Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

Fear-based learning can intensify pain in people with IBD even when inflammation is no longer active, showing that emotional processing plays a major role in chronic symptoms
IBD patients in remission reported significantly higher pain intensity and unpleasantness compared to healthy individuals, despite experiencing the exact same heat stimulus
The brain can hold onto pain memories through a process called fear conditioning, which teaches the nervous system to expect discomfort even without a current physical trigger
People with IBD often feel isolated and emotionally overwhelmed due to unpredictable flare-ups, brain fog, shame, and the invisible nature of their pain
Therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy offer a promising path to reduce pain by addressing the brain's learned fear responses

Birth defects affect one in 33 babies, making them the top cause of infant death
A study published in Environmental Research found that real-world PFAS mixtures can disrupt placental functions during the first trimester of pregnancy
Other studies have also associated PFAS exposure with preeclampsia, changes in placental DNA, and nervous system defects during pregnancy
Sources of PFAS at home include cosmetics, non-stick pans, infant clothing, and certain clothing
Reducing PFAS exposure is challenging, but filtering water properly, making smart swaps in the kitchen, and opting for natural fabrics is a good start

New research shows that restoring glucose oxidation through the PDH enzyme — not burning more fat — is the key driver of meaningful and sustainable fat loss
Obese animals lost fat while preserving muscle once PDH activity was restored, revealing a metabolic repair pathway that supports long-term weight control and higher energy
Human muscle studies show that people with flexible fuel switching burn fat during fasting and glucose after meals, while metabolically rigid muscle stays stuck and promotes fat storage
Fitness-focused interventions improve insulin sensitivity by strengthening mitochondrial function and restoring proper timing between fat use and glucose handling
You can repair this system by lowering dietary fat, increasing healthy carbohydrates, supporting PDH with key nutrients, and using strategic movement to rebuild metabolic flexibility

About 13.4% of U.S. women of reproductive age struggle with infertility, leading many to pursue assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) like in vitro fertilization
ARTs help initiate pregnancy but raise concerns such as multiple births, high financial costs, ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, elevated stress, and emerging evidence linking them to long-term heart disease risk
A long-term study that followed women for 12 years found each additional ART cycle was associated with higher cardiovascular disease risk
The increased cardiovascular risk centered on pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis, showing that ART-related heart risk involves dangerous clot formation rather than gradual blood pressure or artery disease
Programmed frozen embryo transfer cycles showed stronger heart disease associations, highlighting that hormone protocol choices during fertility treatment can influence long-term cardiovascular outcomes years after pregnancy

Regular energy drink use pushes your heart and blood vessels into a constant stress state that medications and fitness can't override while stimulants remain in your system
Severe blood pressure spikes and dangerous heart rhythm events have occurred in people drinking energy drinks who appeared healthy and had no prior heart disease
Energy drinks stack caffeine with other stimulants and added sugar, creating a combined strain that overwhelms normal cardiovascular control mechanisms
Low cellular energy drives the urge to rely on stimulants, but energy drinks mask the problem rather than restoring real energy production
Removing energy drinks and rebuilding cellular energy through food, movement, and daily structure helps your heart regain stability and lowers real cardiovascular risk