This section of the library shall be dedicated to commentaries on the Hubermanlab podcast. Included below is not a summary of the episode (I’ll leave that for you to check out), but rather my comments on the episode in terms of psychology, health, and human behavior. Whenever possible, I draw connections to autism as well. Most of my comments originally appear on Twitter/X, so be sure to follow on there.
How to Prevent & Treat Colds & Flu
It’s actually been a long time since I’ve listened to anyone at length discuss cold and flu prevention; in fact, I don’t know that I’ve ever sat down for a whole lecture on it. So for the most part, a lot of this information was relatively new to me, it dispelled some myths, and it was nice to hear a lot of the science behind it.
A New Term for Reference
I learned a new term during this episode: Walking-Talking, Breathing-Sneezing-Coughing, Cold-Virus Vector. A vector is a route for passage of a virus. In a nutshell, the new term means that if a person is experiencing symptoms even though they say they’re feeling better, they should stay home because they are, in fact, most likely still contagious. So, don’t go to the gym or places while you’re still contagious and spread cooties.
The Cost of Getting Sick
Dr. Huberman discusses the costs of spreading cooties everywhere in terms of getting other people sick, other people having to stay home from work, etc. which can be costly to everyone. In the field of Applied Behavior Analysis for in-home services, it is VERY costly. If a child gets sick, they have to cancel all of their appointments until they feel better, which is both a loss of ABA service hours for them, a loss of income for the company, and potentially, a loss of income for the employee that is scheduled to see them if alternative hours with another child cannot be found to replace them. Thus, I concur on the financial loss of people getting sick -it is all too real in the field of ABA and can result in unhappy employees due to cancelled appointments.
The same goes for if an employee gets sick -it can be a loss of ABA for the child, and potentially a loss of income for the company if someone else isn’t able to cover those hours. That is one of the unfortunate aspects of the 1:1 service delivery model of ABA, unlike sending your child to a school. If your child misses school, a teacher still gets paid.
Frequency
Dr. Huberman shares that he only gets a bad cold/flu every 18-24 months, which is amazing. I would absolutely love to get to that level. But I do wonder if that’s even possible given that I hang out with kids who don’t wash their hands consistently enough, who also hang out with other kids who don’t wash their hands enough. 🙂
Exposure, and Just Getting Exposed
One of the things that I discussed with someone during the height of the pandemic as we were criticizing lock-downs, was the benefit of some degree of exposure to any cold/flu virus in order to build resistance to them provided that, as was discussed in the episode, a person has a strong enough immune system to just quickly fight them off without having a full blown sickness and then perhaps have later protection to them if exposed to those same strains again. There is now rampant criticism over the fact that people were told to hide away, lock down, and put a stop on their entire life instead of using methods to optimize (I know Dr. Huberman doesn’t like that word, so I’m using it jokingly) their immune systems.
At least for myself during this whole Covid thing, I can say I never really was afraid of getting the darn thing. I did consistently read news from organizations who were constantly challenging the mainstream narrative and would highlight research that would show the superiority of natural immunity versus vaccine-derived immunity -shout to Zachary Stieber from the Epoch Times for always putting those articles out there, the latest article on the topic being in November of last year [4, 5]. I kept up with his work a lot during the pandemic and was one of the sources who helped me keep a level mind. So, I’ve always held a positive attitude about my body’s own ability to fight off infection and was one of the reasons, surprise surprise, I never got the damn covid vaccine. Woot woot!
Nevertheless, It’s something I do think about when I consider the financial cost of getting sick: what if everyone was just properly educated on how to use food, diet, exercise, supplements with evidence behind them, etc. to optimize their immune systems so they don’t get full-blown bedridden when they catch something? Their body is just ready to fight it off quickly. That would be an ideal scenario, in my opinion. A proactive scenario, at the very least, rather than waiting around to catch a cold and then taking measures afterward.
Certainly much more proactive than lock-downs.
Flu Shots
Oh boy! The topic of vaccines came up.
Here we go: vaccines and autism. I kept going back and forth regarding whether I was going to write this section.
I’ll just touch on 2 studies.
There was a study published by CDC researchers that reported to the public:
“no association between prenatal and early-life exposure to ethylmercury from thimerosal-containing vaccines and immunoglobulin preparations was not related to increased risk of ASDs” [1].
The study has been the subject of much criticism and is discussed in the book “Vax-Unvax: Let the Science Speak” by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Brian Hooker. According to their investigations, the CDC ran 6 different variations of the model in studies leading up to the publication. In 2 of the analyses, CDC found highly significant statistical results. In the remaining 4 analyses, the CDC only highlighted a marginally significant result and buried a highly significant result in the original study report. The CDC has not completed a follow up study on these findings. Worst of all, the researchers used a difference of two standard deviations of exposure (approx. 16.34 micrograms) as the threshold for analysis….but the standard dose of mercury from thimerosal in a single flu shot is 25 micrograms. Talk about manipulating the outcome!
In another study, this time specifically studying the flu vaccine given during pregnancy, the authors state:
“After adjusting for covariates, we found that maternal influenza infection or influenza vaccination anytime during pregnancy was not associated with increased ASD risk. In trimester-specific analyses, first-trimester influenza vaccination was the only period associated with increased ASD risk.” [2]
So, they found an association between prenatal vaccines in the first trimester and increased risk of autism!
Buuut…then the authors did something that became the subject of criticism: they applied a Bonferroni correction. The authors did indicate that the association between first trimester vaccines and autism could be due to chance, and if they used a Bonferroni correction for the multiplicity of hypotheses, maternal influenza vaccination was found not to be associated with increased autism risk -and that’s what they reported to the public and in their conclusion. They did make a few odd remarks though, that indicate that they weren’t entirely ruling it out though.
“If influenza vaccination during the first trimester of
pregnancy causes ASD, our results suggest that it would amount to 4 additional ASD cases for every 1000 women vaccinated. Our finding of a possible association between maternal influenza vaccination in the first trimester and increased ASD risk parallels previous studies reporting an association between maternal viral infection or fever and increased ASD risk in the first trimester.”
Why would the authors of the study even leave this paragraph in the final published paper if they truly believed the finding was purely due to chance?
Dr. Brian Hooker along with Dr. Donzelli, each wrote letters to the editor of JAMA Pediatrics arguing it was inappropriate to use any correction for multiple testing for interdependent associations.
Leaving aside the inappropriateness of the Bonferroni correction aside for a second, another view is: how much do their findings actually make sense within the greater context of other studies on vaccines and autism? I presently am compiling a list of studies that do find an association between vaccines and autism (many of these specifically regarding thimerosal, an ingredient in flu vaccines), and this can be found elsewhere in this library [6].
For the record, Dr. Huberman did not recommend everyone to go get their flu shot. He didn’t say that at all. But the topic of flu shots did come up briefly when he was discussing our body’s ability to learn to fight off different strains of viruses, and how vaccines are designed to ward off the strains of the season (aka, seasonal flu shot).
The CDC last year made a surprising recommendation to the public: they told everyone it was safe to get a Covid shot, a flu shot, and a Monkeypox shot all at the same time. Did people accept this recommendation blindly? Nope. The nonprofit organization Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN) submitted a FOIA to the CDC for scientific evidence regarding the claim. The result? The CDC failed to produce research to back up their claim [3].
A similar thing had previously happened when ICAN submitted a FOIA request to the CDC regarding Aluminum Adjuvants [7], which is found in the following vaccines:
Anthrax, DT, DTaP (Daptacel), DTaP (Infanrix), DTaP-HepB-IPV (Pediarix), DTaP-IPV (Kinrix), DTaP-IPV (Quadracel), DTaP –IPV/Hib (Pentacel), DTaP-IPV-Hib-HepB (VAXELIS), HepA (Havrix), HepA (Vaqta), HepB (Engerix-B), HepB (PREHEVBRIO), HepB (Recombivax), HepA/HepB (Twinrix), HIB (PedvaxHIB), HPV (Gardasil 9), Japanese encephalitis (Ixiaro), MenB (Bexsero, Trumenba), Pneumococcal (Prevnar 13, Prevnar 20, VAXNEUVANCE), Td (Tenivac), Td (Mass Biologics), Td (no trade name), Tdap (Adacel), Tdap (Boostrix), Tick-Borne Encephalitis (TICOVAC)
CDC.gov [8]
Well, I went off on a tangent and Dr. Huberman didn’t discuss vaccines very extensively, so perhaps its time to move on from the topic.
The more you know though…
Smell as Information Gathering
The research discussing how people are more likely to touch their face after shaking someone’s hand, due to wanting to smell the other person’s bodily chemicals is interesting. I must admit my sense of humor immediately kicked in though when I started thinking about dogs sniffing each other‘s butts. I wonder how much more effective that would be for humans to just go up and sniff each other upon their first interaction (Doesn’t have to be the butt).
It does make me think about how many people do put effort into how they smell and what message is sent to others through that particular sense, many people going to great lengths in buying expensive, chemical laden perfumes/colognes.
I wonder how much we would actually learn about people if no one wore perfume/cologne and we got to actually smell everyone for who they are.
Microbiome Protocol
Dr. Huberman discusses a protocol he uses to promote a healthy gut microbiome that makes use of our oral microbiome: in the morning, we swish water around in our mouths and instead of spitting it, we drink it.
I actually found this protocol really fascinating because I used to do the complete opposite if I felt like I had come in contact with someone who was sick and I started feeling anything funny in my nose/mouth/throat: I would actually spit. At least in my own head, I was trying to spit out any germs/cooties I had come in contact with. Now applying this to chemical-laden perfumes, to this day if I accidentally overly inhale someone’s perfume (like if they’re applying it excessively) and I don’t like the taste its leaving me with, I spit to get rid of lingering chemicals that got into my mouth.
The discussion of the microbiome is interesting within the context of autism. Previous research has shown that gastrointestinal issues is associated with the severity of autism symptoms [9], and novel research is shedding further attention on the importance of the microbiome and autism, with findings that indicate the severity of autism symptoms correlates with levels of specific microbiota [10].
Presently, the effect of fluoride on health and IQ is gaining more attention in the media, with Children’s Health Defense presently on the verge of releasing a film on the matter this evening [11]. Although I have not yet dug into the literature of the impact of fluoride on the microbiome, I do wonder if fluoride in toothpaste, mouthwash, and our water is negatively impacting the oral and gut microbiomes, thereby negatively impacting our ability to fight off infection -add that to the list of vulnerabilities for children with autism.
To what degree is fluoride exacerbating autism? Perhaps the connection is not directly causal, or maybe it is… but perhaps there is a connection nonetheless.
Vitamin C
I did find this bit of research really fascinating. Dr. Huberman provided a review on the literature that indicates Vitamin C has minimal benefits in our ability to fight off infection. I do wonder, however, if there are any differences in the type of Vitamin C that is consumed. For example, Ascorbic acid based Vitamin C, versus Liposomal, versus whole food based. What are the differences in the benefits provided by each of these in the ability for the body to ward off infection?
My nutritionist friend informed me that a lot of Vitamin C supplements on the market are actually made from GMO corn. She was very critical of it. She was a very big proponent of food based Vitamin C. I happen to currently take a liposomal vitamin C supplement. I have to admit though, at least for myself, nothing beats eating actual physical oranges and a whole lemon with honey drizzled over it. I immediately feel an impact within an hour or two. I physiologically actually feel better after that little protocol.
Thus, I would be curious if the literature on Vitamin C is presently addressing these types of differences in the type of Vitamin C that is consumed.
As always, thanks for the lovely episode Dr. Huberman.
Autism Librarian
References
- Price, C. S., Thompson, W. W., Goodson, B., Weintraub, E. S., Croen, L. A., Hinrichsen, V. L., Marcy, M., Robertson, A., Eriksen, E., Lewis, E., Bernal, P., Shay, D., Davis, R. L., & DeStefano, F. (2010). Prenatal and infant exposure to thimerosal from vaccines and immunoglobulins and risk of autism. Pediatrics, 126(4), 656–664. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2010-0309
- Zerbo, O., Qian, Y., Yoshida, C., Fireman, B. H., Klein, N. P., & Croen, L. A. (2017). Association Between Influenza Infection and Vaccination During Pregnancy and Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder. JAMA pediatrics, 171(1), e163609. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2016.3609
- CDC Has No Data to Support its Tweet Telling America that it is Safe to Give the Monkeypox, Flu, And COVID Shots Together https://icandecide.org/press-release/cdc-has-no-data-to-support-its-tweet-telling-america-that-it-is-safe-to-give-the-monkeypox-flu-and-covid-shots-together/
- Natural Immunity Better Than Protection From COVID-19 Vaccination: Study https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/natural-immunity-better-than-protection-from-covid-19-vaccination-study-5534822
- Uusküla, A., Pisarev, H., Tisler, A. et al. Risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and hospitalization in individuals with natural, vaccine-induced and hybrid immunity: a retrospective population-based cohort study from Estonia. Sci Rep 13, 20347 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-47043-6
- Vaccines https://thecausesofautism.com/2023/11/13/vaccines/
- CDC and NIH Unable to Provide a Single Study to Support the Safety of Injecting Aluminum Adjuvants Despite its Widespread Use in Childhood Vaccines https://icandecide.org/press-release/cdc-and-nih-unable-to-provide-a-single-study-to-support-the-safety-of-injecting-aluminum-adjuvants-despite-its-widespread-use-in-childhood-vaccines/
- Adjuvants and Vaccines https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/adjuvants.html
- Adams, J.B., Johansen, L.J., Powell, L.D. et al. Gastrointestinal flora and gastrointestinal status in children with autism – comparisons to typical children and correlation with autism severity. BMC Gastroenterol 11, 22 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-230X-11-22
- Lewandowska-Pietruszka, Z., Figlerowicz, M., & Mazur-Melewska, K. (2023). Microbiota in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review. International journal of molecular sciences, 24(23), 16660. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms242316660
- Fluoride On Trial: The Censored Science on Fluoride and Your Health https://live.childrenshealthdefense.org/chd-tv/events/fluoride-on-trial-the-censored-science-on-fluoride-and-your-health/fluoride-on-trial/
The Causes of Autism 