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Dr. Simpson Unfiltered – News, medicine, and medical myth-busting
Fork U – Evidence-based eating and nutrition decoded
🔥 Wildfire Smoke Is Killing Us — Quietly
Let’s start with the air. Because I live in one of the regions hit hardest by wildfire smoke—and let me tell you, when the smoke rolls in, you feel it. Not just in your lungs. In your bones. Your energy. Your sleep.
A new study estimates over 41,000 Americans die each year from wildfire smoke exposure. And by 2050, that number could rise to over 70,000 a year.
This isn’t just a climate story—it’s a public health emergency.
💨 What you can do:
Get a HEPA air purifier with a charcoal filter. Not when the skies turn orange. Not when the stores are sold out. Not when you’re coughing in your sleep.
Get it now.
Especially if you or a family member has:
COPD
Asthma
Heart disease
Or is a child or senior
Cleaner indoor air year-round doesn’t just reduce the risk of premature death. It improves sleep, lung health, heart function, and even cognition.
💊 Aspirin Slashes Colon Cancer Recurrence Risk
A randomized trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine found that daily aspirin reduced recurrence risk by 55% in people with a specific colorectal cancer mutation (PIK3CA-positive tumors).
Aspirin. Simple. Inexpensive.
But don’t self-prescribe—this is mutation-specific and comes with bleeding risk. Talk to your doctor before making changes.
💉 ACIP Changes COVID Vaccine Guidance
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) just:
Narrowed COVID vaccine access for adults 65+ to “provider discussion” only
Suggested the same for ages 6 months–64
Dropped a proposed delay of Hepatitis B vaccination for newborns, a win for public health
These moves were less extreme than expected, but they could still limit pharmacy-based access, especially for older adults. And let’s not forget: the Hepatitis B vaccine helped eliminate perinatal transmission in Alaska Native communities, where it was once endemic.
🧠 Air Pollution Alcohol and Dementia: Stronger Than We Thought
New research from JAMA Neurology and BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine shows:
PM2.5 air pollution increases Alzheimer’s risk and severity
Any alcohol consumption increases dementia risk—no safe level
That long-held belief that “a glass of wine is good for the brain”?
The genetic data says otherwise.
💉 GLP-1 Drugs (Ozempic, Mounjaro) Might Help Psoriasis Patients Too
Data presented at the 2025 EADV Congress shows:
GLP-1 users had 78% lower risk of premature death
44% lower risk of heart events
65% lower risk of alcohol abuse
And, surprisingly, they may help people with psoriasis
Metabolic inflammation appears to be the shared enemy here.
🧪 Supplement Label Confusion Persists
JAMA Network Open reports that labels like “brain health” and “heart health” make people believe supplements prevent or treat disease, even when there’s no evidence. To be clear “supports brain health” or prostate, or immune system or heart health means nothing. You can make that claim about anything without reproach from the FTC or FDA.
Once again, words matter. Don’t be fooled by a pretty label.
🧬 Skipping Your Mammogram? The Risk Lasts 25 Years
A massive study from The BMJ finds that women who skip their first recommended mammogram have:
50% higher risk of Stage III breast cancer
4x higher risk of Stage IV
40% higher mortality
Even 25 years later.
This isn’t “overdiagnosis.” It’s under-detection.
☢️ Pediatric Flu Season = Encephalopathy Risk
The CDC reports 109 cases of flu-related encephalopathy in kids this past season. Of those with known vaccine status, 84% were unvaccinated.
Flu shots may not be perfect, but they’re still our best defense against complications like encephalitis and death.
🧨 RFK Jr. & Tylenol: Pseudoscience at the Podium
Now, let’s close with what set the internet (and my inbox) on fire this week.
At a press conference alongside HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump warned pregnant women against using Tylenol and promoted a long-debunked link between acetaminophen and autism.
Let’s break this down:
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) states clearly:
“Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is the safest over-the-counter medication for pain and fever during pregnancy.”
Untreated fevers in pregnancy can be catastrophic to a fetus. Tylenol reduces that risk.
There is no causal link between Tylenol and autism. Full stop.
The study being cited? Authored in part by someone who accepted $150,000 to testify in lawsuits against Tylenol. He himself admits: correlation, not causation.
And yet we have two men in their 70s standing at the White House lecturing women on what to do with their bodies—based on junk science.
That’s not just wrong. It’s misogynistic, paternalistic, and dangerous.
Let me say this clearly:
Unless you can become pregnant, stay out of this conversation.
Women’s healthcare should be based on science and patient-doctor relationships, not patriarchal fear-mongering.
Some people say I’m being “too political” for calling this out.
You’re wrong.
Doctors are supposed to advocate for public health. This is our lane.
And when someone uses Harvard’s name to push garbage science—while quietly collecting legal fees to do so—I’m going to call it out. Loudly.
I praised Trump’s Operation Warp Speed because it saved lives.
I’ll criticize any leader who endangers public health with anti-science ideology.
This isn’t partisan. This is science.
📣 Subscribe to Dr. Simpson Unfiltered wherever you get your podcasts — and listen to Fork U for weekly evidence-based food myths debunked.