Tylenol Shown to Possibly Damage This In Your Brain

If you’re a user of Tylenol (drug name acetaminophen) and are already aware of the potential dangers associated with it, I’d like to present another reason to avoid using it.

I know that’s not always an option.

But, consider the research that shows taking Tylenol could damage your ability to be empathetic, and if this affects you it could damage your relationships and your ability to feel human.

Does Tylenol Mess With Your Brain?

Part of what makes analgesics like Tylenol so effective is the fact they’re able to influence how your brain feels.

For instance, a 2010 study showed people who took Tylenol felt less psychological pain after being rejected by other people. Tylenol altered brain chemistry enough that the feelings of despair and disappointment associated with rejection weren’t as prominent.

Another study from 2015 demonstrated Tylenol’s influence on brain chemistry. According to the research, acetaminophen “blunted evaluative and emotional processing."

In essence it interfered with how you think and how you react to situations.

What’s potentially disturbing is how we’ve known for some time that Tylenol has these effects on your brain. In 2016 researchers discovered how acetaminophen would harm your ability to empathize with others.

In the paper, published by Dominik Mischkowski from the Ohio University in Athens, the research team noted if a person was taking Tylenol it was more difficult for them to relate/empathize with those going through some kind of emotional and physical trauma.

Because their findings were so novel, Mischkowski and his team followed up with another round of research to see if they could repeat their findings.

In this study they attempted to see if Tylenol could help influence empathy in a positive manner. In essence, they admitted Tylenol very well could harm a person’s ability to empathize, and knowing that, they wanted to see if the drug could do the opposite.

This time they had people take Tylenol and then asked them if they could relate to a person going through a positive experience (as opposed to a negative one like in the first study).

The studies are surprising.

Tim Newman wrote this synopsis on how Tylenol affected positive empathy.

“To investigate, the researchers recruited 114 participants. They gave half of the group 1,000 milligrams of acetaminophen, while the other half received an inert placebo.

 The study was double-blind, meaning that neither the researchers nor the participants knew whether they were receiving the active drug or the placebo.

One hour later, the team asked the participants to read short passages about people having positive, uplifting experiences. The researchers measured how positive the participants perceived the events to be and how positive they thought they were for the individuals in the narrative.

Once the scientists had completed their analysis, the results confirmed their expectations:

‘[A]cetaminophen reduced positive empathy. When reading scenarios about various protagonists having pleasurable experiences, participants under the influence of acetaminophen experienced less empathic effect compared to participants who had consumed a psychologically inert placebo.’ "

What Does That Mean For You?

When you consider the overwhelming amount of research supporting the claim that Tylenol is a dangerous drug, it should give you cause to refrain from taking Tylenol.

If you do, then it’s wise to take it with NAC (N-Acetyl Cysteine) as that will keep Tylenol from harming your liver.

Another thing to do if you’re forced to take Tylenol is take half what you’d normally take and add a supplement like Turmeric into the mix for natural pain relief.

The bottom line is, avoid Tylenol as best as you can. It can’t be good for you as the research is beginning to show.