Can You Get Too Many Vaccines?

Summary

Chasing Life: Episode Summary – "Can You Get Too Many Vaccines?"

Release Date: May 6, 2025
Host: Dr. Sanjay Gupta
Podcast: Chasing Life by CNN

In this enlightening episode of Chasing Life, host Dr. Sanjay Gupta delves into two pressing health topics: the benefits and considerations of creatine supplementation, and the safety of administering multiple vaccines to children. Through thoughtful discussions and expert insights, Dr. Gupta addresses common concerns, providing listeners with evidence-based information to make informed health decisions.

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1. Understanding Creatine Supplements: Is Hydracreatine Beneficial?

(Timestamp: 01:22 – 07:43)

Listener Question:
Maggie from Montreal, Canada, reaches out with a query about hydracreatine (likely referring to creatine hydrochloride). As a 55-year-old postmenopausal woman, Maggie is curious about the claims that hydracreatine can enhance brain function, reduce cognitive fatigue, and improve bone health. She wonders if she should consider incorporating this supplement into her regimen.

Dr. Gupta’s Response:
Dr. Gupta begins by clarifying that creatine is not an amino acid but a compound derived from three amino acids: arginine, glycine, and methionine. He explains, "Creatine is fundamentally used by your body for energy, and it's mostly found in your body's muscles, but also in your brain" (02:04).

Key Points Discussed:

• Sources of Creatine:
  The body synthesizes a small amount of creatine in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. Dietary sources include seafood and red meat, though typically at lower levels than those found in supplements.

• Supplement Formulations:
  Maggie’s question pertains to creatine hydrochloride, touted for its better bioavailability and reduced weight gain compared to the more common creatine monohydrate. However, Dr. Gupta notes, "creatine hydrochloride is typically more expensive because it is somewhat newer. It has not been as extensively studied as creatine monohydrate" (03:30).

• Benefits of Creatine:
  Studies have indicated that creatine supplementation can enhance cognitive performance, exercise capacity, and muscle performance. Importantly, Dr. Gupta emphasizes, "creatine supplementation in and of itself does not build muscle. But because it is used by your cells to produce energy, it might allow you to work out harder, work out longer" (05:00).

• Considerations for Postmenopausal Women:
  Addressing Maggie’s status as a postmenopausal woman, Dr. Gupta discusses sarcopenia—the age-related loss of muscle mass. He suggests that creatine supplements, combined with resistance training, can help mitigate this condition and potentially support bone health.

• Dosage and Safety:
  General recommendations stand at 3 to 5 grams per day, cautioning against higher doses that may stress the kidneys. Dr. Gupta advises consulting with a healthcare provider before starting any supplementation, especially given the limited studies on creatine's long-term effects in females.

• Quality and Regulation:
  Highlighting the importance of supplement quality, he warns, "the FDA does not regulate dietary supplements like creatine in the same way that it regulates prescription medications." Thus, selecting products from reputable sources with third-party certifications is crucial to avoid contaminants.

Notable Quote:
"Creatine supplementation in and of itself does not build muscle. But because it is used by your cells to produce energy, it might allow you to work out harder, work out longer." – Dr. Sanjay Gupta (05:00)

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2. Vaccine Load and Immune System Safety: Are We Overdoing It?

(Timestamp: 09:56 – 14:32)

Listener Question:
Riggan from Bentonville, Arkansas, raises concerns about the safety of multiple childhood vaccines, specifically inquiring whether the cumulative load of recommended vaccines could potentially overwhelm a child’s immune system.

Dr. Gupta’s Response:
Addressing Riggan’s concerns, Dr. Gupta explains that the primary issue revolves around the total number of antigens—the components in vaccines that trigger an immune response. He reassures listeners by stating, "peer-reviewed journals, Pediatrics, Journal of the American Medical Association, they don't support the hypothesis that multiple vaccines overwhelm the immune system" (10:20).

Key Points Discussed:

• Antigen Load Comparison:
  Currently, vaccines contain approximately 180 antigens targeting 15 diseases. In contrast, vaccines from the 1980s and 1990s had around 3,000 antigens targeting 8-9 diseases. This comparison highlights a significant reduction in the immunological load despite an increase in the number of vaccines administered.

• Advancements in Vaccine Technology:
  Modern vaccines benefit from enhanced protein purification techniques, allowing for purer and safer vaccines with fewer antigens. Dr. Gupta notes, "we have become better as a society at purifying the proteins that make these antigens so you don't have to give as much of an antigen load" (11:45).

• Safety and Efficacy:
  The evolution of vaccines has not only reduced antigen load but also improved safety profiles. For instance, the smallpox vaccine contained about 200 antigens, while today's vaccines collectively hold far fewer (12:30).

• Immune System Capacity:
  Dr. Gupta emphasizes that the immune system is highly capable of handling the current antigen load from vaccines without being overwhelmed. The body's ability to produce antibodies in response to these antigens is robust and well-supported by scientific literature.

• Historical Context:
  By providing historical context, Dr. Gupta helps listeners understand that concerns about vaccine overload may be based on outdated information. The reduction in total antigens demonstrates progress in vaccine development and safety.

Notable Quote:
"Despite the fact that kids are getting more shots for more diseases, the overall antigen load, immunological load on the body is much smaller than it used to be." – Dr. Sanjay Gupta (13:20)

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Conclusion

In this episode of Chasing Life, Dr. Sanjay Gupta adeptly addresses two significant health concerns raised by listeners. On the topic of creatine supplementation, he provides a nuanced view of its benefits and cautions, especially for postmenopausal women like Maggie, highlighting the importance of combining supplements with proper exercise and dietary practices.

Regarding the safety of multiple vaccines in children, Dr. Gupta offers reassuring evidence that modern vaccination schedules do not overwhelm the immune system. By reducing the total number of antigens through advanced vaccine technologies, the immunological burden on children remains well within safe limits.

Dr. Gupta’s compassionate and informative approach ensures that listeners are well-equipped with the knowledge to make informed health decisions, embodying the mission of Chasing Life to uncover the secrets of the happiest and healthiest people on the planet.

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For more insights and detailed discussions on living a healthy and fulfilling life, tune into future episodes of Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Transcript

[Sanjay Gupta]

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[Sanjay Gupta]

Welcome to Paging Dr. Gupta. Thanks so much for joining us. I've come to think of this time as my office hours, a place I really look forward to hearing from you, hopefully answering your questions no matter how big or small. And we're going to be doing this every week. So let's get straight to the first question.

[Maggie]

Hi Sanjay, my name is Maggie and I'm calling from Montreal, Canada. Thank you for your show. The topics are always of interest and your show is always number one on my list. My question is regarding creatine, but specifically hydracreatine. I'm a 55 year old post menopausal woman and I wanted to know if the claims about it providing benefits to our brains and helping cognitive fatigue and improving bone health. True. And should I consider taking this? Thank you for considering my question and have a great day.

[Sanjay Gupta]

Maggie, thanks so much for that message. How kind and I am delighted to try and humbly answer your question as best I can. First of all, creatine. Let's start with the basics here. This is all the rage a lot of people are talking about is not an amino acid but it is a compound that comes from three amino acids. So it's arginine, glycine and methionine. Arginine, glycine, methionine. Creatine is sometimes thought of as an amino acid itself but technically again it is not. It is not one of the 20amino acids that are the building blocks of all proteins. Okay, so there are 20amino acids that make up all your proteins. Creatine is not one of them, but again, is a compound that sort of is derived from three of them. It is fundamentally used by your body for energy, and it's mostly found in your body's muscles, but also in your brain. Now, the way that your body gets it, one way is your body can make a small amount of creatine. It does this in the liver and the kidneys and to some extent in the pancreas. You can also get it from the food that you eat, seafood, red meat, though, to be clear, at levels far below those found in synthetically made creatine supplements. And I think this gets to the heart of your question. So, Maggie, when you ask whether you should consider taking hydrocreatine, for example, it sounds like you're probably talking about creatine hydrochloride, one of the many different formulations of creatine supplements. When it comes to creatine hydrochloride, the claims are that it has better bioavailability, meaning you take it and it's more easily distributed throughout your body, but more easily absorbed, might lead to less weight gain as compared to the most common creatine formulation, which is creatine monohydrate. But, you know, creatine hydrochloride is typically more expensive because it is somewhat newer. It has not been as extensively studied as creatine monohydrate. There haven't been many studies comparing them head to head. So it's hard to give a straight answer on whether or not one of those is better than the other. But when it comes to creatine monohydrate, the creatine that I think is more common, it is one of the most studied supplements out there. Some studies have shown that it could have benefits, including improved performance during cognitive tasks, improved exercise performance, improved muscle performance, creatine supplementation. And this is important. But creatine supplementation in and of itself does not build muscle. But because it is used by your cells to produce energy, it might allow you to work out harder, work out longer. So you might gain muscle when it is paired with good workouts and a well balanced diet. Making sure, of course, that you're adding resistance training like weightlifting and sprinting. At any age, Maggie, at any age, you should be doing resistance exercises as much as you can tolerate and slowly building up and. And, yeah, maybe that even means sprinting every now and then instead of just jogging or fast walking, just Throwing in some sprints, throwing in some resistance exercises. My wife and I talk about this all the time. If you can start to lift some weights and you supplement that with creatine, supplement that with a well balanced diet. That's when you start to gain that muscle that can really make you look lean and fit. Now Maggie, you mentioned that you were postmenopausal. I think it's important to point out that some women experience what is known as sarcopenia, postmenopausal, meaning you start to lose muscle mass, the loss of muscle mass and the corresponding power. That happens as we grow older. But it also happens when muscles are not activated, such as after an injury or just because you start to let your workout programs falter. Creatine supplements along with resistance training can help offset that sarcopenia, which could potentially help with your bone mass and bone strength. It if you're going to use it, do check with your doctor. At least mention to your doctor to make sure you don't have any contraindications. The general recommendations are three to five grams per day. Studies show that a higher dose of creatine probably does not offer an advantage. You might in fact be putting more stress on your kidneys. Two things, and these are really important despite extensive research on creatine. And again, it is one of the more studied supplements out there. Although admittedly it is hard to do really good quality studies on supplements. But despite the research that exists, evidence for use among females, including postmenopausal females, is understudied. So we just don't have as much data on that. We aren't sure how it might affect your health long term or again, which formulation, hydrochloride or monohydrate is going to be better? And keep in mind Maggie, that the FDA at least in the United States does not regulate dietary supplements like crew creatine in the same way that it regulates prescription medications or even over the counter medications. So it is possible that the supplement you buy does not match what it says on the label and the supplement might contain other ingredients or contaminants that could potentially be harmful for you. So you gotta buy these things from a really reputable source. That's really important. Make sure the bottle has some seal of approval from a third party like USP or nsf. Maggie, thanks again for your very kind message. Means the world to me and I hope my answer helps you. When we come back. How much is too much when it comes to vaccines in our bodies?

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[Sanjay Gupta]

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We're back and joining us is my producer, Kira. Kira, what do we have?

[Audie Cornish]

Hey Sanjay. So childhood vaccines have really been on a lot of people's minds lately, just given the recent headlines and news. So our next question is coming from Riggan in Bentonville, Arkansas, and he's asking about vaccine safety and specifically wanting to know if there are any studies that have looked at the total load of all recommended childhood vaccines.

[Sanjay Gupta]

Thanks Kira. And yes, Riggan, a really important question, a common question. I think what Reagan is fundamentally asking about is the total load or the total number of substances that elicit an immune response when a child takes the vaccines. And I think the implicit concern here is that, look, my kid's getting a lot of shots. Could all those vaccines overwhelm the immune system? I get it. Again, I hear this question a lot from lots of people in our neighborhood. Even there are studies that look at this. So that's the first thing you should know. Peer reviewed journals, Pediatrics, Journal of the American Medical association, they don't support the hypothesis that multiple vaccines overwhelm the immune system. What matters more is not so much the number of vaccines, but the number of immunological components known as antigens. Think about this. Antigens are what stimulate the body to make antibodies which help fight off an infection, help fight off something if it encounters it in the future. Vaccines have these antigens in them. In the case of virus vaccines, it's usually viral proteins. In the case of bacterial vaccines, it is bacterial proteins. If you add up all the immunological components that are in vaccines Today, it's around 180 and that targets around 15 diseases. To give you some important context, back in the 80s and 90s the amount of immunological components was closer to 3,000. And at that point it was targeting around eight or nine diseases. So you know, it's just over 5% in terms of immunological load today versus in the 80s or 90s. So despite the fact that kids are getting more shots for more diseases, the overall antigen load, immunological load on the body is much smaller than it used to be. In part, the reason is because we have become better as a society at purifying the proteins that make these antigens so you don't have to give as much of an antigen load. In the past, people might have even received live virus as part of a vaccine. Nowadays that is very unlikely to happen. The one vaccine, smallpox, had about 200 when it came to this immunological load. Again, today's vaccines in totality closer to 180, we can make purer, safer vaccines thanks to advances in technology such as that protein purification. So again, I hope that helps answer the question. I understand the concern. My kid's getting so many shots, what's that doing to their immune system? It's a very fair question to ask, but part of the reason I wanted to give you the context of what things used to be like 40, 50 years ago is because you realize that the immunological load from all the vaccines today is not even 10%, just over 5% of what it used to be. That's all we have for today. Thank you so much for calling. Thank you so much for writing in. Thanks so much for joining us in my office hours. I'm paging Dr. Gupta. I really do love hearing from you all. You can send in your questions, maybe hear the answer right here. Just leave a voice memo and email it to asksanjaynn.com or give us a call the old fashioned way. 470-396-0832. Chasing life is a production of CNN Audio. Our podcast is produced by Aaron Mathewson, Jennifer Lai, Grace Walker, Lori Gallaretta, K. Jesse Remedios, Sofia Sanchez and Kira Dehring. Andrea Cain is our medical writer. Our senior producer is Dan Bloom. Amanda Seeley is our showrunner. Dan Dijiula is our technical director. And the executive producer of CNN Audio is Steve Lichtai with support from Jamis Andrest, John Dionora, Hailey Thomas, Alex Manasseri, Robert Mathers, Lainey Steinhardt, Nicole Pessarou and Lisa Namorow. Special thanks to Ben Tinker and Nadia Kunang of CNN Health and Wendy Brundage.

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[Audie Cornish]

This week on the Assignment with Me, Audie Cornish, researchers with the dating app wrote that political alignment isn't just a side note in dating, it's a filter. But isn't love supposed to conquer all? Love can do a lot, but it's.

[Sanjay Gupta]

Not a feeling that's independent of ethics and morals.

[Audie Cornish]

Dr. Orna Gorolnik, clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst known for her work on the docuseries Couples Therapy. We're gonna talk to her about the politics of love. Listen to the Assignment with Me, Audie Cornish. Streaming now on your favorite podcast app.