Influenced to Death

Dr. Sharon Bergquist, a scientist and medical doctor known for her research on stress and author of "The Stress Paradox," dives into the surprising benefits of stress. She reveals how moderate stress can make you biologically younger and why it might be unwise to lower it completely. The discussion explores the concept of hormesis, emphasizing how small stressors promote resilience. They also tackle misconceptions about diets and stress responses, suggesting that understanding stress can lead to better health outcomes.

Jenny McGruther, a talented cookbook writer and recipe developer, returns to dive deeper into The Weston A. Price Foundation. She tackles the controversial review of Nina Planck’s book on traditional diets and questions the nutritional impacts of phytic acid. The conversation evolves around the merits of raw milk versus pasteurized and the balance between Nutritional Heritage and modern choices. They also explore the complexities of dietary guidance, questioning traditional narratives and advocating for informed, personal food decisions.

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria have the extreme pleasure of speaking with Dawn Whitten, a clinician, researcher, educator, and clinical mentor in naturopathic medicine specific to perinatal and early life health for over twenty years. (This woman knows her stuff, y’all.)Today’s topic? Maternal exclusion, aka elimination diets, as a way to address eczema or other symptoms in the baby. Does it work? Is it safe? What does the evidence say? What is Dawn’s clinical experience? Learn more about Dawn here.See all of Dawn’s publications here. 🤯………….Resources & research notes for this episode: The Australian Breastfeeding Association is a wonderful resource—it's a volunteer-run non-profit organization that uses a peer-support model. They have put together many resources for parents and are a place to go for reliable informationAnd, of course, La Leche League.The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine is more of a professional organization, but they do have a find a practitioner function that can help parents find a practitioner fluent in breastfeeding medicine. They also have a few great handouts.And they have some great parent handouts.On maternal peanut allergen consumption while breastfeeding and infant allergy:* Reduced risk of peanut sensitization following exposure through breast-feeding and early peanut introduction* Reduced peanut sensitization with maternal peanut consumption and early peanut introduction while breastfeedingOn breastfeeding and the effect of policies and marketing of breastmilk substitutes:* Why invest, and what it will take to improve breastfeeding practices?* Marketing of commercial milk formula: a system to capture parents, communities, science, and policy* Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect(this is considered a seminal paper)On donor milk:* Australian Breastfeeding Association Position Statement on Donor Milk* Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine’s 2017 Position Statement on Informal Breast Milk Sharing for the Term Healthy Infant This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit influencedtodeath.substack.com/subscribe

Dr. Jordan Robertson, founder of The Confident Clinician Club and educator in integrative medicine, joins to unpack how the internet influences health decisions. They explore the challenges of discerning reliable medical information in a sea of wellness trends. The conversation highlights outrageous health claims and the need for critical thinking. Robertson emphasizes the evolution of Google’s algorithms towards accuracy and discusses the importance of effective communication between patients and providers in navigating health information.

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria are joined by fellow balanced babe Jenny McGruther of Nourished Kitchen fame for the beginning of a deep dive (yep, expect part 2) into the Weston A. Price Foundation.Interview with Sally and Kelly the Kitchen Kop (Kelly Moeggenborg) on how the WAPF was bornThe Nina Planck book review: Real Food for Mother and BabyDr. Kaayla Daniel’s original publication on fermented cod liver oil This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit influencedtodeath.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Hannah & Victoria speak with Dr. Mark Messina, an international expert and soy researcher. We read his research. We emailed him with high hopes. He responded! Dr. Mark brings the juice on soy, “myth-busting,” and even sheds some light on GLP-1 agonists. DO NOT SLEEP on this episode! Dr. Mark isn’t some dull researcher…he’s passionate, engaging, and one of the most knowledgeable guys on the planet when it comes to soy. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit influencedtodeath.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria have the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Sarah Ballantyne about her stance switch from anti- to pro-seed oils.Hi everyone, Vic here. Hannah and I asked Dr. Sarah to come on the podcast to speak with her about some of the science backing why she switched her viewpoint, but mainly about the dynamics of telling her millions of followers she was wrong. This episode is my favorite we’ve recorded so far. Why?If you’ve spent any time in the wellness world, you may have noticed that big names don’t shift their stance very often, and they especially don’t do it loudly. But in this case, Dr. Sarah not only changed her mind, she did it very publically. And very loudly. We’ve seen some nasty social media comments pointed in her direction…everything from she’s hit her head to she’s being bought by “big oil.” While I was transparent in our interview that I wasn’t so sure I was committed to incorporating vegetable oils into my diet, I fully believe she’s come to this conclusion on her own (extremely intelligent) accord and is in no way being influenced by anything other than saying what she thinks is right. And I also believe that the characteristics and skills she displays—curiosity, willingness to change her mind and say she was wrong, research literacy and commitment to staying up to date on current research, clear communication—are the EXACT qualities that will keep us moving toward the best wellness solutions EVEN IF it happens that you don’t like what she’s saying right now. These qualities starkly contrast with what we usually see from wellness influencers…the ones who are so blindly committed to a concept or idea (and the money they make from it) that they’ll lead themselves and you into illness in order to stay the course. The opposite is happening here. And I love it. We hope you enjoy the episode as much as we liked speaking with Dr. Sarah.For more on the science behind her views on vegetable oils, please click here to listen to Dr. Sarah and Stacy Toth’s discussion on The Whole View, and click here for Dr. Sarah’s interview on The Unbiased Science podcast.Dr. Sarah Ballantyne’s bioDr. Sarah Ballantyne, PhD, is the founder of Nutrivore.com and the New York Times best-selling author of Nutrivore: The Radical New Science for Getting the Nutrients You Need from the Food You Eat. She creates educational resources to help people improve their day-to-day diet and lifestyle choices, empowered and informed by the most current evidence-based scientific research. With Nutrivore, Dr. Sarah has created a positive and inclusive approach to dietary guidance, based in science and devoid of dogma, using nutrient density and sufficiency as its basic principles: Nourishment, not judgment. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit influencedtodeath.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria explore the hyper-controversialized world of soy, one of the most studied yet misunderstood foods in our diet.History:Isoflavones first came to the attention of the scientific community in the 1940s because of fertility problems observed in sheep grazing on a type of isoflavone-rich clover. * The most economically important bean in the world* China 7000 BCE* Soybeans were introduced into the United States in 1804 and became particularly important in the South and Midwest in the mid-20th century - the majority of soybean crops are genetically modified for resistance to the herbicide glyphosate*. Brazil and Argentina are also major producers.Evidence:“Soy” = 23,500ish results in PubMed, Last 10 years, about 10K results.Phytoestrogens are a broad group of compounds that consist of isoflavones, lignans, and coumestans. Of these, isoflavones are heterocyclic phenols, the main constituents of which are genistein, daidzein, and glycitein. They have a similar structure to 17 beta-estradiol and have been shown to have biological activity exerting estrogen-like effects both in vitro and in vivo. Interesting note on isoflavones and cultural differences in consumption and genetic differences in metabolism, from M. Messina, Soy and Health Update https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5188409/ : “...mean isoflavone intake among adults ranges from about 30–50 mg/day in Japan but is less than 3 mg/day in the United States, Canada, and Europe [60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67]”Understanding soy intake by milligram:It is difficult for the average consumer to even understand the consumption of isoflavones. For example, according to United States Department of Agriculture data and an assumption of about a half-cup serving, most vegetables contain <1 mg, miso soup 1–2 mg, cooked edamame 15–20 mg, raw pistachios 1–3 mg, most soymilks 1–10 mg, and some higher soy content cereals 20–100 mg (5). “Meatless” meats contain anywhere from very little to high amounts of isoflavones depending on how they are produced. Much of the content of all soy products depends on processing, whether alcohol or water extracted, and the crop or variety. Needless to say, it is quite complicated. https://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(19)30621-1/fulltext Glyphosate residue potentially disrupting our microbiomes: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8959108/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10561581/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169534722002294 Equol:“In regard to isoflavone metabolism, a striking difference among individuals is that only about 25% of non-Asians and 50% of Asians host the intestinal bacteria that convert daidzein into the isoflavonoid equol* [80]. In 2002, Setchell et al. (2002) proposed that those individuals who host these bacteria are more likely to benefit from soyfood consumption [81]” Equol [7-hydroxy-3-(4′-hydroxyphenyl)-chroman], an isoflavan produced by intestinal bacteria in response to soy isoflavone intake in some but not all humans, exhibits a wide range of biological properties: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20519411/ More on equol: https://gutpathogens.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13099-024-00625-9 Big picture view of interactions with hormones: Specifically, soy isoflavones are the phytoestrogen focus of the study published in this issue from Salsano et al., because they are very chemically similar to 17β-estradiol (2). The two predominant soy isoflavones, genistein, and daidzein, bind primarily to estrogen receptor (ER) β but remain very weak estrogens compared with endogenous E2. There is data that they may act by both hormonal and nonhormonal pathways, which include arresting or altering cellular growth through kinases or even epigenetics (3). https://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(19)30621-1/fulltext A Brief Historical Overview of the Past Two Decades of Soy and Isoflavone ResearchMark Messina, 2010https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022316622132049#bib84Baby formula:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9217716/ Comparative Study Lancet. 1997 Jul 5;350(9070):23-7. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(96)09480-9.Exposure of infants to phytoestrogens from soy-based infant formula “From the concentrations of isoflavones in these formulas (means 32-47 micrograms/mL), the typical daily volume of milk consumed, and average body weight, a 4-month-old infant fed soy formula would be exposed to 28-47 per day, or about 4.5-8.0 mg/kg body weight per day, of total isoflavones. Mean (SD) plasma concentrations of genistein and daidzein in the seven infants fed soy-based formulas were 684 (443) ng/mL and 295 (60) ng/mL, respectively, which was significantly greater (p < 0.05) than in the infants fed either cow-milk formulas (3.2 [0.7] and 2.1 [0.3] ng/mL), or human breast-milk (2.8 [0.7] and 1.4 [0.1] ng/mL), and an order of magnitude higher per bodyweight than typical plasma concentrations of adults consuming soy foods.”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2661347/#b7-pch14109 ​​ Concerns for the use of soy-based formulas in infant nutritionPaediatr Child Health. 2009 PMCID: PMC2661347However, they are present in relatively large amounts in soy-based formulas, such that the total isoflavone content is approximately 40 μg/mL in ready-to-use soy formulas. Infants who consume these products have isoflavone plasma concentrations of approximately 13,000 to 22,000 times greater than their estradiol plasma concentrations. In contrast, the plasma concentrations of isoflavones in infants who are fed cow’s milk formula or breast milk are only 50 to 200 times greater than their estradiol plasma concentrations (7). There is concern that these isoflavones may mimic the actions of estradiol or alter estradiol metabolism, and consequently modify the processes influenced by estradiol. Despite this theoretical possibility, practical experience has shown that the millions of infants who have consumed these products since the 1960s appear to have grown and matured normally.Fertility: * Inverse association between soy intake and sperm count in men (soy lowers sperm count): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18650557/ …but, another study shows:* Dadizen (found in soy) good for sperm morphology, as well as red meat and whole milk https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/andr.12858Breast cancer:Soy Isoflavones and Breast Cancer Risk: A Meta-analysis: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35241506/ * 2022 meta of 8 studies and 477,832 women examined the AMOUNT of soy consumed and the connection to breast cancer - found the consumption of soy isoflavones can reduce the risk of breast cancer in pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women.Bone health:Soy Reduces Bone Turnover Markers in Women During Early Menopause: A Randomized Controlled Trial: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27465911/ There was a significant increase in TSH and reduction in free thyroxine (p < 0.01) with SPI supplementation (200 white women given 15 g soy protein with 66 mg isoflavone (SPI) or 15 g soy protein alone (SP), daily for 6 months) though free tri-iodothyronine was unchanged. In conclusion, soy protein with isoflavones may confer a beneficial effect on bone health, analogous to the mode of action of antiresorptive agents, albeit to a less magnitude. There was a significant improvement of cardiovascular risk markers, but a significant increase in TSH and reduction in free thyroxine after SPI supplementation indicating a detrimental effect on thyroid function. © 2016 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.Soy Food Consumption, Exercise, and Body Mass Index and Osteoporotic Fracture Risk Among Breast Cancer Survivors: The Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival Studyhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6527440/  High soy isoflavone intake was associated with reduced risk among pre-/perimenopausal patients (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.22, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.09 to 0.53, for soy isoflavone mg/d ≥56.06 vs <31.31; Ptrend < .001) but not among postmenopausal patients (Pinteraction < .01). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19794985/ Marked individual variation in isoflavone metabolism after a soy challenge can modulate the skeletal effect of isoflavones in premenopausal women“Women in the soy group were divided into subgroups according to their ability to excrete more potent metabolites. Serum osteocalcin and urine deoxypyridinoline showed a tendency to increase after a challenge in equol high-excretors. Serum osteocalcin concentration in the genistein high-excretors increased significantly after a challenge (P=0.04) but did not increase in either the placebo or genistein low-excretors. An estrogenic antagonistic effect of isoflavones on bone turnover was observed in premenopausal women who are able to produce more potent metabolites.”CVD:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29739677/ Same research group/ same participants as first bone turnover studyConclusions: Supplementation with soy protein with isoflavones for 6 months significantly improved CVR markers and calculated CVR at 6 months during early menopause compared to soy protein without isoflavones.Beneficial to CVD in early menopauseLikely beneficial for lupus:https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/nutrition-research-reviews/article/an-update-on-diet-and-nutritional-factors-in-systemic-lupus-erythematosus-management/992C22937FC53A6B1D3D30BC97B331E9 Likely detrimental for people taking valproic acid: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3950581/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit influencedtodeath.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Hannah & Victoria check out what the research has to say about MM’s claims and do their best to provide a balanced takeaway. Check out the show notes for Episode #9: Medical Medium, Part 1 for references. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit influencedtodeath.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Hannah and Victoria do their best to keep their s**t together while discussing Medical Medium, a 55-year-old self-proclaimed medium who claims the Spirit of Compassion provides him with medical information years beyond what current science has uncovered.* HistoryFrom his website, Medicalmedium.com:“Medical Medium Anthony William, the chronic illness expert, originator of the global celery juice movement and Brain Shot Therapy, and host of the Medical Medium Podcast, is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of Brain Saver, Brain Saver Protocols, Cleanses & Recipes, Cleanse to Heal, Celery Juice, Liver Rescue, Thyroid Healing, Life-Changing Foods, and the revised and expanded Medical Medium. Anthony was born with the unique ability to converse with the Spirit of Compassion, who provides him with extraordinarily advanced healing medical information that’s far ahead of its time.Since age four, Anthony has been using his gift to see into people’s conditions and tell them and their doctors how to recover their health. Over decades of helping individuals find the answers they needed, Anthony found that he could only help so many as his waiting list continued to grow. Anthony now dedicates much of his time and energy to listening to Spirit of Compassion’s information and placing it into books so everybody can have an opportunity to heal.His unprecedented accuracy and success rate as the Medical Medium have earned him the trust and love of millions worldwide, among them movie stars, rock stars, billionaires, professional athletes, and countless other people from all walks of life who couldn’t find a way to heal until he provided them with insights from above. Over the decades, Anthony has also been an invaluable resource to doctors who need help solving their most difficult cases.”4.8 million followers on InstagramHe declines to give his age in interviews. From what we could find, he’s 55 years old.  Anthony is a “trusted expert” on Goop, and his books have been on NYT bestseller lists. Note: Many of his supplement links go to a company called Vimergy. It’s owned by Phil McCulskey, who appears to be a close friend.  His work and claims are prolific. He may be best known for his hyperbolic claims about the curative properties of celery juice and about the Epstein-Barr Virus. He seems to flat-out make up his own definition and scientific explanation for his claims. He claims that celery juice can cure chronic disease, he details the mechanisms and processes that he says explain his claims but insists that the scientific community just hasn’t discovered them yet. He says he knows about them because the Spirit of Compassion tells him. This includes undiscovered viruses and mechanisms/physiology behind chronic diseases. All of this is woven into snippets of pretty solid holistic health advice - like eat more unprocessed foods, avoid alcohol, the body can heal, etc. He also claims that the worldwide scientific community uses his discoveries to further their understanding of human health and that many doctors successfully use his protocols to treat their patients with chronic diseases.Around 2000, he owned a health food store with his wife, Rachel Schutzman, in Machias, Maine, called Good Earth Organic Market.* Nutrition ClaimsHe claims that certain foods feed viruses in the body and recommends eliminating them. These include meat and eggs.From what I can tell, many of his protocols are strict vegan diets, consisting of mostly fruit and celery juice.He claims that any dietary fat accumulates in the liver. His idea of metabolism:“The idea that your body can switch to burning fat as fuel is also flawed. We don’t run on fat. We run on glucose, which is sugar. If it were true that our bodies could flip from burning glucose for energy to burning fat for energy, as the keto diet suggests, then it would be impossible for someone who was overweight or obese to starve. If the ketosis theory is correct, you could take away an overweight person’s food completely and they’d continue to live for a long period of time, using their fat as energy. But that’s not how it works. Fat does not convert to usable material for our bodies.”He also claims that the brain is a jellyfish-like organ is made of sugar:“There’s a highly popular belief today that the brain is made out of fat and you need to eat a lot of “healthy fats” to have good brain health and function. Sadly, this is more damaging misinformation. High-fat diets are disastrous for the brain. In truth, there is only a microscopic percentage of fat in the brain. Outside of these low traces of omegas, the brain is mostly a jellyfish-like organ made up of sugar.“Epstein Barr virus claims* Autoimmune diseases are caused by viruses, it is not possible for the body to form self-antigens. There is no genetic basis to AID. * Claims there are over 60 forms of EBV* “Doctors have no idea how the virus operates long-term”* “Medical communities are unaware that every case of mononucleosis is only Stage Two of EBV”* From his Epstein Barr podcast episode: “What the scientific community doesn’t know is that EBV causes more things than mono.” “The scientific community thinks that EBV can only be spread when someone has mono, but Medical Medium knows that it can be spread through saliva & bodily fluids by anyone who has it.” (Both of these claims are false - it is researched and documented that EBV can contribute to some cancer and other illnesses, and the CDC explains that EBV can be spread even when someone doesn’t have active mono.) For Breastfeeding moms: ”Just blend avocado, ripe banana, and water or coconut water to create a delicious drink to replace breastmilk or to supplement on top of it.” (THIS IS FALSE INFORMATION, DON’T DO THIS.)He no longer provides private consultations - it seems like he would do phone consults to “scan” peoples’ bodies. According to a Reddit thread, the cost was $500 for a 30-min phone consult.According to a Reddit thread: If someone disagrees with him in his telegram group he calls them a “fork tongue devil,” and bullying from the group follows https://www.reddit.com/r/medicalmediumskeptic/comments/1bux0jb/medical_medium_calls_anyone_who_disagrees_with/ * Controversy “In 2013, Kate Gallagher Leong, whose 5-year-old son, Gavin, was seriously ill, handed over $350 for an hour-long consultation. She was desperate, she admitted in a blog post. William, she said, told her that mercury poisoning caused Gavin’s disease, which she had passed to him in utero. William gave her a list of supplements to put him on. Forty-eight days later, Gavin died of a febrile seizure.Gallagher did not blame William for her son’s death but called him “a fraud” who took advantage of her anguish. She said she became a resource for others: “I feel glad when the people who don’t have $500 to lose write to me and I can keep them from handing over their rent money . . . grocery money . . . and their hopes to him.” William declined to comment on the case.” https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/article/gwyneth-paltrow-and-the-snake-oil-salesman-gmk8mcfgr This is Kate’s blog post about her experience from 2016“I explained to him my desperation to get answers about Gavin's mysterious, undiagnosed genetic syndrome. He spent the first ten minutes or so talking about supplements. The history, which brands he prefers, which supplements help with what. Then he told me that mercury was the cause of Gavin's issues - that I passed actual mercury on to him and a mercury sensitivity in utero, causing his physical, neurological and developmental issues and explaining his features. Basically, that he suffered mercury poisoning in my womb. He said that was the cause of all of my miscarriages as well (nine at that time). He also said I had the Epstein-Barr Virus in my system. Then... it was back to supplements again. He was a very nice person so I tried to remain patient. I thought he was just getting off track and would get back to helping me with our medical mystery. He didn't.I watched the clock tick and tock - and watched our money continue to fly out the window - as he spent 95% of our call discussing supplements and telling me to write down which brands of supplements to give Gavin and which I should take. I wondered, in frustration, if he got a kickback from supplement companies! You can read that original post here.”…After Gavin died, Anthony William's assistant called and said he requested that we call him. I suppose he either read that Gavin died on my blog or saw it on social media. I did NOT appreciate being summoned by him when it was my son that died, after all. I never called him - and he never called again.”There are claims that he’s asked his followers to leave positive reviews in exchange for prizes, essentially buying reviews.Accusations of silencing: https://www.reddit.com/r/medicalmediumskeptic/ Dan Adler’s article in Vanity Fair - The Medical Medium and the True Believer:https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2023/04/the-medical-medium-and-the-true-believer Medical Medium podcast - The Plotter Series - goes after Ashleigh Foster, a friend of the woman covered in the Vanity Fair article, and portrays her as a money grabber plotting against Medical Medium.* EvidenceCelery JuiceCelery cluster salts: used nutritionally, this term was coined by MM and appears to be completely fabricated and based on no evidence. Celery and fertility https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28985183/ Celery and MetSyn https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31464016/ Apiaceous veggies and detox https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10837004/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16762476/ Article from Dr. Sarah Ballantyn https://www.thepaleomom.com/celery-juice-fad-or-fabulous/ In some people, excessive amounts of raw celery might contribute to symptoms due to increased amounts of oxalates. According to the Oxalosis and Hyperoxaluria Foundation’s tracker, celery has a moderate amount of oxalates: https://ohf.org/vegetables-oxalate/  Epstein Barr Affects over 90% of the world’s population (some say 98% !) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559285/#:~:text=Epstein%20Barr%20virus%20(EBV)%20is,from%20asymptomatic%20to%20infectious%20mononucleosis. Egg allergy and EBV https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234068531_Identification_of_EBV_infection_in_adults_with_egg_specific_food_allergy#:~:text=Conclusions%20The%20high%20expression%20of,involved%20in%20this%20allergy%20process. Epstein, M. A., & Achong, B. G. YM Bart. 1964. Virus particles in cultured lymphoblasts from Burkitt's lymphoma. Lancet, 702-703. - Article from 1964 when a virus (later found to be EBV) found in tumor cells began the hypothesis that viruses like EBV could contribute to some cancers. Nice write-up on Tony Epstein: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00763-9 - Pathologist who found that viruses can trigger tumors in humans and transformed medical research in that area. * Takeaway:Joe Navarro on dangerous cult leaders: https://www.jnforensics.com/post/dangerous-cult-leaders“They all have or had an over-abundant belief that they were special, that they and they alone had the answers to problems, and that they had to be revered. They demanded perfect loyalty from followers, they overvalued themselves and devalued those around them, they were intolerant of criticism, and above all, they did not like being questioned or challenged.”A good breakdown of how MM likely operates: https://www.dradrianchavez.com/blog/GURUS  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit influencedtodeath.substack.com/subscribe