This documentary sheds light on the shocking truth behind the consumption of vegetable oils, revealing how they may be far more harmful to our health than previously thought. The film follows the history of these oils, their rise to ubiquity in our diets, and the serious implications for our long-term health. Let’s break down the key moments and insights covered in the documentary.

0:00 - The Switcheroo
The film opens by describing what the creators call "The Switcheroo"—a shift in public perception that occurred in the mid-20th century. Animal fats, which had been a dietary staple for centuries, were suddenly demonized, while vegetable oils were promoted as a heart-healthy alternative. This switch, the documentary argues, was based on questionable science and driven by powerful food and medical organizations.

1:52 - History of Vegetable Oils
The documentary delves into the origins of vegetable oils, originally introduced as cheap by-products of the industrial revolution. These oils, including canola, soybean, and corn oil, were never part of the human diet until modern processing techniques made them readily available. Despite their industrial beginnings, they quickly found their way into the food supply as replacements for butter and lard.

3:50 - Enter the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association (AHA) played a pivotal role in promoting vegetable oils as a healthier alternative to saturated fats. Backed by commercial interests, the AHA endorsed vegetable oils to help reduce cholesterol and prevent heart disease. The film points out, however, that this was based on flawed studies that failed to address the negative long-term effects of these oils.

5:27 - The Massive Increase in Vegetable Oil Consumption
Since the mid-20th century, the consumption of vegetable oils has skyrocketed. The documentary highlights data showing a dramatic increase in the use of vegetable oils in processed foods, leading to widespread exposure to their harmful effects.

6:06 - Is Vegetable Oil Bad or Benign?
While some argue that vegetable oils are neutral or even beneficial, the documentary challenges this notion. It raises questions about whether these oils are truly benign, pointing to emerging evidence of their links to chronic diseases and oxidative stress in the body.

6:55 - Why do some animals live longer than others?
In this segment, the film explores how the types of fats consumed by different animals affect their longevity. Animals that consume saturated fats tend to live longer, while those that rely on polyunsaturated fats—like those found in vegetable oils—show shorter lifespans. This raises concerns about how human health might be impacted by the widespread use of these oils.

7:51 - Vegetable Oil Stays in Your Body for Years
The documentary provides startling information about how vegetable oils accumulate in our tissues and remain in the body for years. These oils are stored in fat cells and can lead to inflammation and oxidative damage over time, contributing to the development of various diseases.

9:11 - Hidden Data
Throughout the documentary, the creators expose hidden data that was either ignored or suppressed by the food and medical industries. This includes studies that revealed the harmful effects of vegetable oils but were never given public attention due to commercial interests.

12:08 - Vegetable Oils are in EVERYTHING
One of the most alarming points is just how pervasive vegetable oils have become. They are found in nearly all processed foods, from snacks to salad dressings. The documentary emphasizes how difficult it is to avoid these oils, making it almost impossible for consumers to make informed choices about their health.

13:07 - Why Vegetable Oils are Bad for Health
The film explains that vegetable oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids, which promote inflammation in the body when consumed in excess. Chronic inflammation is a known contributor to heart disease, cancer, and autoimmune conditions. The imbalance between omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in modern diets is a key factor in the negative health outcomes associated with vegetable oil consumption.

15:04 - The Toxic Oxidation Products
When vegetable oils are heated, they produce toxic oxidation products, including aldehydes and other harmful compounds. These substances can damage cells, tissues, and DNA, increasing the risk of diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative conditions. The film underscores the importance of avoiding fried foods cooked in vegetable oils.

16:28 - How Vegetable Oils are Made
The documentary offers a detailed look at the industrial process used to create vegetable oils, which involves high heat, chemical solvents, and deodorizers. This process strips the oils of any beneficial nutrients and creates harmful by-products. The film suggests that these oils are far from the "natural" products they are often marketed as.

18:33 - Are Vegetable Oils Linked to Alzheimer’s?
Emerging research is exploring the potential link between vegetable oils and Alzheimer’s disease. The documentary discusses how the inflammatory and oxidative properties of these oils may contribute to the development of neurodegenerative diseases by damaging brain cells over time.

20:06 - Mitochondria, The Powerhouse of the Cell
The film highlights the role of mitochondria—the cell’s energy producers—in relation to vegetable oil consumption. It argues that the toxic by-products of these oils can impair mitochondrial function, leading to reduced energy production, fatigue, and an increased risk of chronic illness.

24:35 - Most Studies on Vegetable Oils Aren’t Long Enough
Many studies that claim vegetable oils are safe are often too short to capture the long-term effects of consumption. The documentary argues that because these oils accumulate in the body over time, their health impacts may not become apparent until much later in life. Longer studies are needed to truly understand the risks.

26:04 - Why Aren’t More People Talking About This?
The documentary concludes by exploring why the dangers of vegetable oils are not more widely discussed. It points to conflicts of interest in the food and pharmaceutical industries, where financial incentives often overshadow public health concerns. Despite mounting evidence, the widespread promotion of vegetable oils continues, leaving consumers unaware of the potential harm.


The documentary presents a compelling case against the consumption of vegetable oils, revealing the hidden dangers of these seemingly harmless products. From their inflammatory effects to their role in chronic disease, the film makes a strong argument for rethinking the way we approach fats in our diet. With vegetable oils found in nearly every processed food, it’s important for consumers to be aware of the potential risks and seek healthier alternatives.

Nearly 75% of US adults are overweight or obese, and 40% have pre-diabetes or diabetes. This widespread issue has led to increased interest in medications like Ozempic (Semaglutide), a GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonist.

Ozempic mimics the hormone GLP-1, which regulates blood sugar by stimulating insulin secretion and inhibiting glucagon release. It also slows digestion, increasing feelings of fullness and reducing caloric intake. This dual action helps improve glycemic control and can aid in weight loss. Efficacy varies among individuals; about 20% of users may not lose weight or may even gain weight. This is likely due to the fact that while for many people Ozempic reduces appetite, for some individuals Ozempic may lead to blood sugar that is too low, a condition known as hypoglycemia, which can increase cravings for carbohydrates and sugar.​

Ozempic has shown significant benefits for many, but it is not without risks. Known side effects include kidney damage, gastroparesis, gallbladder issues, muscle loss, nutrient deficiencies, thyroid cancer, and mental health concerns, including depression and increased suicidal ideation. Importantly, Ozempic is FDA-approved only for Type 2 Diabetes, not for weight loss.

​When discontinuing Ozempic, rapid weight gain, often termed "Ozempic rebound," is common. Studies show that within a year of stopping, two-thirds of users regain the lost weight, often ending up with a higher body fat percentage due to muscle loss (leads to lowered metabolic rate), poor dietary and lifestyle factors, and metabolic inhibition due to calorie restriction. ​

"With...[GLP-1]...treatments, there is a concomitant reduction in lean body mass, which seems to be in the range of 25%–40% of total weight loss." In other words, studies show that upwards of 40% of the weight lost on Ozempic isn’t the fat you’re hoping to bid adieu to – it’s muscle!

Additional Risks of Ozempic

• Pancreatitis (inflammation of pancreas): 9.09 times higher risk.
• Bowel Obstruction: 4.22 times higher risk.
• Gastroparesis (stomach paralysis): 3.67 times higher risk.
• Adipogenesis: Recent studies suggest that GLP-1 agonists can increase adipogenesis, the creation of new fat cells. While this might seem counterintuitive for weight loss, it emphasizes the importance of combining medication with lifestyle changes.
• Autoimmune Reactions: There have been reports of semaglutide-induced lupus erythematosus, which can involve multiple organs.
  
• Respiratory Risks: Some patients on semaglutide have experienced pulmonary aspiration of gastric contents.
  
• ​Appendicitis Risk: Emerging evidence suggests that GLP-1 receptor agonists, like Ozempic, may increase the risk of appendicitis.
  

Safety trial duration on Ozempic lasted only 30-68 weeks, so safety for use beyond this timeframe has not been evaluated.

For those seeking more advanced methods, peptides can be a powerful tool with fewer side effects than GLP-1 agonists. Some effective peptides include:

1. IGF-1 LR3: Increases muscle by stimulating hyperplasia.
2. Ipamorelin: Enhances muscle growth and suppresses hunger by increasing growth hormone secretion.
3. CJC-1295: Promotes fat loss and muscle protein synthesis by increasing IGF-1 and functioning as a growth hormone-releasing hormone.
4. Tesamorelin: Reduces visceral fat and stimulates muscle protein production.
5. 5-Amino-1MQ: Blocks NNMT, an enzyme linked to obesity, facilitating fat reduction and providing clean energy.

For injectable peptides, I recommend the companies Limitless Life or Peptide Sciences. If you're looking for quality oral peptide formulations, check out LVLUP Health.
​
Also, it’s important to understand that the best effects from any of the peptides listed above come via pairing them with a consistent weight training routine, adequate protein intake, and a physically active lifestyle. 
​

​While Ozempic has been demonstrated to mitigate blood sugar control and weight management, it's essential to weigh these against potential risks and side effects. Incorporating lifestyle changes and considering natural alternatives can help mitigate these risks and support long-term health. Natural alternatives and peptides can provide effective, safer options for achieving weight loss and muscle gain. Combining these with lifestyle changes is crucial for long-term success. Addressing the root causes of obesity through lifestyle changes is crucial for long-term health. Prioritizing physical activity, a balanced diet, reducing exposure to toxins, managing stress, and ensuring adequate sleep can significantly impact overall well-being and weight management.

Wadden, Thomas A. et al. “The Role of Lifestyle Modification with Second-Generation Anti-obesity Medications: Comparisons, Questions, and Clinical Opportunities.” Current Obesity Reports 12 (2023): 453 - 473. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-023-00534-z.
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Castellanos, Vanessa, et al. “Semaglutide-Induced Lupus Erythematosus with Multiorgan Involvement.” Cureus, vol. 16, no. 3, 1 Mar. 2024, p. e55324, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38559525/, https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.55324. 

Billings, Sabrina A., et al. “Rhabdomyolysis Associated with Semaglutide Therapy: A Case Report.” Cureus, vol. 15, no. 12, 1 Dec. 2023, p. e50227, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38192938/, https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.50227. 

Li, J, et al. “Case Report: Semaglutide-Associated Depression: A Report of Two Cases.” Frontiers in Psychiatry, vol. 14, 29 Aug. 2023, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10495976/#:~:text=At%20present%2C%20most%20reported%20adverse, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1238353.

Casella, Sarah, and Katelyn Galli. “Appendicitis: A Hidden Danger of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists?” ˜the œJournal of Pharmacy Technology, vol. 40, no. 2, 7 Dec. 2023, pp. 108–111, https://doi.org/10.1177/87551225231216638. 

Challa, Tenagne Delessa, et al. “Regulation of Adipocyte Formation by GLP-1/GLP-1R Signaling.” Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 287, no. 9, Feb. 2012, pp. 6421–6430, https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.m111.310342. 

Willoughby, Darryn, et al. “Body Composition Changes in Weight Loss: Strategies and Supplementation for Maintaining Lean Body Mass, a Brief Review.” Nutrients, vol. 10, no. 12, 3 Dec. 2018, p. 1876, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6315740/, https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10121876.

Wilding, John P. H., et al. “Weight Regain and Cardiometabolic Effects after Withdrawal of Semaglutide: The STEP 1 Trial Extension.” Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, vol. 24, no. 8, 19 May 2022, pp. 1553–1564, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35441470/, https://doi.org/10.1111/dom.14725.

Leehey, David J., et al. “Acute Kidney Injury Associated with Semaglutide.” Kidney Medicine, vol. 3, no. 2, Mar. 2021, pp. 282–285, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xkme.2020.10.008.

Bezin, Julien, et al. “GLP-1 Receptor Agonists and the Risk of Thyroid Cancer.” Diabetes Care, vol. 46, no. 2, 10 Nov. 2022, https://doi.org/10.2337/dc22-1148.

Jorn Trommelen, et al. “The Anabolic Response to Protein Ingestion during Recovery from Exercise Has No Upper Limit in Magnitude and Duration in Vivo in Humans.” Cell Reports Medicine, vol. 4, no. 12, 1 Dec. 2023, pp. 101324–101324, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.101324.

Technologies like cellular phones and wireless devices are ubiquitous in our daily lives, serving as essential tools for communication, entertainment, and productivity. In recent years, the proliferation of these wireless internet technologies has led to the mainstream become more aware of these devices emitting significant amounts of electromagnetic radiation (EMR)/electromagnetic frequencies (EMF). These devices, which operate as radio devices transmitting and receiving radio EMF within a large band of radio frequencies (RF), come with significant health concerns, particularly in the realm of reproductive health.

​The radiation emitted by mobile phones can have both thermal and non-thermal impacts on biological materials, with potential long-term effects on cellular functions and the hormonal balance in the human body. Emerging research points to a troubling link between mobile phone usage and male infertility, a condition that already affects nearly half of the 15% of couples worldwide struggling with reproductive issues.

For years the cell phone companies have assured people that cell phones are perfectly safe. Currently there are over 700 million cell phone users in the world. Analog phones operate at 450–900 MHz, digital phones (Global System for Mobile Communications [GSM]) at 850–1900 MHz, and third-generation phones at approximately 2000 MHz. ​The radiation emitted by Wi-Fi and all generations of mobile phones is classified as non-ionizing radiation, which falls within the microwave range (3–300 GHz).

• First generation (1G) and second-generation (2G) mobile phones operate at a frequency range of 850–1900 MHz
• Third-generation (3G) mobile phones can reach up to 2,500 MHz
• The most recent fourth-generation (4G) and fifth-generation (5G) mobile technologies operate at a wider and higher frequency range of 2–8 GHz and 3–300 GHz, respectively 
• Unlicensed spectrum bands of 2.4 and 5 GHz are used by Wi-Fi devices

​5G routers and modems, operating on higher frequencies, emit more powerful electromagnetic fields, potentially amplifying the risks. The introduction of 5G technology, which involves more frequent data transmissions at higher power levels, has raised concerns about whether this could intensify the reproductive risks posed by EMF radiation.

Keep in mind, the EMFs emitted by cell phones are a form of microwave energy. Specifically, cell phones emit RF radiation, which falls within the microwave portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Microwaves, including the frequencies used by cell phones, are non-ionizing radiation, meaning they don't carry enough energy to ionize atoms or molecules.

Cell phones typically operate at frequencies between 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz, which are in the lower part of the microwave frequency range. This type of radiation is also used in other wireless technologies, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
​
While the power levels of cell phones are much lower than those of devices like microwave ovens, the concern over potential health effects has led to ongoing research on the long-term exposure to RF radiation emitted by mobile devices.

Impact on Semen
Studies examining the association between mobile phone use and semen parameters have yielded significant results. Men who stored mobile phones in their trouser pockets exhibited a decrease in the percentage of normal sperm morphology and luteinizing hormone levels. Additionally, exposure to mobile phone EMR was associated with:

• reduced sperm motility (sperm movement): For sperm to fertilize an egg, they need to be able to swim through the female reproductive tract to reach the egg. Sperm that move actively and in a straight line are considered to have good motility.
• reduced linear velocity (sperm speed): sperm with higher linear velocity are more likely to reach the egg, improving chances of conception. If sperm swim too slowly or in a disorganized way, they may not get there in time.
• reduced linearity index (how straight the sperm’s path is when it swims): A high linearity index means sperm are moving directly toward their target (the egg), which makes fertilization more likely. Sperm with a low linearity index may swim in random directions, wasting energy and reducing the chance of fertilization.
• reduced acrosin activity (ability to penetrate egg): Acrosin is an enzyme found in sperm that helps it penetrate the outer layer of the egg. Think of it like a key that helps sperm unlock the egg. Acrosin activity refers to how well this enzyme is working. Healthy acrosin activity ensures that sperm can do their job once they reach the egg.
• increased sperm DNA fragmentation (DNA damage): DNA fragmentation means that the sperm’s genetic material (DNA) is damaged or broken into pieces. The DNA inside sperm is critical because it carries the genetic information that gets passed on to the baby. Sperm with high levels of DNA fragmentation have damaged genetic material. High DNA fragmentation can lead to problems in fertilization, miscarriage, or developmental issues in the baby. Even if sperm are able to fertilize an egg, if the DNA is damaged, the embryo may not develop properly. This can reduce the chances of a successful pregnancy.

The frequency and duration of mobile phone use have been linked to declines in semen volume, sperm concentration, and total sperm count, indicating a detrimental effect on sperm quality and male fertility. Notably, carrying cell phones in hip pockets and on belts has been associated with lower sperm motility compared to other storage methods.
​
Moreover, prolonged exposure to EMF from mobile phones and routers has been linked to a higher rate of childlessness among certain professions, such as military personnel in the Royal Norwegian Navy. These findings suggest that frequent exposure to mobile phone radiation may impair reproductive health over time.

​Numerous studies have shown that radiation emitted by Wi-Fi and 5G routers, especially when used for prolonged periods, can negatively affect sperm quality, including sperm count, motility, and DNA integrity.

A laboratory study found that exposing sperm samples to a laptop connected to Wi-Fi for just four hours significantly reduced sperm motility and increased DNA fragmentation. This indicates that not only direct phone use but also proximity to routers and modems could affect sperm health.

In human studies, semen analysis in the four cell phone user groups showed a decrease in sperm count, motility, viability, and normal morphology with the increase in daily use of cell phone - in a dose dependent manner (the more EMF radiation exposure, the greater the effects to semen). Other researchers suggested in their study on mice that Leydig cells are among the most susceptible cells to EMW, and injury to Leydig cells may affect spermatogenesis. Additionally, mobile phone EMR induced genotoxic effects on epididymal spermatozoa, which is critical for fertility.

Research indicates that prolonged RF-EMR exposure, such as frequent use of mobile phones over several years, can lower testosterone levels in men. Testosterone is a critical hormone for sperm production and general male health. Over time, men using mobile phones emitting 950 MHz RF-EMR experienced a gradual reduction in testosterone levels. ​

Additionally, RF-EMR negatively affects the anterior pituitary gland, which regulates several hormones, including cortisol, thyroid hormones, and adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH). This interference with hormonal balance may result in decreased reproductive function.

Some studies have suggested that mobile phone radiation could lead to Leydig cell hyperplasia, a condition where these testicular cells overgrow and produce elevated testosterone levels. However, this increase is misleading, as reproductive functions, such as sperm quality, are still impaired despite the rise in testosterone. Decreased sperm count, motility, and quality have been consistently linked to mobile phone use, validating the harmful impact of mobile phone radiation on male fertility.

Animal Studies on RF-EMR Exposure
Animal studies have further validated these concerns. Exposure to RF-EMR, particularly at 900 MHz, has been shown to increase the levels of reproductive hormones such as FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone), LH (Luteinizing Hormone), and prolactin in animals. While these hormones are typically involved in regulating male reproductive functions, prolonged exposure to RF-EMR disrupts this balance. For example, increased LH levels in animals exposed to mobile phone radiation were accompanied by damage to Leydig cells via changes in protein kinase C, which led to reduced testosterone production.

Additionally, RF-EMR exposure increases oxidative stress in Leydig cells, leading to cellular damage and apoptosis (cell death). This oxidative stress, combined with thermal effects from radiation, can impair the function of the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, which are essential for regulating reproductive hormones like LH and FSH. When these hormones are out of balance, the entire reproductive system can be negatively impacted.

Human Studies on RF-EMR Exposure
In studies of men, the group exposed to EMFs had a considerable decrease in LH levels. Additionally, RF-EMR appears to have a negative relationship with the anterior pituitary gland
and the downstream effects of hormones released via the actions of the pituitary. Studies of men with long-term use of 950 MHz mobile phones (6 years) have revealed reduced testosterone levels, which is dependent on time, likely due to damage to Leydig cells and insufficient LH, as LH stimulates the secretion of testosterone by testicular Leydig cells.

These hormonal regulations by the hypothalamus and anterior pituitary are essential for male reproductive functions. RF-EMR emitted from mobile phones can cause thermal effects as manifested by the elevation of temperature and EMF strength value on the hypothalamus and pituitary gland after mobile phone exposure. The penetration of RF-EMR on the hypothalamus and pituitary gland is deeper in lower frequency bands (700 and 900 MHz).

Meo, Sultan, et al. Effects of Mobile Phone Radiation on Serum Testosterone in Wistar Albino Rats. 2010.

Maluin, Sofwatul Mokhtarah, et al. “Effect of Radiation Emitted by Wireless Devices on Male Reproductive Hormones: A Systematic Review.” Frontiers in Physiology, vol. 12, 24 Sept. 2021, p. 732420, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8497974/, https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.732420. Accessed 22 Oct. 2021.
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Okechukwu, Chidiebere Emmanuel. “Does the Use of Mobile Phone Affect Male Fertility? A Mini-Review.” Journal of Human Reproductive Sciences, vol. 13, no. 3, 2020, p. 174, https://doi.org/10.4103/jhrs.jhrs_126_19.

​Agarwal, Ashok, et al. “Effect of Cell Phone Usage on Semen Analysis in Men Attending Infertility Clinic: An Observational Study.” Fertility and Sterility, vol. 89, no. 1, Jan. 2008, pp. 124–128, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2007.01.166.

The human gut is teeming with a diverse array of bacteria collectively known as the gut microbiota. Among its many functions, one of the most vital is colonization resistance—the ability to prevent harmful pathogens from taking up residence in the gut and causing disease. However, understanding which microbiota communities are protective and which allow pathogens to thrive has long been a challenge.
​
In a groundbreaking study led by Spragge et al., researchers shed light on the complex dynamics of gut microbiota and their role in colonization resistance against two significant bacterial pathogens: Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Their findings, published in Science, unveil the critical importance of microbiome diversity in safeguarding against pathogenic invasion.

Traditionally, it was believed that certain individual bacterial species might confer colonization resistance. However, Spragge et al. discovered that the true protective power lies in the collective diversity of the microbiota. They conducted meticulous experiments both in vitro and in gnotobiotic mice (mice that have been raised in a controlled environment where the microbial composition of their gut is precisely known and controlled), evaluating the ability of single bacterial species and increasingly diverse microbiota communities to resist pathogen colonization.

Surprisingly, the researchers found that single species alone provided limited protection against the pathogens. It was only when these species were combined into diverse communities consisting of up to 50 different species that colonization resistance was significantly enhanced. This underscores the importance of ecological diversity in promoting gut health.
​
Moreover, the study identified certain key species within these diverse communities that played a pivotal role in bolstering colonization resistance, even though they offered little protection on their own. These key species acted by consuming nutrients required by the pathogens, thereby depriving them of essential resources for growth and establishment in the host.

Importantly, Spragge et al. demonstrated that microbiome diversity not only increases the probability of protection against pathogens but also enhances the overlap in nutrient utilization profiles between the microbiota community and the pathogen. This nutrient blocking mechanism serves as a potent defense strategy against pathogenic invasion.

The implications of these findings are profound. They provide compelling evidence for the health benefits of a diverse gut microbiome and offer insights into the rational design of pathogen-resistant microbiota communities. By harnessing the protective power of microbiome diversity, we may pave the way for innovative strategies to combat infectious diseases and promote overall gut health.
​
In conclusion, Spragge et al.'s study unveils the intricate interplay between microbiome diversity and colonization resistance, highlighting the collective strength of diverse bacterial communities in defending against pathogenic threats. This research not only expands our understanding of gut microbiota dynamics but also holds promise for the development of novel therapeutics aimed at fortifying the body's natural defenses against infections.

Spragge, Frances, et al. “Microbiome Diversity Protects against Pathogens by Nutrient Blocking.” Science, vol. 382, no. 6676, 15 Dec. 2023, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adj3502.

In recent years, researchers have uncovered a surprising trend in human physiology: a decline in body temperature over the past two centuries. Contrary to the long-standing belief that the normal body temperature is 37°C (98.6°F), studies spanning multiple cohorts and time periods have revealed a consistent decrease in average body temperature, suggesting a real physiological change rather than a mere artifact of measurement bias.

A groundbreaking study analyzed data from three cohorts spanning 157 years (over 600,000 data inputs), including Union Army Veterans of the Civil War, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I, and the Stanford Translational Research Integrated Database Environment. The findings revealed a monotonic decrease in body temperature, with men born in the early 19th century having temperatures 0.59°C higher than men today. A similar decline was observed in women, indicating a significant shift in human physiology over time.
​
While some may attribute these findings to changes in measurement methods or biases, the study's authors argue that the observed drop in temperature reflects real physiological differences. Human body temperature is a crude surrogate for basal metabolic rate. These findings of a decrease in body temperature indicate a decrease in metabolic rate, which is supported in the literature when comparing modern experimental data to those from 1919. 

Resting metabolic rate, a key component of daily energy expenditure, has been linked to body temperature and longevity. The observed decrease in body temperature suggests a corresponding decline in metabolic rate, independent of changes in body size. This likely has implications for human health and longevity, as metabolic health underlies all vital organ functions. 

Protsiv, Myroslava, et al. “Decreasing Human Body Temperature in the United States since the Industrial Revolution.” ELife, vol. 9, 7 Jan. 2020, p. e49555, elifesciences.org/articles/49555, https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.49555.

Dai, Dao-Fu, et al. “Mitochondrial Oxidative Stress in Aging and Healthspan.” Longevity & Healthspan, vol. 3, no. 1, 2014, p. 6, https://doi.org/10.1186/2046-2395-3-6. 

Obesogens, through their pervasive presence in our environment, exert insidious effects on metabolic function, including the intricate workings of mitochondria – the cellular powerhouses responsible for energy production. By disrupting mitochondrial function, obesogens can contribute to metabolic dysregulation and, ultimately, weight gain.

Mitochondria play a central role in energy metabolism, converting nutrients into adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the primary source of cellular energy. However, exposure to obesogens can impair mitochondrial function through various mechanisms, including:

• Oxidative Stress: Obesogens can promote the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) within mitochondria, leading to oxidative damage and dysfunction.
• Mitochondrial Biogenesis: Some obesogens interfere with the process of mitochondrial biogenesis, the creation of new mitochondria, which is essential for maintaining optimal energy metabolism.
• Respiratory Chain Dysfunction: Obesogens may disrupt the electron transport chain, a series of protein complexes within mitochondria that generate ATP, impairing energy production.
• Mitochondrial Membrane Integrity: Obesogens can compromise the integrity of mitochondrial membranes, affecting the transport of ions and molecules critical for energy production.

​The disruption of mitochondrial function by obesogens can have profound implications for metabolic health and contribute to obesity through several pathways:

1. Impaired Energy Expenditure: Dysfunctional mitochondria are less efficient at generating ATP, leading to reduced energy expenditure and a propensity for weight gain.
2. Insulin Resistance: Mitochondrial dysfunction can impair insulin signaling pathways, contributing to insulin resistance, a hallmark of obesity and metabolic syndrome.
3. Altered Lipid Metabolism: Mitochondria play a crucial role in lipid metabolism, including the breakdown of fatty acids for energy. Disrupted mitochondrial function can lead to aberrant lipid accumulation and adipogenesis, contributing to obesity.

The impact of obesogens on human health extends beyond weight gain, with associations documented with various health conditions, including:

• Obesity: Obesogens have been implicated in the global obesity epidemic, contributing to excess weight gain and adiposity. This includes being overweight, abdominal obesity (midsection fat), childhood and adult obesity.
• Insulin Resistance and Diabetes: Disruption of metabolic pathways by obesogens can lead to insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes.
• Fatty Liver Disease: Chemical exposures, including those to bisphenols and phthalates, have been linked to the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Additionally, obesogens are highly related to the following health conditions and physiologic imbalances:

Relatively little is known about the extent to which obesogen exposure programs dysfunctional adipose tissue that may store but not mobilize fat. However, emerging evidence suggests that obesogens may contribute to adipocyte dysfunction, leading to altered fat storage and metabolism. One potential underlying factor is suboptimal liver detoxification pathways due to inadequate micronutrient cofactors.
​
Inadequate levels of essential micronutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, can impair liver detoxification pathways responsible for metabolizing and eliminating obesogens from the body. As a result, obesogens may accumulate in adipose tissue, disrupting metabolic function and contributing to weight gain. Additionally, micronutrient deficiencies can compromise mitochondrial function, further exacerbating metabolic dysfunction and obesity risk.​

In the quest for weight loss, many of us often find ourselves fixating on calorie counting, fad diets, or intense workout regimens. However, what if I told you that the key to achieving a healthy weight isn't solely about shedding pounds but rather fixing your metabolism? Enter obesogens – a lesser-known yet influential factor in the obesity epidemic.

As mentioned, obesogens are chemicals found in our environment, ranging from pesticides and plastics to food additives and personal care products. These substances have the uncanny ability to disrupt our body's natural weight-regulating mechanisms, leading to weight gain and metabolic dysfunction. Instead of solely blaming calories in versus calories out, it's essential to recognize the role obesogens play in shaping our metabolism.

2. Consume Micronutrients: Vital micronutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, serve as essential cofactors in metabolic pathways. Ensuring adequate intake of these micronutrients through a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins can support optimal metabolic function. Additionally, supplementation may be necessary to address any deficiencies and promote metabolic health.
​
The conventional approach to weight loss often overlooks the critical role obesogens play in metabolic dysfunction. Instead of solely focusing on calorie restriction or intense exercise, shifting our focus to fixing metabolism through toxin reduction and micronutrient consumption offers a more holistic and sustainable solution to achieving optimal health. By addressing the underlying factors contributing to metabolic disruption, we can pave the way for lasting weight management and overall well-being.

Online/In-Person Guidance
One of the standout features of the Integral Wellness Program is its flexibility, offering both online and in-person consultations tailored to individual preferences and needs. Whether you prefer the convenience of virtual sessions or the hands-on approach of in-person coaching, our team of experienced wellness professionals is dedicated to supporting you every step of the way.

This article challenges the conventional understanding of heart disease, particularly the widely accepted theory that attributes its cause primarily to events occurring in the coronary arteries. Instead, a paradigm shift is proposed, contending that a deeper understanding of heart disease, encompassing angina, unstable angina, and myocardial infarction (heart attack), necessitates a focus on events within the myocardium, the muscular tissue of the heart. Over the past decades, the prevailing belief in the coronary artery theory has led to costly surgical interventions, widespread medication use with questionable benefits, and dietary recommendations that may exacerbate rather than alleviate the problem. By delving into the precise pathophysiological events that underlie heart attacks, we can uncover alternative approaches to prevention and treatment, such as adopting a "Nourishing Traditions"-style diet and utilizing safe and affordable medicines like g-strophanthin. Furthermore, this shift in perspective prompts us to confront broader issues, including the impact of modern lifestyles on human health, the need for a new medical paradigm, and the importance of ecological consciousness. Ultimately, reexamining the root causes of heart disease offers a pathway to addressing this pervasive health challenge and forging a healthier future for all.

The information is summarized based on the work of Dr. Thomas Cowan, vice president of the Physicians Association for Anthroposophical Medicine and is a founding board member of the Weston A. Price Foundation. During his career he has studied and written about many subjects in medicine. These include nutrition, homeopathy, anthroposophical medicine, and herbal medicine.​

The traditional understanding of heart attacks, largely centered on arterial blockage due to plaque buildup, has faced challenges in recent years. Initially, it was believed that blockages in the major coronary arteries led to oxygen deficiency in the heart, causing chest pain (angina) and eventually progressing to a heart attack. This simplistic view prompted invasive procedures like angioplasty, stents, and coronary bypass surgery as standard treatments. However, clinical observations and research findings have cast doubts on this approach.
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Anecdotal evidence (admittedly low quality evidence) from a trial in rural Alabama revealed surprising outcomes among individuals with single artery blockages. Contrary to expectations, less than 10% of those who experienced heart attacks did so in the region of the heart supplied by the blocked artery.

Similarly, a comprehensive study conducted by the Mayo Clinic highlighted the limited efficacy of bypass surgery in preventing future heart attacks. While the procedure offered relief from chest pain, it did not significantly reduce the risk of subsequent heart events, except in high-risk patients.

Contrary to popular belief, blockages exceeding 90% are often compensated for by collateral blood vessels, which develop over time to ensure uninterrupted blood flow to the heart. This extensive network of collateral vessels serves as a natural bypass system, mitigating the impact of arterial blockages on blood circulation.

However, diagnostic procedures like coronary angiograms, which rely on injecting heavy dye into the arteries, often fail to accurately assess the extent of blockages and the true blood flow in the heart. As a result, many patients undergo invasive treatments such as bypass surgery, stents, or angioplasty based on misleading information about the severity of their arterial blockages.

Moreover, studies have shown that these procedures provide minimal benefit, if any, to patients, particularly those with minimally symptomatic blockages exceeding 90%. Despite the widespread use of these interventions, their efficacy in restoring blood flow and preventing heart attacks remains questionable.
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These revelations underscore the need for a reevaluation of conventional treatment strategies and a deeper exploration of the underlying mechanisms behind heart attacks. Rather than focusing solely on arterial blockages, a more holistic approach that considers factors beyond plaque buildup may offer greater insights into the prevention and management of heart disease.

The prevailing focus in cardiology has long been on the stable, progressing plaque within the coronary arteries, deemed responsible for heart attacks. However, recent insights challenge this notion, redirecting attention to the unpredictable nature of unstable plaques. Unlike their calcified counterparts, unstable plaques are soft and prone to rapid evolution, abruptly occluding arteries and triggering downstream oxygen deficits, angina, and ischemia.
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These vulnerable plaques are believed to be a blend of inflammatory buildup and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the primary targets of statin drugs. Consequently, the widespread adoption of statin therapy is advocated as a preventive measure against heart attacks, fueled by angiogram studies purportedly showcasing the prevalence of unstable plaques as the leading cause of myocardial infarctions (MIs).

An accurate understanding of myocardial ischemia necessitates consideration of the primary risk factors associated with heart disease, including gender, diabetes, smoking, and chronic psychological stress. Curiously, none of these risk factors directly implicate coronary artery pathology; instead, they impact capillary health or exert indirect effects.

Over the past five decades, key medications in cardiology, such as beta-blockers, nitrates, aspirin, and statins, have demonstrated some benefits for heart patients. However, their mechanisms of action must be scrutinized within a comprehensive theory of myocardial ischemia.

A groundbreaking revelation in heart disease prevention and treatment stems from the autonomic nervous system's role in ischemia genesis, as illuminated by heart-rate variability monitoring. The autonomic nervous system comprises two branches—the sympathetic and parasympathetic—responsible for regulating physiological responses. Imbalance between these branches emerges as a significant contributor to heart disease.

Studies reveal a notable reduction in parasympathetic activity among patients with ischemic heart disease, particularly preceding ischemic events triggered by physical or emotional stressors. Conversely, abrupt increases in sympathetic activity rarely culminate in ischemia without antecedent parasympathetic decline. Notably, women exhibit stronger vagal activity than men, potentially influencing sex-based disparities in MI incidence.

Multiple risk factors, including hypertension, smoking, diabetes, and stress, diminish parasympathetic activity, underscoring the pivotal role of the regenerative nervous system in heart health. Conversely, pharmacological interventions like nitrates, aspirin, and statins stimulate parasympathetic mediators, promoting ANS balance.
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In essence, while traditional risk factors and interventions influence plaque and stenosis development, their paramount impact lies in restoring ANS equilibrium. Thus, understanding the sequence of events leading to myocardial infarction demands a deeper exploration of autonomic nervous system dynamics.

In the vast majority of cases, the pathology leading to myocardial infarction (MI) begins with a decreased tonic activity of the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest), often exacerbated by physical or emotional stressors. This reduction prompts an increase in sympathetic nervous system activity, triggering heightened adrenaline production and directing myocardial cells to break down glucose via aerobic glycolysis, rather than their preferred fuel source of ketones and fatty acids (often explaining why patients report feeling tired before a MI). Remarkably, despite these metabolic shifts, no change in blood flow, as measured by the myocardial cell oxygen level (pO2), occurs.

The shift towards glycolysis results in a surge of lactic acid production within myocardial cells, a phenomenon observed in nearly all MIs. This surge, coupled with localized tissue acidosis, impedes calcium entry into cells, compromising their contractility. Consequently, localized edema ensues, leading to hypokinesis—the hallmark of ischemic disease—and eventual tissue necrosis characteristic of an MI.
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Moreover, the ensuing tissue edema alters arterial hemodynamics, escalating sheer pressure and exacerbating plaque instability. This process elucidates the rupture of unstable plaques and their role in exacerbating arterial blockage during critical, acute scenarios. This explanation accounts for all the observable phenomena associated with heart disease.

Understanding the etiology of heart disease holds profound implications beyond academic curiosity. It informs therapeutic strategies aimed at preserving parasympathetic activity, fostering holistic approaches to heart health, and challenging prevailing "civilized" industrial lifestyles. Central to this paradigm shift is the recognition of the vital role played by g-strophanthin—a hormone derived from the strophanthus plant. G-strophanthin is an endogenous hormone made in the adrenal cortex from cholesterol, whose production is inhibited by statin drugs, that does two things that are crucial for heart health and are done by no other medicine. G-strophanthin uniquely stimulates the production of acetylcholine, the primary neurotransmitter of the parasympathetic nervous system, while also converting lactic acid—the metabolic poison implicated in ischemic processes—into pyruvate, a preferred myocardial cell fuel. Perhaps this “magic” is why Chinese medicine practitioners say that the kidneys (i.e., adrenals, where ouabain is made) nourish the heart.

Embracing this understanding not only guides therapeutic interventions but also underscores the imperative of dietary modifications. A diet abundant in healthful fats and fat-soluble nutrients, while low in processed carbohydrates and sugars, emerges as a cornerstone of heart health—a departure from the industrialized diets synonymous with modern civilization.

In essence, unraveling the metabolic symphony orchestrating myocardial ischemia offers a transformative lens through which to perceive heart disease, fostering a holistic approach that transcends conventional paradigms and embraces the profound interconnectedness of mind, body, and environment.

Giorgio Baroldi. The Etiopathogenesis of Coronary Heart Disease. CRC Press EBooks, Informa, 20 Jan. 2004. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Sroka K. On the genesis of myocardial ischemia. Z Kardiol. 2004 Oct;93(10):768-83. doi: 10.1007/s00392-004-0137-6. PMID: 15492892.

Helfant, R. H., et al. “Coronary Heart Disease. Differential Hemodynamic, Metabolic, and Electrocardiographic Effects in Subjects with and without Angina Pectoris during Atrial Pacing.” Circulation, vol. 42, no. 4, 1 Oct. 1970, pp. 601–610, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11993303., https://doi.org/10.1161/01.cir.42.4.601. 

Takase, B., Kurita, A., Noritake, M., Uehata, A., Maruyama, T., Nagayoshi, H., ... & Nakamura, H. (1992). Heart rate variability in patients with diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease, and congestive heart failure. Journal of electrocardiology, 25(2), 79-88.

Sroka, K., Peimann, C. J., & Seevers, H. (1997). Heart rate variability in myocardial ischemia during daily life. Journal of electrocardiology, 30(1), 45-56.

Scheuer, J., & Brachfeld, N. (1966). Coronary insufficiency: relations between hemodynamic, electrical, and biochemical parameters. Circulation Research, 18(2), 178-189.

Schmid, P. G., Greif, B. J., Lund, D. D., & Roskoski Jr, R. O. B. E. R. T. (1978). Regional choline acetyltransferase activity in the guinea pig heart. Circulation Research, 42(5), 657-660.

​Katz, A. M. (1971). Effects of ischemia on the cardiac contractile proteins. Cardiology, 56(1-6), 276-283.

Manunta, Paolo, et al. “Endogenous Ouabain in Cardiovascular Function and Disease.” Journal of Hypertension, vol. 27, no. 1, 1 Jan. 2009, pp. 9–18, journals.lww.com/jhypertension/Abstract/2009/01000/Endogenous_ouabain_in_cardiovascular_function_and.3.aspx, https://doi.org/10.1097/HJH.0b013e32831cf2c6.

Doepp, Manfred. “May Strophanthin Be a Valuable Cardiac Drug ? .” American Journal of Medical and Clinical Research & Reviews, vol. 2, no. 9, 15 Sept. 2023, pp. 1–6, ajmcrr.com/index.php/pub/article/view/75/74, https://doi.org/10.58372/2835-6276.1069. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

​Thayer, J. F., Yamamoto, S. S., & Brosschot, J. F. (2010). The relationship of autonomic imbalance, heart rate variability and cardiovascular disease risk factors. International journal of cardiology, 141(2), 122-131.

Recent breakthrough studies have shone a light on the intriguing link between our microbiome – the diverse community of microorganisms residing in our gut and mouth – and the secret to a longer, healthier life. Scientists have long suspected that our genes, environment, and internal factors like the microbiome play a role in determining how long we live, but the specifics remained elusive. Now, thanks to cutting-edge research, we're getting closer to unraveling the mysteries of longevity.
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In this groundbreaking exploration, scientists employed a sophisticated approach called Mendelian randomization (MR) to delve into the intricate relationships between the human microbiome and longevity. By analyzing genetic data from large cohorts, they uncovered some compelling associations that shed light on the microbial players in the quest for a longer life.

Liu, Xiaomin, et al. “Mendelian Randomization Analyses Reveal Causal Relationships between the Human Microbiome and Longevity.” Scientific Reports, vol. 13, no. 1, 29 Mar. 2023, p. 5127, www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-31115-8, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-31115-8. 

Notice this "U" shape in the curve when examining the relationship between RT and morbidity and mortality. This curve suggests that some RT is clearly beneficial, but has the volume of RT increases past a certain point the benefits drop and it becomes harmful. The concept of a "biphasic response" is fundamental to understanding hormesis. It describes the characteristic dose-response relationship observed in hormetic processes, where a substance or stressor elicits opposite effects at low and high doses. The response can be visualized as a U-shaped or J-shaped curve, illustrating the beneficial effects at low doses and potential harm at higher doses. ​

Paluch, Amanda E, et al. “Resistance Exercise Training in Individuals with and without Cardiovascular Disease: 2023 Update: A Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association.” Circulation, 7 Dec. 2023, https://doi.org/10.1161/cir.0000000000001189. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023.

Momma H, Kawakami R, Honda T, Sawada SS. Muscle-strengthening activities are associated with lower risk and mortality in major non-communicable diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. Br J Sports Med. 2022 Jul;56(13):755-763. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2021-105061. Epub 2022 Feb 28. PMID: 35228201; PMCID: PMC9209691.

99% of magnesium is stored inside of cells, of that, 95% is stored in mitochondria. So if your blood magnesium levels are low, your incredibly deficient in magnesium.

If your magnesium supplementation is not working as desired, it may be due to a lack of available ATP. It would be advised to take a bioavailable form of niacinamide to facilitate NAD+ production, approximately 30 minutes before taking the magnesium supplement. A great bioavailable source of B-vitamins, including niacinamide, is local bee pollen. 

Zach Bush MD is a physician specializing in internal medicine, endocrinology and hospice care. He is an internationally recognized educator and thought leader on the microbiome as it relates to health, disease, and food systems. Dr Zach founded Seraphic Group and the nonprofit Farmer’s Footprint to develop root-cause solutions for human and ecological health. His passion for education reaches across many disciplines, including topics such as the role of soil and water ecosystems in human genomics, immunity, and gut/brain health. His education has highlighted the need for a radical departure from chemical farming and pharmacy, and his ongoing efforts are providing a path for consumers, farmers, and mega-industries to work together for a healthy future for people and planet.

Show Notes

• A trip to the Philippines changed Zack’s life mission and how he viewed allopathic medicine afterward. (10:07)
• “The scientific method is nothing more than a technique for exploring truth, but at no point is science a body of knowledge or truth…” (28:16)
• Zach’s bedrock spiritual philosophy: I am. (41:06)
• Homo sapiens is an adaptive species and not a stagnant one. (55:09)
• What’s the difference between a rishi and a reishi mushroom? (1:14:00)
• A quantum physics fellowship. (1:23:20)
• Healing relationships at death’s door. (1:36:32)
• Random event generators and the death of George Floyd. (1:40:15)
• Do humans have the raw potential to co-create something magnificent? (1:50:21)

Resources

• Zack’s articles co-written with Deepak Chopra on June 1 and June 8 in the SF Gate
• Antoine Béchamp vs. Louis Pasteur
• The work of J.R.R. Tolkien and John Archibald Wheeler
• Mycorrhiza
• Superstring theory
• The Abdominal and Pelvic Brain by Byron Robinson
• Intestinal Gardening for the Prolongation of Youth by James Empringham
• Universal Sufism by H.J. Witteveen and Scott Sattler
• Streams of Wisdom by Dustin DiPerna and Ken Wilbur

Hydrogen comes in two “flavors”: regular hydrogen, which is actually called protium, and deuterium. Deuterium has all of the same properties as hydrogen, except that it's twice as big and heavy. This is due to an added neutron paired with the proton in the nucleus. Because of this, deuterium is also referred to as "heavy hydrogen," and it actually behaves quite differently from regular hydrogen in chemical reactions and in our bodies.

In nature, deuterium helps things grow. For example, deuterium is biologically necessary for growth in babies, teenagers, and developing plants and animals. But once you stop growing, having too much deuterium in your cells can result in mitochondrial dysfunction and lead to premature aging, metabolic problems, and disease.

Deuterium is like thick, gluggy oil  - when you put thick oil into an engine, the engine sputters, makes strange noises, and eventually breaks.


Nature has put systems in place to deplete deuterium and protect the nanomotors, or "little engines," in our cells’ mitochondria from coming into contact with this thick oil.


However, the side effects of a modern life - pollution, global warming, processed foods, less healthy lifestyles, etc. - have resulted in many people having way too much deuterium inside their cells. This results in an inability to effectively deplete deuterium and the destruction of our nanomotors.


This starts a vicious cycle of deuterium building up and breaking more of our nanomotors. Fewer nanomotors means less energy and more sickness and disease.

While deuterium is a natural and essential element, its presence has increased in the modernized environment within the food, atmosphere, and water. Deuterium levels is food will vary based o where that food is grown - deuterium is highest in the equator and in low elevations. Foods high in fat, as well as green plants, including algae and spirulina, which contain high amounts of chlorophyll, are lower in deuterium than fruits, roots, and underground vegetables. As it turns out, GMO foods tainted with glyphosate, as well as processed, synthetically made foods, possess high amounts of deuterium.

There are various lifestyle practices that have led to increased deuterium levels including a lack of sleep, particularly deep REM sleep. In addition, breathing shallow and fast via the mouth and chest also contributes to elevated levels of deuterium.

Researchers have demonstrated that elevated of deuterium can contribute to:

• Chronic fatigue
• Diminished deep and REM sleep
• Anxiety and depression
• Increased aging, leading to to diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer's
• Increased cancer cell growth
• Immune dysregulation

It is widely recognized that radiation exposures such as X-rays and gamma radiation can increase the risk of cancer in humans and animals. These types of radiation are referred to as ionizing radiation (Ionization energy is defined as the minimum amount of energy required to remove an electron from an atom or molecule in the gaseous state). This is different from nonionizing radiation, which includes ultraviolet (UV), visible light, extremely low frequency radiation (ELF), and radiofrequency or microwave (RF) radiation. Conventionally, researchers believed that nonionizing radiation is not harmful or carcinogenic, despite evidence surfacing regarding the relationship between UV radiation and skin cancer.

Research evaluating the exposure to RF radiation was conducted primarily by military agencies. Due to the advent and use of cellular telephone systems, which involve widespread public exposures, reevaluation of exposure risk has become urgent.

Four types of physiological effects has been observed by researched in multiple studies:

1. Increased spontaneous abortion,
2. Shifts in red blood cell and white blood cell count,
3. Increased somatic mutation rates in lymphocytes, and
4. Increased childhood, testicular, and other cancers.

These findings suggest that exposure to RF radiation, including from devices such as microwave ovens, are potentially carcinogenic and have other health effects. An important point to consider is that low dose radiation exposure over time has damaging effects, rather than one large exposure to radiation.

Rather than using a microwave, consider using a stove or convection oven. These methods take a bit more time, but it is well worth it! Consider using headphones to talk on cell phones rather than placing the device directly to your head. If possible, request to avoid airport scanners by opting for a pat-down. Lastly, try to reduce overall radiation exposure over time.

Goldsmith, J. (1997). Epidemiologic Evidence Relevant to Radar (Microwave) Effects. Environmental Health Perspectives, 105, 1579. https://doi.org/10.2307/3433674

Dr. Rhonda Patrick discusses the differences between different forms of DHA in terms of bioavailability and transport into different cells. She talks about why a specific type of DHA (DHA in phosphatidylcholine) is more readily transported into the brain because it forms DHA-lysophsophatidylcholine. Krill oil and salmon roe both have a slightly higher concentration of DHA-lysophosphatidylcholine. She also talks about astaxanthin, a carotenoid that is unique to krill oil, and has potent antioxidant activity and prevents the oxidation of DHA and EPA.

Transcript:

"Welcome for everybody. Boy this is a great group. What a great day to be doing something like this. I mean it's raining, right? Okay, so you can't be out in your garden. You can't be doing anything else like that.

So how many of you guys have come to one of these events before? Alright, good. So you know that it's a lot of fun and we're gonna be doing a lot of good things. How many have ever heard me speak before? None of you? Wow! Oh a couple down in the front, okay.

So if that's the case, then let me tell you a little bit about who I am and what I do. So my name is Dr. Sherry Tenpenny.  I am the probably known as the international expert on vaccine injuries and problems associated with vaccines. I've been involved with this for 17 years and about 30,000 hours of my life, in terms of research and speaking and traveling around the world giving talks like this. My first career was as a board-certified emergency physician. I was the director of an ER for 12 years, then I moved to Cleveland, Ohio in 1996 and I opened an integrative medicine practice for which I'm always proud to say we've had people from all 50 states in about 17 foreign countries to come to our clinic to get well and get off their pharmaceutical drugs.

So I got involved with this serendipitously, like a lot of things do. I got a notification in the mail in September of 2000 from the National Vaccine Information Center meeting in Washington DC and it was supposed to be in September of that year and it was really inconvenient for me to go. And I actually went so far as to call them and say, "When is your next meeting? Because I don't think I can come this time." And they said, "Well, we're a small nonprofit. We're not sure we're gonna have another one."

Okay so every time I went to throw that brochure away off my kitchen counter, it just kind of made its way back onto the kitchen counter. So I was single at the time and I thought oh I know, this is it Lord, this is where I'm supposed to be to meet the guy.

So I made it a reservation. I went down to the meeting and it wasn't about the guy. It was about the topic and I sat through four days of non-stop lectures, which I think it was the only conference I've ever been to in my entire life that I sat through all of the lectures and took copious notes and heard researchers and PhDs and doctors and parents talk about vaccines and vaccine injuries. There was about 700 people in that conference. A lot of people that were there with their vaccine injured children in wheelchairs and and I all I could think of as while I was there was, "How did I miss this as part of my education as a physician?"

You know, I've been in medicine at that this at that time for 15 years. I was the director of an ER. I gave out tetanus shots like they were some special kind of candy. I was I you know I've had my integrative medicine practice now for almost five years. I grew up in a chiropractic family - three generations of chiropractors. I wasn't vaccinated as a kid. None of my cousins or any of their kids were vaccinated, so it was never on my radar because I had age-appropriate measles mumps rubella, chickenpox and I had pertussis twice, and I'm 59 and here to talk about it. Nobody died.

We get so terrorized into these infections, that we need to change the language about that because we call them diseases. And everybody gets all weirded out and scared like somebody's gonna die over these normal childhood infections, that were supposed to come at age appropriate levels, somewhere mostly between the ages of six and nine that left you with a lifetime of immunity. Not only so that you could be healthy as you were went into your 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and
80s but that you could pass that health on to your children. So that's how I got involved with this.

And after that meeting I went home and I started saying "Well, where do you start? Where do I start looking at this? I know! I'll start with the CDC." So I started going to the CDC documents and read the general recommendations of vaccinations - the 1998 version of that, which was such
a poorly written paper and such poor documentation. It was a 42 page paper. I still have it by the way.

And I thought, this this can't be what this entire industry is built on. This really can't be it. So from there I started reading all of the mainstream medical literature. The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, Vaccine, JAMA, New England Journal of Medicine, and it's all in there. The problems associated with vaccines are in the mainstream medical journals. Physicians just choose to flip right by it because it isn't anything they're interested in reading.

So that's how I kind of came to this and and each thing that I read it became almost like an addiction because I kept thinking, "I must be missing something. What am I missing? Why can't I find why this is so important?" And the deeper down the rabbit hole I went and the more information that I found, the more shocking it was to me. And I went back to Kathy Williams, who's one of the cofounders of the National Vaccine Information Center, and said, "Surely if people just knew how vile that stuff was that's coming through the vial, they would like stop and run the opposite direction so fast it, they would look like the roadrunner and be gone. We would implode this industry in like a nanosecond." Once people understood that there were cells from aborted fetal tissue, and aluminum, and mercury, and formaldehyde, and stray viruses that can cause cancer in these things they're given to their children. Surely as soon as they know that it will stop.

Well, you know, 17 years later we have more vaccines than ever. We have mandates breathing down our neck. We want everybody in the government to take away our rights. So that's why I do
this. And that's why, you know, when Patrick heard me talk and I spoke at his meeting last year he said he wanted me to come up and give this information to all of you on this lecture on vaccines 101, because we want to try to boil it down into bite-sized pieces (which by the way they're going to be passing around a clipboard for you guys, if you want to be part of my email list and the information we sent out. Please just put your name and your email in a way that I can actually read it, because it doesn't do any good to write it down if I put an R and it's supposed to be an S  into my database.)

We're pretty active. My Facebook page has two hundred and seventeen thousand people. We just started a course called mastering vaccine info foundational course and online training. We've got almost a hundred people enrolled in that. It will reopen for enrollment in March if you want to be on the waiting list for that. Just let me know because it goes through everything in a way that's bite-sized pieces about twenty minutes of content, and then the Thursday night Facebook live discussion group to teach you how to take the language in those modules to become a confident parent, an intelligent leader (in your home in your community), and an articulate activist. And that's what we're trying to train everybody to do.

So let's get started with this. There are some basic assumptions behind the entire industry of vaccination. In fact, when I got started with this in September of 2000... (the) You know, if you think about the the pharmaceutical industry is like a big pie diagram, and a piece of the pie is like cancer drugs, hypertension drugs. You know all these different drugs that they do which is all their book of business - their lines of things that they market and sell. At that point in time, the little teeny tiny pie diagram of the vaccine industry was about a five billion dollar a year industry. Now they're approaching fifty four billion.

And why is that so important to know? If you vaccinate a hundred people, at least fifty percent of them are going to have a serious side effect. Then you get taken to all of these doctors and all of these tests to find out that was it the vaccine. Probably not, it was because you had this underlying pathology that was just going to automatically pop up just exactly when you got the vaccine. And then they've got this entire trillion dollar book a business to sell you all these drugs to manage the side effects that you just got from the vaccines. So the vaccines are actually the economical pharmaceutical industries loss leader.

How many of you guys in here have businesses? Or your husband does? Or you know whatever, you have businesses. So you know what a loss leader is, right? A loss leader is like I'm gonna give away a t-shirt for free. It says on the door, I'm there on the sign on your door: free t-shirt, come inside. So you get people to come in for the free t-shirt. So while they're in your store, you can sell them the thousand dollar Armani suit.

Well the vaccines are the economic loss leader. Do it for free, mandate it, get your flu shot at every Walgreens, Walmart, every grocery store. I got a thing the other day and somebody there, they took a picture of it. It said if you get your flu shot today at Giant Eagle we'll give you 10% off your
groceries. So everywhere they're pounding people with these vaccines. It's their economic loss leader. It doesn't cost them anything, it costs them pennies, and then they've got a trillion dollar book of business to sell you once you start having side effects: asthma, allergies, eczema, ADD, ADHD, ear infections in kids, insulin-dependent diabetes, [and many other] autoimmune diseases.

They have an entire textbook now on vaccines and autoimmune diseases. All of those things start happening. So now we can drive. It's the driver of the entire industry and these are some of the assumptions that vaccines are safe. We're gonna go through that in a little more detail. That vaccines are effective, meaning they protect you and keep you from getting sick. That we as physicians and you as a consumer, when you hear the word effective automatically goes into your head you think, "oh that keeps me from getting sick." That's not what effective means in the vaccine industry. Vaccines have very few side effects except for the fact of the vaccine injury compensation program, that went into effect in 1986 and the vaccine adverse event reporting system has year-to-date been paid out over $3.2 billion and vaccine injury claims through the government program and they estimate that's less than 10% of people have actually been injured. $3.2 billion in vaccine injuries.

They are and every time you read any sort of a paper you hear anybody on the pro-vaccine advocate side, or you hear anybody in the government talk about vaccines, this is what they always say: that there's no significant public health advances of the 21st century. After all we saved the world from smallpox and polio, didn't we?

We go into that great detail in my course because actually we didn't and we've spent billions of dollars for nothing on this polio eradication but that's another talk for another day.

So what about our vaccine safe? And what is the meaning of a safe vaccine? Well it's not really what you think. The Webster's dictionary of safe says, "giving protection (which is what we think it should be, you know if you have a security system in your house that keeps you safe) involving no risk." Hmm no risk. Every bet package insert on every vaccine talks about the risk of vaccination.

They are trustworthy and unable to cause trouble or damage. Well we've already said that vaccine injury compensation program is as paid out $3.2 billion and all of these vaccine injuries that compound one upon each other creates the business driver for the pharmaceutical industry so we know that they caused damage. So by definition they break the definition of what safe is supposed to be.

So the real problem then comes become with vaccine safety studies. How do they come to the
conclusion that they can put in a package insert, which is specifically designed for information for your doctor that your doctor is supposed to know? How do they design these studies and come to
the conclusion that they are safe?

Well there's four specific problems and problem number one is that safety studies do not use a true placebo group. And if you take anything away from this talk today I want you to remember this because in conventional medicine the double-blind placebo-controlled study is the gold standard for safety.

If they're bringing to market say a new medication for say hypertension they would give you guys over here the real drug and you guys over here the sugar pill. And they would want to see a the real drug compared to the sugar pill what were the levels of side-effects, what kind of reactions did people have, did it really bring down your blood pressure as compared to this group over here that just got the sugar pill. And when they double-blind it, what that actually means is that the person that you come in to see to participate in the study when I give you a pill or I give you a pill, I don't know whether I'm giving you the real drug or if I'm giving you the sugar pill - I'm just giving you a pill. And then keeping track of your symptoms so that's a double-blind study I don't know which one which. Which of you are getting what. And placebo means it's compared to something that's totally inert.

In vaccine studies they never use a true placebo. And that started all the way back with the polio trials back in 1954 when they did this mass vaccination of the Salk injectable polio vaccine and
they said it was really unethical to give these people a vaccine and to give you nothing if we have to give a shot. So one of the two arms of the trial actually gave the placebo as a tetanus shot.

So it started way back when that if you're gonna get a shot you ought to have something of value. And so then we get the side effects of the polio vaccine compared to the side effects of the tetanus shot. If this has the same amount of side effects as this then we say it has the same amount of side effects and reactions as the placebo, which was another vaccine, that's not a placebo. And now when the package inserts, they don't even call it a even try to get away with calling it a placebo anymore. What they call this tetanus shot, this other one that they give you, they call it a "comparator."

We're going to compare the side-effects of the new vaccine compared to the side-effects of a vaccine that we already know what those side effects are supposed to be and if the new vaccine has the same amount of side effects as one that we know is supposed to be there then we say this new one is safe.

There's no true placebo ever. And when I go to talk to doctors and nurses that are in the hospital and they don't have any of this information when I drop that little factoid of saying that there is no true placebo used when they just define safety and a safety trial - I would see it's kind of like a cartoon it's like their head cracks like an eggshell - like what do you mean that's the gold standard for all investigational medicine. Not in the vaccine world, it's not. What they use instead they consider because they consider it unethical to give a vaccine to one group and hold from another group. Therefore the placebo should have some benefit - it should be a vaccine.

So can you see already where the whole idea that vaccines are safe starts to fall apart from the implementation of the safety studies. It just they've never really had a safety study.

Problem number two is that studies don't use inert substances as a placebo - like a sugar pill should be, is inert. Well if we're going to compare one vaccine to another vaccine is this vaccine over here inert? No. because it has its own its own side-effect profile. So the placebo use is often another vaccine like I said with a known safety product profile. If the experimental vaccine has the same number and types of effects as the placebo vaccine, than the experimental vaccine is said to be safe as the placebo.

And you see that in all the package inserts you see that in the published medical literature, in the Pediatric Infectious-Disease Journal, or in JAMA, in the New England Journal, they'll say it was safe as placebo. Then you dig through the study to try to find out what the placebo was, sometimes they list it and sometimes they don't. Sometimes you have to go to the FDA and look at the original trials to find out what the placebo was, but most of the time it was another vaccine.

Another example, is that in the Gardasil trials that they actually used an injection of aluminum as the placebo. Gardasil has, well it used I used to say has the highest amount of aluminum of any vaccine, but the there's new vaccines that have come out that have larger amounts of aluminum.  The Gardasil 4 that came out in 2006 had 250 micrograms of aluminum. Now Gardasil 9 that came out a couple of years ago and because it's become the one that they give everyone around the world has 500 micrograms of aluminum. And we're going to see in a few minutes that the new meningitis B vaccine has 1500 micrograms of aluminum, which is a big deal.

So this is where in Gardasil.. You know what Gardasil is? Gardasil is the vaccine that they want to give all the girls, to say "one less girl." Yeah when they say one less girl I always what goes in my mind is one less girl able to have children in the future is what the rest of that sentence should be because Gardasil hasn't been shown to cause testicular atrophy in male mice and stop periods and atrophy of the uterus and female mice. So Gardasil is this vaccine that they that was only tested on 12,000 girls before they started administering it to 9 to 12 year old girls of age back in 2006. Most vaccine clinical trials on an international basis have tens of thousands of people this one was only tested on 12,000. They were followed for only six months, when in vaccine trials they usually find them for a follow things for about four years. And in medication trials they follow em for longer than that. The observation for adverse events was 15 days.

How long does it take for an autoimmune reaction to form? Months! They only followed this because all they were looking for was acute allergic reactions, swollen arm, sick to their stomach, headache. They only followed it for 15 days. The average age for developing cervical cancer is somewhere between 38 and 42, and the placebo that was used was a shot of aluminum, and Gardasil has aluminum in it.

So each Gardasil dose has 225 micrograms of aluminum and when about 25% experienced the injection and pain after the Gardasil and about 16% had pain after the shot of aluminum, the conclusion was Gardasil was declared to be as safe as the placebo. Which is pretty common.

I mean this is just one example that I could give you of the 56 vaccines that are currently approved in the US market and there are almost 310 in the developmental pipeline. Now some of the vaccines in the developmental pipeline are specific indicators. A lot of them are in the cancer segment because what they're trying to do is come with DNA vaccines, to manipulate your DNA and genetics. Nothing could go wrong with that, right? Nothing could possibly go wrong with a DNA vaccine to change your genetics permanently and then pass that on to your children.

But all of the vaccines and then they are coming up with specific indicator vaccines like there's a vaccine under development for cocaine addiction, one for hypertension, one for periodontal disease. Hmm so they're trying to eliminate dentists? I mean I don't know, but these are the sorts of things that are in development down the way. And so this was the vaccine that came to market that currently there are seven countries around the world that are about to ban the use of Gardisil and the international equivalent which is called Cervarix, because of all the deaths and chronic long-term disability that's being caused by this vaccine.

So if you've got kids that are coming up teenagers, please get educated about this vaccine. And if there were any of them that you were gonna refuse - I mean in my opinion you should refuse all of them - but if you were going to refuse any absolutely do not allow your kids to get this vaccine.

Because they're giving it to boys now too. They started that about five years ago. Primarily because they wanted to double their market share they felt like they were missing out on half the population. And because we know that those dirty little nine-year-old boys are going to be having sex with those promiscuous nine-year-old girls, and they're going to be sharing their HPV viruses back and forth. Because that's the age group that you have to give this because if you give it after you've had intercourse it doesn't work.

100% of the female population.. Well let me say that again. They estimate somewhere between around 98% of the entire female population has an HPV infection sometime in their life. I mean the cervix is an external organ, right? It's like your nose, it's an external organ. And about 98% of people actually have that infection sometime in their life and somewhere close to 97.5% of people who have the infection, clear in two years or less. So we're actually giving a vaccine because less than two percent of all humanity gets this vaccine and it doesn't or gets the virus and it doesn't go away within two years and maybe, maybe not causes cancer. But we're going to vaccinate the entire global population and destroy the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of teenagers, for really something that can be prevented with a pap smear.

This is all the different concentrations of aluminum now, and we know that aluminum causes Alzheimer's. We're pretty sure that Alzheimer that aluminum contributes to other types of neurological conditions. Aluminum is once it's injected it stays in the muscle for an extended period of time and it's really not cleared from the body. So poison for poison in the last decade many studies and animal models have repeatedly demonstrated that aluminum can inflict immune-mediated diseases, autoimmune, neurological, and skin disorders. But yet we've got all of those vaccines that have a have aluminum in them including the hepatitis B vaccine that's given at birth.

So if you get a vitamin K shot and a hepatitis B vaccine at birth, you get 330 micrograms of aluminum injected into your baby before they're two days old. And so then if they have problems down the road, how do you know? Because now the doctors will say, "Well, they were just born that way." Were they? Or was it all that gunk that you injected into them as soon as they landed on the planet.

So, now what about some fewer problems with safety studies. So, so far we've said what there's no placebo, they don't use an inert substance. Problem number three, vaccine trials usually include three injections to create an antibody response. So they give the first one, they say that Prime's the pump. The second one locks in immunity, and the third one we want to take those antibodies to the moon. We want to make them sure that we make them as high as we possibly can because they all degrade and go away with time because it's false fake immunity. It's not even immunity it's a vaccination it's not giving your kids are you an immune response. It's injecting foreign matter into your body to create an antibody that we somehow think is going to protect you which it doesn't.

So the vaccine trials the babies experience the side effects after the first dose he or she has dropped out from the trial and the data is analyzed on those that are remaining in the trial at the end. And the negative consequences of side-effects are left out. So what's let's boil that down into some really simple terms. Let's say that there were a thousand babies in this clinical trial and after the first vaccine a hundred of them dropped out because of side effects, and after the second vaccine another hundred dropped out because of side effects, and after the third vaccine another hundred of them dropped out because of side effects. When they look at the results and they look at the safety of the of this particular vaccine, they do the analysis on the 700 that were left. They don't even talk about the other 300 that dropped out, except to say a study investigators feel that none of the side effects were attributable to the vaccines. None of the side effects were attributable to the vaccines. For any of those 300 that dropped out.

And so with a stroke of a pen in any vaccine safety or efficacy study they just wipe it out. Gone. Deleted. Hit the cutting room floor. Does not apply. And then they look at the with the rest of the analysis and say well it was the safest placebo.

So now we go to claim stage for clinical trials. Stage one is bringing it to market. Stage two is small trials. Stage three is those thousand people (babies) we talked about. Now we just release it on humanity, that's stage four clinical trials. And they call it post marketing surveillance, to see how many people die or have serious consequences once we've unleashed it on humanity. And then everybody that reports a side effect or a problem, they go well we don't know if we can trust that report, it was just spontaneously reported, and maybe they were lying, maybe it had nothing to do with the vaccine. So it's all negated. Anything that is not just safe and effective is just one way or another deleted from the entire industry.

So what was problem number three? They only analyzed the you know when people drop out side effects they aren't taken into consideration.

And problem number four which i think is also a really serious complication, is when they when they set up a clinical trial, they only enroll healthy children or healthy and adults. I mean if you are a child and you have asthma, allergies, seizure disorders, autoimmune problems, you're not allowed into the vaccine study. You're not allowed in there. Same thing as if you're an adult. So you have to be like a healthy adult, and no medications, no underlying conditions that we know of.

So now we'll do the studies on you so children with chronic illnesses are excluded even though those are the children who are most advocated to receive the vaccine after it comes to market. Or the adult that's most advocated to receive it. So if you if your children have say asthma and they were excluded completely from this new vaccine, say a new flu shot, once that new flu shot gets approved, your pediatrician will hammer you over the head to give your kid with asthma this new shot because oh my god you can't let them get sick. And so if you get this vaccine it's going to keep them from getting sick and they are the most susceptible because they do have an underlying condition, even though the clinical trials never included any of those kids to begin with.

So this is just one example this was Prevnar 7, they now have Prevnar 13. So if you get a Prevnar 13 shot, that's like getting 13 vaccines in one needle. And you get five of those, at two, four, six months, one year, and they sometimes give a booster at five years of age.

And this is what it says right from the study, right? Healthy infants were randomized one-to-one meaning you had 800 healthy kids and you've divided them into two groups to receive either Prevnar 7 or a meningitis C vaccine. Huh there's that comparator of another vaccine. To get it at two, four, six months, and somewhere between twelve and fifteen months of age. Children with sickle cell, known immunodeficiency, and any serious chronic progressive disease, a history of seizures, a history of either of either type of pneumococcal or meningococcal meningitis were excluded. But when Prevnar came to market the number one target were kids with those conditions: chronic ear infections, immunodeficiencies, sickle-cell, so kids that don't have a spleen, they were the ones who were absolutely advocated to get this vaccine, even though they were never tested in any of the clinical trials against kids who were chronically ill.

I love this, this is my favorite quote. Figures don't lie, but Liars do figure. So they can take any statistic they want, and twist it around and manipulate it, cut out the kids that have side effects,  you know don't take don't include kids that were sick, you know never use a true placebo. Use something like a shot of aluminum, that's good enough. So they can really figure it around whatever they want.

So what are those takeaways? Safety studies don't prove safety. In fact, the US Supreme Court has actually ruled that vaccinations are unavoidably unsafe. Unavoidably unsafe by the US Supreme Court. The one size fits all vaccination schedule is dangerous and it's unproven and I think it's a fraud. Every vaccine is different, every combination in that vaccine is a little bit different, and every time it gets injected into you or your children.. I mean there's like 300 people in here how many different sets of genes do we think we have in here? 300, right? Because you're all came.. Even if you have twins, the genetics can be a little bit different. And if you've got two or three kids well think about how they behave at dinner. Do they all behave the same? No. do you think their genetics are exactly the same? They are not. So every vaccine is different with animal cells, DNA albumin, everything that's injected. So every vaccine, remember this, every vaccine is a true experiment. It's experimenting with you, what's happening inside of you, and what's happening to your children. Every human being is ejected with a different genetic constitution. So the takeaway from that section, really no placebo, distorted data, and every vaccine is a true experiment.

Isnt this happy? I'm just celebrating now. Are you learning something new? Yes good, okay.

Are vaccines effective? Well let me see, is that really not what we think. Webster's dictionary defines effective as, "adequate to accomplish a purpose producing an intended or expected result." Makes sense doesn't it? Something is going to be effective and fulfilling a specified function. Well how does that apply to vaccines?

Okay because are vaccines effective? Well by that definition yeah they really are. Because what is happening when they research vaccinations, is they are injecting foreign matter into the body, into the muscle, and at some point in time in the future, weeks, sometimes months later, they take a blood test to see if that foreign matter caused your body to generate an antibody. And if it did then it fulfilled a specified function. It did what it was supposed to do, it created an antibody. So yes vaccines are effective from that perspective, but the presence of an antibody is doesn't guarantee you from getting an illness. So effective is not a synonym for protective or protection. Remember that. Every time you hear safe and effective. That sounds like a robot. To me safe and effective, safe and effective, it's never been proven to be safe and effective, means that foreign matter was injected into a body and it created an antibody. It doesn't mean it's going to keep you from getting sick. So all this massive push about flu shots, then we're going to talk about this afternoon this whole thing about flu shots, of how it protects you less, if you believe that it works, protects you, it works it works less than 14% of the time. And we're going to go into that in detail this afternoon. So remember this this is an important takeaway effective does not mean protection.

As it turns out, researchers have observed that positive emotions influence endocrinological and immunological responses. In other words, experiencing stressful emotions, such as anger, depression, anxiety, or a state of unworthiness, has the potential to actually pull the genetic trigger, dysregulating cells and creating disease.

In 2005, a group of Japanese researchers conducted a study to examine what effect one's mental state might have on disease. The participants consisted of two groups of patients with type 2 diabetes, all of whom were dependent on insulin, a hormone that enables glucose to enter cells to be used as energy.

Fasting blood-sugar levels for each group was determined to establish a baseline. The researchers then exposed one of the groups to a comedy show for an hour, while the control group watched a boring lecture. Afterwards, both groups were instructed to consume food, after which their blood-sugar levels were checked again.

Of the groups, there was a significant difference between those who watched the comedy show compared to those who viewed the lecture. The researchers measured the blood-sugar levels of those who watched the lecture and observed an average of 123 mg/dl - high enough that they would be required to take insulin. In the group that watched the comedy show, their postprandial blood-sugar levels rose only about half of that amount. 

The researchers set out to examine the mechanism for why this may be occurring. Initially, they hypothesized that the group experiencing laughter resulting in more time contracting their diaphragm and abdominal muscles, expending more energy, therefore resulting in the lower blood-glucose levels.

Upon greater examination, the researchers analyzed the changes in expression of 18,716 genes from blood cells in the patients with type 2 diabetes, which were induced by laughter. Of the 18,716 genes, 23 genes showed significantly different expression changes after listening to the comic story compared to the boring lecture. Eight were relatively upregulated and 15 were downregulated 1.5 hours after the laughter occurred. As it turns out, of the group that experienced laughter, their elevated mental states apparently triggered their brains to send new chemical signals to their cells, activating the genetic sequences to allow their bodies to naturally begin regulating the genes responsible for processing blood sugar.

In sum, the researchers demonstrated simply signaling the body with a positive emotion, such as  laughter, is linked to gene expression. Emotions are capable of altering body chemistry and signaling new genes, altering their internal environment. And remember, we can create an emotion by thought alone.

Hayashi, T., Urayama, O., Kawai, K., Hayashi, K., Iwanaga, S., Ohta, M., Saito, T. and Murakami, K. (2005). Laughter Regulates Gene Expression in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 75(1), pp.62-65. https://doi.org/10.1159/000089228

From Gaia:

Magnetite is one of the most magnetic substances on Earth. As you can probably guess, it has a diverse range of uses; from fridge magnets to generating electricity in power plants. But what you probably wouldn’t guess is that your brain actually synthesizes these crystals, and you have hundreds of millions of them inside your head. Much smaller ones of course.

Scientists are still unsure what role, if any, these crystals play in the brain’s function. Studies have inferred that it may play a role in long-term memory. In animals, like honey bees, homing pigeons, and dolphins, magnetite is believed to be associated with the ability to respond to the earth’s magnetic field. 

While similar studies have yet to be performed on humans, we do know that earth’s magnetic fields affect everything from our mood to our ability to learn. Even stranger, research has begun to provide links between the electromagnetic field of our planet and psychic abilities. Could these crystals act like tiny antennas connecting our brains to each other and to the entire planet? It may sound far-fetched, but surprisingly, the evidence is there.

First, let’s look at what we know about the magnetite in our brains. To be honest, we don’t know much: In 1992, the first evidence of this mineral in the brain was published. It was shocking to uncover that this highly magnetic substance was actually synthesized by our bodies, and while we don’t know exactly what function it plays in brain activity, some interesting theories have emerged. A 2009 hypothesis proposed that magnetite plays a significant role in long-term memory. It suggests that cellular components of the brain communicate with each other through magnetic signals, with the magnetite particles acting as tiny antennas, simultaneously receiving information throughout the different parts of the brain.

Magnetite also acts as an antenna for external electromagnetic fields, including the geomagnetic field of the Earth itself. And this is where things start to get interesting. An enormous body of research is emerging that shows substantive links between magnetic fields and cognitive function.
Back in 1978, research physicist Dr. Robert C Beck published preliminary research on the effects of extremely low frequency magnetic fields on the moods of human subjects. ELF fields of 6.67 Hz, 6.26 Hz and lower tend to produce symptoms of confusion, anxiety, depression, tension, fear, mild nausea and headaches. On the other hand, oscillations of 7.8, 8.0, and 9.0 Hz produce anxiety-relieving and stress-reducing effects that mimic some meditative states.

More recently, magnetic fields have been used in successful clinical practices for eliminating depression and bipolar disorder, with over 1300 medical research papers published to date. The non-invasive treatment, known as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, uses a wand-shaped gadget to zap away the effects of depression.

While all of this is interesting, and can pave the way for new therapies and treatments, a group of researchers at Canada’s Laurentian University are exploring the role of electromagnetic forces in more extreme cognitive functions. Dr. Michael Persinger is a neuroscientist who has argued that all phenomena, including consciousness, spiritual experiences, and even “paranormal events,” can be explained by physical mechanisms, and can be verified using the scientific method.

Since 1971, he has been researching electromagnetic field effects upon biological organisms, and some of his recent studies sound straight out of a sci-fi movie: Dr. Persinger has shown in the laboratory that magnetic brain stimulation can create metal states conducive to human telepathy. A recent experiment placed two people at a distance in different rooms, each surrounded by an identical, computer-controlled magnetic field. When a light was flashed in one subject’s eye, the person in the other room showed responses in their brain as if they saw the flash of light.

As Dr. Persinger stated:

“We think that’s tremendous because it may be the first macro demonstration of a quantum connection, or so-called quantum entanglement. If true, then there’s another way of potential communication that may have physical applications, for example, in space travel.”

On a much larger scale, correlation has been shown between the geomagnetic forces of the planet and a variety of effects spanning large populations. A 2003 study found “strong empirical support in favor of a geomagnetic-storm effect in stock returns” and “evidence of substantially higher returns around the world during periods of quiet geomagnetic activity.”

Other research has linked geomagnetic activity to suicide, heart-disease, and even birth rates. A particularly curious global effect is related to a standing electromagnetic wave that exists between the Earth’s surface and the ionosphere. Known as “The Schumann Resonance,” this wave has a frequency of 7.8 Hz, and is frequently referenced in alternative theories of consciousness. Measurements by Dr. Persinger have shown that the fundamental and harmonics of the Schumann Resonance were discernible in normal human brain activity, and in fact they correspond to Dr. Beck’s anxiety-reducing ELF fields.

Stranger still was Persinger’s study of the remote viewer Ingo Swann. “Remote viewing” refers to a technique used by “psychic spies” working for the CIA; they were able to see far off locations as if they were there; and they could even move through time. Ingo Swann was one of the first, and most accurate, viewers in this program. When Dr. Persinger measured his brain’s electromagnetic activity during viewing sessions, he found a spike in activity at 7 hZ which correlated with the most accurate viewings. Is it possible that Swann was able to project his consciousness by tuning into the standing geomagnetic waves of the Earth?

All of this adds up to a fascinating connection between our brains and the shared magnetic field not only of our planet, but potentially of the entire universe. It’s undeniable that the brain responds to magnetic forces on a local and a global scale. While no one has been able to prove the involvement of magnetite, it seems a likely suspect. If we learn to harness the power of these tiny antennas in our brain, who knows what kind of psychic superpowers we might unlock?

Woods, J. (2018). Tiny Crystals In Our Brain Could Unlock Psychic Powers. [online] Gaia. Available at: https://www.gaia.com/article/could-tiny-crystals-in-our-brain-unlock-psychic-powers [Accessed 24 Aug. 2019].

How would you like to build new neural connections so that you can align your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors with what you ultimately want to achieve? You're in luck. You are innately endowed with the ability to train your brain to become an elite performer (if that's what you desire to do).

For a moment, imagine your brain as if it is it's own planet. Your "neural planet" has a population of some 85 billion neurons. Just as people in close proximity interact with one another, neurons communicate to each other via synapses and neurotransmitters. A synapse is an electrochemical junction between two nerve cells, in which impulses pass by diffusion of chemicals, also referred to as neurotransmitters.

If you took a consensus of your mental world, neurons of different sizes would be visible all over. Neurons that fire together look somewhat like a social gathering occurring. From a bird's-eye view, you would be able to see "remote villages" variably exchanging conversation, "towns" making more connections, and "large metropolitan areas" continuously in contact.

Synapses vary in size because the frequency of neural communication dictates the size and efficiency of their pathway. Infrequently used trails can become freeways and vice versa.

This connection between neurons, and clusters of neurons, is the essential function of the brain. Every time you think, feel, act, emotionalize, or remember, you reinforce existing brain neural connections or create new ones. There are neural patterns for everything, from standing to reading this page. The innumerable patterns in which your brain cells connect and share information reflects your brain's capacity to perform. 

The old scientific paradigm held that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Fortunately, the old paradigm has evolved and incorporated the science of neuroplasticity, which suggests the brain can change and it can happen at any time. Like plastic, neurons can mold into new forms, creating new connections. Any time you learn a new skill, the brain is changing by making new neural connections. Whether it is learning to play an instrument, speaking a new language, discovering a new route home, eating whole foods, and so much more, your brain begins to change itself.

Learning is forging new connections. Remembering is maintaining and sustaining those connections. And just like a relationship, the more communication that occurs, the more bondage that takes place. Neurons are the same way.

What is really fascinating, is that you can change your brain, not only by doing, but also by thinking. Researchers have demonstrated that the act of focusing and being present through meditation changes the brain in many ways. 

Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to change itself, and it's the innate ability that you can harness to help you attain your goals.

You are able to reshape your brain using the same principles that your brain was built - neurons firing and wiring, syncing and linking together.

There are three ways that neuroplasticity can change your mind:

1. Neurogenesis: More Locations to Travel
   Neurogenesis is the process of creating more neurons. Increasing neural connections is often referred to as increasing "grey matter". In an adult brain, learning new skills typically occurs in areas like the hippocampus.
   
2. Hebb's Rule: More and Larger Connections
   Neurons that fire together, wire together. This is based on what is called Hebb's rule, which postulates that neurons that communicate with each other electrochemically create a bond, or path. As neurons communicate more frequently, more paths are created and these paths get larger.
   
3. Myelin: More Efficient Connections
   Myelin is a fatty sheath that insulates neurons, increasing conductivity, allowing a more rapid transmission to occur, thereby improving the connection between brain cells. Myelin is often referred to as "white matter", and is thought to improve the function of neurons.
   

More neurons, more connections, and more efficient connections. These are the three ways to exponentially transform your life. But, there is a caveat. As an adult, some of your neuroplasticity is turned off. But once again, you're in luck, you can turn it back on.

As an infant, the brain is a sponge, absorbing what it can in an effort increase the chances of survival. As you age, your neuroplasticity slows down as new memories and skills are created; habitual patterns begin to direct most of your daily activities, and novel ideas get pushed to the back burner.

As an adult, learning processes, beliefs, and behaviors become, more or less "fixed" within the neural pathways of the brain. This means the plasticity switch is predominately in the "off" position, to varying degrees in each individual. One person may be so set in their ways that to try to get them to see things from a new perspective is like talking to a brick wall. Whereas another person may be more flexible and is able to take all sides into consideration. In either case, neuroplasticity can work at any age, so in the case of that brick wall, the only thing holding them back is themselves. They're not old dogs who can't learn new tricks, they're just uninformed, or perhaps unwilling.

Here are six time-tested principles to turn on neuroplasticity:

1. Novelty and Curiosity
   From an evolutionary perspective, novelty led to one of two things: danger or reward. Brains that paid attention to novelty could tell the difference between a threat and reward, and therefore had a better chance of surviving. When you encounter novelty, new information enters your senses, perceptions, and creative thoughts to merge with older information stored in memory, triggering the release of dopamine, which in turn stimulates new neural activity.
2. Pain and pleasure
   Pain is the most powerful force to wire new connections in the brain. Conversely, fun an exciting experiences also activate neuroplasticity.
3. Purpose - Your Why
   Your dreams, goals and objectives powerfully effect your brain by potentially containing the promise of a future reward. This increases you motivation, providing your brain a sense of purpose and direction, which helps activate neuroplasticity.
4. Focus
   Researchers have demonstrated that attention to specific tasks, such as mindfulness meditation, can significantly change the brain. By learning to gradually increase your ability to narrow and sustain your attention, neuroplasticity mechanisms can be predominantly activated.
5. Exercise
   Consider this: your mind is reflection of your body. Regular exercise profoundly benefits the the brain in many ways. From increasing neural circulation and neural growth factors, to reducing stress and depressing, partaking in a consistent exercise regimen can promote neuroplasticity.
6. Discomfort
   Your comfort zone is a habitual space that contains your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, where your brain runs on autopilot. This is where 95-97 percent of your daily activities originate. While you spend most of your time operating from your comfort zone, a minimal amount of new connections are being made. Stepping out of the comfort zone into the growth zone is similar to exploring novel experiences in that it exposes you to learning. When done deliberately though, like a rubberband, you can stretch your mind to new dimensions.

Here are some more ways to activity neuroplasticity:

• Meet new people every week
• Engage in intense meaningful conversation every day
• Engage in physical activity every day
• Engage in a variety of different projects each week
• Have specific, measurable, action-oriented goals based on your why
• Manage your stress levels
  
• Focus intently on one task at a time
  
• Make time to reflect on the meaning, purpose, and value of lide
  
• Think about and emotionalize your dreams, goals and objectives every day
  
• Learn one significant new thing (sport, hobby, skill, etc.) a year
  
• Have a rich social life
  
• Choose to constantly improve your health and diet
  
• Try new experiences
  
• Consciously pursue pleasurable activities every day
  
• Challenge you old beliefs and seek new perspectives about the world and yourself
  
• Make time for contemplative self-reflection
  
• Engage in a spiritual practice (prayer, meditation, mindfulness, etc.)
  
• Read new and challenging books (fiction and nonfiction)
  
• Brainstorm with community to discover more efficient ways to work and play
  
• Discover new levels of trust and intimacy with friends, partners, and family
  
• Practice being open-minded and accepting toward those with different beliefs
  
• Search for ways to reinforce and create new empowering habits
  

Clearly more is better. Neuroplasticity is a ongoing process, and if you are committed to being the best version of yourself, then it is a lifelong process.

Dr. Joe Dispenza is teaching the world how to empower and heal our mind through meditation and mindfulness. His studies have proven that when well practiced these tools can put us on the path to understanding and breaking deep-rooted bad habits and even heal illnesses. The author of Becoming Supernatural explains how to stop your mind from controlling you on this episode of Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu.

Transcript:

It's a scientific fact that the hormones of stress downregulate genes and create disease. Long-term effects. Human beings because of the size of the neocortex, we can turn on the stress response just by thought alone. As I think about our problems and turn on those chemicals. That means then our thoughts could make us sick. So if it's possible, that our thoughts could make us sick then it is possible then our thoughts could make us well? The answer is absolutely yes.

Everybody welcome to Impact Theory. Our goal with this show and company is to introduce you to the people and ideas that will help you actually execute on your dreams. Alright today's guest is a New York Times bestselling author and one of the most sought-after speakers in the world. He's lectured and given advanced workshops in more than 30 countries across five continents all with the aim of helping people better understand and unlock the power of their mind. His expertise is the intersection of the fields of neuroscience, epigenetics and quantum physics and he's partnered with other scientists across multiple disciplines to perform extensive research on the effects of meditation using advanced technologies such as epigenetic testing brain mapping with EEG s and gas-discharge visualization technology. Through his work he is endeavouring to help advance both the scientific community and the public at large as understanding of mind derived health optimization, a topic he covered extensively in his groundbreaking book, You Are The Placebo. His teaching has had such a profound impact on the way that people perceive a wide range of brain related topics around mindfulness and well-being. [that] He's a faculty member at the quantum University in Hawaii the Omega Institute for holistic studies in New York and the Kerr Paulo Centre for yoga and health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. He's also an invited chair of the research committee at life University in Atlanta, as well as a corporate consultant where he delivers his lectures and workshops for businesses. So, please help me in welcoming the man who has appeared in such films as Heal, People Versus the State of Illusion and Unleashing Creativity, the author of the recent book Becoming Supernatural, Dr. Joe Dispenza.

Thanks for being here. So, diving into your world and how you perceive the sense of self and the way that you marry science to - the way that we form memories the way that we live in a perpetual state of reliving our past and things like that. It's really, really incredible and I want to dive into the whole notion of you sort of being a habitual construct like what? What is that? What is the habit of you?

Well a habit is a redundant set of automatic unconscious thoughts, behaviors and emotions that's acquired through repetition. The habit is when you've done done something so many times that your body now knows how to do it better than your mind.

So if you think about it, people wake up in the morning, they begin to think about their problems. Those problems are circuits, memories in the brain, each one of those memories are connected to people and things at certain times and places. And, if the brain is a record of the past, the moment they start their day, they're already thinking in the past. Each one of those memories has an emotion. Emotions are the end product of past experiences. So the moment they recall those memories of their problems, they all of a sudden feel unhappy, they feel sad, they feel pain.

Now how you think and how you feel creates your state of being. So the person's entire state of being when they start their day is in the past. So what does that mean? The familiar past will sooner or later be predictable future. So, if you believe that your thoughts have something to do with your destiny and you can't think greater than how you feel, or feelings have become the means of thinking, by very definition of emotions you're thinking in the past. And for the most part you're going to keep creating the same life.

So then people grab their cell phone they check their WhatsApp. They check their texts. They check their emails. They check Facebook. They take a picture of their feet. They post it on Facebook. They tweet something, they do Instagram. They check the news and now they feel really connected to everything that's known in their life.

And then they go through a series of routine behaviors. They get out of bed on the same side. They go to the toilet. They get a cup of coffee. They take a shower, they get dressed, they drive to work the same way. They do the same things. They see the same people, that pushed the same emotional buttons, and that becomes the routine and it becomes like a program. So now they've lost their free will to a program, and there's no unseen hand doing it to them. So when it comes time to change the redundancy of that cycle becomes a subconscious program.

So now 95% of who we are by the time we're 35 years old is a memorized set of behaviors, emotional reactions, unconscious habits, hardwired attitudes, beliefs and perceptions that function like a computer program. So then person can say with their five percent of their conscious mind. I want to be healthy. I want to be happy. I want to be free, but the body's on a whole different program.

So then how do you begin to make those changes? Well, you have to get beyond the analytical mind because what separates the conscious mind from the subconscious mind is the analytical mind and that's where meditation comes in, because you can teach people through practice how to change their brainwaves, slow them down. And, when they do that properly they do enter the operating system where they can begin to make some really important changes.

So most people then wait for crisis or trauma or disease or diagnosis, you know, they wait for loss
some tragedy to make up their mind to change and my message is, "Why wait?" You can learn and change in a state of pain and suffering or you can learn and change in a state of joy and inspiration. I think right now the cool thing is that people are waking up.

That's really interesting. And where I found the the deepest hooks into how powerful this can be for somebody is when you talk about trauma and you've talked about how people experience a traumatic event, but they then basically rehearse it and how that then has this knock-on effect. So, what is that? Why do people find it so hard to get past trauma?

Well, the stronger the emotional reaction you have to some experience in your life, the higher the emotional quotient, the more you pay attention to the cause, and the moment the brain puts all of its attention on the cause, it takes a snapshot and that's called a memory. So long-term memories are created from very highly emotional experiences. So what happens then is that people think neurologically within the circuitry of that experience and they feel chemically within the boundaries of those emotions. And so when you have an emotional reaction to someone or something most people think that they can't control their emotional reaction.

Well, it turns out if you allow that emotional reaction, it's called a refractory period to last for hours or days, that's called the mood. I say to someone, "Hey, what's up think?" "I'm in a mood," "Well, why are you in a mood?" "Well I had this thing happen to me five days ago and I'm having one long emotional reaction." If you keep that same emotional reaction going on for weeks or months that's called temperament. Why is he so bitter? I don't know. Let's ask him. Why is he so bitter? "Why are you bitter?" "Well, I had this thing happened to me nine months ago." And if you keep that same emotional reaction going on for years on end that's called a personality trait. And so learning how to shorten your refractory period of emotional reactions is really where that work starts.

So then people when they have an event what they do is they keep recalling the event because the
emotions of stress hormones the survival emotions are saying pay attention to what happened, because you want to be prepared if it happens again.

Turns out most people spend 70% of their life living in survival and living in stress. So they're they're always anticipating the worst-case scenario based on a past experience and they're literally, out of the infinite potentials in the quantum field, they're selecting the worst possible outcome and they're beginning to emotionally embrace it with fear and their conditioning their body into a state of fear. Do that enough times, the body has a panic attack without you. You can't even predict it because it's programmed subconsciously.

So then you say to the person, "Why are you this way?" And they'll say, "I am this way because of this event that happened to me 15 or 20 years ago," and what that means from biological standpoint is that they haven't been able to change since that event. So then the emotions from the experience tend to give the body and the brain a rush of energy. So people become addicted to the rush of those emotions and they use the problems and conditions in their life to reaffirm their limitation, so at least they can feel something. So now when it comes time to change you say the person, "Why are you this way?" Well, every time they recall the event they're producing the same chemistry in their brain and body as if the event is occurring, firing and wiring the same circuits and sending the same emotional signature to the body.

Well, what's the revelant behind that? Well, your body is the unconscious mind. It doesn't know the difference between the experience that's creating the emotion and the emotion that you're creating by thought alone. So the body's believing it's living in the same past experience 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. And so then when those emotions influence certain thoughts, and they do, and then those thoughts create the same emotions, and those same emotions influence the same thoughts, now the entire person's state of being is in the past.

So then the hardest part about change is not making the same choice as you did the day before a period. And the moment you decide to make a different choice get ready because it's going to feel uncomfortable, it's going to feel unfamiliar.

So why does it feel so uncomfortable? Is it because of the neurons that fire together wire together?
So there's like an easiness to that loop. (Just because, literally, and you've talked very eloquently about this the way that the neurons connect in the brain how rapidly. I've seen you show footage of how rapidly those connections happen, which is pretty incredible." Is that what makes it so discomforting for people?

I think that the bigger thing is that as we keep firing and wiring those circuits, they become more hardwired. So there you have a thought and then the program runs but it's the emotion that follows the thought. If you have a fearful thought you're gonna feel anxiety, the moment you feel anxiety your brains checking in with your body and saying, " Yeah, you're pretty anxious." So then you start thinking more corresponding thoughts equaled how you feel.

Well, the redundancy of that cycle conditions the body to become the mind. So now when it comes time to change, a person steps into that river of change and they make a different choice in all of a sudden they don't they don't feel the same way. So the body says, "Well, you've been doing this for 35 years." Well, you're gonna just stop feel suffering and stop feeling guilty and stop feeling shameful and you're not gonna complain, or blame, or make excuses, or feel sorry for yourself.

The body's in the unknown. So the body says I want to return back to familiar territory. So the body starts influencing the mind then it says, "Start tomorrow, you're too much like your mother. You'll never change. This isn't gonna work for you. This doesn't feel right."

And so if you respond to that thought as if it's true, that same thought will lead to the same choice, which will lead to the same behavior, which will create the same experience, which produce the same emotion.

I want to talk about that notion. Give me a little more detail. We mean by the body becomes the mind or the unconscious mind. What do you mean by that exactly?

Well, those are two different things. Your body is your unconscious mind. In a sense, if you're sitting down and you start thinking about some future worst-case scenario that you're conjuring up in your mind and you begin to feel the emotion of that event, your body doesn't know the difference between the event that's taking place in your world, outer world, and what you're creating by emotion or thought alone.

So most people then, they're constantly reaffirming their emotional states. So when it comes time to give up that emotion they can say, "I really want to do it," but really the body is stronger than the mind because it's been conditioned that way. So, the servant now has become the master and the person all of a sudden once they step into that unknown, they'd rather feel guilt and suffering because at least they can predict it. Being in the unknown is a scary place for most people because the unknown is uncertain.

People say to me, "Well, I can't predict my future. I'm in the unknown." And I always say, "The best way to predict your future is to create it. Not from the known but from the unknown. What thoughts do you want to fire and wire in your brain? What behaviors do you want to demonstrate in one day?

The act of rehearsing mentally, closing your eyes and rehearsing the action.

The rehearsing the reaction of what you want.

The action of what you want by closing your eyes and mentally rehearsing some action. If you're truly present, the brain does not know the difference between what you're imaging and what you're experiencing in 3D world.

So then you begin to install the neurological hardware in your brain to look like the event has already occurred. Now your brain is no longer a record of the past. Now, it's a map to the future. And if you keep doing it, priming it that way, the hardware becomes a software program and who knows you just may start acting like a happy person. And then I think the hardest part is to teach our body emotionally what the future will feel like ahead of the actual experience.

So, what does that mean? You can't wait for your success to feel empowered. You can't wait for your wealth to feel abundant. You can't wait for your your new relationship to feel love, or your healing to feel whole. I mean that's the old model of reality of cause and effect, you know waiting for something outside of us to change how we feel inside of us and when we feel better inside of us. We pay attention to whatever caused it. But what that means then is that from the Newtonian world that most people spend their whole life living in lack, waiting for something to change out there.

What do you mean the Newtonian world?

Newtonian world is all about the predictable. It's all about predicting the future. But the quantum model of reality isn't is about causing an effect. The moment you start feeling abundant and worthy you are generating wealth. The moment you're empowered and feel it, you're beginning to step towards your success the moment. You start feeling whole, your healing begins. And when you love yourself and you love all of life, you'll create an equal. And now you're causing and effect and I think that's that the difference between living as a victim - In your world saying "I am this way because of this person or that thing or this experience. They made me think and feel this way." When you switch that around you become a creator of your world and you start saying, "My thinking and my feeling is changing an outcome in my life." And now that's a whole different game and we start believing more that were creators of reality.

So, how do we go from, "Okay, I have this negative emotion. It's controlling my life. It's got me in this cycle of I think about this emotion, which triggers a chemical reaction, which trains my body to feel that way, which makes it easier more likely I will do it again, and so now I'm in this vicious cycle." And it's unconscious right.

You said, "Does your thinking create your environment, or does your environment create your thinking," which I thought was really, really interesting. So, how do we then go from that, like mechanistically, to begin this visualization process of something that's empowering, its me in a different state, it's my future self. Is it meditation? What does that look like?

If you're not being defined by a vision of the future, then you're left with the old memories of the past and you will be predictable in your life. And, if you wake up in the morning and you're not being defined by a vision in the future as you see the same people and you go to the same places and you do the exact same thing at the exact same time, it's no longer that your personality is creating your personal reality. Now your personal reality is affecting or creating your personality. Your environment is really controlling how you think and feel unconsciously, because every person every thing every place every experience has a neurological network in your brain.

Every experience that you have with every person produces an emotion. So some people will use their boss to reaffirm their addiction to judgment. They'll use their enemy to reaffirm their addiction to hatred. They'll use their friends to reaffirm their addiction to suffering. So now they need the outer world to feel something.

So, to change them is to be greater than your environment, to be greater than the conditions in your world and the environment is that seductive. So then why is meditation the tool?

Well, let's sit down. Let's close our eyes. Let's disconnect from your outer environment. So if you're seeing less things is less stimulation going to your brain if you're playing soft music or you have earplugs in, less sensory information coming to your brain. So you're disconnecting from environment if you can sit your body down and tell it to stay like an animal stay right here. I'm gonna feed you when we're done. You can get up and check your emails. You can do all your texts, but right now you're gonna sit there and obey me.

So then, when you do that properly and the you're not eating anything or smelling anything or tasting anything, you're not up experiencing and feeling anything, you would have to agree with me that you're being defined by a thought, right? So when the body wants to go back to its emotional past, and you become aware that your attention is on that emotion, and where you place your attention is where you place your energy, you're siphoning your energy out of the present moment into the past and you become aware of that. And, you settle your body back down in the present moment because it's saying "Well, it's eight o'clock. You normally get upset because you're in traffic around this time and here you are sitting and we're used to feeling anger and you're off schedule. Oh, it's 11 o'clock and usually check your emails and judge everybody."

Well, the body is looking for that that predictable chemical state every time you become aware that you're doing that and your body is craving those emotions and you settle it back down into the present moment, you're telling the body it's no longer the mind, that you're the mind. And now your will is getting greater than the program. And if you keep doing this over and over again, over and over again, over and over again, just like training a stallion or a dog, it's just gonna say, "I'm gonna sit." And the moment that happens, when the body's no longer the mind, when it finally surrenders, there's a liberation of energy. We go from particle to wave, from matter to energy, and we free ourselves from the chains of those emotions that keep us in the in the familiar past and we've seen this thousands of times. In fact, we can actually predict it now on a brain scan.

That's so interesting. Let's go a little bit harder on metacognition, the notion that you don't have to believe everything you think. I love the way that you talk about that.

Hmm. Yeah, and we have a huge frontal lobe. It's 40% of our entire brain, and most people when they have a thought they just think that that's the truth. And, I think one of my greatest realizations in my own journey was just because you have a thought, it doesn't necessarily mean it's true.

So if you think 60 to 70 thousand thoughts in one day, and we do, and 90% of those thoughts are the same thoughts as the day before and you believe that your thoughts have something to do with your destiny, your life's not gonna change very much. Because the same thought leads to the same choice, the same choice leads to the same behavior, the same behavior creates the same experience, and the same experience produces the same emotion.

And so then, the act of becoming conscious of this process, to begin to become more aware of how you think, how you act, and how you feel, it's called metacognition.

And so then, why is that important? Because the more conscious you become of those unconscious states of mind and body, the less likely you're gonna go unconscious during the day. And that thought is not gonna slip by your awareness unchecked. It means to know thyself. And the word meditation means to become familiar with. So as you become familiar with the thoughts the behaviors and the emotions of the old self, you're retiring that old self as you fire and wire new thoughts and condition the body into a new emotional state. If you do that enough times, it'll begin to become familiar to you.

So it's so important. Just like a garden, if you're planting a garden, you've got to get rid of the weeds. You got to take the plants from the past year and you got to pull them out. The rocks that sift to the top that are like our emotional blocks, they have to be removed that soil has to be tenderized and broken down. We have to we have to make room to plant the new garden.

So primarily, we learn the most about ourselves and others when we're uncomfortable, because the moment you move into that uncomfortable state, normally a program jumps in. When that program jumps in, it's because the person doesn't want to be in the present moment and engage it consciously.

So when you teach people how to do that with a meditative process, turns out that when they're in their life, they're less likely to emotionally react. They're less likely to be so rigid and believe the thoughts they were thinking. They're more aware of when they go unconscious back into a habit, and that is what starts the process of change.

And, so we have to unlearn before we relearn. We have to break the habit of the old self before we reinvent a new self. We have to pre-synaptic connections and sprout new connections. We have to unfire and unwire and refire and rewire. We have to unmemorize emotions that are stored and then recondition the body that to a new mind into a new emotion. Like the deprogram and reprogram, that's the act, and it's a two-step process.

Yeah, I like the way that you call that out as an action. There was another thing that you said that I thought was really powerful, about how insights themselves are essentially inert, they don't do anything. What what then do we do with an insight? How do we take a breakthrough moment and make sure that it's not just a breakthrough moment? Like I guarantee people watching right now are having like a hundred aha moments. For sure, that was definitely the case for me as I was researching you and when you said that I was like and that's the danger that you have the aha and then nothing.

Yeah, and it is a danger, because then people will will shrink back into mediocracy and they'll use the insight to excuse them from taking a leap. They'll say, "Yeah, you know, I have a chemical imbalance in my brain. Yeah, my father was really overbearing, he was a perfectionist. That's why I am the way I am."

You know people, they come up with stuff to excuse themselves. The insight is actually giving them permission to stay limited. And it's an amazing idea because they'll say to you that they really want to get over their anxiety. But let's ok. Let's take your ex-husband. Let's put him in a straitjacket. Let's duct tape them and shoot them to the moon know what I mean. What are you gonna do now? You still have to make those changes. And so then the person's enemy dies or they're something shifts in their life and that person's gone, they'll find another person to hate. This is just how we function as human beings. We just slide another reason to feel those emotions.

So I think I think when people start to understand this, you know, I think knowledge is power. But knowledge about yourself is self empowerment.

So how much of this is really learning to just bifurcate the world into (there's) negative emotions that have negative neurochemistry - associated with, and you said that in those states if you're living in a perpetual state of stress hormones and things like that illness is like a step away and then just the other side of that is understanding - (but there's) [and] this whole other side of positive energy, which happiness, joy, empowerment - whatever that you know neurochemical cocktail is, but that when you're on that side your immune system is more likely to function well. Is that just sort of bringing it down to like a really base level. Yeah, that's sort of one of the biggies.

Well, let's talk about it in terms of survival or creation

As I said 70% of the time people live in stress and living in stress is living in survival. Now, all organisms in nature can tolerate short-term stress, you know a deer gets chased by a pack of coyotes, when it out runs the Coyotes it goes back to grazing and the event is over. And the definition of stress is when your brain and body are knocked out of balance, out of homeostasis.

The stress response is what the body innately does to return itself back to order. So you're driving down the road, someone cuts you off, you jam on the brakes, you may give them the finger and then you settle back down and the event is over and boom now everything's back back to normal.

But what if it's not a predator that's waiting for you outside the cave, but what if it's your coworker sitting right next to you and all day long you're turning on those chemicals because they're pushing all your emotional buttons. When you turn on the stress response, and you can't turn it off, now you're headed for a disease because no organism in nature can live an emergency mode for that extended period of time. It's a scientific fact that the hormones of stress down regulate genes and create disease, long term effects.

Human beings, because of the size of the neocortex, we can turn on the stress response just by thought alone, I can think about our problems and turn on those chemicals. That means then our thoughts could make us sick. So if it's possible that our thoughts could make us sick, is it possible that our thoughts could make us well? The answer is absolutely, yes.

So then what are the emotions that are connected to survival? Let's name them, anger, aggression, hostility, hatred, competition, fear, anxiety, worry, pain, suffering, guilt, shame, unworthiness, envy jealousy. Those are all created by the hormones of stress. And psychology calls them normal human states of consciousness, I call those altered states of consciousness.

So then we tend to remember those traumatic events more because in survival, you better be ready if it happens again. And in one's survival gene is switched on you could have ten really great things that happen to you in your day and you just have one bad thing that happens and you cannot take your attention off that unhappy thing because the survival gene is switched on.

It's really interesting. How does epigenetics come into play in all this. What's actually happening? You've talked pretty profoundly about proteins and like really at a deep level how we're signalling to our genetics to create these kinds of changes. What does that actually look like?

Well, epigenetics. Epi means above the gene. And many years ago after the DNA helix was discovered by Watson and Crick, they said the blueprints of life, you know, all diseases are created from genes. It turns out less than 5%, more like 1%. of people on the planet are born with a genetic condition like type 1 diabetes or Tay-sachs disease or sickle cell anemia. The other 95 to 99 percent are created by lifestyle and by choices. You can take to identical twins with the exact same genome, one dies at 51, the other one dies at 85, same gene different environment.

So, all of a sudden they said, "We lied. That was wrong. It's not genes that create disease. It's the environment that signals the gene that creates disease."

Well, ok, but that's not the whole truth too because you could have two people working side by side in the same factory, one gets cancer after being exposed to a carcinogenic for 25 years, both working for 25 years, he other one has no cancer at all. So there must be some internal order that would cause one person to not get it while another one does.

So is it possible then, if the environment signals the gene, and it does, and the end product of an experience in the environment is called an emotion, can you signal the gene ahead of the environment by embracing an elevated emotion?

We've done the research on this where we measured 7,500 different gene expressions in a group of people. It came to an advanced event for four days. And we had them doing a seated meditation, a walking meditation, a laying down meditation, a standing meditation. And at the end of four days, just four days, the common eight genes that were upregulated, two genes to suppress cancer cells and tumor growth; two genes for neurogenesis the growth of new neurons in response to novel experiences; and learning the gene that signals stem cells to go to damaged areas and repair them; the gene for oxidative stress was upregulated.

We started seeing all these genes that are very, very healthy to cause the body to flourish. Imagine if people were doing that for three months. We also measured telomeres - the little shoestrings on the end of DNA that tell us our biological age. We asked people to do the work meditation five out of seven days for 60 days. Measure their telomeres that determine their biological age. sixty days later, seventy four percent of the people lengthen their telomeres, 40 percent significant change, twenty percent a very remarkable change. That means that they got a little bit of their life back if it lengthened by ten percent. They got 10% of their life back.

That's incredible.

Before I ask my last question tell these guys where they can find you online.

Sure. My website is just https://drjoedispenza.com. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, we're all over.

And then my final question. What's the impact that you want to have on the world?

I think that the end game for me is to empower people to such a degree that they realize that they need less things outside of them to make them happy, less things outside of them to regulate their moods and their behaviors, and that they begin to use the kind of the power that we all have access to, and into really, and to change the world, to make a difference so that there's more peace, here's more wholeness, there's more connection. That we support and love each other, and we serve better. And I think that we have to start for the most part if everybody's working on themselves. And trying doing their best to present the greatest ideal of themselves to the world, I think the world would be a better place. And so, that's my passion and I'm witnessing it happening now the more than I ever thought I would.

That was incredible Joe. Thank you so much for being here and amazing having you.

Transcript:

Remember that time Ron believed that Harry gave him Liquid Luck?

Felix Felicis, known in the wizarding world as Liquid Luck, is a magical potion that gives it’s drinker good fortune. For a period of time, everything the drinker attempts will be successful. So in the following scene we see Ron dominate the quidditch match, and become Gryffindor’s latest hero. But of course there’s a catch, Harry didn’t actually put the potion in Ron’s drink at all. This is a prime example of the placebo effect.

A placebo is a treatment with no active therapeutic properties. And it’s often used as the control in clinical trials to test the effectiveness of new pharmaceutical drugs. But the effect refers to the physiological phenomenon that usually happens to the control group who was given the placebo treatment.

Their condition improves in a way that is often comparable and sometimes even better than the control group, even though they weren’t given any drugs at all. In cases where the placebo outperforms the drug, researchers come to the conclusion that the pharmaceutical should be deemed ineffective.

But why aren’t they more interested in the fact that these people are getting better with no medicine at all?

It’s no secret that the healthcare industry needs sick people in order to turn over a profit. In a 2018 report, the investment banking company Goldman Sachs looked into the investment potential of biotech research companies who are attempting to create “one shot cures.”

Their conclusion? Cures could be bad for business.

They stated “While this proposition carries tremendous value for patients and society, it could represent a challenge for genome medicine developers looking for sustained cash flow.” So should we really be surprised that nobody’s putting money behind self-healing research? You can’t exactly put “belief” in tablet form and sell it to patients. But that’s sort of what placebos are.

The examples of miraculous placebo effect results are pretty much endless, so we’ll just look at a few.

In 2001, Irving Kirsch from Harvard Medical School used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain data of clinical trials of top antidepressants. He found that in over half of these trials, the drugs didn’t outperform the placebos, and concluded that 80% of the success in those trials was due to the placebo effect.

Several studies have shown that the placebo effect can also affect physical performance. In one of these studies, a group of weight lifters were told that they were being given a legal anabolic steroid. Each of those athletes set all-time personal records in every exercise tested after being administered the fake steroid. 

So we have the ability to improve mental conditions and physical performance with our mind, but can the placebo effect go as far as surgery? According to this study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, yes.

A group of 180 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee were split into three groups. One group underwent an operation that shaves down the damaged cartilage, one group received a flushing of the knee joint, and one group received a faux surgery. Complete with pre-op, post-op, small incisions on the knee to produce scars, and audio cues that an operation was taking place.

And the results were startling, the patients were followed up with at various times throughout recovery with the last check-in being 24 months after surgery. The data showed that “At no point did either of the intervention groups report less pain or better function than the placebo group.”

And they concluded, “Finally, health care researchers should not underestimate the placebo effect, regardless of its mechanism.”

Some have argued that the placebo effect boils down to good old fashioned bedside manner. In fact, the Senior Medical Fellow at the American Council on Science and health has claimed that it really just goes back to the soul of medicine — ritual, symbolism, trust, hope, and compassion.

And it’s true that the doctor-patient relationship plays a large role in the effectiveness of treatment. Patients with optimistic and compassionate doctors tend to fare better than those who receive treatment from unenthusiastic ones.

But it’s doubtful that this can explain the magic of the placebo effect entirely. After all, there’s something going on physiologically. And to get a better understanding of just what that is, we’re going to have to dive a little deeper.

Bruce Lipton is a cellular biologist who’s research gives us some insight into the mechanism that allows us to heal ourselves. Once upon a time, the planet was populated with single-celled organisms. They did alright for themselves, the protein building blocks of the cells acted as receptors and effectors that took in environmental information and responded accordingly. But after some time these cells started to join together, forming communities that acted as units.

As a means of survival, special cells were tasked with acting as a centralized info processing system or what we would call a brain. In this way, highly evolved animals were able to take in even more information from the environment and relay it to all of the cells throughout the body.

This was great for organizing the flow of signal molecules that regulate the cells’ behaviors.But it also meant that individual cells had to relinquish control to the brain.

And as proud owners of these brains, we can all attest that sometimes our mind generates emotions that are unrelated to our environment and definitely not necessary or conducive to our survival. And these emotion are so strong that they have the ability to override the system.

So that’s great news, right? We can just think happy, healthy, positive thoughts to override the system and cure ourselves of any disease.

Well, not exactly. There’s an important distinction to be made about the instructions that our mind is sending to the rest of our body. Some are coming from our conscious mind, but most are coming from our subconscious mind. And unfortunately, the one that we have control over is only driving the bus about 5% of the time.

Our conscious mind is where we generate thoughts, but our subconscious mind is actually where most of our instructions are coming from whether we realize it or not.

Our subconscious mind acts out of habits and experiences that are formed over a lifetime, but most of which are programmed before we even reach adolescence. It’s where we store all of our fears and past traumas, so it’s no surprise that it might be operating under disempowering programs which conflict with the best intentions of our conscious mind.

But it isn’t all doom and gloom. Dr. Lipton believes that these programs can be easily overwritten through things like meditation, hypnotherapy, and various other forms of energy psychologies.

But how could these woo woo sounding modalities possibly work better than the chemicals that directly alter the functions and behaviors of particular cells? It turns out that cells respond much better to energy signals than they do to chemical signals.

When a chemical bond is made, most of the cell’s energy is wasted through chemical coupling. So very little energy is left to take in information and respond to the signal. On the other hand, energy signals link with a cell’s available energy to relay environmental information which according to Oxford biologist C.W.F. McLare makes them 100% more efficient at receiving and responding to signals.

So now the placebo effect results aren’t such a mystery. We see why simply thinking our health will improve can be just as, if not more powerful than a chemical telling our cells to do something different. After all, thoughts are just energetic vibrations.

Now all of this isn’t to say that pharmaceuticals shouldn’t have a place in modern medicine or that every disease can be cured simply by positive thinking. But it is important to recognize that we have powerful internal resources to call upon and integrate into our overall health.

Humans have an innate desire to believe in magic. That’s why it’s so tempting to turn to magical pills and potions when something in our life isn’t going the way we want it to. But just like we saw before, magic doesn’t necessarily require wands and spells. We’re the drivers of our biology, and we have the ability to rewrite our data. The magic is already within us. 

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