Health Information
Why swimming in lakes will soon be banned
It could soon be declared unsafe to swim in lakes, due to the presence of microcystins and other toxins that can be found in algae blooms. Microsystins are nerve toxins produced by freshwater cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) that can cause fever, headaches, vomiting and seizures. Cyanobacteria and their toxins (which include microsystins and others) can also damage the liver and cause kidney, cardiac, reproductive and gastrointestinal effects.1 The toxic algae are showing up in lakes across the U.S., threatening not only swimmers but also...
read moreHome Depot and Lowes sued over Roundup
Pesticide and pharmaceutical giant Bayer is facing approximately 18,400 U.S. lawsuits from individuals alleging that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide, caused them to develop cancer.1 The retail giants Home Depot and Lowe’s are also being hit by glyphosate’s health risks, as two proposed class-action lawsuits have been filed over the companies’ lack of warnings to their customers. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) determined that glyphosate is a “probable carcinogen” in 2015. In August...
read moreMonsanto hit list exposed
In what Democracy Now!1 refers to as an “explosive report” by The Guardian,2 documents obtained during the discovery process of lawsuits against Monsanto reveal the company has been engaged in a coordinated campaign to discredit critics of the company. Among them are journalist Carey Gillam, the nonprofit U.S. Right to Know (USRTK) and singer-songwriter Neil Young, whose 2015 album, “The Monsanto Years,” was an artistic critique of the company. “The records … show Monsanto adopted a multi-pronged strategy to...
read moreWhy you should mix coffee into your cream
Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world. Statistics show that more than half the population in the U.S. drink coffee on a daily basis. Further, those individuals drink 3.1 cups of joe every single day.1 In the last several years, coffee has been identified — as has that other popular drink, tea — as a healthy beverage if consumed in optimal amounts. Coffee drinking is associated with reduced risk of an early death and heart-related illnesses, cancer, diabetes, cirrhosis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Tea has been...
read moreBuyer beware — Many fish oils are synthetic
As you probably know, fish oil has long been touted as an excellent source of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), two marine-based omega-3 fats that are important for brain and heart health. What may come as a surprise is that many (if not most) fish oil supplements on the market these days contain synthetic fish oil. This little-known fact has been brought to the fore by a recent U.S. Supreme Court petition filed by Amarin Pharma Inc., the maker of a proprietary prescription formulation of fish oil called Vascepa (a...
read moreWeekly health quiz: Sleep, autophagy and privacy
1 For how many years has Mercola.com offered free health information to the public on the internet? 13 years 16 years 22 years After starting a website to share the latest natural health developments in 1997, Mercola.com has been sharing information online for 22 years. Learn more. 28 years 2 Which of the following companies was fined $5 billion in July 2019 to settle privacy breaches? Amazon Google MeWe Facebook July 24, 2019, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced Facebook will pay a $5 billion fine to settle some of the known privacy...
read moreDietary intake of vitamin A may prevent skin malignancy
Your diet has a significant impact on the health of your skin. When it comes to wellness, beauty is more than skin deep. As a general rule, diets that include lots of fresh vegetables and plenty of omega-3 lay the groundwork for a youthful complexion.1,2 However, just as with protecting your overall health, loading up on specific foods to boost your youthful appearance, while still eating some of the most damaging foods, will likely not make a significant impact. For example, those who become resistant to insulin and leptin also realize the...
read moreMust-read destinations for optimizing your health
More than half the U.S. population is struggling with chronic illness,1 and 1 in 5 deaths is obesity related.2 We have overwhelming rates of heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s, and future projections only look worse. One of the saddest aspects, though, is that advice given by governmental entities and conventional medicine has utterly failed when it comes to disease prevention. The good news is, it doesn’t have to be this way. Aspects of health are multiple and varied, especially in recent years since a greater emphasis has...
read moreGame Changer of the Year: Barbara Loe Fisher
Each year during the anniversary week of Mercola.com, we recognize a Game Changer, someone whose work stands as a great service to humanity by making a significant contribution to improving people’s health. Previous recipients include: Dr. Fred A. Kummerow for his life’s work on trans fats who has since passed at the age of 102 Thomas Seyfried, Ph.D., for his advancement of cancer as a metabolic disease Dr. Lee Cowden for his advancement of integrative medicine through the creation of the Academy of Comprehensive Integrative Medicine...
read moreTry Mercola’s savory top recipes and eat your way to health
Nowadays, when you make a determination to eat healthier to maintain or regain your health, or to lose weight and prevent obesity, there are more options at your local supermarket than there were not too many years ago — food that offers essential nutrients rather than adding a toxic burden to your system. Rather than the plethora of margarine brands that once overloaded every dairy case, it’s easier to find pastured, organic raw butter and even ghee, a clarified butter with fewer dairy proteins than commercial butter. And, eggs from organic,...
read moreA day in the life of Dr. Mercola
This week, Mercola.com celebrates its 22nd anniversary. I launched the first, much smaller version of this website in 1997 to share the latest developments in natural health with the world. Thanks to health-conscious readers like you, it’s grown to become a leading source of health news and information. When I had an active medical practice, I was able to help tens of thousands of patients address their health problems using strategies such as diet, exercise and other safe and effective means, but I was convinced I could help...
read moreEFT for gratitude
Nurturing an attitude of gratitude is a simple way to bring more joy, well-being and even physical health to your life. From being thankful to appreciating kindnesses and recognizing all the good in your life, gratitude is the act of recognizing all that has value in your life (and this has nothing to do with monetary worth). Feelings of gratitude are linked to brain activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and medial prefrontal cortex, brain regions associated with moral cognition, value judgment and theory of mind, according to a study in...
read moreLet’s all be grateful
While a healthy lifestyle can include many different things, perhaps one of the most overlooked is purposely adopting an attitude of gratitude. There’s an awful lot of stress and unhappiness in the world, and gratitude is an effective remedy that costs nothing. The World Happiness Report,1 issued annually since 2012, looks at gross domestic product per capita, healthy life expectancy, freedom of choice, social support, generosity and perception of corruption occurring in 156 countries. For 2019, the United States’ ranking dropped for the...
read moreJeff Bezos’ Washington Post hit piece on Mercola.com
August 9, 2019, I was contacted by Washington Post reporter Lena H. Sun. She requested an interview, which I had to decline due to travel and speaking engagements. Instead, I asked her to send me the questions, so I could respond in writing. Considering the biased and clearly industry-favorable reporting done by Sun and The Washington Post on previous occasions, I would not be surprised if my answers are twisted or misinterpreted to support an industry narrative, so I’ve decided to publish all of The Washington Post’s questions to me, along...
read moreOur health partners team up to protect your health
In the business world, partnerships may well be the cornerstone or foundation of success. The old saying, “two heads are better than one,” means two people may creatively solve a problem more quickly than just one. However, in business, bringing together two organizations in a unique partnership also enables both businesses to benefit from the strengths they each possess. Strategic partnerships give businesses access to greater resources and a larger audience. They also help strengthen some of the weaker aspects of each business....
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