A fall reset for the slightly woo

Flu season prep, my routine, and the Tylenol drama.

Never a dull week lately for talking about “trust” in healthcare! Your feeds are already drowning in chatter about the white house claim that Tylenol in pregnancy “is linked” to autism and ACOG’s affirmation that it’s safe. I am not a doctor, or remotely an expert in this space, but since you come here for the slightly woo take, this explanation from Dr Elisa Song, an integrative pediatrician, struck me as notably thoughtful. My takeaway from all this?

• Autism is multifactorial; some studies suggest an association with Tylenol, others do not. Association ≠ causation.

• Both high fever and untreated pain carry their own risks, and Tylenol is safe when used sparingly.

• Mechanistically, Tylenol can affect antioxidant pathways like glutathione, and increase oxidative stress, though the clinical significance is debated. If it were me, I might pair a liposomal glutathione supplement with the Tylenol — and badda bing badda boom you have the slightly woo take.

On a lighter note, I got a few requests for my fall functional medicine and wellness practices. In our house, summer brings about a loss of routine, a relaxing of “rules,” and more eating out. By the time the fall hits, I feel sluggish and heavy from head to toe, I get breakouts, I’m anxious, and my digestion is off. So my focus right now is getting back into a routine, supporting my liver, and boosting my immune system before the parade of viruses hits. Here’s the round-up:

• Return to my routine: for me this means workouts that balance metabolic health, postpartum rehab, and mental health needs — for me that means a combination of strength training, pilates reformer, and vinyasa yoga, and taking a brisk 30 minute walk for zone 2 cardio most days (even if it’s part of transiting to something else!).

  My regular supplement stack usually has a high quality probiotic (I’m a longtime Seed user currently trying Pendulum), fish oil, Vit D, magnesium glycinate (best form for sleep), and a cortisol manager that has some adaptogens— I did the DUTCH test earlier this year which indicated that I am stressed while I sleep. Caution around supplement quality is warranted, and you’ll see I tend to stick to a few brands that I trust like Thorne, Pure Encapsulations, and Integrative Therapeutics.

  I’m also currently dipping my toe into the creatine and fiber trend. I chose to start creatine because I’ve started doing more strength training mainly for longevity reasons (bone health!), and I’m interested in supporting muscle growth and recovery. There’s also emerging evidence suggesting neurological benefits, but that’s still debated. As for fiber, I’ve now had extensive indicators in my testing (Function Health and Zoe most recently) reveal that I have poor insulin sensitivity. Fiber helps slow the absorption of glucose into the blood stream and also feeds beneficial microbes in your gut, and there’s fairly widespread acceptance that most of us aren’t getting enough fiber from our food.

  My kids also have a small supplement stack: probiotics and multi from Hiya, and fish oil. Our world and our food is not the same as our grandparents!

• Sickness prep: while we’re talking supplements, I stock up on all my favorite immune system supplements early since many of them sell out, and they are most effective at the first twinge of something coming through. Essentials: zinc, NAC, liposomal Vit C for me and my husband. I also use my sauna blanket at first twinge (unless fever)!

  For the kids I stock up on these combo pouches, liquid zinc, and liquid liposomal gluthianone, and give them beta-glucan preventatively ahead of any travel.

• Liver support: your liver processes everything. Hormones, alcohol, stress, pollution. When it's overwhelmed, you feel it everywhere: skin breakouts, digestive issues, generally feeling “blah.” When that happens, I crave a reset with some liver supportive herbs like milk thistle and dandelion, (paired with lots of water and electrolytes). I usually notice changes within the first week. Less morning puffiness, clearer thinking, and my skin starts to clear up. I like this one from wthn and this one from Organic Olivia.

• Oral health: the research linking your oral microbiome and your overall health (systemic inflammation, immune system, etc) is very compelling. I’d consider twice yearly dental cleanings a non-negotiable, and more often if you have any bleeding, bad breath, or recession. Also finally invested in an electric toothbrush along with my Slate flosser, and currently enjoying this toothpaste that is supportive of the oral microbiome. We are getting pretty close to a mainstream understanding that not all bacteria is bad bacteria and this applies to your mouth as well!

  I’m also early on my airway journey as discussed in my last post, but plan to explore oral myofunctional therapy as a way of strengthening my tongue muscle tone so I can seal my airway at night with less straining. I’ve tried the mouth tape craze, and I do find a sleep more deeply when I do it, but ultimately it’s a bandaid to get you to breathe through your nose rather than solving the root cause of why you mouth breathe in the first place.

• Hormone health: I struggle in my luteal phase - I wake up very early, my digestion is off, bloating, mood is off, anxiety, can’t wait for it to be over. A few ways I support this part of my cycle: sauna blanket before bed, lots of water with a small amount of electrolytes, acupuncture, magnesium threonate (a form of magnesium that cross blood brain barrier), and Daily Calm with adaptogens.

• Skin health: my favorite daily ritual is my red light panel, 5-10 minutes a day (with eye protection), I incorporate it whenever I need a nervous system reset with some box breathing (meditation multitasking??), which is usually either when my kids have just left the house, or I just got back home. I also will schedule some microneedling for the winter. Favorite products at the moment: this Vit C / Hyaluronic serum and Matrixyl instead of botox.

  Re: botox, as I’ve said before, I’m not worried about the “toxicity” of botox, so much as it feels like a very expensive habit to sustain when it isn’t actually improving your skin health. No judging at all, and I may return to it one day, but it feels like a bandaid, and makes a lot more sense to me to invest dollars and time into things that will actually help your skin become stronger, regenerate collagen, accelerate skin cell turnover, etc.

Sounds like a lot, but perfection is never the goal. Fall is about coming back to yourself after the beautiful but crazy chaos that is summer. The main goal is to find habits that feel sustainable, and some days that might just mean remembering to floss.

— Joanne

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P.P.S. If you’re new here:

This is “A little woo,” where I’m exploring why the medical system is losing smart patients, how to advocate for ourselves without losing our minds, and what happens when startup thinking collides with healthcare bureaucracy. Plus, you'll get honest takes on parenting, startups, wellness, and finding your way when the usual playbook isn't working, from a multiple-time startup exec mom who loves science…with a side of woo. Check out my first post Becoming woo for the backstory on why I started this substack or you can read about my personal woo philosophy.

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