Arginine: A 2007 study found that the amino acid arginine can stimulate beta-cell genesis in an animal model of alloxan-induced diabetes. Avocado: A 2007 study found that avocado seed extract reduced blood sugar in diabetic rats. Researchers observed a restorative and protective effect on pancreatic islet cells in the treated group.[3] Berberine: A 2009 study found that this plant compound, commonly found in herbs such as barberry and goldenseal, induces beta cell regeneration in diabetic rats, which helps explain why it has been used for 1,400 years in China to treat diabetes.[4] Chard: A 2000 study found that chard extract given to diabetic rats stimulates the recovery of injured beta cells.[5] Corn Silk: A 2009 study found that corn silk reduces blood sugar and stimulates beta cell regeneration in type 1 diabetic rats.[6] Curcumin (from turmeric): A 2010 study found that curcumin stimulates beta cell regeneration in type 1 diabetic rats.[7] Additionally, a 2008 study found that curcumin preserves pancreatic islet cell survival and transplantation efficiency.[8] Genistein (from soy, red clover): A 2010 study found that genistein induces pancreatic beta-cell proliferation by activating multiple signaling pathways and prevents insulin-deficient diabetes in mice.[9] Honey: A 2010 human study found that long-term honey consumption might improve metabolic derangements in type 1 diabetes, including possible beta-cell regeneration indicated by increases in fasting C-peptide levels.[10] Nigella Sativa (black seed): A 2003 animal study found that black seed consumption led to partial regeneration/proliferation of the beta cells.[11] A 2010 human study also found that consuming 1 gram of black seed a day for up to 12 weeks had a broad range of beneficial effects in diabetics, including increased beta cell function.[12] Stevia: A 2011 human study found that stevia has anti-diabetic properties, including revitalizing damaged beta cells, and compares favorably with the drug glibenclamide but without the adverse effects.

Beyond diet and exercise, there are safe, natural adjuncts for managing blood glucose levels. We've identified seven substances that are scientifically validated as among the best drug-free therapies for blood sugar problems. From ensuring that you get adequate amounts of critical vitamins and minerals to strategic calorie restriction, these approaches can elevate your wellness while helping to keep your glucose in check. 1. Vitamin D Vitamin D, also called calciferol, is vital for everything from building strong bones and muscles to helping the immune system fight off illness, among other crucial functions. Maintaining adequate vitamin D is essential if you are at risk of diabetes. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to insulin resistance, a key factor that marks the progression from prediabetes to an official Type 2 diagnosis. A 2019 study reported that vitamin D deficiency was found in 70% of Type 2 diabetic patients, and that individuals with severe vitamin D deficiency were 39 times more likely to have a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes. Studies further show that correcting this deficiency through strategic supplementation results in improve glucose tolerance and beta-cell function, a marker of improved insulin secretion. Overall glycemic outcomes were measured in two separate meta-analyses published in 2018, one of which reviewed 28 controlled clinical trials involving nearly 4,000 adults who were prediabetic, overweight, or obese. Results showed that vitamin D supplementation significantly improved glycemic measures and insulin sensitivity. The other 2018 meta-analysis reviewed 37 studies and found that boosting vitamin D through strategic supplementation led to significant improvement in fasting blood glucose and improved insulin resistance in Type 2 diabetics. Vitamin D can be a safe part of a preventative strategy and may even help reduce inflammation associated with diabetes. 2. Magnesium Another nutrient that plays a key role in glucose metabolism is magnesium (Mg). Required by the pancreas for insulin production, being deficient in Mg is associated with increased risks for many diseases, including Type 2 diabetes. Conversely, higher dietary magnesium intake is associated with lower diabetes rates in some studies.

Sperm counts have been falling for fifty years. Miscarriage rates are climbing. The age at which couples can conceive has crept up every decade since the 1970s. Something is changing about the environment our species reproduces in… And most of what's changing is chemistry. New chemistry. Chemistry humans have never lived inside before. This piece is about one chemical in particular, because it's everywhere, and the evidence is clearer than for any other. I’m talking about glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup. In 2018, researchers tested 71 pregnant women in central Indiana for glyphosate via urine samples. 93% had detectable levels. The women with higher levels delivered shorter pregnancies. Let me show you what's going on. But first, a bit about glyphosate so we’re all on the same page… Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum herbicide patented by Monsanto in 1974 and brought to market as Roundup. It works by inhibiting a metabolic process called the shikimate pathway, which plants and some bacteria use to make essential amino acids. Animals don't have this pathway, which is part of why glyphosate was sold as low-risk for humans. We'll come back to that. Today, it's the most heavily used herbicide on earth. The reason isn't only Roundup, but the system Monsanto built around it. Starting in 1996, "Roundup Ready" crops were engineered to survive direct glyphosate application. Soybeans, corn, cotton, canola, sugar beets, alfalfa. Spray entire fields, kill everything that isn't the crop. The product and the seed got locked together. But the part most people don't know (and the part RFK Jr. specifically singled out in 2024) is the practice of pre-harvest desiccation. Glyphosate is sprayed on non-Roundup-Ready crops shortly before harvest to dry them out for processing. Wheat, oats, and legumes such as beans, chickpeas, and lentils. So your "non-GMO" oat product can still carry significant glyphosate residue, because the chemical wasn't used to grow the plant but to kill it on schedule.

Below are a few problems with mammography: I. Detection Is Not Prevention When the USPSTF issues an “A” or “B” grade for mammography, it is grading a screening procedure — the capacity to detect abnormal cells in breast tissue before they produce symptoms. What it is emphatically not grading is any intervention that reduces the biological conditions in which breast cancer arises. This is the foundational category error of modern oncological prevention: it conflates early detection with prevention, and treats the two as equivalent. They are not equivalent. A mammogram cannot reduce systemic inflammation. It cannot reverse intestinal hyperpermeability — the “leaky gut” phenomenon through which microbial products translocate into systemic circulation and drive the chronic immune dysregulation that provides fertile terrain for cancer proliferation. It cannot alter the epigenetic expression of tumor-suppressor genes. It cannot change the microRNA profile of a woman’s cells, which determines whether oncogenic pathways are silenced or amplified. What a mammogram can do is find something — and in finding it, set in motion a cascade of interventions whose benefits, when examined rigorously, are far more modest than their cultural mythology suggests. II. The Overdiagnosis Problem Overdiagnosis in breast cancer screening refers to a specific, clinically documented phenomenon: the detection by mammography of a cancer — a real cluster of abnormal cells — that would never, in the lifetime of that woman, have caused symptoms, spread, or killed her. Her body’s immune surveillance was managing it. Her epigenetic terrain contained it. Once detected, however, it becomes a diagnosis. A breast cancer diagnosis. And the institutional logic of oncology treats that diagnosis with the full arsenal: biopsy, surgery, radiation, and often years of hormone suppression therapy. 1.3 million women! This is thee stimated number of American women overdiagnosed by mammography screening over a 30-year period — treated for cancers that would never have caused symptoms or death — according to a landmark 2012 analysis in the New England Journal of Medicine.

In a recent study of 184 countries, researchers found that 85% of them are omega-3 deficient, which is linked to rising rates of cardiovascular disease, depression, preterm birth, and neurological decline (PMID: 40520676). That's an ALARMING statistic. But it gets more complicated… The lead researcher concluded that our current food systems are not providing enough UNCONTAMINATED omega-3. I’ve been saying this for years now, and there is no more debating this… Our fish supply is compromised, possibly beyond repair. To most people, that would present a conundrum… Because the logical solution - eat more fish - is the problem. Fish today is heavily contaminated with microplastics and heavy metals (PMID: 30116998). Things like cadmium, mercury, arsenic, and lead, which accumulate as fish age and bioaccumulate up the food chain… Once upon a time, I thought smaller fish like wild salmon or sardines were ok to consume regularly. But I have seen far too many cases of heavy metal accumulation from even these smaller fish to continue thinking this is a good idea. Sadly, too, as bottom dwellers, shellfish also accumulate heavy metals and toxins. Huge bummer for me because I used to LOVE scallops and lobster, but I don't consume these anymore for this reason. So what about fish oil supplements to meet our daily omega-3 requirements? Fish oil is FRAGILE. Putting it in capsules - or worse, liquid form - is a sure way to get it to oxidize. You can't always tell when oils are rancid, but if you've ever experienced those nasty fish burps… that's usually a strong indicator. Unfortunately, it’s a rampant issue in the industry… A 2023 study testing 72 of the most popular fish oil supplements on the market found that 68% of flavored products exceeded acceptable oxidation limits - with flavoring added specifically to mask the rancid taste (PMID: 37712532). So what is the solution? Today's industrialized diets contain roughly 20 TIMES more omega-6s than omega-3s. Historically, that ratio was approximately equal.