Well, RFK Jr. and President Trump are trying to make sure that pregnant folks don't take acetaminophen while they're pregnant. Is that necessary? My feeling is that it's probably OK if not done in excess. Is it a CAUSE of autism? Of course not! Autism has a lot of genetic components. It's possible that the increase in oxidation of the metabolites by glutathione can flip on some genes, but it would NOT be a primary cause. Autism has so many factors, genes involved, and presentations, and it requires treating each person as you see them for whatever specifics are going on with them.

This week, I talked about the controversy of whole vs. skim milk, the pros and cons of each, which there are a few. Is the fat good for you or not? It depends on who you ask, but mostly whole milk is OK! I also discuss the problems of consuming dairy from non-humans at all. Some people, based on their specific health issues, really shouldn't be having dairy at all! Then I compared a few of the non-dairy milk substitutes for health and general benefits. Hint: they're really not high in protein, and rice milk is WAY too high in carbs!

This week, we talked about a few supplements to stop before surgery. Then we moved on to Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, a group of conditions that involve faulty ability to produce collagen in various parts of the body. Most commonly, people with EDS have hypermobile joints, but may also have dysfunction in the skin, heart, and blood vessels. Each person presents differently, so as always in naturopathic medicine, we treat the whole person!

We moved on to plantar fasciitis (ouch), a painful condition of dysfunction of the covering of the sole of the foot. We discussed stretching, massage, acupuncture, and ways to soothe pain and get that circulation back into the soles of the feet.

This week, I talked about my upcoming surgery, and why you have to stop your nutritional supplements beforehand. It has to do with whether the supplement causes blood thinning, as they're concerned that you won't heal as well. So, I have to go through my myriad supplements and decide which ones are anti-platelet aggregators, meaning they make those blood clotting cells less sticky!

Then, I did a review of Hashimoto's thyroiditis, the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the USA. We talked about diagnosis and treatment, both conventional and natural.

We finished with an interesting study: it was found that a simple gait change could help people with pain from osteoarthritis in their knees! Since I have that, I'm going to try it!

This week, I talked about my experience getting that dreaded mammogram callback! Thank goodness the spot they viewed is likely benign. It's important to get those screenings so that you can treat anything early.

We went on to finish out why eating Mediterranean style is so good for you. Fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, legumes, clean protein, whole foods in general. Surprise!

Forest bathing is good for the soul and honeydew melon is good for your body. We talk about why!

I uploaded the show to File Station and created a blogpost at whus.org.

This week, I talked with Ron about our advancing health situations. I'm likely going to have a laminectomy (short procedure spinal repair) for my spinal stenosis. Ron is healing more and more every day, still getting sore but managing it, riding the bike mostly indoors! I also talked about how women get mammograms, have a finding that needs another look, and have the follow-up several weeks into the future while they wait and worry, and how that's of questionable ethics, especially when often the result is normal. Of course, it's necessary to investigate findings that could not be definitively noted on first look, but I think every effort should be made to not have the woman wait for further diagnosis an inordinate amount of time.

We also talked about some fun stuff: a few more stress reduction items including deep breathing, why watermelon is good for you, why nightshades are probably ALSO good for you, and why the Mediterranean diet is good for you. Eat those plant foods, healthy fats, and protein!

This week, I talked specifically about how to lower triglycerides, since I have a number of patients who struggle with that. It's the boring stuff: eating fiber, high quality fatty acids, reducing carbs, and getting regular cardio exercise. There's not a lot of supplements that work better than lifestyle stuff for this, and the drugs have side effects. So eat healthy and get healthy and they'll go down!

I also talked about specific ways to lower stress. Everything from self care, taking yoga, and, you guessed it, eating a healthy diet! By the way, eating a healthy diet is actually more important than whatever you actually wind up weighing.

This week, I talked about how ultraprocessed foods really aren't good for you, and ow and why. Surprise. A:so, why whole, unprocessed foods ARE good for you. Your health will be a lot better if you eat less chemicals, more produce, fiber, clean protein, legumes, nuts and seeds! I also have a bit about some life habits that can keep you healthier. I started talking about blood triglycerides, why it's important to keep them low, and how to do that.