articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/02/02/are-you-addicted-to-smartphone.aspx Are You Addicted to Your Smartphone? By Dr. Mercola You’ve seen it many times: A family taking their seats in a restaurant, then one by one pulling out their individual cellphones to examine until the food comes, after which they check their phones repeatedly as they’re eating. Perhaps you’ve noticed people walking on busy streets, riding bicycles, driving cars or standing on a commuter train, scrolling their phones, paying little attention to their surroundings. Toddlers, too, are given their own little digital devices, to which their eyes remain glued as if they’re mesmerized instead of taking in the world around them and engaging with real people and real situations that help them grow socially and emotionally. Most people in the real world have connected to technology, only vaguely aware that in the process there’s the danger that unless they remain diligent, they’ll disconnect to some degree from what’s real

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/02/02/how-stress-influences-heart-attack-stroke-risk.aspx How Stress Influences Your Heart Attack and Stroke Risk By Dr. Mercola Stress has enormous implications for your health. From an evolutionary perspective, the stress response is a lifesaving biological function that enables you to instinctively square-off against an assailant, run away from a predator or take down a prey. However, those of us living in the modern world are now activating this same biological reaction in response to activities and events that have no life-threatening implications whatsoever, from speaking in public to filling out tax forms and sitting in traffic jams. The sheer number of stress-inducing situations facing us on a daily basis can actually make it difficult to turn the stress response off, and marinating in corrosive stress hormones around the clock can have very serious consequences for your health. Stubborn fat accumulation, high blood pressure and heart attack are

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/02/02/clove-bud-oil.aspx Choose Clove Bud Oil for Better Dental Health You're probably familiar with clove, an aromatic spice that is commonly used in Indian and Chinese culture as seasoning and for medicinal purposes. Cloves, also known as clove buds, gained popularity all over the world, especially in the western hemisphere, during the 7th century because of their health benefits. Like other spices, cloves can also be used to make an essential oil. While it is not as popular as other plant oils, I believe there are numerous reasons why you should consider having clove bud oil at home. What Is Clove Bud Oil? Clove bud oil is derived from the clove tree, a member of the Myrtaceae family. This tree is native to Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia. From the evergreen, you can derive three types of clove essential oils: clove bud oil, clove leaf oil and clove stem oil. Out of the three, clove bud essential oil — also known as Eugenia carophyllata — is

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/02/01/snap-pushing-for-changes-food-assistance-program.aspx SNAP Decisions: Pushing for Changes in Food Assistance Program By Dr. Mercola About 23 million U.S. households receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, amounting to an average of $253 a month, which can be used to buy "any food or food product for home consumption.”1,2 This $74-billion federal food assistance program is intended to help alleviate hunger among those at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty line,3 but, as with many federal programs, there’s vast room for improvement. While the program has succeeded in fighting hunger, it has largely failed in providing adequate, much less optimal, nutrition. As Neal Barnard, president of the Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine, put it, “The problem is it provides calories, not healthy food.”4Soda Is the No. 1 Purchase Made by SNAP Households The U.S. Depa

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/02/01/safe-solution-fabric-softeners.aspx Safe Solution for Fabric Softeners By Dr. Mercola Most people do their cleaning with as little muss and fuss as possible, but in recent years it's begun to enter the mainstream consciousness that the "easy" way may also be the toxic way. Incredibly damaging chemical mixtures make up the active ingredients in a staggering number of products many people use on a daily basis. Fabric softener can be included in this category. Body creams, scented candles, air fresheners and bathroom cleaners are just a few additional items most Americans throw into their shopping carts as a matter of course, rarely thinking for a moment that it might as well be rat poison they're sprinkling onto their carpets, spraying onto their upholstery and massaging into their skin. Fabric softeners may top the list as one of the worst offenders, and may be one of the products environmentalists had in mind when the term "indoor pollutants" was c

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/02/01/improve-nearsightedness-with-the-help-of-sunshine.aspx How to Improve Your Failing Ability to Read Clearly as You Age, With the Help of Sunshine By Dr. Mercola Nearsightedness is incredibly common, affecting an estimated 40 percent of Americans and up to 90 percentof young adults in Asian countries.1 According to research published in 2009, rates of nearsightedness in the U.S. have risen by 66 percent since the early 1970s.2 A 2015 study estimated up to one-third of the world's population may be nearsighted by the end of the decade — that's 2.5 billion people.3 The following year, a meta-analysis of 145 studies predicted nearly half of the world will be nearsighted by the year 2050.4 Just what might be causing this rapid mass-deterioration of vision? One longstanding theory was that excessive reading at close distance (particularly in poor lighting) could lead to nearsightedness by altering growth and shape of the eyeball. As computers and smartpho

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/01/31/epa-monsanto-collaboration.aspx Smoking Gun on EPA's Secret Collaboration With Monsanto By Dr. Mercola The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is once again facing scrutiny over its dealings with Monsanto, the maker of Roundup herbicide. In 2015, glyphosate, Roundup's active ingredient, was determined to be a "probable carcinogen" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is the research arm of the World Health Organization (WHO). The EPA, rather than taking immediate steps to protect Americans from this probable cancer-causing agent, decided to reassess its position on the chemical and, after doing so, released a paper in October 2015 stating that glyphosate is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans.1 In April 2016, the EPA posted the report online, briefly, before pulling it and claiming it was not yet final, and had been posted by mistake. The paper was signed by Jess Rowland (among other EPA officials), who at the

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/01/31/big-sugar-coke-conspiracy.aspx Big Sugar and Coke Conspiracy By Dr. Mercola The rise of chronic metabolic disease in the U.S. follows the growth of the U.S. sugar industry and increases in per capita sugar consumption. Today, we consume about 20 times more sugar than our ancestors did, and we have very little control over the amount since what was once a condiment has now become a dietary staple added to countless processed and fast foods.1 Yet, if you were to visit with a conventional nutritionist, you'd likely still hear rhetoric that's been parroted since the 1950s — incorrect and misleading rhetoric at that — that "a calorie is a calorie" and obesity is the result of consuming more calories than you expend. Gary Taubes, co-founder of the Nutrition Science Initiative and the author of "The Case Against Sugar," wrote in The New York Times:2 "When it comes to weight gain, the sugar industry and purveyors of sugary beverages still insist, a calorie

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/01/31/anti-vaccine-shadow-network.aspx Is There an Anti-Vaccine Shadow Network? By Dr. Mercola In the wake of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. telling reporters that President Trump asked him to chair a commission on vaccine safety and scientific integrity, the media is angling to shame and ridicule vaccine safety and informed consent proponents, be they physicians, scientists or parents with the ability to read and think for themselves.

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/01/30/importance-of-enzymes.aspx The Importance of Enzymes for Health, Longevity and Chronic Disease Prevention By Dr. Mercola As the name implies, digestive enzymes are important for optimal digestion and nutrient absorption. But their functions and benefits do not end there. Enzymes are actually necessary for most cellular functions and biological processes. Enzymes — proteins composed of amino acids — are secreted by your body to catalyze functions that normally would not occur at body temperature, making them vital to good health and longevity.1,2 Science has identified more than 3,000 different enzymes, yet we've likely only scratched the surface. Some believe we may have anywhere from 50,000 to 70,000 enzymes in our bodies.3 Each organ has its own set of enzymes, and each enzyme has a different function. In essence, they act like specialized keys cut to fit specific locks. In this analogy, the locks are biochemical reactions. Enzymes Do More Than A

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/01/30/healthy-kitchen-staples.aspx Eight Kitchen Staples That Don't Go Bad for Years By Dr. Mercola Food waste is a major problem in the U.S., not only on the farm, where produce may be dubbed unfit for sale because it's too lumpy, too small or otherwise not aesthetically perfect, but also in U.S. homes. It's estimated that, overall, about 40 percent of U.S. food is wasted, and according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the average U.S. family of four wastes more than 2 million calories, which equates to $1,500 worth of food, every year.1 Reducing food waste by just 15 percent could provide food to feed more than 25 million Americans every year, according to the USDA, and would also benefit the environment, since food waste is the largest component of municipal solid waste (composting food scraps in your backyard is one way to reduce this). Unless you carefully plan your meals, it's easy to overbuy fresh foods and end up having them spoil be

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/01/30/fish-sauce-health-benefits.aspx Surprising Health Benefits of Fish Sauce By Dr. Mercola Long before probiotic supplements hit the shelves, people have been eating fermented vegetables and meat for their high nutritive and health value. In many areas, fermented foods are also a delicacy, taking on the flavor of the culture, such as Japanese kimchi or German sauerkraut. Hundreds of years ago, fermentation was used to preserve foods, and later came to be valued for medicinal and nourishing properties. In the U.S., the art of fermenting foods was largely lost, as many were unaware nearly 85 percent of your immune system resides in your gut and fermented foods improve the diversity of your gut microbiome. When the bacteria in your gastrointestinal (GI) tract are not properly balanced, it can trigger allergies, autoimmune diseases and even impact your weight. With increasing media attention on the importance of nutrition for overall health, more people a

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/01/29/green-energy-smoothie.aspx Green Energy-Boosting Smoothie Recipe Recipe From James McLoughlin

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/01/29/microbiome-solution.aspx The Microbiome Solution — Healing Your Body From the Inside Out By Dr. Mercola By now, you’re probably aware of how important a balanced gut microbiome is to your overall health, but how do you go about optimizing your gut flora? And what steps can you take to protect and nourish your baby’s microbiome, even before and during birth? In this interview, Dr. Robynne Chutkan, a gastroenterologist (a doctor who specializes in the gut) and author of the book, “The Microbiome Solution: A Radical New Way to Heal Your Body From the Inside Out,” will guide you through the details. Chutkan finished medical school in 1991. Like most conventionally trained doctors, she whole-heartedly endorsed pharmaceutical intervention “whenever possible, as frequently as possible.” Over the course of several years, however, she began to investigate alternative routes to health. “My area of expertise is inflammatory bowel disease,” she says. “I traine

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/01/28/ez-water.aspx Water Supports Health in Ways You May Never Have Suspected By Dr. Mercola The TEDx Talk above, featuring Gerald Pollack, Ph.D., and the two videos that follow, all address the importance of water for biological function and optimal health — and there's a lot more to this than you might expect. You're probably well aware of the fact that your body is composed mostly of water, which is needed for a number of physiological processes and biochemical reactions, including but not limited to blood circulation, metabolism, regulation of body temperature, waste removal and detoxification. Once your body has lost 1 to 2 percent of its total water content, it will signal its needs by making you feel thirsty. Using thirst as a guide to how much water you need to drink is one obvious way to ensure your individual needs are met, day-by-day. But did you know there are different KINDS of water? And that a certain type of water is more beneficial, ind

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/01/28/urine-test-can-determine-level-of-health.aspx Urine Test Can Determine Your Level of Health By Dr. Mercola How healthy is your diet? Have you ever wondered if recording what you eat on a day-to-day basis might be helpful in determining how your eating habits might be affecting your health, and maybe even your long-term well-being? Well, now there's a test for that, or there will be within two years, according to a study published in the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.1 It's a urine test developed in collaboration by Aberystwyth University in Wales, Newcastle University in the U.K. and Imperial College London. Scientists say the test could be used to "unlock the biological markers" to help improve your nutritional profile, using proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to analyze urine samples and detect the structure of the chemicals produced in your body as it processes food. Medscape says: "The analysis can reveal whether we have eaten r

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/01/26/health-benefits-of-sleeping-naked.aspx The Many Health Benefits of Sleeping Naked By Dr. Mercola Can sleeping naked improve your sleep and health? Evidence suggests that, yes, ditching your sleepwear may in fact have a number of benefits, including better sleep. Interestingly enough, a mere 8 percent of Americans admit to sleeping naked.1 Many of these health benefits result from the fact that sleeping naked helps prevent overheating, which can have a significant impact on your sleep quality. As you fall asleep, your body temperature drops, and this drop in core temperature actually helps you sleep better. As you wake, your body temperature rises, which is why it's much more difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep when you're hot. Many keep their homes too warm to begin with, and wearing pajamas to bed will make you even warmer, which can lead to restless sleep and frequent waking. Ideally, keep the temperature in your bedroom below 70 degrees F.

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/01/26/essential-oils-can-help-adhd.aspx Essential Oils Can Help ADHD By Dr. Mercola About 11 percent of U.S. children (or 6.4 million) have been diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),1 which is characterized by a pattern of inattention, hyperactivity and/or impulsivity that interferes with learning, daily functioning and relationships. Rates have been increasing by about 5 percent a year.2 Among very young children (2 to 5 years), behavior therapy is the first-line treatment recommended for ADHD, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). However, data from the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that about half of preschoolers with ADHD were taking medication, and 1 in 4 were being treated only with medication.3 Further, only half of 4- to 5-year-olds with ADHD received behavior therapy, despite it being the recommended go-to treatment. By age 6, the so-called "best practice guidelines" for