Mind & Matter

• Autism, Acetaminophen (Tylenol) & Oxidative Stress | William Parker | 248

  Send us a textThe potential link between acetaminophen (Tylenol) and autism, with a surprise phone call from RFK partway through.Episode Summary: Dr. William Parker talks about autism spectrum disorder (ASD), its rising prevalence since the 1980s, and the controversial hypothesis that acetaminophen exposure in susceptible infants and children triggers most cases via oxidative stress. They discuss ASD's clinical definition; historical misconceptions like the "refrigerator mother" theory; genetic susceptibilities; acetaminophen's metabolism, which produces toxic byproducts in underdeveloped livers, leading to brain effects.About the guest: William Parker, PhD spent nearly 30 years as a professor at Duke University researching underlying causes of chronic conditions, including discovering the immune function of the human appendix and pioneering studies on immune systems in wild animals.Discussion Points:Autism is a spectrum disorder with core symptoms like social deficits, repetitive behaviors, and aversion to new stimuli.Parker argues overwhelming evidence points to acetaminophen as the primary trigger in susceptible individuals, causing oxidative stress via toxic metabolite NAPQI.Acetaminophen, marketed as Tylenol or paracetamol, was not tested for neurodevelopmental effects in neonatal animals until 2014, despite widespread use since 1886; it's metabolized differently in babies, whose livers lack mature detox pathways.Susceptibility factors include low glutathione (an antioxidant), poor sulfation/glucuronidation metabolism, folate receptor autoantibodies, and events like immune reactions that prompt acetaminophen use during oxidative stress.Regressive autism, where children lose milestones after seeming normal, often follows acetaminophen given for fevers or illnesses, explaining parental vaccine suspicions (as shots coincide with drug use).Adult acetaminophen is generally safe but causes liver toxicity in overdoses or with alcohol; antidote is NAC to boost glutathione.Parker has suggested to policymakers that we should avoid acetaminophen during pregnancy, birth, and early childhood (under age 3-5); parents should plan ahead for fevers/pain without it, but seek medical help for unusual symptoms.*Not medical advice.Support the showAffiliates: Seed Oil Scout: Find restaurants with seed oil-free options, scan food products to see what they’re hiding, with this easy-to-use mobile app. KetoCitra—Ketone body BHB + electrolytes formulated for kidney health. Use code MIND20 for 20% off any subscription (cancel anytime) Lumen device to optimize your metabolism for weight loss or athletic performance. Code MIND for 10% off SiPhox Health—Affordable at-home blood testing. Key health markers, visualized & explained. Code TRIKOMES for a 20% discount. For all the ways you can support my efforts

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• Cholesterol: Immune Benefits, Heart Health, Statins & Research Malpractice | Uffe Ravnskov | 247

  Send us a textWide release date: August 25, 2025Episode Summary: Dr. Uffe Ravnskov talks about his decades-long career challenging the idea that high cholesterol causes heart disease, discussing LDL's protective role in the immune system by binding to bacteria, the harms and biases in statin research influenced by pharmaceutical companies, evidence that high cholesterol benefits the elderly and reduces infection/cancer risks, and how mental stress or infections elevate cholesterol as a response rather than a cause.About the guest: Uffe Ravnskov, MD, PhD is a physician and independent researcher who earned his MD from the University of Copenhagen in 1961 and a PhD in nephrology. He has worked in various clinics in Sweden since the 1960s, focusing his research on challenging the cholesterol hypothesis in heart disease. Now 91, he has published over 200 papers, authored books like "The Cholesterol Myths.”Discussion Points:LDL cholesterol helps the immune system by sticking to bacteria, clumping them for removal; low LDL increases infection risk.Animal studies show injecting LDL protects against lethal infections, while historical data links severe infections to worse atherosclerosis.Elderly people with high cholesterol live longer; low cholesterol raises mortality risk more than high levels.Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) doesn't cause early death via cholesterol alone—co-inherited coagulation factors are the issue, and FH patients often have lower infection rates.Statins lower LDL but increase infection risk, cause muscle weakness/brain issues (often blamed on aging), and show no clear benefit in unbiased meta-analyses.Research biases include cherry-picking studies, exaggerating benefits via relative (not absolute) risk, and pharma funding suppressing critical views.Mental stress can raise cholesterol by 10-50% in 30 minutes, often misread as a heart disease cause rather than an effect.Saturated fat and high cholesterol aren't proven harmful; Ancel Keys' claims ignored contradictory evidence.Stopping statins often reverses side effects quickly, improving quality of life.Related episode:M&M 244: Seed Oils & Heart Disease: Oxidized LDL, Cholesterol, Fat & Cardiology | Tucker GoodrichReference Paper:LDL-C does not cause cardiovascular disease: a comprehensive review of the current literature*Not medical advice.Support the showAffiliates: Seed Oil Scout: Find restaurants with seed oil-free options, scan food products to see what they’re hiding, with this easy-to-use mobile app. KetoCitra—Ketone body BHB + electrolytes formulated for kidney health. Use code MIND20 for 20% off any subscription (cancel anytime) Lumen device to optimize your metabolism for weight loss or athletic performance. Code MIND for 10% off SiPhox Health—Affordable at-home blood testing. Key health markers, visualized & explained. Code TRIKOMES for a 20% discount. For all the ways you can support my efforts

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• Appendix, Gut Worms, Allergies & Autoimmunity | William Parker | 246

  Send us a textThe appendix's hidden role and how "good" parasites like helminths shape immune health.Episode Summary: Dr. William Parker discusses gut anatomy, the appendix's role in harboring beneficial bacterial biofilms and immune tissue, and how modern hygiene depletes helminths (intestinal worms), causing immune overreactions like allergies, autoimmunity, and psychiatric conditions. He explores helminth self-therapy for treating relapsing MS, depression, and allergies; challenges in clinical trials due to patent issues; and why COVID-19 was milder in low-income, helminth-rich regions.About the guest: William Parker, PhD conducted research at Duke University for over 27 years on immunology, appendicitis, and the hygiene hypothesis. After retiring from Duke, he serves as a visiting scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, leading efforts on biome reconstitution via helminths.Discussion Points:Appendix is not vestigial; it concentrates immune tissue and biofilms to cultivate good gut bacteria, preventing pathogens via mucus and IgA antibodies.Hygiene hypothesis: Soap, toilets, and clean water reduce helminths/protozoa, leading to untrained, hyperactive immunity and rising allergies/autoimmunity since the 1800s.Helminths (worms) stimulate immune "exercise," training immunity; biohackers use hookworms (cheap, skin-entry), porcine whipworms, or rat tapeworms orally for relief from allergies, MS flares, depression/anxiety.Effects are temporary; need ongoing exposure (e.g., replenish every 6 months); immigrants from helminth-rich areas develop Western diseases within a few years.COVID-19: Hyper-immunity caused severe reactions in hygienic West, but helminth presence in low-income Africa/Asia prevented cytokine storms, leading to empty clinics.Therapy barriers: Non-patentable organisms require $100M+ trials; push for open-source, government-funded biome restoration over crude immunosuppressants.Related episode:M&M 144: Inflammation, Innate Immunity, Allergies & Allergens, Immune System Evolution, Fasting & Metabolism | Clare Bryant*Not medical advice.Support the showAffiliates: Seed Oil Scout: Find restaurants with seed oil-free options, scan food products to see what they’re hiding, with this easy-to-use mobile app. KetoCitra—Ketone body BHB + electrolytes formulated for kidney health. Use code MIND20 for 20% off any subscription (cancel anytime) Lumen device to optimize your metabolism for weight loss or athletic performance. Code MIND for 10% off SiPhox Health—Affordable at-home blood testing. Key health markers, visualized & explained. Code TRIKOMES for a 20% discount. For all the ways you can support my efforts

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• Cannabinoid System: Metabolism, Evolution & Energy Storage | Giovanni Marsicano | 245

  Send us a textWhat is the core evolved function of the endocannabinoid system?Episode Summary: Dr. Giovanni Marsicano is a neuroscientist based in Bordeaux, France, where he leads a research group at INSERM focusing on the endocannabinoid system.About the guest: Giovanni Marsicano, PhD discusses the endocannabinoid system, starting with its core components like CB1 receptors and lipid-based molecules derived from omega-6 fatty acids; its cellular signaling, evolutionary role in energy storage for uncertain futures (exostasis vs. homeostasis); effects across tissues; motivation, appetite, pain relief, and anxiety regulation; biphasic effects of cannabinoids.Discussion Points:The endocannabinoid system acts as an "exostatic" regulator, promoting energy accumulation for future needs by enhancing food palatability, nutrient absorption, and fat storage, unlike "endostatic" systems that address immediate hunger.CB1 receptors appear in vertebrates with adipose tissue, suggesting an evolutionary link to storing fat for survival in unstable environments.Endocannabinoids are lipids from omega-6 fats; high intake boosts their levels, potentially fueling obesity by creating a self-perpetuating cycle of overeating.Activation of CB1 can have biphasic effects due to receptors on different cell types like excitatory vs. inhibitory neurons.Pregnenolone, a steroid precursor, acts as a natural CB1 inhibitor to prevent excessive activation, blocking harmful effects like psychosis from high THC doses.The system influences motivation beyond food, including sex and even human activities like sports or storytelling, by rewarding actions for potential future benefits.In the brain, CB1 on mitochondria and astrocytes modulates energy use, olfaction, and social stress transmission, with implications for disorders like Alzheimer's.Reference Paper:CB1 Receptor as the Cornerstone of ExostasisRelated episode:M&M 123: Endocannabinoids, Stress, Anxiety, Cannabis | Matthew Hill*Not medical advice.Support the showAffiliates: Seed Oil Scout: Find restaurants with seed oil-free options, scan food products to see what they’re hiding, with this easy-to-use mobile app. KetoCitra—Ketone body BHB + electrolytes formulated for kidney health. Use code MIND20 for 20% off any subscription (cancel anytime) Lumen device to optimize your metabolism for weight loss or athletic performance. Code MIND for 10% off SiPhox Health—Affordable at-home blood testing. Key health markers, visualized & explained. Code TRIKOMES for a 20% discount. For all the ways you can support my efforts

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• Seed Oils & Heart Disease: Oxidized LDL, Cholesterol, Fat & Cardiology | Tucker Goodrich | 244

  Send us a textOverview and alternative interpretation to the mainstream view on how dietary fat and cholesterol relate to cardiovascular disease.Episode Summary: Tucker Goodrich is an engineer by training who has become a prominent independent researcher and blogger on nutrition and metabolic health, focusing on the harms of seed oils and polyunsaturated fats.About the guest: Nick Jikomes and Tucker Goodrich explore atherosclerosis and heart disease, critiquing the standard model that blames high LDL cholesterol while highlighting how oxidized LDL—driven by dietary linoleic acid from seed oils—plays a key role in plaque formation and inflammation; they discuss historical shifts in heart disease rates, genetic factors like familial hypercholesterolemia, the limitations of animal studies, and why reducing seed oil intake could prevent issues more effectively than just lowering cholesterol.Discussion Points:Atherosclerosis involves plaque buildup in arteries, often leading to heart attacks, but plaques contain oxidized fats and cholesterol, not just native cholesterol.Dietary cholesterol has little impact on blood levels or heart disease in humans, unlike in rabbits used in many studies.High LDL may not be inherently bad; oxidized LDL from polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) like linoleic acid causes macrophages to overeat and form harmful foam cells.Familial hypercholesterolemia patients only show higher heart disease rates in modern, industrial diets high in seed oils, not historically.Populations like the Kitavans and Tsimané have high apoB but no heart disease on traditional diets low in industrial foods.Fried foods are oxidized seed oils, explaining why they're unhealthy despite omega-6 fats being labeled "heart-healthy."Omega-3 fats can displace omega-6 in cells, reducing oxidation risk.Reference Papers:Witztum & Steinberg (1991)Boren et al. (2022)Related episode:M&M 136: Seed Oils, Omega-6 PUFAs, Inflammation, Obesity, Diabetes, Chronic Disease & Metabolic Dysfunction | Chris Knobbe*Not medical advice.Support the showAffiliates: Seed Oil Scout: Find restaurants with seed oil-free options, scan food products to see what they’re hiding, with this easy-to-use mobile app. KetoCitra—Ketone body BHB + electrolytes formulated for kidney health. Use code MIND20 for 20% off any subscription (cancel anytime) Lumen device to optimize your metabolism for weight loss or athletic performance. Code MIND for 10% off SiPhox Health—Affordable at-home blood testing. Key health markers, visualized & explained. Code TRIKOMES for a 20% discount. For all the ways you can support my efforts

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