This video, by Dr. Deb Ford, a dietician and doctor of clinical nutrition, discusses the dangers of Tylenol (acetaminophen). She explains that while it's considered safe, it's the leading cause of acute liver failure in the US. Dr. Ford highlights six major problems with Tylenol, including liver toxicity, a narrow safety margin, kidney and gut damage, increased risk of chronic diseases, a potential link to autism and ADHD, and its role in masking symptoms without healing the root cause. She also suggests safer alternatives like curcumin and boswellia, and emphasizes supporting the body with healthy foods and lifestyle choices.
Key Takeaways
1
Tylenol (acetaminophen) is the leading cause of acute liver failure in the United States, despite being widely considered safe.
2
Tylenol drains your body's glutathione reserves, which are crucial for detoxifying a toxic byproduct called Napqi that can damage liver cells.
3
Overdosing on Tylenol, even by doubling the recommended dose for several days, can lead to liver damage and is the number one reason for liver transplants.
4
Key nutrients that support glutathione production include vitamins C, E, B6, B9 (folate), B12, selenium, magnesium, and zinc.
5
Tylenol has a narrow safety margin, meaning the difference between a helpful and harmful dose is very small, especially when combined with other over-the-counter medications that also contain acetaminophen.
6
Chronic Tylenol use has been linked to an increased risk of chronic kidney disease and can also cause digestive issues, particularly when combined with alcohol.
7
Regular Tylenol use is associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and weakened immune function, likely due to glutathione depletion.
8
Dozens of studies suggest a consistent association between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and an increased risk of autism and ADHD in children.
9
Tylenol only masks symptoms like pain and fever, preventing the body's natural healing processes and signals from addressing the root cause of the problem.
10
Natural alternatives like curcumin (specifically Curamin Extra Strength) and Boswellia Complex can effectively manage inflammation and pain without the side effects of conventional pain medications.
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Good morning and hello everybody.
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Welcome back to today's nutrition. I'm
0:04
Dr. Deb Ford, dietician and doctor of
0:07
clinical nutrition. And here every week
0:10
I bring you the latest on food,
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lifestyle, natural approaches, all the
0:15
new information you need to help you
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lose weight, feel great, and reverse
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aging. Today I am tackling something
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that's hot in the news. a medication
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that some of us have in our purse, our
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glove compartment, our nightstand.
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Simple Tylenol, also known as
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acetaminophen. It is considered so safe
0:37
that hospitals hand it out like candy.
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Pediatricians recommend it for teething
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babies and it is included in hundreds of
0:45
over-the-counter products, cold
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remedies, sleep aids, sinus medicine,
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and pain relievers.
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But here, I'm going to give you the
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truth. Just because it's common does not
0:56
mean it is safe. In fact, acetaminophen
1:00
is the leading cause of acute liver
1:02
failure in the United States, bypassing
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sugar, bypassing alcohol by far. Yeah,
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you heard me right. This most trusted
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household painkiller is also one of the
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most dangerous and misused. So today I'm
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going to break down six major problems
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with Tylenol. I'm going to unpack each
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one in everyday language, give you some
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real life scenarios, and of course share
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safer alternatives. So grab your morning
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coffee, or better yet, green tea,
1:36
mushroom coffee, and let's dive in.
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First things really important, liver
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toxicity. Your body has a chemical
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factory and that is your liver. It takes
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everything you eat, drink, breathe,
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swallow, whether it's kale, alcohol, or
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Tylenol, it decides what you're going to
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do with it. Now, Tylenol is metabolized
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through a detox pathway that uses
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glutathione.
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Glutathione is one of your body's most
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important antioxidants.
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mostly made in the liver. But here's the
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problem. When you take too much Tylenol
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or take it too often, you drain your
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glutathione reserves. And once that's
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depleted, a toxic byproduct that goes by
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Napqi.
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It builds up and that compound literally
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burns holes in your liver cells. N
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acetal pquinone
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amine.
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What is it? It's just a toxic compound
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produced when your liver breaks down
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acetaminophen Tylenol. Normally your
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body can neutralize it with glutathione,
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but
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it runs out of that. It's used up a lot
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and if you take too much Tylenol
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chronically, it can cause cellular
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damage that can lead to liver failure.
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In fact, every year in the US, about
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50,000
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emergency room visits are related to
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Tylenol overdose. And it is the number
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one reason for liver transplants. And
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here's the scary part. It doesn't take
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too much. Just doubling the recommended
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dose over several days, maybe enough to
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do a lot of damage. Maybe it's cuz your
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back hurts. Maybe you've got the flu. It
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can tip you into danger territory. I'll
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never forget one client, a sweet little
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grandma who took Tylenol round the clock
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for her arthritis.
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She wasn't abusing it. She was just
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following the label on the bottle. But
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her liver enzymes skyrocketed. She had
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no idea that the pills she trusted for
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pain relief were poisoning her liver.
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Luckily caught it early and she worked
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on restoring her glutathione levels with
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different nutrients. Okay, I'm going to
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give you a list of the key nutrients
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that support glutathione.
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Vitamin C about 1,000 milligs. That's a
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common dose. Food sources though, citrus
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fruit, bell peppers, kiwi, strawberries,
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and broccoli. Second thing, vitamin E,
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400 I use is the common food sources,
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almonds, sunflower seeds, spinach, and
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avocado. Third thing, vitamins B6, B9,
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also known as folate, and B12. You want
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to get the activated ones like in our ne
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multivitamin because these vitamins are
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required for methylation pathways.
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That's where glutathione is made. Food
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sources for B6 going to be chickpeas,
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poultry, salmon, bananas, folate, all
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your leafy greens of course, and
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lentils. B12 basically is going to be
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your protein foods, fish, meat, eggs,
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dairy. Okay? And now selenium. We don't
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have any in our soil around here. So
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you've got to get it from a supplement
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or you've got to get it from food.
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Brazil nuts, sardines, and eggs. Fifth
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and sixth thing, magnesium, and zinc.
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Food sources: pumpkin seeds, spinach,
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cashews, quinoa, and oysters. Now, these
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foods directly boost glutathione. And
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they're basically your sulfur rich
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foods. So you've got the cruciferous
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vegetables. You've got the alams like
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garlic, onions, and leaks. And then of
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course your protein sources. Hay is
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going to be a good one. Pastured eggs,
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grass-fed beef, and poultry. Now my
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favorites, your herbs, milk thistle,
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by far the best. Turmeric, curcumin, my
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favorite is curin extra strength of
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course. And then green tea, really rich
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in the EGCG polyphenols. Some people
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just want to take a supplement NAC which
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stands for an acetylcysteine. That is
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the most direct precursor supplement.
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Hospitals in fact use it for Tylenol
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overdose and they even tried to make it
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an expensive prescription during CO
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alpha lipoic acid and CoQ10 and natural
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lifestyle things. I like to recommend
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moderate exercise, not overtraining, but
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moderate exercise, deep restorative
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sleep, your liver pathways reset when
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you sleep, and avoiding toxins.
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Alcohol, smoking, pesticides, plastics,
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all deplete glutathione, just like
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Tylenol. So bottom line, Tylenol doesn't
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just take the edge off pain, it can take
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out your liver if you're not careful.
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Second thing, it has a narrow safety
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margin. Most medications have a pretty
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wide safety window, meaning there's a
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big gap between a helpful and a harmful
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dose. Tylenol is different. Its margin
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between safe and toxic is razor thin. So
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let me put it in perspective.
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Recommended dose 3,000 to 4,000 mg.
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That's for an average size man. Women
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typically would require less. So that's
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going to be about 6 to 8 extra strength
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pills. If you go over that, even by a
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small amount, you're putting your liver
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at risk. But here's the catch. Tylenol
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hides in so many over-the-counter
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prescription products that it's easy to
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overdo it. Cold and flu meds, sinus
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meds, sleep meds often contain
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acetaminophen. Take a couple along with
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your pain meds and you have just doubled
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your intake without knowing it. It's
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like playing Russian roulette with your
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health. Unlike alcohol that shows
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obvious signs of overuse, Tylenol
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doesn't. It sneaks up. You don't
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necessarily feel worse right away, but
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inside your liver can be crying for
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help. And for parents, this is even more
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concerning. Kids liquid formulations can
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vary in concentration. So even
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well-meaning parents can be given the
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kids too much. Hospitals have seen
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tragic cases where a baby was overdosed
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because the dosing was not clear. You
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have to know that Tylenol safety is
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really a marketing myth. There is a
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narrow safety margin. It's far too thin
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for comfort for me. Okay. Point three,
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kidney and gut damage. Now, most of us
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associate side effects from net enses
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like ibuprofen and aspirin, but Tylenol
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isn't off the hook. When we think of
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Tylenol for quick relief, no stomach
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irritation like aspirin, no risk of
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bleeding like ibuprofen, but dig a
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little deeper into the research and the
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picture is not so rosy. Chronic Tylenol
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use has been linked to an increased risk
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for chronic kidney disease. Another one
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of those epidemics we're seeing. It's
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really something we have to be careful
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of. There are studies that show people
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who regularly take Tylenol for years are
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more likely to end up on dialysis.
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And while Tylenol may not erode the
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stomach lining, it still can create
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digestive issues when combined with
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alcohol or other meds. People who drink
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socially while using Tylenol put their
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liver and their gut in double jeopardy.
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Alcohol is going to magnify the effects
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because you've got even more to
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detoxify.
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Another concern is that Tylenol doesn't
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just relieve symptoms, it masks them. A
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fever, for example, is your body's way
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of fighting infection. When you dock it
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down artificially, you're interfering
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with your immune system's natural
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defenses while stressing the detox
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pathways. So, while Tylenol is targeted
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as the gentle option, the truth is it's
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neither gentle on your kidneys or your
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gut.
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Point number four, increased risk of
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other chronic diseases. As if chronic
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kidney disease wasn't bad enough, blood
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pressure and heart disease are linked to
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increased risk.
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Study in circulation journal found that
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regular Tylenol users had a
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significantly higher risk of
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hypertension. Maybe because its effect
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on the kidneys. It can be nudging you
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towards heart disease and also immune
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function. It's probably because it
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depletes glutathione. Low glutathione is
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linked to faster aging
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and poor immune defense. Some scientists
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argue that explains why chronic Tylenol
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users often struggle more with
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infections and inflammation.
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Okay. Point number five, and I find this
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a truly unacceptable problem, the link
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to autism and ADHD.
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This touches in research
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up to
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21 in 100 baby boys born.
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That is up from 1 in 100,000
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or more.
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Unacceptable problem if you ask me. And
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while this is not
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totally
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without controversy, I think it's so
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important.
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Over the last decade, dozens of studies
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have looked at prenatal exposure to
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acetaminophen
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increasing the risk of autism and
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spectrum disorder. In 2025, Mount Sinai
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reviewed 46 studies. There were over
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100,000 participants found consistent
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association between prenatal
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acetaminophen exposure and increased
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risk of autism and ADHD. We look at
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potential for oxidative stress, and
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disruption or even epigenetic changes in
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fetal development.
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In Harvard, a review summarized a lot of
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studies warning that acidophen in
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pregnancy and they put it in bold may
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not be as benign as once thought and
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caution is highly warranted. Another
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2020 JAMAMA psychiatry study measured
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acetaminophen in umbilical cord blood.
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Babies with the highest exposure had up
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to a 3.6 six times greater odds of
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developing autism than those with the
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lowest exposure. Now, when I look at
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this, I see a strong potential for
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problems because of the depletion of
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glutathione.
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Without antioxidants,
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and that's the really important one,
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glutathione, how does the delicate
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nervous system protect itself from
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toxins? Heaven knows our culture exposes
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us to tens of thousands of chemicals
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every day. And if you add lack of
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glutathione to deal with it, stands out
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like a sore thumb. The evidence is so
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troubling. Of course, more investigation
13:53
needs to be done, but here's my take.
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I'm conservative. If there's even a
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chance that Tylenol can increase the
14:02
risk for autism or ADHD, something can
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at least alter if not destroy human
14:09
potential. Shouldn't we take
14:11
precautionary principle?
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Use only when absolutely necessary, the
14:18
lowest possible dose for the shortest
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period of time, if at all. We want to
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stimulate the body to heal on its own.
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Tylenol doesn't heal anything. Moms,
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dad, grandparents listening, it's not
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about guilt. It's about informed
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choices. For decades, we thought Tylenol
14:36
was harmless. Now we know better.
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Science evolves. We got to keep up.
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Number six, masking symptoms without
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healing. Here's something else I want
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you to think about. Tylenol does not
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cure anything. It doesn't fight
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infection. It doesn't reduce
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inflammation. It doesn't rebuild tissue.
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Alls it does is turn down the pain
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alarm. Like you're driving and your oil
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light comes on or check engine. So
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instead of checking the engine, you just
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put a piece of tape over the light.
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That's what Tylenol does. It hides the
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signal that your body is giving you.
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Fever. That's your immune system working
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hard to fight invaders. And a little bit
15:18
of fever boosts your white blood cell
15:20
count so it can do a better job. Tylenol
15:22
knocks that down, but the infection is
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still raging. Back pain and your body's
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trying to tell you something. Tylenol is
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just going to dull the pain. Doesn't fix
15:32
the root cause. So that's why I
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encourage people listen to your body
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instead of silencing it. If you're in
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pain, let's ask why. Is there
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inflammation? Is it poor posture? Is it
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stress? Is it bad diet? Is it mold
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exposure? Is it nutrient deficiency? Is
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it just pain? I've used that joint too
15:52
much. There are so many root causes that
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we can actually address with food, with
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lifestyle and natural remedies. Things
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that have been used for thousands of
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years safely, and modern research is
16:05
proving how good they are. And so I'm
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not saying never to use Tylenol in
16:10
emergencies, but when relying on it as a
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band-aid is like ignoring the warning
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signals on your dashboard. Eventually
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that engine is going to break down.
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You're going to be on the side of the
16:21
road. So my favorite tried andrude are
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Curaman Extra Strength from Terry
16:27
Naturally or Boswellia Complex from
16:30
Standard Process. When it comes to
16:32
inflammation, your body has two switches
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that turn pain and swelling off.
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One switch makes chemicals called
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prostaglandins that create soreness and
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stiffness. The other one lucotrien
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that's more involved with asthma,
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allergies, and joint inflammation. Most
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relievers like ibuprofen block that
16:53
pathway. That's why they help with pain,
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but they're going to irritate the deeper
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chronic problem. Here's where nature
16:59
shines. Curcumin, my favorite curin
17:02
extra strength, helps calm down that
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prostaglandon pathway by reducing the
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COX 2 expression. Bosellia from
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frankincense works on the lucotriine.
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It's a huge powerful five locks
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inhibitor. When you put them together,
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you get coverage from both sides. It's
17:22
like turning both of those switches off
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instead of just one. That's why I like
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curum extra strength. Some people like
17:28
the Boswellia complex. I just love Curum
17:32
and Extra Strength. It's been
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life-changing for so many people. Okay,
17:37
so that's why I like the combination and
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it's so effective for joint pain,
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stiffness, breathing issues without the
17:44
side effects of controversial
17:47
conventional pain meds. So, there you
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have it. Six big reasons to think twice
17:52
before reaching for Tylenol. My advice,
17:56
try to avoid it. Support your body with
17:58
anti-inflammatory foods, exercise,
18:01
stress management, and natural pain
18:03
relief instead. As always, dig for the
18:06
root cause. This is Dr. Deb Ford
18:08
reminding you, health is a choice we
18:11
make every single day. Choose wisely,
18:14
stay curious, and keep tuning in to
18:17
today's nutrition. Have a great day.
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Tylenol
Deb Ford DCN RDN
49 views
Sep 14, 2025
18:20
Today I’m tackling a common medication that some of us have in our purse, our glove compartment, and our nightstand—Tylenol, also known as acetaminophen. It’s considered so “safe” that hospitals hand it out like candy, pediatricians recommend it for teething babies, and it’s included in hundreds of over-the-counter products—cold remedies, sleep aids, sinus medicine, and pain relievers. But here’s the truth: just because something is common, doesn’t mean it’s safe. In fact, acetaminophen is the leading cause of acute liver failure in the United States. Yes—you heard me right. The most trusted household painkiller is also one of the most dangerous when misused. Today, I want to break this down into six major problems: liver toxicity, gut and kidney problems, narrow safety margin, blood pressure and heart disease, Autism and ADHD, and masking problems, not curing them. I’ll unpack and give you important alternatives that work.