Why The Way We Care For Babies Is MESSED UP, They LIED About Eggs, When Medicine Gets It Wrong, How We Can Fix It & More With Dr. Marty Makary

Ben Greenfield

Nov 2, 2024

Episode description

In this fascinating episode with Dr. Marty Makary, the author of the jaw-dropping book, Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health, you'll get to explore how outdated medical advice contributed to the rise of peanut allergies, and how rushed decisions by medical committees have shaped harmful medical guidelines in America. Dr. Makary reveals the overuse of antibiotics and its disruption of the microbiome, contributing to chronic conditions like obesity, asthma, and learning disabilities. You'll also discover the impact of C-section births on microbiome health, the controversy surrounding breast implant illness, and how modern newborn care practices like delayed cord clamping can promote long-term health. Additionally, we'll dive into the overmedicalization of routine procedures like tongue-tie surgeries, the need for NIH reforms to address neglected areas of health research, and much more!

Dr. Marty Makary is the recipient of the 2020 Business Book of the Year Award for his most recent book, The Price We Pay, which has been described by Steve Forbes as “a must-read for every American.” His latest book, "Blind Spots," which we discuss on today's show, is an eye-opening look at scientific research on health topics that have been overlooked or dismissed because of medical groupthink.

When modern medicine issues recommendations based on good scientific studies, it shines. Conversely, when modern medicine is interpreted through the harsh lens of opinion and edict, it can mold beliefs that harm patients and stunt research for decades.

So, tune in as Dr. Makary explores the latest research on critical topics ranging from the microbiome to childbirth to nutrition and longevity and more, revealing the biggest blind spots of modern medicine and tackling the most urgent yet unsung issues in the U.S.'s $4.5 trillion health care ecosystem.

Full show notes: https://bengreenfieldlife.com/blindspots

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Mindsip insights from this episode:

Advocate for hormone replacement therapy to enhance women's health

Hormone replacement therapy significantly improves women's health and longevity, but 80% of doctors don't prescribe it due to a single, flawed study that misrepresented its own data on cancer risk.

#HRT

#longevity

Test Lipoprotein A and ApoB for accurate heart disease risk assessment

For a true picture of heart disease risk, you should test your Lipoprotein A (Lp(a)) and ApoB levels, which are more powerful predictors than a standard cholesterol panel.

#cholesterol

#heart

Delay cord clamping to enhance brain myelination

Delaying umbilical cord clamping for just one to two minutes allows for a transfer of blood, stem cells, and antibodies that improves brain myelination years later.

#brain

#stem-cell

Challenge peanut allergy dogma to reduce risk

The American peanut allergy epidemic was ignited by incorrect medical advice to avoid peanuts in early life, a dogma that actually increases allergy risk eightfold.

#allergy

#risk

Avoid early antibiotics to reduce chronic disease risk

A Mayo Clinic study found that children who received antibiotics in their first two years of life had significantly higher rates of obesity, asthma, and celiac disease.

#antibiotics

#chronic-disease

Understand C-section impact on baby's microbiome

A baby born via C-section is extracted from a sterile field, and their microbiome is often seeded by bacteria living in the hospital rather than from the mother's birth canal.

#children

#microbiome

Swab C-section babies with vaginal fluid to enhance microbiome health

To promote a healthy microbiome, Mount Sinai hospital has a protocol where they swab a mother's vaginal fluid onto the skin of her baby if born by C-section.

#microbiome

#protocol

Uncover suppressed findings on low-fat diet and heart attack risk

The Minnesota Heart Study, which found that a low-fat diet led to more fatal heart attacks, went unpublished for 16 years because researchers were 'disappointed' with the results.

#heart

#nutrition

Implement skin-to-skin contact to stabilize newborn's blood sugar

Immediate skin-to-skin contact between a mother and her newborn helps normalize the baby's blood sugar by reducing the infant's stress hormone spikes.