I was startled to see that at the same time we achieved the greatest advance in medicine — the decline in infectious disease — we saw a corresponding increase in the mysterious diseases of the industrial age:

photos.smugmug.com

photos.smugmug.com

👆 If you were to add Autism, Parkinsons, and allergies, they would also follow that awful trend.

I got to interview a prominent expert who appears in documentaries on PBS and Netflix and I asked him what is going on with that second chart. Processed food? Antibiotics? Chemicals? What's a parent to do?

He's amazing. Here's the interview:

Let me know what you think.

👍🏻

I have too much feedback to go into detail here. 😬 But generally speaking, I really like that you and Dr. Klapper are very *specific* in your questions and answers. The pacing is really good. The information is scientifically supported. (I thought, “crank science!” when I heard the comments about diet and autism, so I did my own google search, and WHOA... I guess that could be true!)

I only had time to watch about 40 mins. of the whole hour. But the disciplined back-and-forth made me wonder if it would be possible to also edit this into smaller pieces with specific “mini-topics” so it is more accessible...?

smaller pieces with specific “mini-topics” 

Hmmm, that's a good idea, lidja. I made an attempt with the YouTube chapter thing of making it so you could scroll to different parts of the interview easily, but I dunno how many people notice that feature and how it works on mobile. If you hover, the scroll bar comes up with descriptions of each chapter.

I think the best scientists and docs are cautious about getting too confident that Autism is caused from deficiencies in the microbiome, but it sure is looking like the #1 suspect. There are a lot of trials going on right now about fecal transplants to restore gut microbes and ease symptoms of Autism, and it's looking promising. I know, yuck.

Autism rates are very high here in Utah so there is a lot of research done here. I was surprised to learn there might be a dietary influence; there seem to be a lot of factors that come into play.

I wonder if the pandemic is having an overall negative affect on diet. I know my son and his wife are now in the habit of ordering food from restaurants for all their family dinners because they have been told that is a very tangible way they can help small business owners in the community. Getting prepared food delivered via DoorDash or UberEats has been framed as a laudable thing to do in order to support essential workers.

I'm working on an episode about the factors that go into the awful rise of diseases like Autism and it looks like diversity in the microbiome is the elephant in the room. A lot of things like antibiotic use, c-section deliveries, processed food, infant formula as a substitute for breast milk, the hygiene culture where all bugs must die via hand sanitizers and it's not okay for kids to get dirty...all play into it.

The two leading lights in the field are Rob Knight and Jack Gilbert, who wrote this book for parents of very young children. They're very cautious about sticking to what is really known, but it is looking like gut bacteria have the largest influence on risk.

My daughter is pregnant with her first child, so of course, we are becoming very curious about all the ways to be ultra-cautious. Heh.

Researchers here in UT say the have found a correlation between hormones and fetal stress and autism, so you can add that to your list of possible causes, too, 😉

Is there a link between baby hormone change and autism risk? Here's what Utah research saysUniversity of Utah researchers have discovered a link between increased levels of a type of estrogen in babies in their second trimester and risk for autism, according to a new studywww.google.com

Interesting study, thanks for surfacing it. My perspective is most of what they describe are symptoms, such as metabolic syndrome, of an underlying cause, usually poor lifestyle, especially diet. You and every mother know much better than I how pregnancy often makes you feel bad and not want a lot of foods you would otherwise like or at least be willing to eat. And in the modern age, comfort foods are right there for us.

Dunno if you saw my episode on the tricks the food companies play. It's pretty shocking. Restaurants don't need to list their ingredients so some of their tricks are pretty jaw dropping too. I need to do an episode on TGIF's chicken fingers to blow your mind.

Loved that episode! Very entertaining, very resource-rich, and not too long. 👍🏻

(I have never thought about checking the freezer aisle for healthy bread... gonna have to do that.)

I had @amacbean16 guest host an episode. 😎

@lidja , I had some of your comments in mind when I made this episode. I think it's the most important episode I've done.

One crucial thing I didn't mention because time is how much of your microbiome is inherited from your mom.and how that will shape your resistance to disease for life. We generally inherit less goodness each generation because industrialization.

Thanks @Chris! My Mom is here with me now, so I’ll check it out when I get a minute. 👍🏻

This is the possible future mayor of New York and it's so inspiring to see what he is doing with New York hospitals for education and prevention. Love this guy.