Reductive Stress — The Hidden Culprit of Chronic Disease - Discussion between Dr. Mercola and Brad Marshall

Chronic pain affects over 50 million U.S. adults, but research shows that pain resilience — your ability to adapt and stay active despite discomfort — matters more than pain severity itself Pain resilience acts as a mental shock absorber, helping people maintain physical activity even with significant pain, while fear of movement has weaker influence when resilience is present Five components define pain resilience. These are emotional self-regulation, psychological flexibility, self-care behaviors, religion and spirituality, and internal strengths like optimism, persistence, and problem-solving skills Building resilience requires practical daily habits, including consuming healthy carbohydrates for energy, training your brain toward optimism through reframing challenges, and learning new skills or hobbies Physical activity and quality sleep strengthen resilience. Walking around 8,000 steps daily improves metabolic health and pain management, while good sleep helps you handle stress

California became the first state in the U.S. to ban ultraprocessed foods from public school lunches under the "Real Food, Healthy Kids Act," but the full phase-out won't take effect until 2035 Ultraprocessed foods — packed with vegetable oils, additives, and refined sugars — are engineered to trigger cravings and disrupt metabolism, contributing to childhood obesity, insulin resistance, and fatty liver disease A study in JAMA Network Open found that preschoolers who ate the most ultraprocessed foods had higher body fat, larger waistlines, elevated blood sugar, and lower levels of protective HDL cholesterol The delayed timeline leaves millions of children unprotected for nearly a decade, underscoring the urgent need for parents to remove ultraprocessed foods and vegetable oils from their homes now You can protect your child's long-term health by replacing processed snacks with real foods, eliminating vegetable oils, cooking at home, reducing exposure to junk food ads, and teaching kids how to spot marketing tricks

New research shows that people with Alzheimer's have higher cortisol levels and a skewed cortisol-to-DHEA-S ratio, revealing that chronic stress drives early brain degeneration long before memory loss appears Cortisol, your body's main stress hormone, damages neurons and disrupts energy metabolism when it stays elevated, while DHEA-S acts as a protective neurosteroid that helps your brain resist inflammation and oxidative stress Bioenergetic researcher Georgi Dinkov connected these findings to thyroid and metabolic health, showing that when your cells don't produce enough energy, cortisol rises and accelerates cognitive decline Tracking your cortisol-to-DHEA-S ratio offers a powerful early warning sign for chronic stress and neurodegeneration, allowing you to take preventive action years before symptoms develop You can rebalance these hormones naturally by fueling your metabolism with adequate healthy carbohydrates, improving sleep and light exposure, reducing overtraining, practicing calming breathwork, and using natural progesterone to help quiet cortisol

A widely used grease remover and dry-cleaning chemical called tetrachloroethylene (PCE) has been linked to liver fibrosis, a condition that causes scarring and loss of liver function even in people who don't drink alcohol or have obesity Researchers found that people with measurable levels of PCE in their blood were three times more likely to have liver fibrosis, and for every tiny one-nanogram-per-milliliter increase in PCE, the risk increased fivefold PCE exposure often occurs through inhaling fumes from dry-cleaned clothes, contaminated air, or drinking water, and the chemical can also enter through the skin, affecting the liver, kidneys, heart, and nervous system Long-term exposure to PCE has been linked not only to liver disease but also to nerve damage, reproductive issues, and several cancers, including those of the bladder and liver, prompting the EPA to begin phasing it out Lower your risk of liver damage by switching to solvent-free wet cleaning, letting dry-cleaned clothes air out before use, replacing household products that contain PCE, and supporting liver repair through clean nutrition, hydration, and sun exposure

Pickleball's explosive growth has led to a surge in serious eye injuries, with emergency room cases increasing by 405 each year between 2021 and 2024 Most eye injuries occur in players over 50, whose slower reflexes and vision changes make them more vulnerable to high-speed impacts and falls The sport's modern paddles can launch balls over 60 miles per hour at the kitchen line — just 14 feet apart — leaving players less than half a second to react Despite the sharp rise in injuries, there are still no universal safety rules requiring protective eyewear in recreational or professional play Wearing shatterproof glasses, warming up, and improving balance are simple steps that protect your eyesight and keep pickleball fun, safe, and injury-free

President Trump's Executive Order 14212 established the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to address the nation's escalating childhood chronic disease crisis The MAHA Commission identified four key drivers of illness — poor diet, chemical exposure, chronic stress, and overmedicalization. It also introduced a coordinated national strategy built on research, systems reform, public awareness, and accountability In a recent report by Dr. Robert Malone, one of RFK Jr.'s appointed vaccine advisers, he explains that Congress must turn MAHA's executive directives into law to ensure the reforms become lasting national policy Malone categorized the MAHA legislative agenda into five areas of reform — addressing food standards, medical accountability, agricultural freedom, agency coordination, and government transparency To show your support, call or write your representatives directly, because real reform starts when your voice reaches the people writing the laws that shape your family's future

Exposure to artificial light at night disrupts your body's natural sleep-wake rhythm, raising your risk of heart disease, heart attack, stroke, and heart failure A large-scale study found that adults living in the brightest nighttime environments had up to a 56% higher risk of heart failure and a 47% higher risk of heart attack compared to those in the darkest settings When combined with air pollution, bright night environments amplify cardiovascular risk even more — nighttime light accounted for up to 39% of the extra heart failure risk linked to polluted air Nighttime light not only harms your heart but also increases the risk of mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and bipolar disorder, while reducing exposure to bright daylight worsens these effects Restoring a natural light-dark cycle — bright days and truly dark nights — helps regulate your hormones, protect your heart, improve mood, and reduce your risk of chronic disease

Antidepressants like SSRIs are strongly linked to hyponatremia, a dangerous drop in blood sodium that disrupts nerve and muscle function The risk is highest in the first two weeks of treatment, when sodium levels plummet to life-threatening lows that trigger confusion, seizures, or fainting Older adults, especially women over 80, are among the most vulnerable, with nearly 1 in 15 experiencing profound sodium loss after starting these drugs Symptoms of drug-induced low sodium often mimic worsening anxiety or depression, leading to misdiagnosis and unnecessary increases in medication Natural strategies like optimizing nutrition, restoring key vitamins and minerals, daily movement, sunlight exposure, and restful sleep offer safer ways to support mood and energy without creating sodium imbalances

New research shows that overall human performance — combining intelligence, emotional balance, and judgment — peaks between ages 55 and 60, making midlife a time of strength, not decline While mental processing speed slows with age, emotional intelligence, wisdom, and decision-making power continue to grow, helping you handle stress and relationships more effectively Your brain adapts by strengthening networks that regulate emotion and memory, allowing smoother coordination between thought and feeling for wiser, more integrated choices Eliminating seed oils high in linoleic acid (LA) and eating about 250 grams of healthy carbohydrates daily supports cellular energy and protects brain function Staying physically active, prioritizing sleep, and pursuing lifelong learning help maintain focus, clarity, and vitality — proving that your 50s and 60s can be your most productive, fulfilling decades

Rising salt levels in soil and water are destroying farmland worldwide, with 16.6 million square kilometers now salt-affected — an area roughly the size of South America Saline agriculture offers a powerful solution by using salt-tolerant crops, smart irrigation, and natural soil restoration methods to turn degraded land back into productive farmland Research shows countries like China, India, Pakistan, Argentina, and the U.S. have millions of acres suitable for saline farming, which could help feed hundreds of millions of people without relying on scarce freshwater Techniques such as gypsum treatment, drip irrigation, and phytoremediation — using plants themselves to absorb and redistribute salt — is helping restore soil fertility and protect food supplies These same principles apply beyond farms; by managing salt, adding organic matter, and choosing resilient plants, even home gardeners can help revive soil health and contribute to global food resilience