159. The Broken Healthcare System: Tylenol, Autism, and God’s Design for Healing

The headlines are noisy, but your body’s alarms are wiser. We dive into the growing debate around Tylenol, pregnancy, and autism—not to fan fear, but to restore discernment. I share why I stopped treating headaches like random lightning strikes, how acetaminophen actually works in the brain and liver, and what multiple studies suggest about prenatal exposure and neurodevelopmental risk. From there, we zoom out to the bigger toxic puzzle—ultra-processed foods, synthetic fragrances, chronic stress—and how these everyday inputs stack into symptoms we keep muting instead of decoding.

I pull back the curtain on why our system excels at managing crises yet often stumbles on prevention and root-cause care. We talk about the historical pivot that elevated patentable drugs while sidelining natural approaches, and why that still shapes what’s labeled “safe” or “unscientific.” This isn’t an anti-medicine rant. It’s an invitation to ask better questions, especially during pregnancy, when delicate signaling guides development. You’ll hear practical, low-risk alternatives for common discomforts: mineral-rich hydration, protein-stabilized blood sugar, removing fragrances, gentle movement, rest, and targeted nutrients with provider guidance.

Faith threads through the conversation as a compass for freedom over fear. If the body is designed with wisdom, symptoms are messages, not enemies. By tracking patterns, cleaning up inputs, and reserving meds for when they truly serve us, we trade reflex for stewardship. Ready to step off the pain-pill-repeat treadmill and listen to what your body is saying? Press play, share this with a friend who needs it, and tell us: which alarm are you finally ready to hear? Subscribe, leave a review, and join us on Instagram and YouTube to keep learning together.

Chapters

• 0:00 Tylenol Controversy Ignites
• 2:05 Pain-Pill-Repeat Culture Questioned
• 5:25 What Acetaminophen Does In The Body
• 8:20 Evidence Of Risk In Pregnancy
• 12:30 The Bigger Toxic Puzzle
• 16:15 Rockefeller And The Medical Shift
• 20:05 Spiritual Lens On Modern Medicine
• 23:00 Practical Alternatives And Nourishment

Transcript

Rebecca Twomey: 0:32

Hello and welcome back to the Radiant Mission Podcast. My name is Rebecca Twomey, and today we are continuing in our health series on a topic that is blowing up right now: Tylenol, pregnancy, and the link to autism. If you have been watching the headlines, you know that there is a firestorm. Trump and RFK Jr. recently held a press conference warning that Tylenol use in pregnancy may be linked to autism. And predictably, the world has gone crazy. Some are mocking them, others are getting angry. And unbelievably, some women are even bragging online that they are taking Tylenol just to spite Trump and RFK Jr. But here's the thing. I have known about the dangers of Tylenol, acetametaphine, for years. There have been studies for decades raising concerns about Tylenol or acetamedaphine, especially during pregnancy. And even if this particular drug wasn't in the spotlight, here's the bigger truth. Most pharmaceuticals should be avoided during pregnancy. I actually would like to start this episode with a story. I have someone in my life that used to take acetamedophine almost daily, if not daily. And anytime that, you know, the day would progress, I would hear comments like, I have a headache. And then they would reach for acetamedophine. And the thing that stuck with me was this. Yesterday they had a headache too, and the day before, and the day before, and the day before. And every day they were taking acetamedaphine for it. And I was a lot younger then. And I remember thinking, if this medicine actually worked, then why is the headache returning? Why is this continuing to happen? Why is this person still in pain every single day? And that's when it clicked for me. And over the years has progressed into me being here on this podcast talking about health and these topics. Drugs, and I'm going to use this example, Tylenol or acetametaphine wasn't curing anything, it was just covering up the symptoms. The headaches kept coming back because the root cause was still there. That was one of the first times that I really began to question our culture of medicine. Why do we keep repeating the same cycle? Pain, pill, repeat without ever asking why the pain is happening in the first place. What is causing it? And I don't want to speak down to anyone who is trying to find the root cause because the system, quite honestly, isn't set up for that either. People do seek to try to find the cause and are sent in circles from one specialist to another to another to another. So today, my goal is to raise awareness about this topic and to talk about breaking the cycle. So some of the things that I want to address in our episode today is what acetamedophine actually does in your body, why it's dangerous as a band-aid instead of real healing. I'll talk about those studies that show risks, especially for growing babies in the womb. Then I'll also get into how this fits into the bigger toxic puzzle: vaccines, processed foods, and environment. And most important of all, how God's design offers freedom when the system only offers bondage. And as a reminder, I did do a series a few years ago called God's Design for Women's Bodies and had a wonderful guest come on for a few episodes named Dr. Vaughn. Please refer back to those episodes. I will link them in the show notes so that you can check those out as well. But he specifically talked about getting to the root cause and root cause medicine. So while my focus is on Tylenol today, I do want to share that and make sure that you have that as a resource moving forward because we have there are solutions out there. There are ways to get to the root cause. You just have to work with the right people. All right. That said, why do we reach for Tylenol? Most probably grab Tylenol for a headache or a muscle ache, a fever, maybe cramps or joint aches. It's really how we've been programmed in our society that the automatic response is if there is pain, then we take a pill to cure that pain. But rarely is there an opportunity to say, well, why do I have this symptom? Because it could be a plethora of different things. I think it's just easiest to say, all right, let me grab this pill. Now I want to mention a headache could be dehydration. It could be lack of sleep. It could be the food that your body doesn't tolerate. Like I have discovered since doing AIP. And interestingly, garlic and onions are triggers for me that cause me to get a headache. And those are actually on the approved list of foods that are yes foods on AIP. Yet those bother my particular body because of for whatever reason, they just do. And so knowing that gives me some power, right? Because I can decide and make the decision to not eat those foods. Or I can say, all right, I'm going to get a headache if I put onions on my pizza today. Not that I'm eating pizza because I'm not eating pizza. If I cook onions and eat them plain, that's more where I'm at with uh AIP. Another thing is synthetic fragrances in our environment, like those plug-ins or sprays or perfumes or within our body washes, soaps, all of that, those can also really impact us. It could also just be stress or our hormones are imbalanced. The point is really that pain is a signal. It is your body's alarm system saying something is wrong. Pay attention. But when it comes to taking Tylenol, instead of addressing the root cause, all acetametaphine is doing is muting your alarm. Now, before we continue, I want to talk a little bit about how Tylenol works, just so we can all get a baseline here for understanding. There's a lot of people that explain this way better than I do, but I'm going to take a stab at it. So Tylenol or acetametaphine, it works mainly in your brain. It blocks enzymes that make prostaglandins, the chemicals that trigger pain and fever. It also creates a toxic byproduct called NAPQI that stresses your liver and depletes glutathione, which is your body's master antioxidant. So over time, in high doses, this creates oxidative stress and hormone disruption inside our bodies. Now, I am the type of person that likes to have things broken down for me. So that's the technical way of describing what happens. But here's how I would say that Tylenol works it doesn't fix what's wrong. All it really does is block your brain from sending pain signals. Think of it like this if your smoke alarm goes off in your house, instead of putting out the fire, you just rip the batteries out of the smoke alarm. The fire is still raging. You just can't hear the alarm anymore. That's what Tylenol does. Another way that you could picture it is it's like covering up the check engine light in your car with a piece of duct tape. The problem is still there, but you've silenced the warning. Hopefully that helps. And that is how I have always thought about it. Whenever I've had a situation where I personally have had a headache, Tylenol is not the thing that I'm reaching to because I go, all right, am I really, do I really want to block my brain signals right now? Do I really want to stop my body from trying to heal what is occurring inside of my body, especially when it comes to fever? And I have a whole episode on that with Dr. Vaughn. Again, I will share a link to that episode. We did want specifically on fever and what to do instead of reaching for acetamed right away. But let's talk about the evidence of risk and what science actually has shown about this. Because even though mainstream media likes to downplay this, there are many studies raising real red flags. And there are multiple studies. So it's interesting to me that this is coming out now in 2025. There is a 2019 John Hopkins study that found babies with the highest Tylenol levels in umbilical cords were two to three times more likely to later be diagnosed with autism or ADHD. And that's huge. That's not the only one. There's a few more studies, so I'm going to mention those. A 2018 review in the American Journal of Epidemiology looked at multiple large-scale studies and found consistent associations between Tylenol use in pregnancy and higher rates of childhood behavioral problems. Researchers specifically warned about long-term use. 2021, international consensus statement signed by 91 scientists, doctors, and public health experts urged caution with the acetumedapin use during pregnancy, citing evidence linked to neurodevelopmental disorders like autism and ADHD. When nearly 100 professionals from around the world sound the alarm, that's not something that we should be ignoring. Just saying. Then a 2022 Spanish cohort study followed thousands of children and found that prenatal exposure to Tylenol was associated with language delays and attention problems by age five. Here's what really frustrates me. These studies don't make the evening news. Now they finally are, and people are discrediting it just because of who is saying it. And I don't care who is saying it, but if one tiny, poorly designed study came out tomorrow saying Tylenol is completely safe, then you can bet that it would be blasted everywhere as proof that everything is okay. And that this tells us something. The truth is being hidden because there's too much money on the line. And yeah, great. Trump and RFK are sounding the alarm. And what does that say? But you have to also look at the context of what happened in that announcement. Trump said there are links to this in autism while simultaneously suggesting another drug. It's the drug part that we need to be leery of, you guys. And I don't care who says this, let's pull the people out of it. We need to be more conscientious of the pills that we are willing to put inside of our bodies. Do we know that Tylenol is the sole cause of autism? No. But it is one piece of the toxic puzzle. Remember, it blocks brain signals. And if you are taking this while you're pregnant and it's crossing that placental barrier, and your baby who is developing in your womb is supposed to be growing and signals are getting blocked, that is not a good thing. Now add in vaccines that are loaded with chemicals, process foods that are stripped of nutrition, and the toxins and fragrances and food colorings that are in our environment and food. And it's no wonder that our children are suffering like never before. This is where I want to shift because yes, Tylenol, not good, but there's a lot of not good stuff. And we need to really question more. The system is broken. And it started with Rockefeller. And I did an episode on that too. Again, show notes, show notes, because I have links. This is the part that really matters. The system is not designed to heal us. Only God is. The system was designed to keep you dependent on it. Medications manage symptoms, they do not cure diseases. And behind the whole system is profit. Open the curtain, it's money. The more sick people there are, the more money flows into pharmaceuticals. And that is why, yes, sound the alarm. It's either benefit, not good, but oh, here's another drug. They're just take one out, insert another one. And again, let's let's get into Rockefeller. I talked about this in episode 43 of the podcast and how he transformed medicine in America, not for the good. But here is a quick refresher. In the early 1900s, Rockefeller was an oil tycoon. He figured out that petroleum could be used not just for fuel, but also to create synthetic drugs. He funded medical schools, he reshaped the entire system to push pharmaceuticals as the answer to sickness while labeling natural remedies as unscientific and quackery. Herbal medicine, homeopathy, natural healing, all of it was pushed aside. Why? Because it couldn't be patented, it didn't make money. But synthetic petroleum-based drugs, those could be sold forever. So fast forward to today. This is the system that we are still living in. And it has grown more than ever since then. This is why Tylenol is considered safe, even when evidence says otherwise. It's why an herb or a natural supplement is treated as risky, and we don't know. There haven't been any studies on lemon balm or whatever herb there might be. While synthetic chemical is handed out like candy to people. And this is the fruit of Rockefeller's influence. Medicine became an industry, not a ministry. Healing became about revenue, not restoration. And that's why we're sitting here in 2025 with rising autism rates, chronic disease everywhere, and a population that's hooked on drugs that were never designed to cure. Now, let's zoom out even more because this isn't just bad policy. It's not just greedy corporations. This is spiritual warfare. Ephesians 6.12 reminds us that we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but against rulers, authorities, and the powers of darkness. From the beginning, God gave us everything that we need. In Genesis 129, it says, I've given you every seed-bearing plant and every tree with fruit, they will be your food, real food, herbs, sunlight, water, rest. But what do we see today? I learned this more than ever on this protocol that I'm doing. Counterfeits, synthetic food, synthetic drugs, artificial everything. And this isn't just human error, this is deception right in front of us. Just like in Genesis 6, when the Nephilim and the fallen angels brought forbidden knowledge, that corrupted humanity, we see that same influence today. The enemy wants people enslaved. A healthy, free, discerning people are hard to control. But a sick, dependent, exhausted people, they're easy to manipulate. That's why choosing God's design for health isn't just a wellness choice, it is an act of spiritual warfare. So this is a lot, I know. But there are ways out and there are practical steps that you can take. And of course, I have to caveat with I'm not a doctor, and you can come for me if you want. But I'm just giving you biblical advice. That's it. That's what I'm here to share with you. The medical system as we know it today is fairly new. And doctors and pharmacists and scientists that create drugs, they are not God. So what can we do instead of reaching for Tylenol every time? Well, start by listening to your body. Track your symptoms and look for patterns. Ask what is the root? Pay attention to your surroundings. What is plugged in around you? What do you use that has fragrances in it? What do you wash your laundry in? What do you wash your dishes with? What do you eat? What is in the food that you eat? Look at everything. And of course, hydrate. Many headaches are going to disappear with water and minerals. I personally drink water with Celtic sea salt. A little bit in there. It doesn't have to taste like the ocean, by the way. Just a little bit will help to fuel your cells when you drink water. Now, another thing about water, I don't subscribe to the you need to drink gallons of water a day. I personally drink too thirst. And that's just me personally. The next is to nourish your body. And this is likely the most important thing. And this is something that I am learning right now. I'm in the middle of learning this. Real food and whole ingredients, God's provision, not processed junk, is the motto that I am focused on. So I mentioned that I am currently doing AIP that stands for the autoimmune protocol. It is essentially fruits, vegetables, and meat with some limitations to certain vegetables and fruits that maybe, like, for example, nightshades are not something that I can eat right now. I can have salt and I can have some herbs, but I cannot have all spices. And there is a reason for it. It is because I have stripped my diet down to the very basics on things that we know cause the least amount of inflammation in the body that are least likely to trigger a response from my body. And the purpose for doing this is to help heal. I may have mentioned, I think it was last episode, that I found out that I actually have active Epstein bar, which is mono. And after taking a blood test for that, we discovered it's actually chronic Epstein bar, which interestingly, if you've been listening to the show for a while, my sister struggled with for a period of time, or still struggles with, I guess I could say, where it comes back from certain triggers. Of course, stress can be a trigger and certain foods can be a trigger. And so as soon as I found this out, I'm like, I am going to strip everything down to the basics and figure out how my body works, what fuels it, what feeds it. If you listen to the episode titled When God Speaks in the McDonald's drive-thru, that's where it started. And so now I've been doing this for a month and a half, two months now. And it's interesting because in the beginning, I used to say to my husband, like, oh, I'm going to eat this. You guys get to eat real food. And then I realized it was actually backwards. I was the one eating real food. And they were still eating processed food. And you know what's beautiful about this whole thing is over time, progressively, my husband and my children's diet are also improving and changing. And my daughter loves avocado, for example. And she will eat chicken, fruit, and avocado as a meal. And if I would have put this in front of her a year ago, she would have said, I want mac and cheese. So I want to encourage you also that you can change at any time. And it's not necessarily, it doesn't necessarily mean there's going to be overnight, but small changes will add up over time. So anyway, nourish yourself with real food. The next is support detox. Gentle support for your body, like herbal teas and rest, and even sweating, working out, getting a good walk on. That is going to help. And then last, but this is not least, should have been first, is pray. Ask God to reveal what your body needs. What does your specific body need to thrive? And listen, medicines may have their place in an emergency or in emergency situations, but they really should not be our foundation. They shouldn't be what we turn to immediately anytime something happens. Because we have it inside of us. Our bodies are self-healing. God created them that way. He created us to heal. All we have to do is seek his guidance to figure out how it works. And listen, you guys, you guys have seen me go through the process of figuring out how birth works. Anyone can do that, and anyone can figure out how their health works as well. Now, in the coffee talk series, I was doing reflection questions, and I know we're in a new series now, but I kind of like that because it leaves us with something to really consider as we come out of this. Hopefully, you learned a little bit, something new about Tylenol and how it works and our bodies. But if you didn't hear something to ponder on, have I been silencing my body's alarms instead of listening to them? Where am I relying on synthetic solutions instead of God's provision? And last, how might my health choices be part of the spiritual battle for truth and freedom? And listen, just like the other conversations, this is not about fear. This is about freedom. Jesus said in John 8, 32, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. And this applies to our health too. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode. Please share this with a friend if this was helpful to you. If you'd like to follow along outside of the podcast, you can do so on Instagram at the Radiant Mission, on Facebook at the Radiant Mission Podcast, and on YouTube by searching for my name, Rebecca to me T-W-O-M-E-Y. And today I am going to close with Psalm 103, verses 2 through 3. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all of his benefits, who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases. Wishing you a radiant week, and I'll see you next time. Bye.