We all know the stereotype of the Soyboy - males lacking in manliness, utterly subservient, usually declaring themselves to be a 'male feminist' and generally wallowing in the self-hating guilt of being an oppressive male. It's a clever meme based on the conception that soy consumption leads to a feminization in men. But it's just a meme, isn't it?

As with many examples, stereotypes are sometimes based on truth. Phytoestrogens, plant compounds naturally found in some of the foods we eat that mimic the hormone estrogen, particularly prevalent in soy, have been found in many scientific studies to cause this feminization, as well as playing havoc with the hormones of women. These findings are controversial (mostly because industry funded studies often come to the opposite conclusions), but it's a safe bet that there's at least some validity to the notion. Why take the risk?

On top of soy, there are a whole host of environmental chemicals that also have an estrogen mimicking effect. Called xenoestrogens, these chemicals are found in plastics, food additives, chemicals in body-care products, pesticides and herbicides - we are literally swimming in a sea of gender-bending chemicals 24 hours a day.

Today on Objective:Health, we provide a tentative answer to the proverbial question of our times: Where have all the real men gone? We also talk about how to avoid exposure to these feminizing chemicals, offer some solutions on detoxing foreign estrogenic compounds and give tips on boosting our own testosterone.


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It all started when Caillin Heron's jaw started to hurt and she found it hard to chew.

That lead to a high fever, aches, pains and a severely swollen face. A few days later, the second army lieutenant and recent UF criminology graduate was diagnosed with the mumps.

As of Tuesday afternoon, University of Florida spokesperson Steve Orlando confirmed there are 24 cases of the mumps on campus. All 24 students were vaccinated.

Herron said it felt like a really bad flu and the worst face pain she'd ever experienced.

"At one point I was sleeping sitting up," said Herron.

Certain medications commonly used to treat ADHD in teens and young adults may increase their risk of psychosis, according to new research from Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital.

The potential of developing psychosis was greater in younger patients who take amphetamines, such as Adderall or Vyvanse, than those taking methylphenidates, such as Ritalin or Concerta, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday.

The researchers studied 13- to 25-year-olds. They defined psychosis as hallucinations, delusional disorder, schizophrenia spectrum disorder, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder with psychotic features or unspecified psychosis.

Eating a low-carbohydrate whole-foods diet appears to be a powerful strategy for protecting and improving the health of the body. Could this same nutritional strategy benefit the brain as well? Emerging science and clinical experience suggest that the answer is a resounding yes.¹

Many people think of mental health problems like depression, anxiety, and ADHD as chemical imbalances that require medication, but how often do we stop to wonder what causes these chemical imbalances? While medications are clearly helpful and important for some individuals, one could argue that the most powerful way to change brain chemistry is through food - because that's where brain chemicals come from in the first place.

This logical idea has given birth to the new and exciting field of nutritional psychiatry, dedicated to understanding how dietary choices affect our mood, thinking, and behavior. Emerging science and real-world experiences are revealing this empowering and hopeful new message: feeding your brain properly has the potential to prevent and reverse symptoms of mental health disorders, and in some cases, help people reduce or even eliminate the need for psychiatric medications.

People who experience anxiety symptoms might be helped by taking steps to regulate the microorganisms in their gut using probiotic and non-probiotic food and supplements, suggests a review of studies published today in the journal General Psychiatry.

Anxiety symptoms are common in people with mental diseases and a variety of physical disorders, especially in disorders that are related to stress.

Previous studies have shown that as many as a third of people will be affected by anxiety symptoms during their lifetime.

Increasingly, research has indicated that gut microbiota -- the trillions of microorganisms in the gut which perform important functions in the immune system and metabolism by providing essential inflammatory mediators, nutrients and vitamins -- can help regulate brain function through something called the "gut-brain axis."

Recent research also suggests that mental disorders could be treated by regulating the intestinal microbiota, but there is no specific evidence to support this.

Therefore a team of researchers from the Shanghai Mental Health Center at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, set out to investigate if there was evidence to support improvement of anxiety symptoms by regulating intestinal microbiota.

The average person eats at least 50,000 particles of microplastic a year and breathes in a similar quantity, according to the first study to estimate human ingestion of plastic pollution.

The true number is likely to be many times higher, as only a small number of foods and drinks have been analysed for plastic contamination. The scientists reported that drinking a lot of bottled water drastically increased the particles consumed.

The health impacts of ingesting microplastic are unknown, but they could release toxic substances. Some pieces are small enough to penetrate human tissues, where they could trigger immune reactions.

Microplastic pollution is mostly created by the disintegration of plastic litter and appears to be ubiquitous across the planet. Researchers find microplastics everywhere they look; in the air, soil, rivers and the deepest oceans around the world.

They have been detected in tap and bottled water, seafood and beer. They were also found in human stool samples for the first time in October, confirming that people ingest the particles.

Last year's outbreak of the virus had a mortality rate of 70% and claimed at least 17 lives. Currently, there is no vaccine to prevent it. It has flu-like symptoms that lead to encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain.

The first case of Nipah virus has been confirmed in the southern Indian state of Kerala after a 23-year-old man tested positive for the infection on Tuesday. The same virus claimed the lives of 17 people last year in Kerala, a coastal state in southern India. A state government source said four districts of the state are currently on high alert.

Initial reports suggest at least five people have been hospitalised in Kerala's Ernakulam district; 27 people are under close observation in the city of Thrissur and several others have also been under observation in Kollam and Idukki regions.

A mum who was diagnosed with treatable breast cancer has died after shunning medicine in favour of living a vegan and holistic lifestyle.

Katie Britton-Jordan, from Dalbury Lees, Derbyshire, was told she had triple negative breast cancer in July 2016 after finding a lump in her breast while feeding daughter Delilah when she was three.

She was offered a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy that would save her life but instead chose alternative methods including taking up a vegan diet.

Her husband Neil announced Katie's death on Facebook yesterday.

Vitamin C has a broad spectrum antioxidant function with the ability to protect cell structures and DNA from free radical damage. Vitamin C is remarkably safe even in enormously high doses. Compared to commonly used prescription drugs, side effects are virtually nonexistent. No matter how high the concentration, vitamin C does not harm healthy cells. Yet, through an array of enzymatic and metabolic reactions, vitamin C has an impressive ability to protect and treat and wide range of diseases, including cancer. When something is this effective at treating disease, the FDA will stop at nothing to prevent public access.

The benefits of long-term vitamin C consumption in excess of the U.S. government recommended daily allowance (RDA) are widely acknowledged and include reduced risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease and cataracts. Higher-than-RDA vitamin C intakes have been associated with increases in good HDL cholesterol, decreases in LDL cholesterol oxidation, decreased blood pressure and decreased cardiovascular mortality.

The first physician to aggressively use vitamin C to treat disease was Frederick R. Klenner, M.D., beginning in the early 1940s. Dr. Klenner successfully treated chicken pox, measles, mumps, tetanus and polio with huge doses of vitamin C. He used massive doses of vitamin C for more than 40 years of family practice. Many practioners who practice with IV vitamin C consider the treatment more effective than any vaccine ever invented.

Policies that limit ultra-processed food intake are urgently needed, say researchers

Two large European studies published by The BMJ today find positive associations between consumption of highly processed ("ultra-processed") foods and risk of cardiovascular disease and death.

The researchers say further work is needed to better understand these effects, and a direct (causal) link remains to be established, but they call for policies that promote consumption of fresh or minimally processed foods over highly processed foods.

Ultra-processed foods include packaged baked goods and snacks, fizzy drinks, sugary cereals, ready meals containing food additives, dehydrated vegetable soups, and reconstituted meat and fish products -- often containing high levels of added sugar, fat, and/or salt, but lacking in vitamins and fibre. They are thought to account for around 25-60% of daily energy intake in many countries.

Previous studies have linked ultra-processed foods to higher risks of obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and some cancers, but firm evidence is still scarce.