Toxic Chemicals/PFAS exposure
I just finished Alden Wicker’s book “To Dye For”. I am curious about what scientific studies have been done or are being doing around PFAS exposure, particularly the impact on fertility. I’ve heard you and others discuss declines in fertility (particularly male fertility/sperm quality). As a mother of young men, I wonder if I should be rethinking the clothes/bedding I am buying for my sons.
Understanding Autism, including Non-Verbal Regressive Autism...how to best support children and will there ever be a cure?
Hi Andrew, thank you to you & your team for reading this question. Background: My 3.5 year-old niece Anna is likely to be diagnosed with autism upon getting an official evaluation from the NHS (my sister and her family live in England). My niece seemed to have a normal development, reading and talking sooner than average children her age, and one day this past March, her words started to disappear, her behavior and physical expressions changed, until she no longer seems like herself and my sister brought her daughter to the ER. Since then, my sister has paired Anna with three wonderful therapists, who in addition to my sister are able to engage her in play and learning, but despite their consistent efforts, experience, and positivity, Anna's days vary widely. On "Good" days, Anna is more talkative (even if she's not talking as much as before, only in scattered words, rather than in phrases), as well as happy and engaged with her family, vs. "bad" days, where she looks drained of energy, won't make much eye contact/looks off into the distance, and she'll barely talk at all. This has been such an emotional rollercoaster for my sister and our family, as we never expected this to happen, at times it feels like there's very little support or understanding of what's going on (the autism spectrum is huge!), and we worry about Anna's happiness and development as she grows into a young woman, and want to make sure we try everything possible (within our resources). Can't think of anyone better than yourself to explain what's happening to my niece and so many children around the world... QUESTIONS: - at a foundational level, what is autism, why are there so many sub-types? (this reminds me of Peter Attia's explanation of all the different types of cancers, each with different cures...almost feels like a disservice to group so many expressions of this disorder together) -neurologically, how is non-verbal or regressive autism different to high-functioning autism? - what treatments are known and best to help children (and all people) with non-verbal and/or regressive autism? - could autism be linked to seizures/epilepsy, mold/environmental factors; diet/microbiome or anything that if altered could reverse what's going on internally so that Anna or any other child with this condition could revert back to speaking and socializing as before? - are there any medications or clinical trials that exist that could potentially help? what research can I follow? - are there other conditions that could be the cause, that often get misdiagnosed as autism? - is there a known country, or state in the US that's known for supporting individuals and families with autism? - any other advice on how to best help mothers/parents of autistic children? thank you so much -- you've taught me (and millions) so much since you've entered our lives, and you were the first person I wished I could call to discuss this with.
Straight from Sauna to Ice Bath - a good idea?
Hi Andrew We've been practising Sauna (~80 Deg C - 3-4 times per week) and Cold Therapy (cold showers / Ice Baths ~ 6-8 Deg C 4-5 times per week for a total of about 25 min/week). We started approximately 6 months ago and are really enjoying all the benefits they provide, many of which you have discussed in detail in your podcasts. Our regime is usually just Ice Bath with a natural warm up; three Sauna cycles with 1-2 min cold showers in between, or Ice Bath (say 5 min), warm up naturally, then sauna. However, recently we went straight from the Sauna (after a brief cold shower) into the ice bath. The first few minutes were fine, but instead of settling into the cold sensation, quite an odd feeling came over us. The sensation was somewhere between light-headedness and an out-of body experience! We decided to get out of the tub early. My wife and our adult son had a similar experience at different times. The sensation passed after 2-4 min for each of us. I think if we'd just plunged for a minute or so, we would of been none the wiser, but we treated it like a regular ice bath session. Perhaps it would have only been transitory if we had stayed in longer. Or it may relate to one's body being in 5 deg C water, and ones head out of the water immediately post sauna. I wonder if we briefly immersed our head as well, if that would have smoothed out the transition. We're all fit and healthy, on no medications with no history of CVD etc. There seems plenty of information about the physiological effects and benefits of Cold and Heat therapy individually, but harder to find is the physiology of a sudden transition from Heat to Cold specifically and, as such, whether the response is a unique one. As mentioned, with just a minute or two 'rest' between cycles, the transitions have been uneventful. Thanks for your very informative podcasts and look forward to your thoughts. Best regards Paul