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Why I'm Rethinking the Way Supplements Are Delivered

Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

Release Date: 07/13/2026

The Role of Food Nutrients in Reducing Oxidative Stress Linked to Microplastics show art The Role of Food Nutrients in Reducing Oxidative Stress Linked to Microplastics

Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

Microplastics and nanoplastics are now found in food, water, and air, and research suggests they accumulate in organs such as the liver, pancreas, kidneys, and brain. Laboratory and animal studies indicate they may contribute to oxidative stress, inflammation, and insulin resistance in these areas The same biological changes linked to microplastic exposure are also associated with Type 2 diabetes, including impaired blood sugar control, disrupted gut bacteria, and metabolic dysfunction that develops long before symptoms appear In animal studies, nanoplastics, which are microscopic, crossed...

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Why Pills Don't Fit Modern Life: The Burden of Too Many Capsules show art Why Pills Don't Fit Modern Life: The Burden of Too Many Capsules

Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

The morning handful of capsules is a holdover from a slower era — nearly every other part of daily life has been simplified, but the pill routine never was The sheer number of capsules required for some nutritional supplement regimens is itself a barrier to long-term adherence Difficulty swallowing pills is far more common than most people assume, and larger pills are dramatically harder to get down — a common reason for why so many people fail to maintain their supplement routines Multiple daily schedules and travel make a pill or capsule routine fragile; it’s often the first thing to...

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Could Hydrogen-Rich Water Support Your Body's Own GLP-1? Here's What a Clinical Trial Found show art Could Hydrogen-Rich Water Support Your Body's Own GLP-1? Here's What a Clinical Trial Found

Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

In a small, eight-week trial, participants who drank 1 liter of hydrogen-rich water daily showed higher GLP-1 levels than those drinking plain water Participants who consumed hydrogen-rich water experienced substantially larger reductions in food cravings than those who drank regular water, which may make it easier to resist unnecessary snacking The strongest improvements occurred in physical hunger-related cravings, which may reflect an effect on the body’s appetite signals rather than simple appetite suppression, though the study did not test this mechanism directly Along with supporting...

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Why Plain Water May Fall Short for Rehydration After Heavy Sweat show art Why Plain Water May Fall Short for Rehydration After Heavy Sweat

Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

After heavy sweating, plain water doesn’t fully replace what your body loses because sweat carries away sodium, potassium and other electrolytes that are necessary for proper hydration, muscle function and recovery In a study of firefighters recovering from extreme heat exposure, carbohydrate-electrolyte drinks restored hydration more effectively than water alone, even though all participants drank the same amount of fluid People who consumed electrolyte-containing drinks remained less thirsty, retained more fluid and cleared exercise-related lactate faster, helping their bodies recover...

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An Arthritis Relief Strategy That Doesn't Come from a Pill Bottle show art An Arthritis Relief Strategy That Doesn't Come from a Pill Bottle

Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

More than 53 million Americans live with arthritis, yet regular physical activity is considered one of the most effective non-drug strategies for reducing pain, improving mobility, and supporting independence — without relying solely on medications You don't need intense workouts to benefit; even short bouts of walking, stretching, gardening, or other movement throughout the day help improve joint function and contribute toward recommended activity goals Strength training helps protect painful joints by building the muscles that support them, and blood flow restriction methods such as...

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Common Heart Drug Taken by Millions Found Useless and Possibly Dangerous show art Common Heart Drug Taken by Millions Found Useless and Possibly Dangerous

Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

A landmark trial involving more than 8,400 heart attack survivors found that beta blockers did not reduce the risk of death, repeat heart attack, or hospitalization for heart failure in patients whose hearts maintained relatively normal pumping function Death rates, repeat heart attacks, and heart-failure admissions were nearly identical between patients who took beta blockers and those who did not, challenging a treatment practice that has been standard for nearly 40 years A follow-up analysis found that women taking beta blockers faced a 45% higher risk of death, repeat heart attack, or...

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PCOS Has a New Name; Doctors Hope It Will Improve Care for Millions show art PCOS Has a New Name; Doctors Hope It Will Improve Care for Millions

Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

Doctors officially renamed polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) to polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) because the old name focused too narrowly on ovarian cysts while ignoring the condition’s widespread metabolic and hormone disruption Researchers found that insulin resistance affects about 85% of women with PMOS, including many women with normal body weight, helping explain why symptoms like acne, irregular periods, facial hair growth, and weight gain often appear together The condition is associated with increased risk of serious long-term health problems, including Type 2...

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Akkermansia, the Gut Microbe Drawing Research Attention for Health and Wellness show art Akkermansia, the Gut Microbe Drawing Research Attention for Health and Wellness

Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

Akkermansia muciniphila has been associated with improved metabolic markers and immune function in research, with studies exploring its role in obesity and Type 2 diabetes Research suggests Akkermansia may support intestinal barrier function, which has been studied in relation to inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer risk Research has explored Akkermansia’s relationship with the gut-brain axis and conditions such as anxiety and Alzheimer’s disease, primarily in preclinical models Akkermansia has also been studied for its potential role in stress-related research Akkermansia...

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Google Wants to Release 32 Million Sterilized Mosquitoes in California and Florida show art Google Wants to Release 32 Million Sterilized Mosquitoes in California and Florida

Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

Google-owned Debug has proposed releasing 32 million Wolbachia-infected male mosquitoes in California and Florida to suppress populations of Aedes aegypti, the invasive mosquito that spreads dengue fever, yellow fever, and Zika virus The released males don’t bite humans and are designed to mate with wild females whose eggs then fail to hatch, preventing more than 100 offspring from being produced from a single mating Public concern centers on the possibility of unintended environmental consequences, the difficulty of reversing large-scale biological releases and questions about the role of...

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Geranylgeraniol — An Overlooked Driver of Healthy Aging show art Geranylgeraniol — An Overlooked Driver of Healthy Aging

Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

Geranylgeraniol (GG) is a naturally produced compound that helps regulate memory, metabolism, inflammation, and cellular repair, but your body makes less of it as you age Researchers found that GG supports important cellular signaling systems that help brain cells communicate, form memories and adapt to everyday stress Low GG levels are linked to many of the same biological changes seen in aging, including declining cellular energy, insulin resistance, chronic inflammation, and impaired tissue repair In laboratory research, GG’s metabolite, geranylgeranoic acid (GGA), has been shown to...

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More Episodes
  • Supplements were never meant to be miniature drugs. They exist to complement a nutrient-dense diet, not to override a poor one the way pharmaceuticals are used to suppress symptoms
  • Compliance is the supplement world's quietest failure. Good intentions are common; the willingness to swallow a fistful of capsules every day is not, and a supplement sitting in your cabinet does nothing for you
  • For certain ingredients, I'm moving toward clean, sprinkle-on-food powders in foil pouches and canisters instead of capsules in bottles. When the supplement becomes part of your meal, taking it stops being another chore to remember. This is not a blanket rejection of capsules. Some ingredients genuinely need a capsule, a softgel, enteric protection, or a shield from oxygen, light, and moisture, and those will stay exactly as they are
  • I'm also rethinking glass. It sounds like the obvious premium choice, but in the real world it's heavy, breakable, costly to ship, and — like any bottle or jar — it lets in a fresh charge of air every time you open it. For several items in our line the better answer is aluminum-foil packaging: pouches and foil-lined canisters flushed with nitrogen and packed with an oxygen absorber and desiccant, which protects fragile actives far better than any bottle. That said, glass still has a place for certain liquid products
  • The most overlooked part of any supplement package is the closure. It decides how much oxygen leaks in and, for a powder, whether the pack can reseal — a standard zipper clogs on fine powder — while its liners, gaskets, adhesives, and inks can carry hidden chemistry, which is why we scrutinize every layer that touches or seals the product