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

 

Evidence Points to a Narrow Exercise Range That Protects Metabolism and Cognition

Story at-a-glance

• Walking 5,001 to 7,500 steps a day slows the buildup of tau, the brain protein linked to Alzheimer’s-related decline, helping you stay sharper for years longer
• Older adults with elevated amyloid — a key early Alzheimer’s marker — preserved memory and daily function far better when they consistently reached a moderate step range
• Even small increases in movement, such as moving from under 3,000 steps to 3,500 to 5,000 per day, deliver meaningful cognitive benefits without requiring intense exercise
• High-intensity training pushed healthy adults into metabolic dysfunction, reducing mitochondrial energy production by about 40% and disrupting blood sugar stability
• Finding your personal exercise “sweet spot” — enough movement to avoid inactivity without pushing into extreme training — protects both long-term brain health and daily metabolic balance

Alzheimer's disease quietly takes hold decades before the first forgotten appointment or misplaced word triggers concern. It's a disorder characterized by memory loss, confusion, shifts in personality, and a gradual erosion of independence, and when it progresses unchecked, it leads to severe cognitive decline and total reliance on others.

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola

 

Forever Chemicals' Linked to Threefold Higher Liver Disease Risk in Adolescents

Paste this link for the You Tube Video

                                                           https://youtu.be/HZbRgfVcBWA

                                                                            OR

                                                          ORDER IT FROM AMAZON

 

America's Favorite Cooking Oil Shows Strong Link to Obesity

Story at-a-glance

• Soybean oil dominates the U.S. food supply. Americans’ intake has increased from about 2% to nearly 10% of calories over a century, alongside sharp rises in obesity and diabetes
• A recent study published in the Journal of Lipid Research found soybean oil drives obesity independent of calories by generating liver oxylipins that track with weight gain, revealing LA metabolism, not food intake, as the key driver of fat accumulation
• Soybean oil promotes oxidative stress, mitochondrial damage, gut permeability, and long-lasting inflammatory byproducts that continue to affect your metabolism for years due to LA’s extended half-life in body fat
• Soy contains additional disruptive compounds, including phytoestrogens, phytic acid, enzyme inhibitors, lectins, saponins, and goitrogens, along with frequent glyphosate residues
• Reducing LA intake means eliminating sources of soybean and other vegetable oils from your diet, and replacing them with stable fats like ghee, tallow, butter, or coconut oil

From restaurant meals to packaged staples, soybean oil is almost everywhere in the modern diet. In the United States, it's the most widely consumed oil, with intake climbing from roughly 2% of total calories to nearly 10% over the last century.1 During this period, adult obesity has surged to more than 42%, while Type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders have increased in parallel.

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola

 

Gut Cure: How to Heal Your Microbiome and Reclaim Your Health from the Inside Out

Story at-a-glance

• My newest book, “Gut Cure: Stop the Rot, Restore Your Body From the Inside Out,” which comes out tomorrow, puts the spotlight on the modern epidemic of invisible gut dysfunction, and offers you a roadmap to true restoration
• Your gut microbiome acts as a command center for digestion, immunity, metabolism, and brain health; when microbial diversity drops, symptoms often go beyond digestion
• Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), especially butyrate, are essential compounds made by healthy gut bacteria that help repair your gut lining, calm inflammation, stabilize blood sugar, and support mental clarity
• Modern diets heavy in seed oils (including linoleic acid), emulsifiers, and ultraprocessed foods disrupt beneficial bacteria and reduce butyrate production, leaving your gut undernourished even if you eat “healthy” foods
• Simple changes, such as replacing seed oils with stable fats like butter, ghee, or coconut oil, can lower inflammation, rebalance your microbiome, and help your body begin healing from the inside out

You're active. You eat clean. You check ingredient labels, drink protein shakes, and track your macros. By all appearances, you're doing everything right. But deep down, something still feels off. You crash midafternoon, battle unexplained bloating, or struggle with joint pain that seems too stubborn for your age. You've tried taking supplements or changing your diet. So why are the symptoms still there?

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola

 

Butyrate — A Tiny Molecule with Big Potential for Health and Healing

• Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) produced when gut bacteria ferment dietary fiber. It provides energy for colon cells and offers health benefits beyond basic nutrition
• Research suggests butyrate helps manage inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) by reducing inflammation, improving symptoms and strengthening gut barrier integrity
• Laboratory studies show butyrate helps inhibit cancer cell growth and trigger cell death in colorectal cancer cells, with clinical trials exploring its use alongside traditional treatments
• Butyrate has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism in metabolic disorders, while also influencing appetite-regulating hormones
• Studies show butyrate protects against neurodegenerative diseases by reducing brain inflammation and enhancing neuronal repair and survival.

Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) produced in your gut when beneficial bacteria ferment dietary fiber, which your body cannot digest on its own.

As the primary energy source for colonocytes (the cells lining your colon), butyrate provides up to 70% of their energy needs.1 However, its benefits go far beyond just fueling those cells — it also reduces inflammation, strengthens your gut barrier and supports immune system balance.2 These properties make butyrate a promising molecule for managing a wide variety of conditions and improving overall health.

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola

 

The Keto HDAC Myth — How One Paper Misled Millions for a Decade

Story at-a-glance

• A 2013 Science paper claimed beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), the primary ketone body produced during ketosis, was a potent histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor with powerful epigenetic benefits — this claim became the foundation of the keto movement's health narrative
• A devastating 2019 head-to-head comparison in Scientific Reports found that BHB shows no detectable HDAC inhibition in vitro or in vivo, while butyrate (a different molecule produced by gut bacteria) demonstrates robust HDAC-inhibiting activity
• The bitter irony: ketogenic diets actually reduce colonic butyrate production by depleting fiber intake and diminishing butyrate-producing gut bacteria — the very diet designed to boost the "HDAC-inhibiting ketone" may be depleting the actual HDAC inhibitor
• While BHB has legitimate benefits as an alternative fuel source and GPR109A receptor activator, the widespread claim that ketosis provides "epigenetic therapy" through HDAC inhibition appears to be scientifically unfounded
• Oral butyrate supplements are largely ineffective because butyrate is absorbed in the small intestine before reaching the colon where it's needed — currently, no commercially available product effectively delivers butyrate to the colon

For the past decade, the ketogenic diet community has promoted a compelling narrative: that entering ketosis produces beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), which acts as a powerful histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, unlocking profound epigenetic benefits that explain many of the diet's purported health advantages.

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola