A recently published study found a connection between a range of infections, their treatments, and mental illnesses like schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder. Researchers in Denmark looked at national registries associated with severe infections requiring hospitalization and less severe infections requiring antibiotics or anti-parasitical and found that both of those treatment modalities for infections resulted in an increased risk of mental illness later in life. Going to the hospital resulted in the highest increase in the likelihood of receiving a mental health diagnosis and also receiving a prescription for it. The study also noticed a particular connection between the prescription of antibiotics and greater risk. Accounting for the children’s genetics and home environment didn’t erase the increased likelihood of a mental health diagnosis. That points to a definite link between infections, their treatment, and mental illness. According to Dr. Ole Köhler-Forsberg of Aarhus University Hospital, a neuroscientist and one of the authors of the study,

That’s also another finding that made us more confident that there is some link between infections, or the immune system and mental disorders…And also we found that the more the infections, and the more severe the infections, then the risk increased as well…So there is this load of infection that seems to impact the brain and mental disorders.”

Break It Down

Children admitted to the hospital for the treatment of a serious infection were 84 percent more likely to be hospitalized for mental illness and 42 percent more likely to be prescribed anti-psychotics. Those who received a prescription for an antibiotic or similar medication were 40 percent more likely to be hospitalized for mental illness and 22 percent more likely to receive antipsychotic scripts. Researchers found that antibiotics were more likely to bring about these changes.

The percentage of children diagnosed with mental illness was small, with 4 percent of subjects diagnosed with conditions like schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and personality disorders. Four percent doesn’t seem like much, but those numbers are based on treatment for a single infection. A study by researchers from Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia found that children were given antibiotics an average of 2.3 times before the age of 5. Sixty-nine percent of the nearly 70,000 studied received an antibiotic prescription before the age of two.

Related: Can You Take Probiotics While Taking Antibiotics or Chemotherapy?

Antibiotics and Hospital Settings

Antibiotics in a hospital setting do damage even if you aren’t the one taking them. They greatly disrupt the microbiome, eliminating the beneficial bacteria that balance harmful pathogens, and hospitals are hotbeds of antibiotic activity. Studies have found that a person in the same room as someone who has received antibiotics is more susceptible to serious pathogens like C. diff. A 2016 study found that one out of every two patients checked into the hospital is given an antibiotic. The Danish study ties these two together, linking changes in the children’s mental state with a hospital visit or taking antibiotics. In fact, those treatment methodologies seem to leave some of the children in the study in a more challenging place than they were before.

Fragile Brains

It’s plausible that we’re seeing an increase in mental health issues, inflammation, infections, and other chronic health conditions because of our increased evaluation capabilities. But it’s not likely.

Related: How To Heal Your Gut

Studies like this one point a healthcare system that has wrongfully equated quick fixes with actual solutions, without fully understanding the consequences of said fixes. Even worse, the system is set up to financially reward the use of those fixes, making the move to a healthier way of dealing with infections and chronic illness an uphill battle. Children are especially vulnerable to the damaging effects of antibiotics, making it more crucial than ever to look for alternative solutions whenever possible.

Sources:

• Infections May Raise The Risk Of Mental Illness In Children – NPR
• A Nationwide Study in Denmark of the Association Between Treated Infections and the Subsequent Risk of Treated Mental Disorders in Children and Adolescents – JAMA Psychiatry
• Antibiotic Side Effects Are Contagious – C. Diff Infections Are On the Rise – Organic Lifestyle Magazine
• 69 Percent of Kids Exposed to Antibiotics Before Age 2; Exposure Raises Obesity Risk – Healthline
• CDC: Half of US Hospital Patients Taking Antibiotics; 25 Percent on Two or More – Healthline

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is rolling back the Hunger-Free Kids Act championed by Former First Lady Michelle Obama.

The plan to deregulate the school lunch program was first brought up in a press conference in May of 2017. Sonny Perdue, the Agriculture Secretary at that time, said the decision was not an attempt to reduce nutritional standards.

We’re not winding back any standards at all. We are just slowing down the process.”

“This is not reducing the nutritional standards whatsoever.”

Perdue said that children would be more likely to avoid nutritious foods altogether if they weren’t given more options. And if that’s not dumb enough for you, he also said:

I wouldn’t be as big as I am today without chocolate milk.”

The former Georgia governor was joined by Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts at an elementary school in Leesburg, VA. who also gave us a ridiculous quote:

Try eating a biscuit made with whole grains. It just doesn’t work!”

The Trump administration says they are trying to reduce “unnecessary regulatory burdens” across the federal government.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama initiated the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act as part of her campaign against obesity. The program made some minor improvements in school lunches but it also had some misguided rules as well, and while overall it was not making school lunches healthy, it was a pretty big step in the right direction. Now we are taking a step back to give more control to big business to dictate what our kids eat. But if any of these people knew what they were doing they would know that the fat is not the problem with chocolate milk, it’s the sugar, and the milk itself.

The Trump administration is putting politics before children’s health in ways worse than were expected.” – The Center for Science in the Public Interest

Remember when it was one in sixty? The CDC reported one in fifty-nine children were diagnosed with autism last year using data from 2014. But now a new study based on the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health estimates that the number of children with autism spectrum disorder has grown to one in forty children (2.5%). The new study indicates this disorder now effects an estimated 1.5 million U.S. kids between the ages of 3 to 17. Parents that were included reported their child had received a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and stated that the child currently had the condition.

It’s important to note that the ways these two studies gathered information is different. The new study relies on parents to report their information. The information is not validated by medical records. The CDC report did validate such claims. CNN got an emailed quote from Thomas Frazier, chief science officer of Autism Speaks. He was not involved in the new report.

Prevalence is not growing that rapidly, although the CDC’s data suggests it is still growing. What is happening is that these studies use methods that are a bit more liberal and inclusive than the CDC’s methods,” Frazier said, adding that he prefers the CDC’s numbers but understands “that they are likely a bit conservative.” – Thomas Frazier

They might have used different methodology and measurements, but two recent studies have come to the same conclusion – male fertility is on the decline. Both studies were premiered at the Scientific Congress of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) in Denver.

The first study is a collaborative effort between private fertility centers in New Jersey and Spain. This study looked at 120,000 men struggling with infertility and found that the percentage of men with a total motile sperm count (TMSC) of more than 15 million declined from 85 percent in 2002-05 to 79 percent in 2014-17. A TMSC under 15 million is considered low, and this study also found that the number of men with an extremely low TMSC (0 to 5 million) increased from 9 to more than 11.5 percent.

The second study comes from researchers at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine in conjunction with the California Cryobank and Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York. They looked at 124,000 sperm samples from 2,600 donors between 19-38 from various locations, including Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Houston, Boston, Indianapolis, and New York City. Testing sperm count, sperm concentration, and TMSC, researchers discovered that these numbers declined in almost every location from 2007 to 2017 (New York City was an exception for all three factors, while sperm counts in Boston showed no change).

Recommended: How To Heal Your Gut 

This is not news. Scientists from Hebrew University in Jerusalem found last year that sperm counts in the west have more than halved over the last forty years. The average rate of yearly decline is 1.4 percent. At this point, the real news would be the discovery of why. Why are men in the developed world experiencing this loss of fertility? Science still don’t know.

What We Need to Know

There are some theories as to how sperm counts and male fertility are declining in the western world. Some say the lack of exercise and increasing obesity play a part in decreased sperm numbers. Others point to the standard American diet, laced with sugar, soy, and other health-disrupting substances. Chemicals found in everyday items like Bis-Phenol A (BPA) are another common reason floated for the decline of male fertility. Add in smoking, stress, and drinking, and the causes of male infertility look like the textbook definition of an unhealthy lifestyle. Scientists haven’t found the official link between infertility and this kind of lifestyle. This suggests there isn’t one cause for the decline, though.  All of these options are valid and correct. Together they form the conditions needed to effectively slow men’s fertility in its tracks.

Related: How to Detox From Plastics and Other Endocrine Disruptors

Is This A Bad Thing?

As an environmentalist, I would love this news if the decrease in fertility wasn’t caused by environmental toxicity. Fewer people means less strain on resources, and 2017 study found that potential parents lower carbon emissions equivalent to 58.6 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year by having one fewer child. But lower sperm counts and decreased male fertility negatively affect the lives of the men dealing with them. Individuals struggling with infertility are more likely to develop diabetes, substance abuse disorders, or heart conditions. In a way that strains resources as well, especially in the U.S., where health care costs are a heavy burden on the population. Maybe we should treat infertility as a lifestyle problem, rather than a medical one. Let’s see that study.

Sources:

• Sperm Counts Continue to Fall – The Atlantic
• Study Finds Declining Sperm Counts in Houston and Other Cities – Houston Public Media
• Sperm counts of Western men plummeting, analysis finds – CNN
• The infertility crisis is beyond doubt. Now scientists must find the cause – The Guardian

A rare condition reminiscent of polio that causes weakness and paralysis of the arms and legs is on the rise nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The condition is called acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), and it impacts the nervous system, also leaving some who contract it struggling with breathing difficulties. Like polio, AFM primarily affects children. There have been 362 cases on AFM since 2014 as of September 30, 2018. Scientists are unsure of the cause or a cure for the condition.

What We Know

AFM is a relatively rare condition, occurring every one in a million people. Over the past four years, the majority of AFM cases are reported in August, September, and October. The timing of these spikes has led the CDC to link the condition to viral illnesses. An outbreak of Enterovirus d-68, a respiratory illness, in 2014 coincided with several cases of AFM and supported that theory, but instances of AFM have also happened after cases of West Nile virus or adenovirus.

The CDC reports that there are 38 confirmed cases of AFM spread across 16 different states this year. However, health officials from 26 different states are reporting a higher number of recent cases. Local offices say they have confirmed 52 cases. One reason for the discrepancy? An AFM diagnosis takes longer to confirm, often lasting more than a month and requiring a barrage of tests, including an examination of the spinal cord. Only then can a case of AFM be confirmed. The process also depends on the state the case occurs in. Some states don’t require healthcare providers to reports AFM cases, though we do know, at the time of this article’s publication, that the latest outbreaks have occurred in Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas, Washington, and Pennsylvania.

Related: How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children

The V Word

You can’t write an article about a polio-adjacent illness without addressing polio and vaccination. Most scientists believe that polio was eradicated due to vaccines. Yet now almost all cases of polio reported are vaccine-derived. A 2017 study reported six cases of “wild” polio in comparison to 21 cases of vaccine-derived polio (Dr. Sherri Tenpenny says there were ten). Polio vaccines contain a live virus in a weakened state, but there is evidence that the virus is capable of returning to full strength. According to Raul Andino, one of the authors of the study and a professor of microbiology at the University of California at San Francisco,

We discovered there’s only a few [mutations] that have to happen and they happen rather quickly in the first month or two post-vaccination…As the virus starts circulating in the community, it acquires further mutations that make it basically indistinguishable from the wild-type virus. It’s polio in terms of virulence and in terms of how the virus spreads.”

In other words, the weakened poliovirus in polio vaccines mutates, allowing the virus to regain full strength. It’s a familiar story. Microbes evolve in response to their environment. It’s their nature, and those evolutions are part of many of the most urgent health issues facing the world, like antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

https://youtu.be/T1CULm76N5Q?t=369

When we eliminate these viruses through vaccines, nature abhors a vacuum. And so when viruses are eliminated or bacteria for that matter, like when Prevnar takes out thirteen strains of strep, of which there are more than 80, the more virulant strains come to the surface.” – Dr. Sherri Tenpenny

Be sure to check out the video above. Dr. Sherri Tenpenny believes the vaccine industry is “priming the pump” for a new vaccine.

Related: How To Heal Your Gut

How Can We Know

There is no way to say for sure that the increasing outbreaks of AFM are a mutation of the poliovirus or if a savvy microbe saw an opportunity and took it. There are holes in polio research; we are lacking basic information to determine things like how it’s caused. Of those infected with polio, nearly three-fourths of them will not present with any symptoms. A quarter of those infected will appear to have the flu and recover with no other symptoms within 2 to 5 days. And there is an opportunity for a weakened live virus (like the vaccine) to return to full strength and perhaps mutate into something more upsetting.

Sources:

• Rare, polio-like paralyzing disorder affecting children on the rise, CDC says – USA Today
• AFM Investigation – CDC
• 12 More Possible Cases Of A Polio-Like Illness Have Been Seen In Children In Pennsylvania And Illinois – Buzzfeed
• Polio-like illness is on the rise with 87 possible cases – NBC News

Detroit recently made the decision to shut off public school’s drinking water because of “elevated levels” of lead and copper. In Baltimore City’s public schools, students haven’t been able to drink from water fountains for a decade. In May 2016, Portland found that 99 percent of the schools in the district had at least one cold water fixture with elevated levels of lead. For the first time in two years that students in most of Portland’s public school’s were able to safely drink from the water fountains when school started this year. Schools were recently tested in Indiana in a voluntary lead testing program. Out of 915, 61 percent were found to have elevated lead. High lead levels are still an issue in Hillsborough County, Florida and New York City schools.

Related: What’s the Best Water for Detoxifying and For Drinking?

Source:

• Not just Detroit: Lead in drinking water plagues schools nationwide – Detroit Free Press