Part 1: How To Identify The Lies That Popular Media Spews About Wellness (& My Reply To "The Most O

They're basically screwing one in five people who would read that and then go out and consume. Well, if somebody puts 2 grams of dark chocolate in front of me and 2 grams of gummy bears, based on the research I've seen, I'm reaching for the dark chocolate. And I will also argue that it is better for me than the gummy bears. So congratulations, Vice. Over the course of 44 different myths, you've convinced me to thus far switch toothpaste. I have a master's degree in physiology, biomechanics, and human nutrition. I've spent the past two decades competing in some of the most masochistic events on the planet. From Sealfit, Kokoro, Spartan Agoji, and the world's toughest mudder to 13 Ironman triathlons, brutal bow hunts, adventure races, spearfishing, plant foraging, free diving, bodybuilding, and beyond. I combine this intense time in the trenches with a blend of ancestral wisdom and modern science. Search the globe for the world's top experts in performance, fat loss recovery, hormones, brain beauty, and brawn to deliver you this podcast. Everything you need to know to live an adventurous, joyful, and fulfilling life. My name is Ben Greenfield. Enjoy the ride.

Well, folks, I'm still out here in the Swiss Alps, but I wanted to bring you a podcast episode because I'm on a streak. Been podcasting for 12 years, two times a week. Don't want to give that up. So this podcast, actually, I should mention, is brought to you by Kion. And in honor of the fourth of July, sorry, everyone who's not American, in the glorious country that is America, we're going to give away a bunch of free coffee tumblers. These are really cool stainless steel tumblers. They're these sexy black tumblers with the Kion logo. They're really cool. So we're going to give free coffee tumblers out with every single purchase until we run out of tumblers. Then we'll just send you, I don't know, pancakes. So what you do is you go to getkion.com and if you treat yourself to a bag, or five bags, if you so please, of delicious organic Kion coffee, I will automatically throw in a badass high quality coffee tumbler that will keep your coffee at the perfect temperature for hours on end for anybody. I've never got that. I never got people who take an hour to drink a cup of coffee. Mine's gone in like five minutes. But if you are one of those people, High quality Tumblr. Seriously, we're going to run out fast, so just go to getkion.com that special will go till the end. Oh, the day on July 4th. So getkion.com get your coffee tumbler. This podcast is also brought to you by Organifi. And I know many of you have wandered into random coffee shops. I haven't seen this in Europe at all. I only see it in America. Oddly enough, you look up at the menu and they have this lovely golden milk latte. And then the coffee barista proceeds to dump some kind of non organic turmeric blend with soy milk and copious amounts of high fructose corn syrup into your cup and hands it over to you and tells you it's an ayurvedic superfood. Well, I've got a better option for you. My friends at Organifi have created a version of this golden milk latte that is actually healthy. It's got reishi mushroom in it, it's got lemon balm and turkey tail mushroom in. So it's fantastic for immunity. It gives you this anti inflammatory activity. It's calming, it's lovely. Before sleep you just heat this stuff up with a little bit of coconut milk or perhaps an almond milk or anything else your heart desires. I even sprinkled it on top of ice cream. Yes, even halo top ice cream and it's amazing. So they even add black pepper to the turmeric which increases the medicinal potency of that turmeric. Anyways, they're going to give you 20% off this stuff. You just go to Organifi.comBen that's Organifi with an I.comBen use code BENG20. BENG20 will give you 20% off. All right, are you guys ready to hear me rant for the next little bit about myths in wellness? Well, if you are, let's do this.

Welcome. Welcome to a very special episode of my show. It's special for a couple of reasons. First of all, I'm recording in the Swiss Alps. No, seriously, I'm looking out over the snow capped mountains while I sit here at a something called the Swiss Mountain Clinic. I'm here for two weeks doing all manner of strange European biological medicine remedies. I think in the past week I've had like six coffee enemas. I'm doing like biophoton therapy and this stuff called Indeeba therapy and hyperthermia on my liver, getting vitamin IVs every day and oxygen infusions. Did a 24 hour fast a couple of days ago along with a bit of colonic hydrotherapy which was just absolutely pleasant. Absolutely wonderful to watch green goo come out your butthole and pass by you in a little viewing chamber as a man named Bruno, not kidding, gently massages my colon for left to right for a good 45 minutes. God bless Bruno. He made some stuff happen. If you want to learn more about that clinic, by the way, I did a podcast on it a while ago, which I'll link to in the show notes for this episode. And I also have a URL you can go to. It's BenGreenfieldFitness.com SwissClinic is a webpage where you can read up on this place. Just tucked away up in the hills in the Italian quarter in the Swiss Alps. So if you hear goats bleeding or, I don't know, Swiss cheese being made, that's, that's the reason, because I'm outside on the patio right now recording this. So that's the first reason this is a special podcast. The second reason is that this is a solo sod. I don't have any guests except me, yours truly. And I decided that I wanted to sit down and record this podcast for you because I got a little bit pissed earlier this week. As pissed as you can get when you're in the Swiss Alps in a, in a EMF and WI fi free zone, living a clean lifestyle. And I don't know, maybe I do get a little ornery when I'm not allowed to have alcohol or coffee or red meat. I don't have my Pellegrino and my stevia and all my other vices. But speaking of vices, Vice Vice, the website released this article that created a little bit of a splash on the Internet. It was called the Most Overhyped Wellness Promises. Debunked Healthy Skepticism About Keto, Colonics, Charcoal and more. Kind of struck a nerve because I think I was reading it as I was lying on my floor with a tube of my butt putting coffee into my rectum. So, I mean, it was highly relevant to me at the time. But this, this article went into an attempt to debunk 44 different myths in wellness. And most of it was total bullshit. I'm serious. And I decided that I want to do a two part podcast episode. The first part, this one you're listening to right now on the myths that Vice magazine attempted to debunk. And the second podcast, on the other 22 myths. See, I'm good at math that. That Vice attempted to debunk. What I'm going to do is I'm going to go through these one by one systematically. And I'm going to put all the PubMed research, all the science, everything I reference on some pretty robust show notes that I am creating for this episode. You will be able to find those over@BenGreenfieldFitness.com VicePodcast1 as in Vice Podcast the number one. And then when I release part two in a few days, it'll just be at BenGreenfieldFitness.com vicepodcast2 All right, I think that's long enough. I think we should just jump right in. So the the introduction from Vice said, raise your hand if you have a friend who's tried one of the following in the name of wellness. Apple cider vinegar, gluten free food colonics or detoxing, avoiding microwaves and antiperspirants to protect themselves from radiation and toxins. Or one who swears that the crystals in their bedroom are responsible for all the positive changes they've made recently. Behold our ever growing list of today's most pervasive wellness lies. It goes on to say that there may be a time when, say, there's a probiotic on the market that is proven to improve your mood, but until that time arrives, it's worth saving your time and money and keeping an eye on the research. Somebody named Juan Moyano, I think, wrote this article. No, they took the photos in the article. The person who wrote it just says tonic editor, so it doesn't say who the actual author was. And if you guys want to help me debunk some of these myths that they attempted to debunk, of course, be sure to share this episode with your friends or your neighbors or people who have yet to shove a colonic tube up their backside because they're missing out on a lot, I'm telling you. I mean, I say that kind of tongue in cheek, but at the same time. Well, let's just delve in. You tell me what you think. Leave a comment after I go through these over in the show notes@bengreenfieldfitness.com VicePodcast1 alright, myth number one. Pink Himalayan salt is not more nutritious than table salts. While it may contain higher trace amounts of some minerals, the amounts are insignificant and afford no additional health benefit. So is pink Himalayan salt more nutritious than regular table salt? Well, first of all, before diving into the question of Himalayan salt, I should mention the new research that came out last year showing that 90% of table salt is chock full of microplastics. Now don't get me wrong, microplastics have also been found in some sea salts, and so you do need to be cautious of the source of any of your salts. But I'm pretty careful not to judge grab table salt because it is purportedly equal to Himalayan salt. Now, when we look at Himalayan salt, there is some interesting research about Himalayan salt, and there are some reasons that I don't really use Himalayan salt very often at all. And when we step back and look at Himalayan salt, it is pretty high in sodium and it does have a relatively good mineral content compared to table salt, meaning it's a little bit higher. And I'll link to three different research articles that have shown Himalayan salt does have some amount of trace mineral content that's a little bit higher than table salt. However, there are some downsides to Himalayan salt that I think this article doesn't address, but it is true that Himalayan salt may not be doing you any favors over regular table salt. A lot of Himalayan salt comes from Pakistan, and a lot of them are sold pretty cheaply and they contain impurities. Fluoride contamination is one that's very common, and while fluoride is great for your teeth, it cannot be that great for your pineal gland and for other areas where it can accumulate within the body. So Himalayan salt not only has microplastics in it, but only about 4% more trace minerals than table salt and tends to be contaminated with other elements. One of the more concerning ones that I recently spoke with my friend Dr. Mercola about on a podcast is iron. And especially for any man who's concerned about hemochromatosis or some of the interior rusting and oxidation that iron can cause, that should also give you reason for pause to not choose Himalayan salt as your replacement for the, say, microplastic infused table salt. So as far as the type of salt that I tend to choose and tend to go with, one of my favorites is Celtic salt. And this is the kind of grayish salt, meaning it hasn't been bleached or washed. So it's higher in mineral content that you can find it just about anywhere. Safeway Rosars Albertsons. You can buy it on Amazon. Of course, as I spoke about in my podcast episode with Dr. Robert Slovak, in which we discussed the mass spec analysis of a variety of different salts, Celtic rated the highest, and the trace mineral content of Celtic salt is about, depending on the source, about 7.5 to 23% higher than Himalayan salt. So that's one reason that I choose it. But in addition to that, Celtic salt was shown to have almost non detectable levels of impurity contamination or iron. And it does have, as I mentioned, a much higher mineral content. So not only is it more pure but but it is higher in minerals. So my takeaway.

On the vice comments about table salt is that yes, pink Himalayan salt isn't necessarily that much more nutritious than regular table salt, but I still wouldn't eat regular table salt and I would instead choose something like Celtic salt. And probably a close second to that would be something called Colima salt, which is another salt I consume regularly that is harvested from the Mexican coast at the base of mountain where water kind of trickles down over these rocks, collects at this basin and so it's not getting microplastics from the sea. This is actually coming from the mountains and that's a pretty good salt as well. Although they do wash it and they don't really wash or bleach the Celtic salt quite as much. One other thing that I should note about salt is that when we look at some research that is done on natural sea salt consumption, it has been shown to confer some protection, paradoxically for many people who aren't up to date on the latest research on salt against hypertension and also against kidney damage. This research did not have a control group that was consuming table salt to see if table salt has any antihypertensive or kidney protective properties. But that chalks yet another advantage up to perhaps traveling with or having in your pantry some kind of a good mineral rich salt because of the kidney and the blood pressure protection that that can also give you. So I will link of course as I speak about anything to the to the salts that I use as well as to some of this research in the show notes. So let's move on to the next myth. Lectins are not bad for you. And vice says this family of protein compounds found in beans and other plants do not make those plants bad for you. Well this, this upset me quite a bit because when we look at the research on the prevalence of autoimmune diseases which the way are highly reactive when it comes to or are highly affected by the consumption of lectins. There is a host of data that you can find on PubMed showing that lectins and also something called agglutinins, which are basically forms of gluten based protein, produce a significant amount of immunoglobulin antibodies against those lectins that aggravates the autoimmune issues which is concerning considering about 30% of food contains lectins. I spoke with Dr. Stephen Gundry about this in the podcast that I did with him. Now, in addition to that, with the growing prevalence of autoimmune, and by growing prevalence, what I mean by that is in America alone, about 50 million as of the latest 2017 data, Americans, that's 20% of the population, 1 in 5 people suffer from some form of an autoimmune condition. And that autoimmune condition is aggravated by 30% of the foods in our diet, primarily the lectins and a gluten based protein found in those foods. There have even been studies in which they've shown a complete remission or cure of autoimmune diseases in folks who follow a lectin free diet. And that study also supplemented that lectin free diet with probiotics, with prebiotics, and with polyphenols. I suspect that they would have seen very good results even without the supplementation of the probiotics, the prebiotics and the polyphenols. But nonetheless, for Vice to come out and say that lectins are not bad for you, they're basically screwing one in five people who would read that and then go out and consume high lectin containing foods, beans, legumes, soy products, etc. None of which I'm against. I mean, hell, I'm eating like sprouted legumes and lentils and all sorts of foods that do contain trace amounts of lectins while I'm here at this Swiss clinic. But at the same time, if I had an autoimmune condition, there's no way that I would be doing that. You hear those, those bells in the background behind me? That's the, that's the Swiss Alps for you. It's either a herd of goats walking by or the church bells or something like that. So sorry for the distraction, but anyways, that second myth I think is going to harm a lot of people. And I definitely think that there is an issue with lectin and autoimmune reactivity. Now, the third myth. Probiotics probably can't boost your mood, your immune system, or your overall wellness. Probiotics probably can't boost your mood, your immune system, or your overall wellness. This was a real head scratcher for me because when you go to the research, which again I will link to in the show notes, the latest research as of 2018 has demonstrated that probiotic administration has positive effects on depressive feelings even in healthy populations. And this is of course likely due to the gut brain axis and the effect of the bacterial profile on mood and emotion. Another 2018 very recent study showed that in both human and rodent models, probiotic formulations that included things like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium had a direct neurochemical effect on the central nervous system that affected anxiety like behaviors. So we know that probiotic administration affects both anxiety and depression. And then finally, the nail in the coffin for me on this is a 2017 systematic review of the literature entitled the Effects of Probiotics on Depressive Symptoms in Humans. And this review analyzed all the current body of research to date assessing the effects of probiotic on symptoms of depression in humans. And they reported several studies that showed alleviation of depressive symptoms. There were some studies that did not show this alleviation of depressive symptoms. Yet for vice to paint with a broad brush and say probiotics probably can't boost your mood, your immune system over your overall wellness I think is an error. And especially in people with dysbiosis or with any type of bacterial imbalance that could directly affect their mood, I feel that probiotics are a worthy candidate to consider for people who struggle with depression. Alright, the next myth kind of up the probiotic Kombucha isn't making you any healthier. Yes, it has some buzzy sounding probiotics in it, but they're not doing anything for you. Well, let's see what the literature actually says about kombucha, which is essentially it's usually a black or a green tea that's fermented for seven plus days with specific strains of bacteria, a little bit of yeast, a little bit of sugar, so the bacteria grows. And I've done several podcasts with folks who have written books about kombucha and the benefits of kombucha. So first of all, remember, when you're consuming kombucha, you're getting all the benefits of tea, right? So when you're consuming kombucha that uses a green tea starter, you're getting all of the bioactive compounds, the polyphenols in the green tea. You're getting the research that they've shown on green tea for reduction in visceral fat, improvement in cholesterol balance, assistance with blood sugar control, even reduced risk of prostate, breast and colon cancer. There's a host of research on all of this. You are getting the antioxidants that have been studied in kombucha and in rodent models. And several times during this podcast I will mention rodent models. And yes, rodents are not tiny humans but these studies do give us clues. And there are four separate studies showing that Kombucha reduces liver toxicity caused by toxic chemicals in rodent models, in some cases by at least 70%. They've also shown that the acetic acid in Kombucha can kill off potentially harmful microorganisms in the gut and has very strong antibacterial properties, specifically against Candida yeasts and infection causing bacteria. Yes, there are some people with yeast or fungal overgrowth who actually have a deleterious reaction to Kombucha. But I suspect that's more due to the consumption of Kombucha that contains a high amount of residual sugars added post fermentation than it is the actual bacteria or the compounds in the Kombucha itself. A few studies have been done on the effects of Kombucha on two markers that could affect heart disease, potentially LDL and HDL cholesterol, showing a protection of LDL cholesterol particles from oxidation. And also amongst green tea drinkers, a 31% lower risk of developing heart disease. And remember, Kombucha is a form of green tea. Kombucha has also been looked at in terms of its blood sugar controlling properties. And this was a rodent model that showed improvement in liver and kidney function and also in insulin sensitivity. Although the human studies on blood sugar control are not robust, there was one review study of over 300,000 people that found that green tea drinkers had an 18% lower risk of developing diabetes.

And.

By vice saying that Kombucha isn't making you any healthier, that is again, a huge head scratcher for me, based on the research, not only in the black and the green tea that Kombucha actually is, but also on the microorganisms that Kombucha itself contain that also confer many of the protective properties that I just described. So a nail in the coffin to that one. The next myth is that natural sugars like agave syrup and coconut sugar aren't any better for you than the refined white stuff. Now, I've certainly gotten on my soapbox before and said that when you navigate through, let's say, you know, Hudson Nude sand at the airport, and you grab your healthy, say, sugar snap peas and you turn over the label and it's got like whatever, peas. But then the top two ingredients are sunflower oil and let's say, you know, organic agave syrup up with unicorn tears, that is probably producing just as much fluctuation in blood glucose and glycemic variability. And Also inflammation due to the oils in that product, as just say, eating vegetable oil and sugar at the same time. Let's take the example of coconut sugar, right? Coconut sugar is a product of the SAP of the coconut palm. Where farmers cut into the tree, they allow the nectar to flow out. They mix that SAP with water, they boil it down to a syrup, and then they dry it and they crystallize it. And when you compare coconut sugar to regular sugar, well, for granulated sugar, there's a minute amount of minerals, trace amounts of sodium, trace amounts of calcium. When you look at the same amount of coconut sugar, the carbohydrate content is of course, pretty much equal. So it's going to raise your blood sugar just as much as regular table sugar. But it's got 625 milligrams of potassium, 125 milligrams of sodium. It has higher levels based on research, and you can read about this from the Food and Nutrition Research Institute. It's got higher levels of iron, higher levels of zinc, higher levels of calcium, trace amounts of phytonutrients, it's got polyphenols, it's got flavonoids, it's got anthocyanidin, all trace polyphenols. And I'm not saying that you should eat coconut sugar for your antioxidants. However, to compare it to table sugar, I mean, even consider this, its glycemic index. When you look at the glycemic index of coconut sugar, it has a glycemic index score of anywhere from 35 to 40, depending on what study you look at. Table sugar has been shown to have a glycemic index of 65. So table sugar is going to raise your blood glucose higher and faster than coconut sugar.

For the Vice magazine article to say that coconut sugar is known no better than table sugar, well, if I had the choice and I was going to choose a sweetener for a cake, or I was going to sweeten whatever an ice cream that I'm making or anything like that, I would certainly choose coconut sugar over table sugar, hands down, based on the research. So shove that myth aside. The next myth, antiperspirant does not cause breast cancer. Antiperspirant does not cause breast cancer. This is based on the idea that aluminum based compounds, one of the active ingredients and many underarm antiperspirants.

It's purported that it may be absorbed by the skin. And we do know that the skin is, of course, just a giant mouth and it may have some effect on the Endocrine system, specifically an estrogen like effect. And because estrogen can promote the growth of breast cancer cells, some folks have suggested that aluminum based compounds and antiperspirants may contribute to the development of breast cancer. Now, I'm not aware of many studies.

That have looked into this, but I was able to dig up a few. And there was One study in 2017 that looked at this whole aluminum breast cancer puzzle, and specifically some epidemiological research on carcinogens. What they found was that there actually was a higher amount of aluminum concentration found in the tissue of folks with breast cancer versus those who did not have breast cancer. And they also found a higher amount of aluminum in folks who were using aluminum based antiperspirants and deodorants. Now, for me to see those two pieces of data, and for me to also see a case control study in which they took a bunch of underarm cosmetic products. And in this case, they analyzed 209 female breast cancer patients and 209 healthy controls. They also found the accumulation of aluminum in breast tissue in the folks who had breast cancer. So does that mean that because the aluminum is there, that it caused the cancer? Not necessarily. But stepping back and looking at this, people use aluminum based underarm antiperspirants. Okay. And then we analyze those people who are using those, and those who have breast cancer and are using those have a higher amount of aluminum in their breast tissue. Well, for me, I'm gonna play it safe. I'm gonna tell any female in my life that an antiperspirant that contains aluminum when you consider that there are a host of natural antiperspirants that do not contain aluminum. Aluminum. It's just not a smart idea. So I'm not going to say there's a smoking gun that shows that antiperspirants that contain aluminum cause breast cancer. But there's certainly enough anecdotal evidence and also indirect evidence of it potentially being an issue that I would play it safe and I would ignore this myth as well. From. From vice. Okay, next myth. Alkalizing your body with alkaline water is not a thing. You can't change your body's ph through what you eat. Well, in my recent interview with Robert Slovak on water, we did both agree that based on the ph change of water as soon as it hits your stomach, that alkaline water is not staying alkaline when you consume it and is probably not going to give you any additional benefits. That being said, there was a systematic review of the association between dietary acid load, alkaline water and cancer. And this was actually looking at this because alkaline water is in many cases in some alternative cancer treatments something that is recommended. They found no evidence for any effect on diet acid load upon consumption of alkaline water. Yes, there are certain some foods that have been shown to affect the renal acid production. The renal acid score of some foods does actually show that some foods are alkaline producing foods. Lemon water is a perfect example, one that actually vice mentions in this article as another myth that can have a net alkalizing effect upon the body. Green vegetables, dark green vegetables are another, but alkaline water does not seem to have that effect. Now there was one rodent model, okay, a three year survival study on 150 mice. They did find an increase in lifespan and a decrease in many of the accelerated aging factors that occur during the lifespan of a mice in the mice who drank alkaline water versus those who did not. So there is perhaps some kind of a physiological mechanism that's occurring despite alkaline water not affecting renal acid load that may be causing it to have some kind of a beneficial effect. But I think you need to be careful. Many of these alkaline water machines pass the water over a metal plate and could potentially occur or cause metal accumulation within tissue. In addition, more alkalinity is not better and I was recently telling someone this. Just the other day I had a friend who purchased an alkaline water machine, shoved it up to the top value which I think is 9 to 10 and her children started drinking that water every day as their primary source of water. And within I think it was two months one of her children had a seizure out of the blue. And I'm not saying it was the alkaline water, but I think that shoving the body into too alkaline of a state can cause some potential metabolic damage or some kind of downstream issue. So more is not better. I'm a bigger fan of hydrogen rich water water. I'm a bigger fan of deuterium depleted water. I'm a bigger fan of reverse osmosis filtration and I'm a bigger fan of structured water than I am of alkaline water. And you can go and listen to my podcast with Robert Slovak, which I will link to in the resources for this podcast over at BenGreenfieldFitness.com VicePodcast1 if you want to kind of dig into some of the research on the structured water or on the deuterium depleted or on the hydrogen rich water water okay, next myth is that apple cider vinegar is good for salads. It says apple cider vinegar will not cure acne or treat your acid reflux. Well, let's see what the research says about apple cider vinegar. Now apple cider vinegar is made by crushing apples or apple cider to yeast and then fermenting the sugars and turning them into alcohol. Then bacteria is added to that alcoholic solution, fermented, and you get high concentrations of acetic acid as a byproduct. And that's the main active component in vinegar. Now organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar, which is the type I drink, I drink the Bragg's brand apple cider vinegar that also contains what's called the mother. The same thing you'll find in some versions of kombucha, especially homemade kombucha. And that strands of protein and enzymes and bacteria that kind of gives apple cider vinegar that cloudy appearance. Appearance. Now when we look at apple cider vinegar, first of all, there is research that shows that acetic acid and vinegar can kill pathogens and can act as almost like a natural antibacterial. It can also treat nail fungus. It's been shown to be able to treat lice, treat warts, treat ear infection. And this is all based on research. This is not like old wives tales. It is also something that upon consumption, and I've talked about this before about a shot of apple cider vinegar prior to a carbohydrate rich meal. It has been shown to be able to improve insulin sensitivity during a high carb meal by 19 to 34% depending on the research that you look at. Significantly lowering blood sugar and insulin response reduces blood sugar by 34%. After eating 50 grams of white bread. 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before you go to bed can reduce your fasting blood sugar in the morning by 4%. And numerous other studies in humans show that vinegar can improve insulin function and lower blood sugar levels after meals. Apple cider vinegar has also been shown to reduce belly fat. Okay, one tablespoon a day has been shown in a study of 175 people with obesity who didn't change anything else. A reduction in fat mass over time of 2.6 pounds. 2 tablespoons, a reduction in fat mass by 3.7 pounds that was over a three month period of time. That's not huge over a three month period of time, but it is significant, highlighting that apple cider vinegar, likely based on the insulin sensitivity that it can induce, is also useful as a weight loss aid. Animal studies on apple cider vinegar show a reduction in triglyceride levels along with several other heart disease risk factors. Vinegar has been shown to reduce blood pressure in rodent models. It's been shown to regulate kidney function. There was one study from Harvard that showed that women who ate salad dressings with apple cider vinegar had a reduced risk of heart disease. Numerous studies have shown that a variety of sources of vinegar can kill cancer cells, can shrink tumors. Some observational studies have been shown to have been shown that vinegar consumption is linked to decreased rates of esophageal cancer and decreased rates of bladder cancer. Okay, and yet Vice says apple cider vinegar is only good for salads and I completely disagree. I do think that it has some health promoting properties. I am going to interrupt today's show to tell you about why the majority of my wardrobe is now from a company called Vuori, spelled V U O R I Look these folks up. They make this Atlanta athletic fit gear with four way stretch quick drying properties sustainably made from recycled plastics. At least their new Vioria bank short is they look fantastic though. You wear this clothing to the gym, but you could also wear it to the office to a cocktail party. If you happen to live in say, California where you can wear shorts and a T shirt to a cocktail party, it's just great to cruise around, around in the rest of the day after you've done your yoga or you're running or you're training or you're spinning or whatever else you do. I wouldn't do jiu jitsu with it, but just about anything else. And Vuori is designed specifically for guys who want to look good in their athletic gear. And you will look good in this stuff. So they are giving everybody a pretty massive discount. 25% discount. Very, very big discount. 25%. That's a lot. You go to vuoriclothing.com v u o r I vuoriclothing.com you enter the code BEN25 at checkout. That's going to give you 25% off your purchase. This podcast is also brought to you by another clothing manufacturer that makes the the shorts that I wear to the beach, they're called Birdwell beach britches. These things are incredible in durability. They call them unbreakable because they are made from this surf Neil nylon that's fashioned or inspired by the sails on sailboats because they're designed in California. They've been there since the 60s and originated when a surf mom named Carrie Birdwell. That's where the name comes from she built a pair of these for her sons and she transformed her entire home in 1961 into a store to get these things when people were still surfing and cut off slacks. So these are California summertime icon. They're like the 501s of the beach. That's what Outside magazine calls them. And I absolutely love my Birdwell Beach Britches. I'm actually, I'm not lying to you. I'm wearing them right now. I just went on a walk and swam in the lake in my Birdwell beach britches up here in the Swiss alps. You get 10% off your first Birdwell beach britches purchase with their lifetime guarantee because they're unbreakable and free shipping for any order over 99. You just go to birdwell.com b I r d d w e l l.com use discount code BENG at checkout, pick up your first pair of birdies and see why they've been an American icon since 1960. Freaking one.

Myth number nine, you don't need to detox with a juice cleanse. Well, speak of the devil. I'm here at a detox retreat. I have written an entire article@bengreenfieldfitness.com about whether or not detoxification is a blog myth. Now, the liver and the kidneys are your body's primary two detoxification organs as well as the skin via which you release quite a few toxins, which I'll get into when I discuss the myth on infrared saunas that the Vice article discusses. So the liver during phase one and phase two detoxification is going to neutralize and break into smaller fragments toxins. It in phase two is going to bind those to other molecules creating a new new non toxic molecule that's then excreted in bile or in urine or in stool. And several nutrients have been studied, nutrients that are usually part of a detoxification profile to support both phase one and phase two detoxification pathways. I'm talking about things like glutathione, fish oil, indole, three carbinol, which you find in cruciferous vegetables as well as in supplementation for form vitamin B complexes, magnesium. There are multiple studies that have demonstrated the efficacy of these type of nutrients for supporting proper liver detoxification pathways. Now in addition to that, there are also studies that have shown specific so called superfoods or fringe compounds to be able to support detoxification like cyanobacteria. That's a specific type of bacteria found in Spirulina. It's been shown via ion exchange binding to be able to significantly reduce heavy metal toxicity in tissue to remove over 85% of arsenic in tissue to prevent metal toxicity from occurring in rodent models, I will say when rodents were given fluoride, it's been shown to reduce lead accumulation in neural tissue to protect against heavy metal cadmium buildup to attenuate mercury accumulation in human testes. So spirulina, that's one of the few molecules that has a very large body of evidence to support its detoxifying activity. Other compounds like dandelion extract, like ginseng, like zinc, also have been clinically proven to reduce heavy metal buildup. Milk thistle extract in studies have been shown to protect and promote the growth of liver cells, to fight oxidation, to block toxins from entering the cell membrane. Silymarin, a group of antioxidants extracted from the seeds of milk thistle, have been shown to be especially effective in promoting liver health and to enhance detoxification by preventing the depletion of glutathione. That's also something that you can get in dandelion leaf or dandelion root. In addition to that, we also know that the production of bile and the peristalsis induced by things like colon therapy can can increase bile production by the liver, increase peristalsis and after phase one and phase two detoxification allow for an accelerated release of those toxins via the stool. Now yes, vice is correct when they say your body has a built in detoxification system in the form of your liver and your kidneys. But just because your liver and kidneys are there, that doesn't mean you assume that you can just beat them up all day long, not consume any nutrients that support their function, not engage in any practices that support the release of the toxins via bile, via urine and via sweat that the liver and kidneys are producing. You know, such as everything from lymph, fluid flow, dry skin brushing, colonics, enemas, rebounding, infrared, sauna, all of these things can enhance detoxification. Using myself as a case study, I went from extremely high levels of mercury, of lead, of aluminum to almost undetectable levels. And I just recently published all my latest blood results on Twitter. If you go to twitter.com BenGreenfield and scroll through, you can see my latest comprehensive blood results. My heavy metal levels have dropped to rock bottom once I started to support my liver and my kidneys. So I disagree with this myth as well. I do think that some type of a regular detoxification protocol, whether It's a weekly coffee enema or a daily infrared sauna, or frequent consumption of things like spirulina and dandelion and glutathione. I think that there's definitely something to be said for that. Now, on a related note to detoxification, the next is that activated charcoal is only helpful if you're in the ER and you need your stomach pumped. If you're in the ER and you need your stomach pumped. So activated charcoal, that's this, this fine, odorless black powder and it is often used in emergency rooms to treat overdoses because it does have toxin absorbing properties. Properties superheating carbon, like wood, produces activated charcoal and then the black powder binds to toxins or binds to, let's say, something that's poisoning you in food that you've just consumed, which is why it's also relatively effective for food poisoning. It is true there is not much conclusive large scale research on activated charcoal. Okay, Activated charcoal may be able to assist kidney function function, okay, because it can remove toxins derived from urea, the main byproduct of protein digestion. Some animal studies do show that activated charcoal can help improve kidney function and reduce GI damage and inflammation in animals with chronic kidney disease. In another rat study, rats with damaged kidneys were given 4 grams a day of activated charcoal and had significant reductions in intestinal influence, inflammation and damage. Another study, rats with chronic renal failure experienced improved kidney function and a reduced rate of kidney inflammation and damage upon activated charcoal consumption. But in humans, there are also benefits. Liquid and gases trapped in the intestine. Bloating. Many people deal with this. I take activated charcoal every time I fly on an airplane because of this. So I'm not crop dusting the entire flight. A sample of people with a history of excessive gas in their intestines, they took about 500 milligrams of activated charcoal three times a day, day before a follow up intestinal ultrasound examination. And they were able to see a significant reduction in intestinal gas. And 34% of the participants who were given it reduced their gas and improved GI symptoms. There was also a 2017 study in which folks who were given activated charcoal had a significant reduction in bloating related abdominal pain. The European Food Safety Authority has reported that there's a new human evidence to support the use of activated charcoal to reduce gas to reduce bloating. Considering a lot of people deal with that, there are definite uses for activated charcoal. 2017 review of studies on activated charcoal for diarrhea show that activated charcoal can prevent bacteria and drugs that cause diarrhea from being absorbed into the body by trapping the drugs and the bacteria on the porous textured surface. Surface of the charcoal. And I took activated charcoal yesterday. I took it yesterday because I felt ill. I had bloating, I had gas. Something I was doing during this detoxification was obviously affecting me. I don't know what it was. I took about 500 milligrams of activated charcoal within two hours. I was right as rain. I felt great again. Admittedly, that's purely anecdotal, but I certainly use activated charcoal quite a bit in my own diet, especially when I'm traveling, especially when I fly, especially when I'm eating suspect food. I do not think it's only helpful, as Vice says, if you're in the ER and you need your stomach pumped. Okay, the next Myth. Myth number 11, charcoal toothpaste doesn't strengthen your teeth and might wear away your enamel. Well, considering that charcoal based toothpaste is probably one of the trendiest dental products around, I. I think this is worthy of discussion. There was a pretty new review 2019, published in the British Dental Journal in which they examined 50 different charcoal toothpastes. And what they discovered was that although 96% of those toothpastes claimed to have teeth whitening properties, they found that it could replace reduce any fluoride in the toothpaste. Completely inactivate the fluoride. And yes, I'm not a fan of oral fluoride consumption systemic, like swallowing fluoride or consuming fluoridated water. But fluoride is good for the teeth and activated charcoal can inactivate any fluoride that might happen to be in the toothpaste that you're using. In addition to that, it was found that activated charcoal may actually indeed wear down enamel in the teeth and may cause some amount of dental damage. This is the first myth. We are finally to myth number 11, where I, based on the research I did upon reading this article, have to agree with Vice. And I was a little surprised when I found that, A, not only is there very little research on the benefits of charcoal toothpaste, but B, because it is reducing the amount of fluoride in your mouth and because it is potentially damaging the enamel in your teeth, I will likely not be using charcoal toothpaste any longer. Longer. So congratulations, Vice. Over the course of 44 different myths, you've convinced me to thus far switch toothpaste. All right, all my keto friends, ready for this next one. The ketogenic diet is not a magical Weight loss trick. It works like every other diet by putting you in a calorie deficit, but could also lead to nutritional deficiencies. Ketogenic diet and nutritional deficiencies. Is it true? Well, potentially. Contemporary ketogenic diets, standard ketogenic diets are usually limiting carbohydrates to about 25 to 50 grams per day. So when you, when you limit carbohydrates to that extent, there are some potential deficits that can accumulate. Aside from the glaring factor that if you're active, that, that net reduction in glucose, glucose may result in some amount of thyroid deficit due to unavailable glucose. For proper thyroid, conversion of T4 to T3 may result in some amount of glycoprotein degradation in joints. And for an active person, I think 25 to 50 grams is way too low. I mean, I'm in a state of nutritional ketosis almost 24 hours a day. I eat 100 to 200 grams of carbohydrates per day. But that's because I am an athlete in training and I prioritize, prioritize getting enough glycogen in my body to be able to support things like thyroid, things like my endocrine system. And I have multiple articles on my website in which I've highlighted some of the endocrine issues, particularly thyroid and testosterone issues that I experienced by limiting carbohydrates to that 25 to 50 grams a day during about a year and a half of training with a very low carbohydrate diet. A ketogenic diet. Studies have shown that a ketogenic diet can cause a deficiency in potassium. Okay, so vice is onto something there. Dietary potassium deficiencies are one issue. This is why high mineral intake, high potassium intake can be useful for folks on a ketogenic diet because when you dump glycogen, you also dump water and you dump minerals. This is also why low amounts of sodium can also be a nutritional deficiency that is quite common, common in folks following a ketogenic diet. Dietary potential renal acid load. On a ketogenic diet that is rich in meats and also includes a lot of things like, let's say, coffee, which I know a lot of ketogenic proponents consume. Not that I have anything against coffee, but when you at the same time are not eating a lot of alkalizing fruits or vegetables, you can create a net renal acid load. And this has been shown in literature and the. And that can further strip minerals from your body that net metabolic acidosis that can build up. And of course, we've already established that Just drinking alkaline water is not going to fix that, while consuming alkaline rich minerals and some amount of alkaline rich fruits and or vegetables can. Which is why I'm a big fan of a plant rich ketogenic diet. Or if you're going to go more like a carnivore ketogenic approach, or you have issues from a dietary or gut gut health standpoint with consumption of plants, including plenty of minerals in a ketogenic or carnivore type of approach. Folate deficiencies have been shown to be an issue on a ketogenic diet. Those could be fixed by say consuming liver or consuming some type of folate supplement. Vitamin C are another. That's another deficiency on a ketogenic diet that again could be fixed with supplementation or with the inclusion of vitamin C rich plants and small amounts of, say berries, for example. There are not a lot of other nutritional deficiencies aside from minerals, folate and vitamin C that have been shown in research to be an issue on a ketogenic diet. So yes, the Vice article is correct. But at the same time, most of this stuff can be overcome by eating adequate carbohydrates, which you can do and still stay in a state of ketosis, and then including minerals, including vitamin C and including folate. So.

I think they're kind of sort of right with that myth, but at the same time it's not that big of a deal if you're eating a ketogenic diet and being smart about it. The next study Lemon water will not boost your metabolism. I agree on that. It says it won't detox your body either, but the acid content can eat away at your tooth enamel. Well, lemon water, like I mentioned, it is alkalinic. It can contribute to a reduction in net metabolic acidosis or an increase in alkalinity. It's also very high in vitamin C. It does contain trace amounts of folate and potassium. Speaking of nutritional deficiencies on a ketogenic diet, lemon water also has antioxidant property properties. Flavonoids from citrus fruits like lemon are linked in multiple research studies to blood circulation benefits, to insulin sensitivity benefits, and also to a reduction in oxidative stress and oxidative damage, although the oxidative stress oxidative damage piece was in rodent models. Lemon water also contains high amount of citrate and has been shown in six different human studies to be successful in helping to kidney stones, probably because it prevents calcium from binding with other compounds and forming stones and restoring the urine's ability to Prevent kidney stone formation. In addition to that, there is some evidence that it may help to relieve constipation and may help to improve feelings of fullness. It is not going to necessarily help you lose weight. It's not going to fight cancer. Cancer. It's not that great of a detoxification compound. And yes, if you are not careful, drinking a lot of lemon water can cause acidity in the teeth. Although if you're smart, it's not that hard to drink something and not splash it all over your teeth. So starting your day with a squeeze of an entire lemon, even with some sea salt and a glass of water, as many wellness wellness folks in the wellness sector advocates or encourage, I don't think is an issue at all. I think the pros outweigh the cons. Just don't like smear it all over your teeth. You can also, when it comes to preserving your teeth enamel because that acid can erode your teeth enamel. You can make sure you're not drinking a ton of lemon water. You can use this really cool high tech new invention mention called a straw. You can rinse your mouth with plain water and then spit that water out to get rid of a little bit of that tooth enamel. You can eat foods that neutralize acid, such as dairy. As a matter of fact, xylitol, like xylitol gum, can also alkalize your mouth and can neutralize acid. You can maybe not brush your teeth right after you drink your lemon water. And you can even help to support your teeth enamel by eating a diet that has been treated shown to be very helpful for the teeth, namely using an approach like the Weston A. Price approach. And he was a dentist and he traveled around the world and he used a lot of nutritional strategies such as a reduction in processed sugar, increase in organ meats, dairy, ghee, all sorts of helpful compounds to support teeth and support bones. So the lemon water, kind of like the ketogenic diet is something that can pretty easily be avoided if you're not an idiot. Okay, sorry to sound negative there. Sorry. I'm a nice guy, really. So number 14, dark chocolate is probably not better for you than other sweets. They say that studies have shown a connection between chocolate consumption and better health. But that doesn't prove that chocolate is the reason. Well, I certainly agree that.

Dark chocolate is good for you. I don't think vice is saying that the cacao in dark chocolate is not beneficial. We know cacao contains a variety of antioxidants, particularly flavonoids. We know cacao has high Levels of mineral, high levels of antioxidants. We know chocolate itself is rich in magnesium, is rich in zinc. And we know that studies on the flavonoids from chocolate have shown that it can stimulate nitric oxide production in the body, causing a reduction in blood pressure. One 2015 study investigating the effects of chocolate consumption in 60 people that was chocolate that was not cacao flavor. They found 60 people with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure who ate 25 grams of dark chocolate daily for eight weeks had a significantly lower blood pressure compared to a control group that ate white chocolate. Another 2017 review on a host of studies on dark chocolate showed that it would have an improvement in blood pressure and reduce risk of cardiovascular disease. The polyphenols and the theobroma in cholesterol can have cholesterol in chocolate rather can have cholesterol regulating properties. One 2017 study showed that eating dark chocolate for 15 days in a row resulted in a significant increase in HDL cholesterol levels. Another study in 2018 showed that consuming large amounts of 70% dark chocolate increased immune activity and supported the immune system. Another human study over the course of eight weeks, weeks with 30 grams of 85% dark chocolate each day reduced inflammatory markers in people with type 2 diabetes. Another six month study from 2018 found that eating 2 grams of 70% dark chocolate each day could lower fasting glucose levels and reduce insulin resistance. I've talked before about the effect of these flavonoids, specifically in cacao, on increasing cognitive performance and even helping to prevent neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. So the majority of the benefits are likely not, as you could imagine, from the milk and the sugar and some of the compounds that are added to the cacao to turn it into that nice addictive chocolate bar that you might have after dinner each night. But small amounts of a cacao extract or small amounts of dark chocolate per day have a pretty hefty amount of both human and rodent research behind them on antioxidant, on heart disease risk, on anti anti inflammatory effects, on insulin resistance and on brain function. That suggests to me that when Vice magazine says dark chocolate is probably not better for you than other sweets. Well, if somebody puts 2 grams of dark chocolate in front of me and 2 grams of gummy bears, based on the research I've seen, I'm reaching for the dark chocolate. And I will also argue that it is better for me than the gummy bears. So I think Vice is wrong on this one. All right, prepare yourself for this. Gluten is perfectly fine for the vast majority of people. Well, this is very similar to what I was talking about with 50 million Americans with autoimmune disease earlier in this podcast and the issues with lectin, remember that I mentioned that same study also looked at agglutinin and found that it also was a significant aggregator or aggravator of autoimmune issues. In addition to that, non celiac gluten sensitivity, like folks who don't have celiac disease, is something that is included in the spectrum of diagnosable gluten related disorders. And this is something that there have been many books written about showing the effects of the gliadin proteins in glucose gluten causing direct intestinal damage. Gluten and gliadin can also reduce the synthesis of nucleic acids like DNA and rna. They can alter cellular morphology and motility, they can alter oxidative balance, they can alter intracellular contact, meaning the tight junction proteins in your stomach. They have been shown specifically wheat germagglutinin to trigger non celiac gluten sensitivity like celia symptoms such as a lot of the irritable bowel issues, a lot of the bloating, a lot of the gas, even a lot of the neural inflammation that is discussed in the book Grain Brain. In addition to that, many gluten containing grains are chock full of fructans and fermentable fodmaps meaning oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols, all of which have been shown to contribute in folks who are fodmap sensitive to neurological disorders, to fibromyalgia, to psychological disturbance, disturbances, to dermatitis.

I'm not saying gluten in and of itself is bad. Heck, I'm in Europe. I've been eating bread and pasta before I arrived at this Swiss clinic. And while I'm on a strict gluten free diet here, I think that in the absence of glyphosate and herbicides and pesticides that can render the gut barrier permeable and cause a lot of these large gluten based proteins to to.

Cause a lot of the issues that I'm discussing. I think that by eating a non GMO organic source of grain that you can limit a lot of the issues that I think herbicides and pesticides have when they go hand in hand with gluten. But at the same time, if you read the book Grain Brain, if you read the book Wheat Belly, you can see there's a lot of data that gluten is not fine for everybody. I think in someone with a perfectly healthy gut who's eating an organic, non GMO source of grain, that gluten is not that big of an issue. But for them to say gluten is perfectly fine for the vast majority of people and for you to consider that 50 million Americans and that was data from 2017, so it's probably higher than that now.

I think that very similar to lectins, vice is not doing people a very good service by saying this. So non celiac gluten sensitivity is a thing. Look it up. I'll include the research in the show notes. You cannot simply paint with a broad brush and say gluten is just fine for the vast majority of people because it's not okay. The next study. You can't sweat out toxins. Sweating is a bodily function that regulates temperature when you're hot, not a means of excreting waste or removing toxins. Are you effing kidding me? There have been studies since the early 2000s monitoring elimination of of bioaccumulated toxic elements in blood and in urine and in sweat. They have found that sweat is a significant way to get rid of over 120 different toxic elements. One systematic review done in 2012 showed enormous amounts of arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury being eliminated via the sweat via the skin, your body's largest detoxification organ. There is a host of data. I was just looking at a physician's textbook the other day on the use of hyperthermic treatments for metal detoxification and for cancer. I personally am doing full body 4 hour hyperthermic treatments while I'm here at this retreat. I do infrared sauna treatments every day. I told you about my reduction in heavy metal accumulation earlier. Earlier. I cannot even freaking wrap my head around why vice would say that the only reason you sweat is to keep you cool. That is simply not true. Science has shown again, for now, almost two decades, that sweating is incredibly important to mercury and other metal detoxification as well as reduction in things like flame retardant toxicant accumulation, bisphenol A or BPA accumulation. I'll link to all the research here in the show notes, but this one is just. I don't even need to say that much about it. It just shocked me, as did the next Myth. Myth number 17 that infrared saunas do not detox you. Well, I don't need to even address this for very long a period of time because I just told you about all of the Research on sweat. Now, in addition to that, as far as the actual research on infrared saunas, saunas in general, may I point you to the fabulous hyperthermic research and sauna research that my friend Dr. Rhonda Patrick has collected has accumulated on her website@foundmyfitness.com I will link to her sauna report in the show notes to this podcast. But regular sauna practice, whether or not it's information, has been shown to improve heart function. And one of the studies on that was a far infrared dry sauna treatment for 15 minutes at a time that showed an increase in heart rate variability, higher levels of plasma, brain, natriuretic peptide concentrations, higher levels of bdmf. And that was not a regular sauna, it was an infrared sauna. Sauna has also been shown to help to lower chronic pain. In human clinical studies, decreased symptoms of pain and stiffness cause better insulin sensitivity in folks who had type 2 diabetes. It's been shown to improve cognitive behavioral profiles in people lifting mood, probably due to dopamine, increase lower self ratings for pain, depression and anger. There are a host of studies on not just saunas, but also infrared sauna saunas on detoxification elements, cardiovascular elements, heat shock, protein production, longevity and a host of other benefits. Yes, many of those studies were done on folks who are using a regular dry sauna like the Finnish men study. But there are other studies that show that infrared saunas specifically probably due to the effect of the biophotons and also the wavelength of the infrared penetrating more deeply into the tissue, causing a greater amount of sweat produced. There's something unique about an infrared sauna that results in benefits, especially if it's hot enough, that go over and above a regular dry sauna and definitely above a steam sauna. And I'm careful with steam saunas anyways, just because a lot of gyms, a lot of health clubs, they don't, they don't filter that water that you're sucking in in a steam room or in a wet sauna. So I'm pretty careful with those. I personally just own and use something called a clear light, low EMF infrared sauna. So myth number 18, coconut oil will not help you lose weight, will not lower your cholesterol or kill germs or viruses. So there are evidence based health benefits of coconut oil that go on and on and on. So not only is coconut oil currently being studied as a treatment for epilepsy, for Alzheimer's and for other conditions, as you can read about in a book such as Dale Bredes End of Alzheimer's. There's also, I believe her name is Mary Newport, has some very good books on coconut oil on Amazon that you can look up. We know anecdotally that there are many populations that eat over 60% of their calories from coconuts. Like some South Pacific islanders who when studied, despite having high genetic risk for heart disease, were found to be an excellent health with very low rates of heart disease. The Kitavans are another very good example of that. One study found that consuming 15 to 30 grams of medium chain triglycerides derived from coconut oil could increase 24 hour energy expenditure by about 5%. So that's 120 calories per day. That long term could actually result in some weight loss benefits. We know that the 12 carbon lauric acid that makes up about 50% of the acids in coconut oil oil, it forms a substance called monolaurin. And both lauric acid and monolaurin have been shown to kill harmful pathogens like bacteria, like viruses, like fungi, not only in the mouth, which is a reason that oil pulling can be beneficial, but also in the gut. Coconut oil has been shown to help to kill Staphylococcus aureus, like mrsa, very dangerous pathogen. It's been shown to kill yeast, Candida albicans, a common source of yeast infections in people. Coconut oil has also been shown to have significant appetite stabilizing and satiating effects, making you likely to consume less calories when you include small amounts of coconut oil or medium chain triglycerides in your diet. They have been studying coconut oil specifically in conjunction with a ketogenic diet in epileptic patients as a way to increase the rate at which one can enter into ketogenic ketosis. Although admittedly, if you're just trying to save on calories, ketone salts or ketone esters are still probably better. But coconut oil has benefits in the case of reducing seizures in epileptic children. Coconut oil raises HDL. In one study of 40 women, coconut oil reduced total in LDL cholesterol and increased HDL compared to soybean oil. I'm not saying that a reduction in LDL cholesterol is associated with with a reduced risk of heart disease, because it's not. But at the same time, if there is a reduction in particle count or an increase in particle size or reduction in small LDL particles or a simultaneous increase in hdl, that does suggest an improvement in the cardiovascular profile of folks who are including coconut oil in their diet. And then we also know that coconut oil has many studies Many studies showing a reduction in symptoms, symptoms of eczema, which to their credit, Vice does say the eczema relief is legit. So they do admit that it's also been shown to be able to block about 20% of UV rays from the sun, meaning it's effective as a weak sunscreen. If you can't get your hands on sunscreen, coconut oil can work pretty well. It's protective against hair damage and it has, like I mentioned a little earlier via process called oil pulling, been shown to be able to kill many of the harmful bacteria in the the mouth, improve dental health and even reduce bad breath or halitosis. Consumption of medium chain triglycerides has been shown to lead to an improvement in brain function in patients with milder forms of Alzheimer's and also to reduce symptoms of Alzheimer's. Finally, coconut oil consumption has been shown to be able to reduce visceral fat, one of the worst forms of belly fat, lodging in the abdominal cavities and around other organs organs. In one study on 40 women with abdominal obesity, supplementing 2 tablespoons of coconut oil per day led to a significant reduction in that abdominal obesity over a period of 12 weeks. Okay, so when they say coconut oil will not help you lose weight, lower your cholesterol, or kill germs and viruses, again, there is a host of data that shows that that is a lie. And Vice is just publishing this to probably piss a lot of people like me off and get extra traffic to their website. That's all I can figure out. Because obviously all of you listening to this are probably going to read the article, right? So I guess what they're saying, what they're doing here is working a little bit. But hopefully this reply is helping you guys out a little bit to be able to navigate some of the lies, the media spreads and why. Just because something's written on a popular website doesn't necessarily mean you should believe it. Alright, I'm going to cover four more myths in today's podcast.

Myth number 19, oil pulling is not dental care. They say if oil pulling with coconut oil is doing anything for your oral health, it's likely from the mechanical motion of swishing, not because it's disinfecting or decrease or detoxing your mouth. Well, I already mentioned the effect of lauric acid and monolaurin on.

The gut on Candida, on staphylococcus, and also the human studies on oil pollution pulling in reducing dental bacteria. In addition to that, a systematic review done in 2017 on oil pulling for maintaining oral Hygiene and oil pulling, by the way. I guess I should say this. I do it every single day for about 10 minutes. You swish a bunch of oil in your mouth, usually something like coconut oil. Sesame oil is another popular one, sometimes sunflower oil. There are many companies on Amazon that sell a blend of different essential oils that have different antibacterial properties. Properties. You swish, you swish, you swish. Then you spit out, preferably not into the sink or the toilet because that oil can clog the pipes, but into a trash can. And then you rinse with water and you swish the water around and you do that a couple of times, you spit everything out. And, you know, my, my local dentist prescribes oil pulling and gives a special oil pulling oil to all of their patients. Olive oil and coconut oil are probably the two eggs easiest and most common oils to pull with. Well, this systematic review on oil pulling for oral hygiene found that oil pulling is incredibly effective on improving oral hygiene and cites a ton of different research studies on sesame oil, on olive oil, on coconut oil, on plaque scores, gingival scores, bacterial colonies in the mouth, and shows that oil pulling is an effective preventive oral hygiene method when practiced daily, period. Okay, and, and I mean, we're, we're Talking about over 35 different studies on this practice, which has been a part of oral hygiene as a traditional folk remedy practice in ancient India for a long time. I'm never one to say just because people have been doing it for thousands of years that it's good. I don't like it when folks say, you know, traditionally done for thousands of years in some remote region of China. I don't think that necessarily means that it's right. I mean, people are like, eating other people in some regions of the world for a long time. And I don't think that means that we should eat our neighbors. But at the same time, oil polling is not cannibalism, and it is something that has been shown to be effective. The next myth. The claims about collagen supplements are way over overhyped. Taking them won't give you nicer skin or better hair. Let's see what the latest 2019 systematic review of dermatological applications on oral collagen supplementation actually says. Eleven studies with a total of 805 patients were included in this review. Eight studies used collagen hydrolysate for eight to 24 weeks, the treatment of pressure ulcers, cirrhosis, skin aging, and cellulite. Two studies use collagen tripeptide. One study used collagen dipeptide. Almost every study showed notable improvements in skin elasticity and hydration. We're talking about anywhere from 2 to 3 grams a day considering I typically use anywhere from 20 to 40 grams of either collagen or kion aminos each day. Based on some of the research that Mark Sisson has presented on his website on collagen. He's big on collagen. Granted he sells collagen, granted I sell amino acids. But oral collagen supplements have been shown to increase skin elasticity, increase skin hydration, increase dermal collagen density and collagen supplementation based on this most recent review in the Journal of Drugs for Dermatology found that it is reported as generally safe with no reported adverse effects and a host of benefits for skin quality and for hair quality and for cellulite. So I am a huge fan of bone broth. I am a huge fan of amino acids. I am a huge fan of collagen, preferably in a hydrolysate or a tripeptide or a dipeptide form based on the research that I've seen. So when they say the claims about collagen supplements are way over hyped, I mean, I would say there are some folks who say it has this massive anti aging effect that I don't think it has. But when Vice says taking them won't give you nicer skin or better hair, that's simply not true. And it's been shown in many studies that it can. Okay, Weighted blankets aren't a treatment for mental health issues. Weighted blankets are heavy blankets that a lot of people swear by for increasing sleep onset, for, for decreasing anxiety, for decreasing symptoms of insomnia. And when we look at the evidence, the best evidence to date comes from a study done in 2015 in the journal of Sleep Medicine and Disorders in which they studied 31 adults with chronic insomnia and they gave them weighted blankets. This was a self report study and it was not a sleep lab study, meaning they weren't using plasmiography or brainwave measurements to measure sleep sleep. But a significant number of the study participants, meaning 80% of them reported getting better sleep and feeling more refreshed the next morning, probably because the weighted blankets, as was hypothesized by the researchers who led the study, may stimulate the release of neurotransmitters and activate the parasympathetic nervous system. Another study looked at children with ADHD. 42 children aged 8 through 13 with ADHD saw a significant reduction in the time that it took these kids to fall asleep and the number of middle of the night awakenings. Another research study on kids with autism spectrum disorder found that the weighted blanket did not necessarily have an effect on sleep. But the children all preferred to sleep with the weighted blanket. It's doing something. I have recently begun to use a weighted blanket blanket on top of my comforter just to trial it and see what it's like. I think it's very comforting. I think it's very soothing. There's something about it that is doing something. Many of these studies suggest that that is indeed the case. And again, the Journal of Sleep Medicine and Disorders, the title of that study was Positive effects of a weighted blanket on insomnia. If you have insomnia, I definitely think it's worth trying and they say it's not, not a treatment for mental health issues. But yet in children with ADHD and to a lesser extent in children with autism, it is at least improving sleep quality, which I think is hugely beneficial. So I would not throw out your weighted blanket. I would not discount the idea of buying one. So weighted blankets. I give a thumbs up too. Next. Organic cotton tampons and menstrual cups aren't safer and don't protect you from toxic shocks syndrome. This is based on a variety of different articles floating around the Internet that say that organic tampons are better because.

Tampons could act as Aubrey Marcus said when I had him on the show Pussy Cigarettes. And I certainly agree. I haven't seen any evidence that the body is going to be overloaded when you use a non organic tampon to the extent that the kidneys and the liver cannot keep up with the amount of of toxins absorbed by those. And the body's going to shut down and go into toxic shock syndrome. I think that's fear mongering. However, the vagina, ladies, is the most absorbent part of your body. Anything you put inside can easily be absorbed through the mucous membrane and then into your bloodstream. And the vagina is highly absorbent. So whatever is in the tampon could eventually end up in your body. You have mucous membranes in your eyes, eyes, you have them in your mouth, you have them in your gut. But the vagina is definitely very similar to those other tissues in that it can absorb compounds from anything that is put into it. That is why some pharmaceuticals are prescribed as a vaginal suppository or similarly as a rectal suppository. There are not that many studies that show pesticide or dioxin absorption through the vagina. Two things that have been cited as chemical chemicals of concern in conventional tampons, but there certainly are some studies that show that there is a small amount of pesticide absorption, there is a small amount of dioxin absorption, there is a small amount of asbestos absorption. All three are actually found in conventional tampons. As far as pesticides, one independent non peer reviewed study found pesticides as something that was in regular non organic tampons. Okay, so this is one of those issues where toxic shock syndrome, a rare and potentially fatal condition caused by a toxin producing an overgrowth of bacteria that has not been shown to be caused by non organic tampons. However, higher levels of toxins in cotton tampons versus regular tampons and higher level toxins of toxins overall in conventional tampons, especially those that are scented, have been shown to be a thing. And this is one of those deals where kind of similar to say what was the other the antiperspirant one that I did. There's not a smoking gun. But at the same time, if I were you ladies I would play it safe considering that just as as there are organic non aluminum or not organic but non aluminum sources of antiperspirants, there are organic tampons and I think it is worth using the organic versions based on the fact that your vagina is basically a giant mouth. And I think that's what I'm going to title this podcast. Your Vagina is a Giant Mouth. That's a good note to end on, isn't it? So that's part one. Those are the first 22 myths from Vice, and I'm going to link to that article on Vice in the show notes, as well as all of the research studies that I have cited in today's podcast over at BenGreenfieldFitness.com VicePodcast1 I'll be coming at you soon with the second part of this podcast, which goes into everything from eating placenta does to microwaves to crystals to meditation. But until then, leave me your questions, your comments, your feedback, any arguments you have for or against me or this article over in the shownotes@BenGreenfieldFitness.com VicePodcast1 and thank you for listening.

Well, thanks for listening to today's show. You can grab all the show notes, the resources, pretty much everything that I mentioned over@BenGreenfieldFitness.com along with plenty of other goodies from me, including the highly helpful Ben Recommends page, which is a list of pretty much everything that I've ever recommended for hormones, sleep digestion, fat loss, performance, and plenty more. Please also know that all the links, all all the promo codes that I mentioned during this and every episode help to make this podcast happen and to generate income that enables me to keep bringing you this content every single week. So when you listen in, be sure to use the links in the show notes. Use the promo codes that I generate because that helps to float this thing and keep it coming to you each and every week.