s legs or shoulders is sticking forward, a vaginal birth should never be attempted.

• The baby is head down, but facing the wrong direction (not facing forward). In our experience, these often end up requiring C-sections as it’s not possible to get the infant out.

• Twins are present. This does not necessarily require a C-section, but a variety of issues are more likely to arise, so it can be very helpful to have additional assistance nearby if needed.

• The mother already had a C-section.

• There are other characteristics of a high-risk pregnancy (e.g., the mother has a concurrent chronic illness or severe preeclampsia during the pregnancy).

Conclusion

Recently, RFK Jr. was instructed to lead America’s Make America Healthy Again Commission and attempt to uncover what is fueling the rapid and unprecedented spike in chronic illness in our children (e.g., 12.8% of children born between 1988 and 1994 had a chronic illness,48 yet for those born between 2000 and 2006,49 it had more than doubled to 26.6% and by 2011, had increased to 54.1%50).

As this tsunami of chronic illness threatens the foundation of our society, the MAHA commission has been instructed to leave no stone unturned in finding the cause of this epidemic.

Like many, I suspect vaccines are the root cause of it as the numbers of vaccines children receive increased in parallel with the rates of chronic illness and every independent study (summarized here) consistently shows vaccinated children have 3 to 10 times the rates of chronic illnesses unvaccinated children do.

However, as I’ve tried to show in this series, a good case can also be made that our approaches to childbirth (e.g., prenatal ultrasounds or C-sections) are also contributing to this wave of chronic illness and hence must urgently be examined too.

In my eyes, the central problem is that medicine requires repeated sales, and because of this, things that can be helpful tend to be overused to the point their harms greatly exceed their benefits.

For example, while childhood vaccines are treated as a monolithic entity which are all essential for health, the reality is that the risks and benefits of each vaccine vary greatly, and many mandatory ones cannot be justified by the existing scientific evidence. Similarly, as I’ve tried to show here, while the harms of C-sections typically vastly outweigh those of vaginal births, in some cases, they are necessary and the complications they create are vastly outweighed by the harms they prevent.

As such, while better options may be created in the future by the MAHA commission, at this point, our best option is to fully inform ourselves about the risks of these routine procedures and then do what we can to reduce our need for them (e.g., natural birthing methods significantly reduce the need for C-Sections), and it is my sincere hope this article has provided some valuable insights for navigating this challenging process.

Author’s Note: This is an abridged version of a longer article that goes into greater detail on many of the points discussed here (e.g., the complications of C-sections and how to address them) that provides guidance for protecting yourself at the hospital, finding the best place to give birth, and shares many of the strategies we have identified to have the healthiest baby possible, address many of the complications that arise during pregnancy, and to have an optimal childbirth.

That article can be read here while with a companion article on the dangers of ultrasounds which can be read here.

 

– Sources and References

Posted in C-Section, Pregnancy | No Comments »

Posted by: | Posted on: August 31, 2024

The Many Forgotten Health Benefits of Aspirin


Reproduced from original article:


Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola     August 29, 2024

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

  • Aspirin offers benefits beyond heart health, including cancer prevention, improved pregnancy outcomes during influenza infection and treatment for fatty liver disease and pulmonary fibrosis
  • Long-term low-dose aspirin use (over 10 years) may reduce the risk of dementia, particularly in people with pre-existing coronary heart disease
  • Aspirin can enhance glucose utilization, reduce fatty acid release, lower cortisol levels and increase metabolic rate, potentially aiding in weight loss and hormone balance
  • Studies suggest aspirin may improve survival rates in intensive care units, slow the progression of abdominal aortic aneurysms and reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes
  • When considering aspirin use, opt for immediate-release, uncoated versions. The suggested dosage is dependent on your circumstances 82 mg to 325 mg tablet daily with your largest meal

For years, you’ve probably heard that a daily low-dose aspirin can help prevent heart attacks and strokes. Now, suddenly, health authorities are backpedaling on this advice.1

Why the change? They claim it’s about bleeding risks, but there’s more to the story. Look at the timing — this shift comes as newer, far more expensive blood thinners flood the market. These drugs can cost up to $550 a month,2 while aspirin sets you back just $1.50.3

It’s a pattern we’ve seen before with drugs like ivermectin. Safe, effective and cheap medicines get pushed aside to make way for pricier alternatives. The pharmaceutical industry has a long history of this, dating back to when nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were introduced in the 1970s.

They’re telling you to avoid aspirin, but are they telling you the whole truth? As always, I encourage you to look beyond the headlines and consider who benefits from these changing guidelines. Your health — and your wallet — may depend on it.

For decades, aspirin has been a cornerstone in the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). A comprehensive review of 13 primary prevention trials recently revealed that low-dose aspirin is associated with small but statistically significant reductions in major CVD events, such as heart attack and stroke.4

The absolute risk reduction can be up to 2.5%, which means that for every 1,000 people taking aspirin, up to 25 fewer may experience a major CVD event. But the truth is, aspirin offers numerous health advantages beyond heart health that are rarely talked about. Learning about these benefits can help you take control of your health.

Aspirin’s Role in Cancer Prevention

Recent studies have shed light on aspirin’s potential to prevent colorectal cancer (CRC) and other types of cancer. Taking at least 75 milligrams (mg) of aspirin daily for several years has been shown to reduce the long-term incidence and death from CRC,5 with the greatest benefit seen for proximal colon cancers, which are malignancies that occur in the first and middle sections of the colon, also known as the right side of the colon.

In fact, in women, aspirin use for over 20 years was associated with a 35% reduction in CRC incidence.6 The effect appears to be dose-dependent, with longer duration of use linked to greater benefits. Aspirin may also improve survival rates after a CRC diagnosis, with regular users showing reductions in CRC mortality of 29% and overall mortality of 21%.7

Interestingly, the benefits of aspirin use in CRC may extend to other cancer types as well. An analysis of eight trials found that the 20-year risk of any cancer death was reduced by 20%, and gastrointestinal cancer deaths by 35%. These findings suggest that low-dose aspirin use over multiple years could be a valuable tool in your cancer prevention strategy.

Research has also uncovered a role for aspirin in treating certain types of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or liver cancer. A case study revealed that aspirin effectively controlled disease progression in a patient with HCC caused by adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) mutations.8 These mutations, which activate the Wnt pathway, were identified as the primary driver of the patient’s cancer.

By administering high-dose aspirin (300 mg daily), doctors achieved disease control for nearly five years. The effectiveness of aspirin in this HCC case is linked to its ability to inhibit the Wnt pathway, which plays a crucial role in cancer development. In patients with APC mutations, the Wnt pathway becomes overactivated, promoting tumor growth.

Aspirin works by activating glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3β), which in turn increases the phosphorylation and degradation of β-catenin, a key protein in the Wnt pathway.

This mechanism effectively counteracts the effects of the APC mutation. Additionally, aspirin’s action as a cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) inhibitor may contribute to its anticancer effects. This case demonstrates how a common, inexpensive drug like aspirin could be repurposed for targeted cancer therapy based on specific genetic profiles.

Aspirin Improves Pregnancy Outcomes During Influenza Infection

Low-dose aspirin may also offer benefits during influenza infection in pregnancy.9 A study using a mouse model found that aspirin treatment significantly improved vascular function in pregnant mice infected with influenza A virus.10 The infected mice showed impaired blood vessel relaxation, but aspirin treatment restored normal vascular function.

This is important because vascular dysfunction during pregnancy can lead to complications like preeclampsia and restricted fetal growth. The study also found that aspirin reduced inflammation in the blood vessels and decreased viral spread from the lungs to other tissues. Most notably, aspirin treatment improved outcomes for the offspring, including better survival rates and higher birth weights.

These findings suggest that the vascular protective effects of aspirin may help support a healthier pregnancy even in the face of influenza infection. The dosage used in the study was comparable to the low doses of aspirin already safely prescribed to some high-risk pregnant women to prevent preeclampsia. This suggests the treatment could be readily translatable to clinical use. However, as Georgi Dinkov notes:11

“The even better news is that these findings do not apply only to flu and/or only to pregnancy. COVID-19, as well as most other viral infections, cause similar systemic state of inflammation, which affects primarily the vascular system. As such, the study … suggests that aspirin may be a viable prophylactic and treatment intervention for all other viral conditions as well.”

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Aspirin Therapy Shows Promise for Fatty Liver Disease

A daily aspirin regimen may offer more benefits than you realize. A study presented at the 2023 meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases12 revealed that low-dose aspirin could be an effective treatment for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), a condition previously known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

The terminology shift aims to more accurately reflect the underlying metabolic dysfunction associated with the condition, emphasizing the metabolic risk factors and pathophysiology rather than just the absence of alcohol consumption. In a groundbreaking trial, researchers found that taking 81mg of aspirin daily led to significant improvements in liver health for patients with MASLD.13

Over a six-month period, participants who took aspirin experienced a substantial reduction in liver fat content compared to those who received a placebo. This decrease in liver fat was accompanied by improvements in other markers of liver health, including inflammation and fibrosis.

The study’s findings are particularly exciting because they demonstrate aspirin’s ability to address multiple aspects of liver health. Not only did aspirin reduce the amount of fat in the liver, but it also showed promise in tackling inflammation and fibrosis — two key factors in the progression of liver disease.

Participants who took aspirin saw a 17.3% decrease in intrahepatic lipid content — the amount of fat stored within liver cells — while those in the placebo group experienced a 30.3% increase. This striking difference suggests that aspirin could potentially halt or even reverse the accumulation of fat in the liver, a hallmark of MASLD.

Additionally, the aspirin group showed improvements in liver enzyme levels and other markers of liver health, indicating a broader positive impact on liver function.

Aspirin Improves Mortality Rates in the ICU

While the previous study focused on aspirin’s benefits for fatty liver disease, new research suggests its potential extends to critical care settings. A large-scale study involving 146,191 intensive care unit (ICU) patients found that aspirin use during ICU stays was associated with a significant reduction in 28-day mortality rates.14

This effect was particularly notable in patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) symptoms but without sepsis. The findings add another layer of understanding of aspirin’s many health benefits. Not only might it help protect your liver from fat accumulation and inflammation, but it could also improve your chances of survival if you ever find yourself in intensive care.

Aspirin’s Role in Preventing Diabetes and Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

Aspirin also has a protective effect against Type 2 diabetes. An analysis of the ASPREE trial, which involved 16,209 adults aged 65 and older, revealed that those taking low-dose aspirin (100 mg daily) had a 15% lower risk of developing diabetes compared to those on placebo.15 This finding adds a new dimension to the potential benefits of aspirin therapy, especially for older adults.

The study also found that aspirin use was associated with a slower increase in fasting plasma glucose levels over time, revealing that aspirin might help maintain better blood sugar control, even in individuals who don’t develop full-blown diabetes.

A large cohort study involving 3,435 patients also revealed that aspirin use is associated with slower progression of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs), particularly in men and nonsmokers.16 This reveals even more about aspirin’s potential benefits, extending beyond heart health and diabetes prevention.

AAAs are a serious vascular condition that can lead to life-threatening ruptures if left unchecked. The study found that patients taking aspirin had a 36% lower odds of rapid aneurysm progression compared to those not taking aspirin. While aspirin didn’t significantly impact long-term mortality or major bleeding risks, its potential to slow AAA growth could be a game-changer in managing this condition.

Aspirin’s Impressive Anti-Fibrotic Effects

Aspirin could also be useful as a treatment for pulmonary fibrosis,17 a lung disease that occurs when lung tissue becomes damaged and scarred. This thickening and stiffening of the tissue make it difficult for your lungs to work properly, leading to a decline in lung function.

Aspirin may help combat lung scarring. A study found that aspirin significantly inhibited the differentiation and migration of lung fibroblasts, which are key drivers of fibrosis, or scarring.18 When researchers treated fibrotic lung cells with aspirin, it markedly decreased the expression of proteins associated with fibrosis like collagen, fibronectin, and alpha-smooth muscle actin.

In a mouse model of pulmonary fibrosis, aspirin treatment reduced collagen deposition and lung fibrosis compared to untreated mice. These findings suggest aspirin may help prevent the excessive scarring and tissue remodeling seen in pulmonary fibrosis. Given aspirin’s wide availability, low cost and established safety profile, it presents an intriguing option for pulmonary fibrosis treatment.

The study also sheds light on how aspirin might combat pulmonary fibrosis — by enhancing a cellular process called autophagy. Autophagy is your cells’ way of recycling damaged components and maintaining homeostasis. Interestingly, insufficient autophagy has been observed in lung tissue from patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

The research found that aspirin treatment increased markers of autophagy in fibrotic lung cells and tissues. Using electron microscopy, the researchers also observed more autophagosomes (structures involved in autophagy) in aspirin-treated samples. When autophagy was blocked using inhibitors, it reversed aspirin’s anti-fibrotic effects. This suggests that aspirin may work by activating autophagy to clear out damaged proteins and prevent the build-up of scar tissue.

By promoting this natural cellular cleaning process, aspirin could potentially slow down or even reverse the progression of pulmonary fibrosis, adding to aspirin’s diverse health benefits and opening up new possibilities for its therapeutic use.

Long-Term Aspirin Use Offers Cognitive Benefits

While previous research on aspirin’s cognitive benefits has been mixed, research published in Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy highlights the importance of long-term use.19 The analysis found that taking low-dose aspirin for more than 10 years was critical for detecting a protective effect against dementia.

This suggests that starting aspirin use in middle age and continuing it for at least a decade may offer cognitive benefits. Aspirin’s protective effects for dementia were mainly seen in people with pre-existing coronary heart disease (CHD).

Among CHD patients, low-dose aspirin use was associated with a 31% reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease, 69% reduced risk of vascular dementia and 54% reduced risk of all-cause dementia. If you have CHD, it’s therefore possible that low-dose aspirin could provide dual benefits for your cardiovascular and cognitive health.

Aspirin’s Metabolic Magic: From Fat Burning to Hormone Balance

Aspirin also enhances your body’s use of glucose for energy while reducing the release of fatty acids from fat cells, particularly linoleic acid (LA), an omega-6 fat that’s a significant contributor to chronic disease.

This is crucial because most Americans have excess LA in their tissues, and it takes seven years of a low-LA diet to reduce it to healthy levels. Therefore, you want to avoid increasing LA release from fat stores into your body. It’s preferable to release LA gradually, allowing your liver to process it. Being water-soluble, you can eliminate it through urine without it being converted into inflammatory prostaglandins.

Notably, aspirin also lowers your baseline cortisol — indirectly by reducing inflammation, and directly by inhibiting an enzyme that converts inactive cortisone to active cortisol. Aspirin decreases stress-induced aldosterone production, potentially helping to lower blood pressure.

It increases your carbon dioxide and progesterone levels while inhibiting a major inflammatory pathway, NF kappa-B, which can help your body naturally boost the production of two important hormones: testosterone and progesterone.

Aspirin also uncouples mitochondria. This uncoupling of mitochondrial oxidative metabolism from ATP production can help increase your metabolic rate and aid in weight loss. Dinitrophenol (DNP), like aspirin, uncouples mitochondrial metabolism and causes significant weight loss. However, DNP’s effective dose is dangerously close to its toxic dose, making it too risky for clinical use and no longer available in the U.S.

Aspirin Purchasing Guidelines

If you decide to use aspirin, avoid coated extended-release versions due to their additives. Opt for immediate-release aspirin, which can be found on Amazon. Check the inactive ingredients list carefully — corn starch should be the only one listed. After thorough research, I found a product meeting these criteria. The suggested dosage is dependent on your circumstances 82 mg to 325 mg tablet daily with your largest meal.

I’m convinced of aspirin’s preventive value and now take 111 mg daily using Health Natura’s USP grade 60 gram aspirin powder for under $20. However, I use a 99% pure USP aspirin version that’s not in tablet form. I find its prometabolic, antilipolytic, anti-inflammatory, anticortisol, and anti-estrogen effects appealing, and its safety is well-established.

If you’re sensitive to aspirin, consider using a salicylic acid or willow bark supplement instead. When you take aspirin, your body metabolizes the acetylsalicylic acid into salicylic acid, which is responsible for aspirin’s anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving and antithrombotic effects. This compound is naturally found in willow bark.

Overall, aspirin is a versatile and underappreciated medication with a wide array of health benefits beyond its well-known cardiovascular applications. From cancer prevention and improved pregnancy outcomes to potential treatments for liver disease and cognitive decline, aspirin’s diverse effects warrant further research and consideration.

Its metabolic impacts and potential to influence hormone balance add another layer to its therapeutic potential. The breadth of aspirin’s potential benefits suggests that this common, inexpensive medication may have more to offer than health authorities are acknowledging in supporting overall health and preventing various chronic conditions.

Posted in Brain, Diabetes, Fat, Hormones, Liver, Metabolism, Mortality, Pain, Pregnancy, Supplements | One Comment »

Posted by: | Posted on: July 18, 2024

Castor Oil May Be Helpful in the Treatment of Dry Eye Disease


Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2024/07/18/castor-oil-dry-eye-disease.aspx

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola     July 18, 2024

castor oil dry eye disease

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

  • Researchers with the University of Auckland in New Zealand tested castor oil in the treatment of dry eye disease, with promising results
  • People with blepharitis, an inflammation of the eyelids that’s a common cause of dry eye disease, applied a 100% cold pressed castor oil formulation to the eyelid of one eye twice daily for four weeks
  • There was a significant improvement in dry eye symptoms in the eyes treated with castor oil
  • The castor-oil treated eyes had reduced eyelid swelling, visible blood vessels, tangled eyelashes, eyelash loss, dandruff-like flakes and eyelid inflammation
  • Applied topically, castor oil has a variety of beneficial uses for skin and hair health, fungal infections, muscle and joint pain, and more

Castor oil comes from the seeds of the castor bean plant, Ricinus communis. It’s a pale-yellow liquid with a distinct taste and odor, primarily composed of ricinoleic acid, which accounts for about 90% of its fatty acid content.

Known for its various industrial, medicinal and cosmetic uses, castor oil has been utilized for centuries. Industrially, castor oil is used as a lubricant and in the production of soaps, paints, inks and waxes. Medicinally, it’s commonly used as a laxative to relieve occasional constipation. Researchers with the University of Auckland in New Zealand also tested it in the treatment of dry eye disease, with promising results.

Dry Eye Syndrome Is Increasing in Young and Old

Dry eye disease, also known as dry eye syndrome or keratoconjunctivitis sicca, is a common condition that occurs when your eyes don’t produce enough tears or when your tears evaporate too quickly. This results in inflammation and damage to your eye’s surface, leading to discomfort and vision problems.

Worldwide, prevalence is up to 50% in certain regions,1 with risk increasing at age 50 and over. Other risk factors include menopause, autoimmune diseases, extended screen time and wearing contact lenses.

In New Zealand, it’s estimated that 58% of people over age 50 have dry eye disease,2 for instance, while in the U.S. the condition is increasing in both young and old adults, “making it imperative that clinicians figure out how best to treat it,” noted the American Academy of Ophthalmology.3

Blepharitis, an inflammation of the eyelids, particularly at the base of the eyelashes, is one of the most common causes of dry eye disease, accounting for more than 80% of cases, according to the University of Auckland.4

“Currently, patients are left grappling with symptoms of dryness, grittiness and, in some cases, watery eyes that feel uncomfortable impacting on their quality of life and work productivity,” the study’s lead clinical investigator Catherine Jennings explained. “Often patients are left feeling helpless when attempting to manage a chronic condition.”5

While antibacterial and anti-inflammatory medications are available for treatment, antimicrobial resistance and significant side effects make them unsuitable for long-term use. University of Auckland researchers instead tested cold-pressed castor oil enhanced with mānuka and kanuka oils, applied using a rollerball applicator, for treatment.

Study Shows Castor Oil Benefits Blepharitis, Dry Eye Disease

The study involved 26 people with signs of blepharitis. They applied a 100% cold pressed castor oil formulation to the eyelid of one eye twice daily for four weeks.6

At the start, there were no differences between the treated and control eyes. However, after four weeks of treatment, there was a significant improvement in dry eye symptoms in the eyes treated with castor oil. The treated eyes had reduced eyelid swelling, visible blood vessels, tangled eyelashes, eyelash loss, dandruff-like flakes and eyelid inflammation.

Castor oil treatment also led to less staphylococcal and seborrheic crusting on the eyelashes compared to the control eyes. Further, there were no negative side effects reported. According to the study:7

“Topical castor oil application effected significant improvements in ocular surface signs and symptoms in patients with blepharitis. The favorable therapeutic profile would suggest that castor oil demonstrates promise as a potential treatment for blepharitis, and support the conduct of further efficacy trials with longer follow up.”

The researchers are now conducting a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled study to look further into the effects of castor oil on dry eye and eyelash crusting.8 Study author Jennifer Craig, head of the University of Auckland’s Ocular Surface Laboratory, said:9

“Castor oil has been proposed as a natural product that could offer a safe, effective and easy-to-use alternative to existing therapies.

My hope is this study will produce evidence-based guidance for clinicians with regard to offering castor oil as a possible management option for patients suffering from blepharitis, so they continue to enjoy a great quality of life, read the books they love, be productive in their work environment and enjoy other visual hobbies.”

Craig and colleagues wrote a review about the therapeutic potential of castor oil in managing blepharitis and dry eye, as well as meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), which causes dryness in the eyes, in 2020, noting:10

“Castor oil is deemed safe and tolerable, with strong anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-nociceptive, analgesic, antioxidant, wound healing and vaso-constrictive properties. Its main constituent, ricinoleic acid, has a bipolar molecular structure that promotes the formation of esters, amides and polymers.

These can supplement deficient physiological tear film lipids, enabling enhanced lipid spreading characteristics and reducing aqueous tear evaporation. Studies reveal that castor oil applied topically to the ocular surface has a prolonged residence time, facilitating increased tear film lipid layer thickness, stability, improved ocular surface staining and symptoms.”

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Topical Castor Oil Has Many Uses

Castor oil is considered one of the world’s oldest drugs, perhaps most well-known for its laxative effects and ability to induce labor in pregnant women11 — although I don’t recommend using it for the latter purpose.

Applied topically, castor oil may help reduce inflammation and fight infections. It’s also sometimes used to treat conditions like arthritis and minor skin infections, and the oil can promote healing of small cuts and abrasions due to its antimicrobial properties.

“The previous pilot study, conducted by our research team, was unique in its use of castor oil in such an application on the eyelids, with the product not known to be used anywhere else in the world for treating blepharitis,” Jennings said.12 However, anecdotal reports suggest that dabbing a small amount of castor oil on your eyelids may also help you fall asleep easier, while topical castor oil is widely used for a variety of haircare and skincare purposes.

Castor oil has a variety of cosmetic uses, and is a popular ingredient in skincare products, due to its ability to deeply moisturize and hydrate the skin. It’s often used to treat dry skin and conditions like eczema and psoriasis, as well as in hair care products to support hair growth, reduce dandruff and moisturize the scalp.13

Massaging warm castor oil on your scalp (and even your eyebrows) may stimulate the follicles and result in extra hair growth. Do this every night, and you might see improvement in as little as two weeks. Castor oil may work on areas that have been affected by alopecia as well.

In addition to offering a moisturizing effect on hair, the fatty acids in castor oil may nourish the hair follicle. Ricinoleic acid also helps protect the scalp and hair shaft form fungal and microbial infections. It also penetrates the skin and may inhibit prostaglandin D2 synthase, which inhibits hair growth.14

Castor Oil for Skincare and Fungal Infections

Some people also use castor oil to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines due to its moisturizing and anti-inflammatory properties. The fatty acids in castor oil help nourish and moisturize dry skin. Due to its viscous nature, it stays put and easily penetrates your skin tissue. Castor oil is considered an occlusive moisturizer, which forms a barrier on the skin, helping to prevent the evaporation of water.15

Because of castor oil’s antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, it may also have some beneficial effects on skin tags, acne and warts. One study published in the Journal of International Toxicology also found that castor oil may have positive effects against occupational dermatitis.16

Castor oil may even be useful for reliving common infections like ringworm, jock itch (tinea cruris) and athlete’s foot. Research also suggests that phytochemical compounds in castor essential oil may relieve infections caused by Cunninghamella bertholletiae fungi as well as standard antifungal drugs.17

To use, simply rub a teaspoon of castor oil between your palms and apply to your skin. You can also mix castor oil with a carrier oil to reduce any risk of irritation.

What Else Is Castor Oil Good For?

If you’re in need of a natural laxative, castor oil is “generally regarded as safe and effective” for use as a stimulant laxative,18 according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Oral ingestion of castor oil can “purge” the digestive tract within two to five hours.

However, remember to take it in the appropriate dose. Adults can take 1 to 2 tablespoons, while children 2 to 12 years old should be given only 1 to 2 teaspoons. Infants under 2 years old are not advised to take more than a teaspoon at a time. When giving it to children, try mixing it in freshly squeezed juice so it becomes more palatable.

Topical application of ricinoleic acid found in castor oil may also exert “remarkable analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects.”19 It’s useful for muscle pain relief, to alleviate joint pain and “can be used as an effective therapy” among patients with knee osteoarthritis.20

You can try rubbing castor oil on your muscles after a workout to promote blood circulation and relieve soreness, or massage it onto your joints for pain relief. Ricinoleic acid in castor oil also has a decongestant effect on the lymphatic system, which is responsible for collecting waste from your tissues and carrying it to your bloodstream for elimination. Castor oil, applied topically on your skin, may help jumpstart your lymphatic system.

Is Castor Oil Poisonous?

Castor beans have notable anti-inflammatory, anthelmintic, antibacterial, wound-healing and laxative properties, but they also contain ricin, a poison that can inhibit protein synthesis in cells, leading to cell death. This is why, if chewed and swallowed, castor beans are toxic. Ricin is also contained in the bean pulp that remains after it’s pressed for oil, but ricin isn’t found in castor oil.

“Castor oil does not contain ricin because ricin does not partition into the oil,” according to the International Journal of Toxicology.21 It may be the poison from castor beans that has the longest usage. According to the Toxins review:22

“The castor plant has been known since time immemorial and its use in the prehistoric era has been evidenced by archaeological findings such as that of the Border Cave in South Africa. Traces of wax containing ricinoleic and ricinelaidic acids were found on a thin wooden stick, which was suggested to be a poison applicator, dating back to about 24,000 years ago.”

Ricin prevents protein synthesis and kills your cells through oral, nasal or intravenous transfusion. It’s so potent that ingesting or inhaling just 1 milligram may be fatal,23 just as eating four to eight castor seeds can lead to death.24 There is no antidote for ricin, which is why it’s even used as a chemical warfare agent.25

How to Use Castor Oil Safely

While castor beans are highly toxic, castor oil is safe in recommended doses. However, ingesting large quantities can lead to serious gastrointestinal distress, including severe diarrhea and dehydration. Overuse can also disrupt electrolyte balance, so it’s important to follow recommended dosages for internal use and to test your skin for sensitivity before topical application.

Further, pregnant women shouldn’t use castor oil due to its ability to induce contractions. Even late in pregnancy, I don’t recommend using castor oil to stimulate labor. One study reported that all pregnant women who took castor oil experienced nausea afterward.26

Another study also warned that the castor oil-induced contractions may lead to the passage of meconium — a baby’s first stool — while still inside the womb, putting them at risk of meconium aspiration that may result in neonatal respiratory distress.27

If you suffer from digestive problems like irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers, cramps, diverticulitis, colitis or hemorrhoids, I advise you to avoid using this oil. Those who have recently undergone surgery should also refrain from using castor oil. And when choosing a product to use, look for organic castor oil from a trustworthy source.

Many commercial castor oils contain pesticide residues and are processed with solvents and other chemicals. For the highest quality oil free of contaminants and with its beneficial components intact, look for organic castor oil.

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Posted by: | Posted on: May 26, 2024

97% of Countries Will Soon Be Unable to Sustain Populations as Fertility Rates Drop


Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2024/05/25/dropping-fertility-rates.aspx

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola     May 25, 2024

dropping fertility rates

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

  • A report published in The Lancet predicts that by 2100, the global infertility problem will be so severe that 97% of countries will be unable to sustain their populations. According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 6 people globally are now infertile
  • Exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and radiofrequency radiation may be the most significant factor for the observed decrease in male sperm count
  • Endocrine-disrupting chemicals like phthalates and bisphenols are also a key culprit to infertility and declining sperm count rates in men
  • Several factors can compromise your ability to reproduce, but following some basic common-sense strategies and healthy lifestyle habits can help address the root of infertility

Americans are now having difficulty conceiving, with one-third of adults in the U.S. turning to fertility treatments or are acquainted with someone who has.1 According to the National Institutes of Health, 9% of men and 11% of women in the U.S. are now struggling with fertility problems, and in healthy couples below 30 years old, 40% to 60% fail to conceive in the first three months of having unprotected sex.2

But infertility isn’t just an American dilemma; it’s a worldwide crisis. According to the World Health Organization,3 1 in 6 people globally are now infertile — and it’s going to get much worse, unless we do something about it.

‘Dramatic Decline’ in Fertility Will Cause Populations to Drop in Most Countries

A report published in The Lancet4 predicts that by 2100, the global infertility problem will be so severe that 97% of countries will be unable to sustain their populations. Published in March 2024, the featured report5 estimates that there will be a dramatic decline in fertility globally, with majority of countries experiencing a significant drop in fertility rates. According to an article by Euronews Health:6

“Researchers led by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in the US found that three-quarters of countries will not have fertility rates high enough to sustain population size by 2050.

By 2100, they project that this will be the case in 97% of countries, estimating that the global total fertility rate will drop from 2.23 births per female in her lifetime in 2021 to 1.68 in 2050 and 1.57 in 2100.”

Taking into the account the margins of error, the projected fertility rates in the featured report are not far off from the United Nations projections, which state “global fertility is projected to fall from 2.3 children per woman in 2021 to 2.1 in 2050.”7 This is based on their World Population Prospects report published in 2022.8

A separate commentary9 about the featured report, also published in The Lancet, notes, “Although projections are by their nature hypothetical, they ought to offer an avenue for scrutiny, objective comparisons with other forecasts, and improvement, and should inform actions that countries could take to influence, or not, the rate of TFR [total fertility rate] declines.”

What’s Causing Fertility Rates to Decline?

Gitau Mburu, one of the authors of the commentary, reached out to Euronews Health, stating that declining fertility rates can be caused by multiple factors, including “education, contraception access, and postponing parenthood.” He also says economic reasons, such as the cost of raising children and changes in the work force, may also be to blame.10

However, I believe environmental factors, such as being exposed to toxic substances that are ubiquitous in our lives today, could play a more significant role. A 2000 study11 explored several environmental factors affecting fertility, including cigarette smoking, alcohol and exposure to chemicals and pesticides in the workplace. The authors state:

“Although infertility can be caused by many different factors, most infertility is caused by abnormal oocyte and/or sperm production, tubal defects, or endometriosis.

It is important to note, however, that a significant proportion of infertility is unexplained. Investigators hypothesize that environmental factors have the potential to alter male and female reproductive tissues and thus affect the ability of couples to conceive healthy offspring.”

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Microwaves — The Invisible Factor Damaging Your Reproductive Health

One stealth factor that can make you infertile is your exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and radiofrequency radiation from wireless technologies, like cellphones and Wi-Fi. In fact, I believe this may be the most significant reason why sperm counts are dwindling today.12

According to a 2023 study published in the journal Fertility and Sterility,13 men who use their cell phones more than 20 times a day have significantly lower sperm concentrations and sperm counts than those who use their phones once a week or less.

Research by Martin Pall, Ph.D., can help explain why this occurs. Nearly a decade ago, he discovered a previously unknown mechanism of biological harm from microwave radiation. Your cell membranes contain voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) which, when activated by microwaves release about 1 million calcium ions per second.

This massive excess of intracellular calcium then stimulates the release of nitric oxide (NO) inside your cell and mitochondria, which combines with superoxide to form peroxynitrite. Peroxynitrites not only cause oxidative damage, but also create hydroxyl free radicals, which are the most destructive free radicals known to man.

Hydroxyl free radicals decimate mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, their membranes and proteins, resulting in mitochondrial dysfunction. In a 2013 children’s health expert panel on cellphone and Wi-Fi exposures,14 it was noted that “The testicular barrier, that protects sperm, is the most sensitive of tissues in the body … Besides sperm count and function, the mitochondrial DNA of sperm are damaged three times more if exposed to cellphone radiation.”

Many in-vivo and in-vitro studies have also demonstrated the potential implications of EMF exposure to reproductive function. In a paper published in Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine,15 researchers noted that EMFs can affect sperm motility, and the degree of damage can vary depending on the frequency, duration of exposure and strength of EMFs.

Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Are Also Making You Infertile

Environmental and reproductive epidemiologist Shanna Swan, Ph.D., says that sperm counts in Western men have been declining for decades, as the rates in 2011 were less than half of what they were in 1973.16 She notes another key culprit for this decline — endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs).

Swan, who authored the book “Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race,” says that phthalates and bisphenols are one of the key culprits to infertility and declining sperm count rates in men. If the curve continues to decline, the median sperm count will be zero by 2045.17 Couples who want to have children will then have no choice but to seek fertility treatments.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals work by adhering to hormone receptors and directly interfere with the functioning of your steroid hormones, which are crucial for pregnancy and fetal development. As a result, these chemicals can change how many receptors are present in cells, as well as affect the creation, movement, levels and breakdown of hormones in your blood.

This is a cause for concern, considering how ubiquitous EDCs are in our everyday lives. Plastics, cosmetics, personal care products, and processed and packaged foods all contain EDCs. In an article published in Salon,18 Swan comments:

“We also see declines in testosterone in several studies around the world. We see increases in erectile dysfunction. We see increases in rates of genital abnormalities … We see increases in testicular cancer rates.”

France’s national public health agency, Santé Publique France (SPF), recently released 21 health effects linked to endocrine-disrupting chemicals that they consider a priority for surveillance.19 The findings were part of the 2021 PEPS’PE study, and unsurprisingly, “infertility,” “decreased fertility” and “alteration of sperm quality” are on the list.20

‘Forever Chemicals’ Are Just as Problematic

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFAS) are dubbed “forever chemicals” because aside from having the ability not to break down easily in the environment, they can also bioaccumulate in wildlife and people. When these EDCs enter your body, they can have half-lives of two to five years.21

Forever chemicals are used in food packaging, clothing, personal care products and other stain- and grease-resistant products. It can even be found in your clothes — including your children’s school uniform. A 2022 study22 notes that about 3 tons of PFAS are used in U.S. school uniforms annually, exposing children to 1.03 ng/kg bw/day of PFAS, which can be absorbed via their skin.

Over 9,000 PFAS are used today, and exposure is so widespread that 97% of Americans were found to have PFAS in their bodies.23 And just like phthalates and bisphenols, many studies24,25,26 demonstrate their potential to disrupt reproductive hormones and affect fertility.

A study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives,27,28 for example, notes that there’s “a statistically significant association between exposure to a mixture of PFAS in early pregnancy and lower sperm concentration and total sperm count and higher proportion of non-progressive and immotile sperm” in male offspring.

PFAS have also been linked to reproductive health issues in women. A study29 conducted by researchers in Singapore highlighted the dangers of these chemicals on women’s fertility, saying that “higher exposure to PFAS, individually and as a mixture, is associated with reduced probability for clinical pregnancy and live birth.”

The researchers also note that forever chemicals not only disrupt reproductive hormones, but they can also delay puberty, and increase the risk of endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).30

What’s on Your Dinner Plate Can Also Affect Your Fertility

It’s no secret that we’re exposed to dangerous chemicals every day from our environment. However, your food choices could be adding to your toxic load, too. For example, conventional fruits and vegetables today are sprayed with pesticides, including glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup. These chemicals are particularly problematic, as they are known endocrine disruptors.

High pesticide exposure from pesticide-treated fruits and vegetables has been associated with an 18% lower in-vitro fertilization (IVF) success rate in women. They were also 26% less likely to have a live birth if they did become pregnant.31 This clearly illustrates why it’s far better to opt for organic, pesticide-free produce.

And if you’re always fond of eating processed foods like frozen pizzas, pancakes and waffles, be warned – these products contain sodium aluminum phosphate, a known neurotoxin that could impact your reproductive health. Used in food products as an emulsifying agent and stabilizer, this ingredient, albeit classified as “safe to consume,”32 could have long-term damaging effects on your fertility.

According to Dr. Naomi Wolf, exposure to sodium aluminum phosphate may lead to long-term oxidative stress, DNA damage and a negative impact on blood testosterone levels and sperm production.33 For a more detailed report about this additive, you can read my article “Food Additive in Pizza, Pancakes Linked to Lower Sperm Counts.”

Vaccines Cause Low Testosterone and Miscarriage

Wolf adds that exposure to aluminum-containing products can also be a key factor in the increasing rates of depression, weight gain and sexual disinterest among young men — these may all be associated with decreased levels of testosterone.34

I’ve warned about aluminum’s serious risks for many years now, especially its role in the rising rates of autism and Alzheimer’s. You can be exposed to it in many ways, but one of the most significant sources — and potentially one of the worst — is through vaccines. Vaccines contain aluminum adjuvants, which bypass your body’s natural filtering and detoxification systems.

Particularly problematic are the mRNA shots, which are likely both ineffective and dangerous. Wolf claims that mRNA shots contain aluminum,35 and although there is no current proof the mRNA shot for COVID does, the European Medicines Agency has approved the use of other COVID vaccines using complete viruses and a dual adjuvant of aluminum hydroxide-CpG 1018. Shots against COVID-19 that contain aluminum adjuvants are also approved in other countries.

Equally alarming is the fact that vaccines can cause miscarriage in pregnant women. In 2009, women reported losing their babies hours or days after getting the H1N1 swine flu vaccine. Not surprisingly, these instances were passed off as coincidental.36

However, a 2017 paper published in the journal Vaccine37 found that women who had received a pH1N1-containing flu vaccine two years in a row were more likely to suffer miscarriage within the following 28 days.

The CDC has not made any changes to its recommendation for pregnant women to get vaccinated against influenza, and is recommending getting the vaccine “during any trimester of pregnancy.”38,39 This is reprehensible public health policy at its worst, as corporations are profiting while the health of moms and their unborn children are being sacrificed.

Progesterone Can Help Reduce Miscarriage Risk

If you’re pregnant or planning to get pregnant, I advise you to avoid vaccines, including mRNA jabs. Remember, the more mRNA shots you take, the more severe the damage to your immune system could be.

Another way to reduce your risk of a miscarriage is to consider progesterone supplementation. Dubbed the “pregnancy hormone,”40 it plays a crucial role in conception, from implantation of the embryo to delivery of the baby.

According to studies published in 2020,41 progesterone could prevent 8,450 miscarriages each year, especially when given to women with bleeding in early pregnancy. For more information, read my article “Progesterone for Miscarriage Prevention.”

More Strategies to Boost Fertility Naturally

There are indeed various factors that can compromise your ability to reproduce, but I believe following some basic common-sense strategies and healthy lifestyle habits can help address the root of infertility. Here’s a summary of my recommendations:

Minimize your exposure to toxic chemicals, including heavy metals, endocrine disruptors, pesticides and herbicides, formaldehyde, organic solvents, dry-cleaning chemicals and paint fumes.
Avoid all vaccines, particularly mRNA shots — If you’ve already had one or more COVID-19 shots, there are steps you can take to repair from the assault on your system. The Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC) also has a treatment protocol for post-jab injuries. It’s called I-RECOVER and can be downloaded from covid19criticalcare.com.42
Avoid drinking unfiltered tap water, as our waterways are constantly being polluted by industrial waste and byproducts.
Eat an optimal fertility diet — An optimal fertility diet is about what to avoid as much as it is about what to include. Eat REAL food, ideally organic, to avoid pesticide residues, and locally grown.

Avoid factory farmed animal products, processed seed and vegetable oils that are loaded with linoleic acid (LA) that destroys mitochondrial function, as well as unfermented soy, as soybeans contain phytoestrogens that act on hormones. Men would do well to add more sperm-enhancing foods43 to their diet, such as organic pastured eggs, bananas, asparagus, broccoli, pomegranates, garlic and all zinc-rich foods (zinc plays a key role in sperm development).
Avoid common allergens — An overactive immune system is more likely to attack its own body cells, and the link between food intolerances and anti-sperm antibodies is well established. The two most widely spread food intolerances are gluten and dairy. Factory-farmed milk can also be a source of estrogen that can harm a man’s fertility.
Minimize microwave exposure — Avoid carrying your cellphone on your body while it is on, and avoid using laptops and tablets on your lap. Turn off your Wi-Fi off at night and make your bedroom an EMF-free zone.
Get checked for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) — Some STDs, like chlamydia, can be asymptomatic. In men, chlamydia can lead to sperm abnormalities including sperm antibodies. In women, it can lead to scarring, blocked tubes and miscarriage.
Avoid coffee, smoking and alcohol — While organic black coffee has several health benefits, fertility does not appear to be one of them. On the contrary, studies suggest it decreases fertility.44 Alcohol, smoking and recreational drugs can also adversely affect fertility, reducing the size of your testes and lowering your sperm count.
Get regular exercise — According to research,45 getting at least 30 minutes of exercise three times a week can help boost men’s sperm count.
Normalize your weight — Obesity contributes to infertility in both men and women. Normalizing weight can help improve sperm quality and quantity in men and augment a woman’s chances of getting pregnant,46 in part by normalizing menstrual cycles.47
Limit hot baths and saunas — While hot baths and saunas have a myriad of health benefits, it’s ideal to limit them during the conception phase, as the heat can take a toll on sperm. In one three-year-long study,48 5 of 11 men who quit taking hot baths were able to raise their sperm count by 491%.
Combat stress — Make sure to get sufficient amounts of sleep and/or incorporate a tool like the Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), yoga or meditation to address stress.
Clean up your home environment — Use natural cleaning products or make your own.
– Sources and References

Posted in Allergy, Children, Coronavirus, Corruption, EMF, Fertility, Immunity, Linoleic Acid, Pregnancy, Stress, Toxins, Vaccinations | No Comments »

Posted by: | Posted on: March 17, 2024

Who Knew Humans Have a Third Set of Teeth?


Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2024/03/16/third-set-of-teeth.aspx
The original Mercola article may not remain on the original site, but I will endeavor to keep it on this site as long as I deem it to be appropriate.

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola     March 16, 2024

third set of teeth

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

  • Dental experts are exploring a medication to regenerate teeth, initially targeting anodontia, which could revolutionize dental care
  • Wisdom teeth, often called “third molars,” aren’t a separate set, but the final teeth to emerge in adulthood, evolving from ancestral needs
  • Gingivitis, if left untreated, can progress to periodontitis, highlighting the importance of proactive oral hygiene to prevent tooth loss
  • Gum disease not only affects oral health, but it also correlates with brain health, indicating a broader impact on overall wellness
  • Simple practices like oil pulling with coconut oil and maintaining a diet rich in whole foods complement oral hygiene routines, promoting healthier teeth and gums

Most people are born with 20 baby teeth and 32 permanent teeth. But around 1% of people have a condition called hyperdontia, which means they have extra teeth, known as supernumerary teeth.1

These extra teeth can be either baby or permanent, and there might be one or several of them. However, according to Katsu Takahashi, who heads the dentistry and oral surgery department at the Medical Research Institute Kitano Hospital in Osaka, Japan, about 1 in 3 cases of hyperdontia lead to the growth of a third set of teeth.

What’s interesting is that Takahashi and his colleagues believe that all humans might have once had the ability to grow a third set of teeth, but over time, this ability was lost.2 There’s even evidence suggesting that the “buds” for a third set of teeth may still exist.

Pioneering a Tooth Regenerative Drug

Sharks and certain reptiles have a unique ability: Their teeth continuously regenerate throughout their lives, sometimes as frequently as every two weeks.3 Could humans also tap into this regenerative power to grow new teeth once they’re lost? Takahashi and his team firmly believe so, and they’re actively developing a medication to try to make this a reality.

Their groundbreaking work, published in 2021, unveiled a protein produced by the uterine sensitization-associated gene-1 (USAG-1 gene)4 that hampers tooth growth in mice. By using a neutralizing antibody medicine to block USAG-1,5 the mice successfully grew new teeth.6 Now, the team is focused on translating these findings into a medication for humans, aimed at addressing anodontia — the complete absence of teeth — in children aged 2 to 6.

The clinical trials are slated to commence in July 2024, with the potential for the product to reach dentists’ offices by 2030.7 Takahashi told The Mainichi:8

“The idea of growing new teeth is every dentist’s dream. I’ve been working on this since I was a graduate student. I was confident I’d be able to make it happen … In any case, we’re hoping to see a time when tooth-regrowth medicine is a third choice alongside dentures and implants.”

Does a Third Set of Teeth Naturally Exist in Humans?

In a 2023 review published in Regenerative Therapy, Takahashi and colleagues detailed the progress made in tooth regeneration. They wrote, “Anti-USAG-1 antibody treatment in mice is effective in tooth regeneration and can be a breakthrough in treating tooth anomalies in humans.”9 They continued:

“With approximately 0.1% of the population suffering from congenital tooth agenesis and 10% of children worldwide suffering from partial tooth loss, early diagnosis will improve outcomes and the quality of life of patients. Understanding the role of pathogenic USAG-1 variants, their interacting gene partners, and their protein functions will help develop critical biomarkers.

Advances in next-generation sequencing, mass spectrometry, and imaging technologies will assist in developing companion and predictive biomarkers to help identify patients who will benefit from tooth regeneration.”

In humans, the potential for tooth regeneration hinges on what experts like Takahashi refer to as a “third dentition,” an additional set of teeth believed to naturally occur in humans.

“In addition to the permanent dentition in humans, a ‘third dentition’ with one or more teeth can occur. In some cases, this third dentition is thought to develop as a partial dentition following permanent dentition,” they explain. “In humans, a rudimentary epithelial form of the third dentition has been identified … Detection of the third dentition during early childhood facilitates the visualization and characterization of hyperdontia in the mouth of infant and some fetuses.”10

Apart from studies on mice, researchers also experimented on ferrets and found that using antibodies targeting USAG-1 resulted in tooth regeneration, akin to the concept of a third dentition. “This result is encouraging given that ferrets share dental patterns similar to those of humans,” they noted in Regenerative Therapy.11

While further testing for safety and effectiveness is crucial, the team remains optimistic about the potential of this treatment to stimulate tooth growth in humans.12

“Compared to dental implants and dentures, antibody-based treatment is more cost-effective and uses a naturally existing third dentition in humans at certain ages. Anti-USAG-1 antibody treatment in mice is effective for tooth regeneration and can be a breakthrough in treating tooth anomalies in humans.”

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Understanding Wisdom Teeth: Decoding the Role of ‘Third Molars’

Wisdom teeth, often known as “third molars,” are not a separate set of teeth; rather, they are the final set of teeth to emerge in adulthood.13 It’s believed that these molars, which typically appear between the ages of 18 to 24, might have served a purpose for our ancestors, who had larger jaws and more teeth.14

However, as human jaws have evolved to be smaller, wisdom teeth sometimes fail to erupt fully through the gums. When they do, they can pose issues if there isn’t adequate space. Oral health specialists commonly advise removing wisdom teeth if they’re growing in at odd angles, causing discomfort, experiencing tooth decay or impacting adjacent teeth, leading to inflammation.

Despite these recommendations, many parents choose to have their teenagers’ wisdom teeth extracted preventatively, even in the absence of apparent issues. Statistics suggest that around 5 million individuals undergo wisdom teeth removal annually, with many of these procedures potentially being unnecessary.15 A 2005 Cochrane Review also indicated that a significant number of wisdom teeth extractions could be avoided.16

The review highlighted the importance of judicious decision-making based on specific indicators for extraction, which could potentially reduce the need for surgical procedures by 60% or more. Furthermore, the authors suggested that closely monitoring asymptomatic wisdom teeth might be a reasonable approach. A subsequent 2020 Cochrane Review reiterated the ongoing debate surrounding the removal of asymptomatic and disease-free wisdom teeth:17

“Impacted wisdom teeth can cause swelling and ulceration of the gums around the wisdom teeth, damage to the roots of second molars, decay in second molars, gum and bone disease around second molars and development of cysts or tumors.

It is generally agreed that removing wisdom teeth is appropriate if signs or symptoms of disease related to the wisdom teeth are present, but there is less agreement about how asymptomatic disease-free impacted wisdom teeth should be managed.”

The Link Between Oral Health and Your Body’s Health

The medication researchers are testing will initially be designed to promote tooth regrowth in those with anodontia, but its success could pave the way for broader applications, including addressing tooth loss. However, it’s crucial to recognize that declining oral health not only affects your teeth but also impacts your overall well-being.

Without preventive oral hygiene, you can develop gingivitis, an inflammatory condition triggered by the buildup of plaque or bacteria on teeth. One of the symptoms of gingivitis is red, bleeding gums. Left untreated, gingivitis can progress to periodontitis, a severe infection that may lead to tooth loss.

Furthermore, dental health significantly influences brain health, as evidenced by studies linking gum disease to hippocampal atrophy, the shrinking of a brain region associated with Alzheimer’s disease. In one study18 involving 172 individuals aged 55 and older,19 both gum disease and tooth count were associated with changes in brain structure. Participants with mild gum disease and fewer teeth exhibited accelerated shrinkage in the left hippocampus.

In this cohort, the researchers found that people with one less tooth experienced more brain shrinkage at a rate that was equivalent to nearly one year of brain aging.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 studies revealed a marked increase in the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment among individuals with periodontal disease compared to those without.20 This risk was particularly pronounced in individuals with severe periodontal disease. Moreover, beyond cognitive decline, periodontitis has been linked to various systemic diseases, including:21

Diabetes Heart disease Respiratory disease
Adverse pregnancy outcomes Cancer Nervous system diseases

Recognizing Warning Signs of Oral Health Issues

Nearly half of adults aged 30 or older — about 46% — exhibit signs of gum disease, while approximately 9% have severe gum disease.22 However, the tricky part is that many individuals are unaware of their condition because gum disease often remains “silent,” showing no signs or symptoms until it reaches more advanced stages.23

In the early phase of gingivitis, you might notice that your gums bleed during brushing, flossing or when eating hard foods. Additionally, your gums may appear red or swollen. As the disease progresses, your gums might recede, making your teeth look longer. You may also experience loose teeth, mouth sores, bad breath and pus between your gums and teeth.24

Unlike anodontia, a rare genetic disorder resulting in tooth loss, the loss of teeth later in life can often be prevented by taking proactive oral health measures. Consistent oral hygiene practices, such as regular brushing, flossing and tongue scraping, coupled with routine cleanings by a mercury-free biological dentist, play a crucial role in maintaining healthy teeth and gums.

Adopting a lifestyle that prioritizes a diet rich in fresh, whole foods is also vital for promoting a naturally clean mouth and good oral health. Another beneficial practice is oil pulling, which involves swishing a small amount of oil, like coconut oil, around your mouth for approximately 20 minutes before spitting it out into the garbage.

Oil pulling, when combined with regular brushing and flossing, can help reduce gingivitis and plaque, as well as bacterial colony counts in saliva.25 Only a small amount of oil is needed to achieve good results — 1 tablespoon for adults and 1 teaspoon for a child.

Coconut oil, known for its antibacterial and antiviral properties, is particularly suitable for oil pulling. Research has shown that coconut oil pulling is as effective as chemical mouthwash (chlorhexidine) in reducing plaque, gingival index score, bleeding-on-probing and gingivitis,26 highlighting its potential benefits for oral health.

While the concept of growing a third set of teeth holds promise, the potential side effects of using medication to achieve this result are uncertain. For now, staying vigilant about your oral health can help ensure that your teeth remain firmly in place — where they belong — at any stage of life.

Posted in Bacteria, Cancer, Diabetes, Health, Inflammation, Nerves, Oral, Pregnancy, Teeth | No Comments »

Posted by: | Posted on: March 17, 2024

GSK and Pfizer RSV Vaccines for Pregnant Women Increased Risk of Preterm Births — GSK Ended Its Trials, but FDA Approved Pfizer Shots

© March 15, 2024 Children’s Health Defense, Inc. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of Children’s Health Defense, Inc.
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Reproduced from original article:
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GSK stopped developing a vaccine for pregnant women to protect newborns against syncytial virus (RSV) after identifying an increased risk of preterm births. Pfizer won approval of its nearly identical vaccine after the company said the increased rate of preterm births in its trials was “statistically insignificant”.
By Brenda Baletti, Ph.D.

pregnant belly and rsv vaccines

GSK on Thursday provided more details on the clinical trials for its maternal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine. The company halted the trials and stopped developing the vaccine in February 2022, after identifying an increased risk of preterm birth among vaccinated mothers.

The details, published in a peer-reviewed article in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), came after GSK previously reported the increased risk and subsequent termination of the trials to regulators, GSK’s investors and in the press.

According to the NEJM article, GSK was unable to identify a mechanism by which the vaccine caused the preterm births. However, the company also couldn’t identify any causes other than the vaccine being investigated.

Although GSK ended its trials due to the preterm birth safety signal, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2023 approved Pfizer’s RSV vaccine for pregnant women, — even though Pfizer also reported elevated rates of preterm birth among vaccinated women during clinical trials for the vaccine, Abrysvo.

Pfizer said the rates of preterm birth during the Abrysvo trials were not statistically significant. However, the FDA limited approval of the vaccine for women in weeks 32-36 of their pregnancy.

The authors of an editorial that accompanied the NEJM article noted that although Pfizer’s FDA-approved maternal RSV vaccine is bivalent and GSK’s RSVPreF3-Mat is monovalent, “the vaccines are otherwise similar.”

They also argued that RSV “poses a substantial burden” to infant health and that in considering maternal vaccination, risks and benefits had to be carefully weighed.

Dr. David Healy, a drug safety expert, told The Defender he didn’t think most people were aware of how serious premature birth is for both infants and mothers.
Healy said:
“It leads to having a shorter lifespan, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, types 1 and 2 diabetes, lipid disorders and chronic kidney disease. Any mother who does her research — and women who give birth do more research than any other group of people on the planet — is going to find this out and be very worried.”

Healy said in addition to the risks to the baby, “The vaccine also increases risks to the mother — there is an increased hypertension risk on [the GSK] and Pfizer’s identical vaccine [Abrysvo],” he said.

“Increased hypertension in pregnancy, especially preeclampsia, has long-term health consequences for the mother — rather like the preterm birth issues for her infant,” Healy added.

RSV is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild cold-like symptoms but in rare cases can lead to hospitalization and death in infants and the elderly. By the age of 2, 97% of all babies have been infected with the RSV virus, which confers partial immunity, making any subsequent episodes less severe.

Midwife and nurse practitioner Mary Lou Singleton told The Defender:

“As a mother and a pediatric primary care provider, I have had many frightening experiences with RSV. Every few years the virus moves through the children of my town, and in these bad RSV years at least a few of the infants and young children in my practice are hospitalized with severe cases of RSV. I am not cavalier about RSV.

“Prematurity carries greater short and long term risks to children than RSV.”

Singleton said that being born between 32 and 36.5 weeks gestation has lifelong negative effects. These babies are significantly more likely to die in the first year of life from all-cause mortality — “including RSV, for which they will only be partially protected according to the results of the study on the vaccine,” she said.

Preterm babies also are more likely to have learning disabilities and behavioral disorders, which affect not only their quality of life but also the lives of their family members and the lives of everyone who interacts with them, Singleton said.
“As they age, they are more likely to develop heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure than people who were born at term.”

Risk of preterm birth in GSK trials 37% higher among vaccinated mothers

GSK launched a Phase 3 clinical trial in November 2020 to test the safety and efficacy of its vaccine against lower respiratory tract disease associated with RSV in infants born to women who had received the vaccine during pregnancy.

The company initially planned to enroll 10,000 pregnant women in the trials. However, after enrolling only 5,328 women and 5,233 infants by February 2022, the company stopped the trials because monitors detected an increase in preterm births.

In the study overall, researchers reported that 6.8% of infants among the vaccinated women were born preterm, as compared with 4.9% of those in the placebo group.

In other words, for every 54 infants born to women who received the vaccine, one additional preterm birth occurred.

The trial was conducted at sites in 24 countries on six continents, with approximately 50% of women located in middle- and low-income countries, where 97% of RSV-attributable deaths occur.

Researchers randomly assigned mothers in a 2:1 ratio to receive either the vaccine or a placebo between 24-34 weeks of gestation. They then tracked 3,426 infants whose mothers received the vaccine and 1,711 infants whose mothers received the placebo until they were 6 months old.

In February 2022, an independent data monitoring committee reported to GSK that at that time it identified there were 7.6% of preterm births in the vaccinated group were born preterm versus 5% in the placebo group.

The “imbalance” identified between the two groups continued after all mothers had delivered their babies. By the end of the trial, 237 of the 3,494 infants in the vaccine group (6.8%) were born before 37 weeks, compared with 86 of 1,739 (4.9%) in the placebo group.

That translated into a 37% increased risk of preterm births among vaccinated women.

Among the infants born prematurely, very preterm births (between 28 and 32 weeks) or extremely preterm births (before 28 weeks) occurred in 5.5% of the vaccine group and 2.3% in the placebo group.

Neonatal deaths also were higher in the vaccine group, occurring in 0.4% of the infants in the vaccine group (13 of 3,494) and 0.2% in the placebo group (3 of 1,739), which they also noted was not statistically significant.

“The use of statistical significance here to discount the existence of a problem is statistically illiterate. There is a very clear increase in risk that should not be discounted in this manner,” Healy said.
He added:
“In the GSK trial, 1 in 54 vaccinated babies were likely to have a preterm birth compared with not being vaccinated and even in these small trials there were neonatal deaths linked to the vaccine.

“In contrast, there were no deaths linked to RSV. And we don’t have any indications that getting RSV as an infant has long-term health consequences — any problems there are more likely linked to another underlying condition the child had prior to the RSV.

“There might be a link to asthma but even this is dubious. The key point is 166 children have to be vaccinated to prevent one severe RSV infection.

“Let me put it like this — forget the 69% efficacy this vaccine has only 0.5% efficacy in absolute terms.”

Another ‘risky gamble’ with the health of pregnant women?

The editorial commentary accompanying the NEJM article was written by Dr. Sonja A. Rasmussen and Dr. Denise J. Jamieson, who was named earlier this month to the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee and was a key spokesperson promoting the COVID-19 vaccines as “safe and effective” for pregnant women.

Noting the researchers in the GSK trial could not identify the mechanism of increased risk of preterm births, Rasmussen and Jamieson walked through a series of potential explanations unrelated to the vaccine itself that could cause the higher rates of preterm births in the vaccine arm of the study.

Preterm births primarily occurred in low- and middle-income countries, they wrote. The study was carried out during COVID-19, and ultrasounds during the first trimester to determine fetal age were not done in nearly half the cases.

However, they then also conceded that there was no relationship to COVID-19 infections identified and misclassification of gestational age would have occurred at the same rate in both groups.

They concluded that “whether the safety signal in the RSVPreF3-Mat trial is real or occurred by chance is unknown.” Still, they conceded that the results were concerning enough to warrant postmarketing surveillance of the bivalent vaccine — which is Abrysvo, currently approved and marketed by Pfizer.

They suggested that even if there does turn out to be a link between the bivalent (Pfizer’s) vaccine and preterm births, “it is essential to weigh this small risk against the proven benefits of maternal RSV vaccination.”

Healy came to a different conclusion, noting that “Based on the Novovax trial, this trial and the Pfizer trial I think any woman who has an RSV vaccine is making a big mistake and has been badly advised.”

“But,” he said, “I think a lot of American women understand this and most are in no rush to get it.”

Singleton said it “would be great if we had a safe and effective way to prevent RSV from ravaging our communities every three to five years. But we don’t.”

Instead, she said, “We have another risky gamble with the health of pregnant women and infants that will further enrich Big Pharma and increase the already abysmally high rate of preterm birth in the United States.”

She said a large percentage of children who get RSV will need to be hospitalized, but “a very small percentage” of children with the virus will die.

Singleton added:

“Even though RSV has me shaking in my boots every few years as I am arranging transport to the hospital for very sick children in my care, I cannot recommend that mothers risk taking this new injectable technology.

“We have no idea the extent of the new problems we may be creating with this new drug, and so far the data shows the risks do not justify the perceived benefit.”

Brenda Baletti, Ph.D.'s avatar

Brenda Baletti, Ph.D.

Brenda Baletti Ph.D. is a reporter for The Defender. She wrote and taught about capitalism and politics for 10 years in the writing program at Duke University. She holds a Ph.D. in human geography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s from the University of Texas at Austin.

Posted in Children, Corruption, Pregnancy, RSV, Vaccinations | No Comments »

Posted by: | Posted on: February 16, 2024

COVID Vaccine mRNA Penetrates Fetal-Placental Barrier + More

© February 15, 2024 Children’s Health Defense, Inc. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of Children’s Health Defense, Inc.
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The Defender’s Weekly Science Digest delivers a roundup of the latest research on children’s health, including studies on vaccines, drugs, chemicals, pesticides and lead exposure.

By Angelo DePalma, Ph.D.
periodic table with words "the defender weekly science digest"

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Epstein-Barr causes MS but requires help

Gene–environment interactions: Epstein–Barr virus infection and risk of pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis; Multiple Sclerosis Journal, Feb. 9, 2024.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is a leading cause of adult and pediatric multiple sclerosis (MS), but the mechanism is unclear.

Researchers affiliated with the Network of Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Centers sought to explain how a viral infection nearly every human gets affects only 0.3% of the population in that manner.

Investigators examined data from 473 pediatric MS cases and 702 controls from the Environmental and Genetic Risk Factors for Pediatric MS study. Although their study failed to answer the question of causation it uncovered new additive relationships between prior EBV infection, type of anti-EBV response and two genetic risk factors associated with susceptibility to MS.

First, individuals with MS were more than 50% more likely (94.6% vs. 60.7%) to have antibodies to the virus’ capsid antigen, which is normally a sign of a new or active infection.

Second, previously infected subjects whose immune cells carry one specific gene family, DRB1*15, were 10 times as likely to develop MS as individuals with prior infection or the DRB1*15 gene alone. Having multiple DRB1 genes multiplied the effect.

One form of DRB1*15, DRB1*15:01, has a strong association with MS and may be considered a “genetic predisposition” for the disease. For example, DRB1*15:01 was found in all MS-affected members of one Italian family and 4 of 5 unaffected family members.

Finally, prior infection plus one specific mutation in the CD86 gene, which regulates antibody production, results in a 30% increased risk for pediatric MS.

So while genes play a role, EBV infection appears to be a necessary precondition for developing MS.

Inflammation during pregnancy may predict child’s depression

Sex-Specific Pathways From Prenatal Maternal Inflammation to Adolescent Depressive Symptoms; JAMA Psychiatry, Feb. 7, 2024.

A long-term observational study found a positive association between prenatal maternal inflammation (PNMI) and depressive symptoms in adolescent offspring years later.

Investigators evaluated frozen blood samples, collected from 674 pregnant women between June 1959 and September 1966, for four cytokine markers of PNMI associated with psychiatric symptoms: interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8, IL-1RA and soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor-II (sTNF-RII).

Then, between 1977 and 1979 (corresponding to children ages 15-17), mothers completed a 100-item questionnaire on their children’s behavior during childhood. The children completed self-evaluation surveys. Of 675 offspring remaining in the study, 350 were male.

Of particular interest were “internalizing” and “externalizing” symptoms — psychiatric shorthand for maladaptive behaviors involving self (withdrawal, anxiety, depression) or interactions with one’s social environment (aggression, impulsivity, hyperactivity), respectively.

Researchers expected inflammatory markers to have greater predictive power for boys than girls. They found instead that both sexes were affected but in different ways.

They found that elevated IL-6 during the first trimester was associated with childhood externalizing symptoms in males, while IL-6 levels during the second trimester predicted internalizing symptoms in females.

Investigators also found an association between second-trimester IL-1RA levels and internalizing symptoms, but only in females.

Ibuprofen fails to improve congenital heart defect

Trial of Selective Early Treatment of Patent Ductus Arteriosus with Ibuprofen; New England Journal of Medicine, Jan. 25, 2024.

Ibuprofen, an over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory pain reliever, has been called the “drug of choice” for treating patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), a congenital heart defect in preterm infants.

But does the drug even work?

An international research team affiliated with the ongoing Baby-OSCAR Collaborative Group study recruited 653 preterm (between 23 and 29 weeks gestation) babies with PDA and assigned 326 to receive ibuprofen and 327 to receive a placebo.

PDA is an opening between the heart’s two main blood vessels. The study’s main endpoints were death or bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a serious lung disorder requiring oxygen therapy.

While PDA is congenital, BPD develops only after lung damage has occurred.

Ibuprofen easily lost this competition. The study showed that 69.2% of babies in the treatment group experienced either death or BPD, compared with 63.5% of placebo babies.

Among babies who survived, 64.2% of treated kids developed mild or serious BPD, compared with 59.3% in the placebo group. Even worse, 44 treated children (13.6% of those eligible for evaluation) versus 33 untreated children (10.3%) died.

Small comfort: None of these results, including 11 extra dead babies, met statistical significance.

Another health risk from ultra-processed foods

Ultra-processed and fast food consumption, exposure to phthalates during pregnancy, and socioeconomic disparities in phthalate exposures; Environment International, Jan. 6, 2024.

Ultra-processed foods wreak havoc on human health but their nutritional emptiness and artificial ingredients may not be their least appealing features, according to a U.S. study.

As part of the Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early childhood (CANDLE) study, researchers administered the Block Food Frequency Questionnaire to 1,031 “socioeconomically diverse” pregnant women and tested them for urinary concentrations of phthalate breakdown products (metabolites) during their second trimester.

Ultra-processed foods comprised around 39% of participants’ diets.

Phthalates are plastics used in film-type packaging, plastic bags and food-contact plastic coatings (for example inside drink cans).

A 10% increase in consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with 13.1% higher urine concentrations of phthalate metabolites, whereas eating 10% more minimally-processed foods was associated with 10.8% lower concentrations of phthalate metabolites.

Are COVID immunizations vaccinating your fetus?

Transplacental Transmission of the COVID-19 Vaccine mRNA: Evidence from Placental, Maternal and Cord Blood Analyses Post-Vaccination; American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Jan. 24, 2024 (journal pre-proof). 

COVID-19 immunization products (“vaccines”) were supposed to stay at the injection site. However, according to a New York University study, vaccine messenger RNA (mRNA) and coronavirus spike protein can reach placentas and umbilical cords in pregnant women.

This study involved just two patients. Patient 1, a 34-year-old pregnant woman, received a Pfizer two-shot primary round and two boosters (one Pfizer, one Moderna), with the last dose administered two days before delivering by cesarean section. Investigators collected samples of her placenta, blood and cord blood post-delivery.

Patient 2 was 33 and received two Pfizer doses, the last 10 days before her vaginal delivery. Only placental samples were available from this patient.

Vaccine mRNA was detected in both placentas. Spike protein was found in the placenta of Patient 2 but not Patient 1. mRNA from the vaccine was found in the cord and maternal blood of Patient 1.

The authors concluded: “These two cases demonstrate, for the first time, the ability of the COVID-19 vaccine mRNA to penetrate the fetal-placental barrier and reach the intrauterine environment.”

Angelo DePalma, Ph.D.'s avatar

Angelo DePalma, Ph.D.

Angelo DePalma, Ph.D., is a science reporter/editor for The Defender.

Posted in Children, Coronavirus, Corruption, Epstein-Barr Virus, Fetus, Inflammation, mRNA, Multiple Sclerosis, Phthalates, Placenta, Pregnancy, Processed Food, Spike Protein, Vaccinations | One Comment »

Posted by: | Posted on: February 8, 2024

Does Your Finger Length Reveal Psychopathic Tendencies?


Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2024/02/08/finger-length-reveal-psychopathic-tendencies.aspx
The original Mercola article may not remain on the original site, but I will endeavor to keep it on this site as long as I deem it to be appropriate.

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola     February 08, 2024

finger length reveal psychopathic tendencies

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

  • The index finger-to-ring finger-ratio (2D:4D-ratio) is linked to exposure to hormones, specifically testosterone and estrogen, in the womb
  • A lower 2D-to-4D ratio — meaning the ring finger is longer than the index finger — signals an increased likelihood of certain psychiatric disorders
  • In one study, people with psychiatric conditions had significantly lower 2D-to-4D ratios compared to those without
  • Those with both amphetamine use disorder and antisocial personality disorder had the lowest 2D-to-4D ratios
  • Having a lower 2D-to-4D ratio was also linked with higher ‘Dark Triad’ (DT) traits, which involve narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy

Take a look at the length of your index finger and your ring finger. Is your ring finger longer? If so, it could be a sign of psychopathic tendencies and antisocial personality traits.1 This is because the index finger-to-ring finger ratio (2D-to-4D ratio) is linked to exposure to hormones, specifically testosterone and estrogen, in the womb.

These exposures may have a lasting effect on human health and behavior, it turns out. A lower 2D-to-4D ratio — meaning the ring finger is longer than the index finger — is associated with higher testosterone exposure and lower estrogen exposure in the womb during the first trimester. It also signals an increased likelihood of certain psychiatric disorders, according to research published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.2

Digit Ratios May Predict Eating Disorders, Personalities, Obesity and More

Digit ratios, particularly the 2D-to-4D ratio, is widely considered a proxy for prenatal sex hormone exposure. As such, there are noted differences between men and women, with males, who are exposed to more testosterone, typically having lower ratios than females.

Further, in men a lower 2D-to-4D ratio is linked with physical aggression and enhanced sports performance,3 while lower digit ratios are also associated with being left-handed, an increased risk for anxiety and, in females, assertiveness. But the tendency for digit ratio to predict behavior and health status goes even further, as digit ratios, whether low or high, are associated with:4

Numerical competencies Spatial skills Handedness
Cognitive abilities Academic performance Sperm counts
Personalities Obesity Migraine
Eating disorders Depression Myopia
Autism

“The topic is interesting, because the relation of the lengths of index finger (2D) and ring finger (4D) is one of the most robust biological markers formed during the prenatal stage with a remarkable impact later on an adult’s behavior,” Serge Brand of the University of Basel and Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences told PsyPost, adding:5

“More specifically, a lower 2D:4D-ratio, that is to say, that the index finger is shorter compared to the ring finger, is strongly associated with an increased exposure to testosterone and with a decreased exposure to estrogen during the prenatal stage.

Now, several original studies, meta-analyses and systematic reviews showed that a lower 2D:4D-ratio as a proxy of prenatal sex steroid exposure enables an adult organism to outperform in behavior in case of necessity.

What was unclear so far was, if such sex steroid exposure during the prenatal stage might be mirrored in an adult’s behavior such as amphetamine use disorder and antisocial personality disorder.”

Brand and colleagues conducted a study to find out, assessing whether 2D:4D ratios differed among people with amphetamine use disorder (AUD) and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), which involves manipulative, impulsive and often criminal behavior.

People With Psychiatric Conditions Have Lower 2D-to-4D Ratios

To calculate digit ratio, the length of the index finger (2D) is divided by the length of the ring finger (4D). A ring finger that’s longer than the index finger, which leads to a lower digit ratio, suggests higher exposure to testosterone in the womb.

The study involved 44 people with AUD, ASPD or both AUD and ASPD, along with 36 healthy controls. Those with the psychiatric conditions had significantly lower 2D-to-4D ratios compared to those without. Further, those with both AUD and ASPD had the lowest 2D-to-4D ratios. Having a lower 2D-to-4D ratio was also linked with higher ‘Dark Triad’ (DT) traits, which involve narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy. According to the study:6

“The lower the 2D:4D-ratio, the higher the DT scores among the clinical sample. In our opinion, this finding is of greater importance, in that DT traits were associated with various types of negative psychosocial and psychological outcomes, including IU [intolerance of uncertainty], callous affect and interpersonal manipulation.

Given this, it appears that DT traits could be biologically rooted in higher testosterone and lower estrogen concentrations during the fetal phase of the first trimester.”

Even the researchers were surprised to see such a strong association between greater psychopathology symptoms and a longer ring finger compared to the index finger. Brand told PsyPost:7

“We were surprised to observe such a linear association between higher symptoms of psychopathology and lower 2D:4D-ratios. That is to say: The more an adult participant had signs of psychopathology, the more it appeared that this adult has been exposed to higher testosterone concentrations and lower estrogen concentrations during the prenatal period of life.”

He also pointed out, however, that finger length alone doesn’t dictate the state of your mental health and, in some cases, a lower 2D-to-4D ratio could be beneficial, such as in competitive sports:8

“It is important to understand that the finger lengths-ratio as a proxy of a specific exposure to prenatal sex steroids should not be understood as a person’s irrevocable fate! Rather, a lower 2D-to-4D ratio and thus a higher exposure to testosterone during the prenatal period of physiological development might enable an adult person to show a specific pattern of behavior.

To make the case in point, compared to 117 age- and sex-matched sedentary females, 104 Swedish female Olympic athletes had statistically significantly lower 2D-to-4D ratios9 or, simply put: The Swedish female Olympic athletes were exposed to higher testosterone and lower estrogen concentrations during their prenatal stage of development.”

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Psychiatric Patients Tend to Have Longer Ring Fingers Than Index Fingers

A systematic review of case-control studies similarly found that psychiatric patients had lower 2D-to-4D ratios than people without psychiatric disorders.10 In the case of autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and addictions, 2D:4D ratio was significantly lower than in those without the conditions. The researchers noted:11

“Our finding is important because, on one hand, it may propose 2D:4D as a potential biomarker for psychiatric disorders in general; on the other hand, it highlights the role of prenatal exposure to hormones, specifically testosterone, in the etiopathogenesis of psychiatric disorders.”

Beyond mental health, 2D:4D ratio has also been linked with “a wide number of traits and conditions, ranging in almost every field of medicine,” the study explained, including conditions dependent on sex hormones as well as physical characteristics and behaviors. Examples include:12

Breast cancer Prostate cancer Osteoarthritis
Facial shape Age of menarche Penis size
Stuttering Visuo-spatial ability Schizotypal personality
Sporting ability Successful financial risk-taking Sexual orientation

Men With Long Ring Fingers May Experience Mild COVID-19

Digit ratio may also be a strong indicator of men’s vulnerability to COVID-19, due to its relation to testosterone exposure in utero. Higher testosterone levels are deemed protective due to their effects on the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Researchers at the U.K.’s Swansea University measured the ring fingers of 103,482 men and 83,366 women from 41 countries in relation to their index fingers.13

In countries with a smaller digit ratio (0.976 millimeters (mm)), such as Malaysia, Russia and Mexico, COVID-19 fatality rates were lower than in countries with a higher digit ratio (0.99 mm and greater, which indicates a shorter ring finger), such as the U.K., Spain and Bulgaria.14 Overall, men in countries with longer ring fingers had a COVID-19 death rate of 2.7 per 100,000, compared to 4.9 per 100,000 in countries with a shorter overall ring finger length.15

“Our findings support a link between high 2-to-4D (low prenatal testosterone) and high severity of COVID-19 in men,” the researchers explained, adding, “Thus, high prenatal testosterone (low 2D-to-4D) in men may be protective of the serious effects of COVID-19 … A strong positive association between male 2D-to-4D and mortality may provide a biomarker for male COVID-19 susceptibility …”16

One theory for why men with shorter ring fingers have a higher risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19 has to do with ACE2, an enzyme that’s beneficial in that it promotes tissue regeneration. The problem is that coronavirus binds to ACE2 and uses it to enter cells,17 where it then multiplies. But when levels rise high enough, ACE2 may actually be protective.

Professor John Manning, lead researcher of the study, noted, “The theory is that someone with high prenatal testosterone — and a long ring finger — has greater levels of ACE2. These concentrations are large enough to oppose the virus … Our findings may be men with long ring fingers will experience mild symptoms and could return to work.”18 Writing in Early Human Development,19 the researchers further explained the paradox:

“SARS-CoV2 enters cells via the receptor molecule ACE2. Paradoxically, the up-regulation of ACE2 relates to protective effects from COVID-19 infection, possibly because it opposes the loss of ACE2 from cell surfaces. We speculate that in men the up-regulation of ACE2 relates to high testosterone and low 2D:4D.”

How to Support Positive Mental Health

While you can’t choose or change your 2D-to-4D ratio — and it remains constant throughout life20 — it’s not the only measure of your mental health. Further, there’s plenty you can do to support optimal psychological well-being. Getting optimal exposure to sunlight daily and regular physical activity, particularly three to five days a week for 45 minutes,21 can improve mental health.

You can also use the Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) or the Neuro-Emotional Technique’s First Aid Stress Tool, or NET FAST,22 to help relieve stress. Here is a summary of the FAST procedure:

  1. While thinking about an issue that is bothering you, place your right wrist, palm up, into your left hand. Place three fingers of your left hand onto the area of your right wrist where you can feel your pulse.
  2. Place your open right hand on your forehead. Gently breathe in and out several times while concentrating on feeling the issue that bothers you.
  3. Switch hands and repeat steps 1 and 2.

Getting a sound night’s sleep is also important, as too little sleep may increase anxiety by up to 30%,23 while deep sleep was shown to have anxiety-relieving effects. If you’re struggling with anxiety, making sleep a priority may calm your brain and your mind, helping to resolve anxiety symptoms.

Further, the more sleep deprived you are, the less social you become, and others pick up on this largely subconscious cue to be left alone, essentially turning people into “social lepers” and fueling an epidemic of loneliness.24 A short temper and unwanted behaviors such as rudeness can also be the result of a poor night’s rest.25

Eating healthy is another key. Researchers from Macquarie University, Australia, studied 76 students between the ages of 17 and 35 who followed a poor diet and had moderate to high levels of depression symptoms.26,27

One group of participants was asked to improve their diet by cutting back on refined carbohydrates, sugar, processed meats and soft drinks, while eating more vegetables, fruits, dairy products, healthy fats and anti-inflammatory spices such as turmeric and cinnamon.28 After only three weeks of healthier eating, those in the healthy diet group had significant improvements in mood and their depression scores went into the normal range.

In addition to 2D-to-4D ratio, researchers are also exploring whether other prenatal factors influence personality and behavior later in life.29 No matter the cause, if you’re experiencing a serious mental health problem, always seek the guidance of an integrative health practitioner who can help you get started on your healing journey. If you’re in the midst of a mental health crisis, get emergency medical care.

Posted in Brain, Coronavirus, Hormones, Obesity, Pregnancy | One Comment »

Posted by: | Posted on: January 30, 2024

Here’s Why You Should Avoid Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy


Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2024/01/29/avoid-acetaminophen-use-during-pregnancy.aspx
The original Mercola article may not remain on the original site, but I will endeavor to keep it on this site as long as I deem it to be appropriate.

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola January 29, 20214

avoid acetaminophen use during pregnancy

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

  • Although most consumers believe that over-the-counter medications are safe and effective, recent data offers more evidence that acetaminophen during pregnancy increases your child’s risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
  • Using acetaminophen during pregnancy can also increase your child’s risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Acetaminophen is found in over 600 medications that are commonly consumed, making it easy to cross the line between a safe dose and a harmful one
  • Data show that children who are exposed to acetaminophen after birth to reduce fever and discomfort after vaccination may also have an increased risk of autistic disorder
  • I believe it’s important to stay away from as many potential toxins as possible to protect the health of your child. Besides steering clear of alcohol, street drugs and unnecessary prescription drugs, consider avoiding plastic children’s toys, using glass for food and beverage storage, installing a whole-house water filter, using only natural cleaning products and toiletries, and avoiding any products with “fragrance”

In general, most consumers believe that over-the-counter medications are both helpful and safe. The results of one survey1 showed that as familiarity with the product grew, so did the consumers’ impression of the safety and efficacy of the product. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) warns pregnant women to avoid substances that are not required for medical reasons to support a healthy pregnancy.2

Despite mounting evidence to the contrary, ACOG, obstetricians and gynecologists from across the U.S. have typically identified acetaminophen (Tylenol) as a safe pain reliever for pregnant women.3 Yet, another study4 published in January 2024 found an increased risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children when mothers used acetaminophen, particularly during the second trimester.5

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,6 roughly 6 million children aged 3 to 17 years were ever diagnosed with ADHD. This is 9.8% of the population using data extracted from 2016 to 2019. Additionally, that number rose dramatically between 2003 and 2011, from 4.4% to 6.4% of the general population.

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects an individual’s ability to manage their attention, stay organized, and control their behavior. Data also show that 64% of those with ADHD also have at least one other mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder.7 While the featured study focused on the neurological implications in children, other data show how acetaminophen affects behavior in adults.

Acetaminophen is found in over 600 medications and is one of the most consumed drugs in the U.S. Researchers tested the hypothesis that 1,000 mg could influence judgment and decisions. In three double-blind, placebo-controlled studies in healthy adults, they found acetaminophen increased risk-taking behavior.8 The most recent data demonstrate that exposure during pregnancy may increase a child’s risk of symptoms of ADHD.

Acetaminophen During Pregnancy Linked to ADHD in Children

In a 2021 consensus paper9 researchers called for precautionary action in the use of acetaminophen (paracetamol) in light of increasing research data that suggests it may alter fetal development. The review triggered a response from ACOG in which they wrote that there is “no clear evidence that proves a direct relationship between the prudent use of acetaminophen during any trimester and fetal developmental issues.”10

The most recent paper to support data that acetaminophen during pregnancy could affect neurological development in children was part of the Illinois Kids Development Study that involved tracking prenatal chemical exposure. The data showed that in women who had higher acetaminophen usage during the second trimester, there was an increase in attention-related problems and ADHD-type behavior.11

The researchers used the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) to identify behaviors associated with attention deficit and found increased scores at ages 2, 3 and 4 years.12 The association appeared to be dose-related, as women with higher exposure during the second trimester had children with higher CBCL scores for attention problems, ADHD and externalizing behavior.

Children whose mothers had a higher cumulative exposure across the entire pregnancy had increased scores for attention problems and ADHD at ages 2 and 3. Megan Woodbury led the research as a graduate student alongside comparative biosciences Professor Emerita Susan Schantz. A recent study by these scientists also found that exposure to acetaminophen during pregnancy led to language delays in children.13

One difference between this study about exposure to acetaminophen during pregnancy and past studies was that researchers in the current study asked pregnant women about acetaminophen use six times during the course of their pregnancy while in other studies they were asked at most once per trimester. Caregivers were also asked dozens of standardized questions about their children’s behavior.

“The kinds of behaviors the caregivers reported included things like the child talking out of turn, not paying attention, not being quiet when they were supposed to be quiet, not sitting down when they were supposed to be sitting down, and being a little aggressive with other children,” Schantz said.14

Acetaminophen During Pregnancy Also Raises Risk of Autism

A study15 published in 2020 in JAMA Psychiatry strengthened the link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and ADHD and the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). According to the authors:

“Prior studies have raised concern about maternal acetaminophen use during pregnancy and increased risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in their children; however, most studies have relied on maternal self-report …

In this cohort study of 996 mother-infant dyads from the Boston Birth Cohort, cord plasma biomarkers of fetal exposure to acetaminophen were associated with significantly increased risk of childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder.”

Of the 996 participants, only 32.8% were neurotypical, 25.8% had only ADHD, 6.6% had only autism, 4.2% had both ADHD and autism and 30.5% had other types of developmental delays. The association also appeared to be dose dependent. The researchers measured cord plasma biomarkers for acetaminophen and found those in the first tertile had a far lower risk of diagnosis of ADHD and ASD than those in the second and third tertiles.

The researchers concluded that the biomarkers in cord blood of fetal exposure to acetaminophen were significantly associated with an increased risk of diagnosis of childhood ADHD and autism in a dose-response fashion, writing that their findings “support previous studies regarding the association between prenatal and perinatal acetaminophen exposure and childhood neurodevelopmental risk.”16

As I reported in 2021, more data document disturbing links between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and neurological problems in children, including poor gross motor development, communication issues, increased risk of preeclampsia, and a moderately increased risk of undescended testicles and boys.

Data also shows that acetaminophen used after birth may also be linked to an increased risk of autism. In a small study published in 2008, the researchers concluded that using acetaminophen after vaccination may increase the risk of autism, writing “acetaminophen use after measles-mumps-rubella vaccination was associated with autistic disorder.”17

While parents give babies and infants Tylenol for numerous reasons, one instance in which Tylenol is routinely used is after childhood vaccinations. According to 2009 research18 published in the journal Lancet, acetaminophen might render vaccinations less effective when administered together.

Infants who received acetaminophen right after getting a vaccination experienced lowered immune response and developed significantly fewer antibodies against the disease they were vaccinated against.

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Acetaminophen During Pregnancy Associated With More Risks

In addition to the risks to babies during pregnancy, acetaminophen use can also increase risks to the mother and other adults. Overdose is responsible for nearly half of all acute liver failure cases in the U.S.19 While it is considered safe when taken as recommended, the margin between a safe dose and a lethal one is small.

Additionally, you may not always recognize that the over-the-counter drugs you are taking contain acetaminophen. Harvard Health20 recommends caution when dishing out acetaminophen as it is often contained in many other over-the-counter medications.

Acetaminophen pills are available in 325 mg, 500 mg or 650 mg. If you take two 500 mg pills three times a day, you have quickly reached the low end of the recommended dose range. Acetaminophen is metabolized in the liver, so drinking alcohol can cause the liver to convert acetaminophen into a toxic by-product. It is important to recognize that acetaminophen sickens tens of thousands of people every year, and kills several hundred more.

Tips for a More Toxin-Free Pregnancy

I believe it is essential to abstain from as many potential toxins as possible to protect the health of your child. Our environment is saturated with a wide variety of toxic substances, so you may not be able to defend against each one. However, you have a great deal of control over the medications you take and within your immediate household.

For example, it’s important to understand the chemicals you ingest in your food and drink and what’s absorbed through your skin from the household and personal care products you use. Each of these can have an impact on your child’s development and long-term health. In the past few decades, the prevalence of ADHD and autism have both skyrocketed, which indicates that something is going terribly wrong in the environment.

Unfortunately, our children are paying the price for a chemical-laden lifestyle, including the overuse of over-the-counter drugs like acetaminophen. Consider avoiding any unnecessary drugs or medications, including the COVID jab, which the CDC has officially recommended for pregnant women. This can have long-lasting ramifications for your child and your future reproductive health.

As much as you’re able, buy and eat organic produce and grass fed, pastured animal foods to reduce your exposure to agricultural chemicals like glyphosate and others. Don’t eat processed, prepackaged foods of any kind, which helps you automatically avoid pesticides, artificial food additives, dangerous artificial sweeteners, food coloring, MSG and unlabeled genetically engineered ingredients.
Avoid conventional or farm-raised fish, which are often heavily contaminated with PCBs and mercury. Wild-caught Alaskan salmon is one of the very few fish I still recommend eating, as well as small fatty fish like anchovies, sardines, mackerel and herring. If you don’t eat these on a regular basis, consider taking a krill oil supplement to optimize your omega-3 level.
Store your food and beverages in glass rather than plastic, to avoid exposure to plastic chemicals known to disrupt endocrine function, and avoid using plastic wrap and canned foods.
Install an appropriate whole-house water filter on all your faucets (even those in your shower or bath).
Only use natural cleaning products in your home.
Switch over to natural brands of toiletries such as shampoo, toothpaste, antiperspirants and cosmetics. The Environmental Working Group has a great database21 to help you find safer personal care products.
Avoid artificial air fresheners, dryer sheets, fabric softeners or other synthetic fragrances. Relinquish the idea that fragrance equals “clean.” It doesn’t. Clean laundry does not smell like anything at all.
Replace your nonstick pots and pans with ceramic or glass cookware to avoid toxic PFOA chemicals.
When shopping for baby items, look for “green” toxin-free alternatives. Avoid plastic toys, especially teething toys, and make sure items like mattresses, car seats and nursing pillows do not contain toxic flame-retardant chemicals.
Replace your vinyl shower curtain with one made of fabric or install a glass shower door. Most flexible plastics, like shower curtains, contain dangerous plasticizers like phthalates.

Posted in Acetaminophen, ADHD, Autism, Children, Pregnancy, Toxins | One Comment »

Posted by: | Posted on: December 27, 2023

The Microbiome Solution — Healing Your Body From the Inside Out


Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/12/24/microbiome-solution.aspx
The original Mercola article may not remain on the original site, but I will endeavor to keep it on this site as long as I deem it to be appropriate.

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola     December 24, 2023

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

  • One of the worst things you can do during pregnancy is to take an antibiotic. Young children also need to be shielded from antibiotics, as they devastate the microbiome
  • Other medications best avoided, due to their devastating impact on your microbiome include hormone treatments, including birth control pills, antibacterial products containing triclosan and proton pump inhibitors
  • Fiber-rich vegetables are massively important. Not only do they provide valuable nutrients your body needs, they also provide nutrition to the microbes in your gut, which feed on fiber

By now, you’re probably aware of how important a balanced gut microbiome is to your overall health, but how do you go about optimizing your gut flora? And what steps can you take to protect and nourish your baby’s microbiome, even before and during birth?

In this interview, Dr. Robynne Chutkan, a gastroenterologist (a doctor who specializes in the gut) and author of the book, “The Microbiome Solution: A Radical New Way to Heal Your Body From the Inside Out,” will guide you through the details.

Chutkan finished medical school in 1991. Like most conventionally trained doctors, she whole-heartedly endorsed pharmaceutical intervention “whenever possible, as frequently as possible.” Over the course of several years, however, she began to investigate alternative routes to health.

“My area of expertise is inflammatory bowel disease,” she says. “I trained in New York, at Columbia for medical school and residency, and then at Mount Sinai Hospital … Never once during my training did the idea that you could treat this set of diseases with food as opposed to pharmaceutical intervention, ever come up …

But when I arrived at Georgetown to join the faculty in 1997 … I started seeing a lot of patients, a lot of them women. Many wanted to know, ‘What can I do? What can I eat? How can I change what I’m doing to feel better?’ Of course, I had no answers at all for these questions.

I just had a lot of fancy drugs that I knew a lot about. Over the course of time, I started to experiment a little bit, mostly on myself, playing around with different ways of eating …”

Approaching Food as Medicine

She also conducted a study, in which she asked patients about their use of alternative and complementary practices to treat their Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis. She was surprised to discover that 70% of them were using some kind of complementary or alternative technique, sometimes in addition to conventional medicine.

“It was a sort of don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy,” she says. “I started to get interested and I wanted to know what people were doing and if it was helping …

This was the time when the specific-carbohydrate diet, which is very similar to the Paleo diet, had been popularized … I clearly remember the first patient I sat down with who … had had severe Crohn’s disease. She came back and was feeling great …

She was eating lean protein, lots of vegetables and some nuts and seeds … I remember doing her colonoscopy and seeing her very severe Crohn’s healed. I could not believe it. I said ‘I’ve got to find out more about this.’

I think it really was the patients who caused me to question what we were doing. I started looking at the drugs we were using and the side effects. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for judicious use of conventional drugs when you don’t have lots of other options.

But to be strongly recommending drugs that we know can cause cancer and severe infection and other problems, and not having any conversation about this concept of foodist medicine, which is so well-proven, particularly in the gastroenterology world, I think that’s medical negligence.”

How C-Section Can Set a Child on the Path Toward Autoimmune Disease

Another incentive driving Chutkan’s growing interest in alternative treatments was her daughter. She was delivered via C-section, and because Chutkan had contracted influenza right before the delivery, her newborn daughter was given antibiotics as a precaution.

This was the beginning of a long series of illnesses, where she’d get sick, receive another round of antibiotics, only to get sick again and receive more medication. By the age of 2, her daughter had received 16 rounds of antibiotics.

According to Chutkan, this pattern is very common among patients who are subsequently diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Many are C-section babies who were then bottle-fed and received multiple rounds of antibiotics.

“I saw her heading down that road and I said ‘I really have to do something. If we don’t stop this cycle, this is what’s going to happen.’ I’m proud to be a doctor, but it’s sometimes hard to hold your head up these days because in my office, most of what I spend my time doing is trying to undo medical mischief.

Well-meaning physicians who either are not well-informed or just have tunnel vision; dermatologists putting young people on years of potent antibiotics, when you consider the fact that five days of a broad-spectrum antibiotic … can remove a third of your gut bacteria … We are creating disease.”

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Avoid Antibiotics Unless Your Life Hangs in the Balance

Indeed, one of the worst things you can do during pregnancy is to take an antibiotic. Young children also need to be shielded from antibiotics, as they devastate the microbiome. Perhaps the single most important take-home point is to avoid antibiotics unless your life hangs in the balance.

Don’t take them frivolously, and certainly not as a precautionary measure. Other medications best avoided, due to their devastating impact on your microbiome include:

• Hormone treatments, including birth control pills

• Antibacterial products containing triclosan

• Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). According to Chutkan, research shows 20% of the bacteria in the microbiome are changed from long-term use of acid suppressing drugs.

In fact, the authors concluded that PPI use was just as dangerous as antibiotic use in the long term. Despite that, gastroenterologists routinely put patients on long-term acid suppression without giving it a second thought

Should you have an infection, there are a number of alternatives to antibiotics you can try. For example, D-mannose is very effective against urinary tract infections. “We use a topical form of probiotics mixed with coconut oil for bacterial vaginosis for women. It works great,” Chutkan says.

Beware of Hidden Antibiotics

Chutkan also addresses the issue of hidden antibiotics. Eighty percent of all the antibiotics sold in the U.S. are actually used in the food industry. Animals raised in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are routinely given low-dose antibiotics to prevent disease associated with factory farming. So while you may be really judicious about medical antibiotics, you may still ingest antibiotics through factory-farmed food, especially animal products.

“I think this is an area where it’s really important to buy organic and to know not just what you’re eating, but what the food you’re eating has eaten, tracing it all the way back, because 80%, that’s an astounding number; we already have the highest per capita consumption of antibiotics in the world …

From infancy, the average American child will take somewhere around 18 to 20 courses of antibiotics by their 18th birthday. Then you add to that, how many courses of antibiotics they’re probably ingesting with food. It’s really astounding. It’s almost like the myth of Sisyphus.

We’re on this treadmill. From the minute we’re born — one could argue even before birth with the in-utero exposure — we are in this incredible downward spiral to destroy our microbiome. You have to be so vigilant about all of these things.”

Fecal Microbiota Transplant — A Potentially Life-Saving Procedure

Chutkan’s book, “The Microbiome Solution,” provides an excellent chapter on fecal microbiota transplants (FMTs). It even includes instructions on how to do it yourself, were you to choose that route. While most people are not candidates for a stool transplant, it can be a life-saving measure in extreme cases. That said, it’s important to understand that the stool transplant is only as good as a donor’s stool.

“I love my husband very much, but he grew up playing football and eating Burger King every day after practice. I don’t want his stool, because it’s probably not robust enough, growing up eating a standard American diet and taking the usual arsenal of medications.

I’ve always said, if I ever develop a severe autoimmune disease … and I am failing the typical options, I’m heading to Tanzania to get some stool from the Hadza tribe, or down to the Amazon. I want some high-octane stool,” Chutkan says. “When you contemplate donor stool, it’s not just a matter of excluding serious infectious diseases like HIV, syphilis or hepatitis. It’s really about evaluating how robust the microbiome of your donor is …”

Your Microbiome Is Constantly Changing and, With That, Your Health

While an FMT can be highly beneficial in extreme cases, the vast majority of people simply need to optimize their own microbiome through dietary and lifestyle changes. The good news is our microbiomes are constantly changing, based on diet and environmental exposures, so you have a great deal of personal control.

If you have a long history of antibiotic use, it may be more difficult for you to shift your gut flora and repair the cellular-microbial damage that has already occurred. But you can still improve a great deal.

“For most people who have eaten poorly [and] taken some drugs, there is incredible opportunity for recovery, but it really has to be meaningful change,” Chutkan says.

“The idea that you can continue to eat potato chips and soda and not eat vegetables and just take a fancy probiotic and get better, is really magical thinking. I really try to stress in my practice that it’s not the microbes that you put in your body; it’s what you feed those microbes.”

Fiber-rich vegetables are massively important. Not only do they provide valuable nutrients your body needs, they also provide nutrition to the microbes in your gut, which feed on fiber. Another part of the equation is eating foods grown in healthy soils. Factory-farmed vegetables grown in nutrient-poor soils are not going to give you the same bang for your buck.

As noted by Chutkan and many other health experts, nutrition and human health really starts in the soil. To learn more, check out Dr. Maya Shetreat-Klein’s book “The Dirt Cure: Growing Healthy Kids With Food Straight from Soil.”

How to Optimize Your Baby’s Health if a C-Section Is Unavoidable

Since you’re bypassing the birth canal, children born via C-section are not “inoculated” with their mother’s bacteria. Sometimes a C-section is necessary. It can be lifesaving for the baby or the mother. But evidence suggests C-sections are vastly overused in the U.S., and most are not medically necessary.

In her book, Chutkan includes a complete birthing plan to optimize your and your baby’s microbiome, and it begins with the recommendation to avoid C-section at all cost, unless medically necessary.

“You really have to push because, again, your physician is very well-meaning, but they have been trained and indoctrinated to think that a C-section is fine. You might find yourself in the unusual position of having to educate your physician about the risks of C-section. There’s plenty of good information out there to do that. The first thing is to try and avoid it,” she says.

“If you have to have a C-section, I love the information Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello [Ph.D.,] provides [on] vaginal seeding … [M]ake sure your doctor and their team know about this. Because if you start doing this and people don’t know what you’re doing, they’re going to call security and take the baby away.

The idea is to take a gauze pad and soak it in the perineal juices … Then when the baby is born via C-section, instead of essentially disinfecting them with antibacterial products like they do in the hospital, take this vaginal pad that’s soaked in all this wonderful flora from the mother and wipe the baby down, especially the head, the eyes, the mouth, all of that. Wipe them down so you’re sort of approximating a vaginal birth.”

According to Chutkan, studies show babies born vaginally are colonized with Bifidobacteria, lactobacillus and many other healthy bacteria from the mother’s microbiome. C-section babies are colonized mostly with hospital-acquired staph, and this microbial difference can follow the child for years to come.

Not surprisingly then, C-section babies tend to have higher rates of allergy, asthma, obesity and autoimmune diseases — all of which have been linked to poor microbial diversity and makeup. Being able to intervene with this vaginal seeding technique is quite brilliant, and could go a long way toward normalizing your baby’s microbiome if you have to have a C-section.

Other Dos and Don’ts for New Parents

Next comes breastfeeding. Not only is breast milk nutritionally superior to formula, it also has a direct impact on your baby’s microbiome. The third most common ingredient in breast milk is human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), a type of sugar that is completely indigestible.

It provides no nutrition per se, rather it nourishes the beneficial bacteria in your baby’s digestive tract, which in turn helps repel staph and other potentially harmful microbes, including microbes that may linger on your nipples.

“It’s a great example of this synergy between what’s happening on the mother’s side and what’s going on in the baby’s side, and how it’s all supposed to work together. That’s another critical thing for people to know,” Chutkan says, adding:

“It’s amazing how much stuff gets done to you in the hospital that you don’t know about. Most women don’t know they get antibiotics for a C-section … I didn’t know that my daughter got not one but two potent antibiotics intravenously in the neonatal intensive care unit. You sign a general consent for treatment …

You know that doctors are well-meaning. You know they’re vested in a good outcome for the health of your child, but you make the crucial mistake of thinking they know and completely understand the ramifications of what they’re doing. It’s clear that they don’t, and so you have to be very aware of that …

Your doctors, for the most part … are lovely, well-meaning people, but they are not well-informed. They are getting their medical information from sources that compel them to keep practicing [a certain] way.”

Vitamin D and Inflammatory Bowel Disease

As previously noted, Chutkan’s specialty is inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a serious autoimmune disease that can be lethal. IBD is not to be confused with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which is a functional disease — it can be painful and disabling, but it’s not going to kill you. IBD patients are frequently prescribed very toxic drugs and may even require surgery to remove a part of their colon.

If you have IBD, optimizing your vitamin D to a level between 40 and 60 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml) is an important consideration. Crohn’s patients also need to pay attention to vitamin B12, because when your ileum — the end part of your small intestine — is inflamed or has been surgically removed, you cannot absorb B12 as efficiently. Malabsorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, magnesium, iron and more, can also occur.

“Vitamin D has definitely been shown in many studies to be important for inflammation in general, certainly in patients with IBD,” Chutkan says.

“It’s one of the first things we check and make sure that people are adequately supplemented … We have people we put on high-dose supplementation … if they’re down in the single digits … I recommend getting 20 minutes of sun exposure [on] upper body, arms and shoulders, without sunscreen, each day.”

On Treating IBD

When it comes to treating IBD, Chutkan focuses on using food as medicine, and in 77% of cases, her patients will no longer need immune modifying agents once they’ve properly adjusted their diet. She typically begins by assessing the level of inflammation. The most challenging situation is when you have “fibrostenotic disease,” where Crohn’s disease has caused severe scarring and narrowing of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. In some cases, it can be severe enough to be irreversible.

People with colitis who have a lot of ulceration in the colon, and people who have Crohn’s who don’t have a lot of scarring but have active ulceration, are generally able to successfully treat their condition through diet. Next, she screens for nutrient deficiencies, such as vitamin D, B12, ferritin and fat-soluble vitamins, and begins assessing the diet. Chutkan uses a combination diet that is part specific-carbohydrate diet, part paleo and part vegan.

Increasing Vegetable Intake Is Crucial

Three years ago, Chutkan and colleagues published a small pilot study consisting of 12 patients, nine with Crohn’s and three with ulcerative colitis.

“We looked retrospectively at the diet. We found some interesting things. We found that the average time for the diet to work was about 90 days. When I say to work, to really kick in to the point where people felt like they were in remission. But some people notice results in as quickly as two to three days. Other people take several months. Ninety days was kind of the sweet spot.

Two-thirds of patients were able to get off their medication or significantly reduce their medication. Again, the majority of people, when we looked endoscopically, had healing of the inflammation.

But this is the most important part of the study: everybody took out the processed carbohydrates. Everybody was off gluten, off refined sugar. Essentially grain-free for the most part. As people get better, we do add in some brown rice, some legumes and so on.

For the most part, it was looking like a modified paleo diet. But there were two distinct groups: the group who got better and the group who didn’t, despite excluding all the not-so-great stuff. What was the difference?

The difference was the amount of vegetables people were consuming. The people who took out the gluten and the processed sugars … without increasing their vegetable intake, did not tend to do a lot better. The people who really ramped up their consumption of green leafy vegetables, and particularly the stringy vegetables like celery, asparagus and artichokes, which are high in inulin that really feed gut bacteria, did significantly better.”

So, a key take-home point here is that it’s not enough to simply remove certain foods, such as sugar and refined grains. You must also replace them with a significant amount of vegetables.

In fact, there appears to be a critical threshold when it comes to vegetables, which you must meet in order to see meaningful changes in your health. Dr. Terry Wahls has noted that multiple sclerosis (MS) patients typically need six to nine servings of leafy greens each day in order to affect positive change.

Chutkan says the same applies to autoimmune patients with Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis. Each morning, she makes herself a green smoothie with spinach, kale, celery, parsley, green apple, a peeled lemon, some fresh ginger and water. Each day, she’ll drink two to four glasses.

On Breaking the Mold

Chutkan is a perfect example of a conventional physician who, by listening to her patients and keeping an open mind, broke through the brainwashing — the carefully orchestrated propaganda created by the drug and medical industries. And she shares a great deal of priceless information in her book, “The Microbiome Solution.”

“[W]hen I saw the results of a meta-analysis out of Mount Sinai hospital … looking at over 7,000 patients with inflammatory bowel disease and identifying frequent antibiotic use, particularly in childhood, as one of the main risk factors for developing IBD, I said, ‘People have to know this.’

… [A]s an author, it is an incredible privilege to be able to put your nickel down and say ‘This is what I think. This is what I believe in. I feel an obligation to share it with you.’ But it’s also scary. People come after you …

I had a lot of conversations with Penguin about what I could or couldn’t say, or should or shouldn’t say. It’s scary because you know there’s an incredible amount of money being made by some of these companies. When you say something that’s critical, their goal is to crush you. They’ve done it very effectively to a lot of people we know.

It’s scary but you get to the point where you feel like you cannot legitimately not share this information with people. As you know, books are not a way to get rich, right? Typically, books are probably, at best, a break-even proposition, or you lose money writing a book when you think about the amount of time it takes.

But it is an incredible way to take this information out of the office … and get it into the hands of millions of people. That’s a wonderful privilege … I do have to say that I am emboldened by practitioners like you who have been doing this for a very long time and play such an important role in this education of the public.

You’ve been criticized by conventional medicine and by pharmaceutical companies. It really emboldens those of us who have our eyes open to say ‘You know what? I’m going to speak the truth. I’m going to educate patients. I’m going to try to bring a few colleagues along. I’m going to be okay.'”

How Patients Can Help Their Doctors

As noted by Chutkan, many doctors still do not realize the wool has been pulled over their eyes. They don’t realize they are being used to market drugs for pharmaceutical companies — some of which are effective, others not so much, and virtually all of which have side effects.

However, all is not lost. Just like Chutkan came to see the light after being repeatedly prompted by her patients to provide answers other than drugs, you too can affect positive change by talking to and informing your doctor about strategies that are important to you.

“I think … it’s so important for patients to not just abandon their doctors,” she says. “If you have a doctor and you have a decent relationship with them, but they’re still hell bent on prescribing an antibiotic you don’t need, I think it’s so important to say to them ‘This is why I don’t want to take the antibiotic. Here is a book you should read.’

Because that’s what people did with me. People trusted me. They felt that I had their best interest at heart. They took the time to educate me and I’m so glad they did. I think we have to bring a colleague along. We have to bring our physicians along and not just abandon them entirely.”

One of the books you can bring your physician if he or she wants to prescribe antibiotics is “The Microbiome Solution.” It should really open their eyes. Chutkan is incredibly articulate, and her book is chockfull of valuable information that can have a tremendously beneficial impact on your health.

Posted in Antibiotics, Bacteria, Carbohydrates, Children, Food, Gluten, Gut, IBD, PPI, Pregnancy, Prescription Medication, Probiotics, Processed Food | No Comments »

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