Archives

now browsing by author

 
Posted by: | Posted on: October 10, 2026

Vitamin D Deficiency and Fatty Liver — A Growing Health Concern with Actionable Solutions


Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2026/10/09/vitamin-d-deficiency-and-fatty-liver.aspx

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola     October 09, 2026

vitamin d deficiency and fatty liver

Story at-a-glance

  • Vitamin D deficiency is strongly linked to fatty liver disease, a growing metabolic disorder that often develops silently until serious damage occurs
  • Research in aging mice suggests that vitamin D influences liver fat metabolism at the genetic level, helping restore fat-burning genes while dialing down fat-storage ones. These findings point to a potential role in supporting liver health as you age
  • In a study of aged mice, a vitamin D3-enriched diet significantly reduced liver fat accumulation, and in cultured liver cells, vitamin D helped restore normal mitochondrial structure — effects seen only in the older, vitamin D-insufficient animals
  • A 2021 research review highlights vitamins E, B12, and folate, which are involved in fat metabolism, antioxidant defense, and inflammatory balance in the liver
  • Practical solutions include eliminating vegetable oils, which are high in linoleic acid, strategic sun exposure, testing your vitamin D levels (aiming for 60 to 80 ng/mL) and combining vitamin D3 with magnesium and K2 when supplementing

One of the fastest-rising metabolic disorders today affects your liver, quietly and without warning. Fatty liver disease is becoming increasingly common worldwide, yet most people have no idea their liver is in trouble until serious damage sets in.

This isn’t just a condition that strikes the unhealthy or overweight. A growing body of research is uncovering hidden drivers behind fatty liver, including something that rarely gets enough attention: nutrient depletion. And topping that list is vitamin D.

Vitamin D is often framed as a bone-health vitamin, but that’s just a fraction of the story. Your liver relies on it to manage fat metabolism, regulate inflammation and maintain energy production inside your cells. As your vitamin D levels drop, which happens with age and indoor living, your liver’s ability to function properly may begin to falter.

Additional research shows another layer: In animal and cell studies, vitamin D appears to act on liver metabolism at the genetic level, not just support it. If those findings hold up in people, they could have meaningful implications for how liver health is supported during aging and metabolic stress.

Vitamin D Flips a Key Mitochondrial Switch Linked to Liver Fat in Aging Mice

A 2024 animal and cell study published in Experimental & Molecular Medicine investigated how vitamin D3 supplementation can affect age-related fatty liver disease in mice.1 Researchers focused on the role of a mitochondrial protein called Mic60, which helps keep your liver cells’ energy systems working. The goal was to understand how aging disrupts this process and whether vitamin D could help restore it.

• Older animals with low vitamin D had more fat in the liver — The study looked at 22-month-old mice — elderly by mouse standards — compared with young adult mice. Older mice fed a standard diet had lower vitamin D levels and much higher fat accumulation in their livers, while those fed a vitamin D3-enriched diet (20,000 IU per kilogram of feed, compared with 1,000 IU/kg in the standard diet) for 18 weeks saw marked improvement. In addition, liver fat accumulation and the abnormal increase in liver weight were both significantly reduced.

• Fat-burning genes dropped with age, but vitamin D restored them — In older animals, genes that break down fat, such as PPARα and CPT-1, were significantly suppressed. These are also the same ones your liver uses to burn fat for energy. In the aged mice, vitamin D supplementation reversed this pattern, restoring these genes, and lowering genes that drive fat uptake and storage. This dual action appeared to shift the aged mouse liver away from fat storage and back toward fat-burning.

• Blood fatty acid levels tracked with vitamin D status — Circulating free fatty acid levels were inversely related to vitamin D levels, with lower free fatty acids in the mice that had higher vitamin D, suggesting less incoming fat reaching the liver. This points to a better balance between fat uptake and fat breakdown, a stability that is often disrupted in older adults with metabolic issues.

• Vitamin D helped restore mitochondrial structure — Levels of Mic60, a protein that helps organize the mitochondria’s inner folds (cristae), were reduced in the livers of older mice. When Mic60 is depleted, mitochondria lose their normal structure and liver cells, beginning the fat-accumulation process. Vitamin D restored Mic60 levels in the aged mice, and in cultured liver cells, electron microscope imaging showed vitamin D helped mitochondria recover their normal structure after Mic60 was depleted. The researchers also found that the vitamin D receptor binds directly to the gene that makes Mic60, switching it on.

• Aging cells hoard fat, but vitamin D countered it — To see how cellular aging affects this protein, researchers treated human liver-derived cells (HepG2) with the drug doxorubicin to push them into an aged, senescent state. Mic60 levels dropped, and the cells began storing fat and showing signs of cellular aging. Vitamin D prevented the fat buildup and restored Mic60 levels, although the study did not report that it reversed the markers of cellular aging themselves.*

It’s worth keeping in mind that these findings come from mice and cultured cells. The authors themselves note that further studies are needed to determine whether the loss of Mic60 plays the same role in age-related fatty liver disease in humans.2

*These findings are from laboratory or animal research and may not directly apply to human health.

How Vitamins Interact with Liver Metabolism at a Molecular Level

In a 2021 review article published in Liver Research, scientists summarized research on how key vitamins relate to the progression of fatty liver disease.3 They explored how deficiencies in vitamins D, E, B9 and B12, among others, may disrupt liver metabolism. The authors noted that impaired vitamin metabolism is believed to play a critical role in disease progression, with inadequate levels potentially contributing to a cascade of inflammation, insulin resistance, and oxidative stress.

• Connections exist between vitamin levels and the severity of liver damage — The studies reviewed found that lower blood levels of vitamin D were associated with more severe fat accumulation and inflammatory liver damage, while low vitamin B12 was associated with elevated liver enzymes. However, the authors noted B12’s protective role remains controversial. Insufficient vitamin E intake was linked to a higher grade of fat buildup in the liver.

• Different vitamins impact your liver in very different ways — Vitamin E is described as a powerful antioxidant that may help cool down inflammation, limit fat uptake into liver cells, and protect cells from dying. The authors also caution that high-dose vitamin E has been linked to increased mortality in one study, and that its safety and effectiveness need further evaluation.

Meanwhile, vitamin D is involved in regulating immune responses and insulin sensitivity, while folate supports one-carbon (methylation) metabolism, and B12 acts as a cofactor in mitochondrial fat handling — processes that help your liver metabolize nutrients and fats. The review suggests each of these vitamins may play a distinct role in fatty liver disease, with deficiencies linked to worse outcomes.

• Vitamin D deficiency was linked to insulin resistance and poor liver function — The researchers noted that vitamin D deficiency appears in 55% of people with fatty liver disease, and that low levels of this nutrient may contribute to insulin resistance, one of the main drivers behind fat buildup in your liver.

Experimental models suggest that vitamin D may support how the pancreas secretes insulin and how cells throughout the body respond to it. The authors propose that when vitamin D runs low, insulin resistance may worsen, which in turn favors fat storage in the liver over fat burning.

• Vitamin D also modulated the immune system’s activity in the liver — Your liver is deeply involved in your immune function. The review describes how vitamin D helps regulate immune cells in the liver, especially through a family of toll-like receptors that are often activated by toxins and bacterial fragments in the blood. In animal studies, vitamin D deficiency increased activation of these receptors, which in turn. triggered inflammatory signaling that contributed to fat buildup and inflammation in the liver.

• Vitamin deficiencies may worsen metabolic stress on the liver — Without enough of these nutrients, your liver may struggle to balance fat metabolism, manage oxidative stress, and keep inflammation in check. These disruptions are compounded by modern diets and environmental stressors, which is why a nutrient-dense whole food diet matters for liver health. The authors are clear, however, that vitamin supplementation trials have produced inconsistent results so far, and that more clinical trials are needed to confirm whether these nutrients can change the course of fatty liver disease.

How to Support Your Liver Health and Raise Your Vitamin D Levels

Understanding how vitamin D interacts with your liver at the cellular level gives you a reason to act early and support your liver health before problems progress.

If you’ve been diagnosed with fatty liver disease, or you suspect your liver is under stress from poor metabolic health, work with your health care provider — and know that addressing the underlying drivers, such as inflammation, oxidative stress, and the metabolic imbalances that keep your liver stuck in survival mode, is key.

Most people focus only on reducing fat in their liver, but they overlook a factor research increasingly links to fatty liver disease: vitamin depletion. Because your liver stores and regulates key vitamins, deficiencies can make it harder for your liver to recover. Emerging research, much of it in animal and cell models, suggests vitamin D may play a role in calming inflammation, supporting insulin sensitivity and limiting fat buildup in liver cells. To give your liver the support it needs, here’s where to start:

1. Start by fixing the root: Cut out vegetable oils — If you’re still using canola, soybean, sunflower or generic “vegetable oil,” you’re flooding your cells with linoleic acid (LA), a polyunsaturated fat that oxidizes easily, builds up in your skin and increases your risk of skin damage if you get sun exposure during peak hours (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).

Cut these oils from your diet for four to six months before getting high-intensity midday sun exposure. Replace them with healthier fats like tallow, grass fed butter, and ghee. As LA levels in your tissues gradually drop, your skin becomes less prone to sunburn, and your liver has one less metabolic stressor to contend with.

2. Use sunlight strategically to rebuild your vitamin D stores — Your skin was designed to make vitamin D from the sun. To raise your vitamin D levels naturally, spend time in direct sunlight with bare skin exposed daily, ideally outside peak hours if you’re still transitioning off vegetable oils. Again, once you’ve been off them for four to six months, solar noon becomes the optimal time. Use the “sunburn test” — cover up just before your skin starts to turn pink.

This lets you harness the sun’s benefits without burning, while supporting the healthy vitamin D levels your liver and immune system rely on.

3. Test your vitamin D levels and personalize your approach — Get your vitamin D levels tested at least twice a year and aim for a level between 60 and 80 ng/mL (150 to 200 nmol/L). This isn’t just about bone health — it’s about supporting healthy insulin sensitivity, inflammatory balance, and immune function. Testing gives you a starting point and helps you track real progress. That said, talk to your health care provider about whether this testing is appropriate for you.

4. Supplement smart: If you supplement, pair vitamin D3 with magnesium and K2 — If you’re indoors often or live far from the equator, supplementation is often needed to maintain healthy levels, and vitamin D3 appears to work best when combined with magnesium and vitamin K2.

In fact, an analysis of GrassrootsHealth participant data found that people taking neither magnesium nor vitamin K2 needed 244% more supplemental vitamin D for half of them to reach 40 ng/mL, compared with those taking both.4 These nutrients appear to work as a team, with vitamin K2 helping direct calcium to your bones and away from your arteries.

5. Use food to replenish liver-supportive vitamins — Real nourishment starts with real food. Eat liver-supportive nutrients daily, like pasture-raised eggs and grass fed beef liver. Think of your meals as nutrient delivery systems, not just fuel, but repair tools your liver depends on. Everyday food choices are one of the most powerful tools you have to support your liver: give it what it’s missing, and remove what’s hurting it.

FAQs About Vitamin D and Fatty Liver Disease

Q: What’s the real connection between vitamin D and fatty liver disease?

A: Vitamin D appears to play a key role in keeping your liver metabolically active. Research in mice and liver cells found that the vitamin D receptor directly switches on the gene for Mic60, a protein that helps your mitochondria keep their structure and burn fat. In that research, low vitamin D in aged mice went hand in hand with a shift toward fat storage — a silent shift that may contribute to the development of fatty liver disease, even in people who eat reasonably well or don’t drink alcohol.

Q: What does the research show about vitamin D supplementation and liver fat?

A: The evidence comes mainly from animal and cell research. In a study of aged mice, a vitamin D3-enriched diet significantly reduced liver fat accumulation and restored levels of Mic60, and in cultured liver cells vitamin D prevented the fat buildup triggered by cellular aging. The effects were seen only in the older animals, which had insufficient vitamin D levels to begin with — young mice showed no such benefit. Whether the same holds true in people, particularly older adults who don’t get enough sun or have low vitamin D levels, still needs to be confirmed in human studies.

Q: What other vitamins are important for liver health?

A: In addition to vitamin D, a review from Liver Research highlights vitamins E, B12, folate (B9), C, and A as potential contributors to liver health.5 Vitamin E may help calm inflammation. B12 and folate are involved in fat metabolism and gene expression. Vitamin C supports antioxidant defenses and may help limit oxidative stress in liver cells, though the review notes its link to fatty liver disease remains debated. Each vitamin appears to play a unique role in keeping your liver resilient against metabolic stress.

Q: What does the vitamin D receptor do in the liver?

A: The vitamin D receptor (VDR) is how vitamin D exerts many of its effects. According to the Liver Research review, VDR is found at high levels in the liver’s immune cells and in hepatic stellate cells — the cells mainly responsible for liver scarring — where it has been reported to counter TGF-β signaling, the main pro-scarring pathway in the liver.6 In the Experimental & Molecular Medicine study, silencing VDR in liver cells also lowered levels of the mitochondrial protein Mic60, while vitamin D treatment brought them back up.7 Together, these findings suggest vitamin D may help support healing and immune balance in the liver at the genetic level.

Q: How do I raise my vitamin D levels and support my liver naturally?

A: Start by cutting out vegetable oils like canola, soybean, and sunflower oil. These flood your system with LA, which may add to the metabolic burden on your liver. Spend time in the sun each day, exposing your skin until just before it starts to turn pink (not burn).

Test your vitamin D levels regularly and aim for 60 to 80 ng/mL. If you need to supplement, pair D3 with magnesium and K2. And eat real food rich in liver-supportive nutrients like pastured eggs and whole fruits.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Consult a qualified health care provider before making changes to your health regimen.

Posted in Immunity, Insulin, Liver, Vitamins | No Comments »

Posted by: | Posted on: October 9, 2026

The Mystery of Transplanted Consciousness — When Organs Transfer More Than Function


Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2026/10/09/transplanted-consciousness-organ-donor-memory-transfer.aspx

Analysis by A Midwestern Doctor     October 09, 2026

transplanted consciousness organ donor memory transfer

Story at-a-glance

  • When organs are transplanted, memories, personalities, preferences, and skills (including what happened at the donor’s moment of death) have been repeatedly observed to transfer from the donor to recipient in a manner that strongly suggests a real transference is occurring — raising significant questions as to where our consciousness or memories come from and who we actually are
  • Dr. Paul Pearsall’s groundbreaking research documented 73 heart transplant cases where recipients experienced dramatic personality changes, food preferences, sexual orientation shifts, and even acquired new skills that perfectly matched their unknown donors
  • Approximately 10% of heart transplant recipients report experiencing emotions they believe come from their donor, with the most sensitive individuals sharing specific personality traits like being highly creative, body-aware, and psychically sensitive
  • The most extraordinary cases include an 8-year-old girl who received a murdered child’s heart and provided police with accurate details that led to the killer’s conviction, and recipients who suddenly developed artistic abilities matching their donor’s talents
  • Approaches exist to address “trapped emotions” in transplanted organs through mind-body therapies, which can improve recipient quality of life and reduce organ rejection by helping the body accept rather than fight the foreign organ

When organ transplantation first became possible, doctors celebrated it as one of medicine’s greatest achievements — literally giving someone the gift of life through another’s ultimate sacrifice. But what nobody anticipated was that along with functional organs, something far more mysterious might also transfer: aspects of the donor’s consciousness, personality, memories, and even skills.

The evidence for this phenomenon has been accumulating for decades, yet mainstream medicine largely ignores it because it challenges fundamental assumptions about where consciousness comes from. If memories and personality traits can be stored in organs rather than just the brain, this would completely revolutionize our understanding of human consciousness.

The Reality of Living with Transplants

While transplants are called “medical miracles,” they’re far from perfect. The failure rates tell a sobering story:

• Lung — 10.4% within a year,1 72% within 10 years2

• Heart — 7.8% within a year,3 46% within 10 years4

• Kidney — 5% within a year, 46.4% within 10 years5,6

• Liver — 7.6% within a year, 32.5% within 10 years7,8

Given these risks, patients must follow incredibly strict regimens: taking immune-suppressing medications costing $10,000 to $30,000 annually, permanently avoiding alcohol and drugs, constant bloodwork monitoring, and doing everything possible to avoid infections. The immune-suppressing medications have side effects ranging from mild tremors and headaches to serious infections, kidney damage, and metabolic disturbances. Corticosteroids used in transplant management have even more extensive side effects.

The vaccination requirements became controversial during COVID-19 when people were denied transplants for refusing COVID vaccines (and in some cases were severely injured when they finally submitted to vaccination). What frustrated me most was that nobody mentioned the COVID vaccine could actually increase transplant rejection risk by provoking autoimmunity or that numerous publications have now corroborated this link.

Note: DMSO has been shown to prevent rejection of certain grafts like skin grafts9 and insulin-producing cells,10 and likely would help transplanted organs, but this hasn’t been tested.

One reader shared: “I took care of a patient who had a kidney transplant 9 years ago then got his COVID shot and had spontaneous organ rejection and needed the kidney removed. From what other nurses told me, it is happening more and more often.”11

But beyond these medical challenges, transplant patients face something even stranger — significant psychiatric changes that suggest something profound is being transferred along with the organs.

The Heart’s Secret Code

Dr. Benjamin Bunzel at the University Hospital in Vienna studied 47 heart transplant patients and found that while 79% claimed their personality hadn’t changed (though showed signs otherwise), 6% reported distinct personality changes they attributed directly to their new hearts. These individuals felt compelled to accommodate what they sensed as their donor’s memories.12

When studied more extensively, approximately 10% of heart transplant recipients reported experiencing emotions they believed came from their donor.13

Claire Sylvia’s Transformation

The most documented case comes from Claire Sylvia’s memoir “A Change of Heart.”14 At 47, she received a heart and lung transplant and immediately started craving beer and chicken nuggets — foods she’d never liked.15

“Five months later, she dreamed about a young man named Tim whose surname began with L. In the dream, ‘we kiss, and as we do I inhale him into me … I woke up knowing that Tim L was my donor and that some parts of his spirit and personality were now in me.’”

She described feeling like “a second soul was sharing my body” — one that was stereotypically masculine, making her more aggressive and confident. Friends noticed she walked differently, and she found herself attracted to blonde women “as if some male energy in me was responding to them.”

When she finally traced her donor’s identity through an obituary, his name was indeed Tim L., and his family confirmed he’d been energetic with a love of chicken nuggets and beer — exactly the preferences she’d developed.

Note: Another woman who received a young man’s heart reported: “When we dance now, my husband says I always try to lead. I think it’s the macho male heart in me making me do that.”16

Paul Pearsall’s Groundbreaking Research

The most comprehensive study was done by neuropsychologist Paul Pearsall, who underwent bone marrow transplantation himself.17 For “The Heart’s Code,” he interviewed 73 heart transplant recipients, 67 other organ recipients, and families of 18 deceased donors.18

As Pearsall reflected: “When I listen to the tapes of my interviews with heart and heart-lung transplant recipients and the donor families, I am still taken aback by what they’ve shared with me.” He identified consistent patterns:

• Traumatic memory transfer — Recipients repeatedly recalled their donor’s death through dreams or physical sensations, despite knowing nothing about the donor.

• Preference changes — Dramatic shifts in food and music tastes matching the donor — vegetarians becoming carnivores and vice versa.

• Sexual orientation changes — Including a lifelong lesbian becoming attracted to men and marrying one.

Note: One of my colleagues has a male patient who received a female heart, then became compelled to transition to becoming a woman — something never considered before the transplant. Likewise, a reader shared that after a man received a pig’s heart valve, “his wife found her husband had shifted from a normal sex life to wanting sex several times a day every day.”19

• Overwhelming emotions — A Yale surgeon documented one recipient saying: “I can be sitting here feeling fine and all of a sudden something clicks and I get nervous … Something in my body changes, as if somebody pushed a button.”20

The Most Extraordinary Cases

Pearsall documented several cases so remarkable they seem almost impossible. Given his meticulous citations and published academic paper with independent verification,21 these deserve serious consideration:

• The Murder Conviction — An eight-year-old who received a murdered ten-year-old’s heart began having nightmares about the killer. Using the child’s descriptions, police found and convicted the murderer based on completely accurate details about timing, weapon, location, and the victim’s final words.22

• The Artist’s Heart — The Daily Mail documented William Sheridan, whose drawing skills were “stuck at nursery level” until his heart transplant. Suddenly, he could produce beautiful drawings of wildlife and landscapes. His donor had been a keen artist.23

• The Copacetic Connection — A physician whose husband David died in a car crash later met a transplant recipient. She whispered to him, “I love you David. Everything is copacetic.” The recipient’s mother revealed: “My son uses that word ‘copacetic’ all the time now. He never used it before he got his new heart.” This had been the couple’s special signal.

• The Violin Case — A 47-year-old foundry worker received a 17-year-old Black student’s heart and developed a fascination with classical music. Initially dismissing any connection (thinking his donor would prefer rap), he later learned the donor had died clutching his violin case on the way to violin lessons.

• Complete Transformation — One recipient experienced multiple changes — feeling the donor’s fatal car accident in her chest, becoming vegetarian after being “McDonald’s biggest money-maker,” and changing from gay to straight: “After my transplant, I’m not … I have absolutely no desire to be with a woman. I think I got a gender transplant.”

In rare cases, heart transplant recipients are able to meet their donors, due to a phenomenon known as “domino transplants” where a patient with failing lungs receives both a heart and lungs simultaneously and then donates their heart to someone else.

When Pearsall interviewed a heart transplant recipient (Fred) and his donor (Jim), both of their wives noted the husband had taken on personality traits of their heart donor (e.g., the depression and romanticism of Jim’s now deceased donor), and that Fred periodically subconsciously mistook his wife for Jim’s wife.

A longer list of some of the most compelling cases Pearsall came across can be found in the article he published.24 Many of the themes mentioned above are echoed within the article’s stories (e.g., the donor communicating to their family through the recipient, and the donor’s talents, fears or memories being transferred to the recipient).

Additionally, a brief documentary compiled on Pearsall’s work shows live testimonials of transplant recipients affirming these inexplicable transferences of consciousness do in fact happen.

Note: Numerous readers have also shared with me that while they had not had a transplant, they had received significant blood transfusions (e.g., to save them from otherwise fatal traumatic blood loss) and had noticed they had experienced some of the personality changes described throughout this article, although not to the same degree as those seen in Pearsall’s cases.

This could argue that part of your personality is information within the blood — something congruent with ideas put forward by long forgotten Russian research on the full capacities of the heart.

The Sensitive Recipients

Since most heart recipients don’t report dramatic changes, Pearsall studied what made some sensitive to personality transfer. He identified eighteen traits commonly shared by sensitive individuals:

1. Feminine perspective (all but two were women)

2. Open-minded (“accommodators” vs. “assimilators”)

3. Body aware (high kinesthetic intelligence)

4. Music lovers (especially classical)

5. Highly creative (vivid fantasy lives)

6. Environmentally sensitive (hyperalert to surroundings)

7. Good visualization (accurate donor descriptions)

8. Psychically sensitive (described as sensitive before transplant)

9. Dependent (trusting, therapy experience)

10. Compulsive (self-critical, hard workers)

11. Unresolved grief (prior emotional breaks)

12. Animal loving (believed animals were sentient)

13. Climate sensitive (loved nature, talked to plants)

14. Highly involved (lost track of time in activities)

15. Extensive dreaming (dreamed about donors post-transplant)

16. Highly sensual (enjoyed physical affection)

17. Ectomorphic (slender, narrow faces)

18. “Flow” vs. “fight” (went with flow vs. controlling)

Note: Many traits match what I observe in (frequently hypermobile) individuals who are more susceptible to pharmaceutical reactions — the “sensitive patients.”

Other Organs and Chinese Medicine

Pearsall observed personality changes in liver and kidney recipients too, though less dramatically. Within Chinese Medicine, emotions are believed to originate from specific organs: liver with anger, lung with grief, heart with joy, spleen with pensiveness, and kidneys with fear. My colleagues working with transplant recipients find that emotional changes typically match the pathological emotions associated with the transplanted organ according to Chinese medicine.

Note: The development of crowd psychology25 was partly based on observing that emotions could be contagious, rapidly spreading through groups — almost as though something jumps from person to person.

Where Are Memories Really Stored?

This raises fundamental questions about memory. In my medical practice, I frequently see patients with traumatic memories stored in their tissues that resurface in daily life and often disappear once addressed. For example, a veteran with PTSD from an IED blast recovered after neural therapy on his blast scars — again raising profound questions about where many memories reside.

Memory research, in turn, suggests memories exist in distributed brain networks as destroying specific parts of the brain not being able to eliminate memory, with theories proposing the brain functions like a hologram or encodes pathways for accessing memories stored elsewhere — such as those from the previous donor.26

Since academic success revolves around memorization, I’ve extensively explored this subject, in the process discovering both critical pitfalls to avoid (e.g., statins, COVID vaccinations, and benzodiazepines) and in turn attribute my academic success to learning how memories entered the mind and discovering a simple but highly effective memorization technique which for some reason is never taught in schools.

In turn, exploring my own mind has led me to suspect some memories aren’t stored within the body, potentially providing a mechanism for organs to “transfer” complex memories.

The Psychology of New Hearts

Heart recipients often struggle psychologically, primarily from unwillingness to accept that a foreign being has entered them and may influence their personality. Recipients often worry more about their donor’s character than health.27

A Yale surgeon noted one patient’s wife sharing: “[He] occasionally seems to go into a trance … his mind is really trying to escape those thoughts about whose heart he is carrying.”

Pearsall found recipients typically followed five stages of grief: fighting (anxiety, anger), flow (euphoria, advocacy), anguish (depression, guilt), and finally a crossroads where most returned to stronger denial, while one in ten became intensely interested in their donor.28

Since psychiatric disorders are frequently observed in heart recipients, psychological and physiological rejection may be interrelated.29 An academic cited by Pearsall concluded: “Transplant professionals generally agree that psychological rejection of the heart is sometimes associated with physiological rejection.”30

Those who psychologically resist refer to “the heart” while those embracing it say “my heart.” The New York Times covered a Valentine’s Day party for heart recipients where almost everyone reported “spiritual memories.” The author described: “All the people spoke in reverent tones about the angel in their chests, about this gift, this responsibility they now bear, and the little prayer they say to the other person inside them.”31

Addressing Trapped Emotions

Throughout my life, I’ve found that permanent resolution of difficult emotions typically requires treating them as tangible entities trapped within the body, then using mind-body approaches to release them.

Note: Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy sometimes permanently addresses these issues, while EMDR (often insurance-covered) or psychotherapy with hypnosis can help.

Many approaches rely on Chinese medicine frameworks linking organs to emotions. In Sylvia’s story, she suggested that like trapped emotions, donor spirits can get “stuck” in organs: “I did the work needed to release Tim’s spirit. I feel integrated now. I don’t dream about Tim anymore; his spirit let go of me after a ritual motorbike ride.”32

Years ago, when I had a patient struggling with a transplanted organ, I asked a mentor for help. He immediately stated: “You have to clear the trapped emotions.” Since then we’ve found:

• Donated organs often contain many trapped emotions, many negative, along with other aspects of the individual’s energetic matrix.

• Releasing trapped organ emotions frequently improves recipient quality of life, sometimes improves organ function (including cases heading toward failure), and makes it easier for recipients’ bodies to accept organs rather than fighting them.

• While mind-body methods normally treat trapped emotions, sometimes trauma release techniques also greatly improve life for transplant recipients.

Unethical Organ Procurement

Costs for organ transplants range from $446,800 to $1,918,700 (depending on the organ).33 As an incredibly limited supply of (frequently life-saving organs) exist, these factors have created a thriving black market where organs are either obtained from conscious but unwilling donors. Likewise, within America, organ donors are typically restricted to “brain dead” patients whose organs still work, but are otherwise assumed to be dead.

Unfortunately, as I showed here, there is extensive evidence that many of those patients are not dead, and there have been many documented cases of fully paralyzed patients, who, by a miracle, were able to regain motor control of their body shortly before having their organs harvested.

This raises a concerning question: is it possible that individuals who didn’t want their organs harvested have been transplanted into recipients who then experienced traumatic emotions from the harvesting moments — which then passed into the donors?

Note: Many readers have shared that while they hadn’t had transplants, they received significant blood transfusions and noticed personality changes described in this article, though less dramatically. This could argue that personality information exists within blood — congruent with forgotten Russian research on the full capacities of the heart.

What This Means for Medicine and Consciousness

The evidence suggests several revolutionary possibilities:

• Consciousness isn’t brain-only — We may need a more distributed model recognizing the entire body’s role in generating our sense of self.

• Better therapeutic approaches — The success addressing “trapped emotions” in transplanted organs suggests new therapeutic avenues worth exploring.

• Memory research revolution — Evidence suggests memories may not be stored exclusively in the brain, opening new research directions.

• Support for recipients — Transplant recipients deserve acknowledgment and support for personality changes rather than dismissal.

Often, better alternatives exist than the false choice between bad and worse options. Many “vegetative” patients with signs of consciousness had traumatic brain injuries that IV DMSO has been proven to treat effectively for over 50 years.

Note: The fact that IV DMSO would significantly reduce “brain dead patients” makes me wonder if protecting the organ donation supply was why DMSO faced such opposition for treating a pressing medical need.

I’ve also seen countless cases of failing organs restored with integrative therapies, eliminating the need for transplants. My philosophy is informing patients in early organ failure stages about what to expect, motivating them to address problems before requiring transplants.

While skeptics may dismiss these accounts as coincidence, the consistency of reports across different researchers, cultures, and time periods suggests there’s more here than conventional science acknowledges.

For transplant recipients experiencing unexplained personality changes, memories, or foreign preferences — you’re not alone. These experiences, while not yet fully understood by medical science, are a very real phenomenon.

As we push medical boundaries with procedures like organ transplantation, we must remain open to phenomena challenging our current understanding of consciousness, memory, and what it means to be human. The mystery of transplanted consciousness may ultimately teach us as much about life’s nature as it does about the remarkable interconnectedness of all living beings.

Author’s Note: This is an abridged version of a longer article which goes into greater detail on the points mentioned here (e.g., the therapies which can restore failing organs, the extensive body of data consciousness resides in the organs, and methods for releasing trapped emotional trauma) along with the extensive evidence “brain dead” patients actually aren’t brain dead. That article, along with additional links and references can be read here.

A Note from Dr. Mercola About the Author

A Midwestern Doctor (AMD) is a board-certified physician from the Midwest and a longtime reader of Mercola.com. I appreciate AMD’s exceptional insight on a wide range of topics and am grateful to share it. I also respect AMD’s desire to remain anonymous since AMD is still on the front lines treating patients. To find more of AMD’s work, be sure to check out The Forgotten Side of Medicine on Substack.

Posted in Transplant | No Comments »

Posted by: | Posted on: October 8, 2026

Micronutrient Deficiencies in Type 2 Diabetes and Their Impact on Health


Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2026/10/05/micronutrient-deficiencies-in-type-2-diabetes.aspx

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola     October 05, 2026

micronutrient deficiencies in type 2 diabetes

Story at-a-glance

  • A study that analyzed 52,501 Type 2 diabetes patients found widespread nutrient deficiencies, with vitamin D being most common (60.45%), followed by magnesium (41.95%), and vitamin B12 (28.72%)
  • Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with reduced insulin sensitivity, and with higher rates of complications including diabetic retinopathy, kidney disease, and foot ulcers
  • Magnesium deficiency and diabetes appear to reinforce each other — low intake is associated with higher diabetes risk, while diabetes increases magnesium loss through urination, a pattern linked to poorer glycemic control
  • Metformin, the most prescribed diabetes medication, is associated with lower vitamin B12 levels, and B12 deficiency can cause nerve damage, numbness, and fatigue — which is why B12 monitoring is recommended for long-term users
  • Geographic location influences deficiency rates, with the Americas showing the highest prevalence at 54.04% of diabetes patients having at least one micronutrient deficiency

Type 2 diabetes, a condition marked by chronically high blood sugar levels, is a leading driver of metabolic disease in America. Medications to control blood sugar are a standard part of care, and the research below looks at a dimension of the condition that is often assessed alongside them.

Diabetes is compounded by several factors, and research notes that nutritional deficiencies are a commonly overlooked aspect, and that when these deficiencies are addressed, managing and controlling this disease becomes easier.1

An Overview of Micronutrient Deficiencies Among Diabetics

A meta-analysis published in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health analyzed the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies in people with Type 2 diabetes and how these deficiencies relate to the condition.

Starting with an initial list of 7,344 studies, the researchers whittled down their dataset to 132 studies with a total of 52,501 participants.2 Working within these parameters, the researchers aimed to determine the most common nutrient deficiencies in people with diabetes, as well as identify how diabetics from different continents differ in their deficiencies compared to other populations.

This is a prevalence meta-analysis: It measured how common deficiencies are among people with Type 2 diabetes. It was not designed to test whether deficiencies cause the condition to worsen, or whether correcting them improves outcomes.

• Nearly half of participants have nutrient deficiencies — From the data collated, 45.3% of total participants were found to have multiple micronutrient deficiencies.

• Vitamin D, magnesium and vitamin B12 were the most common deficiencies — Vitamin D deficiency was the most widespread, affecting 60.45% of diabetics. The second highest deficiency was magnesium impacting 41.95% of diabetics. The third highest deficiency was vitamin B12, affecting 28.72% of diabetic participants — a group in which metformin use is common.

• Women had a higher rate of deficiency than men — Overall, the data suggests that factors like diet, metabolic dysfunction, and certain medications play a major role in these imbalances, leading to the differences between men and women.

Vitamin D Deficiency Is Associated with Insulin Function and Complication Risk

Again, the most striking finding was that 60.45% of diabetics were deficient in vitamin D. This is an important matter because vitamin D influences insulin function.3

• The link between insulin sensitivity and vitamin D levels — Insulin is the hormone responsible for regulating blood sugar, and without enough vitamin D, insulin sensitivity decreases. As noted in a study published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences:4

“Various pathways suggest that vitamin D directly improves insulin sensitivity and secretion. The level of vitamin D in the body may change the ratio of pro- to anti-inflammatory cytokines, which would impact insulin action, lipid metabolism and the development and function of adipose tissue.

Many studies have demonstrated an inverse relationship between vitamin D concentrations and pro-inflammatory markers, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, metabolic syndrome, obesity and cardiovascular disease.”

• Vitamin D’s role in immunity and inflammation — Beyond its role in insulin regulation, vitamin D is also important for immune function and inflammation control, which are relevant to diabetes.5

For example, low vitamin D levels have been linked to higher rates of diabetic complications, including diabetic retinopathy (DR), diabetic kidney disease (DKD), and diabetic foot ulcers (DFU).6 As noted by the researchers, “DR and DKD are common microvascular complications of diabetes.”

• Foot ulcers are another common vascular complication in diabetes — Research has examined whether vitamin D status affects wound healing. According to the researchers:7

“Vitamin D is essential in maintaining the normal immune system. Vitamin D could suppress T cell proliferation and inhibit the secretion of T helper type 1 cytokines (e.g., interferon-γ and interleukin-2), while augmenting the production of T helper type 2 cytokines, thereby accelerating wound healing …

Besides, vitamin D may improve wound healing by suppressing endoplasmic reticulum stress, oxidative stress and the NF-κB-mediated inflammatory gene expression. More importantly, vitamin D signaling may be involved in the proliferation, migration, and differentiation of epidermal stem cells and progeny during cutaneous wound repair.”

Magnesium Deficiency Is Linked to Insulin Resistance

Magnesium is one of your body’s most abundant minerals. It functions as a cofactor in more than 300 enzymatic processes, such as protein synthesis, muscle and nerve function, blood pressure regulation and blood glucose control.8 As you can imagine, the last example is important for diabetes.

• The link between magnesium deficiency and insulin resistance — According to a study published in Frontiers in Nutrition, “magnesium deficiency can increase insulin resistance, and insulin resistance can also contribute to magnesium deficiency.” The researchers succinctly explain its role below:9

“Intracellular free magnesium levels are lower in patients with Type 2 diabetes than in nondiabetic individuals. Intracellular magnesium concentrations are essential for optimal insulin receptor bioactivity and downstream signaling events in target cells.

Low magnesium levels contribute to impaired tyrosine kinase activities of insulin receptors, causing altered cellular glucose utilization and eventual insulin resistance.”

• The role of magnesium in the context of insulin management — In a 2020 animal study, researchers noted that increasing magnesium levels helped enhance insulin sensitivity while decreasing insulin resistance. Furthermore, boosting magnesium intake helped protect against pancreatic cell injury — an important organ that helps produce insulin and glucagon to keep blood sugar levels at a normal range.10

Note: These findings are from laboratory or animal research and may not directly apply to human health.

• Magnesium deficiency among diabetics is a vicious cycle — A low intake of magnesium from foods increases the risk of developing diabetes. And when diabetes does develop, more magnesium is lost via urination. And similar to the other studies mentioned, this particular study noted that magnesium deficiency “is associated with poorer glycemic control and greater insulin resistance in patients with [Type 2 diabetes].”11

Metformin Use Is Linked to Vitamin B12 Deficiency

The study also reported a well-documented interaction with metformin, a drug that lowers blood sugar mainly by decreasing the glucose you absorb from your diet, reducing glucose production in the liver, and improving insulin sensitivity.12

• Vitamin B12 deficiency affects your nervous system — Among those taking metformin, 28.72% had a vitamin B12 (cobalamin) deficiency. This is concerning because vitamin B12 is essential for nerve health. Without enough vitamin B12, nerves can be damaged, producing symptoms such as numbness, a tingling feeling in the hands and feet and fatigue.13

• The widespread deficiency is accepted as normal — Metformin is one of the most ubiquitous medications related to diabetes management. According to Harvard Health Publishing, ever since its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1995, “It has since become the most widely prescribed medication for people with diabetes who cannot control their blood sugar through diet and exercise alone.”14

Despite the popularity of metformin, research has shown that it has been strongly linked to vitamin B12 deficiency,15 and the risk rises as the dosage increases.16 In fact, such is the prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency among metformin users that the U.K. government has acknowledged it “to be a common side effect.”17

• How does metformin cause a vitamin B12 deficiency? Right now, there’s no clear and definite answer, but there are some theories. According to a study published in the World Journal of Diabetes:18

“The most accepted theory is that metformin antagonizes the calcium cation and prevents the calcium-dependent IF-vitamin (intrinsic factor) B12 complex from binding to the ileal cubilin receptor and consequently will reduce the endocytosis process of vitamin B12.”

In addition, the researchers noted that if you’re currently taking metformin, it is recommended you get an annual vitamin B12 test and take a supplement if necessary. Talk to your healthcare provider about whether this testing is appropriate for you. Diet and lifestyle changes are a recognized part of Type 2 diabetes management, and any change to a prescribed medication is a decision for you and your prescribing clinician to make together.

Geography Also Influences Your Risk for Nutrient Deficiencies

In the featured study, researchers also found significant differences in deficiency rates depending on geographic location.

• The highest rates were reported in the Americas — It’s estimated that 54.04% of diabetes patients in this region had at least one micronutrient deficiency. Other regions, including Southeast Asia, Europe and Eastern Mediterranean, also showed increased rates of deficiencies, but not to the degree of the Americas.

• Beware how your sociocultural traditions influence your risk of diabetes — According to the researchers, “cultural practices may contribute to geographic variations in micronutrient deficiency.”19 So, be sure to consider the cultural makeup of your diet, then make the appropriate adjustments wherever possible while still adhering to your beliefs.

5 Practical Strategies for Supporting Micronutrient Status

The featured study made one thing very clear — when key nutrients are missing, your body may struggle to regulate insulin, control inflammation and maintain nerve and muscle function. Deficiency in these nutrients is associated with poorer markers of diabetes control.20

Yet, despite their importance, these deficiencies are not always tested for as a matter of routine, and nutritional status can receive less attention than glycemic control in standard diabetes care.

Given the evidence linking these deficiencies to poorer diabetes outcomes, nutritional status deserves attention alongside standard care. That means improving your diet, discussing medication side effects with your clinician, and giving your body what it needs to function properly. Here are my recommendations — they are general wellness measures, not a treatment for diabetes, and none of them is a reason to change prescribed medication on your own:

1. Discuss metformin’s B12 effect with your prescriber — As mentioned earlier, metformin is associated with lower vitamin B12 levels, and B12 deficiency can cause nerve damage, fatigue, and cognitive problems. If you have been taking metformin for a while, ask your clinician about B12 monitoring. Do not stop or reduce metformin on your own — discontinuing it without supervision can cause blood sugar to rise to dangerous levels.

Focus on eating healthy carbohydrates to support your mitochondrial function instead of ultraprocessed foods and drinks. According to a 2024 prospective cohort study, those who consumed refined sugar and artificially sweetened drinks have a 29% higher relative risk of diabetes compared to controls.21

2. Increase your vitamin B12 levels — I recommend you consume high-quality animal foods like eggs, raw grass fed dairy and ruminant meats, as these are the best natural sources of B12. Eliminate alcohol, too — it interferes with B12 absorption (as well as other important nutrients) and increases oxidative stress in your body.22

3. Get more vitamin D from sunlight — Vitamin D deficiency is the most common micronutrient problem among diabetics, and low vitamin D status is associated with reduced insulin sensitivity.

Ideally, spending time outside in natural sunlight, especially around midday when UVB rays are strongest, is the best strategy. However, this is only applicable if you’ve been minimizing your intake of vegetable oils for four to six months. That’s because vegetable oil is high in linoleic acid (LA), a polyunsaturated fat that is prone to oxidation and accumulates in skin tissue, increasing susceptibility to sunburn.

Until then, I recommend spending time outdoors only in the early morning or late afternoon. Also, make sure to have your vitamin D levels tested regularly. The recommended range for optimal health is between 60 and 80 ng/mL. Talk to your healthcare provider about whether this testing is appropriate for you.

4. Boost your magnesium intake — As mentioned earlier, magnesium is required for proper insulin function, energy production and nerve health. In addition, it’s also important to more than 300 enzymatic processes.

I generally advise getting nutrients from whole foods, but magnesium is a rare exception. Most people are deficient and meeting the recommended daily intake of 400 mg through diet alone can be difficult.

One key reason is soil depletion. Modern farming practices have significantly reduced the mineral content of soil, so even magnesium-rich vegetables contain much lower levels than they once did. This means that even if you follow a plant-based, whole-food diet, you may still fall short.

Another challenge is that some of the best dietary sources of magnesium — nuts and seeds — are also high in linoleic acid, an omega-6 fat. Since most people already consume excessive linoleic acid from vegetable oils, eating large amounts of these foods can contribute to inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction. Balancing magnesium intake while avoiding excess omega-6 fats can be tricky.

For these reasons, supplementing with magnesium is often a wise choice. I prefer magnesium glycinate and magnesium malate, as they are well-absorbed and easy on the digestive system. To find your ideal dose, start with magnesium citrate and increase gradually until your stools loosen, then back off slightly — that level is your ideal dose. You can then switch to glycinate or malate.

5. Remove the root causes of nutrient deficiencies — If you’re constantly losing key nutrients, you must repair and rebuild your cellular health, which requires a multifaceted approach:

• Minimize vegetable oils from your diet — These fats contribute to inflammation, oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage, making your body less efficient at using key vitamins and minerals.

• Reduce exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) — Limit your time on wireless devices and avoid sleeping near a Wi-Fi router. EMFs disrupt calcium and magnesium balance at the cellular level. Place your phone far away from you when in your room and use an analog alarm clock when sleeping.

• Address gut health issues that interfere with nutrient absorption — For most adults with ordinary digestive complaints, start with white rice and whole fruits before moving on to other complex carbohydrates. If your gut is severely compromised, start with dextrose water sipped slowly, then fruit juice with pulp, then pulp-free juice, then whole fruit, and finally complex carbohydrates such as white rice.

• Limit your exposure to xenoestrogens — Microplastics are filled with various endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA) phthalates and parabens, and these have been linked to an increased risk of diabetes.23

To protect your health, reduce your reliance on plastics as much as possible by switching to glass containers and swapping out any plastic items you have with safe, sustainable materials. For more tips on this matter, read my article “Airborne Microplastics Linked to Multiple Health Problems.”

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Common Micronutrient Deficiencies Among Diabetics

Q: What are the most common nutrient deficiencies in people with Type 2 diabetes?

A: Vitamin D, magnesium, and vitamin B12 are the most common deficiencies. Over 60% of diabetics are deficient in vitamin D, 42% in magnesium, and nearly 29% in B12 (primarily due to metformin use). These deficiencies are associated with poorer insulin sensitivity and higher inflammation.

Q: How does vitamin D deficiency affect diabetics?

A: Vitamin D is essential for insulin sensitivity and immune function. Deficiency has been associated with impaired insulin regulation and with the risk of diabetic complications like kidney disease, retinopathy, and foot ulcers. Proper sun exposure and regular vitamin D testing are worth discussing with your healthcare provider.

Q: Why is magnesium important for managing diabetes?

A: Magnesium supports over 300 enzymatic functions, including insulin receptor activity. Low magnesium is associated with insulin resistance and poor blood sugar control. Due to soil depletion and dietary challenges, supplementation with magnesium glycinate or malate may be worth considering, depending on where you live.

Q: What are the risks of taking metformin long-term?

A: Metformin, a common diabetes medication, is linked to vitamin B12 deficiency, which can result in nerve damage, fatigue, and cognitive issues. Patients on metformin are advised to get annual B12 tests and to discuss any concerns about the medication with their prescribing clinician. Do not stop or change metformin without medical supervision.

Q: How can diabetics address micronutrient deficiencies naturally?

A: Here are key strategies to include in your health routine:

• Discussing metformin’s effect on B12 with your prescribing clinician

• Eating B12-rich animal foods and avoiding alcohol

• Getting safe, daily sun exposure for vitamin D while avoiding vegetable oils

• Supplementing magnesium

• Minimizing EMF exposure and cutting down on plastic usage to limit xenoestrogens

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Consult a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health regimen. Do not start, stop or change any prescribed medication without speaking to the clinician who prescribed it.

– Sources and References

Posted in Diabetes, Linoleic Acid | No Comments »

Posted by: | Posted on: October 5, 2026

Antioxidant Vitamins and Zinc Slowed Vision Loss in Advanced Age-Related Macular Degeneration


Reproduced from original article: https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2026/10/04/zinc-antioxidants-age-related-macular-degeneration.aspx

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola     October 04, 2026

zinc antioxidants age related macular degeneration

Story at-a-glance

  • In the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS), a randomized clinical trial, a specific combination of antioxidant vitamins and zinc lowered the risk of progressing to advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and helped preserve vision in people who already had intermediate disease or advanced disease in one eye, but it did not prevent the condition in healthy eyes
  • Your retina contains some of the highest concentrations of zinc in your body — and research indicates this mineral supports cell repair, communication between retinal cells, and the enzymes that help protect eye tissue against everyday damage
  • Maintaining the right zinc balance is just as important as getting enough because zinc deficiency impairs retinal function. Laboratory studies indicate that excessive zinc concentrations can also damage retinal cells
  • Animal foods such as oysters, grass fed beef, and lamb provide zinc in a form your body absorbs more efficiently than many plant foods, making animal-based whole-food sources an important part of supporting long-term eye health
  • If you eat large amounts of whole grains or legumes, remember that they contain natural compounds called phytates that reduce zinc absorption. Eating zinc-rich animal foods as part of a balanced meal helps improve the amount your body actually uses

Your eyes rely on a constant supply of nutrients to preserve the sharp central vision you need to read, drive, recognize faces, and perform countless everyday tasks. Many people assume a healthy diet covers those needs, yet a landmark clinical trial sponsored by the National Eye Institute found that for people already at risk of severe vision loss, a targeted nutrient formula measurably slowed disease progression.1

The nutrient that emerged as especially important is zinc, a mineral your body uses in hundreds of biological processes every day and one your retina demands in unusually large quantities. What makes zinc unusual isn’t that your eyes need it. It’s that your eyes are remarkably sensitive to how much of it they get.

That tension between enough and too much runs through every layer of the science covered in this article, from the clinical trial that changed how specialists recommend nutritional support for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) to laboratory discoveries about what happens inside retinal cells when this mineral falls out of balance. Your retina is especially vulnerable to oxidative stress — the accumulation of unstable molecules produced during normal metabolism that, left unchecked, damage cells from the inside out.

Antioxidant Vitamins and Zinc Slowed Vision Loss in People at Highest Risk

The Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) was designed to determine whether a specific combination of antioxidant vitamins and zinc could slow the progression of AMD in people at risk of severe vision loss.2,3 The randomized clinical trial enrolled 4,757 adults between the ages of 55 and 80 at 11 clinical centers across the U.S. Of those, 3,640 were randomized to the AMD treatment arms and followed for an average of 6.3 years.

Participants received one of four treatments: zinc alone, antioxidant vitamins alone, antioxidants plus zinc or a placebo. Rather than testing whether supplements improved healthy eyes, the researchers focused on slowing disease progression in people with varying stages of AMD.

• The strongest results occurred in participants who already had more advanced disease — The study found that the greatest benefit occurred in people with intermediate AMD or advanced AMD in one eye. For this group, the combination of antioxidants and zinc reduced the risk of progressing to advanced AMD by about 25% and lowered the risk of vision loss by about 19%.

Those percentages are relative, meaning they describe how much lower the risk was in the treated group compared with the placebo group — not a 25% chance of holding on to your vision. They also apply only to people who were already at high risk when the study began.*

In contrast, participants with no AMD or only early disease didn’t experience the same measurable benefit. These findings positioned the AREDS formula as a targeted intervention for people at highest risk, not a preventive supplement for the general population.

• Combining antioxidants with zinc worked better than using either treatment alone — Researchers compared four treatment strategies and found a clear pattern. Zinc on its own did show a benefit, but only in the group at highest risk — and even there, the finding was borderline. Antioxidant vitamins, on their own, never produced a result the researchers could separate from chance.

The combination of antioxidants and zinc consistently produced the greatest benefit, outperforming either approach by itself.

Participants receiving the combined formula had the lowest likelihood of progressing to advanced AMD, while those receiving the placebo had the highest risk. The results led the researchers to recommend the combination rather than either component alone. The trial was not designed to formally test how the nutrients interact with one another.

• The researchers tested one precise formula instead of general vitamin use — The benefits came from a carefully standardized combination consisting of 500 milligrams (mg) of vitamin C, 400 international units of vitamin E, 15 mg of beta-carotene, 80 mg of zinc as zinc oxide, and 2 mg of copper as cupric oxide.

That zinc dose is far above ordinary intake — the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is 11 mg daily for men and 8 mg for women, and the Tolerable Upper Intake Level for adults is 40 mg daily.4 It was a deliberately high research dose given under trial supervision, not a general intake recommendation.

Copper was included as a precaution, because high-dose zinc can interfere with copper absorption. In AREDS, annual blood sampling in a subset of participants showed no increased risk of copper-deficient anemia in those assigned to zinc.

The study also found that nearly two-thirds of participants already took a daily multivitamin, yet those at high risk still received additional protection from the AREDS formula beyond what a standard multivitamin provided. Because the multivitamin offered in the trial also contained 15 mg of zinc, some participants were taking as much as 95 mg of zinc daily.

• The study also clarified what the formula didn’t accomplish — Although the nutrient combination slowed progression to advanced AMD, it didn’t restore vision that had already been lost. The researchers also evaluated cataracts and found that participants taking zinc alone, antioxidants alone, or the combined formula developed cataracts at approximately the same rate as those taking the placebo.

These findings narrowed the role of the formula to one specific purpose — slowing progression to advanced AMD in people already at elevated risk.

• Long-term treatment proved generally safe but still required important precautions — Researchers monitored participants throughout the seven-year study for adverse effects and reported relatively few serious problems overall.

However, about 7.5% of participants receiving zinc-containing treatments experienced urinary tract conditions requiring hospitalization compared with 5% of those who didn’t receive zinc. That difference was statistically significant , and it was larger among men considered alone (8.6% versus 4.4%).

Mild anemia also occurred somewhat more often in participants taking zinc, although laboratory testing didn’t show meaningful differences between treatment groups. The researchers also highlighted an important safety concern regarding beta-carotene, noting its association with increased lung cancer risk in smokers. That finding eventually led to updated AREDS2 formulations that replaced beta-carotene with lutein and zeaxanthin.

In AREDS2, current smokers were excluded from beta-carotene randomization, and the excess lung cancers that were observed occurred mostly in former smokers (23 cases versus 11 cases).

• A follow-up trial updated the original formula based on what the first study revealed — The AREDS2 study, completed in 2013, made three key changes.5 Researchers replaced beta-carotene with 10 mg of lutein and 2 mg of zeaxanthin, two carotenoids that naturally concentrate in the macula. They also tested whether reducing the zinc dose from 80 mg to 25 mg affected the formula’s effectiveness and found that the lower dose provided similar protection against progression to advanced AMD.

There was no statistically significant difference between the two doses, and the review authors note that this raises a reasonable question about whether the higher dose is still warranted.6

The study also evaluated omega-3 fatty acids but found they didn’t provide additional benefit when added to the formula. Today, most eye health supplements sold as “AREDS” formulas are based on the AREDS2 formulation, making it the version most people are likely to encounter.

The AREDS trial indicated that a zinc-containing formula helped slow disease progression, but it didn’t explain why the retina needs so much of it in the first place or what happens inside retinal cells when zinc levels drift too high or too low. A comprehensive review of decades of laboratory and clinical research offers those answers.

  • These findings are from research conducted in clinical settings. Results may not apply to all individuals.

Researchers Found That Healthy Eyes Depend on Balanced Zinc Levels

For a review published in Progress in Retinal and Eye Research, researchers reviewed decades of laboratory research, clinical trials and population studies to understand exactly how zinc supports healthy vision and why it’s become one of the most important nutrients studied for eye health.7

The review summarized current evidence on how zinc functions inside the retina, how the body absorbs and regulates it, what happens when zinc levels become too low or too high and why researchers continue investigating its role in eye disease.

Unlike studies that focus only on people with AMD, this review also surveyed the literature on healthy eyes, inherited disorders, digestive diseases and other conditions that affect zinc status. The researchers concluded that adequate zinc is required for normal retinal function, while both deficiency and excess interfere with the cells responsible for healthy vision.

• The retina naturally contains some of the highest zinc concentrations in the body — Researchers explained that the retinal pigment epithelium and choroid — the layers that nourish and support the retina — contain the greatest concentrations of zinc anywhere in the eye. These tissues do far more than store the mineral. Concentration is not the same as quantity, though.

The review’s own accounting places the eye at under 0.01% of total body zinc, with most of the body’s supply held in skeletal muscle and bone.

Zinc supports hundreds of enzymes along with protein production, cell repair, communication between retinal cells, and the activity of protective enzymes that defend eye tissue against everyday damage. The review is careful to note that zinc is not an antioxidant per se — it does not participate in redox reactions directly, but stabilizes and supports the enzymes that do.

The review also noted that scientists still don’t fully understand every molecular pathway through which zinc protects retinal cells, making it one of the most actively studied nutrients in vision research.

• Zinc deficiency affected eyesight long before permanent damage became obvious — The review described several situations in which inadequate zinc disrupted normal vision. People with acrodermatitis enteropathica — a rare inherited disorder that impairs intestinal zinc absorption — develop eye abnormalities that are largely front-of-the-eye problems, including blepharitis, conjunctivitis, and corneal opacities.

In Crohn’s disease, reduced retinal zinc has been implicated in a bilateral maculopathy with vision impairment that was responsive to zinc supplementation.

Long-term intravenous nutrition has likewise been associated with impaired visual function and low plasma zinc, though the review does not report reversal with zinc replacement in that group. These are rare, severe systemic deficiency states, not conditions the review extends to well-nourished people.

Researchers also reported that zinc deficiency often reduced the eye’s ability to adjust from bright light to darkness, a process called dark adaptation. The clinical evidence here comes largely from people with alcoholism and hepatic cirrhosis, and the mechanism is indirect — zinc is a cofactor for the enzyme that converts vitamin A to retinal — so, these cases often require both zinc and vitamin A to improve.

When dark adaptation slows, driving at night or walking through dimly lit areas becomes much more difficult. Animal studies further showed that severe post-weaning zinc deficiency damaged photoreceptors — the specialized cells that detect light — along with the retinal pigment epithelium, although the same review notes that postnatal zinc deficiency on its own produced functional changes without visible structural damage.

The picture is not one-directional — in one rodent experiment, rats fed a low-zinc diet showed less light-induced retinal damage than those on regular or high-zinc diets.

• More zinc didn’t produce better results — One of the review’s clearest messages is that healthy vision depends on maintaining zinc within a normal range rather than consuming as much as possible. Laboratory studies showed that excessively high zinc concentrations triggered harmful chemical reactions inside retinal tissue by increasing reactive oxygen species, unstable molecules that damage proteins, fats, and DNA.

These were in vitro experiments on isolated retinal tissue exposed to zinc concentrations of 500 micromolar or more, which is far above anything produced by ordinary dietary intake, and not directly comparable to an oral supplement dose.

High zinc levels also reduced the activity of important antioxidant enzymes, weakening the eye’s natural defense systems. To prevent both deficiency and overload, the body relies on specialized transport proteins that continually move zinc into and out of cells to maintain a healthy balance.

• The foods you choose influence how much zinc your body actually uses — Researchers emphasized that eating zinc and absorbing zinc are not the same thing. Animal foods such as red meat and shellfish provide zinc in a form your body absorbs more efficiently than many plant foods. In contrast, phytates — compounds naturally present in whole grains and legumes — bind to zinc in the digestive tract and reduce the amount your body absorbs.

The review also found that dietary protein and natural organic acids such as citric acid improve zinc bioavailability, meaning they increase the percentage of zinc your body absorbs and puts to use. Because the body has no specialized storage system for zinc, maintaining a steady dietary intake helps support healthy zinc levels in the eyes and throughout the rest of the body.

• Your body carefully regulates zinc every day without you noticing it — The review explained that only a tiny fraction of your body’s approximately 2 to 3 grams of total zinc circulates in the bloodstream at any given time. Most of it is stored inside muscles, bones and other tissues where it performs essential biological functions. Specialized transport proteins in the intestines increase zinc absorption when dietary intake falls, conserving tissue zinc.

When intake is high, however, the review reports that the body compensates mainly by increasing how much zinc it excretes in stool rather than by absorbing less. So, a large supplemental dose is not automatically self-limiting.

At the same time, the digestive tract, liver and other organs continually recycle and redistribute zinc to maintain stable levels. This tightly regulated system helps ensure that delicate retinal cells receive the zinc they need while protecting them from the harmful effects of excess exposure.

• Researchers discovered that excess zinc released after nerve injury speeds optic nerve cell death — Research from a completely different corner of eye science reinforces why zinc balance matters so much. Scientists at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School were studying retinal nerve damage in glaucoma when they made an unexpected discovery about zinc itself.8,9

They found that after an acute optic nerve injury in mice, zinc flooded out of neighboring amacrine cells — specialized retinal nerve cells that communicate with retinal ganglion cells — within about one hour of the injury. Surprisingly, the zinc didn’t come from the damaged ganglion cells themselves.

Instead, excess zinc spread from surrounding cells and contributed to the death of retinal ganglion cells, the neurons that form the optic nerve and carry visual information from your eye to your brain. In laboratory mice, researchers removed excess zinc using a process called chelation, which binds and removes specific metals.

Ganglion cells survived longer and even regenerated after treatment, and the protective effect remained even when treatment was delayed for several days because zinc toxicity developed gradually instead of immediately.

These findings suggest that maintaining normal zinc balance is just as important as preventing zinc deficiency and raise the question of whether limiting excess zinc could help protect the optic nerve in diseases such as glaucoma. Note that this work has only been demonstrated in laboratory animals so far and has not been tested in people.

Protect Your Eyes by Supporting Them Every Day

Your eyesight depends on much more than a single supplement. Nutrition is one part of a long-term strategy to help your retina stay healthy for as many years as possible.

The research in this article shows that zinc plays an important role in normal retinal function and that a specific combination of nutrients slowed disease progression only in people who already had intermediate AMD or advanced disease in one eye. That makes it even more important to build a strong nutritional foundation before your vision begins to decline.

1. Build your meals around foods that naturally provide zinc first — Your body absorbs zinc from foods such as oysters, grass fed beef, lamb, and other animal foods more efficiently than from many plant sources. If you regularly eat these foods, you give your eyes a steady supply of the mineral they need every day instead of relying entirely on supplements. It’s usually best to meet your nutritional needs through whole foods whenever possible because they provide many nutrients that work together.

Next, understand the participants the studied formula was tested on. The research evaluated one specific combination of antioxidant vitamins and zinc in people who already had a high risk of progressing to advanced AMD. No benefit was observed in people with healthy eyes or early-stage disease.

The formula uses zinc at a dose well above the general upper intake level and was given under clinical supervision, so whether it is appropriate for you is a decision for your eye care provider based on your disease stage — not something to start on your own.

2. Avoid thinking that more zinc is always better — Your retina depends on balanced zinc levels. Too little interferes with normal eye function, while too much also disrupts healthy retinal cells. Stay within the recommended daily intake that was referenced earlier — 11 mg a day for men and 8 mg for women, with an upper limit of 40 mg for adults — unless your eye care provider has specifically recommended the AREDS formula based on your disease stage.

Higher doses aren’t automatically better; as the research in this article shows, excess zinc can damage the very cells you’re trying to protect. It is also worth knowing that when AREDS2 compared 80 mg of zinc against 25 mg, it found no significant difference in protection.

3. Help your body absorb the zinc you eat — If you eat large amounts of whole grains or legumes, remember that they contain natural compounds called phytates that reduce zinc absorption. Eating zinc-rich animal foods as part of a balanced meal helps improve the amount your body actually uses. Making small adjustments to your daily meals often produces more lasting results than focusing only on pills.

FAQs About Antioxidant Vitamins and Zinc for AMD

Q: Who benefits most from antioxidant vitamins and zinc for AMD?

A: The strongest evidence applies to people who already have intermediate AMD or advanced disease in one eye. A specific combination of antioxidant vitamins and zinc slowed progression to advanced disease and helped preserve vision in this high-risk group. The same benefit wasn’t seen in people with no signs of the disease or only early-stage AMD. The formula was studied at doses well above general intake guidance, so whether it fits your situation is a question for your eye care provider.

Q: Why is zinc so important for healthy vision?

A: Zinc supports many of the retina’s normal functions, including cell repair, communication between retinal cells and the activity of protective enzymes. Your eyes require a steady supply of zinc to keep these processes working properly, but research also shows that both zinc deficiency and excessive zinc disrupt normal retinal function.

Q: Is taking more zinc better for protecting my eyesight?

A: No. The research consistently shows that balance is more important than taking the highest possible dose. Too little zinc interferes with healthy retinal function, while excessive amounts increase oxidative damage and weaken the eye’s natural defense systems. The goal is to maintain healthy zinc levels, not simply consume more.

Q: Can I get enough zinc from food, or do I need a supplement?

A: Many people obtain zinc through foods such as oysters, grass fed beef, lamb and other animal foods, which provide zinc in a form your body absorbs efficiently. Supplements aren’t a replacement for a nutrient-rich diet. However, people with intermediate or advanced AMD who fit the criteria studied in the AREDS trial received the greatest benefit from the specific nutrient formula tested in that research.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Consult a qualified health care provider before making changes to your health regimen.

– Sources and References

Posted in Antioxidant, Eyes, Macular, Minerals, Zinc | No Comments »

Posted by: | Posted on: October 2, 2026

Your stomach cancer risk goes up with one “refreshing” choice

Reproduced from original article:
https://www.naturalhealth365.com/one-refreshing-daily-choice-sharply-raises-stomach-cancer-risk.html
by:  | September 30, 2026

sugary-drinks(NaturalHealth365)  About two out of three adults in the U.S. drink at least one sugar-sweetened beverage every day.  Whether the drink is a soda with lunch, a lemonade at a backyard party, or a “refreshing” sports drink after exercise, the habit rarely gets a second thought.

Yet fresh findings from two of the country’s longest-running health studies tie that single daily drink to a far higher risk of a cancer than most people would consider significant.

Just one drink separates high risk from low

Researchers at the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute analyzed 112,284 adults from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study.  Both studies tracked diet, lifestyle, and health for decades, and 278 participants developed stomach cancer along the way.  After adjusting for other risk factors, the team compared the heaviest and lightest sugary drink consumers.

The difference was significant.  People who drank at least one serving a day had 2.45 times the risk of stomach cancer compared with people who drank less than one serving a month.

Among women who drank more than one sugary beverage daily, the risk climbed to roughly three times higher.

Sugary drinks already carry a long rap sheet

Earlier research has linked sugar-sweetened beverages to colorectal, breast, and liver cancers.  Until now, however, almost nothing connected these drinks to stomach cancer in a population.  According to the researchers, this study is the first to show that link here.

Stomach cancer ranks as the fifth leading cause of cancer death worldwide, so the new link carries real weight.  Additionally, higher total fructose intake tracked with more stomach cancer, too.

Since fructose is the main sweetener in most of these drinks, the pattern points straight at the sugar.

The usual stomach cancer suspect was not behind the link

Infection with H. pylori, a common stomach bacterium, is a well-known driver of stomach cancer.  Naturally, the researchers wondered whether sugary drinks simply went hand in hand with infection.  In a subset of 940 participants with infection data, slightly more than a third showed signs of H. pylori.

Interestingly, sugary drink habits did not track with infection at all.  In other words, the higher cancer risk did not appear to run through the bacterium everyone already blames.  Instead, a daily sugar load seems to matter independently.

Healthy-looking bottles count too

Soda was not the only drink on the list.  The study counted carbonated drinks, punch, lemonade, and sports drinks as sugar-sweetened beverages, and many people consider the last two fairly harmless.  Sadly, a bright label and a fitness image don’t change what’s inside the bottle.

Because the study observed people rather than assigning drinks, the findings show a strong link, not proof of cause.  The team also had limited data on family history, and the number of cancer cases was modest, so larger studies will need to confirm the pattern.  Even so, decades of detailed tracking make the signal difficult to ignore.

Better choices start with what goes in your glass

Swap one sugary drink a day for sparkling water with fresh flavor.  Add a squeeze of lemon or lime, a few crushed mint leaves, or sliced cucumber to plain sparkling water.  The fizz scratches the same itch as soda without the sugar load.  Once one swap feels easy, try a second.

Brew a pitcher of herbal iced tea for the week.  Hibiscus, peppermint, and fresh ginger make bright, refreshing teas that need no sweetener.  Research suggests hibiscus tea supports healthy blood pressure, and ginger has a long history of soothing the stomach.  Keep a pitcher in the fridge so the healthy choice is also the easy one.

Feed your stomach lining with protective foods.  Broccoli sprouts are rich in sulforaphane, and human studies suggest broccoli sprouts can help reduce H. pylori activity in the stomach.  Garlic, cabbage, and fermented vegetables like sauerkraut add further support.  Meanwhile, colorful produce rich in vitamin C helps protect stomach cells from damage.

Read labels before you trust a “healthy” drink.  Look for added sugars listed as cane sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fructose, or fruit juice concentrate.  For workouts, plain water with a pinch of sea salt handles hydration for most people.

Cancer prevention that starts with the next glass you pour

Few people would ever connect a lunchtime lemonade to stomach cancer, which is exactly why prevention has to begin long before a diagnosis.  If you want to learn more, Jonathan Landsman’s Stop Cancer Docu-Class explores natural approaches to lowering cancer risk, including lab tests that can reveal early warning signs years ahead of a typical diagnosis.

Remember, the small daily choices in this study are just the beginning.

Sources for this article include:

Ghadvances.org
Sciencedaily.com

Posted in Cancer, Food, Stomach, Sugar | No Comments »

Posted by: | Posted on: October 1, 2026

Estrogen, Histamine, Serotonin, and Endotoxin with Georgi Dinkov


Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2026/09/29/estrogen-histamine-serotonin-and-endotoxin-connections.aspx

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola    September 29, 2026

Story at-a-glance

  • Estrogen accumulates in your tissues even when blood tests show low levels, leading to misdiagnosis and ineffective treatment
  • Hair and nail testing may reveal long-term patterns of hormone and mineral buildup, offering clearer insight into chronic symptoms like fatigue, infertility, and fluid retention
  • High prolactin levels often signal hidden estrogen activity and are especially important to monitor if your thyroid function is low
  • Vegetable oils, plastics, and many common household products contain compounds that either mimic estrogen or promote estrogen dominance by potentially disrupting thyroid function, impairing detox pathways, and contributing to chronic inflammation
  • Natural progesterone and liver-supportive strategies like collagen-rich foods may help reduce your tissue estrogen burden and support hormonal balance

Estrogen dominance is one of the most misunderstood hormonal imbalances in modern medicine — and it’s costing people their energy, fertility, and peace of mind. You might be told your estrogen is low because your blood levels look normal or even depleted. But if you’re still battling mood swings, fluid retention, fatigue, or persistent inflammation, something deeper is going on.

What most people don’t realize is that hormones don’t just float through your bloodstream — they get trapped inside your tissues. And over time, this hidden buildup of estrogen quietly may disrupt everything from your thyroid to your immune function. Worse, it often shows up alongside rising levels of histamine, serotonin, and inflammatory endotoxins, creating a biochemical storm that conventional lab testing often misses.

This happens in women who can’t lose weight no matter what they eat. In men who feel drained, anxious, and foggy but are told their hormones are “fine.” In couples struggling with infertility while chasing normal blood results. The pattern is always the same: The labs don’t match the symptoms, and the treatments fall short.

If your intuition is telling you something’s off — even when the test results say otherwise — you’re not imagining it. The key is knowing where to look and how to measure what’s really going on. That’s where bioenergetic researcher Georgi Dinkov’s work comes in. He’s uncovering a deeper layer of hormone disruption that could explain exactly what’s keeping you stuck.


Video Link

Estrogen Builds in Your Cells, Not Your Bloodstream

In the video interview above, Dinkov explained a significant blind spot in hormone testing: most doctors measure what’s circulating in your blood but not what’s building up inside your cells.1 Dinkov referenced a study analyzing hair samples from women, drawn from a cohort of 196 women ages 25 to 45.2

According to Dinkov, the study found that estrogen levels increased with age at the tissue level, while key protective hormones like progesterone, thyroid hormone (T3), pregnenolone, and DHEA steadily declined. Hair is made of dead cells and reflects long-term accumulation, which makes it a useful marker for what’s happening inside your tissues over months — not just in the blood for a single moment.

• Blood tests miss the full picture, leading to misdiagnosis — Dinkov emphasized that conventional lab testing fails to detect estrogen overload because blood levels don’t reflect what’s stored in your tissues. Even though your ovaries are failing and blood estradiol levels drop, every other cell in your body can still make estrogen — and they do, he explained.

This means that symptoms like fatigue, swelling, breast tenderness, and even breast cancer are often still estrogen-driven, even when your labs show low estrogen. Blood tests are only showing what’s circulating, not what’s stuck in your tissues, and that’s where estrogen may cause harm.

• Symptoms of estrogen dominance are wrongly blamed on deficiency — Many women are told they need estrogen replacement because their blood levels appear low. But Dinkov warned, “The most popular kind of breast cancer is estrogen receptor-positive. How can you have an estrogen-driven disease if you’re deficient in estrogen?”

He pointed out that tissue estrogen is often high in menopausal women, and that hormone therapy based solely on bloodwork often makes things worse. Estrogen dominance symptoms — like water retention, fatigue, insomnia, and infertility — aren’t signs of deficiency. They’re signs your body is overloaded, and your doctor just isn’t seeing it.

• Hair and nail testing offer a better picture of long-term hormone exposure — According to Dinkov, each half-inch of hair growth reflects about one month of internal biochemistry. This makes it a powerful tool for uncovering chronic hormonal imbalances. Unlike bloodwork, which only captures a moment in time and fluctuates wildly based on stress or food intake, hair and nail analysis shows trends, giving you data you can actually act on.

Tissue Testing Reveals Patterns That Explain Unresolved Health Issues

Dinkov described how many people come to his lab saying, “Something’s not right, but my doctor says all my tests are normal.” In many cases, he finds hidden overloads of estrogen, serotonin, or heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and titanium. Titanium dioxide is in many drugs and supplements, and even tiny doses may increase diabetes risk, he said. Because these substances build up gradually, they’re often missed by blood tests but are detectable in hair or nail analysis.

• Serotonin and histamine track closely with estrogen in stressed or inflamed states — Dinkov noted that elevated serotonin and histamine often show up alongside estrogen in hair and nail samples. These biochemicals all share overlapping pathways that reflect systemic stress and immune activation, he explained.

High serotonin levels are often falsely celebrated as good, but chronically elevated serotonin contributes to inflammation, suppressed metabolism, and gut dysfunction. Similarly, histamine overload mimics allergy symptoms or anxiety, but it’s often a byproduct of deeper biochemical chaos linked to estrogen overload.

• Declining thyroid hormone worsens estrogen buildup — Thyroid hormone T3 plays a key role in metabolizing estrogen and clearing it from tissues. In the study referenced by Dinkov, T3 levels steadily declined with age, right alongside progesterone and DHEA.3

This sets the stage for estrogen to accumulate, because your body lacks the metabolic drive to get rid of it. When thyroid output slows down, estrogen builds up faster, and has been associated with a range of effects, from low energy to mood instability to abnormal cell growth.

• Blood test snapshots miss the bigger picture — Dinkov shared that steroid levels fluctuate minute-by-minute, especially during stressful doctor visits. Some people get nervous and their cortisol spikes, others feel fine at the clinic but are actually under chronic stress the rest of the time.

What matters isn’t your hormone levels during a 10-minute appointment — it’s the pattern over weeks or months. That’s what hair shows you. With each strand, you can trace your biochemical state month by month, uncover what triggered past symptoms, and start making informed changes that actually match your biology.

How to Stop Estrogen, Histamine, and Serotonin from Hijacking Your Health

If your hormones feel “off,” but your labs keep coming back normal, it’s not your imagination — it’s the testing. What’s in your blood isn’t always what’s in your tissues.

Most hormone panels miss the estrogen, serotonin, and histamine that get stuck inside your cells, where they quietly may affect your energy, fertility, mood, and metabolism. If you’re stuck in that frustrating loop — bloated, wired, exhausted, or inflamed — it’s time to shift your strategy. Here’s how to get to the root of what’s actually happening and start undoing the damage.

1. Start with a tissue-level test and get your prolactin checked — If you’ve been told your estrogen is low but still feel estrogen-dominant, you need a better way to measure what’s really happening. Hair or nail analysis gives you a timeline of hormone buildup in your tissues, month by month, allowing you to track stored estrogen, serotonin, cortisol, and even heavy metals.

On top of that, check your prolactin levels. High prolactin is a marker of excess estrogen activity, even when your estrogen looks low on a blood test. If your prolactin is elevated and your thyroid is low, that’s a red flag your cells are swimming in estrogen. This step alone helps you stop chasing the wrong diagnosis and finally start correcting the right imbalance. Talk to your healthcare provider about whether this testing is appropriate for you.

2. Eliminate the things that mimic estrogen — Most people are unknowingly loading their bodies with estrogen-like chemicals from everyday products. Vegetable oils — like canola, soybean, and sunflower — are high in linoleic acid (LA), which promotes estrogen dominance by potentially impairing thyroid function, slowing estrogen detox, and reducing mitochondrial energy production.

Keep your LA intake between 2 and 5 grams per day — the historical norm before industrial seed oil consumption rose, and a level your body still needs for healthy mitochondrial function.

At the same time, ditch endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) lurking in plastics, personal care products, and cleaning supplies. Swap out anything with parabens, phthalates, and synthetic fragrance. Store food in glass. Drink from stainless steel or glass bottles. Don’t microwave food in plastic, and filter your tap water to reduce microplastic exposure.

3. Stop feeding the gut bacteria that keep this cycle going — Estrogen, histamine, and serotonin all get recycled and amplified in your gut, especially if you’re overfeeding oxygen-tolerant bacteria. Beans, leafy greens, cruciferous veggies, and whole grains all ferment quickly and feed the wrong microbes when your gut is compromised.

That drives more bloating, inflammation, and gas. If you have a damaged gut, focus on whole fruit and white rice, which digest cleanly without fermenting too fast. Then, gradually introduce higher-fiber foods that you can tolerate.

Avoid high-histamine foods (like fermented vegetables, leftover meats, or aged cheeses) while your system resets. You’ll also want to support liver detox with collagen-rich foods like gelatin or bone broth — this helps clear out excess histamine and serotonin before they build up in your tissues again.

4. If you’re using hormonal therapies, reassess your load — If you’re on estrogen-based hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or birth control, step back and look at the bigger picture. Bioidentical or not, you’re still adding to your estrogen load. And if your tissues are already saturated, more estrogen — especially without enough progesterone to balance it — just adds fuel to the fire.

Consider switching to natural methods that support your body’s own hormonal rhythm. If you’re in perimenopause or menopause, natural progesterone is especially helpful. It opposes estrogen, stabilizes your mood, and supports your thyroid. This isn’t about giving up support — it’s about choosing the kind that restores your body instead of flooding it.

5. Clear out the estrogen you’ve already stored — To lower your tissue estrogen load, support your body with natural progesterone. Progesterone acts as a natural antagonist to estrogen, helping to balance its effects. Given the tendency toward estrogen dominance, incorporating natural progesterone may help restore a more balanced hormonal ratio.

Once you shift your focus to what’s happening inside your tissues — and not just what shows up in your blood — you’ll finally understand why the old strategies stopped working. And more importantly, you’ll know exactly what to do next.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Consult a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health regimen.

FAQs About Estrogen, Histamine, Serotonin, and Endotoxin

Q: Why do my hormone blood tests say I’m low in estrogen, even though I feel estrogen dominant?

A: Because blood tests only measure what’s circulating at that moment — not what’s trapped inside your tissues. Estrogen often builds up inside cells, where it continues to exert strong biological effects. If you’re experiencing symptoms like fatigue, breast tenderness, water retention, or mood swings, you’re likely dealing with high tissue estrogen, even if your lab work says otherwise.

Q: How do histamine, serotonin, and endotoxin relate to estrogen overload?

A: These compounds often rise together and create a compounding effect. Elevated histamine and serotonin worsen symptoms like anxiety, gut issues, and sleep problems. Endotoxins, which come from gut bacteria, amplify the cycle by driving inflammation and hormonal disruption. Estrogen slows gut motility, which increases endotoxin exposure, setting off a cascade of biochemical stressors.

Q: What’s the most accurate way to measure what’s happening with my hormones?

A: Hair and nail analysis may provide a timeline of your tissue hormone levels over weeks or months, something blood tests can’t capture. This method reveals chronic overloads of estrogen, cortisol, serotonin, and even heavy metals, giving you actionable insights into what’s really going on inside your body.

In addition, prolactin is a useful marker of estrogen activity, since estrogen stimulates prolactin production. If your prolactin is high, especially alongside low thyroid, it’s a strong sign that your estrogen load is elevated at the tissue level.

Q: What can I do to lower my estrogen load and feel better?

A: Start by removing vegetable oils (like soybean and canola), which promote estrogen dominance, and avoid endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in plastics and personal care products. Support detox with collagen-rich foods and avoid high-histamine or fermentable foods that feed harmful gut bacteria. Use natural progesterone to help counter estrogen’s harmful effects and support hormonal balance.

Q: Should I be using estrogen-based therapies like birth control or HRT?

A: If your tissues are already overloaded with estrogen, adding more — even if it’s “bioidentical” — worsens the imbalance. Estrogen-based therapies should be reassessed, especially if you’re dealing with unresolved symptoms. Natural progesterone is a safer, more supportive option for rebalancing your hormonal ratio and protecting your thyroid and metabolism.

Posted in Endotoxin, Estrogen, Histamine, Hormones, Linoleic Acid, Serotonin | No Comments »

Posted by: | Posted on: October 1, 2026

Why Simpler Supplement Routines Make More Sense


Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2026/09/30/simple-supplement-routine.aspx

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola     September 30, 2026

Story at-a-glance

  • Every so often, someone takes an industry that had become cold and complicated puts the humanity back into it. The way we take supplements is overdue for exactly that
  • For decades, supplements were one of the least human corners of health, requiring people to take fistfuls of pills and capsules and maintaining a dosing schedule that was easily forgotten on a busy day
  • This article series has presented one idea from several angles: removing the burden that makes people quit, retiring the pill pile, abandoning the mega-dose game, and meeting the inevitable backsliding with forgiveness instead of shame
  • Underneath all of it is a single conviction: optimal health depends first and foremost on real food, and supplements designed to add nutrition to the meals you’re already eating is one of the most effective ways to improve adherence long term
  • The simpler and more natural a health routine is, the more likely you are to keep doing it. Complexity is one of the most common routine breakers

Every once in a while, someone looks at an industry that has become too complicated and decides it doesn’t have to be that way. Nest did it with the thermostat, turning a fussy household control panel into something people could understand at a glance.

The invention of GPS-enabled digital mapping revolutionized navigation. If you’re old enough, you’ll remember the multi-step procedure we had to go through: planning routes the night before, printing the turn-by-turn sheet, unfolding a map at a red light, or pulling over to ask a stranger for directions. Now you just enter a destination, and a voice guides you the whole way, rerouting on its own when you miss a turn. Now, anyone with a smartphone can drive to unfamiliar destinations without the hassle of getting lost.

Supplements have been waiting their turn. For as long as most of us can remember, they’ve involved remembering to take fistfuls of pills and capsules, turning into a clinical chore performed out of a sense of obligation to one’s health — and abandoned due to the complexity of the schedules and the busyness of modern life.

A supplement routine that only works when days are relaxed and organized usually ends in feelings of personal failure. But the failure was in the design, not you. And a design problem is something that can be fixed, which is precisely what we’re doing.

One Idea, Told Ten Ways

Everything in this article series has been a single idea told from several angles: by redesigning supplements to fit modern lifestyles, we can help people improve their nutrition and hence their health — as opposed to insisting that people just work on their willpower.

The hidden burden that makes so many people quit a supplement routine is removed, by design, because the research shows that complicated regimens and plain forgetfulness are among the biggest reasons people stop a daily routine, while a simplified one is among the strongest factors that keep them going.1

The fistful of pills oftentimes doesn’t fit the way people live, simply because they forget to take them when busy, and most days are that way. For many, a simpler food-centered model, where nutritional powder is added to food you’re eating anyway, is the answer to that dilemma.

The mega-dose game is also up for revision, as how much of a nutrient actually reaches you depends heavily on its form and delivery method, not the total dose.2 The psychology of why we quit is also being addressed by coming up with a routine so simple it can survive your worst days, anchored to something you already do, because a behavior repeated in a stable, everyday context is the kind that becomes automatic and lasts.3

Food-centered supplementation even tackles the self-blame that comes from backsliding. When you view a nutritional supplement as part of your diet, you’re less likely to view a missed dose as a personal failure. And without the self-shaming, you’re more likely to just pick up where you left off. As research has shown, treating yourself kindly after a slip is linked to better follow-through.4

The test every decision in this approach must pass is “does this fit the life of a busy, imperfect person?” When the answer is yes, the engineering has done its job — by disappearing into a routine so natural you barely think of it as a routine at all.

The Bottom Line

The whole article series comes down to this: a supplement only helps if you take it, you’ll only keep taking it if it fits your real life, and fitting your life is a design choice the industry has spent decades ignoring. We’re choosing to make it a central point instead. We want to make supplements you’ll use long enough for them to make a difference. We’ve been working toward this for a long time, and we’re glad you’re here for it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why do so many supplement routines fail?

A: Most fail because they ask too much of you. A complicated routine depends on a calm, organized day, and real life rarely works that way. When you have to remember multiple bottles, doses, and timing rules, the routine becomes easy to skip. A better model removes as much friction as possible so consistency feels less like a daily test.

Q: Why does a food-first supplement format make sense?

A: A food-first format connects supplements to the way you already nourish yourself. Instead of treating supplements like a separate clinical task, you add nutrition to a meal you already planned to eat. That makes the routine feel more natural and much easier to repeat.

Q: Are fewer pills really better?

A: Fewer pills can make a routine easier to keep. The point is not to remove useful nutrients. The point is to stop turning supplementation into a pile of capsules that feels like a clinical chore. A simpler format with fewer pills can help you stay consistent without relying so heavily on willpower.

Q: Why is the “mega-dose” approach being reconsidered?

A: More is not always better. The amount listed on a label does not tell you how much your body can absorb or use. Nutrient form, delivery method, and dose all matter. A sensible supplement focuses on what reaches you in a useful form, not just what looks impressive on the bottle.

Q: What’s the main takeaway from this article series?

A: A supplement only helps if you actually take it, and you’ll only keep taking it if the routine fits the life you live. Make it simple, food-first, and staying consistent stops being such a battle.

These statements have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

This article is for general education. The products described are dietary supplements intended to support normal health and wellbeing as part of a food-first lifestyle. They are not a substitute for a varied diet, a healthy lifestyle, or the advice of your physician. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or managing a health condition, talk with your healthcare provider before beginning any supplement.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Consult a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health regimen.

– Sources and References

Posted in Supplements | No Comments »

Posted by: | Posted on: September 30, 2026

Hidden heart problem brewing years before the first warning sign

Reproduced from original article:
https://www.naturalhealth365.com/hidden-inflammation-reshapes-the-heart-years-before-the-first-warning-sign.html
by:  | September 28, 2026

chronic-inflammation(NaturalHealth365)  Most of us imagine heart trouble arriving all at once, with crushing chest pain and a frantic drive to the emergency room.  Yet for many people, the real story starts a decade or more earlier.

A slow, low-grade fire burns inside the body without a single symptom, fed by ordinary pressures like worry, belly fat, and cigarette smoke.  Now, blood samples and heart scans from nearly half a million adults show what that fire does over time, and the heart muscle literally starts to change shape.

Everyday pressure leaves a physical mark on the heart

Researchers at Imperial College London examined health records from 488,079 adults in the UK Biobank.  The team followed many of them for about 15 years, measuring long-term inflammation with a blood marker called GlycA.  Unlike a quick spike from a cold or a cut, GlycA reflects a steady, simmering immune response that lingers.

The results were hard to miss.  People in the top fifth for inflammation faced a 43% greater risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, or heart-related death than people in the bottom fifth.  Interestingly, the danger stayed fairly flat at lower levels, then climbed sharply once inflammation passed the middle of the range.

A thicker, smaller heart has to work harder

Heart scans from about 70,000 participants revealed what that extra risk looks like on the inside.  People with more inflammation tended to have smaller heart chambers and thicker heart walls.  Their hearts also filled with blood less easily between beats.

As a result, each beat pushed out less blood, so the heart made up the difference by beating faster.  In other words, the heart was compensating, and compensation can hold for years before something gives.

Sadly, these changes often develop with no symptoms, which helps explain why so many people feel fine right up until a heart failure diagnosis.

Belly fat, cigarettes, and money worries keep the fire going

The team tested 177 lifestyle, environmental, and body measurements to see what drives inflammation.  Fat stored around the trunk had the strongest tie, followed by smoking, emotional distress, and financial strain.  Depression and the deep belly fat that wraps around the organs also ranked near the top.

Stress, in other words, kept showing up in different forms.  Frequent daytime napping also landed among the habits most tied to higher inflammation, while regular exercise and a healthier diet lined up with lower levels.

Put simply, several of the strongest drivers are things you can actually change, and quitting smoking remains one of the most powerful steps of all.

Your genes load the dice, but daily habits still steer the outcome

Genetics added another layer to the story.  Some people’s bodies reacted more strongly to smoking, excess fat, poor mental health, and hardship, while others seemed naturally more resilient.  Two people with identical habits can carry very different levels of inflammation.

Still, the researchers stress that genes or a hard stretch of life do not make heart disease inevitable.  Because the study observed people rather than testing a treatment, the findings show a strong link, not proof of cause.

Even so, inflammation responds to the same daily choices that feed the problem, and a family history of heart trouble simply raises the stakes on acting sooner.

Cooling hidden inflammation starts at home

Shrink the fat around your middle, one meal at a time.  Trunk fat topped every other factor, so trimming your waistline ranks among the most direct ways to calm inflammation.  Build meals around organic vegetables, eggs, wild-caught fish, and pasture-raised meats.  Meanwhile, cut back on sugary drinks and refined flour.  A brisk walk after dinner helps too, and research suggests steady movement lowers inflammation over time.

Give your nervous system a daily off switch.  Because emotional distress ranked so high, treat stress relief as heart care rather than a luxury.  Five minutes of slow breathing, a stroll outside, or a call with a close friend can help settle stress hormones.  Some people also turn to calming herbs like ashwagandha or holy basil (tulsi).  In fact, research suggests ashwagandha can lower cortisol in stressed adults.

Season generously with anti-inflammatory spices.  Turmeric, ginger, rosemary, and garlic all contain compounds that research suggests help calm inflammation.  Pair turmeric with a pinch of black pepper for better absorption, and add fresh ginger to soups or teas.  Oily fish like salmon and sardines, along with extra virgin olive oil, pair well with these spices.  For extra heart support, hawthorn berry tea has a long history in traditional herbal medicine.

Guard your nighttime sleep.  Frequent daytime napping often signals that nighttime rest is falling short.  Aim for a steady bedtime, a cool, dark bedroom, and dim screens an hour before bed.  Magnesium-rich foods like pumpkin seeds and leafy greens can also help your body unwind.  If you still wake up exhausted, ask a healthcare provider to check for sleep apnea.

Heart protection that starts long before the first symptom

Most routine checkups never measure the slow, simmering inflammation these participants carried for years.  That means the first sign of trouble often arrives far too late.

Sources for this article include:

Sciencedaily.com
Academic.oup.com

Posted in GlycA, Heart | No Comments »

Posted by: | Posted on: September 25, 2026

What years of nitrate warnings got wrong about your cancer risk

Reproduced from original article:
https://www.naturalhealth365.com/what-years-of-nitrate-warnings-got-wrong-about-your-colon-cancer-risk.html

by:  | September 23, 2026

nitrite-not-nitrate(NaturalHealth365)  Nitrate and nitrite sound like the same word split two different ways.  Most people treat them that way too, lumping beets, spinach, and cured deli meat into one vague category of “things with nitrates in them to worry about.”

But a 20-year Swedish study just drew a sharp line between the two, and only one side of that line came back looking dangerous.

What a large-scale, two-decade study finally revealed

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet tracked 82,009 middle-aged and older adults across two long-running Swedish cohorts.  Detailed food and water intake data were linked to national cancer records from 1998 through 2022.  Over that stretch, 3,170 people developed colorectal cancer.

Nitrate intake, abundant in leafy greens, beets, and drinking water, showed no association with colorectal cancer risk.  Nitrite intake told a different story.

Comparing the highest fifth of nitrite consumers against the lowest, men showed a 23 percent higher risk of colorectal cancer.  Women showed no such pattern.

Why the same word splits into two very different foods

Nitrate occurs naturally in soil and is absorbed by plants as they grow.  That’s why vegetables carry most of the nitrate in a typical diet.  Nitrite works differently, entering the diet mainly as a food additive used to fight bacterial growth and preserve color in bacon, hot dogs, and deli meats.

The body does convert some dietary nitrate into nitrite naturally, so the split isn’t absolute.  Yet the surrounding context matters enormously.  Vegetables arrive bundled with vitamin C, polyphenols, and fiber.  Those compounds appear to block the chemical reaction that forms N-nitroso compounds, which turn nitrite dangerous in the gut.

Processed meat offers none of that protective packaging.

A risk that landed in one specific spot

The men who developed colorectal cancer from higher nitrite intake didn’t show risk spread evenly across the colon.  Distal colon cancer, the section closest to the rectum, carried the strongest link.  Men at the highest nitrite intake level faced a 50 percent higher risk there specifically.

That specificity matters.  A risk concentrated in one anatomical location, rather than scattered everywhere at once, points toward a genuine local exposure effect.

Everyday sources of nitrite hiding in plain sight

A handful of common foods carry meaningful nitrite loads that rarely get flagged as part of any colon cancer conversation.

Bacon, hot dogs, and deli meats top the list, since curing salts containing sodium nitrite are standard across the processed meat industry.  Some pepperoni and salami varieties carry particularly high concentrations, given how heavily cured meats depend on nitrite for both safety and shelf-stable color.

Certain canned meat products use the same curing chemistry, often without shoppers realizing the connection.  Even some plant-based deli alternatives use added nitrite to mimic the color and preservation of traditional cured meat.

An open question about why men and not women

Researchers found this nitrite association in men but not women, a pattern they flagged as worth further study rather than fully explained.  Differences in typical processed meat intake between the sexes remain one possibility.  Hormonal factors affecting how the gut handles N-nitroso compounds, along with differences in statistical power, remain two more possibilities.

Whatever eventually explains that split, the practical takeaway doesn’t depend on solving that question first.  Cutting back on nitrite-heavy processed meat benefits colon health no matter which biological pathway turns out to matter most.

Practical ways to cut nitrite without cutting vegetables

Keep eating organic nitrate-rich vegetables without hesitation.  Spinach, beets, arugula, and lettuce showed zero association with colorectal cancer risk here.  Their fiber and antioxidants actively work against the compounds that make nitrite risky elsewhere.

Limit processed meat to an occasional food rather than a daily staple.  Swapping in fresh organic poultry, fish, or plant proteins on most days directly reduces nitrite exposure at the source.

Pair any processed meat that lands on the plate with vitamin C-rich foods.  Citrus, bell peppers, and tomatoes eaten alongside cured meat may help block the same nitrosation reaction that vegetables’ own antioxidants interrupt.

The nitrate scare gets replaced with something more precise

Public concern about nitrates has circulated for years without much precision about which compound actually deserved the worry.  A far more useful distinction now replaces that vague worry.  The vegetables never needed defending, and the cured meat aisle deserves the scrutiny leafy greens have been catching instead.

Sources for this article include:

Academic.oup.com

Posted in Cancer, Food | No Comments »

Posted by: | Posted on: September 24, 2026

Ginger’s Many Evidence-Based Health Benefits Revealed

© GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC.
Want to learn more from GreenMedInfo? Sign up for the newsletter here:
www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/newsletter
Reproduced from original article:
https://greenmedinfo.com/content/gingers-many-evidence-based-health-benefits-revealed
by GaiaHealth     Published Oct 25, 2012

This article is copyrighted by GreenMedInfo LLC, 2012

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of GreenMedInfo or its staff.

Ginger's Many Evidence-Based Health Benefits Revealed

Not only is ginger a culinary marvel, its health benefits are stunning. It has been shown to be more effective against staph infections than antibiotics–and without the adverse effects.

Ginger’s culinary qualities are a delight, but its health benefits are simply stunning. It has been shown to be more effective against bacterial staph infections than antibiotics. It can kill cancer cells. Its anti-inflammatory effects are already famous. It can resolve brain inflammations, and ease or cure a variety of gut problems, such as ulcerative colitis and acid reflux. And ginger can even alleviate the effects of gamma radiation. What’s not to love about this incredible herb?

Standard in many kitchens and cuisines, ginger is the seasoning that gives life to a host of dishes. It’s been used medicinally for more than 2,000 years. Though best known for its gastrointestinal soothing effects, that’s just the beginning of its uses. The plant parts used for both culinary and medicinal purposes are the rhizomes, the root-like stems that grow underground. The primary plant used medicinally is Zingiber officinale.

Several compounds in ginger may be related to its health benefits, including shogaol, zingerone, and gingerols, which are similar to chili pepper’s capsaicin, noted for its pain relieving ability. However, as we’ve seen with separating aspirin from willow bark, trying to find the active ingredient in a herb and using it alone tends to both diminish its effects and remove the balancing components that can both increase positive effects and decrease or eliminate adverse effects.

Some information in this article is derived from studies that have isolated single ingredients, generally with the goal of developing drugs. Though this may be accomplished, a history of pharmaceuticals demonstrates that it is both hubristic to believe that nature will be improved and naive to think that isolating a single chemical can possibly be done without removing the balancing elements that mitigate against harmful effects. Nonetheless, such studies do help demonstrate that there is strong medicine in ginger.

Ginger’s Health Benefits

Let’s take a look at some of the areas that ginger has been shown to benefit health:

  • Cancer: Several studies have demonstrated ginger’s ability to defeat several types of cancer cells, including some of the most aggressive and difficult to treat: lung, ovarian, colon, breast, skin carcinoma, prostate, and pancreatic.(1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)
  • Diabetes Prevention: Studies have shown that diabetes may be both prevented and treated, along with the related abilities to lower blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood fats.(9,10)
  • Antiobiotic: Ginger’s antibiotic effects may be exceptional. At least one study(10) that compares the effects of ginger and antibiotics on Staphylococcus aureus and S. pyreus infections shows that ginger extract may be superior. The effects on drug-resistant infections are, as yet, unknown. Ginger has been shown to have an antibacterial effect on respiratory and periodontal infections.(11,12,13)
  • Antifungal: Fungal infections are among the most difficult to treat, and drug-resistant fungi have been developing. However, there’s no need to despair, as ginger has been found to have antifungal capability, including to drug-resistant forms.(14)
  • Ulcers: Intestinal ulcers can be prevented with ginger. There is a generally recognized acceptance now that the Helico pylori bacterium is associated with ulcers, and at least one study has shown that a derivative of ginger has been shown to inhibit H. pylori. One study has demonstrated that ginger can inhibit existing ulcers, too.(15,16)
  • Diabetes Complications: Complications of diabetes may be limited by ginger. Studies have shown that it may reduce urine protein levels, decrease water intake and urine output, and reverse proteinuria. It’s been shown to aldose reductase inhibitors, which reduce damage done by diabetes. Ginger can protect nerves in diabetes and lower blood fat levels. (17,18,19,20)
  • Inflammation: Inflammation is a serious problem with many chronic conditions, both in terms of causing them and causing pain, and ginger can be highly effective in managing it. Neurodegenerative diseases may be aided by ginger’s ability to inhibit nitrous oxide production and proinflammatory cytokines. Its antiinflammatory ability may be helpful in arthritis, cancer prevention, prostate disease, and general inflammatory processes.(21,22,23,24,25)
  • Gastric Distress: Ginger’s ability to ease gastric distress is superior, and it does more than simply ease pain. In a double-blind study, ginger capsules were taken orally in people suffering from dyspepsia with slow emptying of the stomach’s contents. It stimulated the emptying of the stomach without any negative effects. It has been found to have an antispasmodic agent, which helps explain some of its beneficial effects on the intestinal tract. As previously stated, it inhibits H. pylori, which helps prevent ulcers. It also protects gastic mucosa.(26,27,28)
  • Toxicity: Ginger helps prevent the toxic effects of a wide array of substances, including the pesticide lindane, a cancer drug, the chemical bromobenzene, and the excitotoxin monosodium glutamate (MSG). Lindane was shown to modulate oxidative stress in rats exposed to the pesticide lindane, a neurotoxin, simply by adding it to their diet. The cancer drug doxorubicin damages kidneys, but ginger has been shown to help alleviate the harm. Brombozene is highly toxic, used in chemical reactions, and can rapidly damage the liver and nervous system. Ginger has been shown to alleviate its liver damage. Ginger extract has been shown to protect against MSG nerve damage.29,30,31,32)
  • Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (Fructose Damage): Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NFLD) has a variety of causes, but it’s now on the increase because of the prevalence of fructose as a sweetener. Research on ginger’s function with regard to NFLD is in the very early stages. However, NFLD is known to be associated with dyslipidemia and excess triglycerides in the liver. Ginger may help this condition by lowering serum cholesterol. Research showing this is very new, published just this year, so it’s hardly definitive. However, ginger does appear to hold promise as a treatment for NFLD.(33)
  • Heartworms in Dogs: Dirofilaria immitis, heartworms, are a common canine infection. The standard medical treatments are risky, frequently causing neurological disorders and circulatory collapse. Resistance to them is also developing. It’s therefore quite fortunate that ginger has been shown to be effective against heartworms. The treatment that’s been tried is injections of the extract, and it does take time. However, after 55 days, an average 83% reduction, up to a maximum of 98%, was found. About half the dogs exhibited lethargy early in the treatment, but it’s believed to be a result of their bodies’ need to dispose of the worms, as opposed to an adverse effect.(34,35)
  • Menstrual Pain: A double blind study of young women suffering from menstrual pain compared with mefenamic acid (a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory marketed as Ponstel), ibuprofen, ginger powder in capsules, and placebo was performed. Ginger was found to be as effective as both mefenamic acid and ibuprofen.(36)
  • Radiation: With radiation in the news lately, it’s wonderful to learn that ginger has been proven to provide significant benefit against it. One study has demonstrated that it can help prevent vomiting and taste distortion associated with radiation poisoning. Another study administered high doses of ginger extract to mice before their exposure to gamma radiation, and compared them to mice that had received only distilled water before exposure. It reduced the severity of symptoms and mortality. They were protected from gastrointestinal and bone-marrow-related deaths. It’s interesting to note that treatment after exposure provided no benefit.(37,38)
  • Gout, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Knee Osteoarthritis, and Indomethacin: Indomethacin is an anti-inflammatory drug commonly used to treat the pain from inflammation of gout, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis of the knee. Studies comparing the effect of ginger extract with indomethacin consistently show that ginger is, at a minimum, just as effective, and sometimes even more than indomethacin. Since indomethacin’s adverse effects include renal insufficiency in 40% of the people who take it, jaundice in 10%, headaches in 12%, and elevations in liver function tests indicating harm to the liver, plus a host of other nasty problems, it’s difficult to imagine any legitimate reason for doctors prescribing the drug when they could simply have their patients take ginger extract.(39,40,41)
  • Nausea and Motion Sickness: Ginger has been well studied for its classic ability to ease nausea in all sorts of situations. It has long been used for motion and sea sickness. Studies have been done both to ascertain whether it’s effective–which, of course, it is–and also to try to figure out how it works. Morning sickness, nausea, during pregnancy causes misery for a lot of women. Women suffering from morning sickness were given beverages with ginger during the first trimester of pregnancy and compared with women given placebo. Ginger alleviated the nausea in a highly significant percentage of the women. A trial of taking ginger and protein after chemotherapy demonstrated that patients were able to lessen their intake of anti-emetic medications.(42,43,44,45)
  • Bacterial Diarrhea: The primary cause of death in young children in developing countries is bacterial-induced diarrhea. The bacteria don’t cause it directly. The toxins they release do. Zingerone, a compound found in ginger, binds the toxin so that it cannot interact with the gut, thus preventing diarrhea and the resultant death. The standard treatment now is antibiotics coupled with electrolyte replacement, which would indicate that the antibiotics are not particularly effective. Since the long term effects of antibiotics are now known to be disastrous and antibiotics are expensive, it’s hard to imagine a legitimate reason for not implementing large-scale trials of ginger on children suffering from bacterial diarrhea.(46)
  • Other Benefits: The benefits of ginger are amazing, and they don’t stop with the ones listed above. Here, briefly, are a few more that have been studied:
    • Post-stroke neurological urinary incontinence can be helped with ginger-salt-partitioned moxibustion.(47)
    • Patients with hospital ventilator0induced pneumonia benefit from ginger extract.(48)
    • Trigeminal nerve pain is alleviated with a traditional Japanese herbal combination that includes ginger, Saiko-Keishi-To.(49)
    • Blood urea nitrogen, the BUN of blood tests, is markedly decreased by ginger extract.(50)
    • Cerebral ischemia, small stroke, causes brain damage, including memory loss. Ginger extract significantly reduces damage and alleviates the loss of memory.(51)
    • One study demonstrates that ginger extract may help prevent heart attacks.(52)

Astounding, isn’t it? The range and severity of conditions that ginger can help is stunning, and the degree of effectiveness is even more amazing. It’s time for modern medicine to take a step back and ask itself how it got on such a wrong track. When drugs and treatments that are less effective and also full of adverse effects are used instead of first looking to a natural treatment like ginger, then surely a wrong turn has been taken.

Adverse Effects of Ginger

Ginger is almost completely safe. It is possible, though exceedingly rare, to experience an allergic reaction associated with anaphylactic shock. Obviously, if that occurs, you should not attempt to take it again.

Ginger interacts with many drugs. In most cases, the effect is additive, not contradictory. You are told not to take ginger with these drugs–but frankly, one should ask why the doctor doesn’t start with ginger and add the drugs if needed. Here are some of the drugs involved, according to Drugs.com(53):

  • Any heart medication.
  • Diabetes medications, including insulin, glipizide (Glucotrol), glyburide (Glynase, Diabeta, Micronase), chlorpropamide (Diabinese), tolbutamide (Orinase), tolazamide (Tolinase), troglitazone (Rezulin), rosiglitazone (Avandia), repaglinide (Prandin), metformin (Glucophage), and others.
  • Warfarin (coumadin).
  • Aspirin or other NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), diclofenac (Cataflam, Voltaren), etodolac (Lodine), indomethacin (Indocin), meloxicam (Mobic), nabumetone (Relafen), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn), piroxicam (Feldene), and others.
  • Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) including ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, Nuprin, others), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn, Naprelan, Anaprox, others), ketoprofen (Orudis KT, Orudis), indomethacin (Indocin), etodolac (Lodine), nabumetone (Relafen), oxaprozin (Daypro), piroxicam (Feldene), sulindac (Clinoril), tolmetin (Tolectin), and others
  • Blood thinners, usually used for deep vein thrombosis (often during surgeries), including ardeparin (Normiflo), dalteparin (Fragmin), danaparoid (Orgaran), enoxaparin (Lovenox), or heparin.

Of course, if you take other herbs with ginger, be sure to check if they’re blood thinners. If so, you may need to stop either the ginger or the other herb. At least, add one or the other slowly to assure that there are no adverse consequences.

Forms of Ginger

In general, for personal use, there are two forms of ginger: extract and tea. Extracts may be purchased, of course, but be aware that there are two forms of extract, water and alcohol based. With many herbs, water based extracts are fine. However, alcohol based ginger extract has proven to be far superior over and over. Therefore, if you’re planning to use ginger extract medicinally, you should take the alcohol-based variety.

Ginger tea is a treat for many of us. You can buy ginger teas in tea bags, but they’re generally not as beneficial as making your own. It’s not difficult. Just follow these instructions:

Peel about a cubic inch of ginger. You may either slice it thinly or grate it. Boil it in about 1½ cups of water for about 10 minutes. If you wish, you could add a bit of lime or lemon juice. If you want it sweetened, add some honey or stevia. Pour into a cup and enjoy!

Everyone’s taste is different. This is a starting point. Use more or less ginger as suits you.

Natural Substances

Ginger2,579

Problem Substances

Aspirin115

Research Keywords

ginger benefitshealing foodsnatural health
GaiaHealth

GaiaHealth

Heidi Stevenson is Allopathy’s Gadfly. She’s an iatrogenic survivor whose prior career in computer science, research, and writing was lost as a result. She has turned her skills towards exposing the modern medical scam and the politics surrounding it, along with providing information about the effectiveness of much alternative medicine, without which she would not be here today acting as Allopathy’s Gadfly. Find her work on GaiaHealth.com

Posted in Food | No Comments »

Next Entries »