Transforming Health — How to Navigate Reductive Stress and the Metabolic Impact of Dietary Fats

In this interview, repeat guest Brad Marshall, a molecular biologist, explains how different dietary fats influence your metabolism and overall health. You may want to listen to this interview a couple of times. If you still find it hard to understand, copy and paste the corresponding sections of the transcript into ChatGPT and ask it to explain it to you in even simpler terms.

In our previous interview, Marshall explained reductive stress and how it causes damage that leads to virtually every degenerative disease and the most common causes of death. Molecular biology can be hard to understand which is why I created the best 2-D illustration of how your body creates cellular energy. It will be helpful for you to review this illustration during our discussion.

The other strategy that will help you learn this important information is to have a dialog with ChatGPT 4 or your favorite large language model and ask it to help explain any concepts you don't understand. If the answer is something you still don't understand ask Chat to simplify its answer. Continue asking questions so you understand everything.

In summary, reductive stress results from an excess of electrons that slow down your metabolism and energy production. It's like your body's systems are overwhelmed with energy they can't properly use, which leads to decreased efficiency and damage over time.

Why is it so important to understand these concepts? Because they’re the central keys to your health. If you understand these foundational concepts, you can make choices that will move you out of disease and towards health — because your body wants to be healthy. It's designed to be healthy and will achieve that automatically once you give it what it needs.

I've admired Brad's work so much that I've hired him to be my research director and we’re developing a test to measure the redox potential of your body. At present, such tests are not commercially available, and those that do exist provide results that are questionable at best.

How Dietary Fats Affect Metabolism

As explained by Marshall, reductive stress and metabolic syndrome might be better understood through the lens of evolution and animal behaviors like torpor — a state of decreased metabolic activity.

Animals adapt by changing the types of fat in their bodies seasonally to prepare for periods of dormancy like hibernation. The thing that triggers this fat composition change is the composition of fats in the animal's diet.

For instance, the consumption of insects with high saturated fat content indicates to mammals the need for a more active metabolism suitable for warmer climates. Conversely, diets high in monounsaturated fats signal the approach of winter, prompting animals to lower their metabolic rate in preparation for hibernation.

Key components of this process are desaturase enzymes, which are responsible for adjusting the types of fats within your cells. These enzymes — Delta-6-desaturase, Delta-5-desaturase, and Delta-9-desaturase — signal your body to slow down its metabolic rate in anticipation of periods when less energy will be required or available by converting saturated fats into unsaturated fats, including monounsaturated fats.

As animals approach colder months, they naturally increase the production of these desaturase enzymes. This increase leads to a higher concentration of monounsaturated fats in the body, which is more efficiently stored as fat. This accumulation is part of the body's preparation to conserve energy and maintain survival during periods of scarcity.

Thus, you could say that desaturase enzymes act as a metabolic switch that turns on your body's torpor mode. By modifying the fat composition within your body, they effectively lower your metabolic rate, thereby allowing your body to conserve energy.

And again, this switch is influenced by the type of fat you consume. Saturated fats are associated with a higher metabolic rate and less reductive stress, while monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) lower your metabolic rate and increase reductive stress.

In short, if you consume high amounts of PUFAs, you’re tricking your body into thinking you need to conserve energy for hard times, like a famine or long winter with scarce food supplies. This process of conservation, in turn, downregulates or shuts down various biological processes because your body doesn’t have enough energy for all of them.

Why LA Is So Destructive

While we typically don’t think of torpor applying to humans, most Americans are in this state. The increase in unsaturated fats in the human diet over the last century — particularly PUFAs — mimic the natural signal for animals to enter a torpid state, but since humans do not hibernate, this reduced metabolism is neither necessary nor healthy. The process is further exacerbated when these fats become oxidized, as this increases reductive stress.

“In the last 100 years, we've eaten more and more and more of these unsaturated fats,” Marshall says. “And, of course, the polyunsaturated fats contribute to this process as well because the Delta-6-desaturates is the limiting step in the oxidation of the polyunsaturated fats.

You've talked a lot about concerns with polyunsaturated fats, and what I see when I look at it is, linoleic acid (LA) … is okay if it stays as linoleic acid, but once it starts getting converted to oxidized fats, that's when it becomes a real problem.”

Through a series of enzymatic steps, LA is transformed into arachidonic acid. Arachidonic acid, when oxidized, can form various types of hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (HETEs), which are signaling molecules involved in numerous physiological processes, including inflammation and the immune response.

Marshall believes that two HETEs in particular, 5-HETE and 12-HETE, control the shifting of metabolism towards torpor metabolism. These HETEs, in turn, appear to be controlled by highly destructive oxidative linoleic acid metabolites (OXLAMs) that are produced when LA is oxidized.

The Link Between High-PUFA Diets, Metabolic Syndrome and Related Issues

When you oxidize a lot of PUFAs you also activate a nuclear receptor called the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), which controls your circadian rhythm. Marshall comments:

“If you give a mouse a drug that strongly activates the aryl hydrocarbon receptor, it shuts down the circadian rhythm of the mouse. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor controls your circadian rhythm. And people who have metabolic syndrome have issues with sleep.

If you trigger the aryl hydrocarbon receptor, you also get a dysregulated gut microbiome. If you are oxidizing a lot of polyunsaturated fat, you activate the aryl hydrocarbon receptor and all of a sudden you have overgrowth of bad gut bugs and you'll have a decrease in the good gut bugs.”

The reason why AHR activation catalyzes a transition from beneficial to pathogenic gut bacteria is because the AHR is highly involved in controlling the immune system. If you activate the AHR, you see an increase in myeloid derived suppressor cells — immune cells that suppress your immune response.

Are Starches Good or Bad? It Depends

At this point in the conversation, Marshall brings up a crucial point. Many in the Ray Peat community believe that starches, especially resistant starches, will promote the growth of pathogenic bacteria that produce endotoxin, also known as lipopolysaccharide or LPS. LPS can get into your bloodstream and cause all kinds of problems, so you don’t want a high LPS response.

However, after looking at this issue for the last 18 months, I’ve started to understand the flaws in Peat’s work. One of the primary functions of the gut is to maintain an anaerobic environment (an environment without oxygen). The problem is, you need energy to keep oxygen out of there, and if that energy is not available, oxygen is going to seep in.

Most beneficial bacteria are gram-negative, and they're called obligate anaerobes. They do not have LPS in their cell wall and hence will not produce endotoxin when they die off. However, when you don’t create enough cellular energy you are unable to create a low oxygen environment in your large intestine.

This kills the beneficial bacteria as oxygen seeps in and they are unable to survive. When they leave, they create a hole that allows endotoxin-producing bacteria — facultative anaerobes — to take over through competitive inhibition. Facultative anaerobes can tolerate oxygen and survive.

The primary obligate anaerobic bacterium in your gut is a species called Akkermansia, which makes mucin, the protective layer in your gut. When your Akkermansia die off due to lack of cellular energy to maintain the proper oxygen gradient in the large intestine, then your mucin barrier starts to break down and you end up with leaky gut.

Now, the reason starch CAN be problematic is because, if you are metabolically inflexible (and most are), then you’re not making enough mitochondrial energy to maintain a healthy gut. So, the idea that starch is problematic is likely true for most people, because most people have a disrupted microbiome. Starch is indiscriminate and will feed any bacteria. So, since most people have a preponderance of pathogenic gut bacteria, starch causes problems.

The flip side of this is that if you have a healthy microbiome, starch can be quite beneficial. So, the primary goal is to get your cellular energy up and improve your microbiome first. Then you can eat starch.

I now eat about 1.5 pounds of white rice a day and have cut down on my fruit consumption. In total, I consume over 500 grams of carbs a day, but I now get less fructose (as starch doesn’t contain fructose like fruit does). Ultimately, I suspect starch may be the ideal fuel once your microbiome is optimized. But again, it’s all dependent on your gut health.

I also added over 50 grams of collagen from homemade bone broth per day and added raw milk cheese with animal rennet. This experiment has resulted in gaining 4 pounds but my percent body fat dropped from 8.5% to 6.5%. So, I gained over 4 pounds of muscle and no fat. That’s a good trade from my perspective.

Other Feedback Loops That Push Us Toward Metabolic Syndrome

While Marshall agrees with my theory of why starches can cause problems, he points out that there are other feedback loops at work as well:

“This is all part of one sort of big complicated positive feedback loop. I 100% agree with you about the gut barrier function. But I also think that there's a whole bunch of aligned systems that are pushing us towards this outcome [metabolic syndrome].

When you look at the hibernating animals, when they go towards winter and you see all those desaturase enzymes are increased, their gut permeability increases. One of the tricks that the animal does as the hibernating season is approaching is they increase gut permeability, and they let more LPS in.

That may also let more oxygen through. I'm not sure. One of the patterns that you see in obesity and metabolic syndrome is that branched-chain amino acids in your bloodstream increase and glycine goes down. In mice, if you supplement with glycine, it increases gut barrier function.

So, you have this pattern going into winter where AHR is activated, desaturases are activated, gut barrier function is decreasing and LPS is coming in that causes release of CD38, [which] breaks down NAD+. And so, anytime LPS is coming through, it's decreasing NAD+ availability.

The thing about that is, all three desaturases run off NADH and not NAD+. So, the gut inflammation leads to increased activity of these desaturases, which leads to increased monounsaturated fat production, which continues to push you further in that direction of reductive stress, which lowers glycine, which makes the gut leakier. To me, it looks like it's all wrapped into the same process.

These processes all work together, and they all work in these feedback loops because if you are an animal in the right situation, you want to have a low metabolic rate, you want to have slow metabolism, and you want to be storing extra fuel.

It's a very complicated process with a lot of different parts, and they're all working together to achieve the outcome, which we call metabolic syndrome. Because in our situation, we don't have to store extra fat for winter and we're not going to hibernate.”

Tracing the Inflammatory Cascade to Its Root

Marshall also points out research showing mice that lack SCD1, and therefore cannot make monounsaturated fat, have very low inflammatory markers.

In autumn, hibernating animals increase SCD1, which increases production of monounsaturated fats, which in turn increases the inflammatory immune cells like TLR4 and NF kappa beta. At the same time, stearoylethanolamide (SEA) production is reduced. SEA is a bioactive lipid made from stearic acid that is noted for its effects on reducing appetite and inflammation.

However, if you decrease Delta-9 desaturase activity, you eliminate that whole inflammatory cascade. So, Marshall suspects that it’s the inflammatory cascade resulting in elevated C-reactive protein can be traced back to the activation of Delta-9 desaturase. Hence, the remedy needs to include the deactivation of Delta-9 desaturase.

SEA, which is available as a supplement, has the remarkable effect of drastically raising your metabolic rate if the negative feedback loops just described are in play. In animal studies, SEA has been shown to reduce inflammation, suppress production of TNF alpha, SCD1 and Delta-9 desaturase.

“So, it's doing all of the things that you would predict would help your metabolic rate,” Marshall says. In the interview, he describes the effects his SEA supplement had on his morning body temperature readings, which is a simple way to gauge your metabolic rate, and how he was able to use that to fine-tune his dosage.

What Do Countries With Low Diabetes Rates Eat?

As noted by Marshall, West Africa has one of the world's lowest diabetes rates, partially attributed to its diet, which is rich in starchy tubers like plantains, cassava, and African yams, as well as collagenous meats like beef skin. These foods are often used in stews, extracting collagen and gelatin.

This dietary pattern, emphasizing starchy tubers and collagen-rich meats, contrasts with diets higher in processed foods and may contribute to the region's lower diabetes prevalence, which is below 3%.

My idea of a healthy meal would be white rice cooked in bone broth, topped off with a couple of egg yolks and a small amount of beef liver. This meal would be high in starch and collagen, and low in fructose and muscle meat, which has a very different amino acid composition than collagen. For a refresher on the difference between muscle meat and collagen, see “Why Collagen Is a Proven Necessity.” Marshall comments:

“One of the things about starch is, if you eat a bunch of starch, your NAD+ availability increases postprandially. After the meal, you have more NAD+ availability if you're burning a lot of starch. And so, it all comes down to reductive stress.”

Why Olive Oil Isn’t as Healthy as It’s Made Out To Be

Marshall also recounts research showing the differences between saturated and unsaturated fats in terms of how they affect your metabolism.

“This experiment has been done in humans about four or five times. They feed people bread and butter or bread and olive oil, and measure how much oxygen they're consuming and how much carbon dioxide they're breathing out. That's called respiratory exchange ratio.

If you look at those two numbers, you can determine how much carbohydrate and fat people are burning. And so, if people eat bread with butter, they'll have a relatively high respiratory exchange ratio, and that means that they're burning a lot of the carbohydrate in the meal. So, you eat bread and butter, you can burn that carbohydrate cleanly, which is the right way to do it.

If you eat bread and butter, you want to burn those carbs first. Then, as your blood glucose levels drop, then you'll start to burn more of the fat from the meal. That's the correct sequence. If you eat olive oil and bread, you burn less of the glucose right away.

I would argue that the olive oil makes you essentially acutely insulin resistant. Because the insulin, you eat that bread, the insulin is signaling, it's trying to clear the other things out to allow that glucose to burn. But if you eat bread and olive oil, your respiratory exchange ratio will be lower, and that means you're burning more fat.

And of course, if you read those articles, they say, ‘Oh, eureka. If you eat olive oil, you'll burn more fat than if you eat butter.’ When I look at that, I say, ‘This is bad. This is not what you want.’”

Olive oil, if pure (and most aren’t) is mostly oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat, but PUFAs have the same effect. Both will inhibit glucose metabolism. What’s more, when you consume oleic acid, it creates oleoylethanolamide (OEA), which has the opposite effect of SEA.

OEA activates a nuclear receptor called PPAR-alpha, which directly turns off glucose metabolism. So, every time you eat monounsaturated fat, PPAR-alpha is activated and turns off your ability to break down glucose.

High Metabolism Is the Goal

Marshall continues:

“If you compare bread and butter to bread and olive oil, the bread and butter looks like that's what you want … as you want to burn those carbs. Because if you burn those carbs, your NAD+ availability will go up. And I said this in the last show, but there's this old saying that ‘fat burns in the flame of carbohydrate.’

You get that NAD+ availability up and you get that flywheel spinning, and now you can efficiently burn the fat in the meal and also your stored body fat, because the carbs are really driving that process.”

One way to accomplish that is by taking a SEA supplement, as that will increase your metabolic rate. Remember, the key goal is to increase your body's ability to create cellular energy, which means improving your mitochondrial function and increasing your metabolic rate. If you can do that, it doesn't matter what disease you have; most will begin to improve.

Again, to summarize, SEA helps counteract the effects of oleic acid by influencing your body's metabolism and its response to fats. It does this, in part, by suppressing the enzyme delta-9 desaturase in the liver, which plays a role in converting saturated fats into monounsaturated fats like oleic acid.

By doing so, SEA helps reduce your body's tendency to store fat, mimicking a condition where energy storage for winter is unnecessary. This, in turn, helps to improve your metabolic rate and reduce inflammation by affecting NF kappa beta, a protein complex involved in inflammatory responses.

Lab Test for Redox Status Is in the Works

As mentioned earlier, Marshall and I are developing a lab test to assess redox status by analyzing three pairs of compounds: lactate and pyruvate, acetoacetate and beta-hydroxybutyrate, and oxidized and reduced glutathione.

We believe this approach will offer more precise insight into cellular health than directly measuring NAD+. We want this test to be affordable and able to provide detailed information about your mitochondrial function to help you monitor your progress as you make various lifestyle changes.

In the interview we discuss, in detail, how and why evaluating these three redox pairs are crucial for understanding how your body processes fuel and manages oxidative stress. We also explain how the balance of these pairs in the mitochondria and cytoplasm can indicate overall metabolic health and the effectiveness of your body's antioxidant defenses, such as glutathione.

In short, the test aims to provide insight into your mitochondrial function and how it can be overwhelmed by excessive or improper fuel intake, which has significant implications for your health.

Marshall also explains how antioxidants, like vitamin C, interact with free radicals, substances with unpaired electrons that can damage cells. When antioxidants donate an electron to free radicals, like superoxide or lipid peroxides, they neutralize them, preventing damage.

However, this process can be complex, as illustrated by glutathione, a crucial antioxidant that, when in its reduced form, helps eliminate harmful substances but can also indicate reductive stress in cancer cells. Thus, maintaining a balanced level of reduced glutathione is essential for health.

More Information

To learn more, please listen to the interview in its entirety. You may need to listen to it several times, even, to really understand it. Once you do, however, the answers to many of your health problems will become that much clearer. And, if you want to dive deeper into molecular biology, be sure to check out Marshall’s YouTube channel, Fire in a Bottle. Marshall also sells a SEA supplement that is available at his website.

The Best Nutrition Course Is NOW Available for You!

In closing, I have other good news. Shortly, I will be sending out invites to train individuals interested in becoming one of my health coaches. My health coaches will be some of the best trained coaches on the planet because they will understand how biology works and how to correct it to optimize health.

Many will apply but only a few will be accepted. Once they are accepted, they will be allowed to enroll in my nutritional biochemistry course at no charge. This course is based on the concepts of the late Dr. Ray Peat who popularized bioenergetic medicine. That's a fancy word for optimizing diet choices to maximize cellular energy production.

Poorly functioning mitochondria is pervasive and probably exists in 98% of the population. Diligent application of the principles outlined by Peat will help your mitochondria recover so they can produce the amount of energy they were designed to. This is important because your body needs energy to activate its intrinsic healing capacity.

The foundation for the nutritional biochemistry course that will be taught to our health coaches is from a course that Ashley and Sarah Armstrong put together. In my view, it is the best health course I've ever seen.

I only wish I had had this course when I first started practicing medicine. It would have been a game changer. It's hard to imagine how many additional hundreds of millions of people I could have helped with this knowledge. Not to worry though, as the knowledge is now available for you.

If you are seriously interested in understanding how your body works, and more importantly, what specific actions you can take to guide it to working the way it was designed to, then this is the course you need to take.

You can enroll for the course on their website. I take no commissions from recommending this course. All the funds go directly to the Armstrong sisters. They’re probably the most knowledgeable farmers on the planet when it comes to health. This is why they can produce some of the healthiest food possible. But you may realize that farmers don't earn very much, so you can support their mission to provide the world with healthy food by purchasing their course.

I would encourage you to seriously consider taking advantage of the wealth of knowledge that has taken them many years to compile and make available to you in an easy to learn format.

The Four Hormones Most Adults Need More Of

Editor's Note: This article is a reprint. It was originally published December 3, 2023.

In this interview, repeat guest Georgi Dinkov and I discuss the four hormones most adults need more of if they want to optimize their health. In my introduction I mention that we will review the benefits and mechanisms of action of carbon dioxide (CO₂), but we've covered that in Part 2 of this interview, which you can watch here.

As for hormones, if you're optimally healthy, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is unnecessary, as your body will make whatever hormones you need. The problem is that very few people, including me, enjoy truly optimal health.

We live in a very polluted world, so "optimal health" is a high bar for all of us. I take four hormones that I believe most adults can benefit from — progesterone, thyroid hormone T3, DHEA and pregnenolone.

Three of these, progesterone, DHEA and pregnenolone are available over-the-counter. Thyroid hormones, however, require a doctor's prescription. You also need to get routine blood tests done (typically two to four times a year) to make sure your thyroid hormones are maintained at optimal levels. Overtreatment can result in hyperthyroid symptoms, which you clearly want to avoid.

How Hormones Impact Health Span and Life Span

As noted by Dinkov, around the ages of 11 and 12, right before puberty, the hormonal profiles of boys and girls are relatively similar, and they produce about the same amounts of pregnenolone and progesterone.

This is also the time when thyroid hormone levels are the highest they'll ever be, and it's the time in a person's life cycle when their mortality is the lowest. Once puberty strikes, adrenal activity increases. In fact, the old name for puberty was adrenarche, which tells you that adrenal activity is driving the process.

At this time, boys start producing more testosterone and girls progesterone (depending on where they are in the menstrual cycle). Interestingly, many studies have shown that the later puberty starts, the longer the lifespan and health span of both sexes. Conversely, the earlier the onset of puberty, the shorter the lifespan and the more prone to diseases the individual will be.

"After puberty starts and until the late 20s, people are remarkably resilient to stress," Dinkov notes. "In fact, stress often seems stimulating for them. This seems to change drastically after they hit 30, and especially after 35. It's basically a very steep decline.

And if you look at the way the hormonal profile changes, you'll see that whenever young, healthy people are exposed to stress, there's a spike in cortisol release, followed closely by a spike of pregnenolone and DHEA release for males, and pregnenolone, progesterone and DHEA release for females.

That delayed release of these secondary hormones drop off a cliff after the age of about 35. The ranges for pregnenolone, progesterone and DHEA, and even testosterone, change depending on what age group you fall into, but the range for cortisol doesn't change.

So, throughout your lifetime, unless you're critically ill, in which case cortisol drops, or you have Addison disease, which is full on adrenal failure, your cortisol levels do not decline, and that's what keeps you alive because, if you have adrenal failure, unless you take cortisol shots you will die from hypoglycemia or Addison's disease. So, it's lethal.

Cortisol is really a life-saving hormone. It's proinflammatory, but its primary purpose is to keep blood sugar from dropping too low, because your brain runs predominantly on glucose. So, basically, after the age of 35, cortisol stays the same.

It's a catabolic hormone. It can shred your muscles, soft tissue, bone, you name it. There's no organ that is immune to the effects of cortisol. There is only one that is somewhat resilient, and it's the heart. And the reason the heart is so resilient in both genders is because in males, the heart contains a very large amount of testosterone, and in females it contains very large amounts of progesterone.

Both of these happen to be glucocorticoid antagonists. So they're protecting this vital muscle ... but all the other tissues can be shredded and they're considered basically nonessential. So, after the age of 35, you have a stable supply of a catabolic hormone and then a rapidly declining supply of pregnenolone, progesterone and DHEA, all three of which have antiglucocorticoid effects."

All of that said, if you're taking progesterone, you don't need to worry about the DHEA converting to estrogenic substances because progesterone will block that conversion. Even if there is conversion, progesterone is an antagonist at the estrogen receptors so it will directly block the estrogen as well. Pregnenolone has similar effects. It's a milder aromatase inhibitor than progesterone, but it's still quite good at preventing the uptake of estrogen into the cell.

Cortisol-to-DHEA Ratio Is a Good Predictor of Life Span

One of the take-homes from the above is that when you're young, before puberty sets in, you have high production of T3 thyroid hormone, cortisol and anti-cortisol steroids. After age 35, there's a gradual decline of thyroid function and a rapid decline in the synthesis and release of the anti-cortisol hormones, some of which also happen to be anti-estrogenic.

As a result, you enter a state of relative glucocorticoid and estrogen excess, both of which have detrimental effects on health. Dinkov explains:

"The state of glucocorticoid excess is not very well known. It's easily measurable though by the ratio of cortisol to DHEA, or cortisol to progesterone, or cortisol to pregnenolone. Studies demonstrate that the cortisol to DHEA ratio is the best predictor we have for how long you're going to live and for any diseases that you're going to develop throughout your lifetime."

DHEA Influences Your Immune Function

One of the reasons for this is because DHEA is an immune booster, and your immune system is your first line of defense against both acute and chronic diseases, including cancer. And the amount of DHEA produced is about the same in both sexes, regardless of age. Dinkov suspects an ideal ratio of cortisol to DHEA is 0-to-3 or lower.

As for DHEA by itself, he recommends aiming for a level in the upper 50th percentile for the upper range of a 20-year-old, which is around 600 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL). So, ideally, if you're older than 35, you'd want your DHEA to be somewhere between 300 and 600 ng/dL.

As for the daily dosage, the normal daily output of DHEA by the adrenal gland is about 10 milligrams (mg), so for most people, the max DHEA dose would be 5 to 10 mg and mixed with a long-chain fat. According to Dinkov, human studies have shown that once you take more than 10 mg of DHEA per day, you begin to increase estrogen biomarkers, which is something you don't want.

"Anything less than [10 mg], which happens to be a physiological dose, doesn't really cause that much of a problem, but I would still take it with progesterone because blood levels are not always indicative of tissue levels," Dinkov says.

"In fact, [DHEA] is not always reflected on the blood test ... If you look at the studies, they show you that cells have a very high uptake of pregnenolone and DHEA. They accumulate them at levels 100 times higher than what they are in the bloodstream. So if you're very DHEA deficient, it will take a while to fill up your reserves and then for the extra to spill over. About six months.

There's a study with Italian women. They took 10 mg for a full year. Eventually that restored their levels back to normal, but not until the six-month mark did they see significant change. So it really depends on how deficient you are, for how long you've been deficient, and the state of your adrenal gland.

Another study demonstrated that the DHEA starts working immediately. You don't see it in the blood test, but they started measuring downstream metabolites of DHEA and found that taking just 10 mg of DHEA drastically increased the metabolites of the dihydrotestosterone such as 3-alpha androstane diol and metabolites of testosterone, such as testosterone glucoronate and sulfate.

So, DHEA starts working immediately and converting to downstream hormones, but it's going to take a while to see that in the biomarkers that are usually measured, which is DHEA and DHEA sulfate. What they really should be doing is measure all of the other things that DHA can convert into.

And some of those things are estrogens. Chances are, at least based on studies, that either prolactin or estrone will rise if you're taking too high of a dose long before there will be changes in the blood levels of DHEA or DHEA sulfate."

Caveats and Warnings

There are a few important caveats here. Taking too high a dose of DHEA can cause unwanted hair growth in women, and breast growth in men,¹ so be sure to monitor your symptoms. DHEA is also banned in sports. It's classified as a doping agent by the World Anti-Doping Agency, so athletes must take their competitive status into account before taking supplemental DHEA.

Also, never take DHEA without progesterone. They need to be taken together. Another point to optimize the therapy and not derail it is that if you take T3, DHEA and/or pregnenolone orally, you need to dissolve them in a long-chain fat (14 carbons or more) first.

If you don't do that, they'll be metabolized by your liver, which significantly lowers their effectiveness. According to Dinkov, the bioavailability of oral hormones can be as low as 10%. Dissolving the supplements in a little ghee or butter will bypass liver metabolism and allow you to get the most out of your supplements.

Olive oil is also a long-chain fat, but I don't recommend it, as it can have 20% linoleic acid (LA) and a flavor that many don't like. According to Dinkov, at least one study has demonstrated that LA binds directly to estrogen receptors and acts like estrogen.

So, LA not merely promotes the effects of estrogen but also acts as an estrogen directly. Since estrogen is a potent carcinogen, you want to avoid things with estrogenic activity. In addition, olive oil contains oleic acid, which is just as damaging as LA.

Progesterone Works Best With Vitamin E

Progesterone, meanwhile, needs to be mixed into vitamin E for optimal bioavailability. Health Natura sells a progesterone in vitamin E product. Alternatively, you can make your own by dissolving pure USP 1/64 (25 mg) or 1/32 (50 mg) tsp of progesterone powder in one capsule of a high-quality vitamin E and applying to your gums 30 minutes prior to bedtime.

You will need to purchase a set of special teaspoons to measure this. The difference in bioavailability between taking progesterone orally without vitamin E and taking it with vitamin E is quite dramatic.

Many are concerned that the label on their product says it is for skin use only. This is because there is an FDA rule that transmucosal application turns the supplement into a drug and they are prohibited from putting that on their label. This is not for your protection it is to protect the drug company's cash flow. Applying the progesterone to your gums is the ideal route of administration and is a perfectly legal off label use of progesterone.

Another good reason for taking progesterone with vitamin E is because it binds to red blood cells, which allows the progesterone to be carried throughout your body and be distributed to where it's needed the most. What's more, Dinkov cites research showing that when you dissolve a substance in vitamin E, it specifically targets sites with the highest inflammation.

Other Important Benefits of Vitamin E

Another important benefit of vitamin E is that it prevents LA stored in your tissues from being oxidized into toxic byproducts. Since most people are walking around with LA stores that are 10 times higher than normal, and since excess LA is likely one of the primary contributors to chronic disease, it can be a good idea to take vitamin E regularly until you get your LA down to healthy levels, which may take up to six years for most people.

Vitamin E can almost miraculously prevent most of the damage done by LA. It can also reverse or prevent many of the issues associated with excess estrogen. This is important because LA has remarkable parallels to excess estrogen in terms of its metabolic and anti-health effects.

When you eat excess PUFA or LA, you increase your body's production of estrogen. So, when you increase LA, estrogen levels go up — and that's not a good thing. Both LA and estrogen interestingly increase the flow of calcium from outside the cell to inside because the concentration of calcium outside as well is 50 times higher than inside. So, the excess as LA will cause the influx of calcium inside the cell, which causes nitric oxide and superoxide to increase inside the cell.

Nitric oxide and superoxide combine almost instantaneously to form a very pernicious reactive nitrogen species called peroxynitrite, which causes pervasive damage to tissues in your body.

Both LA and estrogen also increase a potentially dangerous process in your body called lipolysis, which is simply the liberation of fatty acids from your fat cells into your bloodstream where they are mobilized. This then increases the oxidation of LA, which is precisely what you want to avoid as ideally you want to keep LA in your fat cells until they metabolize it with peroxisomes.

Fortunately, vitamin E can also help neutralize this damaging effect of LA. Vitamin E also directly inhibits the activity of an enzyme called aromatase. This is an enzyme that converts the male hormones like testosterone and DHEA into estrogens.

Even better, it serves as an estrogen antagonist, meaning it binds to the estrogen receptor to block it from binding to estrogen. This dramatically lowers the damage from excess estrogen.

Vitamin E works very similarly to the drug tamoxifen, which is used to treat estrogen receptor-positive breast cancers. For these reasons, I firmly believe nearly everyone needs to be getting vitamin E in their diet. However, due to the high LA burden, very few people can get enough vitamin E from their diet to suppress this oxidative destruction unless they're supplementing with vitamin E.

The good news is that since the supplementation is short term, you're not going to need it the rest of your life. If you can keep your LA intake to below 5 grams a day for three years, it's likely you may not even need it at all, or at most, only a few times a month.

However, if for whatever reason, during this time, or when the LA in your tissues are low or normal, and you go out and binge on a meal that's very high in LA, I would strongly recommend taking a vitamin E capsule to protect yourself from this exposure.

Vitamin E also protects against free radical damage and the normal effects of aging. It's particularly important for brain health, and studies have found it can help delay the loss of cognitive function in people with Alzheimer's disease by preventing cell membrane damage and neuronal death.²

How to Pick a Good Vitamin E Supplement

Most vitamin E supplements are synthetic, and you want to steer clear of those. Studies have demonstrated that synthetic vitamin E has the opposite effect of natural vitamin E, such as increasing the risk of certain cancers rather than lowering it, for example. So, it's important to make sure you're getting a natural version.

Synthetic vitamin E is called alpha tocopherol acetate. The acetate indicates that it's synthetic. Next, you need to pay attention to the orientation of the optical isomer. Most vitamin supplements are racemic, or they have left- and right-hand isomers. This is a problem as most biological molecules have optical isomers that are right-handed.

They're usually called D and L isomers, which stands for right and left. When you have both left and right isomers present, it's called racemic. Biologically, there's usually only one optical isomer that works well, and with vitamin E it is the D isomer that works in your body, while the L isomer is useless. Yet in synthetic supplements, 50% of the vitamin E in the supplement is the useless L isomer.

To make matters even worse, many synthetic versions use an ester of vitamin E, which only has about 50% of the activity of the natural product. So, the total activity of many vitamin E supplements is reduced by 75%.

So, the first step in identifying healthy good vitamin E supplements is to make sure you're getting real vitamin E and not synthetic. What you're looking for is "d alpha tocopherol." This is the pure D isomer, which is what your body can use.

Many vitamin E brands will use vitamin E from sunflower oil, which has a very high percentage of LA. However, the LA in the capsule is an insignificant amount, probably less than 50 or 100 mg, so in this case it's not a problem. Your goal is to keep LA intake under 5,000 mg, and even better under 2,500 mg, so it really won't negatively impact your LA intake at all.

As for dose, you don't need more than 100 mg a day. There are also other vitamin E isomers, and you want the complete spectrum of tocotrienols, specifically the beta, gamma, and delta types of vitamin E, in the effective D isomer. It's important to get this right, which is why I'm going into this much detail.

Most People Can Benefit From Bioidentical Progesterone

So, to tie up the discussion about progesterone, bioidentical progesterone (not synthetic progestin) is probably the most important hormone that most adults need. Conversely, I believe estrogen — including bioidentical estrogen — should never be used, as estrogen is carcinogenic.

As noted by Dinkov, virtually all cancers respond to hormones and estrogen is a primary growth factor in all of them. So, there's really no such thing as a nonendocrine cancer. To learn more about this, see our previous interview, where we dove deeper into the hazards of estrogen.

Unfortunately, most people who use progesterone use it transdermally, which could be problematic. As explained by Dinkov, your skin expresses high levels of 5-alpha reductase enzyme, which causes a significant portion of the progesterone you're taking to be irreversibly converted primarily into allopregnanolone and cannot be converted back into progesterone.

If you're taking it orally with vitamin E as the solvent, a significant portion will be non-metabolized, that non-metabolized progesterone has potent pro-thyroid effects. It's also a thermogenic steroid. It induces uncoupling, so you'll be producing more heat, which is one of the effects of taking T3. While not as potent as taking T3, it can raise your metabolic rate by about 10%.

Progesterone also blocks cortisol and helps protect against excess cortisol production, but not to the point of causing cortisol deficiency (Addison disease), and it helps deactivate adrenaline.

"There are human studies demonstrating that you administer progesterone, even in its nonoptimal form — such as just the powder without the long-chain fatty acids and definitely without the tocopherols — even in that form, 100 to 200 milligrams orally.

A single dose is sufficient to drop cortisol and adrenaline by about 60%. As a side effect of that, the blood pressure also dropped in both sexes," Dinkov says. "So, we know that progesterone has a very potent antistress effect by acting specifically on the two sides of the stress system, cortisol and adrenaline.

One of the explanations is that progesterone has shown some ability to directly activate the alpha receptors, which are negative feedback. In other words, if you activate the alpha adrenal receptor, you basically send in the signal that there's too much adrenaline, so the body will produce less adrenaline ..."

The dose of bioidentical progesterone I recommend is 30 to 50 mg a day (again, mixed with a long-chain fat), taken in the evening before bed, as it can promote sleepiness. The same dose (30 to 50 mg a day) is recommended for pregnenolone. This is the physiological dose, meaning it's what you need for full replenishment, assuming you're producing nothing.

Important Caveat for Menstruating Women

Women who still menstruate need to be careful with the timing of their progesterone supplementation. Progesterone is crucial for successful pregnancy, and you can severely inhibit your ability to get pregnant if you take it at the wrong time. (During pregnancy, progesterone actually skyrockets. In the third trimester, women produce about 600 mg a day.)

If your menses are regular, start taking the progesterone on the 14th day after your menstrual flow begins, and take it for 14 days straight (until cycle day 27). If your cycles are short, start on day 12 and continue for 14 days. Always take the progesterone for the full 14 days even if your menses begin before the 14 days are over. Start the next progesterone 14 days after the flow began.³

There's no toxicity to progesterone, unlike estrogen and testosterone, neither of which I recommend. Progesterone, T3, DHEA and pregnenolone are the only hormones you really need. Supplementing progesterone also will not lower your natural production, so you don't need to be concerned about that. In fact, it enhances your natural production.

Thyroid Hormone Supplementation

When it comes to your thyroid, most people only need T3. That said, desiccated thyroid contains both T3 and T4 and can be a good option for some. Here, unless you're treating a specific thyroid problem, the generally recommended dose is 10 micrograms two to three times a day. Dinkov comments:

"The thyroid gland produces about 100 micrograms in a healthy person — 100 micrograms of T3 over 24-hour period. If you take more than 25 micrograms, even that is a very high dose because it has such a potent thermogenic effect, and in higher doses can be catabolic.

The body has deiodinase enzymes, and they very quickly convert the excess T3 into something called T2 and even T1 ... So, in other words, you're going to be wasting most of it. Interestingly, the same type of enzymes, T3 deactivating, are highly overexpressed in cancer cells, and cancer cells just happen to be very hypometabolic, as we've discussed previously.

So the thyroid gland produces T3 and T4 in a ratio of about 1 to 4 in favor of T4. T4 is actually a prohormone, it by itself does not have a very high activity directly at the thyroid receptors T3. So, it circulates and about 80% of it in the liver, in a healthy person, should get converted to T3. The other 20% can get converted to T3 peripherally, or if the dosage of T4 is too high, the excess very quickly gets converted to something called reverse T3.

This is a very dangerous state because reverse T3 acts as a thyroid hormone antagonist ... Most doctors don't take these things into account, so if they prescribe you, let's say, 100 or 200 micrograms T4 daily. You better be praying that this will get properly converted because if it doesn't, and gets converted to reverse T3, you'll end up in a more hypothyroid state than if you did not take the T4 at all ...

T4 is almost never a good option by itself unless the person is very young. But even then, if a person is hypothyroid, that by definition already means that the liver will be burdened, because one of the primary functions of the liver is the detox mechanisms and one of the primary things that liver detoxifies are polyunsaturated fats and estrogens.

But the detoxification mechanisms themselves depend on thyroid function. So hypothyroid means sluggish liver by definition. So, if you give a hypothyroid person T4 only, especially if the dose is higher, you're asking for trouble. Some of that will get converted to reverse T3."

What Basic Blood Tests Can Reveal About Health

Editor’s Note: This article is a reprint. It was originally published February 3, 2019.

Dr. Bryan Walsh is a naturopathic physician extensively trained in molecular biological pathways and an associate professor at the University of Western States. In this interview, we discuss some of the amazing pieces of information you can harvest from a basic blood panel that many conventional physicians either don’t know or don’t share with you.

Even many functional medicine practitioners, unfortunately, are unaware of this information. One of the problems is that many doctors are unclear about what all the different markers even are.

"I'll never forget; the first marker I decided to delve into was albumin," Walsh says. "I'm looking at a lab and thought, 'What really is albumin? I mean, what is the physiological story of albumin? Where is it made? Under what conditions is it made?' …

I realized that once I knew the whole physiological backstory of albumin … I didn’t need a book to look up why it was high or low. When you know the reasons it’s made, where it’s made and why and how it’s stored and how long it lasts (its half-life) … you can, by yourself, think through why albumin might be high or low.

This was well over a decade ago and I haven't stopped. I then realized I need to learn the physiology of every single one of these markers as best as I possibly can. The more I knew [about these markers], the more [the lab test] started to make sense.

But in so doing, I also found a lot of issues. One, the ideal of optimal or functional reference ranges [are] sort of arbitrary, but it turns out there are a lot of published literature that suggest there's a better reference range for almost every single marker that you could find on the standard blood chemistry."

As just one example, conventionally, there’s no functional low-end range for bilirubin. However, as Walsh mined the available literature, he discovered, to his great surprise, that this is not true.

"Low bilirubin is very clearly associated with an increase in all-cause mortality," he says. "The question is, 'Why?' Then you learn total bilirubin is a lipophilic antioxidant. It's a marker of lipid peroxidation …

When you look at the literature, you can look at what level might indicate excess liquid peroxidation is taking place. The question is how many practitioners know that information? I didn't. I had to teach myself this information. How many practitioners, either conventional or otherwise, are not using bilirubin for the marker that it should be?"

The Cellular Theory of Health

In the interview, Walsh explains what he has dubbed "the cellular theory of health." In summary, the levels of structural organization as taught in basic physiology reveals what we're made up of on a physical level. On the microscopic level, we're made up of atoms, chemicals or elements, things found in the periodic table, such as carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, molybdenum and so on.

"If you take two or more atoms, chemicals, elements and put them together, then you get a molecule … Glucose is a molecule. Amino acid is a molecule. Triacylglycerol is a molecule.

When you take molecules and put them together, then you can get a macromolecule. If you take a bunch of glucose together, you get glycogen. You put a bunch of amino acids together and you get a protein … Three fatty acids and a glycerol [gives you] triacylglycerol.

If you take these macromolecules and put those together, then you make organelles — all the parts of a cell [such as] the mitochondria, the endoplasmic reticulum, the ribosomes and the nucleus. Then if you take those and you wrap them in a phospholipid membrane, then you get a cell."

The cell is the first part of an organism that is fully capable of life. When you put cells together, you get tissues, of which there are four different types: connective, neural, muscular and epithelial.¹ When you add these four tissues together, you get an organ. (Most organs have all four, at least to some degree.)

Organs with similar functions form an organ system. Examples include the digestive system, respiratory system and the integumentary system. Once you add all the systems together, you finally have a complete organism — in this case, the human body.

"Now, here's the whole point," Walsh says. "When somebody has a sign or a symptom of any kind, then you [need to] go backwards in the levels of organization. Let's say they have premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or there are issues with infertility. It's not the whole organism [that is dysfunctional]. It's an organ system.

It would probably go towards the endocrine system, right? But an organ system is really made up of a bunch of organs. In a woman who has PMS, it's probably not her thymus. It's probably not directly her adrenals or pancreas. It's probably her ovaries.

According to levels of organization, an organ is really four different types of tissues. So then, if this woman who's suffering with PMS, what's dysfunctional? Is it the epithelial cells? Probably. Because those are the hormone-making cells of the ovaries.

It's not the connective tissue. It's not the muscular tissue of the ovaries. It's not the neural tissue probably. But epithelial tissue is really just a bunch of cells. So, then, where is the dysfunction in this woman coming from in the first place? It's the cells.

To put it another way, healthy cells make healthy tissues. Healthy tissues make healthy organs. Healthy organs make healthy organ systems. Healthy organ systems make a healthy organism. I've created this model. One could argue about healthy organelles, like the mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum, but if you have healthy cells, then you're going to have a healthy organism …

Cells need three things. One, they need to be able to make energy … To make energy, they need oxygen for the electron transport chain. They need the right substrate — glucose and fatty acids. They have to have healthy organelles. They have to have the right micronutrients in order to be able to run all these biochemical processes inside the cell.

If one of those things is dysfunctional, you have a dysfunctional cell, then you have dysfunctional tissues, dysfunctional organs, organ systems and organism. The second thing is they need to be protected from things that could otherwise damage them …

Infections can cause cellular dysfunction … An antibody can cause cellular dysfunction … reactive oxygen species (ROS) … or toxins … You can have all the nutrients, all the substrates … but if you have toxin exposure, ROS, immune system dysregulation or infections, then you'll cause cell dysfunction.

[Third] it has to be the right environment. The pH of the cell has to be good. The hydration status has to be good … cell communication [must be good] … The last bit is that your genetics [and] epigenetics can influence all of these things. That's the foundation … [and] you can evaluate most of those components using a blood chemistry."

Ideal Blood Chemistry Reference Ranges Exist

Over the years, Walsh has collected over 100 papers detailing optimal reference ranges for most of the major markers found on a blood chemistry panel, including ancillary ones such as A1C.

What's important to understand is that while most practitioners rely on reference ranges provided by the laboratory, there's an evidence-based set of optimal reference ranges, which can more readily predict underlying pathology.

Fasting glucose, for example, should be between 82 and 88 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), Walsh says, based on the available literature, while nonfasting glucose should ideally be between 82 and 130 mg/dL.

Another example is the aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio — liver enzymes that assess liver function.² The laboratory range for that typically tops out at 40 units per liter (U/L) for AST and 56 for ALT.

Meanwhile, the medical literature "very clearly show that, a) men and women should have a different AST and ALT reference range, and b), [the ideal range] is not much above 20 U/L," Walsh says.

GGT and Iron

Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), which is a powerful predictor of mortality, also should not be above 20 U/L. “How many doctors are looking at GGT and saying it’s OK when, in fact, according to the literature, it’s absolutely not,” Walsh says. GGT is a liver enzyme involved in glutathione metabolism and the transport of amino acids and peptides.

Not only will the GGT test tell you if you have liver damage, it can also be used as a screening marker for excess free iron and is a great indicator of your sudden cardiac death risk.

In recent years, scientists have discovered GGT is highly interactive with iron. Excessive iron will tend to raise GGT, and when both your serum ferritin and GGT are high, you are at significantly increased risk of chronic health problems, because then you have a combination of free iron, which is highly toxic, and iron storage to keep that toxicity going.

"There's a paper done in 2012 that showed the red blood cell (erythrocyte) membrane is a target for GGT. GGT … modifies the erythrocyte membrane. Then some of these elements, like iron and copper, for example, can become more liberated … Because of that, a cysteinylglycine is liberated from glutathione via GGT.

That, in the presence of iron or copper, initiates the Fenton reaction. That's when you get massive oxidative stress. One thing I haven't been able to fully figure out is that if iron and copper are more normal, is GGT less of an issue? I still think it's a marker of xenobiotic exposure and of … oxidative stress due to glutathione deficiency," Walsh says.

GGT is an inexpensive test that should be included in every lab. As for serum ferritin, Walsh suggests a low-end of 50 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL), and a high-end of 115 ng/mL for women and as high as 150 ng/mL for men, although he admits an argument could be made that ferritin should be below 100 ng/mL in both sexes.

I have beta thalassemia and as a result am at high risk for hemochromatosis (iron overload), as my red blood cells are recycled too frequently. From my review of the literature, I believe a more ideal reference range to lower your all-cause mortality risk is between 30 and 40 ng/mL for men and nonmenstruating women.

Walsh also suggests looking at copper and total iron binding capacity (TIBC). One of the roles of copper is to turn iron into the form that's transportable and useable in synthesis. Without copper, your body is unable to use the iron it has. As a result, if copper is low and your body cannot use iron, TIBC will go up.

Copper deficiency anemia has the exact same markers as iron deficiency anemia, with the exception of neutrophils, which tend to be low when there's copper deficiency. A tipoff that you're looking at copper deficiency anemia and not iron deficiency anemia is if it's not being corrected by iron supplementation.

Blood Viscosity Markers

Blood viscosity is another area where blood testing can reveal valuable health information. Blood viscosity affects a number of different conditions, including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, gallstones, bone density and osteoporosis, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, endothelial dysfunction and much more. Unfortunately, virtually no one is measuring blood viscosity, but it can be done. Walsh explains:

"When you think about what contributes to viscosity, which by the way goes back to basic blood — what is in blood? The most abundant thing in blood, after water, is protein — albumin, globulin and fibrinogen. I was thinking, 'Protein has to contribute to this, and protein's in the blood chemistry.'

Lo and behold, there's a validated calculation that looks at both low shear rate and high shear rate viscosity, that's been validated numerous times; that has been compared to actual whole blood viscosity. The two markers needed are just total protein and hematocrit. That's it … It's so easy to calculate, and it's been validated. Every physician should be running this on every patient …"

Fatty Liver Index

Typically, the term dyslipidemia refers to high cholesterol, high LDL, low HDL and abnormal triglycerides. But research suggests elevated HDL qualifies as dyslipidemia as well, as elevated HDL is not normal either. Walsh cites a paper in which the inclusion criteria was fatty liver diagnosed by ultrasound.

The average AST/ALT ratio in all these patients with fatty liver was in the 20s. Typically, doctors use liver enzymes to diagnose fatty liver. However, you can also use a fatty liver index, which is comprised of GGT, triglycerides, waist circumference and body mass index (BMI).

"It's fairly specific. It's pretty accurate as an indication of fatty liver," Walsh says. "Here, all you need is a waist circumference … BMI … triglycerides and GGT level. [With that] you can, with some confidence, predict whether they have fatty liver or not. Or, at least from a clinical decision-making perspective, decide if that's something that you want to pursue."

Intermountain Health Risk Score

Another test most physicians have not heard of, including myself, is the Intermountain health risk score. "This was something I stumbled across because I love blood chemistry," Walsh says.

"It's the best, most valuable, most accurate, most inexpensive test we could possibly be running. I get really frustrated as a functional medicine or naturopathic practitioner, that we're jumping on all these really expensive non-scientifically validated functional medicine tests when there's so much information that could be drawn from [the Intermountain risk score]."

The Intermountain risk score is a mortality risk score created based on the basic blood chemistry markers of tens of thousands of patients in a hospital setting, including complete blood count (CBC), sodium, potassium bicarbonate, mean platelet volume and other basics. Based on these markers, you end up with a 30-day, a one-year and a five-year mortality risk.

"That five-year mortality risk score is so valuable," Walsh says. "You might have somebody who's relatively healthy, self-prescribing a bunch of supplements, maybe exercising a little bit, trying to eat as healthy as they can. But physiologically, something's abnormal.

They go to their doctor and everything looks pretty good. Let's say their glucose is good. If they were to enter in all these markers and it came out with a slightly high score, that's an indication that not everything is going well …

Again, if the antithesis of optimal health is death, you can see where you are on this score. If your score doesn't come up great, you can take it to someone who will actually take a look at what you're doing and make some recommendations to try and improve some of these things.

That's just another example of there's more data inside of a blood chemistry test than the blood chemistry test is actually even reporting on. Things like osmolality. Things like viscosity. Things like the fatty liver index. Things like the Intermountain risk score."

You can find more information about this score by visiting their site.³ Simply enter your variables and it will calculate your score for you.

More Information

To learn more, see Walsh's website, metabolicfitnesspro.com. If you're a clinician, I highly recommend attending one of his lectures in which you'll learn far more about Walsh's unified cellular theory of health, blood chemistry analysis and evidence-based reference ranges.

His tour covers 12 U.S. cities between March and October 2019, and including Baltimore, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Dallas, Phoenix, Orange County, San Francisco, Portland, Broomfield, Minneapolis, St. Louis and Boston.

It’s definitely something that can radically improve your ability to understand and make successful interclinical interventions to improve the health of your patients. I will be attending his Jacksonville, Florida, event April 13 and 14.

In addition to two days of live presentations, you also get five hours of pre-event videos to review, so that you're up to speed on the basics and can really delve deeper during the live portion, and a digital copy of all the slides, references and bibliography presented.

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

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."

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 studies^24,25,26 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:

'We're All Plastic People Now': A Groundbreaking Documentary

A plastic straw, a bottle of water, a plastic bag from the grocery — these single-use plastics seem so innocuous that people barely give them a second thought before tossing them out. Unfortunately, the development of this throwaway culture has contributed to the mounting burden of plastic waste that threatens the environment, wildlife and our very own bodies.

Discarded plastics are made primarily from petrochemicals¹ and degrade into microscopic fragments called microplastics, which lurk everywhere, from the depths of our oceans to the food we eat and the air we breathe. It’s a sobering reality underscored by the Emmy Award-winning documentary featured above, “We’re All Plastic People Now.”

Plastic Pollution Has Become a Generational Burden

Produced and directed by Rory Fielding, “We’re All Plastic People Now” delves into how we have become the embodiment of the trash we created. It’s introduced by actor and ocean preservationist Ted Danson and featured at the 2024 Santa Fe Film Festival.²

While the film briefly illustrates the devastating impacts of microplastics on marine life, particularly sea turtles found with plastic-filled stomachs, it dives deeper into a more disturbing truth — humans are not separate from plastic pollution.

As David A. Davis, Ph.D., a researcher from the University of Miami who’s featured in the film, aptly puts it, “Water is life, so if the water is polluted and we have sentinel species like dolphins and sea turtles, if they're also sick, we can anticipate that we'll be sick, too.”

Studies have detected microplastics in human tissues, including the brain,³ lungs,⁴ kidney, liver⁵ and heart,⁶ as well as in human blood⁷ and stool.⁸ Even babies are exposed to microplastics starting from their mothers’ placenta to the breast milk they rely on for nourishment.⁹

Dr. Antonio Ragusa, the study’s lead researcher on microplastics in the placenta and one of the featured experts in the documentary, bluntly referred to humans as “cyborgs” because our bodies are no longer purely biological but have become part plastic.

This assertion is further confirmed in the film as Fielding had four generations of his family’s blood tested for plastic-derived chemicals. Their blood samples were submitted to Rolf Halden, Ph.D., an environmental engineer from Arizona State University. According to Halden’s analysis, Fielding and his family carry over 80 different chemicals in their body. He further explains:

“What we detected in the blood of all these participants are precursors of plastics, plastic constituents themselves, as well as degradation products of consumer plastics. These chemicals are known to be carcinogens, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, obesogens and neurodegenerative agents.”

Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Can Make Your Body ‘Go Awry’

Many of the chemicals used to make plastic are endocrine disruptors. As microplastics circulate in your body, they carry these chemicals and distribute them to your cells and tissues, where they can pose significant harm to your health. Dr. Leonardo Trasande, a pediatrician and director of the Center for Investigation of Environmental Hazards at New York University, noted in the film:

“We live in a world where we're still not as aware of endocrine-disrupting chemicals as we should be. We're talking about our natural hormones, our molecules that orchestrate all sorts of signaling of basic bodily functions, maintaining a healthy temperature, good metabolism, salt, sugar and even sex.

When we're talking about endocrine-disrupting chemicals, we're talking about synthetic chemicals that hack those molecular signals and make things go awry in the human body.”

Some of the endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) found in microplastics include bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). By mimicking, blocking or interfering with your natural hormones, EDCs can disrupt the function of your endocrine system, which leads to problems in various physiological functions such as growth, metabolism and reproduction.¹⁰

Some EDCs are also considered estrogenic carcinogens. Also known as xenoestrogens, these chemicals can mimic the effects of estrogen in the body.¹¹ This results in abnormal stimulation of estrogen receptors, which then promotes cell proliferation and potentially contributes to the development and progression of estrogen-sensitive cancers, such as breast cancer¹² and endometrial cancer.¹³

Another form of EDC found in microplastics is PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances), a group of about 5,000 ubiquitous chemicals in consumer products and used in industrial, electronic, firefighting and medical applications. They’re also known as “forever chemicals,” as they do not degrade naturally, persist in the environment and accumulate in people and wildlife.¹⁴

In the featured documentary, John Hocevar, director of Greenpeace Oceans Campaign, states, “PFAS chemicals can give us cancer ... and they can damage our immune systems. PFAS can also interfere with fetal development, and they can harm our hormonal and reproductive systems.”

Can Plastics End the Future of Humanity?

In the documentary, Shanna Swan, Ph.D., a professor from Mount Sinai Hospital, sheds light on her research on phthalates, which she believes is one of the major culprits behind the decline in sperm count in the last 50 years. She purports that exposure to these chemicals causes phthalate syndrome, a condition wherein the male reproductive organs and fertility are affected depending on their mother’s exposure to phthalates while they’re in the womb. She explains:

“What [phthalates] are doing is they’re lowering testosterone. Initially, male and female have the same genital ridge ... Around early first trimester, there starts to be differentiation of the males and females. All that’s happening very fast in early pregnancy, and that needs testosterone to be there at the right time and the right amount ...

If the testosterone doesn’t come on board at the right time and there isn’t enough of it ... let’s just say we call those males incompletely masculinized. And in the females, if testosterone gets in there when it shouldn’t or more than should be there, then the female starts producing more male-like genitals.

So, what you’re seeing is a decreasing of sex differences. So, the male becomes less completely a male, the female less completely a female.”

Halden further emphasizes the potential implications of the trend of decreasing sperm counts and loss of fertility, cautioning that we could be “playing with the future of humanity.”

“Essentially, we are allowing chemicals like plastic chemicals into our family planning,” Halden adds. “They [plastic chemicals] decide whether there is life or not. We don’t want to give more voting rights to chemicals as we plan in the future.”

Dr. Ragusa echoes this sentiment, stating, “Plastic can be the future for big oil companies. But not for us, not for humanity. For humanity, plastic is the end of the future.”

A Battle for Change in Southern Louisiana’s Cancer Alley

In an 85-mile stretch of land between New Orleans and Baton Rouge is an area known as “Cancer Alley.” In the area there are over 150 plastic plants and chemical industries. The cancer rates in this area are 50 times higher than the national average.¹⁵

The pervasive presence of estrogenic carcinogens in the surroundings likely contribute to these numbers. Moreover, exposure to plasticizers is also associated with oxidative stress, inflammation and DNA damage,¹⁶ all of which are also mechanisms of carcinogenesis.

Sharon Lavigne, founder of Rise St. James in Louisiana, lives in the middle of Cancer Alley. She shared that their community used to have beautiful trees before 19 petrochemical plants were built to replace them, with 12 of them located near Sharon’s home.

“I lost my sister-in-law [to] cancer. I lost my neighbor on both sides of me [to] cancer. We had so many people dying, it made me wonder what was going on ...” Sharon says. “I felt like if another industry would come in here, it would be a death sentence for St. James [Parish].”

Her personal experience spurred her on to fight against further industrial expansion in her community. The documentary features how their group’s efforts successfully prevented the construction of what would’ve been the world’s largest plastic plant in their hometown.

Profit From Plastic Is Prioritized Over Public Health

Despite the mounting evidence of the dangers caused by microplastics, the industry is still planning to expand plastic production. According to Christy Leavitt, the plastics campaign director of Oceana, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ocean conservation:

“We’ve seen, over the last couple of decades, the amount of plastic production has increased rapidly, and so too has all of the plastic pollution ... They’re looking towards a world where not only do we have the current amount of plastic that’s out there, but they want, in fact, triple the amount of that.”

She also revealed that recycling is no longer going to be enough to address the worsening plastic crisis. Halden elaborates on the economic challenges of recycling plastics, explaining that while the plastic industry’s narrative promotes recycling, it’s actually far more economical for them to produce virgin plastic.

The production of cheap plastic from fossil fuels is also being incentivized, causing companies to produce new ones instead of recycling. As for the logistic issues, Halden presented data from BeyondPlastics.org:¹⁷

“The things that we carry into recycling centers are only a small fraction of the overall plastic mass that we're using. In past years, only about 9% of plastics actually arrived at recycling centers. Today, it's only 5% of all the plastics that we make and consume.

But that's not where the bad news ends because when the plastics arrive at the recycling center ... they just put the plastic in a barge and ship it to a country that doesn't have a solid waste disposal system. So, it ends up in the landfill, blows into the ocean and comes right back in our food.”

Moreover, NPR news correspondent Laura Sullivan, who also appears in the documentary, found internal documents revealing a stark contrast between the oil industry's million-dollar promotion of plastic and recycling and its private doubts about the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of large-scale recycling initiatives.¹⁸

It’s Not Too Late to Address the Plastic Crisis

Toward the end of the documentary, the featured experts and environmental activists shared a similar sentiment — there is still hope for reducing plastic pollution and safeguarding the health of future generations.

According to Halden, it’s not the first time humanity has endangered our future with what we thought were innovative industrial advances, yet we’ve come up with solutions to mitigate the dangers before they completely destroy our planet. “Plastics is the next big challenge for us,” he declares positively.

Hocevar notes that the plastic problem has a very simple solution: We should just stop producing so much of it. One way to achieve this is by voting with your pocketbook. As Dr. Ragusa pointed out in the film, the major producers of plastics right now are big food and beverage manufacturers.

Refusing to buy their products can urge these companies to take accountability and change their plastic use. It will also go a long way toward reducing your own plastic waste. Leavitt highlighted the importance of getting the state and local government involved as well, “so that they’re actually requiring companies to change the way that single-use plastics are produced and used.”

Progesterone Can Help Lower Plastic Estrogen Toxicity

Plastics are xenoestrogens and much of their danger is related to their stimulation of estrogen receptors, so another effective strategy that can help counteract estrogen excess is to take trans mucosal progesterone (not oral or transdermal), which is a natural estrogen antagonist. Progesterone is one of only four hormones I believe many adults can benefit from. (The other three are thyroid hormone T3, DHEA and pregnenolone.)

I do not recommend transdermal progesterone, as your skin expresses high levels of 5-alpha reductase enzyme, which causes a significant portion of the progesterone you're taking to be irreversibly converted primarily into allopregnanolone and cannot be converted back into progesterone.

As a general recommendation, I recommend taking 25 to 50 mg of bioidentical progesterone per a day, taken in the evening one hour before bed, as it can also promote sleep. For optimal bioavailability, progesterone needs to be mixed into natural vitamin E. The difference in bioavailability between taking progesterone orally without vitamin E and taking it with vitamin E is 45 minutes versus 48 hours.

Simply Progesterone by Health Natura is premixed with vitamin E and MCT oil. You can also make your own by dissolving pure USP progesterone powder into one capsule of a high-quality vitamin E, and then rub the mixture on your gums. Fifty milligrams of powdered progesterone is about 1/32 teaspoon.

Do not use synthetic vitamin E (alpha tocopherol acetate — the acetate indicates that it's synthetic). Natural vitamin E will be labeled "d alpha tocopherol." This is the pure D isomer, which is what your body can use. There are also other vitamin E isomers, and you want the complete spectrum of tocopherols and tocotrienols, specifically the beta, gamma, and delta types, in the effective D isomer. As an example of an ideal vitamin E you can look at the label on our vitamin E in our store. You can use any brand that has a similar label.

If you are a menstruating woman, you should take the progesterone during the luteal phase or the last half of your cycle which can be determined by starting ten days after the first day of your period and stopping the progesterone when your period starts.

If you are a male or non-menstruating woman you can take the progesterone every day for 4-6 months and they cycle off for one week. The best time of day to take progesterone is 30 minutes before bed as it is has an anti-cortisol function and will increase GABA levels for a good night's sleep.

Please note that when progesterone is used transmucosally on your gums as I advise, the FDA believes that somehow converts it into a drug and prohibits any company from advising that on its label. However, please understand that it is perfectly legal for any physician to recommend an off-label indication for a drug.

In this case progesterone is a natural hormone and not a drug and is very safe even at high doses. This is unlike synthetic progesterone called progestins that are used by drug companies, but frequently, and incorrectly referred to as progesterone, which are dangerous and should never be used by anyone. 

What Else You Can Do to Lower Your Plastic Load 

Plastic has become a huge part of our everyday life, but it doesn’t have to be that way. While it may seem hard to avoid, there are many ways you can reduce your plastic use to help protect the environment and your health. Here are some strategies to get you started:

Is Horseradish Nature's Best Antibiotic?

Editor's Note: This article is a reprint. It was originally published April 3, 2017.

A wonderfully zesty condiment to add to prime rib or other cuts of grass fed beef, horseradish has an unmistakable heat that radiates not so much in your mouth as in your nose.

While its exact origin isn't certain, horseradish probably originated in the Mediterranean region, which alludes to its long, rich history.¹ Greek mythology, for instance, considered horseradish to be worth its weight in gold.²

Cooks and healers continued making use of this root veggie in 15th century England, and centuries later the earliest American presidents grew it in their gardens. About 60% to 85% of the world's horseradish production comes from the U.S., specifically Illinois.³

One rule of culinary thumb recommends that horseradish be red when it's used for shrimp (typically mixed with a tomato base) and white when it's made into a sauce to spread on beef. But as is true with many plant-based foods, both in ancient times and now, part of this pungent root's value has been its medicinal capability.

Clinical evidence has indicated that horseradish has worked just as well or better than chemically concocted medicines. Horseradish has been successful in helping manage diseases, as well. Healthy and Natural World notes:

"Empirical research has now proved what our ancestors intuitively already knew. When treating certain conditions, horseradish is just as effective as chemically-synthesized antibiotics and it can sometimes even be superior to over-the-counter drugs.

Horseradish is particularly potent in the treatment of sinusitis and it clears upper respiratory passages, which helps with cold, influenza and lung congestion … When used as a natural drug, it comes without any side effects. At the same time, it provides us with some distinct culinary enjoyment."⁴

However, it's important to remember that heating horseradish can significantly alter the strength of the many healing compounds it contains, so eating it raw is recommended.

Horseradish Contains Compounds With Health-Enhancing Horsepower

It's probably no surprise that one of the best uses for horseradish is that it can open up the stuffiest sinuses. This harkens back to one of its most popular uses as a throat-coat for hoarseness. Other conditions it remedies range from colds to urinary tract infections to kidney stones.

According to the Baseline of Health Foundation,⁵ horseradish may be helpful for relieving symptoms of several serious diseases and disorders, including high blood pressure, cancer and sinus infections. It may also help boost immune system function and fight other infections. Mother Earth News even asserted:

"Ounce for ounce, horseradish contains more medicinally active compounds than most other spices.

And they are very active — they can clear congestion, thin mucous, reduce inflammation, squelch cell-damaging oxidants, fight bacteria and viruses, relax muscles, stimulate the immune system — and even battle cancer. That makes the humble horseradish one special spice."⁶

Variations of Healing Compounds in Horseradish

One book on the topic lists several healing compounds, and notes that "Horseradish has been reported to have antimicrobial, spasmolytic, cytotoxic, antiseptic, diuretic, stimulant and antioxidant properties."⁷

Subfeed adds that horseradish also "acts as an antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal and antiparasitic medicine."⁸ Clinical evidence notes that it's these compounds that infuse it with health-enhancing potential.⁹

Oddly, horseradish root doesn't have much of an odor until it's nicked, cut or chewed, at which point its intensity becomes immediately evident. The smell indicates the presence of some potent, but completely natural, chemicals that impart such dramatic healing capability.

As a member of the Brassicaceae family along with mustard, wasabi and cabbage, horseradish comes with a storehouse of isothiocyanates (ITCs) such as glucosinolates (found only in Brassica plants) broken down from the volatile oil sinigrin and found to protect against cancer.¹⁰

The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences¹¹ says laboratory studies released by the American Institute for Cancer Research found that the presence of glucosinolates in food can:

• Decrease inflammation associated with many chronic illnesses, including cancer and cardiovascular disease
• Suppress enzymes known to activate carcinogens
• Stimulate enzymes that deactivate carcinogens and decrease the ability of cancer cells to spread

In a study conducted at the University of Illinois, horseradish was found to deliver 10 times more glucosinolate enzymes than broccoli.¹² Lead researcher and associate professor in crop sciences Mosbah Kushad disclosed that just a little "dab" on your steak can communicate benefits and may provide the same health benefits as broccoli.

Sinigrin has a distinguished set of skills, as well. Another study links it with inhibiting lipid peroxidation by 71%, and it plays several roles in reducing the risk of several cancers.¹³

Horseradish Can Impact Several Types of Cancer

Further, the ITCs in horseradish (as well as wasabi root) were found in clinical trials to help reduce colon and lung cancer cell activity, and the higher the dosage, the weaker the cancer cells became — 30% to 68% weaker for colon cancer and 30% to 71% weaker for lung cancer cells.¹⁴

Horseradish contains more than two dozen other cancer-combating compounds. Researchers in England, Austria and New Zealand investigated one they called horseradish peroxidase (HRP), which was targeted as a treatment to help control the growth of breast and bladder cancer cells.¹⁵

After ingesting the volatile oil of horseradish, tests on human urine have shown that it can kill the bacteria that cause urinary tract infections. In fact, German herbal remedies suggest it kills gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and candida and successfully treated many viral, bacterial, parasitic and fungal diseases.

The reduction in symptoms from chronically recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) after consumption of an herbal medicinal product containing horseradish has been reported as "statistically significant," another study said.¹⁶

Healing and Immune-Boosting Horseradish Recipes

Used in combination with other healing herbs and plants with medicinal capabilities such as ginger, garlic, turmeric and apple cider vinegar, horseradish preparations have numerous applications. As always, use organic ingredients whenever possible.

One recipe calls for a 6-inch horseradish root peeled and grated into the juice of one lemon and a tablespoon of raw, organic honey and sealed in an airtight jar for 24 hours. One tablespoon, undiluted and taken three to four times a day is a heady concoction to soothe your throat and loosen your sinus congestion.

The Master Tonic recipe, which Subfeed¹⁷ says is a basic, all-around tonic dating back to medieval Europe, is used as an antibiotic to purify your blood, kill bacteria and increase blood and lymph circulation throughout your body, can be added to olive oil for use as a salad dressing or applied to wounds and infections.

The Influence of Gratitude Practices on Physical Pain

Chronic pain affects about 51.6 million American adults, or about 21% of the U.S. population, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.¹ If you’re one of those experiencing pain, it’s wise to seek natural options before resorting to medications like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which come with a host of side effects.²

One often overlooked aspect of pain management is the role of the mind-body connection. How you perceive and respond to pain can significantly influence your physical experience, and this is where the practice of gratitude comes into play.

Often perceived as a simple feeling of thankfulness, gratitude can be a free, powerful tool for pain management. It’s also a profound way to boost Joy in your life and improve your overall well-being, as discussed in the featured video above by Robert Emmons, one of the leading scientific experts on gratitude.

The Virtues of Being Grateful

Gratitude encompasses emotions, virtues and behaviors. It has two components, according to Emmons. "First, it’s an affirmation of goodness. We affirm that there are good things in the world, gifts and benefits we’ve received," he writes in an essay published in the Greater Good Magazine.³ "The second part of gratitude is figuring out where that goodness comes from."

Emmons recognizes the importance of gratitude as a relationship-strengthening emotion, as it "requires us to see how we’ve been supported and affirmed by other people."⁴ In the featured video, he presents findings from their 11-year placebo-controlled study⁵ involving thousands of participants between ages 8 and 80. Their research shows that gratitude practices, like keeping a gratitude journal, led to three categories of benefits — psychological, physical and social.

These findings are echoed by Dr. Sonal Shah, a general practitioner from the National Health Service in the U.K. In the book "A Prescription for Healthy Living," she underscores the potential role of gratitude in clinical medicine:⁶

"The practice of gratitude was traditionally associated with religious activities, but it has recently gained significant interest from the medical community. The field of positive psychology has been developing over the past three decades and has found that the practice of gratitude has benefits in five key areas: emotional, social, personality, career and health.

There is evidence that those who are naturally more ‘grateful’ are happier, healthier, have better overall wellbeing, are more satisfied with life and sleep better … The potential health benefits of gratitude lead to the possibility that it could be used as an intervention in healthcare or as adjunct to support traditional medical management in a variety of clinical settings."

Gratitude and Pain Perception

Several studies have delved into the connection between gratitude and pain perception. Emmons noted in the video, "In the domain of bodily functioning, we find that people who are keeping gratitude journals feel better about their health. They’re bothered less by everyday aches and pains."

This aligns with findings from a study⁷ published in The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling, which explored the impact of integrating character strengths and gratitude interventions to help alleviate chronic back pain. The study revealed that focusing on positive emotions like gratitude can enhance daily happiness and significantly reduce feelings of anger, thereby improving patients’ quality of life and their ability to cope with pain.

Further supporting this, a study⁸ published in Current Pain and Headache Reports explains the effect of "seeing the glass half-full" on the experience of pain — a concept that is akin to gratefulness, as they both prompt you to appreciate what you have rather than dwelling on what you lack. The researchers suggest that "optimism could indirectly influence the experience of pain through hopefulness and pain acceptance."

The Biological Mechanisms Behind Gratitude’s Influence on Pain

Beyond psychological benefits, gratitude impacts pain perception through physiological mechanisms. According to a study⁹ published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, "Gratitude can inhibit the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and lower cortisol levels. Cortisol, considered a crucial mediator of mental states and health-related outcomes, is the hormonal end-product of the HPA axis and can modulate neuroendocrine stress responses."

Lowering cortisol levels is essential because chronically elevated cortisol can lead to widespread inflammation and exacerbate pain.¹⁰ Research also reveals that gratitude practices may help mediate the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines associated with pain.^11,12

Furthermore, individuals who engage in gratitude practices have been shown to have higher levels of the CD38 gene, which plays a role in promoting the release of oxytocin. A study¹³ published in Mens Sana Monographs explains the inverse relationship between oxytocin and pain:

"During prolonged periods of fear, anxiety and depression, pain thresholds are lowered and cortisol levels and blood pressure can be chronically and deleteriously elevated. In contrast, during periods of sustained oxytocin release, cortisol levels and blood pressure are reduced, pain thresholds are increased and a calm nonanxious state results."

Through these mechanisms involving the neuroendocrine systems, gratitude can play a pivotal role in managing pain, improving not only your physical symptoms but also your emotional well-being.

Other Ways Gratitude Practices Can Benefit Your Health

In addition to its role in pain management, Emmons highlighted the physical, psychological and social benefits of gratitude journaling:

"In terms of sleep, we find a 10% increase in sleep duration. When people are keeping gratitude journals, they actually sleep 10% longer, and they wake up and they feel more refreshed … restorative active sleep is more efficient in people when they're keeping gratitude journals …

They’re [also] more sensitive to situations, which they themselves can become helpful, outgoing, altruistic, prosocial, generous, compassionate and so on. Less lonely, less isolated. So more positive behaviors, fewer destructive social behaviors …

In the domain of childhood and educational settings … we found that classes [that] were assigned to a gratitude journaling condition actually showed benefits … they became more satisfied with their educational environment, their teachers … the grade-point average increased over the course of an academic year."

Emmons also pointed out the cardiovascular benefits of gratitude, an area backed by substantial research. For instance, a study¹⁴ published in The Journal of Positive Psychology found that gratitude positively influences biomarkers such as endothelial function, as well as prognostic inflammatory markers. It also promotes adherence to positive health behaviors. Gratitude practices have also been linked to:

Gratitude Cultivates Joy

The notion that you can shape your perception of pain by choosing to focus on what’s good and right with your life resonates deeply with the principles in my upcoming book, "The Power of Choice." Up until now, all my books, nearly all of which have become best-sellers, have focused purely on diet and lifestyle strategies for physical health and longevity.

"The Power of Choice" is also, ultimately, about health, but approaches it from a different perspective — that of connection to your consciousness. It emphasizes the importance of prioritizing Joy in your decision-making process, as it will empower you to make healthy choices and align with your authentic Self.

I capitalize "Self" and "Joy" here to underscore their deeper, transcendent nature. Self represents unlimited, immortal consciousness, while Joy denotes a profound state of contentment that emanates from within yourself.

Practicing gratitude is an act of embracing the power of choice, helping you redirect your attention away from discomfort and toward the Joy that exists even in difficult moments. It nurtures your connection to your Spirit, which unlocks the door to a world where Joy is not just a fleeting emotion but a guiding force on the journey toward optimal health.

10 Ways to Build and Strengthen Your Gratitude

In addition to keeping a daily gratitude journal and appreciating the simple things around you, there are numerous other ways to practice gratitude. I've compiled 10 additional suggestions from various experts below. The key is consistency — incorporate your chosen method into your routine, ideally daily, and stay committed to it.

Exercise Protects Against Heart Disease by Lowering Stress

Part of the reason why exercise is so good for your heart may be its ability to help relieve stress. While exercise’s role in heart health is often attributed to related physical improvements, like improved circulation, blood pressure and blood sugar levels, physical activity also helps reduce stress levels, which is important because stress can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

A study led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) revealed, however, that a reduction in stress-related brain activity may be behind some of exercise’s heart health benefits.¹

Exercise Boosts Heart Health by Lowering Stress-Related Brain Activity

Stress-related brain activity, which refers to the brain's responses and changes in function due to stress, is linked to both heart disease and mental health issues like anxiety and depression. This activity is primarily associated with the amygdala, a part of the brain that plays a key role in processing emotions, particularly fear and stress.

When the amygdala is activated by stressful situations, it can influence other parts of your brain and the body, leading to various physical and psychological effects. For instance, the amygdala can signal the hypothalamus to initiate the release of stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline.

These hormones prepare your body to react to a perceived threat or stressor, a response often referred to as the "fight or flight" response. Over time, however, repeated activation of this stress response and the resulting high levels of stress hormones can contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease and other health issues.

Under stress, the functioning of the prefrontal cortex, which plays a role in cognitive functions such as decision making, emotional regulation and problem-solving, can also be notably impacted.

The featured study explored whether physical activity reduces stress-related brain activity and whether these brain changes help lessen heart disease risk, particularly in people with depression. It involved data from 50,359 participants from the Mass General Brigham Biobank, who completed a physical activity survey. Among them, 774 participants had brain imaging tests to measure stress-related activity.

Those with higher levels of physical activity had lower stress-related activity in the brain and a 23% lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease compared to those who didn’t exercise regularly.²

According to a Massachusetts General Hospital news release, the reductions in stress-related brain activity were “driven by gains in function in the prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain involved in executive function (i.e., decision making, impulse control) and is known to restrain stress centers of the brain.”³

“Individuals who exercise more had a graded reduction in stress related signals in the brain,” lead study author Dr. Ahmed Tawakol, a cardiologist at Mass General Hospital and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, told CNN.⁴ “We found nice associations that exercise appeared to, in part, reduce heart disease risks by decreasing stress-related signals.”

Stress signals in the brain, Tawakol explained, are linked to inflammation, hardening or thickening of the arteries, increased blood pressure and higher sympathetic nervous system activity.⁵

Exercise’s Heart Benefits Even Greater for Those With Depression

The cardiovascular benefit of exercise was especially impressive among people with higher stress-related brain activity, including people with depression. Tawakol noted:⁶

“Physical activity was roughly twice as effective in lowering cardiovascular disease risk among those with depression. Effects on the brain’s stress-related activity may explain this novel observation.

Prospective studies are needed to identify potential mediators and to prove causality. In the meantime, clinicians could convey to patients that physical activity may have important brain effects, which may impart greater cardiovascular benefits among individuals with stress-related syndromes such as depression.”

Exercising at levels above recommended guidelines also led to a reduction in cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and stroke, but only among those with depression.

For people without a history of depression, no further reductions in cardiovascular disease risk were seen after about 300 minutes of exercise.⁷ Karmel Choi, clinical psychologist and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, further told CNN:⁸

“We know depression is an important risk factor for heart disease and it is also one of the most common stress-related conditions. Even though some people may be more susceptible to stress and its health consequences, here we see they may also stand to benefit more from exercise and its stress-modulating effects. Which is encouraging.”

What’s the Sweet Spot for Exercise?

Most Americans don’t exercise enough, but it’s important to find that sweet spot when it comes to exercise dosing. Exercise too little and you’ll miss out on important benefits, but exercise too much or too vigorously and you also risk harming your health.

A landmark study that radically changed my views on exercise was published by Dr. James O'Keefe, a cardiologist with the Mid-America Heart Institute at St. Louis Hospital in Kansas City, and three coauthors.⁹

If you’re sedentary and begin to exercise, you get a dose-dependent decrease in mortality, diabetes, depression, high blood pressure, coronary disease, osteoporosis, sarcopenia, falls and more. But people who are doing the highest volume of vigorous exercise start losing longevity benefits. If you’re doing full-distance triathlons when you're in your 40s and 50s, your risk of atrial fibrillation increases by 500% to 800%.

However, in the case of moderate exercise — loosely defined as exercising to the point where you're slightly winded but can still carry on a conversation — there’s clear evidence that more IS better and cannot be overdone. Perhaps even more surprising, moderate exercise, which includes walking, also improves all-cause survival better than vigorous exercise — about two times better, according to O’Keefe.

Too Much Vigorous Exercise Backfires

If your goal is to optimize your cardiovascular health and longevity, more is better for moderate-intensity exercise, but not for vigorous exercise. For high-intensity exercise, optimal benefits plateau at approximately 150 minutes/week. As explained in O’Keefe’s study, “Very large volumes of strenuous exercise and/or weightlifting may not be the ideal for optimizing longevity.”¹⁰ The study, a systematic review of research from 2011 to 2022, explained:

“[A] Harvard School of Public Health study that included 116,221 individuals assessed 15 times during 30 years of follow up suggests that if one’s goal is optimizing long-term CV [cardiovascular] health and overall longevity, more is better for moderate-intensity exercise.

However, the same cannot be said for vigorous exercise, where optimal benefits are achieved at approximately 150 minutes/week ... For an individual whose goal is to decrease the risk of CVD and boost life expectancy, a routine of MPA [moderate physical activity] appears to be adequate.

Although chronically performing very high doses of VPA [vigorous physical activity] may attenuate some of the benefits bestowed by less extreme efforts, this is relevant for only about 2.5% of the United States (U.S.) adult population.

This is not to say that VPA is harmful; it substantially reduces all-cause mortality and CVD mortality compared to a sedentary lifestyle. Yet, the magnitude of the mortality and CVD risk reductions with high doses of VPA do not appear to be as substantial as for high doses of MPA.

In the Lee study,¹¹ chronically doing very high doses of moderate exercise reduced risks of all-cause mortality and CVD mortality at least two-fold better compared to chronically performing very high doses of vigorous exercise.”

Keep Exercise Social and Fun After 40

In our interview, O’Keefe further noted that he used to push his body with high levels of exercise, running triathlons, 5K and 10K races and marathons.

“But when I got to be about 45, I started to get palpitations and sometimes I'd get this aching after a really high intensity bike ride or things like that,” he said. “I realized, ‘Wait a minute, where did I get this notion that if exercise is good, this extreme exercise in middle age is better?’ It's just not.” He continued:¹²

“Exercise is good for you — 70% of U.S. adults don't get enough exercise, and they would be healthier getting more exercise, any exercise. In fact, the first 20 minutes of exercise will get you most of the benefits. Even getting out for a walk is dramatically better than sitting on the couch, sitting in front of a screen or sitting behind a windshield.

We have a sedentary lifestyle, and if you don't actively incorporate movement into your day, you're going to be in trouble, no question about it, just like following the standard American diet will absolutely get you in trouble. But about 2% of people are overdoing it. It might be 5%. Highly active people, competitive people. And it's probably because the world you and I live in — I know a lot of people like this. I see patients like this all the time.

They come with AFib, or accelerated atherosclerosis with a lot of calcium in the coronary, or ventricular problems. It can even shorten your lifespan if you get really extreme about it … you don't want to be exercising intensely for five, seven hours a day, let alone do a full-distance triathlon. You're just asking way too much of your heart.

There’s an intuitive logic about this as well. Like everything in nature, you're better off not [being] in the extremes. And that's true with exercise. When you drill down on what types of exercise really correlate best with longevity, it's not the maximum amount of high intensity interval training. Some of that's important, but more is not necessarily better for vigorous intense exercise."

In short, O’Keefe says, once you get into your mid-40s and 50s, exercise should be fun and stress-reducing, not competitive. In his analysis, O’Keefe also stresses the importance of "social exercise" over solo exercise: playing a game of pickleball with friends, for example. O’Keefe and colleagues published a study in 2018 that looked at long-term granular data on physical activity and longevity.¹³

It turned out playing tennis added 9.5 years of extra life expectancy, badminton 6.2 and soccer 4.7, compared to 3.2 years for jogging and 1.5 years for health club activities like weight lifting and running on a treadmill. At first, O’Keefe thought the analysis had somehow gone wrong. But then he realized it was the social aspects of the sports that conferred the added benefits.

"Exercising and making social connections at the same time, that is an absolute goldmine of a longevity activity. That means that even walking with your dog or your friend or [playing] pickleball is huge ... The whole thing is to move your body in a fun, playful manner and make it social."

Is Walking an Ideal Form of Exercise?

Walking is a powerful form of activity for a number of reasons. It’s free and accessible — you can do it virtually anywhere. And it’s gentle enough that most people can engage in it, even if you’re out of shape and haven’t exercised in a while. If you walk with a friend or group, you also get that social element that O’Keefe describes.

Research has shown that even a modest amount of walking offers significant longevity benefits. In a study of 3,101 adults, those who took 8,000 steps or more just one or two days a week had significantly lower all-cause and cardiovascular mortality risk.

“The study’s findings suggest that for adults who face difficulties in exercising regularly, achieving the recommended daily steps only a couple days a week may have meaningful health benefits,” researchers wrote in JAMA Network Open.¹⁴

People who participate in outdoor walking groups also enjoy significant reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, resting heart rate, body fat, depression scores and body mass index, along with increases in VO2max, a marker of fitness level.¹⁵

Meanwhile, a review published in GeroScience¹⁶ found that walking is a powerful antiaging intervention that can reduce the risk of chronic age-related diseases like heart disease, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and cancer, while relieving pain and improving function in musculoskeletal disorders.

The bottom line is, exercise is protective of your heart and overall health, in part by reducing stress-related activity in your brain, and in part by positively influencing everything from mitochondria health to your mood. If you’re middle-aged or beyond, focus on fun, social and moderate-intensity exercise that makes you feel rejuvenated and alive — not grueling high-intensity sessions that drain your energy or leave you with aches and pains.

The Shocking Environmental and Human Health Impacts of Fabric and Leather Industries

Editor's Note: This article is a reprint. It was originally published October 11, 2017.

Inexpensive clothing has become a serious pollution problem in more ways than one. Each year, an estimated 80 billion garments are sold worldwide, and each year, Americans alone throw away 15 million tons of clothing¹ — most of it having been worn just a few times. This is a trend that completely disregards the toxic toll each garment takes on environmental and human health throughout the manufacturing and distribution processes involved in its creation.

Organic cotton, which is more sustainable, accounts for a mere 1% of the cotton grown across the globe. Sustainable plant dyes account for an even smaller portion of the global garment industry.

Great benefits could come from expanding the organic cotton and natural textile dye industries. Natural materials such as leather also have significant downsides. Leather processing has become incredibly chemical-intense, poisoning areas where locals are already struggling with widespread poverty and pollution.

The Toxic Side of Leather Tannery

The short video above by Daniel Lanteigne shows the impact the leather processing industry has had in Dhaka, Bangladesh, a country that has no regulations on toxic waste management. More than 20,000 people work and live in the Hazaribagh tannery district, where toxic chemicals from 200 tanneries flow freely through the open sewers lining the city streets. The Buriganga River has turned black from the toxins, and mounds of discarded leather scraps line its banks.

Yet people still use the river for clothes-washing and bathing on a regular basis. As one would expect, skin ulcers, respiratory problems and chest pains are common health complaints in the area. As noted in the video, "market profitability is causing both the government and the tanners to turn a blind eye to the environmental consequences and health hazards."

Bangladesh also does not regulate workers' conditions. Few, if any, are given any kind of protective gear and are in direct contact with the chemicals on a daily basis. Most tanneries do not even have ventilation or indoor lighting. Child labor is also commonplace and unregulated.

Garment Industry Poses Serious Threat to Waterways

An article by Heather Pringle and Amorina Kingdon in Hakai Magazine² highlights how the fashion industry is impacting waterways around the globe. Commenting on the leather industry, Pringle and Kingdon write:

"To transform perishable animal skin into durable leather, factory workers soaked animal hides in a series of toxic baths containing nearly 40 different acids and several heavy metals including chromium, a known carcinogen. The hides absorbed just 20 percent of these chemical brews: the rest was waste.

In all, Dhaka's tanneries discharged nearly 22,000 cubic liters of toxic effluent daily into the Buriganga River, which ultimately flows into the Bay of Bengal …

Faced with an environmental disaster along the floodplain of the Buriganga River, the Bangladeshi government forced Dhaka's leather factories to move to a new industrial park in 2017, and it has promised to install an effluent treatment plant there. But the opening of the plant was delayed, and in February, residents raised fears that the transplanted tanneries were contaminating a second river, the Dhaleshwari."

Toxic runoff from cotton growers also poses a serious threat to water quality. In Pakistan, the fourth-largest cotton producer in the world, the cotton industry has polluted much of the groundwater, rendering it unsafe to drink. Cotton also gobbles up 20 trillion liters (5.28 trillion gallons) of the Indus River's precious water each year.

As a result of widespread water mismanagement, the Indus River now faces the same fate as the Aral Sea, situated between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which has been nearly drained for irrigation, obliterating the once-thriving fishing economy in the area. Aral Sea fishermen of old used to catch 40 tons of fish per year. Today, the area is littered with fishing vessels lying on dry land, and what used to be a thriving seaport is now nearly 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the water's edge.

US Tannery Waste Linked to Polluted Drinking Water

The toxic nature of leather tanning is equally evident in the U.S. In Michigan, fluorinated chemicals have polluted the municipal drinking water in Kent County. The source was traced back to the Wolverine World Wide tannery in Rockford, which disposed toxic sludge at the State Disposal Landfill in the mid-'60s. As reported by MLive.com:³

"Wolverine once made the iconic Hush Puppies shoe brand in Rockford using Scotchgard, a stain and water repellant that relies on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as PFAS, (also called perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs) as its chemical backbone. PFAS compounds were found in Plainfield Township water in 2013. The system serves about 40,000 customers …

Kent County records state explicitly that Wolverine dumped sludge at the landfill during the years Tefft says he drove it there. Tefft, a former driver for Bell Pick-Up service, says he transported tannery sludge for 13 months in 1965 and 1966 from Wolverine to the landfill …

Tefft also drove sludge to a former Wolverine dump site on House Street NE, where a plume of PFAS compounds are polluting private drinking water wells in Belmont. The Belmont contamination was just discovered this spring … Both PFOS and PFOA are also present in House Street wells."

The Downsides of Denim and Synthetics

Denim — a cultural staple in the Western world — and modern synthetic textiles are also problematic. Most denim produced today is dyed using synthetic indigo dye made from fossil fuels. The faded "stonewash" look also typically involves the use of toxic chemicals. And, most leather tanneries and denim factories tend to be located in the developing world, where regulations and environmental protections are less stringent, if not nonexistent.

One of the largest denim producers in the world is located in Xintang, China, in the Pearl River Delta. Like the Buriganga River in Bangladesh, the local river in Xintang has turned black from the denim industry, which dumps untreated dye water into it. Greenpeace tests reveal nearly 80% of water and sediment samples collected around Xintang and neighboring Gurao contain heavy metals.

Meanwhile, scientists now warn that synthetic fabrics such as acrylic, polyester and fleece shed microfibers when washed, and these microfibers end up threatening marine and human life alike by entering the ecosystem.⁴ As noted in Hakai Magazine,⁵ "… [M]icroplastics may choke zooplankton. Microfibers could then work their way up the food chain, as larger animals gobble up the plastic-stuffed zooplankton."

The fibers have also been found to cause starvation in crabs. Microfibers are used in more than 60% of all clothing made today, making the fashion industry a surprisingly significant source of plastic pollution in addition to chemical pollution.

Man-Made Fibers Pollute Fish Stocks

A 2015 study from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) directly linked plastics and man-made fibers to the pollution in fish.⁶ Microfibers, which are more prevalent than microbeads (found in face scrubs and similar items), are particularly dangerous as the fibers are easily consumed by fish and other wildlife, accumulating in the gut and concentrating in the bodies of other animals higher up the food chain.

Textile fibers are found in both marine and freshwater fish. When Abigail Barrows, former chief investigator for Global Microplastics Initiative, sampled over 2,000 marine and freshwater fish, 90% had microfiber debris in their bodies.

High concentrations of acrylic and polyester fibers are also found in beach sediment near waste water treatment plants.⁷ Making matters worse, these microscopic plastic fibers soak up toxins like a sponge, concentrating PCBs, pesticides and oil in ever higher amounts as you move up the food chain.

According to a PBS NewsHour report,⁸ which featured Barrows' research, 300 million microfibers from washed clothing enters the Atlantic Ocean via the Hudson River in New York each day. Remarkably, microfibers also enter our environment via air and rainwater.

Rainwater samples reveal up to 10 tons of microfibers descend upon the 1,098-square-mile region surrounding Paris, France, each year. According to urban hydrologist Bruno Tassin, University of Paris-Est, clothes shed fibers not only during washing, but during daily wear as well!⁹

The Dirty Side of Clean Clothes

Once you begin investigating the garment industry, you come to the sober realization that clothing is taking a severe toll on environmental and human health from start to finish, beginning with the toxic chemicals applied to cotton fields, continuing all the way through textile dyeing and tanning of leather, manufacturing, transportation, washing and, ultimately, disposing of each garment.

Following are some of the ways the simple everyday act of washing your clothes contribute to environmental pollution:

The Road Ahead

We have a long road ahead of us, considering we need to clean up the entire supply chain — and alter public consciousness about fashion along the way. There's definitely something to be said for the minimalist trend where you own fewer but higher-quality items made in a sustainable way that you can wear for many years to come. To get you started, here are some tips and suggestions for cleaning up your laundry and developing a more sustainable wardrobe:

Anticancer Properties of Garlic Gain New Support

Loved by many for the distinct flavor and aroma it gives to food, garlic is one the most celebrated herbs around the world. It holds a significant place in history, and ancient civilizations valued it for its culinary and medicinal uses. Case in point — garlic was a part of the Ancient Greeks’ military diet, and soldiers were often given garlic before they were sent off to battle.¹

Research has demonstrated garlic’s health-boosting benefits due to its antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic and antioxidant activities, to name a few. Studies^2,3,4 also support the notion that this humble herb has anticancer effects, which should be good enough reason for you to include more of it in your diet.

Garlic Contains Potent Anticancer Phytochemicals

A study published in Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy⁵ highlights how garlic’s novel phytochemicals can help protect against cancer. According to the authors:

"Cancer researchers have identified that many of the phytochemicals of garlic have anticancer effects. Recently, we found that some components of garlic have novel therapeutic anticancer properties.

This review will discuss the anticancer mechanisms of garlic phytochemicals, showing their potential for cancer treatment in compared to conventional chemoprevention agents."

The researchers noted that the organosulfur compounds (OSCs) in garlic are responsible for its health benefits. These OSCs can be divided into two kinds: oil-soluble compounds and water-soluble compounds.

Alliin, allicin and ajoene are the oil-soluble organosulfur compounds in garlic; allicin is the primary sulfur compound and gives this food its pungent aroma. When garlic is crushed or chopped, it releases a compound called alliinase, which then converts alliin to allicin.

The researchers note that the water-soluble organosulfur compounds — namely S-allylcysteine (SAC) and S-allylmercaptocysteine (SAMC), metabolites allyl mercaptan (AM) and allyl methyl sulfide (AMS) — are the ones that give garlic its anticancer properties, even though they just make up a small portion of garlic’s compounds.

"SAC is an odorless, stable, water-soluble compound with antioxidant and cholesterol-lowering effects in clinical studies … Previous results have shown that SAC acts as an effective agent against the malignant progression of human non-small cell lung carcinoma in both in vitro and in vivo model," the researchers note.⁶

Studies Highlight Garlic’s Mechanisms of Action Against Cancer

Garlic’s biological effects against cancer have been demonstrated in animal and human studies, and the researchers note that they have certain actions on the various stages of cancer:⁷

"In the initiation stage, blocking phytochemicals prevents the bioactivation of carcinogens through antioxidation, antimutagenesis and detoxication. In the promotion stage, suppressing phytochemicals inhibits the proliferation of clonal cells by modulating protein folding and DNA repair.

In the progression stage, suppressing phytochemicals impedes the growth or metastasis of tumors by changing the cell behaviors, including antiproliferation, apoptosis and immunocompetence."

To make it easier to understand, here’s a summary of what garlic does to help prevent cancer proliferation and progression in your system:⁸

• Suppressing mutagenesis or preventing DNA mutations that can heighten cancer risk.
• Scavenging free radicals that damage healthy cells.
• Regulating enzyme activities, which are essential to your body functions.
• Inhibiting protein folding in the endoplasmic reticulum, which is part of your cells.
• Influencing cancer cell behavior, namely preventing the cells from growing rapidly, making them more susceptible to apoptosis (cancer cell death) and allowing them to be easily detected by your immune system.

The researchers explained that when tumor cells spread in your body, cancer becomes more challenging to treat. Through its compounds, garlic can help block signaling pathways that are needed in cell migration and prevent the spread of tumor cells.

"We thought that garlic components not only have functions in the stages of cancer chemoprevention but also have uncovered potency for cancer therapy," they said.⁹

Garlic Helps Inhibit Relapse by Targeting Cancer Stem Cells

Another study published in the International Journal of Herbal Medicine¹⁰ also reveals that garlic can help prevent cancer from relapsing by targeting cancer stem cells (CSCs). These are the cells found within a tumor that can self-renew and turn into more cancer cells.

Conventional cancer treatments like chemotherapy cannot eliminate these stem cells; even if the tumor is removed, but these CSCs are left behind, they can metastasize and spread.

The researchers conducted in-vitro testing using three different types of garlic extract on different types of cancer cells, including breast, colon, prostate, colon, hepatic and cervical cancers. The extracts were made from fresh garlic cloves, and all showed anticancer potential, although the third extract (G3), made from an evaporated mixture of fresh cloves and ethanol, showed the greatest anticancer activity. According to the study authors:¹¹

"Chemotherapeutic drugs end up killing cancer cells sparing CSCs which after a while can give rise to a full-blown tumor with high metastatic potential. These drugs mainly involve the use of synthetic compounds.

Thus the need of the hour is to have a natural agent which can possess both anticancer and anticancer stem cell activity and additionally should have no or minimal effect on normal cell population."

A review of studies published in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology¹² not only echoes these findings but also further explains how garlic protects against the harsh side effects of conventional cancer treatments. The researchers noted that garlic may help protect the liver against arsenic trioxide, a medicine used in leukemia patients, and tamoxifen, a medicine used by breast cancer patients.

What Else Can Garlic Do for Your Health?

Garlic belongs to the allium plant family, along with leeks, onions and chives.¹³ In addition to allicin and other sulfur compounds and metabolites, this herb is also rich in bioactive compounds like organic sulfides, saponins, phenolics and polysaccharides. It contains high levels of phosphorus, potassium and zinc as well.¹⁴

Even Hippocrates, the father of medicine, acknowledged the value of garlic for human health, and prescribed it as a cleansing agent, as well as for treatment against abdominal and uterine growths and uterine problems.¹⁵

Indeed, adding more garlic to your diet can provide you with myriad benefits — you can read my article "9 Health Benefits of Garlic" for an in-depth review, but here’s a summary of what this herb can do for you, aside from helping protect against cancer:

Have You Tried Black Garlic?

The best way to enjoy fresh garlic is to eat it raw — you’ll need to crush or chop the cloves to promote the formation of allicin. Simply compress the clove with a spoon or just chop it finely before swallowing.

Not everyone, though, enjoys the strong flavor of garlic, and some find the aroma a bit off-putting, especially when it remains on your breath. You can eliminate "garlic breath" by chewing mint leaves, lettuce or a few slices of raw apple.²⁶

If you’re really not fond of it, consider trying aged black garlic — this is made by fermenting the whole bulbs of fresh garlic in climate-controlled conditions for several weeks. A study in the journal molecules describes it to have a "sweet and sour taste and no strong odor."²⁷ Even those who are averse to fresh garlic may end up liking this product.

Aged Black Garlic May Help Protect Your Brain Health

An animal study published in the journal Nutrients²⁸ found that aged garlic extract (AGE) may help improve short-term recognition memory and ease neuroinflammation associated with Alzheimer's disease. According to the researchers:

"Pretreatment of AGE alleviated the recognition memory impairment involving short-term memory in Aβ (1-42)-induced rats by decrease the density of CD11b-positive microglia immunoreactivity and the density of IL-1β in the injured brain. Therefore, it is suggested that AGE could be a good supplementary food for the improvement of cognitive function in the elderly and AD patients."

They identified the SAC compound as one of the major contributors to aged garlic’s brain-boosting effects, and this compound is found in greater quantities in aged garlic and black garlic compared to fresh garlic. The study authors also noted the other ways that aged garlic may protect the brain, which include:²⁹

• Protecting against neurodegenerative conditions
• Preventing brain injury following ischemia
• Protecting neuronal cells against apoptosis
• Preventing β-amyloid-induced oxidative death

To Truly Lower Your Cancer Risk, You Need to Address This First

Please remember that reducing your risk of getting cancer doesn’t simply depend on one nutrient. Even if you zealously consume garlic or use black garlic extract, you can still fall victim to this disease if you fail to address your cellular health.

Virtually all major diseases like cancer, heart disease and obesity are linked to an inability to produce cellular energy due to impaired mitochondrial function. Without sufficient cellular energy, your body will not be able to fuel the innate repair and regeneration processes that are essential to disease prevention and recovery.

There are many factors that can compromise the integrity and functionality of your cells, but I believe there are four top culprits that can severely impact your mitochondrial energy production — excessive linoleic acid consumption, having high estrogen levels, endotoxin production, and chronic exposure to electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs) and 5G technology.

I believe that addressing these four factors will help repair your mitochondrial function and optimize your cellular energy production, and is the crucial first step toward warding off chronic diseases, not just cancer but virtually all chronic diseases plaguing the world today. My new book, which will be out this summer, will go into more details about these culprits and the best strategies to improve your cellular energy, so stay tuned.

The Scourge of Soybean Oil

Southern Maryland, where I live, used to be a premier tobacco-growing region. Then in the 1980s, as the risks of tobacco smoking became clear, the state of Maryland instituted a tobacco buy-out program. Tobacco farmers received a large payment for ten years in a row to never plant tobacco again.

The problem is that what replaced the tobacco was mostly soybeans — a crop that is far more carcinogenic and dangerous than tobacco. Fields-of-lung-cancer became fields-of-every-kind-of-cancer.

Soybean Oil Can Fuel Cancer

The most commonly used oil in the U.S. is soybean oil. Soybean oil is highly unsaturated, meaning that it contains mostly omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids along with about 10% omega-3 fatty acids. These types of fat molecules break down into highly reactive free radicals and aldehydes during high-temperature processing, and even further during high-temperature frying — the omega-6s certainly do but even more so the very fragile omega-3s.

It’s a well-kept secret that many studies associate the consumption of high levels of polyunsaturated oils with cancer; other studies show that saturated fats, as in coconut oil, butter, lard and tallow — the kind of healthy fats that soybean oil replaced — protect us against cancer.

All industrially processed oils are carcinogenic, especially soybean oil. But there’s a lot more that’s wrong with this ubiquitous food ingredient. Soybean oil also messes with your mind.

Health Effects of Soybean Oil Diets

In 2015, researchers at the University of California at Riverside compared mice on four different diets of equal calories: a diet high in coconut oil; a diet high in soybean oil; the coconut oil diet plus high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS); and the soybean oil diet plus HFCS.¹

Those mice who received diets high in soybean oil, with and without HFCS, had increases in weight gain, adiposity, diabetes, glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. They also developed abnormalities in the liver, including fatty liver. Those mice on diets high in coconut oil in general did not develop these problems.

Two years later the researchers repeated the study using soybean oil genetically modified to contain lower amounts of polyunsaturates.² This oil also induced obesity and other problems in the mice, but not as greatly as the original soybean oil.

These results point to polyunsaturates — and not high-fructose corn syrup — as the major culprit in the current epidemic of obesity and diabetes.

In January 2020, the research team published more bad news. Not only does soybean oil cause metabolic diseases like diabetes, but also contributes to genetic changes in the brain that could lead to conditions like anxiety and Alzheimer’s disease — both the conventional soybean oil and the modified soybean oil had the same effect.³

Soybean Oil Has Pronounced Effect on Your Master Gland

Most seriously, the researchers found that soybean oil had a pronounced effect on the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is the body’s master gland; it regulates body weight, maintains body temperature, directs the formation of sex hormones, is critical for physical growth, and modulates our response to stress. Soybean oil caused the dysregulation of about one hundred genes in this organ.

For example, in soybean oil-fed mice, the levels of oxytocin in the hypothalamus went down. Oxytocin is the “love” or “cuddling” hormone that plays a role in social bonding, sexual reproduction, childbirth and the period after childbirth.

Oxytocin stimulates milk production and helps mothers bond with their babies. Apart from childbirth, oxytocin seems to play a role in reducing fear and anxiety in both sexes and even in protecting us from addictive behaviors.

I’ve often said that the hypothalamus is the seat of impulse control, and if there is anything that characterizes today’s generation of children, brought up on vegetable oils instead of butter and lard, it is lack of impulse control.

In addition, various structures in the hypothalamus appear to be related to gender expression, sexual orientation and gender confusion such as transsexuality.⁴

The formation of these structures begins in utero and continues through childhood and puberty. Is soybean oil a culprit in the tragic situation so many young people find themselves in today — feeling like they are the wrong sex for their body? If soybean oil affects the expression of dozens of genes in the hypothalamus, the likelihood is yes.

Soybean Oil Found in Most Processed Foods

There are a lot of harmful things in modern diets — refined sweeteners (sugar, high-fructose corn syrup), MSG and artificial flavors, pasteurized and homogenized milk, modified food starch, extruded grains (breakfast cereals), glyphosate and other agricultural chemicals, etc. — but by far the worst are the industrially processed seed oils, especially soybean oil.

And soybean oil is in everything! Margarine and spreads; Cool Whip, creamers and mayonnaise; salad dressings and dips; chips, crackers and snack foods; bread, donuts, cake (especially the icing) and pastries; French fries and fried chicken; and prepared foods like pizza.

The only way to avoid it is to avoid processed foods and return to the healthy fats of our ancestors — mostly animal fats (butter, lard, duck fat, tallow, etc.), plus traditional oils like coconut oil and olive oil.

Soybean Waste

By the way, what’s left after pressing soybean oil out of the seed is a high-protein gunk, which food processors manipulate and refine in order to remove the protein — resulting in products like soy protein isolate and soy protein concentrate.

These waste products are then used in a myriad of highly processed foods such as soy protein smoothies, energy bars and fake meat like the Impossible Burger. Do not for a moment believe that the corporations selling these “plant-based” foods as good for your health and good for the planet have any other motive than making a profit off a cheap waste product.

How to Rid Your Diet of Soybean Oil

If you’ve been eating the standard American diet of processed foods, getting off the vegetable oil can be a daunting challenge. Here is a list of the changes you can make (some easy, some a little harder) as first steps in regaining your health. Even if you only do some of these changes, your body will thank you!

The Weston A. Price Foundation has been warning the public about the dangers of industrial seed oils since its inception, twenty years ago. Your membership supports this important work.

About the Author

Sally Fallon Morell is author of the best-selling cookbook “Nourishing Traditions” and many other books on diet and health. She is the founding president of the Weston A. Price Foundation (westonaprice.org) and a founder of A Campaign for Real Milk (realmilk.com). Visit her blog at nourishingtraditions.com.

Why You Shouldn't Use Cotton Swabs to Clean Your Ears

Editor's Note: This article is a reprint. It was originally published January 21, 2017.

Guidelines have been submitted that support something you probably already knew, that using cotton swabs to clean your ears isn't a good idea. The counsel was published in the journal Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, authored by the American Academy (AAO-HNS) advisory panel of the same name.¹

You may remember the mantra that's been repeated since you were a kid — Never put anything in your ear that's smaller than your elbow. But why? We all want clean ears; further, being able to hear what's being said at the dinner table is usually a good thing, so if there's wax buildup, getting rid of it somehow seems logical.

Dr. Seth Schwartz, chairman of the guideline update group for the Academy, said doctors aren't the only ones paying attention to such guidelines. They're aware that more people have been opting for self-care. Incidentally, while one wouldn't think such a document would be especially sought after, apparently it is. More than 50,000 copies of the old guidelines have been downloaded.

'Nothing Smaller Than Your Elbow,' but Why?

Two very positive things came about when the clinical guidelines were submitted. One was that a consumer representative, not necessarily connected with the medical community, was included on the panel. Another was that the verbiage used became much more clear and straightforward than in years past, Schwartz said, adding:

"The process has become a little more transparent in the way we actually write the guidelines now. We are more clear about why the decisions we made are made and what data there is to support it."²

The guidelines' answer to the "why" question is pretty concise, as CNN reported:

"Cotton swabs, hair pins, house keys and toothpicks — the many smaller-than-our-elbow-objects we love to put in our ears — can cause cuts in our ear canals, perforate our eardrums and dislocate our hearing bones.

And any of these things could lead to hearing loss, dizziness, ringing or other symptoms of ear injury."³

The better alternative, experts say, is to let nature take its course. So how does that work for getting waxy ears clean? According to the AAO-HNSF, if your body is ridding itself of excess wax correctly, your ear canals should never have to be cleaned.⁴

Glands in your ears produce earwax to keep them lubricated, as well as clean and protected. The main reason it's present is so foreign bits like dust, dirt and dead skin cells will get stuck in it rather than burrowing deeper and lodging in your ear canal.

One study lists lysozyme, an antibacterial enzyme, fatty acids, alcohols, cholesterol and squalene as natural elements in your earwax.⁵ Additionally, studies say earwax is produced only in the outer one-third of your ear canal, so using cotton swabs or another instrument can push earwax into the deeper part of your ear canal, near the eardrum.⁶

Further, using cotton swabs in your ears releases histamine, which may cause itching, irritation and inflammation. The usual response then is more cotton swab use, making the problem worse.

To be clear, it's trying to get rid of earwax that often causes problems, because bacteria, fungus and viruses can be introduced from your outer to your inner ear. Besides blocking your ear canal and causing hearing loss, using instruments can rupture your eardrum.

Earwax elimination takes place naturally when you talk or chew food — Your jaw movements, along with skin growth within the canal, join forces, as it were, to help move old earwax out so new, "clean" earwax can form. The old earwax gets washed away when you bathe.

The Dos and Don'ts of Cerumen Impaction

So what's the low-down when cerumen, the clinical term for earwax, builds up in your ears? In the guidelines' section called "Dos and Don'ts," it explains that impaction takes place when the ear fails to properly eliminate earwax. This happens most often in older people, Dr. James Battey, director of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), said, explaining a common scenario:

"For those with impacted ear wax, the use of cotton-tipped swabs may push the earwax deeper into the ear canal and harm the eardrum … About 2 percent of adults with impacted earwax may go to the doctor with hearing loss as their symptom."⁷

Cerumen buildup is one reason why many elderly people are unable to hear well. Whether you're having trouble hearing or think you have earwax buildup, see a healthcare professional, who may use microsuction to clean your ear canals using gentle suction and instruments, or other appropriate removal methods.

If the volume of cerumen is high, high-pressure ear canal irrigation with a syringe may be necessary, but only by a professional because improper methods and pressure could damage your ear drum. However, don't use irrigation to clean your ears if you're diabetic or have a broken ear drum.

Again, that's where the most important "don't" comes in — Don't use any kind of sharp instrument like a knitting needle, bobby pin or pencil to clean your ears. (Yes, all of these are tools that have been used for this purpose.)

Another "don't" recommendation is to avoid overcleaning your ears because it might make an impaction problem worse. The drive to have clean ears is cultural, Schwartz explains, but it's best to simply wipe away excess wax when it makes itself evident on the outside of the ear.

As for some of the "Dos," one is to talk to your doctor about how to treat earwax impaction yourself in the privacy of your own home. That said, some ear conditions (which you may not even realize you have) may make some self-cleaning options unsafe.

And About Those Ear Candles and Jet Irrigators — No, Just No

The concept of ear candles may have emerged as far back as 2500 B.C.⁸ Audiology.org describes these earwax removal devices and how they're purportedly used:

"Hollow tapered cones made of cloth and soaked in beeswax or paraffin; the narrow funnel is placed into the ear and the opposite side of the cone is ignited … Proponents of ear candling claim oxygen is drawn from the flame, thus producing a vacuum that literally pulls residue out of the ear."⁹

One study¹⁰ said that in a limited clinical trial involving eight ears, no cerumen removal from the external auditory canal was evident, and that 122 otolaryngologists counted 21 ear injuries from ear candle use. Candle wax was often deposited during the process, and in conclusion, "ear candles have no benefit … and may result in serious injury."

Ash residue is another substance ear doctors have found in peoples' ears after using ear candles, and accidents (which you'll have sometimes when you're playing with fire) are credited with more than a few injuries.

When Too Much Earwax Is Just Too Much

"It's not a bad thing to have wax in your ears. Everybody does and should," Schwartz said. "It's more of an issue when it becomes too much."

There's also the fact that some people experience drainage, pain, hearing loss and even bleeding from their ears. In any of those cases, it's a problem that must be addressed by a medical professional, so it's a definite "do" to see your doctor.

The simplest and safest way to remove earwax at home is to lie on your side with a towel under your head and put a few drops of olive oil, coconut oil or water in your ear to soften the earwax. Then, pour a capful of 3% hydrogen peroxide in your ear to flush the wax out. Pure, clean water or a sterile saline solution works just as well as oil or over-the-counter eardrops.

Using hydrogen peroxide may also help improve respiratory infections, like colds and flu. You may hear a bubbling noise or feel a slight stinging sensation; both are perfectly normal. When those subside, repeat with the other ear.

Insufficient amounts of omega-3 fats in your system may be making your earwax buildup worse. The best way to remedy this is to eat omega-3-rich foods like wild-caught Alaskan salmon and sardines or take a high-quality, animal-based omega-3 supplement. When your buildup or impaction has dissipated, make sure you're getting sufficient amounts of omega-3 to prevent a recurrence.

Hearing loss is not always an indication that someone has wax built up in their ears. In fact, the older a person is, the more opportunities they've had in their life to experience loud noises that could precipitate partial hearing loss. It's one of the most common causes. The NIDCD says:

"Sounds can be harmful when they are too loud, even for a brief time, or when they are both loud and long-lasting. These sounds can damage sensitive structures in the inner ear and cause noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL)."¹¹

New EPA Rule Threatens Locally Produced Beef

A new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulatory rule is an attack on the local food movement and domestic agriculture. It will force small meat and poultry products (MPP) producers to invest heavily in new water filtration systems or face closure.

The EPA moved quickly to implement new rules on wastewater generated by the domestic MPP industry. This effort to regulate wastewater was not without opposition though.

The Kansas Natural Resource Coalition (KNRC), American Stewards of Liberty and smaller coalitions argue this is an example of federal overreach. The rule incentivizes meat importation, which may force small businesses to close.¹

Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards

Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELGs) were first defined in the Clean Water Act of 1974.² These wastewater standards are developed by the EPA based on the current technological performance of treatment and control technologies. The goal was to prevent the discharge of harmful pollutants at levels that could adversely affect human health and the environment.

ELGs vary by industry, reflecting the unique characteristics and pollution profiles of different types of industrial activities. For the MPP industry, ELGs are designed to minimize the release of nutrients, pathogens and organic matter that could deplete oxygen levels in water bodies, harm aquatic life and compromise water quality.³

The standards for meat and poultry producers were last updated in 2004. Currently, they apply to approximately 150 of the 5,055 MPP facilities in the U.S. As the KNRC pointed out, "The history of EPA’s regulation of MPP effluent guidelines and standards has never extended beyond direct discharge facilities. The proposed rule seeks to significantly expand EPA regulatory reach."⁴

EPA Rules Previously Covered Only Direct Discharge Facilities

EPA rules for the MPP did not previously cover direct discharge facilities. A direct discharge facility in this industry refers to a plant or operation that releases treated or untreated effluent directly into surface waters, such as rivers, lakes or estuaries.

This contrasts with indirect discharge facilities that release effluent into municipal sewage systems for further treatment before being released into the environment. Direct discharge facilities are subject to stringent regulatory oversight because their effluents enter the water system directly, where they can have immediate impacts on water quality and aquatic ecosystems.⁵

EPA Shifts Enforcement Priorities Away From Factory Farms

The new effluent guidelines represent a major change. The EPA's proposed amendment establishes strict limitations on nitrogen and phosphorus, while adding E. coli bacteria limitations for direct discharge facilities. But they have also greatly expanded the reach of their regulations.

The EPA’s proposal, at a cost of an estimated $232 million annually, is designed to reduce pollutant discharges by 100 million pounds per year.⁶ It is just part of an aggressive plan to update effluent guidelines nationwide, applying a wave of new industry specific standards.⁷

Waters of the United States Expanded to Include Private Sources

Most water used in meat and poultry farming is from well sources or privately owned water sources. Under the Clean Water Act, the EPA's authority extends to the regulation of pollutants discharged into the "Waters of the United States" (WOTUS), a term that encompasses the scope of waterbodies under federal jurisdiction.⁸

The definition of WOTUS has been subject to change and legal battles, which significantly impacts regulatory scope. These waterbodies typically include major rivers, lakes and coastal waters, along with their tributaries and adjacent wetlands. Expanding EPA rules to include private water sources represents a massive expansion of federal reach.⁹

Moreover, as the KNRC noted in their comment to the EPA,¹⁰ the stringent requirements under the updated Effluent Guidelines (ELGs) for the MPP industry,¹¹ raises concerns among smaller producers about the financial and operational feasibility of meeting these enhanced environmental protections.

New Clean Water Rules Fast Tracked

With something as important as the expansion of federal authority over private water sources and laws that could shutter domestic meat producers in an era of inflation and supply chain issues, you should expect a period of deliberation.

The Clean Water Act Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Meat and Poultry Products Point Source Category rule was proposed by Biden Administration regulators on January 23, 2024. The public hearings were held January 24 and 31, 2024. The minimum for public comment closed on March 24 and the new rules took effect on March 25, 2024.¹²

The EPA public comment process requires a minimum of 60 days following publication date. Considering the initial Clean Water Act was last updated in 2004, the stakeholders impacted by these rules hardly had time to mount a defense before they took effect.¹³

New Meat and Poultry Regulations, an EPA Power Grab?

The KNRC argues this rulemaking’s proposal to regulate indirect discharge facilities strikingly stray from constitutional and statutory grounds, threatening to upend the delicate balance of power between state and federal governments. While it took immediate effect, it is certain to face legal challenges.

The Clean Water Act (CWA) was crafted by Congress with a clear intent — to keep the primary control over land and water use firmly in the hands of the states. As KNRC noted in their comment,¹⁴ the Supreme Court, in Sackett v Environmental Protection Agency et al, highlighted the dangers of stretching the CWA's scope too far, warning it could infringe on this critical state authority.

Nitrogen and Phosphorous Pollution Turned Up by EPA Field Tests

In the case of MPP producers, EPA field researchers failed to find much in the way of viruses, bacteria, heavy metals or traditional toxins. What they did find were significant quantities of two nutrients — nitrogen and phosphorus.¹⁵

Nitrogen and phosphorus, while essential for the growth and health of aquatic plants, are damaging in excessive quantities. For meat and poultry producers, controlling the discharge of these nutrients within acceptable EPA guidelines can pose a major challenge.

High concentrations of nutrients in bodies of water lead to eutrophication. This is a process characterized by the overgrowth of algae that depletes oxygen levels, harming fish and other aquatic species, as has happened in Florida.¹⁶ This imbalance not only disrupts ecosystems but also compromises water quality, affecting the wildlife and human populations depending on these water resources.

Concerns About New EPA Restrictions

Reducing pollution of public or private water sources is an admirable goal on paper. But there is more here than meets the eye. The rules list 17 species of endangered animals, setting the table for future lawsuits by environmental groups citing the Endangered Species Act to sue the EPA and private businesses.

In their comments in the federal comment register, the KNRC stated the new rules "gives priority to environmental justice goals and emphasizes ecological benefits, but the EPA jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act is not based on ecological importance or environmental justice."¹⁷

Rules Are Silent About Green House Emissions and Future Carbon Taxes

One method of reducing nitrogen and phosphorus is anaerobic wastewater treatment. This method uses microorganisms that consume biodegradable organic compounds, reducing organic matter and biooxygen demand in wastewater. The process generates CH₄ and CO₂. This combination of gases, predominantly CH₄, is commonly referred to as biogas.¹⁸

The new guidelines are silent on the topic of future carbon taxes and the financial toll of biogas produced by newly mandated anaerobic wastewater facilities. This is especially relevant considering the new carbon credit/taxes introduced by the Biden Administration through the Commodities Credit Corporation.

States like Oregon, California and Washington have taken the lead, implementing their own Cap and Trade laws, which require businesses to buy carbon credits to keep their doors open. This marks a significant shift in how environmental regulation and corporate responsibility are approached.

BEEF ACT Introduced to Protect Local Meat Processors

Reps. Ron Estes (R-KS) and Eric Burlison (R-Missouri) introduced the Banning EPA’s Encroachment on Facilities (BEEF) Act, H.R.7079 in response to the new EPA guidelines on January 26, 2024.¹⁹

This law would, "Prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from finalizing, implementing or enforcing certain changes to regulations regarding meat and poultry products effluent discharges and for other purposes."²⁰ However, supporters of the bill are not optimistic about the odds of the BEEF Act ever passing out of committee, and plan legal challenges to the EPAs authority.²¹

Fall of Chevron Doctrine Means Legal Challenges Are Now Possible

Until recently, this is where this story would end due to Chevron deference. This is a principle of administrative law that compels federal courts to defer to a federal agency's interpretation of an ambiguous law that the agency administers, unless the interpretation is unreasonable.

The Chevron deference stems from the 1984 U.S. Supreme Court case Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. Historically, cases against new EPA rules would advance to federal court and the judge would not consider the case on its merit due to the precedent of Chevron.

Landmark 2022 SCOTUS Ruling Hobbled EPA

This principle significantly impacts how environmental regulations, among others, are interpreted and implemented, affecting the balance of power between the judiciary and federal agencies. Chevron deference made it nearly impossible for private businesses to sue or slow the expansion of federal regulatory power.²²

Chevron deference has been largely dismantled by recent Supreme Court decisions. West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency has put the deference into question, particularly when it concerns significant questions of economic and political impact that Congress did not clearly delegate to the agency.

This shift in judicial thinking suggests that the EPA’s new regulations on meat and poultry producers could face significant legal challenges, especially where authority under the Clean Water Act is interpreted to include broad regulatory actions that have substantial economic consequences.

Critics long argued that such expansive interpretations by the EPA need more explicit congressional approval, reflecting a judicial recalibration of the balance of power between the legislative and executive branches in environmental regulation.

Chevron deference circumvents the legislative process and consolidates power within federal agencies, raising concerns about the separation of powers and the democratic accountability of regulatory actions.

Beef Checkoff Program Is Another Obstacle for Local Producers

Small beef and poultry producers are also facing other challenges to their businesses. Apart from the new EPA rules that are likely to cripple small local farms, the mandatory USDA Beef Checkoff program has also been structured to benefit the concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) model.

The program requires cattle producers to pay a $1 fee per head of cattle sold. This fund pays for the marketing of beef in the US, including messaging contrary to the interests of small producers who adhere to more exacting standards. The American Grassfed Certification represents a far higher standard than the USDA’s Grass fed Beef Label.

The Supreme Court denied a 2022 petition to hear a case brought by a group of Montana-based cattle producers called R-Calf, ending years of legal challenges. R-Calf contended the Beef Checkoff program was "unconstitutionally compelled" subsidies of private speech.²³

American Grassfed Certification

The USDA approves grass fed labeling but according to the American Grassfed Association, "The Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) is only considering the feeding protocol in their label approvals — other issues such as confinement; use of antibiotics and hormones; and the source of the animals, meat and dairy products will be left up to the producer."

Choosing to purchase beef with the American Grassfed Certification is a powerful step towards reducing your environmental footprint, in addition to it being better for your health. This certification ensures that the animals were fed a 100% grass fed diet, without the use of antibiotics or hormones and were raised in open grassland rather than confined spaces.

Not only does this support healthier and more humane treatment of livestock, but it also promotes sustainable farming practices that reduce the impact on the environment. By prioritizing American Grassfed certified beef, you can contribute to a food system that values human and animal health, supports ecological balance, and protects the environment.

Childhood Vaccine Schedule Led to ‘Greatest Decline in Public Health in Human History’

A U.S. Senate roundtable discussion, hosted by Sen. Ron Johnson, tackled a taboo topic — why public health agencies have not studied the health outcomes of vaccinated versus unvaccinated children — and have refused to make data on the topic available to the public.¹

“They do not publish the results [or] let any independent scientist in to look at that information,” Brian Hooker, chief scientific officer for Children’s Health Defense, said. “They refuse to publish the results and they really know why. It’s because the bloated vaccination schedule is responsible and is, I would say, in part responsible for the epidemic of chronic disorders that we see in children in the U.S.”²

In 1962, children received just five vaccine doses. As of 2023, children up to age 18 receive 73 doses of 16 different vaccines. The cumulative effects of this childhood vaccine schedule have never been tested.

Explosion of Childhood Vaccines Led to ‘Greatest Decline in Public Health in Human History’

Del Bigtree, CEO of the Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN), referenced the significant increase in chronic illnesses that’s risen along with the number of childhood vaccines.

“In the 1980s, when we were giving 11 doses of about three vaccines, the chronic illness rate, which includes neurological and autoimmune disease, was 12.8%. Once we passed the 1986 [National Childhood Vaccine Injury] Act and we had the gold rush of vaccines explode ... the chronic illness rate, neurological and autoimmune disease, skyrocket[ed] to 54%,” he said.³

However, that was in 2011 to 2012 — and might be even worse today. “We have no idea since then how bad this has gotten. But what you were looking at right there is the greatest decline in public health in human history,” Bigtree noted.⁴ He added:⁵

“None of the 14 routine vaccines on the CDC’s recommended schedule ... was ever put through long-term double-blind placebo-based safety trials prior to licensure. Since this type of trial is really the only way to establish that a pharmaceutical product is safe, it is misinformation to state that the vaccines are safe.”

On the contrary, a number of studies suggest that unvaccinated children may be healthier than those who are vaxxed.

Vaccinated Children Have Higher Rates of Asthma, Neurodevelopmental Disorders and More

Dr. Paul Thomas, whose medical license was suspended due to his advocacy for informed consent regarding vaccinations, along with James Lyons-Weiler from the Institute for Pure and Applied Knowledge (IPAK), conducted a study comparing the health of vaccinated and unvaccinated children.⁶

Their findings revealed that vaccinated children experienced significantly higher instances of various health issues, including:⁷

Notably, among the 561 unvaccinated children, none were diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), whereas 0.063% of children who had received some or all recommended vaccinations were diagnosed with ADHD.

“The implications of these results for the net public health effects of whole-population vaccination and with respect for informed consent on human health are compelling,” they wrote.⁸ The study also points out that the rate of autism spectrum disorder in their practice was half that of the U.S. national average (0.84% versus 1.69%). The rate of ADHD in the practice was also about half the national rate.

According to the authors, “The data indicate that unvaccinated children in the practice are not unhealthier than the vaccinated and indeed the overall results may indicate that the unvaccinated pediatric patients in this practice are healthier overall than the vaccinated.”⁹

At the roundtable, Hooker added, “‘When you look at developmental delays, when you look at asthma, when you look at ear infections, when you look at allergies, when you look at ADD [attention deficit disorder], ADHD, autism,’ unvaccinated children fare ‘way better.’”¹⁰

Aluminum Toxicity Alone Is a Problem

There are multiple mechanisms of potential harm when it comes to vaccination. One of them involves aluminum, the most commonly used vaccine adjuvant.¹¹ A demonstrated neurotoxin, aluminum is added to certain vaccines to increase the immune response and, with that, theoretically generate a higher response of protective antibodies.

However, repeated exposure to vaccine components such as aluminum could be harming children. As Hooker shared, “28 vaccines are given in the first year of life, one vaccine on the first day of life and upwards to eight vaccines when an infant is just 2 months old. If you look at the aluminum toxicity alone, it far surpasses the single-day toxicity limit for aluminum exposure in newborns.”¹²

A study funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that, among children with and without eczema, exposure to vaccine-associated aluminum was positively associated with persistent asthma. There was a 1.26- and 1.19-times higher risk of persistent asthma for each additional milligram of vaccine-related aluminum exposure, respectively, for children with and without eczema.¹³

Children who received all or most of the recommended childhood vaccines that contain aluminum received a cumulative aluminum exposure dose of more than 3 milligrams (mg). This group had, at least, a 36% higher risk of developing persistent asthma than children who received fewer vaccines, and therefore had a less than 3-mg exposure to aluminum.¹⁴

The study was observational in nature and stopped short of saying that it proves a link between aluminum-containing vaccines and asthma. The CDC also stated that it has no intention of altering its vaccine recommendations based on this study alone.¹⁵ However, the researchers pointed out that rates of asthma in U.S. children steadily increased in the 1980s and 1990s, then remained steady since 2001.

The 2001 date is significant, as most aluminum-containing vaccines were added to the childhood vaccine schedule before 2001. This includes, for example, diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (DTaP), hepatitis B, some formulations of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. According to the study:¹⁶

“There are many environmental and genetic risk factors for asthma, and any contribution from vaccine-associated aluminum has not been proven or supported through replication. However, because most aluminum-containing vaccines were added to the routine schedule prior to 2001 ... observed national trends in asthma prevalence during childhood are not incongruous with the effect estimates observed here.”

COVID Shots Caused 30 Child Deaths for Every One Saved

COVID-19 shots were added to the U.S. childhood, adolescent and adult vaccine schedules after a unanimous (15-0) vote by the U.S. CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). By adding the shots to the vaccine schedule, it paves the way for U.S. schools to require them for attendance.

Pfizer and Moderna, the shots’ makers, were also granted permanent legal indemnity, which otherwise would have disappeared once COVID-19 shots were no longer protected under emergency use authorization (EUA).¹⁷ Yet the shots have proven disastrous for children.

Hooker told the roundtable research shows “that for every one child that is saved from death from COVID-19, there are 30 child deaths associated with the COVID-19 vaccine. So, the risk-to-benefit ratio in terms of mortality is 30 to 1.”¹⁸

A now-retracted narrative review published in the journal Cureus called for a global moratorium on mRNA COVID-19 shots,¹⁹ citing significant increases in serious adverse events among those who received the injections, along with an “unacceptably high harm-to-reward ratio.”²⁰

When factoring in absolute risk and the “number needed to vaccinate” (NNV), a metric used to quantify how many people need to be vaccinated to prevent one additional case of a specific disease, the review found “for every life saved, there were nearly 14 times more deaths caused by the modified mRNA injections.”²¹

The authors of the paper also said the shots should be immediately removed from the childhood vaccine schedule, while boosters should also be suspended. “It is unethical and unconscionable to administer an experimental vaccine to a child who has a near-zero risk of dying from COVID-19 but a well-established 2.2 percent risk of permanent heart damage based on the best prospective data available,” the paper notes.²²

Heart damage from the shots includes myocarditis, which is inflammation of the heart muscle that can cause heart failure, abnormal heartbeat and sudden death. “Myocarditis is a serious disorder and 76% of all cases following COVID-19 vaccination, as reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System [VAERS], required emergency care and/or hospitalization,” Hooker said. However, the “CDC significantly downplays myocarditis as a side effect of the vaccine.”²³

Health Agency ‘Never Submitted’ Required Vaccine Safety Reports to Congress

The roundtable discussion occurred as part of a larger discussion on “Federal Health Agencies and the COVID Cartel.” The group included medical experts, political figures, journalists and whistleblowers who accused government, media and Big Pharma of censorship and coverups related to COVID-19 jab injuries.²⁴

Hooker testified that the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act requires the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to “report to Congress on the state of vaccine safety in the U.S. every two years.” However, he said HHS has “never submitted a vaccine safety report to Congress.”²⁵

Hooker also reported that health agencies have data on health outcomes for vaccinated and unvaccinated children, but they refuse to make it public. The data, which includes close to 30 years’ worth of information on more than 10 million people, is housed in a database called Vaccine Safety Datalink.

Despite Hooker making more than 120 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and going through “congressional representatives to get the Vaccine Safety Datalink itself,” he says, “It is simply something that they will not do.”²⁶ He believes financial conflicts of interest are the reason why:²⁷

“CDC buys and sells $5 billion worth of vaccines a year through the Vaccines for Children program. They also spend half a billion dollars a year ... advertising and through public relationship campaigns for vaccinations in general, as compared to a woeful budget of $50 million that is being used for vaccine safety every year.”

In a discussion on Steve Bannon’s “War Room,” Hooker added that, as it stands, public health agencies are not protecting the public from vaccine injuries — something to carefully consider in your own medical decisions regarding vaccinations:²⁸

“The CDC, FDA and NIH (National Institutes of Health) are derelict in their duty ... to protect children and adults against vaccine injury in order to report to Congress the state of vaccine safety science, and their responsibility to the American public and to public health in order to protect the American public.”

Just Dump Your Smelly Sponge

Editor’s Note: This article is a reprint. It was originally published August 19, 2017.

What common household item has around 362 different species of bacteria residing inside it? You’ve probably already guessed from the title that it’s your average, everyday kitchen sponge, but did you know killing those little critters takes more than a few minutes in a microwave, as per some “kitchen hacks” advice?

It seems that nuking (microwaving) used sponges does kill some of the bacteria, but not the worst ones, according to a 2017 study published in Scientific Reports and titled “Microbiome analysis and confocal microscopy of used kitchen sponges reveal massive colonization.”¹ The study explains something previous research has missed — namely, that a used kitchen sponge generally carries not just a lot of germs, but a lot of different species of germs. As The New York Times asserts:²

“It may nuke the weak ones, but the strongest, smelliest and potentially pathogenic bacteria will survive. Then, they will reproduce and occupy the vacant real estate of the dead. And your sponge will just be stinkier and nastier and you may come to regret having not just tossed it.”

There are bacteria, then there are pathogens, which Science Daily describes as “a biological agent that causes disease or illness.”³

Kitchen Sponge Microbiome — Yikes

In the study, a research team led by Markus Egert, a microbiologist at the University of Furtwangen in Germany, examined the DNA and RNA in samples from 14 used sponges and found 362 bacteria species. Besides the surprise of that, the researchers were flummoxed by the density of all those microbes jammed into such a tiny space. In total, about 82 billion bacteria inhabited a single cubic inch of sponge.

The scientists used a few different tools to detect the different bacteria types, including fluorescence and laser microscopy. Not all the sponges were old or loaded with food particles, and some had been “cleaned.”

With what we know about bacteria, it’s no surprise that they love hanging out in used sponges, what with all the raw chicken juice, seafood and other random food bits, not to mention whatever germs might be on food packaging handled by people who haven’t washed their hands. Such cross-contamination is a leading cause of foodborne disease.

And people often use sponges to wipe down the kitchen sink, refrigerators, cutting boards, can openers, garbage pails and countertops, the last of which is the recipient of everything from grocery bags to kids’ toys to your cellphone. These items may have come into previous contact with your bathroom sink, the floor of your car and your neighbor kid’s mouth.

Part of the problem with sponges, in particular, is that they’re generally held under a faucet of warm to hot running water, which simply jump-starts additional bacteria, as the moisture and warmth create the perfect living environment for them. One of the worst is a particularly prolific microbe called Moraxella osloensis, which lives on human skin and can cause infections in people with weak immune systems.

That nasty dirty-laundry smell is often caused by these bacteria, as is the mildew-meets-microbe odor you may smell the moment you walk toward your kitchen sink. Other dirty-sponge bacteria generally include E. coli, campylobacter (which is the main cause of many types of diarrhea), Enterobacter cloacae, Klebsiella (which can cause pneumonia), Proteus (a common cause of urinary tract infections), salmonella and staphylococcus, Fox 8 Cleveland⁴ reports.

Your Kitchen Sponge Contains More Germs Than Your Toilet

As it turned out, the 14 sponges the scientists used in their research ended up containing more bacteria than your average toilet. In fact, a Forbes article asks, “Do you wash your dishes in the toilet?” Of course, not all toilets are the same, just as not all sponges are the same.

It has everything to do with how long they’ve been used, and by whom and for what. But here’s the kicker: Egert equated the number of bacteria with that of human stool samples and commented, “There are probably no other places on earth with such high bacterial densities.”⁵

Back to equating your kitchen sponge’s dirty innards with that of your toilet’s, it may seem a little harsh since you don’t (presumably) actually poop in your kitchen sink. Further studies show that many people don’t wash their hands correctly, or as often as they think they do. In addition, your kitchen, being the hub of the house, is the room most frequented by friends and family, and along with them, their germs.

Thrift — It Only Works When It Does

There’s an old saying: “Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.” That’s true much of the time, but it doesn’t make sense to keep nuking your sponges if it’s not killing potentially illness-causing bacteria. People who take their thrifty nature seriously often do what they can to save money, so they pride themselves on such steps as washing out their sponge and placing it in the microwave on high for a few minutes, believing it will disinfect it.

You may also do this if you’re environmentally conscious and looking to avoid or reduce waste. However, while the sponge may smell a little better, that doesn’t mean it’s done the job, the scientists add.

“The odor is a compound produced by the bacterium’s metabolism. It eats fat. It excretes fat. And that fatty excrement stinks … Disinfecting it, as many have tried, does not necessarily work.

You can microwave a sponge, throw it in the laundry or dishwasher, douse it in vinegar or other cleansing solutions or even cook it in a pot. But the researchers discovered more of the potentially pathogenic bacteria, like Moraxella osloensis, on the sponges collected from people who said they routinely disinfected them,” The New York Times reported.⁶

To reiterate, the problem is that the bacteria actually gets worse when the sponge is microwaved. If it can’t be cleaned completely, it’s best to bite the bullet and get a new sponge, especially, Egert says, “if it starts to move.”⁷

If you just can’t see pitching a sponge that seems, from appearances, to be perfectly fine, you might run it through a laundry cycle at the hottest setting with a natural powder detergent and bleach — in a load of white items, perhaps — then use it somewhere it will be less crucial for it to be pathogen free, such as the bathroom.

Microwaves Don’t Work the Way Some People Think They Do

Microwaves also don’t kill bacteria in food as many people think they do. The German study revealed that it’s great to have a cleaning routine, but as comfortable as you may be with it, the fact is most people aren’t cleaning their sponges as thoroughly as they think they are. In the microwave, they might not be sanitizing their sponges long enough or hot enough.

Here’s why: Microwaving or boiling it will wipe out a significant number of the bacteria, but those said to be cleaned regularly did not have any fewer bacteria than the ones that hadn’t been cleaned at all. It’s like the old saying that you can’t read a book by its cover, aka, just because something doesn’t look dirty (read: loaded with harmful, disease-causing and along with arguably some benign microorganisms, as well) doesn’t mean it isn’t.

Another study describes a community picnic in Juneau, Alaska, after which dozens of people took home leftover roast pork (which had been prepared and flown in from a Seattle restaurant) and reheated it. Of the 43 people who ate the leftover pork, 21 of them — 49% — got sick with salmonella poisoning. According to the study:⁸

“Of the 30 persons who ate reheated meat, all 10 who used a microwave oven became ill, compared with none of 20 who used a conventional oven or skillet … Compared with conventional methods of reheating, microwave ovens had no protective effect in preventing illness. To prevent outbreaks such as this one, care must be taken to assure that food is both properly cooked and handled and properly reheated.”

It should be noted that the restaurant that prepared the roast pork thawed two frozen pigs for several hours at room temperature, then cooked them in a gas-fired flame broiler. One of the pigs was left unrefrigerated for anywhere from 17 to 20 hours after being cooked.

Microwave Your Underwear — What?

Whether or not you’re aware, there’s a school of thought that microwaving your underwear will get rid of bacteria better than detergent and do it without exposing you to toxic agents from many of the products on the market.

Some believe the yeast that may be lingering in undergarments need to be zapped in the microwave to be sure the microorganisms are truly and sincerely dead, but honestly is it a good idea? To get rid of potentially bacteria-ridden underwear, microwaves aren’t a good way to do it for a plethora of reasons:

• Synthetic material in underwear could melt or even catch fire
• Early microwave models can leak radiation

Instead:

• A better way is to wash your undergarments separately, then tumble dry for a minimum of 30 minutes
• Add 2 cups of 10 particles per million (ppm) of colloidal silver, an antibacterial, to the rinse cycle
• Keep your washer clean by routinely doing an empty “load” using hot water and one-half cup of white vinegar and one-half cup of baking soda

Recommended Steps Regarding Used Sponges

The first thing Forbes recommends is that you wash your hands well before, during and often while busy in the kitchen doing things like flipping through your cookbook, using your phone, peeling carrots and putting dishes in the dishwasher. That’s usually how it goes in a busy kitchen.

You’re not required to pitch the sponge you just got out yesterday (necessarily), but once a week might be good. Only you know how much you use it, and what you’ve used it for. If you used it to wipe the baby’s mouth, soaked up milk spilled from the floor and cleaned the sink drain with it, you probably have some cleaning to do. Forbes⁹ offers three ways to sanitize your sponges, which, as mentioned, may have varying results:

• Boiling them
• Microwaving
• Soaking them in bleach — 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of bleach per quart of warm — not hot — water for at least one minute

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), microwaving sponges kills 99.99999% of the bacteria present on them, while dishwashing kills 99.9998%.¹⁰ If using your microwave, Michigan State University¹¹ advises:

• Make sure the sponge is completely wet because otherwise it could catch fire in the microwave (or worse, explode).
• Place the wet sponge in the microwave on high for one minute, which is sufficient to kill bacteria.
• Be careful when removing the sponge as it will be hot. You may want to set a timer for 10 to 15 minutes to give it a chance to cool before removing.

You may be interested in knowing that getting rid of bacteria in sponges appears to work best in a lab environment and not so well in actual kitchens, Fox 8 Cleveland¹² says, maybe because they’re getting a wide range of uses that some might raise their eyebrows at (but then, everybody’s germ tolerance is different).

However, in light of the aforementioned information, you may want to use other methods. The dishwasher is another idea. Needless to say, sponges with metallic scrub pads shouldn’t be disinfected or sanitized in the microwave, so the dishwasher method works. First, use the hottest and longest cycle on your dishwasher, then use the dry cycle.

If you’re just not sure, even if it appears to be OK (but especially if it doesn’t) dumping your sponge into the nearest garbage pail once a week or so and starting with a new one is your best bet (although one microbiologist advised once a month¹³). Not only will you be assured you’re not spreading germs all over your kitchen and to the visitors therein, but it’s also just a good habit to get into. Next, you probably want to take a look at your dishcloths.

7 Things You Should Do Before Trying to Lose Weight

The question of “how to lose fat?” seems to be a popular question these days. And it is understandable, as many people are overweight and obesity rates continue to rise. But before diving into “how to lose weight,” you should first assess whether you are even at a place where weight loss should be your first goal.

If you want to lose weight, you should first work on improving your metabolic rate and improving your habits. Doing so will make weight loss in the future so much easier, more successful and more sustainable. If you can’t master these basic habits, how can you expect to excel during a weight loss phase?

Without mastering these foundations — you will likely need to consume a very small amount of calories to lose weight — which is not sustainable and will negatively impact your metabolism in the long run.

Let's briefly discuss a hypothetical situation. Let's say at one moment in time (Point A) maybe you have down regulated your metabolism or have unbalanced hormones so your maintenance caloric intake is around 1600 calories (meaning you maintain your weight consuming this amount of calories).

But then 3-6 months later (Point B) after implementing some lifestyle and nutrition changes (discussed below) your new maintenance is 2300 calories (again, this is hypothetical) — meaning you can maintain your weight now at higher calories. At Point B, you can then diet (enter a fat loss phase) at a higher calorie intake relative to Point A.

By working on improving how your body works as a whole (improving your metabolism and thyroid system), we can increase your energy expenditure.

Thus, when it's time to lose weight, you can diet at a higher caloric load (making the whole weight loss phase more enjoyable and sustainable). Who wants to eat 1000 calories to lose weight? This is not healthy and is not necessary.

You do, however, need to meet your body where its at and work slowly from point A to point B to improve your metabolism. How do we do that? Let's dive in.

Following the Law of Thermodynamics (energy cannot be created or destroyed) — you must be in a caloric deficit to lose weight. Yes, there is of course nuance as there are MANY factors that impact the “Calories Out” side of the equation, but we must create an energy deficit which depends on a number of variables.

Your energy intake (calories consumed) equates to all of the calories you consume from food and liquids. Your energy expenditure (the calories you “burn”) is the sum of:

1. Your basal metabolic rate (BMR), which refers to the energy required for your body to maintain basic function. This includes breathing, digesting food, pumping blood throughout the body, maintaining strong hair and nails, the generation of energy, etc.

This accounts for 65% - 70% of your total daily expenditure — making it the largest contribution to the energy expenditure equation. Increasing your metabolic rate is one of the best ways to make weight loss and maintenance more sustainable in the long run. You can increase your BMR and this is advantageous for weight loss!

2. Nonexercise Activity Thermogenesis — NEAT (body movements outside of planned exercise, like fidgeting, doing laundry, etc.). Calories burned from NEAT will vary A LOT. More active individuals (higher daily step counts) will burn more calories due to higher levels of NEAT. Dr. Levine has shown that NEAT can vary by up to 2000 calories per day between two individuals of the same size!¹

3. Exercise, the energy your body uses for planned physical activity, whether that is strength training, playing sports or a cardio session. You actually don't burn many calories during a strength training session — and the goal isn't to burn calories. The goal is to elicit a muscular adaptation to then increase the amount of lean mass (muscle) you have, and thus increase your metabolism.

4. Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) — The amount of calories your body uses to digest the food you consume.

The balance between your energy intake and energy expenditure overtime will determine whether you maintain, lose or gain weight.

The more we can increase our metabolism and energy expenditure, the more food you can eat and maintain your weight AND the more food you can eat during a weight loss phase. So step one is focusing on improving the right side of the scale before decreasing the left side.

The image below² demonstrates the relative contribution of the above 4 items on your total energy expenditure:

As you can see, your NEAT and BMR are the largest contributors to your energy expenditure. Thus, these should be the two things we try to improve before entering a weight loss phase. And there will be many people who criticize “calories in vs. calories out” — and I understand — of course it isn’t perfect!

Here is a criticism of “calories in vs. calories out” from a Professor from Stanford:

“This idea of ‘a calorie in and a calorie out’ when it comes to weight loss is not only antiquated, it‘s just wrong,” says Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity specialist and assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

“The truth is that even careful calorie calculations don‘t always yield uniform results. How your body burns calories depends on a number of factors, including the type of food you eat, your body‘s metabolism, and even the type of organisms living in your gut. You can eat the exact same number of calories as someone else, yet have very different outcomes when it comes to your weight.”

I agree with the last two sentences! Of course there is nuance. But that does not mean that the energy balance still doesn't apply. It means that your energy expenditure is severely hindered by a poor metabolism and unbalanced hormones.

With all of the food you eat — something has to happen to that food, it doesn’t just “poof” go away. So consuming extra energy (calories) than your current energetic demands will be stored as fat for future use.

Thyroid hormones are the master regulator of body metabolism. With a sluggish thyroid system, your BMR will be low. Meaning, your body doesn't burn many calories.

So, in order to lose weight, you would need to consume a very low calorie diet — which is unsustainable. Meaning, your current state of your metabolism is not setting you up for success to lose weight. How do we increase our BMR (basal metabolic rate)? (Another way of asking this question is — how do we improve our metabolism?)

The 7 habits listed below will help you accomplish this (and you should master these habits FIRST before a fat loss phase).

1. Stop seeking quick fixes — Cutting carbs can lead to quick weight loss for some people — but this is largely a loss of water weight (and for some, a loss of muscle mass — which is NOT what we want).

HUNDREDS of people have come to our course saying “keto initially worked for me to lose weight, but now I have regained it plus some.” Their hormones and metabolisms crashed, and the restrictive approach lead to a never ending binge cycle where progress is made, lost, made, lost, etc. That isn’t healthy!

Cutting carbs does not automatically = weight loss. For some people, restricting an entire macronutrient will help them lower their caloric intake, which can lead to temporary weight loss.

But you don't have to cut carbs to lose weight. That is simply not true — increasing fat oxidation does not increase weight loss.³ You can still burn fat when including carbohydrates in your diet.

2. Eat breakfast — No, fasting is not the magical tool either. If it helps you cut calories for a period of time, that is likely what led to initial success. But fasting is a sign to the body that it needs to preserve. A body will NOT increase metabolism when it senses scarcity. So, eat breakfast!

Those who eat a big breakfast burn twice as many calories (have an improved BMR) relative to those who don't eat breakfast or eat a small breakfast and eat a large dinner.⁴ Your diet induced thermogenesis is 2.5x higher in the morning relative to the evening.

Those who eat breakfast also experience fewer cravings and have healthier blood glucose and insulin patterns.⁵ You just fasted for 8-10 hours — eat your breakfast.

3. Cook most of your meals — Your food choices (the source of calories) will also impact how your body produces energy and your hormones (thus impacting your BMR).

The whole point of a “pro metabolic” nutrition strategy is to improve how your body generates energy and maintain balanced hormones. When you become aware of better food choices, you can work towards maximizing your BMR.

Processed food and most take out/restaurant food are often very energy dense (they are high carb and high fat), PUFA rich, and micronutrient poor. You will truly not make significant progress long term if you do not start cooking most of your meals (eating out a few times a week is fine!)

Most processed food are also filled with preservatives, gums, dyes and fillers — all of which can negatively impact your gut health overtime, which will hinder energy production and metabolism.

4. Consume adequate dietary calcium — It has been demonstrated that each 300 mg increment in regular calcium intake is associated with approximately 1 kg less body fat in children and 2.5–3.0 kg lower body weight in adults.⁶

A higher calcium diet was also shown to be more effective in reducing abdominal fat in subjects with Type 2 diabetes relative to a lower calcium diet.⁷ Calcium may influence body fat levels due to its effect on BMR⁸ due to the enhancement of thermogenesis and reduction in fat synthesis.⁹

So, make sure you are regularly eating milk, cheese, yogurt, or well cooked dark leafy greens for the metabolic enhancements of dietary calcium.

5. Frequent walks and movement throughout the day — High activity levels play a major role in having a healthy metabolic response — we respond to strength training better and we improve how our body responds to the food we eat by lowering blood lipids and improving our insulin response.

Individuals who participate in habitual physical activity can maintain lower body fat and a higher BMR than sedentary controls with similar body mass, FFM, and body mass index.¹⁰

There are so many studies in the literature documenting that frequent movement throughout the day is vital for a healthy metabolism. In fact, some studies are now showing that we do not get the health benefits of a workout unless we are active throughout the day, not just in the workout.

Meaning, if you workout for 30 min - 1 hour a day, and then sit the rest of the day — you actually aren't getting the health benefits (such as improved fuel utilization) of that workout! You could just be wasting your time.

2-4 strength workouts a week plus daily regular movement throughout the day through light walks (rather than just 1 workout then sitting the rest of the day) is the best way to maximize health improvements and fat loss from exercise. This is commonly referred to as “Exercise Snacks” in the literature, and is illustrated in the image below:¹¹

“Prolonged sitting prevents a 1-h bout of running from improving fat oxidation and reducing plasma triglycerides. This ‘exercise resistance’ can be prevented by taking 8500 steps·d⁻¹ or by interrupting 8 h of sitting with hourly cycle sprints.”¹²

“Two benefits of acute exercise are the next day's lowering of the postprandial plasma triglyceride response to a high-fat meal and increased fat oxidation. However, if activity levels (daily steps) are very low, these acute adaptations to exercise do not occur.

This phenomenon has been termed 'exercise resistance.' When participants took 5000 or fewer daily steps and despite performing a 1-h bout of exercise, they displayed a 16% - 19% decrease in fat oxidation and a 22% - 23% increase in postprandial plasma TG excursions the next day compared with NORMAL (approximately 8500 steps per day; P < 0.05).

Therefore, it could be recommended that for optimal fat metabolism, people do not reduce their step count below approximately 8500 steps per day, even if they are additionally exercising at a moderate intensity.”¹³

“These data indicate that physical inactivity (e.g., sitting ~13.5 h/day and <4,000 steps/day) creates a condition whereby people become 'resistant' to the metabolic improvements that are typically derived from an acute bout of aerobic exercise (i.e., exercise resistance). In people who are physically inactive and sitting for a majority of the day, a 1-h bout of vigorous exercise failed to improve lipid, glucose, and insulin metabolism measured the next day.“¹⁴

There are so many other studies documenting the benefits of just being active throughout the day. I am NOT saying you should be running or exercising all day long — but try to walk more! It is a low stress movement that yields drastic health benefits. Shoot for 8,000 steps per day.

How to implement regular movement into your lifestyle: either plan walks into your schedule, or where a step tracker and shoot for minimum 8k steps a day (10k-12k would be a great goal to move towards!)

One habit change that can make this shift easier (without setting reminders on your calendar) is to make it a priority to take a light walk after each meal and snack! This will also improve digestion of that meal.

6. Strength train and build muscle — It is now well documented that having more muscle mass increases our BMR — meaning our body burns more calories at rest (increasing our energy expenditure) because muscle is “expensive” tissue and uses a lot of energy!

Studies have shown that increased muscle mass increases skeletal muscle glucose uptake and improves insulin sensitivity.¹⁵

The best way to build muscle is to implement smart strength training! (And if you need help with a strength training program — check out our Train2Change app for metabolism-supportive, muscle-building workouts).

7. Track your food and learn about macronutrients — Many people will say this is restrictive and an “eating disorder.” But if you didn't track your food before, why are you now at a place where you want to lose weight? Was your previous approach working for you? What is the downside in temporarily tracking your food to get a better understanding of properly fueling your body with the right macronutrient balance?

If we compare our caloric intake to our finances — isn't it a good idea to keep a budget? So that you can make better decisions about future expenses?

There is also a general trend that once you start tracking, you make better food choices. "When you observe something, you change behavior." Who wants to track eating a Twinkie and candy bar?

Gaining an understanding of where your body is at currently will help you make the best food decisions to avoid a massive overshoot and simultaneous weight gain.

This involves tracking your food intake (the amount of carbs, fats and protein you consume each day) and determining your “maintenance calories” — the amount of calories you can eat while maintaining your weight.

Tracking your macros will also allow you to better understand how different macronutrients impact your body temperature (we want our body temperature to go UP, which is a sign of an improved metabolism). It can also help you avoid eating a more high fat and high carb diet, which allows us to easily over consume calories and a high fat intake can negatively impact how we utilize carbohydrates.^16,17

Tracking your macros doesn’t have to be a forever thing, but tracking some data can EMPOWER us to make better food choices that are actually moving the needle forward in our health. (Rather than just following arbitrary diet rules, or doing something OVER AND OVER again and expecting different results).

Mastering these 7 habits will help you get your body to work for you, not against you. And when the time is right, healthy fat loss (that is sustainable and lasts — meaning you don't rebound and regain weight quickly) is not sexy or quick. It takes patience — play the long game!

Focus on mastering the basics of healthy habits (essentially — eat real food and make regular movement a part of your lifestyle), so that your body is better at using the energy (food) you consume.

As a result of an improved metabolism, you will be able to eat more food (slowly over time) and maintain your weight. Which is what we want!

Transform Your Health — One Step at a Time

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Ashley and her sister Sarah have put together a truly groundbreaking step-by-step course called “Rooted in Resilience.” They have compiled what clearly is the best application of Dr. Ray Peat’s work on Bioenergetic Medicine that I have ever seen.

It is so good that I am using the core of their program to teach the many Health Coaches that I am in the process of training for the new Mercola Health Clinics I am opening this fall. It took these women working nearly full-time on this project for a year to create it.

This has to be one of the absolute best values for health education I have ever seen. If you want to understand why you struggle with health problems and then have a clear program on how to reverse those challenges, then this is the course for you.

It is precisely the type of program I wish I would have had access to when I got out of medical school. I fumbled around for decades before I reached the conclusion they discuss in the course and share with you so you can restore your cellular energy production and recover your health.

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About the Author

Ashley Armstrong is the cofounder of Angel Acres Egg Co., which specializes in low-PUFA (polyunsaturated fat) eggs that are shipped to all 50 states (join waitlist here), and Nourish Cooperative, which ships low-PUFA pork, beef, cheese, A2 dairy and traditional sourdough to all 50 states. Waitlists will reopen shortly.

Band-Aids May Expose You to Hazardous ‘Forever Chemicals’

Bandages that you apply to open wounds may contain toxic polyfluoroalkyl or perfluoroalkyl chemicals, known collectively as PFAS. Mamavation, in partnership with Environmental Health News, tested a variety of bandage brands, revealing indications of PFAS in more than half.¹

Bandages are only the latest consumer good found to contain the toxins. Often referred to as "forever chemicals," PFAS are synthetic compounds that are extremely persistent in the environment and human body, meaning they don't break down and can accumulate over time.

PFAS are known for making surfaces slippery and are found in a wide range of products, including nonstick cookware, stain-resistant fabrics and water-repellent clothing, as well as in certain cosmetics and products that resist grease, water and oil, including food packaging. Now, it turns out, your bandages may also be contaminated.

Do Your Bandages Contain PFAS?

Mamavation sent 40 bandages from 18 brands to a laboratory certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for testing. The bandages were purchased from stores such as Walmart, CVS, Rite Aid, Target or Amazon. Indications of PFAS were found in 65% of the bandages tested. Further, out of the 40 samples, 26 detections revealed organic fluorine — a marker for PFAS — above 10 parts per million (ppm).

"Ten parts per million is the limit of detection, and that’s a large amount," study author Terrence Collins, professor of chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University, told TIME. "We know that with endocrine disruption, there is no safe dose. They fiddle with hormonal control."²

Collins said it’s possible the chemicals could leach into the body not only via the pad placed over an open wound but also through the skin via the adhesive flaps. "You have to assume that the body will have an affinity for a multitude of PFAS compounds."³

Among bandages marketed to people with black or brown skin tones, 63% had indications of PFAS, including 10 detections out of 16 bandages tested with organic fluorine above 10 ppm. Overall, organic fluorine in the bandages ranged from 11 ppm to 328 ppm.⁴

"Because bandages are placed upon open wounds, it’s troubling to learn that they may be also exposing children and adults to PFAS," said Linda Birnbaum, scientist emeritus and former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. "It’s obvious from the data that PFAS are not needed for wound care, so it’s important that the industry remove their presence to protect the public from PFAS and opt instead for PFAS-free materials."⁵

While the lab tests didn’t separate the adhesive from the bandages, PFAS was detected in the adhesive, sticky flaps of the bandages as well in the absorbent pads. "Even if you think this is a small exposure, you add up a lot of small exposures, [and] you have a big exposure," Phil Brown, director of Northeastern University’s Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute.⁶

Band-Aid, Care Science, Curad and CVS Health were among the makers of bandages with some of the highest PFAS levels, though levels varied widely, even among different products made by the same overall brand.

Contact Lenses and Other PFAS Sources That May Surprise You

Bandages are just one route of PFAS exposure that people are exposed to regularly. Previous tested by Mamavation has revealed evidence of PFAS in a wide range of products, including:⁷

When Mamavation sent 18 contact lens brands to an EPA-certified laboratory, all of them tested positive for fluorine, at levels ranging from 105 to 20,700 ppm. While 44% of the contact lenses tested contained fluorine at a level over 4,000 ppm, 22% contained more than 18,000 ppm.⁸ The contact lenses with the highest organic fluorine levels were:⁹

• Alcon Air Optix Colors with Smartshield Technology (20,700 ppm)
• Alcon Total30 Contact Lenses for Daily Wear (20,400 ppm)
• Alcon Air Optix (No Hydraglide) for Astigmatism (20,000 ppm)

What does this mean in terms of your health? Pete Myers, chief scientist for Environmental Health Sciences, said:¹⁰

"The presumption that these organic fluorine levels measured in contact lenses are safe is laughable. Last summer the EPA issued health advisories in drinking for four common PFAS, ranging from 0.004 parts per trillion (ppt) to 2000 ppt. EPA considers exposure beneath these thresholds to be safe for drinking water.

While comparing drinking levels in water to concentrations in contact lenses is like comparing apples to oranges, it’s worth noting that all of the contact lenses tested exceeded 100 ppm, which is equivalent to 100,000,000 ppt, or 50,000 times higher than the highest level deemed safe in drinking water by the EPA."

Birnbaum further told Mamavation:¹¹

"Your eyes are one of the most sensitive parts of your body. Therefore, it’s concerning to see the presence of organic fluorine, which is likely a type of PFAS, found in all soft contact lens products tested. What about the idea of doing no harm? Do we have proof these products are safe? A lack of safety studies does not qualify as ‘safety,’ which is what is happening here."

Research that has been done on PFAS and vision is cause for concern. A large population-based study conducted in China found exposure to PFAS increased the risk of visual impairment.¹² The researchers suggested PFAS may induce oxidative stress, with a detrimental effect on the eyes.

"PFAS are proven pro-oxidants and exposure to these emerging pollutants elicits DNA damage, lipid peroxidation, generation of reactive of species (ROS), and inhibition of anti-oxidant enzymes, as well as triggers signaling cascades like apoptosis," they explained.¹³ Military members who were exposed to PFAS on military bases have also suffered from a number of eye conditions, including myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism and presbyopia.¹⁴

Most Kale Contaminated With Forever Chemicals

More than 12,000 chemicals make up the PFAS class. "What unites these chemicals is the presence of a carbon-fluorine bond which is one of the strongest in chemistry. This strength is also the source of these chemicals’ hazard: PFAS chemicals are highly persistent in the environment and have been accumulating in soils, waterways, and oceans over decades," according to Alliance for Natural Health USA (ANH-USA).¹⁵

Exposure is so widespread that PFAS has been found in 97% of Americans.¹⁶ In the human body, PFAS have half-lives of two to five years.¹⁷ The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is testing foods from the general food supply to estimate U.S. consumers’ PFAS exposure from foods.¹⁸

To uncover more about just how widespread PFAS contamination is in the food supply, ANH-USA analyzed conventionally grown and organic kale samples from four states — New York, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Arizona. Two samples were purchased from a store in each state, some of them loose leaves and others pre-packaged in a plastic bag or container.

Out of the eight samples, only one had no detectable PFAS. Among the others, the highest level of total PFAS was found in conventionally grown kale purchased in a Georgia Publix store. However, overall, PFAS levels were higher in organic kale samples than conventional samples.¹⁹

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) set a tolerable weekly intake of 4.4 ng/kg bodyweight for PFAS. "Disturbingly, this is the equivalent of consuming two portions (67 g each) of kale with the same level as that found in the Publix store (GA) a week, implying any intake above this amount (from all sources) would equate to a potential health risk," according to ANH-USA.²⁰

Concerning levels of PFAS have been found in a wide variety of other foods as well, including peanut butter, pasta sauce and cooking oil, for instance.²¹ In another study, leafy greens grown within 10 miles of a PFAS plant contained very high amounts — and even chocolate cake was contaminated.²²

One reason why the food supply is contaminated has to do with biosolids, toxic human waste sludge that may be contaminated with PFAS that’s marketed as an affordable fertilizer and spread onto farmland.²³ Water supplies and waterways may also be contaminated, such that eating even one freshwater fish annually could be dangerous.²⁴

PFAS Exposure May Cause Cancer, Reproductive Effects and More

PFAS may lead to cancer by causing changes in epigenetics, immunosuppression, oxidative stress, inflammation or via hormone and metabolomic pathways. An accumulation of epigenetic events induced by PFAS exposure can "synergistically amplify tumorigenicity and cancer progression," researchers explained, adding that immune system suppression and chronic inflammation also likely play a role.²⁵

Exposure to high levels of PFAS is also known to affect the immune system, and evidence from both human and animal studies shows that such exposure may reduce your resistance to infectious disease.²⁶ The EPA also acknowledges that PFAS exposure is harmful and states that peer-reviewed scientific studies have shown exposure to PFAS may cause:²⁷

Tips to Reduce Your PFAS Exposure

Since PFAS have no taste or smell, you can’t detect it in consumer goods. Filtering your drinking water is important to avoid this common route of exposure, as is avoiding stain-resistant, waterproof or nonstick products, most of which contain PFAS. To further reduce your exposure, the Environmental Working Group recommends avoiding:²⁸

Can Hand-Washing With Cold Water Really Kill Germs?

Editor’s Note: This article is a reprint. It was originally published June 17, 2017.

If you've ever been in a place or circumstance where hot running water wasn't available for some reason, perhaps you had a vague sense when washing your hands in the only water available — cold — that they weren't really getting clean. That's probably because most of us learned in kindergarten that washing with hot, soapy water is imperative to kill germs. The belief is so ingrained that it's been written in government regulations (at least in the U.S.) for years.

Even using soap with cold water may seem as if using hot water would do a better job, but is there any actual scientific evidence this is true? Here's your answer: Research shows that if the water you're using to wash your hands is lukewarm or even cold, it does just as well as hot to remove bacteria. It's the length of time and the method that make all the difference.

The study, conducted at Rutgers University and published in the Journal of Food Protection,¹ involved 21 participants and ended with an interesting conclusion: Whether they washed their hands in 60-, 79- or 100-degree (Fahrenheit) water, there was no difference in the "clean" they attained when they lathered their hands and washed them for 10 seconds.

But here's the kicker: Every one of those individuals had high levels of E. coli bacteria "applied" to their hands. Although the scientists in charge used a "nonpathogenic" strain of the bacteria, each subject was asked to wash their hands using several different water temperatures and for varying lengths of washing time.

They used cold, warm or hot water, between half a milliliter and 2 milliliters (ml) of soap and washed for anywhere from five to 40 seconds. They repeated the experiment 20 times over a six-month period. Time added:

"When the researchers analyzed the amounts of bacteria left on hands after washing, they found that water at all three temperatures worked equally well. So did the different amounts of soap used, although they say more research is needed to determine what type of soap is best."²

Misinformation, Recommendations and Revisions

BBC News³ noted that while the U.S. cleanliness guidelines are more stringent, U.K. guidelines say people can use either hot or cold water for hand-washing. However, those researchers said they realized their study was small in scope and that more extensive work is needed to determine the best ways to remove harmful bacteria or "bugs."

The important thing, the BBC noted, is to make sure you wash your hands for a minimum of 20 seconds, use enough soap to cover every hand surface and rub your hands together several different ways to make sure every surface is clean.

Authors of the featured 2017 study said their research was important because the guidelines⁴ by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)⁵ used to state that piped-in water and plumbing fixtures should deliver water set at a minimum of 100 to 108 degrees Fahrenheit for people to get their hands clean. Those guidelines were scheduled for review and revision in 2018, however, so the researchers said it was time for the language to be changed to reflect the reality. They wrote:

"The literature on hand washing includes a tremendous amount of misinformation, and data on many issues are missing. Many hand washing recommendations are being made without scientific backing, and agreement among these recommendations is limited, as indicated by the major inconsistencies among hand washing signs."⁶

The length of time people use for washing their hands matters, as actual testing proved that five seconds isn't long enough, while scrubbing for 10 seconds is just as effective for getting hands clean as washing for longer periods.

"The time you spend turning on the tap, putting soap in your hands, and rinsing afterward — those don't count," maintains co-author Donald Schaffner, distinguished professor and extension specialist in food science at Rutgers. His bottom line, according to Medical News Today:⁷

"This study may have significant implications towards water energy, since using cold water saves more energy than warm or hot water. There should be a policy change. Instead of having a temperature requirement, the policy should only say that comfortable or warm water needs to be delivered. We are wasting energy to heat water to a level that is not necessary."

How to Make Sure Your Hands Are Really Clean, Even Using Cold Water

Ten seconds is the minimum amount of time necessary to get the job done. But are there instances when washing your hands longer than that or using different methods is necessary? Absolutely, Schaffner says. "If you just changed a diaper or you've been in the garden or you're cutting up a raw chicken, don't think you're good to go after 10 seconds if you can still see or feel something on your hands. By all means, keep lathering."⁸

However, if warm water is available, something as simple as maintaining a comfortable water temperature may make all the difference in encouraging people to wash for an adequate length of time to get their hands clean. Otherwise, "you're not going to do a good job," he advises.

According to the experts, there's a right way and a wrong way to do almost everything, but when it comes to getting your hands clean, especially when you want to wash something particularly nasty off, there is a foolproof, step-by-step procedure, which begins with spending as much time scrubbing as it takes to sing the happy birthday song, twice. The procedure, provided by The World Health Organization,⁹ is as follows:

1. Wet your hands and apply enough soap to cover each surface.
2. Rub your palms together in a circular motion.
3. Rub each palm over the back of the other hand, scrubbing between your fingers.
4. Rub your palms together with your fingers interlaced.
5. Rub the backs of your fingers by placing one hand over the other, and around each thumb.
6. With your hands still soapy, rub both palms with your fingertips, then rinse thoroughly with either warm or cold water.

NHS Choices¹⁰ advises that you use an alcohol-based "handrub" if you don't have immediate access to soap and water. Afterward, dry your hands thoroughly with a disposable towel, if possible. If you haven't already gotten into the habit, use the paper towel to turn off the faucet, and also to open the doors, should you be in a public restroom.

There's More to Consider Than Simple 'Germs'

Using lukewarm or even cold water for hand-washing for the proper amount of time could have several advantages, such as limiting the time water runs to get it warm, which would save both money and energy, especially in restaurants and other food establishments, Schaffner maintains. Similarly, using water that's too hot could be irritating and even damaging to the skin.

In fact, when people regularly apply a hand lotion or moisturizer, it helps to not only repair dry, damaged skin (which is more difficult to clean), but hands bear fewer bacteria after washing than people who don't use lotion (make sure it's a natural variety).

But some germs are more serious than others, and some people, such as children, infants and the elderly, have a higher risk of picking up infections and spreading them. NHS Choices lists instances when it's particularly important to wash your hands, and make sure kids wash, as well:

• After using the toilet
• After handling raw foods — not just chicken and other meats but also raw veggies
• Before eating or handling food, even if it's "ready to eat"
• After contact with animals, including pets
• After visiting someone in the hospital or another health care setting

Washing your hands properly removes dirt, bacteria and viruses that might be spread to other people and objects, which can spread such things as flu, food poisoning and diarrhea. Professor Jeremy Hawker, a consultant epidemiologist at Public Health England, explains:¹¹

"Hands are easily contaminated with faecal bacteria (poo) when going to the toilet and this can be easily spread on to other things you touch, including food. Unfortunately, not all people consistently wash their hands after going to the toilet or before handling food. Washing your hands with soap and water is sufficient to remove dirt, viruses or bacteria and it can reduce the risk of diarrhea by nearly 50%."

What About Antibacterial Soap?

Many homes, hospitals and classrooms use antibacterial soap as a matter of course, but is it really any better? Is it even safe? Here's what a lot of people, including those in the medical profession, don't understand about antibacterial soap — The first antibacterial soap was introduced by Dial in the 1940s.

What it contained, though, was the chemical hexachlorophene, an antibacterial agent confirmed to cause brain damage in infants. The company was ordered to withdraw it from the market.

Then a couple of enterprising individuals devised another chemical called triclosan, which some may remember claimed to "kill germs on contact." It may have, to some degree, but it killed other things along the way.

Multiple companies jumped onto a very lucrative bandwagon, and "antibacterial" soaps started showing up everywhere, as they claimed to "make your environment safer and provide an extra layer of protection against illness." But in late 2013, the FDA decided to take another look at triclosan, and in doing so noted two separate problems:

• Possible interference with hormone levels in laboratory animals
• An increase in the growth of drug-resistant bacteria

A few days later, they submitted another statement that no evidence could be found that "over-the-counter (OTC) antibacterial soap products are any more effective at preventing illness than washing with plain soap and water."

According to Chemical Watch Global Risk & Regulation News, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed a lawsuit against the FDA in 2010, claiming it "had violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act by 'unreasonably delaying the issue of monographs establishing conditions for the use of certain products containing triclosan as the active ingredient.'"¹²

Dangers of Triclosan, an Ingredient in Antibacterial Soap

Experts say antibacterial soaps containing triclosan aren't recommended for use on cuts and scrapes because it prolongs wound healing and increases your risk of scar formation. But worse, the European Union announced it would be phasing triclosan out of hygiene products because the risks outweighed the benefits. Although there are many more, risks include:

• Increased cancer risk
• Interference with muscle contraction and activity
• Endocrine hormone disruption
• Disrupted thyroid function
• Increased allergies to peanuts and hay fever

Many products have included triclosan in their antibacterial products, but Beyond Pesticides notes that, due to pressure from informed consumers, a number of some of the larger manufacturers have without a lot of fanfare begun reformulating at least some of their products without triclosan. Therefore:¹³

"Product formulations may change without notice … Remember to always refer to product labels to determine whether triclosan is contained in your product. Some retail outlets may still carry older formulations. Look out for labels that state: 'antimicrobial protection.' Some antibacterial soaps may use triclosan's cousin, triclocarban, in place of triclosan."

The bottom line is that if you have nothing but cold water available, washing your hands using proper scrubbing methods for at least 10 seconds and using simple soap without the "antibacterial" label will get your hands clean.

5 Potent Nootropic Herbs to Supercharge Memory and Concentration

Nootropics are sometimes called "smart drugs" since they enhance cognitive performance and especially executive functions like memory, focus and creativity. Naturally occurring nootropics support focus and concentration by improving neural mechanisms related to learning and memory.

Nootropic herbs have long been a staple of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and other traditional medicine practices. They have gained wide recognition in alternative and complementary medicine for their ability to boost mental processes. Rooted in centuries of traditional use, nootropic herbs form a bridge between ancient wisdom and contemporary natural health.

Among the most widely used and extensively researched nootropic herbs are Bacopa monnieri, Ginkgo biloba, Panax ginseng, and Rhodiola rosea. Each herb has a unique profile of benefits, from improving memory retention and speeding up reaction times to reducing mental fatigue and enhancing overall brain function.

In combination with lion’s mane mushrooms and GABA, which are not nootropic herbs, nootropic herbs can help promote mental clarity without the harsh side effects often associated with pharmaceutical cognitive enhancers. Each possesses unique properties and components worth further examination.

Consider These Five Nootropic Powerhouses

The rich tradition of herbal remedies is an effective solution for individuals seeking natural ways to support their focus and concentration. These powerhouse nootropics can serve as a cornerstone to a natural approach to cognitive enhancement and neuroprotection.

Lion’s Mane Stimulates Production of Nerve Growth Factor

While not technically an herb, Lion's mane mushrooms are also associated with improved mental acuity, concentration, and memory. The core of this power packed mushroom are hericenones and erinacines.¹⁵

Lion’s mane mushroom stands at the forefront of natural cognitive enhancers due to its unique ability to stimulate the production of nerve growth factor (NGF). NGF is a protein that plays a crucial role in the maintenance, survival, and regeneration of neurons.¹⁶

By promoting the production of NGF, lion’s mane directly contributes to the enhancement of neuroplasticity — your brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections. This capacity is fundamental to improving cognitive functions such as memory and concentration.¹⁷

Furthermore, animal studies have demonstrated that the bioactive compounds within lion’s mane, hericenones and erinacines, can cross the blood-brain barrier, directly facilitating the growth and development of brain cells. This direct action not only helps in sharpening focus and recall but also in potentially slowing the cognitive decline associated with aging.¹⁸

Serotonin — The Unhappy Hormone

Understanding the role of serotonin is another crucial component in a comprehensive strategy to optimize your memory and concentration. Often dubbed the "happy hormone," the role of serotonin in dementia has been completely misconstrued in media coverage.

Serotonin is an antimetabolite, putting the brakes on your body’s energy production within the mitochondria's electron transport chain. High levels of serotonin might leave you feeling fatigued, slow your metabolism, and even lead to weight gain.

The pharmaceutical industry, however, has a vested interest in keeping the darker side of serotonin under wraps. After all, the narrative that low serotonin levels in your brain lead to depression fuels the sale of most antidepressants on the market today.

Risk of Elevated Serotonin Levels

In the quest to balance and potentially mitigate elevated serotonin levels, GABA emerges as a natural ally. This neurotransmitter functions as a counterbalance to excitatory neurotransmitters in the brain like serotonin. Elevated levels of serotonin can lead to a range of undesirable effects such as fatigue and slowed metabolism, as previously mentioned.

The calming effect of GABA on the brain supports relaxation, reduces stress, and can help improve sleep quality — all of which are beneficial for cognitive function and overall mental health.

By promoting a more balanced neurological environment, GABA supplementation can indirectly support improved memory, concentration, and mental clarity, making it a critical component in the holistic approach to enhancing cognitive performance and mitigating the adverse effects of excessive serotonin.¹⁹

Linoleic Acid Increases Inflammation and Lowers Cognitive Performance

Diet is a crucial aspect of maintaining and improving cognitive function. Slashing or eliminating your intake of linoleic acid (LA), a common polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) found in seed oils such as soybean, corn, and sunflower oils is crucial.

The overconsumption of LA can lead to a cascade of health problems that impact brain health. Excessive intake of LA has been associated with increased inflammation and oxidative stress, conditions that are detrimental to brain cells and can impair cognitive functions such as memory and concentration.

Moderating your intake of LA by reducing the consumption of seed oils rich in PUFAs and instead focusing on a diet that includes healthy fats from sources like avocados and fatty fish, and "clean carbs" like ripe fruit and white rice can support brain health. These healthy fats contribute to the maintenance of cell membrane integrity and fluidity, facilitating optimal neuronal communication and cognitive function, while healthy carbs provide the needed fuel for optimal brain function.

Boost Your Cognitive Function and Brain Health With Nootropics

The pursuit of naturally enhanced memory and concentration encompasses a diverse array of powerful nootropics. The combination of these powerful natural compounds can help you optimize your mental performance and support long-term brain health.

A multi-pronged approach can also utilize GABA to mitigate high-serotonin levels, and include replacing PUFAs with healthy fats and clean carbs to optimize mitochondrial energy production, without which cognition will be compromised.

Migraines Strongly Associated With High Estrogen and Low Thyroid

Migraines affect an estimated 12% of the American population and is the second leading cause of disability worldwide.¹ Worldwide, as many as 1 billion people are affected,² making migraine the third most prevalent illness in the world.

They can strike both young and old, but most sufferers are women. According to research,³ migraine prevalence begins to rise around puberty and continues to rise until 39 years of age, after which it decreases again. Menopause frequently offers migraine relief for women, which hints at the role of estrogen.

Unfortunately, despite their prevalence, researchers still struggle to understand exactly how and why migraines occur.

Few understand that excess estrogen and inadequate progesterone is a key factor, or that high linoleic acid (LA) intake exacerbates the situation. If you lower LA and estrogen, most migraines vanish without further intervention. Thyroid function also plays an important role, which makes sense considering high LA intake is a primary causative factor of hypothyroidism as well.

Estrogen Is a Major Player in Migraines

Migraines are thought to be a disorder of your central nervous system, most likely originating in your brain stem.⁴ While most brain regions do not register or transmit pain signals, the trigeminal nerve network does.

Pain is relayed through the trigeminal network to an area in your brain stem called the trigeminal nucleus. From there, it is conveyed to the sensory cortex in your brain that is involved in awareness of pain and other senses. As it turns out, estrogen is a major factor in this chain of events.

The late Ray Peat, a pioneer in bioenergetic medicine, argued that estrogen is a major cause of migraines, and in 2018, research^5,6,7 was published that offered fresh support for that view. Researchers found that estrogen sensitizes cells around the trigeminal nerve and connected blood vessels in the head, thereby augmenting pain signals.

Estrogen, of course, is at its highest during women's reproductive years, which also helps explain not only the gender difference in prevalence but also the age range at which migraines are most common.

Additionally, the study in question not only implicated estrogen as a causative factor in migraines, but also stated that progesterone is protective. This makes sense if estrogen is causative, as progesterone is an estrogen blocker.

How to Improve Your Estrogen-Progesterone Balance

If you struggle with migraines, avoiding estrogen replacement therapy (including bioidentical estrogen), birth control pills and xenoestrogens from plastics will be paramount. As I've noted in previous articles, estrogen dominance is nearly as dangerous as excessive LA intake when it comes to destroying your mitochondrial function.

Nearly 1,000 everyday items contain estrogenic compounds, so avoiding xenoestrogens may be easier said than done. However, making a concerted effort can go a long way. Here are some common-sense strategies that can help you limit your exposure and lower your estrogen load:

Progesterone Counteracts Estrogen Dominance

Another effective strategy that can help counteract estrogen excess is to take trans mucosal progesterone (not oral or transdermal), which is a natural estrogen antagonist. Progesterone is one of only four hormones I believe many adults can benefit from. (The other three are thyroid hormone T3, DHEA and pregnenolone.)

As a general recommendation, I recommend taking 25 to 50 mg of bioidentical progesterone per a day, taken in the evening one hour before bed, as it can also promote sleep. For optimal bioavailability, progesterone needs to be mixed into natural vitamin E. The difference in bioavailability between taking progesterone orally without vitamin E and taking it with vitamin E is 45 minutes versus 48 hours.

Simply Progesterone by Health Natura is premixed with vitamin E and MCT oil. You can also make your own by dissolving pure USP progesterone powder into one capsule of a high-quality vitamin E, and then rub the mixture on your gums. Fifty milligrams of powdered progesterone is about 1/32 teaspoon.

Do not use synthetic vitamin E (alpha tocopherol acetate — the acetate indicates that it's synthetic). Natural vitamin E will be labeled "d alpha tocopherol." This is the pure D isomer, which is what your body can use. There are also other vitamin E isomers, and you want the complete spectrum of tocopherols and tocotrienols, specifically the beta, gamma, and delta types, in the effective D isomer. As an example of an ideal vitamin E you can look at the label on our vitamin E in our store. You can use any brand that has a similar label.

If you are a menstruating woman you should take the progesterone during the luteal phase or the last half of your cycle which can be determined by starting two weeks after the last day of your period and stopping the progesterone when your period starts. If you are a male or non-menstruating woman you can take the progesterone every day for 4-6 months and then cycle off for one week. The best time of day to take progesterone is 30 minutes before bed as it is has an anti-cortisol function and will increase GABA levels for a good night's sleep.

I do not recommend transdermal progesterone, as your skin expresses high levels of 5-alpha reductase enzyme, which causes a significant portion of the progesterone you're taking to be irreversibly converted primarily into allopregnanolone and cannot be converted back into progesterone.

Please note that when progesterone is used transmucosally on your gums as I advise, the FDA believes that somehow converts it into a drug and prohibits any company from advising that on its label. However, please understand that it is perfectly legal for any physician to recommend an off-label indication for a drug.

In this case progesterone is a natural hormone and not a drug and is very safe even at high doses. This is unlike synthetic progesterone called progestins that are used by drug companies, but frequently, and incorrectly referred to as progesterone, which are dangerous and should never be used by anyone. 

Migraines Are a Clear Sign of Mitochondrial Dysfunction

An even more foundational cause of migraines is mitochondrial dysfunction. As such, any strategy that helps improve your mitochondrial function is likely to be helpful.

The most important of these strategies is to limit your intake of LA, an omega-6 polyunsaturated fat (PUFA), as it acts as a mitochondrial toxin when consumed in excess. I published a paper together with Christopher D'Adamo on the detrimental health effects of LA in July 2023, which you can read for free.⁹

In summary, the main reason why excess LA causes so many health problems — including migraines — is that it prevents your mitochondria from working properly. Mitochondria are subcellular organelles responsible for producing most of your cellular energy in the form of ATP, and without ATP, your cells cannot function and repair themselves normally.

PUFAs such as LA are easily damaged by oxygen in a process called oxidation,¹⁰ which triggers the creation damaging free radicals.¹¹ These, in turn, give rise to advanced lipoxidation end-products (ALEs)¹² and oxidized linoleic acid metabolites (OXLAMs).^13,14 These ALEs and OXLAMs are what cause mitochondrial dysfunction, which is a hallmark of most all chronic disease, including migraines.

Migraines and Low Thyroid Function

As detailed in "Your Thyroid Is the Regulator of Your Entire Existence," high LA intake and estrogen dominance are also key culprits in hypothyroidism (low thyroid function), as PUFAs interfere with your cell's ability to use active thyroid hormone (T3).

To maintain or increase energy production, your cells must be able to access T3. Studies have demonstrated that PUFAs function as competitive inhibitors of T3 action,¹⁵ and LA is the most potent inhibitor of T3.¹⁶

Not surprisingly, research has indicated a potential link between migraines and hypothyroidism.¹⁷ For example, a 2013 study¹⁸ highlighted that 3% of migraine sufferers also had hypothyroidism, with a significant majority finding out about their thyroid condition after the onset of migraines.

More strikingly, a 2016 study¹⁹ reported a 41% increased risk of hypothyroidism in individuals with a history of migraines. Further research²⁰ conducted in India in 2021 with 100 participants found that those suffering from migraines were more likely to have a thyroid disorder, especially hypothyroidism.

Migraine sufferers who manage their hypothyroidism effectively often report improvements in migraine frequency and severity, which is another indication that thyroid hormone balance plays a role in migraine.²¹

Radically Reduce Your LA Intake to Avoid Migraine Attacks

Ideally, you'd want to keep your LA intake below 2% of your daily calories, but even 5% would be a significant improvement since most people consume far more than that.

If you're not sure how much you're eating, enter your food intake into Cronometer — a free online nutrition tracker — and it will provide you with your total LA intake. Cronometer will tell you how much omega-6 you're getting from your food down to the 10th of a gram, and you can assume 90% of that is LA. The primary sources of LA that need to be radically limited are:

LA Content of Common Cooking Oils

The table below provides a relatively comprehensive list of the most commonly consumed oils and their approximate LA content.^22,23,24

In general, the lowest LA-containing fats — butter and beef tallow — would be the fats of choice. These excellent cooking fats also provide the fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, and K2. Coconut oil is also very low in LA but doesn't provide the important fat-soluble vitamins that tallow and butter contain.

Aspirin for the Prevention and Treatment of Migraines

In addition to lowering your estrogen burden and LA intake, several nutritional supplements, medications and alternative remedies can be employed. Aspirin is one inexpensive and readily available option.

As reported in a 2019 paper in The American Journal of Medicine, properly dosed aspirin can safely and effectively abort a migraine attack when taken early enough, and may also be used preventatively in lower doses:^25,26

"The totality of evidence, which includes data from randomized trials, suggests that high-dose aspirin, in doses from 900 to 1300 mg, taken at the onset of symptoms, is an effective and safe treatment option for acute migraine headaches.

In addition, the totality of evidence, including some, but not all, randomized trials, suggests the possibility that daily aspirin, in doses from 81 to 325 mg, may be an effective and safe treatment option for the prevention of recurrent migraine headaches.

The relatively favorable side effect profile of aspirin and extremely low costs compared with other prescription drug therapies may provide additional options for primary healthcare providers in the treatment of both acute and recurrent migraine headaches."

Helpful Supplements

Other supplements that can help reduce migraine frequency and/or severity include: