Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

Story at-a-glance * Research shows consuming more than seven sweetened drinks per week reduces sperm concentration by 22% and negatively impacts sperm count, shape, and movement * Higher intake of sugary beverages lowers testosterone and key fertility hormones while increasing DNA damage in sperm — making conception harder and raising the risk of miscarriage * Animal studies found that sucralose, aspartame, and saccharin reduce sperm count and harm the cells responsible for producing sperm and male hormones * Sugary and artificial drinks increase oxidative stress, aging cells faster. They flood your body with damaging molecules that wear down sperm membranes, disrupt energy production, and accelerate aging at the cellular level * Cutting out sweetened drinks, avoiding processed foods with hidden sweeteners, and choosing whole foods high in vitamins and minerals will help restore your reproductive health

Story at-a-glance * Eating more than 300 grams of ultraprocessed food per day significantly increases your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, regardless of your weight or calorie intake * Just one extra serving of ultraprocessed food per day, such as a granola bar or soda, raises your diabetes risk by 4%, and the risk climbs rapidly with each additional serving * Processed meats and sugary beverages are among the most dangerous categories, with deli meats increasing diabetes risk by 34% and sweet drinks by over 200% in some studies * Many “healthy” plant-based products are actually ultraprocessed and loaded with inflammatory vegetable oils and additives that disrupt insulin function and gut health * Cutting linoleic acid (LA) from your diet — found in vegetable oils in most ultraprocessed foods — is one of the most powerful ways to lower your diabetes risk and repair your metabolism

Story at-a-glance * Ultraprocessed foods are designed to melt in your mouth and bypass the need for chewing, which blocks your brain’s ability to register fullness and drives you to overeat * Food companies use sound, smell, appearance, and packaging to stimulate your senses and condition your brain to crave their products through a marketing tactic called sonic branding * Snack products are marketed to dominate your day — from breakfast shakes to bedtime treats — fueling constant grazing that rewires your brain and leads to compulsive eating * Seemingly “healthy” snack foods like veggie straws and protein bars are loaded with empty calories that trick you into thinking you're making better choices, when in fact they disrupt hunger and satisfaction cues * These foods trigger the same dopamine-driven reward pathways in the brain as addictive substances like alcohol and nicotine, which explains why it's so hard to stop eating them — even when you know they’re harming your health

Story at-a-glance * People with recent-onset tinnitus scored significantly lower on cognitive tests measuring memory, focus, and processing speed, even after accounting for age, stroke, diabetes, and other risk factors * Tinnitus hijacks your brain’s attention system, draining cognitive resources and making it harder to concentrate, switch tasks, or remember details * Women and those with lower education levels face a higher risk of cognitive impairment when tinnitus is present, suggesting certain groups need earlier intervention * Brain imaging studies show that hearing loss causes shrinkage in areas tied to memory and decision-making, especially the hippocampus — a key region also affected by tinnitus * You can lower your risk by avoiding loud noise exposure, improving sleep, boosting magnesium, supporting gut health with fruit and fiber, and calming your nervous system with daily relaxation practices

Story at-a-glance * The widespread promotion of vaccination is predicated upon having profound benefits and no risks. As vaccines frequently injure their recipients, sustaining this paradigm requires suppressing all evidence of vaccine harm and psychologically programming vaccine supporters to be incapable of seeing injuries all around them * Because of this, Senator Ron Johnson recently held a historic Senate hearing where discarded individuals with vaccine injuries could testify on their injuries * In many cases, these promotions have been directly tied to the CDC taking money from industry. Unfortunately, despite both CDC employees and members of Congress demanding investigations, the matter has been largely swept under the rug * The CDC delegates vaccine recommendations to an impartial panel of (paid-off) experts who consistently support vaccination. Recently, RFK Jr. replaced them with scientists free of conflicts of interest * At the first ACIP meeting, the CDC repeated its existing playbook, both making a number of truly remarkable statements defending the COVID vaccine at odds with public data, while simultaneously admitting they did not know numerous fundamental questions about the COVID vaccines that should have been figured out years ago. Fortunately, times have changed, and many immediately saw these lies for what they were