In this episode, Greg Dickens and I discuss recent news on how environmental exposures in early childhood affect adulthood health, and on the link between low socioeconomic status in childhood and worse physical health in adulthood. We talk about muscular strength and how it influences cognitive and psychological health. We then discuss last week’s article on laundry and health. Finally, we discuss the tradeoffs between washing harmful chemicals off the skin and damaging the skin barrier.

For more information on how to do laundry in a way that reduces harms to health, see this article:

https://guenbradbury.substack.com/p/weird-laundry-habits-can-increase

For more information on how often to wash children, see this article:

https://guenbradbury.substack.com/p/how-clean-should-children-be

My veterinary degree taught me about mammalian body systems.

My career in health research taught me about Western health and Western bodies.

Spending 18 months living with my three children in remote African and South American communities taught me about human health and human bodies in other cultural environments.

I share what I’ve learned about child physical health and development in weekly articles and podcast episodes.

Everything is free, but if you find my work useful and would like to show your support, you can now upgrade – completely optional, always appreciated.

Topics covered

* Why are environmental effects in early life so important to a child’s risk of future disease?

* What mediates the link between low socioeconomic status in childhood and chronic disease in adulthood?

* Why is muscular strength important for brain health in old age?

* Why do we do laundry, what are the health effects, and how can we do it better?

* How should we weigh up the risks of environmental toxins with the risks of washing clothes and skin?

Recent episodes

Notes

Understanding environmental exposures in early life for lifelong health (Nature Comment paper): https://www.nature.com/articles/s44360-026-00130-0.epdf

Breastfeeding may lessen socioeconomic disparities in child health through differences in the infant gut microbiome: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666379126001722

Kicking Back Cognitive Ageing: Leg Power Predicts Cognitive Ageing after Ten Years in Older Female Twins https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4789972/

The Association between Lower Extremity Muscular Strength and Cognitive Function in a National Sample of Older Adults https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6239135/

Investigating the mediating effect of myokines on exercise-induced cognitive changes in older adults: A living systematic review and meta-analysis https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40998287/

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