Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

Briana Mercola

  • 7 minutes 57 seconds
    Why Rosacea Intensifies in Midlife and How to Cut Flare Frequency
    • Rosacea often worsens in midlife because years of inflammation prevent blood vessels from fully recovering between triggers, making redness more persistent
    • An overactive immune response keeps inflammatory signals switched on, which drives flushing, burning, and visible blood vessels even without obvious triggers
    • Gut imbalance fuels facial inflammation by sending immune signals into your bloodstream that keep skin cells reactive and slow recovery
    • Processed foods, including seed oils, increase inflammatory load, while stabilizing digestion and reducing daily stressors lowers flare frequency
    • Addressing root drivers such as diet, gut health, and emotional stress reduces reactivity and helps your skin regain the ability to reset
    24 January 2026, 5:58 am
  • 7 minutes 21 seconds
    Evidence Points to a Narrow Exercise Range That Protects Metabolism and Cognition
    • Walking 5,001 to 7,500 steps a day slows the buildup of tau, the brain protein linked to Alzheimer's-related decline, helping you stay sharper for years longer
    • Older adults with elevated amyloid — a key early Alzheimer's marker — preserved memory and daily function far better when they consistently reached a moderate step range
    • Even small increases in movement, such as moving from under 3,000 steps to 3,500 to 5,000 per day, deliver meaningful cognitive benefits without requiring intense exercise
    • High-intensity training pushed healthy adults into metabolic dysfunction, reducing mitochondrial energy production by about 40% and disrupting blood sugar stability
    • Finding your personal exercise "sweet spot" — enough movement to avoid inactivity without pushing into extreme training — protects both long-term brain health and daily metabolic balance
    24 January 2026, 5:56 am
  • 8 minutes 55 seconds
    How Ultraprocessed Foods Increase Your Crohn's Disease Risk
    • Eating five or more servings of ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) a day nearly doubles your risk of developing Crohn's disease
    • Additives like emulsifiers, thickeners, and artificial sweeteners found in ultraprocessed foods break down the gut's protective mucus barrier and fuel chronic inflammation
    • High intake of UPFs is linked to changes in gut bacteria that reduce diversity and promote the growth of harmful strains associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) flare-ups
    • Common UPFs like white bread, frozen meals, sauces, and breakfast cereals show the strongest links to increased Crohn's risk
    • Removing seed oils, emulsifiers, and UPF-heavy meals while focusing on gut-repairing whole foods can help reduce flare frequency and support long-term healing
    23 January 2026, 5:55 am
  • 7 minutes 59 seconds
    Elderberry Juice Gives Overweight Adults a Metabolic Advantage
    • A new Nutrients study shows that drinking 12 ounces of 100% elderberry juice daily for a week helped overweight adults activate more genes that regulate how the body uses energy after meals than a placebo
    • Elderberry juice turned on processes that help the body manage energy better — making it easier to switch between burning carbohydrates and fat for fuel
    • Earlier research from Washington State University showed elderberry juice improved blood sugar control, increased fat burning, and shifted energy use during meal challenges
    • Practical tip: Aim for about 12 ounces of unsweetened, 100% elderberry juice daily for seven days. Check labels to avoid added sugars, as unsweetened juice still contains about 30 to 36 grams of natural sugar per eight-ounce serving
    • Safety first: Never eat raw elderberries, check for medication interactions (such as immunosuppressants or diabetes drugs), and consult a healthcare provider before using if you are breastfeeding or have an autoimmune condition
    23 January 2026, 5:07 am
  • 8 minutes 22 seconds
    Why Winter Worsens Migraines and How to Prevent Them
    • Winter worsens migraines because cold, darkness, and routine disruption overload your nervous system and reduce your brain's ability to regulate pain signals
    • Seasonal drops in light exposure disrupt melatonin and circadian rhythm, lowering your brain's resilience and increasing headache frequency and intensity
    • Excess LA from seed oils damages mitochondrial energy production, making your brain more reactive to stress and more prone to migraine attacks in any season
    • Stable daily patterns — consistent sleep timing, hydration, meals, and movement — reduce neurological stress and raise your migraine threshold
    • Restoring cellular energy by lowering LA intake and supporting mitochondrial function helps your brain stay calm, resilient, and less reactive year-round
    23 January 2026, 5:06 am
  • 8 minutes 2 seconds
    Parkinson's Disease Is Rising and Lifestyle Choices Play a Major Role
    • Parkinson's disease is rising rapidly worldwide, and most cases are driven by lifestyle and environmental stressors rather than genetics, meaning daily choices play a powerful role in risk and progression
    • The disease often begins years before diagnosis, with early signs like poor sleep, digestive issues, anxiety, and fatigue signaling stress on your brain long before tremors appear
    • Chronic inflammation, toxin exposure, poor sleep, and metabolic strain weaken dopamine-producing neurons, but improving sleep, movement, diet, and stress regulation slow this damage
    • Supporting gut health, reducing exposure to environmental toxins, and maintaining steady energy through proper nutrition help protect your brain and preserve mobility and cognition
    • Consistent habits that lower stress, improve sleep quality, encourage movement, and support vitamin D balance give your brain the conditions it needs to stay resilient over time
    22 January 2026, 5:04 am
  • 8 minutes 32 seconds
    Home Exercises Ease Knee Pain as Effectively as Physical Therapy, Study Finds
    • A new trial in The New England Journal of Medicine found that exercise, whether done at home or with a physical therapist, helped reduce knee pain in adults with osteoarthritis and meniscal tears
    • Supervised physical therapy (PT) offered a modest short-term advantage over home exercise. Much of PT's value may come from the attention and interaction with therapists rather than the specific therapeutic interventions
    • Avoiding movement worsens knee arthritis over time by weakening muscles and stiffening joint structures, while regular exercise helps maintain mobility and reduce discomfort
    • Surgery, including arthroscopy and meniscectomy, often fails to outperform exercise and carries long-term risks, making structured movement a better starting point
    • Gentle, joint-friendly exercises like sit-to-stands, mini squats, leg raises, step-ups, cycling, and pool walking can help strengthen your knees and support long-term function
    22 January 2026, 5:03 am
  • 7 minutes 41 seconds
    America's Favorite Cooking Oil Shows Strong Link to Obesity
    • Soybean oil dominates the U.S. food supply. Americans' intake has increased from about 2% to nearly 10% of calories over a century, alongside sharp rises in obesity and diabetes
    • A recent study published in the Journal of Lipid Research found soybean oil drives obesity independent of calories by generating liver oxylipins that track with weight gain, revealing LA metabolism, not food intake, as the key driver of fat accumulation
    • Soybean oil promotes oxidative stress, mitochondrial damage, gut permeability, and long-lasting inflammatory byproducts that continue to affect your metabolism for years due to LA's extended half-life in body fat
    • Soy contains additional disruptive compounds, including phytoestrogens, phytic acid, enzyme inhibitors, lectins, saponins, and goitrogens, along with frequent glyphosate residues
    • Reducing LA intake means eliminating sources of soybean and other vegetable oils from your diet, and replacing them with stable fats like ghee, tallow, butter, or coconut oil
    22 January 2026, 5:00 am
  • 7 minutes 24 seconds
    What Uterine Fibroids Reveal About Heart Health
    • Women with uterine fibroids face a significantly higher long-term risk of heart disease, meaning fibroids act as an early warning sign of deeper cardiovascular strain rather than a localized reproductive issue
    • The increased risk shows up early, often years before traditional heart disease symptoms appear, giving you a key window to address underlying metabolic and vascular stress
    • Fibroids are linked to chronic inflammation, impaired blood vessel function, and disrupted energy metabolism, all of which contribute to heart disease development over time
    • Addressing root causes such as low cellular energy, poor metabolic flexibility, and vascular stress helps reduce both fibroid progression and cardiovascular risk
    • Lifestyle strategies that support energy production, reduce inflammation, and improve circulation shift your body out of survival mode and lower long-term heart disease risk
    21 January 2026, 5:49 am
  • 7 minutes 11 seconds
    Research Links This Common Spice to Better Mood and Intimacy
    • Saffron supports both mood and sexual function, addressing a common problem where depression treatments often blunt intimacy
    • Clinical trials show a daily 30-milligram dose of saffron reduces depression symptoms at a level similar to common antidepressants used for mild to moderate depression
    • Unlike many psychiatric drugs, saffron improves erectile function, arousal, lubrication, and sexual satisfaction instead of worsening them
    • Saffron works best when underlying stressors such as inflammation, poor cellular energy production, and gut imbalance are addressed at the same time
    • Consistent daily use for six to eight weeks, combined with stable sleep, movement, sunlight, and a low-seed oil diet, produces the most reliable results
    21 January 2026, 5:45 am
  • 9 minutes 13 seconds
    Ultraprocessed Foods Linked to Early Onset of Colorectal Cancer
    • Colorectal cancer is rising in younger adults, with U.S. rates increasing 2.4% per year since 2012. New evidence points to dietary changes as a contributing factor
    • A recent study in JAMA Oncology found that those consuming the most ultraprocessed foods had a 45% higher risk of developing precancerous colorectal tumors before age 50
    • Risk increased with higher ultraprocessed food intake, then plateaued beyond seven to eight servings daily. Sweetened beverages, sauces, spreads, and condiments showed the strongest links
    • You can reduce ultraprocessed food intake by planning real meals, replacing snack foods with whole ingredients, tracking triggers, and making unprocessed options more visible and accessible in your home
    • Lowering your linoleic acid intake, increasing fiber gradually, and supporting gut health with protective foods and habits also helps reduce your risk of colorectal cancer
    21 January 2026, 5:44 am
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