Top
Five Habits for a Healthier Life
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola Fact Checked
30 October , 2022
Video Link: https://www.bitchute.com/video/fw2lJAScKQSH/
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
· In my interview on “The Joe
Cohen Show,” I discussed several fundamental health principles that virtually
everyone can integrate into their lives to achieve better health
· Even small changes add up
to meaningful health improvements over time, especially when you know where to
focus your energy
· Eliminating vegetable/seed
oils from your diet and getting more sun exposure top my list of healthy habits
· Embracing time restricted eating,
which means limiting your eating window to six to eight hours per day, is also
important
· Exercise and protecting
yourself from electromagnetic fields round out my five top habits for a
healthier life
Looking for
straightforward advice to set your health on a path toward wellness instead of
disease? My recent interview featured on “The Joe Cohen Show” is for you. I
discussed several fundamental health principles that virtually everyone can
integrate into their lives to achieve better health.
It can feel
overwhelming to make positive lifestyle changes, but when you make them one
step at a time it’s much more manageable. The secret is that even small changes
add up to meaningful health improvements over time, especially when you know
where to focus your energy. Here, I’ve detailed several examples where a
relatively small “investment” in terms of lifestyle changes will lead to major
health rewards.
Five Tips for a Healthier
Life
1.Stop eating vegetable oils — Linoleic acid is the
primary fat found in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), including
vegetable/seed oils. It accounts for about 90% of dietary omega-6 intake.1 Examples of seed oils
high in omega-6 include soybean,
cottonseed, sunflower, rapeseed (canola), corn and safflower.2
Omega-6 is
considered to be proinflammatory because of the linoleic acid, which will
radically increase oxidative free radicals and cause mitochondrial dysfunction.3 While omega-6 fats
must be balanced with omega-3 fats to not be harmful, most Americans consume
far more omega-6 than omega-3.
Most of the
omega-6 people eat, including seed oils, has been damaged and oxidized through
processing. The oxidized omega-6 develops lipid hydroperoxides,4 which rapidly
degenerate into oxidized linoleic acid metabolites (OXLAMs). OXLAMs can cause a
host of problems in your body.5,6
·
Cytotoxic and genotoxic
·
Mutagenic
·
Carcinogenic
·
Atherogenic
·
Thrombogenic
Metabolic
dysfunction can also occur, while OXLAMs are also toxic to the liver and are
associated with inflammation, fibrosis and fatty liver disease in humans.7 As researchers
further noted in the journal Nutrients, “In addition, a few studies suggested that
omega-6 PUFA is related to chronic inflammatory diseases such as obesity,
nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and cardiovascular disease.”8
Linoleic acid
is found in virtually every processed food, including restaurant foods, sauces
and salad dressings, so to eliminate it you’ll need to eliminate most processed
foods and restaurant foods from your diet — unless you can confirm that the
chef only cooks with butter.
However,
because animals are fed grains that are high in linoleic acid,9 it’s also hidden in many
ostensibly “healthy” foods like chicken and pork, which makes these meats a
major source as well. Olive oil is
another health food that can be a hidden source of linoleic acid, as it’s often
cut with cheaper seed oils.
2.Get more sun exposure — You’re probably aware
of the many health benefits of optimized vitamin D levels. But an important caveat
is that vitamin D should ideally be obtained from healthy sun exposure, not an
oral supplement. Not only will adequate sun exposure naturally raise your
vitamin D levels to healthy levels, but it will provide a wide variety of other
benefits, many of which are only beginning to be understood.
Many people are
not aware that only 5% of your body’s melatonin — a potent anticancer agent —
is produced in your pineal gland. The other 95% is produced inside your
mitochondria — provided you get proper sun exposure. In fact, vitamin D is more
than likely a biomarker or surrogate for sun exposure, which is so intricately
involved in melatonin production.
During the day,
if you get enough sun exposure, near-infrared rays from the sun penetrate deep
into your body and activate cytochrome c oxidase, which in turn stimulates the
production of melatonin inside your mitochondria. Your mitochondria produce
ATP, the energy currency of your body. A byproduct of this ATP production is
the creation of reactive oxidative species (ROS), which are responsible for
oxidative stress and free radicals.
Excessive
amounts of ROS will damage the mitochondria, contributing to suboptimal health,
inflammation and chronic health conditions such as diabetes, obesity and
thrombosis (blood clots). But melatonin essentially mops up ROS that damage
your mitochondria. So by getting plenty of sun exposure during the day, your
mitochondria will be bathed in melatonin, thereby reducing oxidative stress.10,11
Getting more
sun exposure also goes hand in hand with eliminating seed oils from your diet.
The latter will dramatically reduce your risk of sunburn and skin cancer, as
susceptibility to UV radiation damage is controlled by the level of PUFAs in
your diet, almost like a dial. The PUFAs control how rapidly your skin burns
and how rapidly you develop skin cancer.
3.Embrace time restricted eating (TRE)
If you’re still eating three meals a day — morning, noon and night — you’re missing out on one of the most powerful, free health interventions available. TRE involves limiting your eating window to six to eight hours per day instead of the more than 12-hour window most people use.
When you eat
throughout the day and never skip a meal your body adapts to burning sugar as
its primary fuel, resulting in the downregulation of enzymes that utilize and
burn stored fat.12,13 As a result, you become progressively more insulin resistant and
start gaining weight. When you’re metabolically unfit, your body primarily
relies on glucose, or sugar, as fuel, instead of using fat as a primary fuel.
Even though the
fat is there in abundance, your body doesn't have the metabolic capacity to
access it. For most people, surplus fuel stored in your body is stored in the
form of fat. However, no one has more than about two days’ worth of sugar
stored in their tissues. This is why when you first start fasting, and you’re
unable to access your fat stores, you’ll quickly exhaust your sugar stores and
can experience low blood sugar.
It's not that
you don't have the fuel to generate, because your body can make sugar itself,
but that process takes a while to ramp up and, as a result, most people get
relatively hypoglycemic when they first start using TRE. You may experience
dizziness and fatigue as a result, which are signs that you're not
metabolically flexible. If you were, your body would have more than enough
capacity to produce all the fuel you need to keep your brain happy and healthy.14
TRE promotes
insulin sensitivity and improves blood sugar management by increasing
insulin-mediated glucose uptake rates,15 which is important
for resolving Type 2 diabetes. Another study revealed that eating all meals
between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. — instead of between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. — resulted in
greater metabolic flexibility, reduced hunger and increased sense of fullness,
resulting in weight loss.16
Ideally, you’ll
want to stop eating for three to five hours before bedtime, then start your
eating window in mid- to late morning after you wake up. Most people reading
this can benefit from embracing TRE; however, it isn’t recommended for people
who are underweight, pregnant or breastfeeding. You also need to use caution if
you’re taking certain medications, such as those for blood pressure or blood
sugar.17
Interestingly,
when you're metabolically inflexible and unable to use fat for fuel, your body
generates a molecule called acetyl-CoA when it’s breaking down fats — and that
happens to be one of the cofactors for your body making melatonin.
So when you're
metabolically inflexible, your body produces far less melatonin in the
mitochondria where you need it, because that's where almost all the damage that
causes cancer is caused — due to oxidative stress from the process of
generating energy within the mitochondria.18
4.Exercise often — Exercise is probably
the single most important “drug” we know of, and it’s a powerful intervention
to prevent Alzheimer’s, among other chronic diseases. One of the most
comprehensive studies to date of the molecular changes that occur in your body due
to exercise provided an unprecedented glimpse into the details of the body’s
physiological response.
It demonstrated
that “an orchestrated choreography of biological processes” occur, including
those related to:19
·
Energy metabolism
·
Oxidative stress
·
Inflammation
·
Tissue repair
·
Growth factor response
In all, 17,662
molecules were measured, 9,815 of which changed in response to exercise, with
some going up and others going down. Certain molecules also spiked immediately
after exercise then quickly dropped, while others remained heightened for an
hour.
“It was like a
symphony,” study author Michael Snyder, Ph.D., professor and chair of genetics
at Stanford University, told The New York Times. “First you have the brass
section coming in, then the strings, then all the sections joining in.”20
Even weekend
warriors who pack 150 minutes of exercise into two days enjoy lower all-cause
and cause-specific mortality rates,21 although I encourage
you to make exercise a priority on most days of the week instead. Along with
the well-known benefits to your heart, exercise is protective for your brain.
If you know
you’re at increased risk of dementia, for instance if a close family member has
been diagnosed, it’s even more important to adhere to a regular exercise
program. In seniors who are at high risk of dementia, cognitive decline can be
reduced with a comprehensive program addressing diet, exercise, brain training,
and managing metabolic and vascular risk factors.22
Exercise
initially stimulates the production of a protein called FNDC5, which in turn
triggers the production of BDNF, or brain-derived neurotrophic factor. In your
brain, BDNF not only preserves existing brain cells,23 but also activates
brain stem cells to convert into new neurons and effectively makes your brain
grow.
Research
confirming this includes a study in which seniors aged 60 to 80 who walked 30
to 45 minutes, three days per week, for one year and increased the volume of
their hippocampus by 2%.24 Higher fitness levels were also associated
with a larger prefrontal cortex.
5.Protect yourself from EMFs — Electromagnetic
fields (EMFs) are the cigarettes of the 21st century — and most people are
being exposed 24 hours a day. Most of the radiation emits from cellphones, cell
towers, computers, smart meters and Wi-Fi, to name just a few of the culprits.
Exposure causes serious mitochondrial dysfunction due to free radical damage.
Among the most common consequences of chronic EMF exposure to your brain are:25
·
Alzheimer's
·
Anxiety
·
Autism — One of my longtime mentors, Dr. Dietrich
Klinghardt, has linked autism in children to excessive EMF exposure during
pregnancy26
·
Depression
EMFs may also
play a role in heart issues and infertility.27 Research conducted by
the National Toxicology Program (NTP)28 also found “clear
evidence” that exposure to cellphone radiation led to heart tumors in the male
rates, along with “some evidence” that it caused brain and adrenal gland tumors
in the rats.29
While it's
nearly impossible to avoid EMF exposure completely, there are practical ways to
limit it. Given the number of EMFs that bombard you all day long, getting
educated about the negative effects of EMFs is imperative to your well-being.
Particularly if you are dealing with a serious illness, it is well worth your
time to reduce your EMF exposure as much as possible.
One strategy is
to connect your desktop computer to the internet via a wired connection and put
your desktop — and cellphone — in airplane mode. Also avoid wireless keyboards,
trackballs, mice, game systems, printers and house phones. Opt for the wired
versions. If you must use Wi-Fi, shut it off when not in use, especially at
night when you’re sleeping. Shutting off the electricity to your bedroom at
night will also help reduce your exposure.
I encourage you
to embrace all of these protective strategies that support optimal health.
These are just a start, as there are many others, such as use of a
near-infrared sauna, that will also protect your health and lower all-cause
mortality.
But remember, you don’t
have to implement them all overnight. With each small step you take to reduce a
toxic exposure or add a health-protective element — like more sun exposure — to
your day, the better your health will become.
Sources and References
- 1 Oregon State University Essential Fatty Acids
- 2 Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Feb; 21(3): 741
- 3 BMJ Open Heart 2018;5:e000946. doi: 10.1136/openhrt-2018-000946
- 4 BMJ Open Heart Volume 5, Issue 2. 2018
- 5 NIH. Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid and Nutrition in Human Aging
- 6 Biomed Chromatogr. 2013 Apr; 27(4): 422–432. October 5, 2012
- 7 J Lipid Res. 2018 Sep; 59(9): 1597–1609
- 8 Nutrients 2020, 12(11), 3365
- 9 Journal of Dairy Science January 2018; 101(1): 222-232
- 10 Physiology February 5, 2020 DOI: 10.1152/physiol.00034.2019
- 11 YouTube, MedCram, Sunlight: Optimize Health and Immunity January 21, 2022
- 12 Cell February 8, 2018; 172(4): 731-743.E12
- 13 Medical News Today February 8, 2018
- 14 Rumble, Children’s Health Defense, Good Morning CHD, Episode 82 July 22, 2022, 17:32
- 15 Science November 16, 2018; 362(6416): 770-775
- 16 Obesity July 24, 2019; 27(8), Abstract
- 17 Rumble, Children’s Health Defense, Good Morning CHD, Episode 82 July 22, 2022, 39:40
- 18 Rumble, Children’s Health Defense, Good Morning CHD, Episode 82 July 22, 2022, 20:14
- 19 Cell. 2020 May 28;181(5):1112-1130.e16. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.04.043
- 20 The New York Times June 10, 2020
- 21 JAMA Internal Medicine, July 5, 2022; doi.org/1001/jamainternmed.2022.2488
- 22 The Lancet, 2015; DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60461-5
- 23 Forbes Magazine October 13, 2013
- 24 PNAS February 15, 2011: 108(7)
- 25 Journal of Chemical Neuroanatomy September 2016; 75(Pt B): 43-51
- 26 Klinghardt Institute 2018
- 27 Environment International September 2014; 70C: 106-112
- 28, 29 National Toxicology Program November 1, 2018
