Rules/guidelines:

Hey everyone, my name is Syed and I am getting my PhD in psychology. I often create videos related to my research areas of religion, spirituality, well-being and applications to our daily lives. In today’s video (Pt. 4), I discuss evidence-based components of the ‘therapeutic alliance’ and what factors determine the most effective treatment. I also speak about humanism, behavioralism, metaphysics, empathetic regard and embedding existential psychology when I work with patients. I include clips from ‘Big Short’, ‘Falcon & Winter Soldier’, ‘Dear Zindagi’, ‘A Dangerous Method’ & ’50/50’.

Link to video: https://youtu.be/YkB5m7Kcz_M

Hey everyone, my name is Syed and I am getting my PhD in psychology. I often create videos related to my research areas of religion, spirituality, well-being and applications to our daily lives. In today’s video, I touch on a recent article demonstrating that alcohol usage has ZERO benefits for young adults (< 40) and its implications in our society such as heightened impulsivity and materialism. I speak specifically on the neurobiological, familial and social risk factors for adolescents and how adopting a spiritual worldview can be protective. I also include anecdotes from my clinical work in working with youth and the large scale 2nd & 3rd hand destruction of alcohol impacting 52 million Americans (such as drunk driving). I include clips from ‘Flight’, ‘Waking up in Reno’, The Way Back’, ‘Another Round’, ‘The Simpsons’, ‘the Sopranos’, Peaky Blinders’ & ‘Boardwalk Empire.’ You can visit my website www.psychxspirit.com for more information!

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Link to video: https://youtu.be/zfdNDJ3KfD8

Link to article: https://fortune.com/2022/07/15/alcohol-study-lancet-young-adults-should-not-drink-bill-melinda-gates-foundation/

Previous article from 2018 with similar findings: https://www.npr.org/2018/08/24/641618937/no-amount-of-alcohol-is-good-for-your-health-global-study-claims

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"Does the large intestine secrete mucus?The large intestine also secretes mucus, which aids in lubricating the intestinal contents and facilitates their transport through the bowel. Each day approximately 1.5 to 2 litres (about 2 quarts) of chyme pass through the ileocecal valve that separates the small and large intestines."

So every person has mucus in their bowel, it helps with bowel transport, and between 1.5 and 2 litres of chyme passing through their bowel each day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chyme

"Chyme is part liquid and part solid: a thick semifluid mass of partially digested food and digestive secretions that is formed in the stomach and small intestine during digestion. Chyme also contains cells from the mouth and esophagus that slough off from the mechanical action of chewing and swallowing."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chyme

"Does chyme contain secretions from chief cells? Chyme contains food, water, salivary secretions, gastric secretions and partially digested carbohydrates and proteins in the stomach. It also contains cells that were sloughed off from the mouth and esophagus in the process of chewing and swallowing."

https://biologydictionary.net/chyme/

"Structure of the stomach.

Food starts to be digested and absorbed in the stomach, although absorption is mostly limited to water, alcohol and some drugs. The stomach is an expandable, muscular bag, and it keeps swallowed food inside it by contracting the muscular pyloric sphincter. Food can stay in the stomach for 2 hours or more. Food is broken down chemically, by gastric juice, and mechanically, by contraction of the three layers of smooth muscle in the muscular externa layer. The broken up food at the end of this process is called chyme.
Gastric juice is secreted by gastric mucosal glands, and contains hydrochloric acid, mucus, and proteolytic enzymes pepsin (which breaks down proteins), and lipase (which breaks down fats).
When the stomach is empty, and not distended, the lining is thrown up into folds called rugae. After eating, these folds flatten, and the stomach is able to distend greatly.
The stomach has three anatomical regions:
cardiac, which contains mucous secreting glands (called cardiac glands) and is closest to the oesophagus
fundus, the body or largest part of the stomach which contain the gastric (fundic) glands
pyloric, which secretes two types of mucus, and the hormone gastrin.
Compare the glands present in these three regions.
The pyloric region ends at the pyloric sphincter. This sphincter relaxes when the formation of chyme is completed, and the chyme is squirted into the duodenum."

the above quote is taken from this article by the histology department at Leeds university:

https://www.histology.leeds.ac.uk/digestive/stomach.php

"Duodenum

The duodenum is the first part of the small intestine. It is located between the stomach and the middle part of the small intestine, or jejunum.
After foods mix with stomach acid, they move into the duodenum, where they mix with bile from the gallbladder and digestive juices from the pancreas."

Quoted from this medlineplus article: https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002347.htm

So, thusly food is broken down by gastric juice in the stomach, gastric juice contains hydrochloric acid and mucus as well as enzymes, at the end of this process a liquid called chyme is produced by the stomach and then reaches the duodenum. The duodenum is the start of the small intestine. So we can say correctly that mucus was involved in the production of chyme, does chyme then contain mucus? Regardless we can say that stool (feces) normally contains a small amount of mucus:

"Stool normally contains a small amount of mucus — a jellylike substance that your intestines make to keep the lining of your colon moist and lubricated."

https://www.mayoclinic.org/mucus-in-stool/expert-answers/faq-20058262#:~:text=A%20small%20amount%20of%20mucus,your%20colon%20moist%20and%20lubricated.

"Mucus is a slippery, gelatinous goo produced by your mucous membranes. It lines your mouth, nose, throat, sinuses, lungs, and gastrointestinal tract. It's made up of 95% water, with a mix of glycoproteins, proteoglycans, lipids, proteins, and DNA."

https://www.mdlive.com/mucusguide/#:~:text=Mucus%20is%20a%20slippery%2C%20gelatinous,lipids%2C%20proteins%2C%20and%20DNA.

"You may think of mucus as the slimy stuff you cough up when you're sick. But it can also show up at the other end: in your poop.

Many parts of your body make mucus, including your intestines. It lines your digestive tract, creating a protective layer against bacteria. It also helps waste pass smoothly through your colon. Some of it can stick to poop as it leaves your body.
Mucus in Stool Signs and Symptoms
If you feel fine and there's only a little mucus, you probably don't need to worry. But it may be a sign of a problem when:
There's a lot of mucus.
You notice it often.
You also see blood.
You have diarrhea.
You have belly pain.
If you have any of these symptoms, call your doctor.
Causes of Mucus in Stool
Different digestive problems can make more mucus show up in your stool. Some are serious and long-lasting. Others can clear up quickly. Problems that can cause mucus include:"

Quoted from webmd:

Is It Normal to See Mucus in Your Poop? (webmd.com)

Quoted from britannica:

https://www.britannica.com/science/human-digestive-system/Secretions

"structures of the human large intestine, rectum, and anus

The mucosa of the large intestine is punctuated with numerous crypts that absorb water and are lined with mucus-secreting goblet cells. At the lower end of the rectum, the circular and longitudinal muscle layers terminate in the internal and external anal sphincters."
"The large intestine also secretes mucus, which aids in lubricating the intestinal contents and facilitates their transport through the bowel. Each day approximately 1.5 to 2 litres (about 2 quarts) of chyme pass through the ileocecal valve that separates the small and large intestines. The chyme is reduced by absorption in the colon to around 150 ml (5 fluid ounces). The residual indigestible matter, together with sloughed-off mucosal cells, dead bacteria, and food residues not digested by bacteria, constitute the feces. "

The role of gastrointestinal mucus:

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2020.00248/full

Quoted from:

"The Role of the Gastrointestinal Mucus System in Intestinal Homeostasis: Implications for Neurological Disorders"

by Herath et al

" Department of Physiology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia

School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia
School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia"

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/310101

The next three quotes from medical news today:

"Mucus is present in the digestive tract and plays an important role in defending against bacteria. Small amounts of mucus in the stool is normal. However, if a person notices larger amounts of mucus in their stool, it may be a sign of of irritable bowel disease (IBD) or other medical condition."

" Research from 2020 states that mucus and mucus barriers in the gut are crucial in maintaining a person’s gut health. The mucus can defend against bacteria, digestive enzymes and acids, and other toxins to maintain a stable environment in the gut.

It also acts as a natural lubricant and helps stool to pass."

"However, problems with the mucus barrier can resultTrusted Source in intestinal inflammation and contribute to the development of IBD. A main symptom of IBD is mucus in the stool.

This article discusses if it is normal for mucus to appear in the stool and possible causes. It also looks at when to contact a doctor and potential treatment options."

I did not know that Crohns disease is a form of Inflamatory bowel disease:

"Crohn’s disease is a long-term condition that causes inflammation in the digestive tract, which runs from the mouth to the anus. It is a form of IBD."

https://www.crohnsandcolitis.org.uk/about-crohns-and-colitis/what-are-the-symptoms?utm_term=inflammatory%20bowel%20disease%20symptoms&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI08-jt-b59AIVToFQBh0NdQCXEAAYAyAAEgL8IvD_BwE

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/inflammatory-bowel-disease/

Should a person get tested by the g.p (doctor) if they have mucus in their stool (feces) once or twice in a year or so? If you have expertise in this area eg: are a doctor a scientist or an academic in this field please, let me know.

celebrities with psoriasis - Google Search

The Best Instagram Accounts To Follow If You Have Psoriasis | Glamour UK (glamourmagazine.co.uk)

'At school they called me a leper - now I'm a model': Meet the skin positivity champion helping to redefine 'beauty' (inews.co.uk)

Different Skin - The Real Giorgia - Home | Facebook

Giorgia Lanuzza (@Giorgia7Lanuzza) | Twitter

Cara Delevingne’s psoriasis struggle led to her trials mounting in the fashion industry (thenews.com.pk)

Celebrities with psoriasis – famous people who suffer from psoriasis (skinshop.co.uk)

great prescription products for psoriasis:

diprobase moisturiser (an amazing moisturiser that keeps moisture in with a mechanical barrier)

elocon corticosteroid cream (this is the best one by far managerially, I used it for 15+ years, with absolutely no side effects).

eumovate (a second line of defense corticosteroid, has efficacy but managerially different due to not being able to rub it in as much)

dovobet: for the body only, has some short term side effects for a couple of days but actually has treated any small amount of psoriasis on the body to a really robust full remission of no symptoms that has lasted for several months at a time!

U.v treatment: this pretty much resolved my body psoriasis to no symptoms, that result lasted for a year and a half or so continuously, good for the body, I feel, not necessary for the face, I think other treatments are better.

When this was brought up in another sub I learned that apparently this is a contentious topic so I looked into the research.

My position:

Health absolutely reflects in the face. Does that mean every person with an attractive face is healthy? No. Does that mean we can determine someone's health only by seeing their face? No. But there definitely are facial features/cues we can use to gauge a person's health and development.

My face changes drastically depending on my health. I'm vastly more attractive when I'm feeling better. People notice and mention it all the time. I've seen a number of other people with CFS discuss/confirm this too. This includes changes to skin/hair, and here's a supporting study:

Probiotic Bacteria Induce a ‘Glow of Health’ (2013): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3547054/ - Mice have Shinier Fur After Eating Probiotic Yogurt or L. Reuteri.

You can do a web search for "face gains" to see increased facial attractiveness is a very common phenomena in people who make improvements in physical fitness.

There is large overlap between athletes and models. Most top athletes are not unattractive.

From what I've noticed, people are generally using make up and digital filters to hide poor health.

10 Signs of Disease That Are Written All Over Your Face https://www.rd.com/health/conditions/signs-disease-face/

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#Positive link to health:

Oxygenated-Blood Colour Change Thresholds for Perceived Facial Redness, Health, and Attractiveness (2011) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3063159/ "results suggest redness preferences do not reflect a sensory bias, rather preferences may be based on accurate indications of health status"

Adaptive significance of female physical attractiveness: role of waist-to-hip ratio (1993): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8366421 "Evidence is presented showing that body fat distribution as measured by waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is correlated with youthfulness, reproductive endocrinologic status, and long-term health risk in women"

Physical Attractiveness and Health in Western Societies: A Review. (2005): https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2005-11504-001 "Among the cues that the authors review, only female waist-to-hip ratio and weight appear to predict both attractiveness and health. The authors find that there is some indication that attractiveness has an overall relationship with health among women, but little indication that male attractiveness relates to male health"

Facial appearance reveals immunity in African men (2017): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5547115/ "We show that men with a stronger cytokine response are considered significantly more attractive and healthy. We build on previous evidence to show that men’s facial features do indeed reveal aspects of immunity, even better than more traditional measures of health, such as body mass index (BMI)."

Ugliness Judgments Alert us to Cues of Pathogen Presence (Jul 2020) https://www.behaviorist.biz/oh-behave-a-blog/ugliness-disugst

"Recent research has shown facial adiposity (apparent weight in the face) to be a significant predictor of both attractiveness and health" (2014): https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0086302

"Here we show positive relationships between testosterone, facial attractiveness and immune function (antibody response to a hepatitis B vaccine) in human males" (2012): https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms1696 - some critiques: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/scicurious-brain/do-you-love-him-for-him-or-for-his-hot-hot-immune-system/

"Facial adiposity has also been linked to various health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, blood pressure, immune function, diabetes, arthritis, oxidative stress, hormones, and mental health" https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02562/full. Facial Adiposity, Attractiveness, and Health: A Review (Dec 2018).

"At present there is at least some empirical support for the notion that people can reliably detect and agree on facial cues that contribute to facial attractiveness and perceptions of health"

"While there is strong support for the link between various facial cues and attractiveness, the link between facial attractiveness and actual health outcomes has been mixed"

"a statistically significant correlation between perceived health and actual health was found"

"In partial contrast to Kalick et al. (1998), Henderson and Anglin (2003) did find a significant correlation between rated attractiveness and longevity for 50 facial photographs taken from a high school yearbook"

"fitness-related theories of human behavior suggest that key phenotypic cues influence our judgments of others because they evolved as cues to general health and mate quality"

Testosterone is one marker that's associated with various facial traits and health/immune system. And digit ratio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digit_ratio - https://www.livescience.com/18484-finger-length-masculine-faces.html - http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/13333/ - https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/33566186.pdf - https://www.forbes.com/sites/zhanavrangalova/2017/09/27/what-the-shape-of-your-face-says-about-your-sex-drive/ - https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/friend-or-foe-what-shape-your-face-says-about-you/ - https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/201211/what-your-face-really-reveals-about-you - http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150312-what-the-face-betrays-about-you - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090513813000275 - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-09939-y/

Facial asymmetry increases with age. The Relationship between Age and Facial Asymmetry (2018) https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181030134339.htm

Your Adult Facial Features Can Reveal Your Childhood Conditions. Greater deprivation in childhood is associated with lower symmetry in old age. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/232754.php. Symmetry of the face in old age reflects childhood social status (2013) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2011.06.006

Facial recognition zeroes in on genetic disorders (2018) https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2018/08/30/facial/8I6mem2eDyImGN1AntxB3K/story.html

Could mental illness be written in a face? (2007) https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/24/health/24iht-snschiz.4325755.html

Image comparisons in Weston A. Price's book: http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html

##Sleep:

Research, conducted by Stockholm University in Sweden and published in the journal Sleep, found that a bad night's sleep affects our facial features https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/study-shows-how-sleep-deprivation-affects-facial-features/news-story/bd99c2b6ddec8af8f6481bbbcc8a9b30 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3738045/ "sleep deprived individuals were perceived as having more hanging eyelids, redder eyes, more swollen eyes, darker circles under the eyes, paler skin, more wrinkles/fine lines and more droopy corners of the mouth".

Beauty sleep: experimental study on the perceived health and attractiveness of sleep deprived people (2010) https://www.bmj.com/content/341/bmj.c6614 "Our findings show that sleep deprived people appear less healthy, less attractive, and more tired compared with when they are well rested"

Negative effects of restricted sleep on facial appearance and social appeal (2017) https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsos.160918 "when sleep-restricted, participants were perceived as less attractive, less healthy"

#No link or mixed:

Predictors of facial attractiveness and health in humans (2017): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5290736/ "In women, there was little evidence that female appearance predicted health. In men, we found support for the phenotype-linked fertility hypothesis that male masculinity signalled semen quality. However, we also found a negative relationship between averageness and semen quality. Overall, these results indicate weak links between attractive facial traits and health."

Does Human Facial Attractiveness Honestly Advertise Health? Longitudinal Data on an Evolutionary Question (1998): https://www.jstor.org/stable/40063239 "implies that attractiveness suppressed the accurate recognition of health"

Second to fourth digit ratio, testosterone and perceived male dominance (2003) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1691489/ "Our results show that male 2D : 4D was significantly negatively related to perceived dominance and masculinity but not attractiveness. Circulating testosterone levels were not related to dominance, masculinity or attractiveness. We conclude that facial dominance and masculinity reflect a male's perceived status rather than his physical attraction to women."

Facial fluctuating asymmetry is not associated with childhood ill-health in a large British cohort study (2014) https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2014.1639

Most attractive fat mass for women was lower than the healthy range, but for men it was inline with healthy range: The Body and the Beautiful: Health, Attractiveness and Body Composition in Men’s and Women’s Bodies (2016): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4892674/

My take away is what I've said before - that people's perceptions of health and attractiveness are warped/poor. Many of these studies are limited in that they only looked at the face (missing rest of body).

Plus you have to take into account factors that cause different people to judge attractiveness differently:

"individuals higher in pathogen disgust reported greater attraction to facially attractive profiles compared to those with lower pathogen disgust. We found that individuals who are sensitive to pathogens place greater importance on traits associated with good health – in this case, facial attractiveness and facial sexual dimorphism" https://blog.oup.com/2012/12/facial-features-health-indications/

So certainly some people are going to be better at gauging health via attractiveness.

#Other:

Just an argument: The Evolutionary Psychology of Facial Beauty (2006): https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev.psych.57.102904.190208

A lot of them seem to only be gauging "perception" of health & attractiveness. IE: Visible skin colouration predicts perception of male facial age, health and attractiveness (2012): https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1468-2494.2012.00724.x

Observers are able to accurately predict personality traits based on appearance (2009) https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0146167209346309

Some haven't been studied:

Perception of health from facial cues (2016) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4843618/ "Skin colour alters over a short time and has strong effects on perceived health, yet links to health outcomes have barely been evaluated"

##Genetics:

What does the average person think determines attractiveness? Genetics? Well there is major interplay between genetics, the immune system, and the gut microbiome:

http://HumanMicrobiome.info/Genetics

http://HumanMicrobiome.info/ImmuneSystem

To think that "good genes" would only impact attractiveness and not other aspects of the human body, including health, seems very misguided/myopic. Throughout most of our history, if you chose an unhealthy mate and had unhealthy children you'd die out to natural selection. Thus attractiveness and health were intrinsically linked.

So I read in the past about honey being used topically for wound healing due to its lack of water content which limits growth of microbes. I have never had any issues with wounds/cuts getting infected, but it seems like antibiotics and possibly 1 low quality FMT donor and possibly a soil probiotic all combined to significantly nerf my immune system.

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First noticed a finger a bit swollen. Was either a splinter or something bit me and it's not going away for maybe a week already. Opened the skin with a sterilized needle to try and get out any splinter, soaked in vinegar for 30 minutes then hydrogen peroxide for 30 minutes. Some pus came out, maybe a tiny dark piece. Put honey on a bandaid over the cut.

Started to feel fatigued and head lightly hurting burning, and a little ill at the same time as my infected finger started burning. Lying down for a bit. Finger hurting, and feeling systemic symptoms of infection. A little worried since I've read about MRSA and people losing limbs and life from it.

Over the next couple hours finger pain got much worse and spread to other fingers. Excruciating pain, like they're being crushed. Bundled up in bed, cold. Feels like body needs/wants fever but can't. Light heart pounding. Not going to doctor because there is no discoloration and I don't want to take antibiotics. Pain subsiding a bit about 4 hours after it started to get excruciating. Feeling run down, starting to feel sick a few hours later.

Next day everything mostly ok. Cut had formed a scab.

A few days later the cut seems to be healing. The swelling is gone. Continued to heal up.

Take away seems to be that the mode of action of honey is definitely not only lack of water content, but rather some components of it trigger an immune response.

I tried iodine after reading this: http://drsircus.com/iodine/iodine-replaces-vaccines-antibiotics/ - http://drsircus.com/iodine/iodine-supplements-and-dosages/

Oil of Oregano, A potent, broad spectrum herbal antibiotic substance https://www.bmj.com/content/352/bmj.i939/rr-1

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Both of them (individually - EDIT: to be clear, I did not take them together, I took them individually/separately on different occasions, separated by months and multiple FMTs) completely killed off any benefits I got from a very helpful FMT donor. Gave me life-threatening food intolerances. I know what foods to avoid now, but when I didn't it was extremely dangerous.

It's a shame that when you look up these items on google you don't find much as far as detriments. I doubt this thread would show up on google either.

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For Oil of Oregano:

I used this one: Natural Factors, Oil of Oregano, 1 fl oz (30 ml). Minimum 80% Carvacrol https://www.iherb.com/pr/Natural-Factors-Oil-of-Oregano-1-fl-oz-30-ml/22333. Serving size says 4 drops (30mg Oregano oil, 24mg carvacrol), so that's probably what I took. Took it once per day on empty stomach with water before bed for 4 days.

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For iodine:

I used Lugol's iodine solution 2% http://www.integratedhealth.com/supplements/minerals/lugol-s-iodine-solution-2.html

1 drop of Lugol's = 6.5mg 3mg iodine. Iodine 1.2 mg + Potassium Iodide 2.4 mg - providing 1.8348 mg of iodine.

The recommendation is to take 6 drops 4 times daily in liquid or mixed with food, but not together with vitamins A, C, E, grape seed extract or cysteine.

I took 6 drops 2x for 2 days, on empty stomach with water.

2020 EDIT/update: I discovered that the FMTs I had done were simply very fragile, and other things such as 250mg niacin (enough to cause a mild niacin flush) seemed to have a similar impact as the iodine and oil of oregano.

3rd and final book of my research into the "eat dirt" recommendations. This book was by far the most infuriating one. I now consider this chapter to be closed and debunked. This nonsense stems from all 5 authors clearly having cognitive deficits in the areas of judgment, evaluation, reasoning, problem solving, and likely cognitive flexibility. Being able to analyze, associate, compare, and reach rational conclusions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognition

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_functions

https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/executive-functioning-issues/3-areas-of-executive-function

Had previously seen Rob Knight give a talk with the same title and remember the "dirt" part being mostly click bait, while the actual talk contained good information (think it was this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlTFbuVvMU0), so I was expecting the same from this book.

Unfortunately they go even beyond the irresponsible and dangerous advice of "Let Them Eat Dirt Saving Your Child from an Oversanitized World (2016)" by B. Brett Finlay, PhD, and Marie-Claire Arrieta, PhD, and literally recommend that children eat dirt. The valid reasons to not eat dirt, that are given by the previous authors, are ignored.

For most of the book, dirt is only indirectly addressed, and only opinion, no facts. It gets addressed directly in the last chapters. It seems based on the idea of "germ free mice". And in my opinion completely fails to differentiate between dirt/environmental microbes vs host-native microbes. And thus jumps to conclusions & advice that seem premature, dangerous, and wrongheaded. The lack of understanding of differences between host-native vs environmental microbes is egregious and inexcusable for "top" microbiome researchers.

Plenty of good information on various topics but I disagree with some of their statements such as downplaying the benefits of breastfeeding & diet, and ignoring impacts of unhealthy parents on the development of the child. See https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4850918/ and /r/HumanMicrobiome/wiki/maternity

Largely agrees with the info in my probiotic guide. But makes a statement about s.boulardii & antibiotic-associated diarrhea that is contrary to the evidence I've seen.

Mixes opinion with fact, and I disagree with much of the opinion. For instance when it comes to parents chewing their child's food, and lack of dirt/environmental microbes being the reasons for declines in human health.

Sometimes they do a good job of saying "this is only correlation" or "there is no evidence for this opinion of ours", and other times they do not.

Again ranking allergy and asthma higher than the plethora of diseases from infectious microbes.

Unsupported, and in my opinion, ignorant statement of "extremely unlikely to be any dangerous microbes in a public restroom". We know from FMT how easy it is to transfer pathogens (including many unidentified ones). Any unhealthy people who used the restroom could have (and likely did) left pathogens anywhere in the restroom via a variety of ways [1][2], including aerosolized particles, which are known to be spread via toilet flushing. Their reasoning is that a study found that fecal bacteria were mostly confined to the stall, and the toilet seat mostly contained skin bacteria. Neither of these provide enough support for their statement or refute my criticisms, and there exists contrary evidence.

What seems to be an irrational, non-evidence-based statement of "raw meat bad, animal poop bad, dirt good".

The Hadza for instance, do not follow these guidelines, and regularly consume gut microbes/poop from animals, and raw meat too: https://old.reddit.com/r/HumanMicrobiome/comments/82h3lx/podcast_interview_with_microbiome_researcher_jeff/dvd7nh6/

Yet the Hadza lifestyle seems to be what they're promoting throughout the book.

"Don't worry about germs in the subway. Let your kid eat dirt."

I can't help but be severely angered by this. It seems they actually believe this rather than just trying to sell a book. Are they so ignorant/arrogant that they conclude we have a good understanding of the ratio of beneficial to harmful microbes in dirt? You can see here https://old.reddit.com/r/HumanMicrobiome/wiki/index#wiki_testing.3A that is definitely not the case. Additionally, it's looking more and more like infectious microbes play a major role in most human diseases which are currently beyond medical capabilities/knowledge: https://old.reddit.com/r/HumanMicrobiome/wiki/intro

I lived more or less according to their principals growing up. I remember biting my toe nails as a kid. I have no allergies but I have many other health problems. Which microbes & behaviors caused what results? We virtually have no clue and it's extremely irresponsible for them to be pretending like they know it's not only safe but beneficial.

There is no backing for their general ethos of "farm/rural living people are all around healthier", especially not due to literally eating dirt. And the discussion section of this 2014 review paper "Rural and urban microbiota - To be or not to be?" provides contrary arguments: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4153773/

Where are all the studies identifying and comparing beneficial vs harmful microbes picked up from soil/poor hygiene? Where are all these studies showing eating handfuls of dirt is safe and equally effective to FMT???

Certainly not in this book, and from my knowledge, not existing at all. And likely not even possible at the moment.

Why are there no repercussions for degree holders who spread dangerous, non-evidence-based "information" like this?

The worst thing about all this might not even be the fact that they're spreading dangerous advice, but rather sidestepping the real sources of the problems and thus falsely assuring people that B can fix the problem, even though the real fix is A. Thus, A is continued to be ignored and the problem continues to worsen.

Rob Knight was even one of the authors of a rat study showing long term damage from antibiotics that could not be reversed with FMT: https://genome.cshlp.org/content/20/10/1411.long. And his is not the only one: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5395657/. There is a TON of evidence in the literature for FMT being extremely beneficial, and I've seen virtually none for eating dirt. Yet somehow eating dirt is their solution/conclusion when not even FMT can fully restore the damage..... Incredible. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compartmentalization_(psychology) ?

They admit in the book that the developmental period is extremely important, and that introducing the microbes later on cannot reverse the damage done in developmental phases. The problem, and how to avoid it is glaringly obvious, but it would require a major shift in the current ethos of childbearing, and this shift is disliked by most people (and also not recognized/understood by most), so it gets completely ignored.

What is it you may ask? The mentality of "I want a child", without regards to the severity and importance of this decision on not only the life of the human being you will be creating, but on the society you will be changing.

Are my body and mind really in peak condition, enough to create a high functioning, healthy human being who will not suffer from physical or mental disease? Do I have a good enough understanding of human health and development to make this judgment? Am I able to grasp the systemic outcomes of a majority of the population being unhealthy and continuing to have children?

These are questions every parent should be asking and severely considering. Of course this should be included in high school health classes when people are becoming able to have kids.

I talked about the self-perpetuating nature of this problem here: https://archive.fo/gYR2p#selection-6484.0-6555.1

This was missing from that discussion, but was indirectly implied: Dunning-Kruger effect: the more incompetent someone is, the less likely they are to realize how incompetent they are: http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/lessons-from-dunning-kruger/

Antibiotics are extremely damaging, and a variety of poor health markers in the parents (especially mother) are known risk factors for antibiotic use and c-sections. The current evidence pinpoints antibiotics given during c-sections to be the major cause of poor health outcomes in the child associated with c-sections https://old.reddit.com/r/HumanMicrobiome/wiki/maternity. Optional c-sections should be banned worldwide. And microbiome researchers should be on the forefront of this push rather than telling people they can just eat dirt and everything will be fine.

Antibiotics have also been abused for decades without fully understanding the long term damage being done. It's absolutely absurd and alarming that the vast majority of the population have taken multiple antibiotics. And doctors are not even using them on an evidence-based basis https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/did-his-artificial-hips-put-him-at-risk-of-infection-when-he-saw-the-dentist/2016/10/07/1a0d4b54-60a5-11e6-9d2f-b1a3564181a1_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.a971354d684d. Our current medical "system" is an unsystematic joke https://old.reddit.com/r/healthdiscussion/comments/8ghdv8/doctors_are_not_systematically_updated_on_the/.

#Majorly contradictory quotes:

"hand washing before eating is a good routine to get your toddler into and will greatly reduce the risk of a range of food-borne, fecal-oral, and respiratory diseases. Indeed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention good hygiene can prevent about 30 percent of diarrhea-related illnesses and 20 percent of colds"

"we have no evidence as to whether the exposure to other people’s oral microbiome could improve or impact her [child] health"

"shared drinking vessels can transmit colds and flu as well as more serious pathogens such as tuberculosis. This is why a major campaign to replace “the common cup” with drinking fountains was conducted in the early twentieth century, with admirable public health benefits"

"We know of instances where infants became infected after drinking water visited by a snake. Of course, your chances of being infected are greater if you handle the animal directly. This is common sense. You should always wash your hands after handling any wild animal because they can harbor dangerous pathogens (think Ebola, salmonellosis, and influenza) that can be transmitted to humans"

Yet they conclude (without any evidence/citations) that those same harmful microbes don't get left behind in dirt??? God I feel like shouting in their face "ARE YOU BLIND".

Regarding obesity transfer:

"we have lots of evidence hinting that it might be possible. For example, if you have many overweight friends, you’re likely to be fatter yourself. If you’re heavier, your dog is likely to be chubby too, and we know that humans and dogs exchange microbes with each other all the time. you can transfer human microbes into mice to make them fatter. That’s right: mice that get microbes from an overweight person become heavier. This even works if instead of transferring the poop, you grow hundreds of strains of bacteria from a single person’s feces, then transfer that into a mouse. This proves that the bacteria are doing the job—not viruses, not chemicals transferred along with the poop, not antibodies or anything else."

So they are naive enough to think this type of transfer of problematic microbes only happens with obesity??? Especially with the TON of evidence https://old.reddit.com/r/HumanMicrobiome/wiki/intro demonstrating otherwise? YOU FOOLS!!! Not to mention the complete lack of addressing whether those obesity-inducing microbes are found in dirt, or where they come from. Some researchers are looking at a possible transferable virus as the cause [1][2].

"combination of C-section and antibiotics in early life increases the risk of obesity later on. This effect can be partly counteracted by breast-feeding and a diet consisting of a diverse array of brightly colored plants"

Nothing to do with dirt!!

"risks of FMT are considerable and the benefits are at this point unclear"

True regarding risks. FMT is only as safe as the donor is healthy. The benefits seem fairly clear, but there is a TON more supporting evidence for safety and efficacy of FMT compared to eating dirt. Yet these two "top" scientists somehow conclude the opposite. And without any citations!!

It can make parents feel helpless to not have answers. And it can also make a scientist feel powerful. Maybe I have partially formed answers. Maybe I can help this mother. That feeling can be intoxicating, and for some, it can lead to a kind of addiction. Such researchers will start making claims that cannot be supported by currently available data. To put it simply, they start making things up.

This abuse of authority lets down the whole science profession and can deal a major blow to public confidence in science and the scientists who are working hard to advance understanding. The origin of many of these erroneous claims comes from a place of frustration. The science is exciting and the early findings suggest a major opportunity to improve individual health. So it is very tempting to go just that one step further and say that the results support such and such a treatment.

Ironic much?!

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls/ucm612266.htm

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls/ucm612727.htm

https://archive.fo/SCyTm

from:	druginfo@fda.hhs.gov
to:	me
date:	Thu, Aug 4, 2016 at 5:07 PM
subject:	MedWatch confirmation message.

Dear Reporter:


Thank you for submitting your report to MedWatch, the FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program.

This acknowledgment confirms that your report was received.  Reports are added to a post marketing safety database with similar reports and reviewed by the FDA's post marketing safety staff.  Voluntary reports are essential for ensuring the continued safety of FDA-regulated products.  One or two well documented case reports may provide an early signal of unexpected problems and lead to additional evaluation.  This may result in FDA regulatory actions that improve the safety of the products used in patient care each day.

You will only be contacted for follow-up by FDA if additional information on this report is needed in our evaluation process.

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2nd book of my research into the "eat dirt" dogma.

Starts off with example of his mom's breast cancer & other related health problems being reversed with some standard changes such as removing processed foods, and taking a few supplements. Later on in the book he clarifies that he thinks one of the main things was the "Budwig diet" - a daily drink consisting of "goat's milk kefir (raw and organic), sprouted flax mevvval (meal?), flaxseed oil, stevia to taste".

Attributing only to leaky gut, tons of things that are due to the wide variety of forms of gut dysbiosis. And the solution is to "eat dirt".

Same as with all the others promoting this nonsense, he's misattributing damage done from antibiotics and poor diet to lack of environmental microbes, IE: dirt. Based on the assumption we're born sterile and develop our gut microbiome solely from the environment/dirt.

Most of the recommendations are just general good food/supplements and being outdoors, but the eat dirt stuff is a dangerous misinterpretation of the literature, and jumping to conclusions based on incomplete data.

Gives little to no backing/evidence for his "eat dirt" recommendation. Total junk. It's not even "junk science" as there is no science. It's mostly anecdotes with no scientific studies comparing the results of one behavior vs another, and measuring all health outcomes in both groups.

I wasn't going in to this with high expectations based on what I've seen from his website previously, but this guy makes me non stop facepalm. IMO he's worse than any of the criticisms I've seen directed towards Dr Oz and Mercola.

There are so many conflicting/contradictory statements in this book that I have to wonder at what point in his life did he lose the ability to make logical connections between multiple things. Was it due to problematic microbes he picked up from his dirt eating, or was it something earlier in his development that was the cause. Perhaps he simply inherited dysbiosis from his parents - probably the most common case.

Much of the book is just promoting generally healthy diet. Also promotes the use of essential oils for a variety of things.

To add some perspective on the oils he promotes, one of them - Oil of Oregano, is a broad spectrum antimicrobial (which is completely contradictory to his warnings about antibiotics, and his overall recommendation to eat dirt) that in my experience was more damaging than many prescription antibiotics. AND it gave me no benefits when at least the prescription antibiotics did (along with their harms).

Look up "appeal to nature fallacy". That's what he's doing.

Common misinformation about probiotics - recommends to get multi-strain & high CFU count. And then later on in the book says to look for specific strains/brands that are effective for your specific condition. It's like he's just regurgitating every bit of information out there, regardless of accurate/inaccurate/contradictory.

"All synthetic drugs cause leaky gut in some way" - bold and broad claim with no citation provided.

"Spikenard, an essential oil widely referenced throughout the Bible, can reduce stress, calm inflamed skin, stimulate the immune system, lower cortisol, and increase spiritual awareness." - example quote

Another perfect example of the major problems in our medical/education systems. This guy is a doctor who is extremely uninformed/misinformed and spreading dangerous, non-evidence-based advice. He's got one of the most popular health websites on the net.

EDIT: someone pointed out I neglected citations in this review. Good point. I naturally stooped to the level of the book, in part because I had given citations elsewhere:

• https://medium.com/@MaximilianKohler/do-not-eat-dirt-63b5d04bf4ca

• https://old.reddit.com/r/healthdiscussion/comments/9001ru/summary_comments_opinion_on_the_book_dirt_is_good/

• https://old.reddit.com/r/healthdiscussion/comments/8nf4ck/summary_comments_opinion_on_the_book_let_them_eat/

• See also: https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Joshua_Lee_Axe

##My biases:

I read this book as part of my research prior to a future in-depth post titled "do NOT eat dirt".

I think the "eat dirt" notion is dangerous misinformation.

I have been on raw diets including raw dairy & meat, including fermented meat. I probably wouldn't do it in the future, or recommend them.

I have no formal education beyond GED. I've been following the research daily for years and it seems that many doctors & researchers are not up to date with the research [1], and/or draw poor conclusions, often due to missing large pieces of the whole picture.

The authors are microbiologists. B. Brett Finlay, PhD, and Marie-Claire Arrieta, PhD.

##General thoughts:

This book has plenty of great information, but regarding the "eat dirt" stuff, it is in part clickbait, they contradict themselves, jump to conclusions based on low quality correlations, and thus conclude/advise dangerous behaviors which are unsupported in the literature.

It could be that everything in this book turns out to be right (though already some has been proven false), but currently it is unsupported and dangerous.

Many people will just see the title and see that it's written by PhD holders, and take it at that. I've certainly observed people doing this.

The origins of the gut microbiome are currently not fully known. It is however very well known that many microbes cause disease, possibly even much more so than is currently acknowledged, due to current limitations in detection, sequencing, diagnostics, etc..

To start off they are working on the premise that the infant gut is sterile and is populated from the environment - ie: poor sanitation/hygiene. This is still being researched and may be false [1].

Starts off with the farm environment example (less asthma when growing up on farm) - being in that environment is not the same as eating dirt or practicing poor hygiene. Jumping to conclusions based on correlations.

Pretty much just misattributing missing microbes from antibiotic use, poor diet, lack of breast feeding & possibly vaginal births, and unhealthy people having kids (generational compounding), to good hygiene.

Low quality anecdotes regarding the farm kids being unsanitary - so how are we supposed to judge whether this helped or harmed them? We're presented with no information about their health.

Accurate statement regarding "good to use antibiotic for life threatening bacterial infection, but bad idea to use antimicrobial hand sanitizers [such as triclosan] for daily home use".

Accurate statement regarding "have mostly been focused on killing harmful microbes without paying attention to the majority portion which are beneficial".

"Cooking good due to less infection; agriculture bad due to lowered diversity".

"Paleo diet theory isn't accurate".

Talks about FMT mouse study done at Cornell (Dr Ruth Ley) where the microbiota of a late-pregnancy female mouse was transferred to a germ-free mouse, the mouse gained weight without increasing food intake or being pregnant. Microbiota of 3rd trimester pregnant woman resembles that of an obese person.

Says "pregnancy is not the time to get dirty and eat dirt". Advocates for sanitary practices during pregnancy.

Compares antibiotics to cutting down a lush forest and only a few species making a comeback. But says the adult microbiome is stable and usually returns to normal (in non-pregnant woman). Concern during pregnancy is that the microbiota fluctuates and thus more susceptible to permanent damage.

Most recent national birth defects prevention study in the US (collecting data since 1997) showed that almost 30% of women receive at least 1 course of antibiotic during pregnancy. Same for British women. 42% of French and 27% of German women.

Mentions 2014 study (700 women in NY) that showed antibiotic use during pregnancy is associated with childhood obesity (85% increased risk by age 7). Controlled for other known associated variables.

Antibiotic use during pregnancy also associated with asthma, hay fever, and eczema in infants. Also IBD and diabetes. And effects immune function in children (mostly mouse studies).

States that risk factors for various diseases begin before we're born, according to the literature. Late-stages of pregnancy are the most influential.

Acknowledges recent studies have shown that the womb is not sterile. And even if it is, bacterial metabolites could reach the baby and/or effect development.

"Dirt is a known source of pathogens, toxins, and even lead".

Says "it's not the c-section itself causing the disorders associated with it, but rather the lack of exposure to mother's vaginal & anal microbes". - more jumping to conclusions. See: https://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/47600/title/Infant-Microbiome--Vaginal-Delivery-Versus-C-Section/ and https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-05-swabbing-cesarean-born-babies-vaginal-fluids.html

"Approximately 6.2 million unnecessary C-sections are performed around the world, with Brazil, China, the United States, Mexico, and Iran accounting for 75 percent of them. Brazil and China have an outright C-section epidemic; many hospitals in those countries deliver more than 85 percent of their babies surgically."

Acknowledges environmental microbes are very different from mom's [host-native] microbes.

"Vaginal seeding makes sense and there's backing in the literature".

NEC (Necrotizing Enterocolitis) likely caused by gut dysbiosis.

Covers breast milk.

Comparison of children living a rual lifestyle in Burkina Faso, West Africa, to urban, city-dwelling kids in Italy. Diet vastly different. Gut microbiota of the Africans was more diverse. More likely to suffer severe infections and malnutrition, and have lower life-expectancy. But have decreased risk of suffering from immune diseases.

Standard unsupported statements about fermented foods.

States that it appears that children who adopt an "adult-like" gut microbiome earlier have poorer health. This seems to contradict the "eat dirt".

Most antibiotics are/were derived from soil bacteria.

Possible permanent immune system shifts from antibiotics.

Admits that dogs can pass on diseases to their owners but says it's rare for dogs who are well looked after and receive regular veterinary care. "If the dog looks sick" could be dangerous.

Early exposure to dogs, but not cats, decreases risks of certain asthma and allergic diseases.

Lactobacillus johnsonii associated with improvement of asthma in mice.

"The first hygienic measures took place through an organization known as the Sanitary Commission, which originated during the American Civil War. It was very successful in reducing infectious diseases and deaths by promoting washing the sick, along with their bed linens and their rooms. Back then doctors and scholars were just beginning to accept the concept that germs transmitted diseases."

"Spectacular drop in childhood mortality from following hygienic practices".

Then goes on to contradict that by saying these hygiene practices are preventing children from being exposed to microbes essential for their development. Which is another jump to conclusions.

"Handwashing is, without a doubt, the best hygienic practice that we can follow to prevent contracting and spreading infectious diseases. It’s been shown time and again that communities with good handwashing practices stay healthier, and no one should stop washing their hands just to promote more exposure to microbes." - then goes on to, in my opinion, be contradicting, and make poor, unsupported statements.

Probably correct about antibacterial sanitizers not having everyday use.

"it pays to follow hygienic practices in order to reduce the risk of infection in heavily populated areas. This means that it’s a good idea to teach your children not to play on the floor in these places, nor to lick any surfaces, and to wash their hands (with regular soap and water) when they get home or before eating"

Possibly good advice to "get dirty and play in dirt" - but that's a big difference from eating it.

Warns against cat parasites transferrable to humans via unsanitary practices.

More jumping to causation statements via correlation studies.

"In most cases, you should wash produce. Fruits and vegetables are often consumed raw, which means that any contamination that occurred during farming or storage may come in contact with whoever eats them. The irrigation systems used to water many types of crops are known to contain dangerous pathogens, and washing fruits and vegetables is an effective way to significantly reduce the risk of foodborne diseases. The CDC estimates that about one in every six Americans get sick from food poisoning; each year 128,000 people are admitted to hospitals, and 3,000 people die from food poisoning. Thus, this is a serious risk that ought to be reduced by following hygienic practices." - here's a recent example of this [1].

Good: "there’s no better way to influence the development of a diverse microbiota than through diet. Offering a healthy diet rich in vegetables and fiber is probably even more important than not being overly clean with babies and children."

Gut microbiome effect on body weight. With FMT, lean microbes win over obesity-inducing microbes. Antibiotics cause weight gain.

"Historically it was assumed that malnutrition was the result of a lack of calories, and the solution was to simply provide more food. However, this solution often does not work (it has been tried many times by feeding children in impoverished areas without success). A study done a few years ago showed that if the children were treated with antibiotics first, then many more of them gained weight, hinting at the role of the microbiota. Experiments have been conducted in which feces were taken from Malawian twins, one of whom was extremely malnourished and the other not, and transferred into germ-free mice. Similar to the results of the obesity studies discussed earlier, it was found that this fecal transfer also transferred the malnourished characteristics to the mice, which strongly supports the idea that the microbiota has a large role in malnourishment." - example of environmental microbes (dirt) causing a severe illness.

"Metformin is a drug commonly used to treat T2D by lowering blood glucose levels. Despite being approved for human use and being used extensively, exactly how this drugs works is not known, but there are strong hints that it may act via gut microbes. If the drug is delivered directly into the blood (intravenously), therefore bypassing the gut, it doesn’t work. Also, the drug isn’t effective in mice treated with antibiotics. Metformin causes a profound shift in the gut microbe composition to a healthier profile, and at least one of these healthier microbes can be given directly to mice in order to decrease T2D." - couldn't find the citation.

Leaky gut/intestinal permeability.

Colic - caused by gut dysbiosis in babies that starts at 1-2weeks of age, prior to colic starting. - Perhaps caused by poor sanitation, IE: environmental microbes/dirt? And/or perhaps caused by missing microbes and thus highlighting the importance of host-native microbes? Possibly unhealthy mother/dysbiosis in the mother since they gave an example of a breast fed baby's colic ending when switching to formula. Could be specific oligosaccharides in the breast milk feeding problematic microbes in the baby.

Gluten/celiac.

IBD - could very easily be caused by environmental microbes.

Talks about 2 IBD FMT studies. One doesn't work. 2nd one doesn't work until donor B shows up and then it's a success. - I couldn't find the study.

Hutterite vs Amish shows that it's not just as simple as "eat dirt" or "grow up in farm environment".

"Don't rush out to the nearest farm if you’re a city dweller and are pregnant or have a young child and bed down with the cows. Some studies show that occasional visits to farms may actually exacerbate any pre-existing allergy tendencies"

Good info on gut microbiome communication/effect on the brain.

"BDNF, dopamine, GABA, G-CSF, serotonin, acetylcholine, and norepinephrine are all affected by the [gut] microbiota. All play major roles in our everyday brain and nervous system functions, and alterations in these neurotransmitters can lead to neurological problems and mental illnesses."

Good info on autism, but there is a parallel here to be drawn. The “eat dirt” thing seems similar to certain anti-vax sentiments, in that people have forgotten how prolific certain microbial illnesses used to be (and still are in many 3rd world countries due to poor sanitation).

Good info on probiotics & some info on prebiotics.

Good info on diet and person to person variation/uniqueness.

Patients with zero medical training/knowledge are forced to resort to basically being their own doctors via internet research.

I have raised this issue in many places, talked to some doctors about it, brought it up with a doctor who is also a lawmaker. I've also contacted my state's medical board about it. Few people seem to care enough to do anything about it. The legislator didn't even respond and the state board seemed extremely apathetic.

The "systems" - education, medical, research - in this country are all incredibly unsystematic. There seems to be no one who sets policy. Any random establishment anywhere in the country is free to do as they please. Doctor knowledge & recommendations vary drastically from one to another. That is not evidence based!

I just found this extremely excellent presentation about this exact issue given by a doctor at the European Parliament.

A few highlights:

Killing For Profit - at the European Parliament ! #LCHF Aseem Malhotra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcnd3usdNxo

"Half of what you learn in medical school will be shown to be either dead wrong or out of date within 5 years of your graduation; the trouble is that nobody can tell you which half. The most important thing to learn is how to learn on your own" - David Sackett, one of the fathers of Evidence-Based Medicine.

"As a doctor for 17 years I have slowly and reluctantly come to the conclusion that as it stands now we have a complete healthcare system failure and an epidemic of misinformed doctors and misinformed and harmed patients" - Aseem Malhotra 7:30.

$864 million dollars per year could be saved by doctors having one conversation with patients prior to placing stints - which is a largely unnecessary & unhelpful treatment 13:30

Misleading health statistics: ~16:00. Relative Risk Reduction (RRR) vs Absolute Risk Reduction (ARR), and number needed to treat (NNT).

Statins are covered next.

Starts covering system failure, misconduct, regulation, collusion for financial gain at 31:10. At 34:00 an example for Beta Blockers is given where fictitious data published resulted in ESC guidelines increasing patient mortality by 27% resulting in 800,000 excess deaths.

34:55: Talks about Peter C. Gøtzsche, co-founder of the Cochrane collaboration, regarding major pharma companies being found guilty for fraud, particularly in the US. Between 2009-2014 total of $14 billion worth of fines for illegal marketing and hiding data and harms which involved the majority of top 10 pharma companies, and there's no incentive for them to stop.

35:55 Covers innovation. Between 2000-2008 of 667 new drugs approved by FDA only 11% found to be innovative. Others copies. At great cost and no extra benefit.

Cites multiples of these excellent quotes/links: https://archive.is/9pXGh

Next covers obesity, diabetes, diet. At 49:20 starts covering CICO notions pushed by the soft drink industry. Then regulation & food industry resistance. Says obesity epidemic is due to diet, not exercise. Largely blames added sugar in processed food. "Ultra processed food constitutes half of UK diet". "Lifestyle changes are more powerful than any drug at treating heart disease, come without side effects, and need to be at the forefront of treating chronic disease".

1:13:08 Switches speaker to Sir Richard Thompson, personal physician to the queen and former president of royal college of physicians.

1:26:50 Switch to Professor Hanno Pijl, internist, endocrinologist, and professor of Diabetology at Leiden University. Promotes lifestyle changes instead of drugs for chronic, lifestyle-related diseases such as colon cancer, stroke, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes.

1:32:00 Switch to Sarah Macklin, journalist & nutritionist. Mentions outdated guidelines taught in university.

1:42:10 Begins Q&A.

More info:

A staggering 36,000 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are published each year, on average, and it typically takes about 17 years for findings to reach clinical practice (2017): https://catalyst.nejm.org/implementing-evidence-based-practices-quickly - A Model for Implementing Evidence-Based Practices More Quickly.

These flaws in the medical system and extensive delay in updating according to the latest research results in major problems like the collateral damage from antibiotics being ignored when the latest microbiome literature shows it to be a major degrader of human health and development: https://archive.fo/ebPKO#selection-803.0-803.1 - https://archive.fo/yL2gF#selection-887.0-887.1

The Mythology Of Science-Based Medicine (2010): https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-mythology-of-science_b_412475 "when you take your sick child to the hospital or clinic, there is only a 36 percent chance that he will receive a treatment that has been scientifically demonstrated to be either beneficial or likely to be beneficial"

Only one in ten medical treatments are backed by high-quality evidence (Sep 2020, GRADE) https://theconversation.com/only-one-in-ten-medical-treatments-are-backed-by-high-quality-evidence-145224 - a metaepidemiological study of Cochrane reviews.

Most healthcare interventions tested in Cochrane Reviews are not effective according to high quality evidence: a systematic review and meta-analysis (Apr 2022) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0895435622001007

Too Many Medicines Simply Don’t Work. A pair of new studies sheds light on an old problem: Some things doctors do are useless. Some are even harmful. (May 2019) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-30/too-many-medicines-simply-don-t-work.

The illusion of evidence based medicine (Mar 2022) https://archive.ph/glcDr/

Medical Error Is Third Leading Cause of Death in US http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/862832

A New, Evidence-based Estimate of Patient Harms Associated with Hospital Care (2013): https://journals.lww.com/journalpatientsafety/Fulltext/2013/09000/A_New,_Evidence_based_Estimate_of_Patient_Harms.2.aspx 250,000 - 400,000 mostly needless iatrogenic deaths in hospitals each year (the 3rd leading cause of death in the USA) costing between $37.6 billion and $50 billion per year

Dr Michael Greger and Gene Stone's book "How Not to Die" has an excellent chapter (15) on iatrogenic deaths, which includes coverage of the fact that there is a severe lack of informed consent for standard treatments that come with significant harm. Also covered is the fact that medical professionals are regularly doing 36 hour shifts, which is just insane. A person cannot function properly on that kind of lack of sleep. And they need to be at 100% when they have people's lives in their hands. He also covers his history of traveling the country educating doctors on nutrition, and the lack of nutrition education that doctors get.

This type of extreme overwork and lack of sleep for medical students, residents, and doctors seems extremely common: https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2019/03/15/america-becoming-doctor-can-prove-fatal/u3x4xfPC9VR2zSCnKArgYM/story.html

Dentists practicing in the U.S. write 37 times more opioid prescriptions than dentists practicing in England. And, the type of opioids they prescribe has a higher potential for abuse (May 2019) https://today.uic.edu/us-dentists-out-prescribe-uk-dentists-when-it-comes-to-opioids

Man dies in parking lot of hospital after being discharged from 3rd visit to the ED for chest pain https://people.com/human-interest/man-dies-in-parking-lot-after-hospital-refuses-to-treat-him-says-family/

Girl dies days after being sent home from ER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uT4XZPTaic

32-year-old woman dies from bowel cancer after doctor told her she was 'too young' to have it. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/young-woman-32-dies-bowel-cancer-doctor-says-too-young-ibs-nicole-yarran-australia-a8101946.html

The doctor told him he had a virus. It turned out to be Stage 4 cancer http://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/article202777844.html

Doctors repeatedly told a woman stress was causing her symptoms. Then they pulled out a volleyball-size tumor. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/02/09/hannah-catton-ovarian-cancer-australia/

"Mount Sinai Hospital emergency department is a ‘war zone,’ workers say" [New York Post; Dec 9, 2019; NYC] https://archive.ph/wEWjz

Doctor's son has trouble with opioid addiction, son in hospital due to car crash, father/doctor asks them not to give him opioids, they give them anyway and the son dies: https://youtu.be/j4Wr4vvd-qQ?t=1220

A “fit and healthy” teenager who was told by doctors that his severe stomach pains was constipation was found dead in his bed 24 hours later. A post-mortem found that Jack died from a condition called ketoacidosis https://uk.news.yahoo.com/welsh-teenager-17-sent-home-ae-complaining-constipation-found-dead-24-hours-later-085333189.html

Indianapolis Woman Dies From Misdiagnosed Necrotizing Fasciitis (2018): http://www.techtimes.com/articles/227639/20180513/indianapolis-woman-dies-from-misdiagnosed-necrotizing-fasciitis-what-are-the-symptoms-of-flesh-eating-disease.htm

Antibiotics for dental work: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/did-his-artificial-hips-put-him-at-risk-of-infection-when-he-saw-the-dentist/2016/10/07/1a0d4b54-60a5-11e6-9d2f-b1a3564181a1_story.html - no evidence they help yet dentists are randomly giving them out. Another in 2019.

Only A Third of Pediatricians Fully Follow Guidelines on Peanut Allergy Prevention in Infants (Jul 2020) https://www.luriechildrens.org/en/news-stories/approximately-a-third-of-pediatricians-fully-follow-guidelines-on-peanut-allergy-prevention-in-infants/

IBM's Watson was tested on 1,000 cancer diagnoses made by human experts. In 30 percent of the cases, Watson found a treatment option the human doctors missed. Some treatments were based on research papers that the doctors had not read. More than 160,000 cancer research papers are published a year. https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/59ihvg/ibms_watson_was_tested_on_1000_cancer_diagnoses/

It’s Hard for Doctors to Unlearn Things. That’s Costly for All of Us. (2018): https://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/its-hard-for-doctors-to-unlearn-things-thats-costly-for-all-of-us/

Significant problems with America's fractured system of medical records: https://archive.fo/wcyMR

Doctors are surprisingly bad at reading lab results. It’s putting us all at risk (2018): https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2018/10/05/feature/doctors-are-surprisingly-bad-at-reading-lab-results-its-putting-us-all-at-risk

Former Aetna Medical Director Admits To Never Reviewing Medical Records Before Denying Care (2019): https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertglatter/2018/02/11/former-aetna-medical-director-admits-to-never-reviewing-medical-records-before-denying-care/

'Widespread and dangerous': Facing medical uncertainty, some doctors tell patients it's all in their heads (2018): https://archive.fo/PgNtS

Doctors completely clueless on CFS: https://archive.is/7Ktu1 - https://archive.is/2ernc

A prime example of 0% of doctors in this thread being aware of the causes and potential fixes for the obesity crisis: https://archive.fo/6JeJD. [Hint].

The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs: Episode 1 (2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_ggnhpGvvA - documentary covering a doctor's attempt at reducing prescriptions.

Tennessee doctor had 5 patients die of overdoses in 11 months, so he jumped state lines and started over (2019): https://archive.fo/xx6Ls

Not sure if there's a larger sub which this would be appropriate to post to.

When health is talked about and issues pertaining to health are talked about how many times you hear complications and consequences of unsafe abortions being discussed?

I'll start off this sub by sharing my experiences with various diets. I've tried pretty much everything.

#Ketosis:

Keto seems to be a very popular diet, and I almost never hear of detrimental experiences. I tried it for over a year because of the suggestions and comments from various people.

Keto is probably the worst thing (besides antibiotics) I've ever done for my health.

First lets be clear what ketosis a ketogenic diet is. It's meat, fat, and non-starchy vegetables. It's one of the most boring diets you can eat. A varied diet would look something like: for breakfast you eat chicken and fat, for lunch you eat beef and fat, for dinner you eat seafood and fat, for snacks you eat fat, and you can sprinkle in some leafy greens with your meat & fat. Every single day. Some say that after you're fully in ketosis you can add some low carb foods like nuts, as long as you keep it under 50g carbs per day.

During keto I got all the usual negative symptoms associated with the diet. Brain fog, fatigue, anxiety, heart palpitations, & a kidney stone. For over a year I kept at this diet because people said: it takes a week for your body to adapt, it can take 1-3 months to adapt, it could take more than a year to adapt but it's the best thing ever.

After bringing back fruit into my diet all the symptoms slowly decreased.

Everyone seems to be different. Some people can handle and even benefit from some things, while others can't. From my observations, people who are overweight seem to be the ones who benefit from ketosis, but people who are normal or low weight seem to suffer from it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet#Adverse_effects

It's possible I was too low on carbs and too high on meat, and I didn't check my ketone levels nor keep track of exactly how much meat, fat, and carbs I was eating.

Here are some people reporting similar experiences: https://archive.fo/Q6Nyn

#80/10/10rv:

Results: Hair loss, gums receding, teeth grinding down and chipping, 3 BMs a day, farts and poop had no smell.

I had high hopes for this diet but it turned out to be as dangerous as it sounded for me. I tried the diet for about a month. I read people's reviews and warnings and did the diet perfectly - 80/10/10rv. I ate LOTS of fruit, counted all my calories, and had a huge meal of vegetables at the end of the day.

This diet caused my hair to fall out. The first time I took a shower after starting the diet my hands were covered in hair after shampooing. It was pretty scary. The hair loss slowed down after stopping the diet for a few weeks. There was no balding, just lots of hair falling out.

My gums also started to recede, my teeth were visibly grinding down; two of them chipped.

I think some of it has to do with the acidity that fruit leaves in your mouth. You're not supposed to brush your teeth after eating fruit because the acid temporarily softens the enamel and the toothbrush then wears it away. But if you're eating fruit all day it makes it difficult to find a time to brush, and if you don't brush than it leaves your mouth acidic the whole day (which is what I did - only brushed once a day). I think the solution would be to eat some type of vegetable after every single meal in order to neutralize the acid.

Most people who thrive on 811rv seem to eat lots of bananas and dates. If you cannot eat or afford (dates are expensive) to eat those then you are left with watery fruits which are both lower in calories and higher in acidity. Constant acidity in your mouth can wear down your teeth really fast. 80/10/10rv also causes me to clench my jaw at night. That plus the constant acidity in my mouth was what caused my teeth to start chipping and grinding down. When I start eating meat again it goes away... of course everyone's different though. I'm not suggesting this will happen to everyone.

The part of his reasoning for the diet that "fruit tastes so good in it's natural state so it's what we would choose to eat in the wild" doesn't hold up as good reasoning in favor of this diet because meat tastes a lot better than green vegetables partly due to it's sodium (salt) content.

I've since been on cooked versions of this diet, IE: fruit, white rice, sweet potatoes, vegtables. And it seems fine. I'm not able to eat anything high in fat/protein since taking an antibiotic (xifaxan), so this seems to be the best diet for me currently. I think if you added some oats, beans, and other legumes it would be a great general diet. I would probably also add some olive oil. This wouldn't be 80/10/10 anymore, but closer to the Mediterranean diet.

#Raw paleo:

I think this was one of the better diets I was ever on. I bought grass-fed organ meats from local butchers/farms, and ate plenty of raw animal fat as well. I had some fermented raw meat as well.

My health was not stable enough at the time to properly compare raw paleo with cooked paleo.