RFK Jr. Questions Anxiety Medications as More Americans Seek Mental Health Treatment

Anxiety has become one of the defining health challenges of modern American life, and the medical system's primary answer remains a prescription pad. Federal data show that millions more adults now take anxiety medication than just five years ago, a trend that has drawn both public attention and political scrutiny.

The medications at the center of this debate work by altering brain chemistry to quiet the persistent worry, racing thoughts, and tension that define anxiety disorders. For some patients, the drugs deliver relief. But they also carry side effects that push a significant number of people to stop treatment, and growing questions about dependency, safety, and overprescription have reached the highest levels of government.

Story at-a-glance

• Anxiety medication use in the U.S. has risen sharply, with about 38 million adults now taking drugs for anxiety — roughly 8 million more than in 2019 — reflecting a major shift in how mental health symptoms are treated
• U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has raised concerns about the expanding use of psychiatric medications and directed federal officials to examine behavioral risks and withdrawal challenges linked to anxiety drugs
• Commonly prescribed antidepressants called SSRIs carry risks of side effects such as fatigue, brain fog, stomach upset, and sexual dysfunction that cause many patients to stop taking them
• Certain anxiety medications, particularly benzodiazepines such as Xanax, carry clearer risks of dependency because the body builds tolerance over time and higher doses are required to produce the same calming effect
• Lifestyle changes that address the root drivers of anxiety — including regular exercise, slow breathing techniques, reduced social media exposure, better sleep habits, and stronger social connections — improve emotional resilience without medication side effects

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola

 

Serotonin Is Both a Biomarker and Driver of Osteoporosis

Story at-a-glance

• Osteoporosis is driven by stress-related chemical signals, not just calcium loss, and these signals begin weakening bone years before fractures appear
• Elevated serotonin in your bloodstream acts as a hormone that directly accelerates bone breakdown while suppressing bone repair
• Women further past menopause show higher serotonin-related markers and faster progression toward osteoporosis, even when mineral levels look normal
• Stress hormones triggered by excess serotonin create a biological environment that dismantles bone to meet perceived survival demands
• Calming stress chemistry through sleep, nutrition, digestion, and gentle strength work shifts bone signaling from breakdown toward preservation

You're taking your calcium. You're doing weight-bearing exercise. Your doctor says your bone scan "looks fine for your age." Then one day you sneeze, turn the wrong way, or trip on a curb — and your wrist shatters. The ER doctor tells you it's osteoporosis, but here's what no one answered: what was actually happening inside your bones for the past decade while your scans still looked acceptable.

                              Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola

 

        A SHOCKER ABOUT NON-STICK PANS.😖

                              THE END!

 

Preservatives in Ultraprocessed Food Linked to Rising Cancer and Diabetes Rates

Story at-a-glance

• Before refrigeration, humans preserved food through drying, fermenting, curing, and pickling. These methods helped extend food availability without synthetic chemicals
• Industrialization drove the use of chemical preservatives like nitrites, sulfites, and sodium benzoate, enabling mass distribution while dramatically increasing synthetic additives in the modern food supply
• U.S. food regulations allow hundreds of additives that are banned in Europe, with loopholes that permit manufacturers to omit some ingredients from labels, limiting consumer awareness and informed choice
• Studies link higher preservative intake to increased cancer and Type 2 diabetes rates, showing dose-dependent risk independent of calories, weight, or overall diet quality
• Biological mechanisms include DNA damage, inflammation, microbiome disruption, hormonal interference, and insulin resistance, reframing preservatives as cumulative risk factors rather than ingredients that simply extend shelf life

Long ago, before refrigeration was invented, early humans preserved their food in different ways. One of the most common methods is drying meat, fruit, and vegetables under the sun. Pickling, curing, and fermenting were also used, depending on a particular culture's practices. All the same, the goal was to prevent their food supply from spoiling so that they didn't have to consume them immediately. 

                                               Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola

 

Seed Oils Linked to Early 20th Century Heart Disease Surge

Story at-a-glance

• My paper, Seed Oils as a Hypothesized Contributor to Heart Disease: A Narrative Synthesis, explains that heart disease was rare before the 20th century and surged only after industrial seed oils became a dominant part of the food supply, pointing to a long-term dietary driver rather than sudden biological failure
• Linoleic acid (LA) from seed oils accumulates in your tissues and oxidizes easily, creating inflammatory damage inside arteries that builds silently for decades before symptoms appear
• The rise in seed oil consumption preceded the explosion in heart disease by 10 to 20 years, matching the slow timeline of plaque formation inside blood vessels
• Even if you avoid seed oils at home, LA remains embedded in packaged foods and restaurant meals, creating constant exposure that keeps arterial damage ongoing
• Tracking and reducing LA intake transforms heart disease from an inevitable outcome of aging into a long-term process you can influence

Heart disease feels like a permanent feature of modern life, but it wasn't always that way. In the late 1800s, coronary heart disease was uncommon, and most people died from infections rather than chronic vascular problems. Today, coronary heart disease sits at the center of cardiovascular mortality, bringing with it chest pain, breathlessness, fatigue, and sudden heart attacks that often appear after years of silent damage.

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola

 

How Incorporating Fermented Foods Into Meals Supports Gut Health

Story at-a-glance

• Fermented foods help reshape your gut environment by delivering beneficial microbes and fermentation byproducts that support digestion, immune balance, and nutrient absorption
• Regular intake of fermented foods has been linked to lower levels of inflammatory proteins tied to chronic conditions such as metabolic dysfunction, joint discomfort, and stress-related health issues
• The fermentation process breaks down difficult-to-digest compounds in foods, which helps reduce bloating, improves food tolerance, and supports a stronger intestinal barrier
• Not all foods labeled fermented provide meaningful benefits, as pasteurization, vinegar acidification, and heavy processing often reduce or eliminate the biological compounds that support gut health
• Small, consistent servings of traditionally prepared fermented foods — especially when they replace processed foods — help restore microbial diversity and strengthen long-term digestive resilience

If you've tried probiotics without relief, cut out foods that still cause bloating, or wonder why your digestion hasn't quite recovered after antibiotics, the missing piece might not be what you're avoiding — it's what traditional diets included daily that yours doesn't. Fermented foods aren't supplements. They're how food was prepared before modern processing stripped away the microbial activity your gut evolved to expect.

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola

 

Statins, Cholesterol, and the Real Cause of Heart Disease

Story at-a-glance

Despite decades of statin use costing approximately $25 billion annually in America alone, heart disease remains the leading cause of death, suggesting the cholesterol hypothesis that drives statin prescriptions is fundamentally flawed

Studies show that lowering cholesterol with statins does not reduce heart disease, and yet these findings are ignored while statin guidelines are created by experts paid by pharmaceutical manufacturers

Malcolm Kendrick’s clotting model provides a superior explanation for heart disease: atherosclerotic plaques result from repeated damage to blood vessel linings which the body repairs with layers of clots

The medical establishment dismisses widespread reports of statin injuries as “nocebo effects,” paralleling how COVID-19 vaccine injuries were dismissed as “anxiety,” despite extensive evidence corroborating the injuries

The actual causes of heart disease — fine particulate matter from pollution and cigarettes, lead exposure, chronic stress, and endothelial damage — receive minimal research funding because effective interventions cannot be patented and sold as expensive pharmaceuticals like statins

Frequently in science, fundamental facts are altered to create a profitable industry. Recently, I showed how this occurs with blood pressure: rather than causing arterial damage, high blood pressure is a response to arterial damage that ensures damaged arteries can still deliver blood to the tissues.

In turn, rather than helping patients, aggressively lowering blood pressure can be quite harmful. In this article, I will look at the other half of the coin, statins, cholesterol, and heart disease — something that harms so many Americans, it was poignantly discussed by Comedian Jimmy Dore. The link is 

https://twitter.com/i/status/1833908586927501550

Analysis by A Midwestern Doctor