There is a lot of confusion out there about which foods are healthy, and which are not.
Let us start with a list of 20 foods that are generally very unhealthy.If you want to lose weight and avoid chronic disease, then you shouldn’t eat much of these foodsif you know you can treat yourself to these foods once and awhile (eat them moderately where 80% of your diet during the week is healthy foods with doing some form of exercise than your doing good).
In many cases, the best choice is to avoid them completely but if you know you can treat yourself to these foods once and awhile with actually doing it meaning eating them moderately where 80% of your diet during the week is healthy foods with doing some form of exercise than your doing good.
In this article, healthy alternatives are mentioned whenever possible.
Sugary Drink
Added sugar is the single worst ingredient in the modern diet.
However, some sources of sugar are worse than others, and sugary drinks are the absolute worst.
When people drink sugar calories, the brain doesn’t “register” them as food.
For this reason, people don’t automatically compensate by eating less of other foods instead, and end up drastically increasing their total calorie intake.
Sugar, when consumed in large amounts, can drive insulin resistance in the body and is strongly linked to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. It is also associated with various serious diseases, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Sugary drinks are the most fattening aspect of the modern diet, and drinking them in large amounts can drive an increase in weight/fat gain and obesity.
Alternatives: Drink water, soda water, coffee or tea instead. Adding a slice of lemon or lime to water or soda water can add some taste if you don’t like it plain.
Most Pizzas
Pizza is one of the world’s most popular junk foods.
This is not surprising, given that it tastes awesome and is incredibly convenient to eat.
The problem is that most commercially prepared pizzas are made with seriously unhealthy ingredients.
The dough is made from highly refined wheat flour, and the meats on them are usually processed. Pizza is also extremely high in calories.
Alternatives: Some pizza places use healthier ingredients. Homemade pizzas can also be very healthy, as long as you choose wholesome ingredients.
White Bread
Bread is generally made from wheat, which contains the protein gluten.
For this reason, all wheat-based breads are a bad idea for people who have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.
However, most commercial breads are unhealthy, even for people who do tolerate gluten.
This is because the great majority of them are made from refined wheat, which is low in essential nutrients (empty calories) and leads to rapid spikes in blood sugar. Keeping that in mind remember you have a large meal it goes to your stomach and gets digested sent to the blood eventually with the sugars in it. If you have high sugar amounts your tissues in the body can only utilize so much than your liver storing extra sugar not needed making it inactive converting it to glycogen but if there is still extra sugars hanging around in the blood now it goes into the fat tissue for storage and becomes fat in the tissue. Eat most of your foods high in sugar and obesity results.
Alternatives: For people who can tolerate gluten, another type of bread is an excellent choice called ezekiel bread. Remember whole grain bread is also definitely better (or “less bad”) than white bread.
Most Fruit Juices
Assumed to be healthy, but this is a mistake=most fruit juices.
Many fruit juices are actually little more than fruit-flavored sugar water.
It is true that the juice contains some antioxidants and vitamin C, but this must be weighed against the large amount of liquid sugar.
In fact, fruit juice contains just as much sugar as a sugary drink like Coke or Pepsi, and sometimes even more.
Alternatives: There are some fruit juices that have been shown to have health benefits despite the sugar content, such as antitoxin juices (blueberry or pomegranate juices). However, these should be considered as supplements, not something you drink every day to quench thirst. The best drink for supplementing everyday your quench of thirst is water.
Industrial Vegetable Oils
In the last 100 years or so, people have increased their consumption of added fats.
However, this is entirely explained by a drastic increase in the consumption of refined vegetable oils like soybean, corn, cottonseed and canola oils.
These oils are very high in omega-6 fatty acids, which humans never consumed in such large amounts before.
There are many serious concerns with these oils. They are highly sensitive to oxidation and cause increased oxidative stress in the body. They have also been linked to increased risk of cancer.
Alternatives: Use healthier fats like coconut oil, butter, extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil instead.
Margarine
Considered a healthy alternative to butter once is no longer the fact.
Fortunately, most people have now realized that this is far from being true.
Margarine is a highly processed pseudo-food that has been engineered to look and taste like butter.
It is loaded with artificial ingredients, and is usually made with industrial vegetable oils that have been hydrogenated to make them more solid. This increases the trans fat content significantly.
Keep in mind that manufacturers can label “no trans fat” to their products as long as it contains less than 0.5 grams per serving, which is still a significant amount.
Alternatives: Use real butter instead, preferably from grass-fed cows.
Pastries, Cookies and Cakes
Most pastries, cookies and cakes are extremely unhealthy but most of us know this already.
They are generally made with refined sugar, refined wheat flour and added fats, which are often disturbingly unhealthy fats like shortening=trans fat content is high.
These tasty treats are literally some of the worst things that you can put into your body besides it having no essential nutrients with tons of calories and ingredients totally unhealthy. Foods to have holidays, once in a while.
French Fries and Potato Chips
Potatoes whole and white, that are very unhealthy.
However, the same can be said of the products that are made from them, such as potato chips and with our typical burger french fries .
These foods are very high in calories, and it is easy to eat excessive amounts. Several studies link consumption of french fries and potato chips with weight gain.
Stay tune tomorrow for part II on more unhealthy foods in your routine diet.
“The nature of conflict and violence has transformed substantially since the UN was founded 75 years ago. Conflicts now tend to be less deadly and often waged between domestic groups rather than states. Homicides are becoming more frequent in some parts of the world, while gender-based attacks are increasing globally. The long-term impact on development of inter-personal violence, including violence against children, is also more widely recognized.
Separately, technological advances have raised concerns about lethal autonomous weapons and cyberattacks, the weaponization of bots and drones, and the livestreaming of extremist attacks. There has also been a rise in criminal activity involving data hacks and ransomware, for example. Meanwhile, international cooperation is under strain, diminishing global potential for the prevention and resolution of conflict and violence in all forms.
Technological advances are contributing to the changing nature of conflict. There are concerns about the potential for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to enhance cyber, physical, and biological attacks. For example, by making them more finely targeted, harder to attribute, and easier for small groups perhaps even ‘lone wolfs’ to carry out.
Emerging technologies are lowering the barriers to the acquisition of biological weapons – toxic substances or diseases used to harm or kill humans, livestock, and crops. There are concerns that advances in AI and 3D printing could facilitate biological attacks, by automating the development and production of the weapons and the systems that develop them.
There is also mounting international concern over the development of so-called lethal autonomous weapons (LAWs), which could identify and engage a specific target without human guidance, thereby transferring responsibility over life and death from human moral systems to complex data systems, devoid of an ethical compass. The UN Secretary-General has called for fully autonomous weapons to be prohibited by international law, as have over 30 nations.
Perhaps the most prevalent modern-day threat is that of cyber-attacks. According to IBM’s X-Force Incident Response and Intelligence Services, the number of cyber-attacks doubled in the first half of 2019 in comparison with the second half of 2018, most of them targeting manufacturers, oil and gas companies, and educational institutes. Owners of critical infrastructure are especially at risk, as malicious actors seek to target airport control towers, nuclear power plants, hospitals, and dams. Over the past year, more than a hundred cyber incidents with the potential to undermine international peace and security were identified. Such attacks would cause substantial damage and casualties.”
United Nations 2020 & Beyond (https://www.un.org/en/un75/new-era-conflict-and-violence)
People are often confronted with feelings of disappointment, frustration and anger as they interact with government officials, co-workers, family and even fellow commuters to people just in society. Most can control their actions to the extent that relatively few of these interactions end in a radical action like being racist to violence.
What help builds a individuals feelings to turn out in a negative result (like bullying someone to protesting to worse rioting or violence or killing in some situations–too many).
Look at these protestors alone in America during the campaign against Trump winning an election fair & square and legally. Ending line more votes than Clinton! So some are worse than just crying it off the night of the loss and getting on with life like going back to work or hey school but instead:
If Trump or whoever ends up in the running is not your President in 2024 and you feel you would be able to live happier out of the USA no one is asking you to stay in this country and leave but obviously there is no better country than America! All cheap talk. Trump when he did win the Presidency this was through what we call Democracy. Have these famous people or not famous people who said this comment have the balls to leave already or did they just assume Clinton was going to win that election? Does not surprise me and many others who are full of BS talk and know guts or glory to stick to what they say. Lame!
People acting like this about Donald Trump as a new U.S. President have not even given the man a chance. Obama surely had his 8 years and are country sinking in water not just California! You people bully and aren’t fair or rational since the man hasn’t been in office yet.
TRUMP wasn’t even in office yet and being called racist; really? who is racist? These people bad mouthing the future President in less than 2 months his starting date who has done nothing yet bad against our country. These are people in fear and threatened not knowing the future. Their racist. Do they work? Do they get welfare checks? If yes to one or the other than grow up and get off your butt and work like so many others do in the USA and even the world.
Protestors rally outside the Plaza Hotel.
Really than go home but I know you wouldn’t because in the Middle East its without question a worse area to be living.
Factors causing people to behave this way are:
YOUR CHILDHOOD UPBRINGING. Your childhood builds the foundation of how you turn out as an adult. If you have good upbringing where there are good morals, values, ethics with limitations or rules and regulations in what you can and cannot do with mommy and daddy overlooking from a distance in watching the child’s actions/interests/who they play with/what they’re doing on the computer or watching on T.V or even listening to music will help give direction for their child to be effective in society. Including, as the child shows good choices than more independence in getting older with still guidance and direction as needed. Remember your a young adult at 17 and a full fledged adult at 21 years of age to make all decisions in your life.
BEING AN ADULT. This includes accepting the turn outs of how a situation finally results; before the final result if you did everything you could legally try to reach your hope of a turn out and did reach it great, it makes you a stronger person. Now let’s say you didn’t than acceptance is necessary of what the result turned out as which also makes you a stronger person with being an asset in the community. Than your next step whether it be alone or in society overall move on without being an insult to the community where it effects the society in a negative way (like killing 2 innocent police officers just for wearing the color blue in uniform, prejudice=a radical action). Being able to allow acceptance in your life which doesn’t always turn out the way you want it to helps you move on in life making you less out to be radical in your behavior. Take the riots (which they call protesting a radical approach from Missouri to New York) and see what their results turned out to be. Stopping people from getting to a destination point who had nothing to do with what the protestors were protesting about, to damage of property of innocent people’s business to the worse DEATH. Like this radical move did anything productive for humans in society. It obviously didn’t.
First let’s look at what turns anger into action? The answer to this is mostly cognitive control or to use a less technical term, self-control. University of Michigan professor of social psychology, Richard Nisbett, the world’s greatest authority on intelligence, plainly said that he’d rather have his son being high in self-control than intelligence, one year ago. Self-control is the key to a well-functioning life, because our brain makes us easily [susceptible] to all sorts of influences. Watching a movie showing violent acts predisposes us to act violently. Even just listening to violent rhetoric makes us prone or more inclined to be violent. Ironically, the same mirror neurons that make us empathic make us also very vulnerable to all sorts of influences. This is why control mechanisms are so important. If you think about it, there must be control mechanisms for mirror neurons. Mirror neurons are cells that fire when you grab a cup of coffee (to give you an example) as well as when you see someone else grabbing a cup of coffee. So, how come you don’t imitate all the time? The idea is that there are systems in the brain that help us by imitating only “internally”—they dampen the activity of mirror neurons when we simply watch, so that we can still have the sort of “inner imitation” that allows us to empathize with others, without any overt imitation. The key issue is the balance of power between these control mechanisms that we call top-down—because they are all like executives that control from the top down to the employees—and bottom-up mechanisms, in the opposite direction, like mirror neurons. This is whereby perception—watching somebody making an action—influences decisions—making the same action ourselves.
Neuroscience uncovered why people behave so violently looking into the Virginia Tech Massacre in 2007 with many other like incidents also which were still a small percentage of people. What happens in these individuals is that their cognitive control mechanisms are deranged. Mind you, these individuals are not out-of-control, enraged people. They just use their cognitive control mechanisms in the service of a disturbed goal. There are probably a multitude of factors at play here. The subject is exposed to influences that lead him or her to violent acts—including, unfortunately, not only the violent political rhetoric but also the media coverage of similar acts, as we are doing here. A variety of issues, especially mental health problems that lead to social isolation, lead the subject to a mental state that alters his or her ability to exercise cognitive control in a healthy manner. Again also childhood plays a big role. The cognitive control capacities of the subject get somewhat redirected—we don’t quite understand how—toward goals and activities that are violent in a very specific way. Not the violent outburst of somebody who has “lost it” in a bar, punching people right and left. The violence is channeled in a very specific plan, with a very specific target—generally fed by the media (like take the protesting that has gone on from Missouri to New York for a month or more with media showing every news flash each day)through some sort of rhetoric, political or otherwise—with very specific tools, in the Giffords case, a 9-millimeter Glock.
Now lets look at what are the signs of a person who is disturbed enough to take some form of action to killing. The signs are quite visible, although difficult to interpret without a context—and unfortunately they unfold very quickly , and people can rarely witness them before the action is taken (which happened with Brinsley in New York killing officers in Brooklyn on duty just doing their job), . The action itself is a sign, a desperate form of communication from a disturbed individual (Brinsley did put on the internet a warning the day it was going to be done, Sat 12/20/14. Unfortunately, nobody was chatting with the guy when he left his final messages on Internet before getting into action. But I bet that if somebody was communicating with him before the act and saw those signs and read those messages on social network he was using, that person could have done something, could have engaged him in a sort of conversation that might have redirected his deranged plans. Indeed, by connecting with the subject, that person might have redirected some of the activity of mirror neurons toward a truly empathic behavior, rather than in the service of the deranged imitative violence leading to action.
My readers I could go on with more examples of people killing but I am sure you listen to the news or read it or even find out hearing about it some how, some where or some way but I tell you this information not to persecute a person, not even a race or politician but to ONE RESEARCH IT and LEARN HOW THE BRAIN WORKS.
Most importantly to PARENTS bring your children up AS A CHILD not as an adult until they reach adulthood. This includes for a child being given good direction and guidance on basic good morale, ethics and being just kind with protecting yourself the parent can’t go wrong with as the primary mentor. You the parents make our next generation who are now children and even for future parents learn so they will have a more productive working society. For now the society in America works as a nonproductive unit of people to all races, creeds, genders, sex preferences, & nationalities of all kinds. Especially in being compared to the 1980’s; yes they had their problems but not like today’s with people treating each other with more respect even if things didn’t go their way. Our nation went off the deep end in allowing us to have freedom of everything without limitations or better rules/regulations legally in place not followed which we are paying a good price for and will take a very long time to fix. Remember when someone or now a group of people get hurt you can forgive but healing is like a wound it takes time to heal. Example: Look at Hitler, a communist, people still haven’t forgiven him, those that did have not forgotten it and they shouldn’t. Protesting can be effective where its peaceful, quiet, and not bothering other people in the area who aren’t involved. Look at Missouri and New York City this past 8 years than just under a decade Paris Attacks (Jihad related), MUCH DAMAGE due to not thinking first but acting out first.
“Exposure to acetaminophen in the womb may increase a child’s risk for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality.”
NIH National Institute of Health (https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-funded-study-suggests-acetaminophen-exposure-pregnancy-linked-higher-risk-adhd-autism)
Is Tylenol Linked to Autism? As early as 2008, researchers discovered a potential link between Tylenol and postnatal autism, and noted a rise in autism since 1980. During that period, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended substituting aspirin instead of acetaminophen for infants.
“Readers have asked whether Tylenol (acetaminophen) is connected to autism or ADHD, also known as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. One person forwarded a sponsored Facebook post from the page “Child Autism & ADHD from Tylenol during pregnancy” stating that “parents of children with autism or ADHD whose mother took Tylenol while pregnant may be eligible for legal compensation.” The page continues to run similar advertisements, as do various other pages. Parents have filed lawsuits against retailers of acetaminophen, stating that their children developed autism or ADHD due to exposure to acetaminophen taken during pregnancy.
Some studies have indeed shown a relationship between acetaminophen taken during pregnancy and autism or ADHD in children, but they do not demonstrate that the acetaminophen use caused the elevated rates of autism and ADHD, researchers say. For example, a pregnant person who takes acetaminophen may have a child with ADHD or autism because of other factors, such as genetics.
Experts agree that acetaminophen has a role in pregnancy but that it should be used only when necessary and in consultation with a doctor. Avoiding use of acetaminophen for fever or pain during pregnancy may have negative consequences. For instance, an uncontrolled fever in early pregnancy can harm brain development.
A Food and Drug Administration spokesperson told us via email that the available evidence is “too limited to make any recommendations based on these studies at this time.”
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said in a 2021 statement that studies “show no clear evidence that proves a direct relationship between the prudent use of acetaminophen during any trimester and fetal developmental issues.” An ACOG representative told us that the statement is the most up-to-date communication on the topic. And a 2017 Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine statement, which a representative also confirmed to be the most up-to-date document, found the evidence on a causal link between acetaminophen and neurobehavioral disorders to be “inconclusive.”
Studies of Acetaminophen During Pregnancy Have Weaknesses
Acetaminophen, called paracetamol outside the U.S., is used widely during pregnancy to treat pain and fever. It is an ingredient in many over-the-counter and prescription medications, including Tylenol, Excedrin and Vicodin, as well as some versions of DayQuil, NyQuil, Sudafed, Mucinex and Midol.
As we said, some studies have found that women who reported using acetaminophen during pregnancy were more likely than those who didn’t to have children who later developed autism or ADHD. A 2018 paper published in the American Journal of Epidemiology that aimed to comprehensively analyze data from multiple studies, for example, found a 34% and 19% higher risk of ADHD and autism, respectively, in children whose mothers took acetaminophen in pregnancy compared with those whose mothers did not.
But this doesn’t necessarily mean acetaminophen is to blame for the conditions.
These studies were observational, meaning that researchers simply noted levels of acetaminophen exposure, generally based on reports from the parents in the studies. Randomized controlled trials — in which one group receives a medication or treatment and another group receives a placebo or standard care — are the gold standard for determining whether a causal relationship exists.
It is possible that people who take more acetaminophen are more likely to have characteristics that predispose them to have a child with autism or ADHD — including the illnesses or other health conditions that might have prompted a pregnant person to take acetaminophen in the first place.
The authors of the 2018 study recognized this issue, writing that the results “should be interpreted with caution given that the available evidence consists of observational studies and is susceptible to several potential sources of bias.”
Sura Alwan, a birth defects epidemiologist and co-director of the Teratogen Information System at the University of Washington, told us in an email that genetic factors might also help explain the results, adding that not all studies have found an association between prenatal acetaminophen and neurodevelopmental outcomes like autism and ADHD.
In any case, she said, the studies “do not necessarily imply a causal link, which means that there isn’t enough evidence to say that taking acetaminophen causes those behavioral or cognitive concerns.”
Some researchers do think the associations are worrisome enough to caution women taking acetaminophen during pregnancy. In 2021, an international group of scientists, clinicians, and public health professionals published what they called a “consensus statement” in Nature Reviews Endocrinology, which madenews for calling for “precautionary action” based on data indicating acetaminophen might alter fetal development, with an increasing impact with increasing duration of exposure.
“We recognize that limited medical alternatives exist to treat pain and fever; however, we believe the combined weight of animal and human scientific evidence is strong enough for pregnant women to be cautioned by health professionals against its indiscriminate use, both as a single ingredient and in combination with other medications,” the researchers wrote.
The statement proved controversial, however, with other groups of scientists pushing back to add context and explain why acetaminophen might not have caused the links seen in the studies.
“In my opinion, the level of evidence out there is poor, and I do not believe that there is any causal or any other association between at least short-term use of acetaminophen during pregnancy and ensuing increased risk of childhood ADHD or ASD [autism],” Dr. Per Damkier, a professor and clinical pharmacologist at Odense University Hospital and University of Southern Denmark, told us in an interview. Damkier was one of the scientists who pushed back at the consensus statement.
Multiple factors contribute to autism and ADHD. These conditions “are variable in clinical presentation, very difficult to assess and associate with a single causal factor,” Alwan said.
Damkier emphasized that many studies do not adequately take into account whether the parents had ADHD or autism, which run in families. He pointed to one study that suggested accounting for ADHD in parents likely weakens the relationship between this disorder and acetaminophen.
Many studies also rely on questionnaires filled out by parents, Damkier said. These may identify children at increased risk of ADHD or autism but do not replace an official diagnosis.
Finally, Damkier said that even if you accepted the analyses in the studies showing increased risk as valid, “which you should not,” the risk levels — typically 20% to 30% increased risk during childhood — represent a “weak association,” especially since there is typically a fair to moderate degree of uncertainty surrounding the numbers.
A Closer Look at Cord Blood
A 2019 JAMA Psychiatry study, which is cited in legaladvertisements, did not rely on self-reported data, instead looking at concentrations of broken down acetaminophen components in blood collected at Boston Medical Center from umbilical cords at birth and stored for future study.
The children with acetaminophen exposure in the top third — meaning the highest concentrations of the drug components in cord blood — had 2.86 times higher odds of an ADHD diagnosis and 3.62 times higher odds of an autism diagnosis compared with children with exposure in the bottom third. “Our findings support previous studies regarding the association between prenatal and perinatal acetaminophen exposure and childhood neurodevelopmental risk and warrant additional investigations,” the authors wrote.
The authors themselves noted some limitations of the paper at the time of publication. The cord blood measurements did not give a sense of acetaminophen exposure throughout pregnancy, instead showing recent use by people who had just given birth. Further, “caution is needed to apply our findings to other populations with different characteristics,” they wrote. Finally, one author pointed out in a press release that the study does not show that Tylenol causes ADHD or autism.
Damkier and others said that some observations and the characteristics of the children in the study appeared unusual, making it hard to draw general conclusions. Every cord blood sample showed acetaminophen exposure, he noted, and there were extremely high rates of ADHD and autism among the children. The study also lacked information on the mothers’ use of drugs or history of psychiatric disease.
Acetaminophen Treats Pain and Fever During Pregnancy
Expert groups said that acetaminophen can have benefits for pregnant people experiencing pain or fever, and there may not be good alternatives. The ACOG statement reads: “ACOG and obstetrician-gynecologists across the country have always identified acetaminophen as one of the only safe pain relievers for pregnant individuals during pregnancy.”
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen and aspirin, can have risks during pregnancy. Taking these drugs during later portions of pregnancy can lead to problems including insufficient amniotic fluid volume and premature closing of a major blood vessel in the fetus. Opioids can also harm the fetus and lead to withdrawal at birth, as well as pose risks for the mother.
Avoiding acetaminophen could have consequences for both mother and child. Fever early in pregnancy can lead to defects in the neural tube affecting the formation of the brain or spinal cord, Alwan said, noting that it is “critically important to treat fever in pregnancy.”
The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine statement calls acetaminophen “a reasonable and appropriate medication choice for the treatment of pain and/or fever during pregnancy.”
The authors of the 2021 Nature Reviews Endocrinology statement suggested doing more research into acetaminophen during pregnancy and cautioned women to “forego APAP [acetaminophen] unless its use is medically indicated; consult with a physician or pharmacist if they are uncertain whether use is indicated and before using on a long-term basis; and minimize exposure by using the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible time.”
This advice is in line with longstanding recommendations for pregnant people. “ACOG’s clinical guidance remains the same and physicians should not change clinical practice until definitive prospective research is done. Most importantly, patients should not be frightened away from the many benefits of acetaminophen. However, as always, any medication taken during pregnancy should be used only as needed, in moderation, and after the pregnant patient has consulted with their doctor,” the ACOG statement said.
“It is important for pregnant women and all women of reproductive age who may become pregnant to always consult their health care provider to find the best treatment option for pain or fever in pregnancy, which may be taking the recommended dose of acetaminophen and making sure to stay well hydrated and getting lots of rest,” Alwan said. People with questions about medications during pregnancy or breastfeeding can contact organizations like MotherToBaby, she added.
An FDA spokesperson told us in an email: “The FDA is aware of and understands the concerns arising from reports questioning the safety of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) pain medicines when used during pregnancy. As a result, we evaluated research studies on acetaminophen published in the medical literature and determined that they are too limited to make any recommendations based on these studies at this time. Because of this uncertainty, the use of pain medicines during pregnancy should be carefully considered. We urge pregnant persons to always discuss all medicines with their health care professionals before using them. Acetaminophen labels contain the following information regarding pregnancy: ‘If pregnant or breast feeding, ask a health professional before use.’ The FDA continues to review the published literature and to monitor the potential impacts of acetaminophen.”
The spokesperson concluded by sharing a link to a 2015 Drug Safety Communication describing an FDA review of the risks of pain medicine during pregnancy. The document noted that severe and persistent pain, when not treated effectively, can lead to depression, anxiety and high blood pressure for the pregnant individual.
Correction, May 30: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that acetaminophen is an ingredient in oxycodone. Oxycodone is an opioid that is sometimes combined with acetaminophen. We thank the reader who brought this to our attention.
Clarification, June 6: An earlier version of this article listed drugs that contain acetaminophen, but did not make clear that acetaminophen is only in some versions of several of the drugs. We have updated the article to clarify this point. We thank the reader who brought this to our attention.
Editor’s note: SciCheck’s articles providing accurate health information and correcting health misinformation are made possible by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The foundation has no control over FactCheck.org’s editorial decisions, and the views expressed in our articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the foundation.”
In my opinion as a acute nurse 37 years this topic needs much more research to put the blame only on Tylenol but for decades in general, drugs unless absolutely necessary should not be used during pregnancy because drugs taken by a pregnant woman can reach the fetus with side effects and be permanent possibly but in some cases it is necessary and not just Tylenol. The pregnant women is the one also to say if she will allow it. So the reason it was taken goes case by case. Ending line more research is needed. For example look at Covid and the vaccination with shutting down over a year, just saying.
Sources
Acetaminophen – ASD/ADHD Products Liability Litigation. MDL No. 3043. Transfer Order. United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. 5 Oct 2022.
“People were followed for periods ranging from three to 11 years, depending on the study, using questionnaires, interviews, and self-reports on medication use.The analysis revealed a 20% higher risk of autism and a 30% higher risk of ADHD for children who had prolonged exposure to acetaminophen during fetal development.
However, it noted that taking small amounts of acetaminophen during pregnancy — in one study, for fewer than eight days — didn’t increase risks.
Taking Tylenol during pregnancy associated with elevated risks for autism, ADHD
A Johns Hopkins study analyzing umbilical cord blood samples found that newborns with the highest exposure to acetaminophen were about three times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD or autism spectrum disorder in childhood
A new study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has found that exposure to acetaminophen in the womb may increase a child’s risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or autism spectrum disorder.
The researchers analyzed data from the Boston Birth Cohort, a 20-year study of early life factors influencing pregnancy and child development. They found that children whose cord blood samples contained the highest levels of acetaminophen—the generic name for the drug Tylenol—were roughly three times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD or autism spectrum disorder later in childhood, compared to children with the lowest levels of acetaminophen in their cord blood.
Previous studies have found an association between maternal use of acetaminophen during pregnancy and increased risks of adverse childhood outcomes, including neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD—which is marked by hyperactivity and difficulty paying attention or controlling impulsive behavior—and autism spectrum disorder, a complex developmental disorder that can affect how a person socializes, communicates, and behaves. Because these studies relied on mothers self-reporting their acetaminophen use, critics have said the findings may be affected by recall bias or lack an objective measure of in-utero exposure. As a result, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has refrained from making recommendations regarding the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy.
“People in general believe Tylenol is benign, and it can be used safely for headaches, fever, aches, and pains,” says Xiaobin Wang, a professor in the Bloomberg School’s Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health and the study’s corresponding author. “Our study further supports the concerns raised by previous studies—that there is a link between Tylenol use during pregnancy and increased risk for autism or ADHD.”
For the study, which was authored by Johns Hopkins postdoctoral fellow Yuelong Ji and colleagues, the team measured the biomarkers of acetaminophen and two of its metabolic byproducts in umbilical cord blood samples from 996 individual births. Every sample analyzed contained some level of acetaminophen—confirming the drug’s widespread use during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. The researchers then divided the study children into three groups based on the amount of acetaminophen and its metabolites present in their cord blood samples.
Related coverage of what scientists know about autism—and what they’re still working to discover
Compared to the group with the lowest amount of acetaminophen exposure, the children in the middle third group were about 2.26 times more likely to have an ADHD diagnosis and 2.14 times more likely to have an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. Those with the highest levels of exposure were associated with 2.86 times the risk of ADHD and 3.62 times the risk for autism spectrum disorder, compared to those with the lowest exposure.
The researchers found consistent associations between the drug and the disorders across a variety of other factors that correlate with ADHD and autism spectrum disorder diagnoses, such as maternal BMI, preterm birth, child sex, and reports of maternal stressors and substance use.
Wang points out that although the study found a consistent association between biomarkers of acetaminophen and its metabolites in cord blood and child risk of ADHD and autism spectrum disorder, it should not be interpreted that the Tylenol use causes these disorders.
“More studies are clearly needed to further clarify the concern,” Wang says. “Until it is certain, parents and providers may want to consider the benefit and potential risk when making a decision on the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy or the peripartum period.”
“Acetaminophen is one of the most commonly used drugs during pregnancy globally. Recent studies have reported associations between prenatal exposure to acetaminophen and neurobehavioral problems in children, including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders. Little research has investigated these associations in preschool-age children or the potential confounding effects of prenatal stress. Acetaminophen use during pregnant may also disrupt the maternal and fetal gut microbiota leading to neurodevelopmental problems [18, 19]. Another possible mechanism of the association between prenatal acetaminophen use and neurobehavioral problems in childhood is prenatal stress.”
National Library of Medicine (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9518858/)
“For years, products containing acetaminophen, such as the pain reliever Tylenol, were largely viewed as safe to take during pregnancy. Hundreds of widely available over-the-counter remedies, including popular cold, cough, and flu products, contain acetaminophen. Not surprisingly, some 65% of women in the US report taking it during pregnancy to relieve a headache or to ease an aching back.
But recently, a group of doctors and scientists issued a consensus statement in Nature Reviews Endocrinology urging increased caution around acetaminophen use in pregnancy. They noted growing evidence of its potential to interfere with fetal development, possibly leaving lingering effects on the brain, reproductive and urinary systems, and genital development. And while the issue they raise is important, it’s worth noting that the concerns come from studies done in animals and human observational studies. These types of studies cannot prove that acetaminophen is the actual cause of any of these problems.
Acetaminophen is known to be an endocrine disruptor. That means it can interfere with chemicals and hormones involved in healthy growth, possibly throwing it off track.
According to the consensus statement, some research suggests that exposure to acetaminophen during pregnancy — particularly high doses or frequent use — potentially increases risk for early puberty in girls, or male fertility problems such as low sperm count. It is also associated with other issues such as undescended testicles, or a birth defect called hypospadias where the opening in the tip of the penis is not in the right place. It might play a role in attention deficit disorder and negatively affect IQ.
Risks for ill effects are low
If you took acetaminophen during a current or past pregnancy, this might sound pretty scary — especially since you’ve probably always considered this medicine harmless. But while experts agree it’s important to consider potential risks when taking any over-the-counter or prescription medicines during pregnancy, you shouldn’t panic.
“The risk for an individual is low,” says Dr. Kathryn M. Rexrode, chief of the Division of Women’s Health, Department of Medicine at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Chances are pretty good that if you took acetaminophen during a pregnancy, your baby likely did not, or will not, suffer any ill effects.
The research on this topic is not conclusive. Some information used to inform the consensus statement was gathered from studies on animals, or human studies with significant limitations. More research is needed to confirm that this medicine is truly causing health problems, and to determine at what doses, and at what points during a pregnancy, exposure to acetaminophen might be most harmful.
Sensible steps if you’re pregnant
Three common-sense steps can help protect you and your baby until more is known on this topic:
Avoid acetaminophen during pregnancy when possible. Previously during preconception and pregnancy counseling, Dr. Rexrode had warned patients against using NSAID drugs, such as Advil and Aleve, and suggested taking acetaminophen instead. “Now I also tell people that some concerns have been raised about acetaminophen use during pregnancy, and explain that its use should be limited to situations where it is really needed,” says Dr. Rexrode. In short, always consider whether you really need it before you swallow a pill.
Consult with your doctor. Always clear acetaminophen use with your doctor, particularly if you are going to be using the medicine for a long period of time. They might agree that taking it is the best option — or suggest a safer alternative.
Minimize use. If you do need to take acetaminophen during pregnancy, take it for the shortest amount of time possible and at the lowest effective dose to reduce fetal exposure. “This advice about the lowest necessary dose for the shortest period of time is generally good counseling for all over-the-counter medication use, especially during pregnancy,” says Dr. Rexrode.
While all of this is good advice for using acetaminophen, there are times when it’s riskier not to take it. For example, if you have a high fever during pregnancy — which can harm your baby — acetaminophen may be needed to bring your fever down. Provided it’s advised by your doctor, the benefits of acetaminophen use in this case outweigh the potential risks.”
Harvard Health Publishing is the media and publishing division of the Harvard Medical School of Harvard University, under the direction of Dr. David H. Roberts, Dean for External Education.
