How Metabolic Health and Inflammation Influence Cancer Risk

Story at-a-glance

• Chronic inflammation and broken metabolism create the conditions that allow cancer cells to grow, spread, and overwhelm your body’s natural defenses
• Stress hormones like cortisol block glucose use and flood your system with fatty acids, forcing your cells into a backup energy mode that fuels tumors
• A combination of vitamins B1, B3, and B7 restored clean energy production in lab models, stopping tumor growth and showing promise for shifting metabolism back toward health
• Adding aspirin to this vitamin trio moved tumors from remission to complete disappearance in animal studies, with historical evidence showing these doses can be used safely
• Simple daily choices — such as reducing seed oils, supporting vitamin D, calming gut inflammation, and balancing hormones — help lower chronic stress signals and protect long-term health

Cancer doesn't appear out of nowhere — it develops in an environment your body has been shaping for years. One of the most overlooked factors is the way everyday stressors gradually push your system out of balance. When your body is constantly under pressure, the signals that control repair, growth, and immunity start working against you instead of for you.

You might not notice it at first. A little more tired than usual, a few pounds gained or lost without explanation, aches that seem to linger — these are all signs your body is stuck in a cycle of strain. Left unchecked, this state doesn't just wear you down, it lays the groundwork for serious disease.

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola

 

A Deep Dive Into Butyrate — Your Gut’s Powerhouse Molecule

Story at-a-glance

• Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) produced by gut bacteria that ferment dietary fiber. It serves as essential fuel for colon cells and maintaining overall systemic health
• Adequate fiber intake — around 30 grams daily — is crucial for butyrate production. Without it, your body burns stored fat and protein, creating disease-causing byproducts
• Butyrate strengthens your gut barrier, preventing intestinal permeability that allows harmful substances to enter the bloodstream and trigger autoimmune responses
• Research shows butyrate improves insulin sensitivity, reduces diabetes risk, lowers bad cholesterol, prevents colorectal cancer, and supports brain health
• Boost butyrate by eating fiber-rich foods, resistant starches, fermented foods and probiotics, while avoiding processed foods, managing stress, and limiting unnecessary antibiotics

Gut health is a cornerstone for optimal wellness, and one aspect of it that deserves more attention is butyrate. In a presentation titled "Butyrate: The Key to Optimal Health and Well-Being,"1 Indiana-based dietitian Dawn Boxell takes a deep dive into the importance of this crucial molecule, which is a topic I'm also passionate about.

Please watch YouTube video:

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2026/01/19/deep-dive-into-butyrate-guts-powerhouse-molecule.aspx?ui=2ce50f7b7b2c7e6a19036c1284fe1fe390cd9ed962c31382e75e2db3ca24d4bb&sd=20130819&cid_source=wnl&cid_medium=email&cid_content=art1ReadMore&cid=20260119Z1&foDate=true&mid=DM1870911&rid=482868240

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola

 

Stress Alters Metabolic Hormone with Health Consequences, Study Shows

Story at-a-glance

• Research from Columbia University shows that psychological stress changes a key metabolic hormone, linking emotional strain directly to energy production and overall health
• People with healthy mitochondria experience a drop in this hormone under stress, while those with mitochondrial dysfunction show an increase — demonstrating how cellular energy capacity shapes stress resilience
• Chronic stress overstimulates classic stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, disrupting blood sugar control, promoting fat storage, and exhausting your mitochondria — the engines that power every cell
• Social isolation and loneliness were linked to higher levels of stress-related hormones, suggesting that emotional well-being and physical metabolism are deeply connected
• Restoring mitochondrial balance through nutrition, regular movement, deep sleep, and meaningful connection helps calm stress chemistry, boost energy, and slow biological aging

Stress doesn’t just live in your head — it reshapes your entire body. Every time you feel anxious, overworked, or emotionally strained, your cells react. Hormones shift, energy production slows, and inflammation rises. Over time, those invisible reactions create measurable wear and tear that affects how quickly you age, how well you recover, and even how clearly you think.

Your mitochondria — the tiny power plants in your cells — sit at the center of this process. When they function well, you feel alert, resilient, and balanced. But when they falter, everything suffers. Energy crashes. Hormones go haywire.

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola

 

Calcium Supplements and Dementia 

Major Study Busts Long-Held Myth

Story at-a-glance

• Calcium supplements were long feared to increase dementia risk, but new long-term research found no connection between calcium use and cognitive decline, even among women with heart disease or prior strokes
• The 14.5-year study published in The Lancet Regional Health showed that calcium carbonate supplements did not raise dementia-related hospitalizations or deaths, dispelling decades of concern about vascular calcification or brain damage
• Your brain and bones rely on nutrient synergy — calcium works best when paired with magnesium, vitamin D3, and vitamin K2, which ensure calcium strengthens bones instead of depositing in arteries or soft tissue
• Keeping your calcium-to-phosphorus ratio near 1:1 is key for both skeletal and cognitive health, since excessive phosphorus from processed foods, soda and meat-heavy diets forces calcium out of bones and contributes to arterial calcification
• The safest way to protect your brain and bones is through whole-food calcium sources such as raw grass fed cheese, yogurt, and eggshell powder, paired with balanced sun exposure and nutrient cofactors that keep calcium working where it should

For decades, older adults have been warned that taking calcium supplements could harm their brains. Those warnings stemmed from small observational studies suggesting calcium might increase dementia risk by promoting vascular calcification or white matter lesions in the brain. Dementia, meaning a progressive decline in memory, reasoning, and behavior that interferes with daily life, affects 57 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.1

It’s a devastating condition that robs independence, identity, and connection — so it’s no surprise that any hint of increased risk sparks concern. Calcium, however, is not a nutrient you can simply eliminate. It’s the most abundant mineral in your body and foundational for bone density, heart rhythm, muscle contraction, and nerve signaling. You need enough of it every day, especially as you age.

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola