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Tramadol, a synthetic opioid, is one of the most widely prescribed pain medications in the U.S., with more than 30 million prescriptions written each year. It’s often considered “safer” than stronger opioids like oxycodone or morphine, yet more effective than over-the-counter options such as Tylenol or ibuprofen. That “middle ground” reputation has made it a routine part of care for people with chronic pain.1

For years, tramadol has been handed out in emergency rooms, pain clinics, and primary care offices with relatively little hesitation. But that long-standing trust is starting to shift. An analysis conducted by a research team in Denmark has called its safety and effectiveness into question, raising concerns about how well it really works and at what cost.2 If you’re currently using tramadol, or it’s been recommended to you, it’s worth examining the evidence more closely.

What Is Tramadol and How Does It Work?

Tramadol was first developed in the early 1960s in Germany and later approved for use in the United States in the mid-1990s. It entered the U.S. market as a non-scheduled medication, meaning it was not initially classified as a controlled substance. This designation reflected the belief that tramadol carried a lower risk of misuse compared to other opioids.3,4,5

• Reclassified after rising reports of misuse — In 2014, after growing reports of abuse and dependency, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reclassified it as a Schedule IV controlled substance, a category that recognizes medical use but acknowledges risk of abuse and dependence and imposes prescribing and refill restrictions. However, by that point, tramadol was already widely embedded in pain management.

• Unlike traditional opioids, tramadol works through a dual mechanism — It binds to the same opioid receptors in the brain as drugs like morphine or oxycodone, which helps dull the sensation of pain. But it also inhibits the reuptake of two neurotransmitters — serotonin and norepinephrine — which are involved in mood regulation and the body’s natural pain control pathways.

Think of neurotransmitters as chemical messengers that travel between nerve cells. Normally, after delivering their message, they’re recycled back into the sending cell — that’s “reuptake.” Tramadol blocks this recycling process for serotonin and norepinephrine, leaving more of these mood- and pain-regulating chemicals active in your nervous system.

This second mechanism is similar to how some antidepressants work, which is why tramadol is sometimes referred to as an SNRI-like opioid. That dual action is part of what sets it apart early on and led to the perception that it was both effective and less likely to lead to addiction, respiratory depression, or overdose.

• Tramadol is prescribed for a wide range of pain conditions — It’s often used for moderate to moderately severe pain, either alone or in combination with other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). It has been commonly prescribed for chronic conditions such as osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic low back pain, and even for premature ejaculation.

• Some people misuse tramadol for its opioid effects — Although it is classified as a Schedule IV drug with lower misuse potential, its label still warns of risks involving misuse and addiction. Its effects may include euphoria and feelings of relaxation, often referred to as a “tramadol high.”

According to the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, roughly 14.6 million people aged 12 and older used tramadol in the past year, and about 9.4% of them reported using it in ways not directed by a clinician. In that same age group, an estimated 6.1 million individuals were living with an opioid use disorder during the past year.6

While tramadol is less potent than many opioids, that does not make it inherently safer. Lower potency refers to the drug’s ability to produce analgesia at a given dose, not to the likelihood of side effects, complications, or dependency. Newer evidence shows that even at these lower potency levels, tramadol can still carry meaningful risks.

What Did the New Evidence Find About Tramadol’s Benefits vs. Harms?

A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis published in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine evaluated the effectiveness and safety of tramadol for chronic pain by analyzing 19 randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials conducted between 1998 and 2024, involving 6,506 adults with a range of chronic pain conditions.7

• Tramadol produced only a slight reduction in pain intensity — Across the included studies, tramadol lowered pain scores by an average of 0.93 points on a 10-point scale compared with placebo. Although statistically significant, this fell short of the researchers’ predefined minimal important difference of 1 point. This means the average change was unlikely to be noticeable or meaningful for most patients.

• Even this modest benefit was based on low-certainty evidence — The researchers described tramadol’s effect as “slight,” and nearly all trials were judged to be at high risk of bias. Design flaws and inconsistencies raised the possibility that benefits were overstated or harms underreported, further weakening confidence in the findings.

• Trials showed no meaningful improvement in daily function or quality of life — Chronic pain treatment aims to improve how you function day to day, including mobility, energy, and overall quality of life. In this analysis, the available trial data were insufficient to demonstrate functional or quality-of-life improvements in people taking tramadol, limiting the clinical relevance of its small reduction in pain scores.

• Serious adverse events were significantly more common with tramadol — The analysis showed that people taking tramadol were more than twice as likely to experience a serious adverse event compared with those receiving a placebo, with cardiovascular outcomes such as chest pain, coronary artery disease, and congestive heart failure accounting for most of the increased risk.

• Non-serious side effects were frequent and disruptive — Nausea, dizziness, constipation, and drowsiness occurred more often with tramadol. Although labeled “non-serious,” these effects commonly interfere with normal functioning and may require additional treatment.

• Researchers noted a higher risk of neoplasms — Neoplasms are abnormal cell growths that may be benign or cancerous. However, because the trials were short in duration, this finding was flagged as uncertain. Longer studies would be needed to determine whether tramadol contributes to cancer risk over time.

Overall, the study concluded that tramadol’s benefits for chronic pain are minimal, while its risks — both serious and non-serious — are significant enough to outweigh those benefits. The study’s authors called for minimizing the use of tramadol and urged clinicians to consider alternative treatments before prescribing it. See the table below for a quick summary of the study’s findings:

Evidence Snapshot: Tramadol vs. Placebo

Outcome
Tramadol vs. Placebo
Notes

Pain reduction
Average reduction of 0.93 points on a 10-point scale
Below the 1-point threshold for minimal clinically important difference

Serious adverse events
More than 2x higher with tramadol
Increased risk of cardiac events, including chest pain, heart disease, and heart failure

Common side effects
Higher rates of nausea, dizziness, constipation, and drowsiness
Frequently disruptive to daily functioning; labeled “non-serious” but clinically relevant

Other Tramadol Side Effects to Watch For

Tramadol’s side effects go well beyond occasional nausea or stomach upset. Because it affects multiple systems in your body, it can produce a wide range of adverse events that may influence your safety, quality of life, and even long-term health, such as:8,9,10

1. Seizures — Tramadol is associated with an increased risk of seizures, especially at higher doses or when combined with other medications that lower the seizure threshold (the level of stimulation at which the brain is more likely to trigger a seizure), such as certain antidepressants or antipsychotics. This makes it a higher-risk option for anyone already vulnerable to neurological instability.

2. Serotonin syndrome — Because tramadol influences serotonin levels in the brain, it can contribute to serotonin syndrome when taken with other drugs that affect serotonin, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Serotonin syndrome is a serious condition marked by agitation, rapid heart rate, sweating, muscle stiffness, tremor, and confusion.

If left unaddressed, it can lead to high fever, seizures, or loss of consciousness. For this reason, people already taking psychiatric medications need to avoid tramadol.

3. Respiratory depression — Opioids like tramadol can slow breathing by acting on the brain’s respiratory centers. This effect is more likely when tramadol is taken at higher doses or alongside other central nervous system (CNS) depressants such as benzodiazepines, barbiturates, or alcohol. In severe cases, respiratory depression can be life-threatening and may necessitate emergency care.

4. Mood, cognitive, and neuropsychiatric effects — Tramadol’s action on central neurotransmitter systems has been associated with a broad range of mental and behavioral changes. Reported effects include emotional blunting, increased anxiety, episodes of euphoria, agitation, restlessness, hallucinations, abnormal dreams, and uncontrolled excitement.

Cognitive effects such as impaired concentration, memory lapses, and slowed thinking have also been documented, along with more severe psychiatric reactions, including suicidal thoughts or behavior, particularly in people with preexisting mental health conditions or those taking other psychoactive medications.

5. Urinary and kidney-related effects — This may include decreased urine output, painful or difficult urination, blood in the urine, and fluid retention with swelling of the hands, ankles, or feet. These effects are more concerning in people with pre-existing kidney disease.

6. Dependence and withdrawal — With ongoing use, your body may adapt to tramadol’s presence, leading to physical dependence. If tramadol is reduced abruptly or stopped, withdrawal symptoms can occur, which include anxiety, sweating, tremors, sleep disturbances, irritability, and flu-like sensations.

7. Overdose — Tramadol overdose is possible and carries the same fundamental danger seen with other opioids, including slowed or stopped breathing, loss of consciousness, coma, and death. The U.S. age-adjusted death rate involving synthetic opioids like tramadol rose sharply from 0.5 deaths per 100,000 in 2003 to over 22 per 100,000 by 2021.11

Deaths attributed specifically to tramadol poisoning have also been reported in peer-reviewed case series documenting hundreds of fatal tramadol-associated deaths in the medical literature, often involving mixed drug toxicity with other CNS depressants.12

For a deeper look at the risks linked to opioid use, including outcomes that extend beyond overdose, read “Opioid Deaths Continue to Rise Despite Drop in Prescriptions.” For a quick reference, the table below summarizes common tramadol side effects alongside those that carry more serious or life-threatening risks:

Common vs. Serious Tramadol Side Effects

More common side effects
Serious side effects

Headache
Seizures

Dry mouth
Serotonin syndrome

Sweating
Respiratory depression

Fatigue
Overdose

Sleep disturbances
Cardiac complications (e.g., chest pain, heart failure)

Mild confusion or disorientation
Severe neuropsychiatric effects (hallucinations, suicidal thoughts)

Urinary retention or difficulty urinating
Acute kidney complications or fluid overload

Emotional changes (irritability, mood shifts)
Physical dependence and severe withdrawal

How Are Opioids Linked to Fatal Car Crashes?

The danger of opioids extends beyond the risk of side effects or overdose. Since these medications slow reaction time, dull alertness, and affect coordination, they make it harder to stay in your lane while driving, respond to traffic changes, or avoid hazards. These effects are present even at therapeutic doses and are especially concerning when they’re combined with alcohol or other medications that affect the CNS.

• Drug involvement in fatal crashes surpasses alcohol in some data sets — Data compiled by the Governors Highway Safety Association and the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility show that in 2015, drugs were involved in 43% of fatal car crashes, a rate higher than the 37% of fatal crashes involving illegal amounts of alcohol. Prescription painkillers are part of that drug-related share.13

• Opioid-positive drivers in fatal crashes increased sharply over two decades — Research has documented a sevenfold rise from 1995 to 2015 in the proportion of drivers killed in crashes who tested positive for opioids. Among male drivers killed, the presence of narcotic pain relievers increased from 1% to 5%, and among women from 1% to 7% over the same period.14

• Prescription opioid use is strongly associated with initiating fatal crashes — A 2019 analysis of more than 18,000 fatal two-vehicle crashes found a significant link between prescription opioid use and crash initiation. The most common driving error was failing to stay in the proper lane. This pattern was consistent across ages and both genders, emphasizing how opioid impairment affects driving performance.15

• Declines in prescribing did not eliminate the risk — Although opioid prescribing has decreased, dangers behind the wheel remain. Yale researchers found that nonfatal crashes involving prescription opioids declined by nearly half between 2014 and 2018, yet fatal crashes did not drop accordingly. This suggests that when opioids are involved in deadly incidents, impairment may be more severe or compounded by other factors.16

For your safety and the safety of others, avoid getting behind the wheel if you’re using opioids, especially when starting a new medication, adjusting your dose, or combining it with other substances. Beyond the dangers for people who may need to drive, there are specific demographics that carry greater vulnerability to tramadol’s harm and warrant added caution.

Who Faces the Highest Risk from Tramadol?

Safety guidance and clinical warnings show that tramadol poses unacceptable risk for certain groups, even when taken exactly as prescribed. In these situations, the likelihood of serious harm is high enough that tramadol should not be used. These include:17

• People with significant breathing problems — Tramadol should be avoided in people with severe asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, sleep apnea, or other conditions that impair breathing. Because tramadol can suppress respiratory drive, baseline breathing vulnerability increases the risk of dangerous oxygen deprivation, particularly during sleep.

• Children and adolescents in specific settings — Tramadol is not recommended for children below 12 years of age and should not be taken by anyone under 18 following tonsil or adenoid surgery. Serious breathing problems and deaths have been reported in these groups, leading to explicit safety restrictions in prescribing guidance.

• Pregnant or breastfeeding individuals — Use during pregnancy can lead to neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome, with symptoms such as abnormal crying, tremors, feeding difficulties, and poor weight gain in newborns. During breastfeeding, tramadol use is discouraged because the drug and its active metabolites can pass into breast milk and cause life-threatening effects in infants.

• People with liver or kidney disease — Tramadol is processed by the liver and eliminated through the kidneys, and impaired function in either organ can cause the drug to accumulate. This raises the likelihood of adverse reactions even at standard doses.

• Individuals with a history of seizures or head injury — Because tramadol lowers seizure threshold, prescribing guidance advises caution or avoidance in people with epilepsy, prior seizures, brain injury, or conditions that increase intracranial pressure. Risk increases further when other neurologically active medications are present.

• People taking multiple medications that affect the CNS — Taking tramadol alongside sedatives, tranquilizers, antidepressants, antipsychotics, or other psychoactive drugs increases the risk of dangerous interactions.

• Individuals with a history of substance use disorder — Tramadol carries the same misuse and dependence risks as other opioids, and prescribing guidance highlights increased danger in people with prior drug or alcohol misuse. In these cases, exposure can escalate more quickly and be harder to reverse safely.

• People with certain hormonal or metabolic conditions — Conditions affecting adrenal function, blood sugar regulation, or electrolyte balance warrant caution, as tramadol has been linked to disruptions in these systems during treatment.

Taken together, these precautions show that tramadol requires individualized assessment rather than routine prescribing. For people who fall into these categories, alternative pain management strategies deserve careful consideration before tramadol enters the picture.

What Are Safer Alternatives for Pain Relief?

Given the limited benefits shown in clinical trials and the breadth of documented risks, nondrug and non-opioid approaches deserve consideration for anyone managing chronic pain, not only those at highest risk from tramadol. In many cases, changes in diet, movement, and targeted therapies can meaningfully reduce pain while avoiding the cumulative risks associated with long-term medication use. Here are some safe and effective options you can consider:

1. Acupuncture — This traditional practice involves inserting thin needles into specific points on the body to help regulate pain signals and restore balance in the nervous system. Clinical studies show acupuncture can reduce chronic pain from conditions like back pain, osteoarthritis, and fibromyalgia.18

It’s also been found to stimulate the release of endorphins and modulate inflammatory pathways. When used consistently, acupuncture may lower the need for medication and improve quality of life.19

2. K-Laser therapy — This high-intensity infrared laser penetrates deep into soft tissues, helping to reduce inflammation, stimulate blood flow, and accelerate healing. It’s commonly used for injuries, joint pain, and nerve-related conditions, and has been shown to help reduce reliance on painkillers when used as part of a broader recovery plan.20

3. Physical therapy and posture correction — Guided movement programs that include stretching and strengthening exercises help improve joint function, reduce inflammation, ease strain on overworked tissues, and support healthier movement patterns. Therapists often use diagnostic techniques to pinpoint imbalances and tailor interventions that support long-term healing.21

4. Massage therapy — A comprehensive review in Pain Medicine22 found that massage consistently reduced pain from a range of sources, including musculoskeletal pain, fibromyalgia, and headaches. It performed better than no treatment, and held up well even compared to physical therapy and acupuncture. Massage was also linked to lower anxiety and improved overall well-being, with minimal risk of side effects.

5. Herbal options — Many plant-based compounds have demonstrated anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antioxidant properties. These include:

• Willow bark
• Ginger
• Turmeric (Curcumin)
• Rose hips
• Devil’s claw
• Boswellia (Frankincense)

• Feverfew
• Ashwagandha
• Black cohosh
• Corydalis
• Rosemary
• Thunder God vine

For a deeper dive into how these herbs work, check out my article “An Herbal Guide to Natural Pain Relief,” where I discuss in detail how these herbs can help ease your symptoms.

6. Nutritional support — Several key nutrients support musculoskeletal health and the body’s anti-inflammatory and pain-modulating systems:

• Magnesium — Helps relax muscles, support nerve function, and reduce pain sensitivity.
• Vitamin D — Plays a role in immune balance and bone health; low levels are linked to heightened pain perception.
• Choline — Supports healthy nerve signaling and neurotransmitter balance. Deficiency may worsen chronic pain symptoms, especially in athletes, vegans, and postmenopausal women.

7. Stress-reducing practices — Chronic stress increases pain by activating the sympathetic nervous system and heightening inflammation.23 Techniques such as mindfulness meditation, breathing exercises, yoga, and tai chi have been shown to ease physical discomfort by calming the nervous system and improving body awareness.

Some approaches focus on helping your body and mind respond more calmly to pain and stress. Biofeedback uses real-time monitoring of signals like heart rate and muscle tension to help you recognize and consciously regulate physical stress responses.24 Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps you identify unhelpful thought patterns and replace them with strategies that reduce distress and improve coping.25

Emotional freedom techniques (EFT) take a more hands-on approach. The practice involves gently tapping on specific acupuncture meridian points with your fingertips while speaking affirmations. This process helps release emotional tension, calm the nervous system, and restore balance to the body’s energy flow.

8. Daily habits that support pain relief — Small shifts in how you eat, move, and manage stress help lower inflammation, reduce discomfort, and create routines that support steadier, longer-term improvement. These include:

• Keeping daily linoleic acid (LA) intake under 5 grams. That means avoiding industrial seed oils like soybean, corn, canola, safflower, and sunflower oil, and choosing stable saturated fats such as butter, ghee, tallow, or coconut oil.

• Avoiding processed foods made with LA-rich oils, restaurant foods cooked in them, as well as nonorganic chicken and pork. These meats tend to be high in LA thanks to the animals being fed LA-rich grain feed.

• Cutting back on grains and refined sugars to lower inflammation and reduce pain triggers.

• Adding high-quality omega-3 fats like krill oil or wild-caught fish, like Alaskan salmon, into your diet to support anti-inflammatory processes.

• Getting daily sun exposure to maintain healthy vitamin D levels and support immune and neurological health. For safe exposure guidance, review my recommendations in this article.

Tramadol’s risks are often downplayed, but the evidence shows they’re real — and for many people, they outweigh the drug’s modest benefits. Whether you’re managing pain from a chronic condition or recovering from an injury, safer options exist. Staying informed, asking better questions, and making steady changes to how you approach pain can help you avoid unnecessary harm.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Tramadol’s Safety

Q: Is tramadol safe for chronic pain?
A: Tramadol is often prescribed for chronic pain, but new research found it only provides a slight reduction in pain scores, falling short of what most people would consider meaningful relief. At the same time, the risk of serious side effects was more than twice as high compared to placebo. For many people, the risks may outweigh the modest benefit, especially when used long-term.

Q: Does tramadol increase heart disease risk?
A: Yes. The BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine meta-analysis found that tramadol was linked to a significantly higher rate of serious cardiovascular events, including chest pain, coronary artery disease, and congestive heart failure. These effects were among the most common serious harms reported across the studies.

Q: Can tramadol cause serotonin syndrome if I’m on SSRI?
A: Yes. Tramadol increases serotonin levels in the brain and can trigger serotonin syndrome when combined with other serotonergic drugs, including SSRIs and certain migraine or psychiatric medications. This serious condition involves agitation, muscle stiffness, rapid heartbeat, confusion, and high fever.

Q: Can I drive after taking tramadol?
A: You should avoid driving while taking tramadol, especially during the early stages of treatment or when your dose changes. Like other opioids, tramadol impairs reaction time, coordination, and alertness. Opioid use has been linked to a sharp rise in fatal car crashes, and tramadol is included in that risk category.

Q: Who should avoid tramadol?
A: Tramadol poses elevated risks for people with certain health conditions or medication use. This includes anyone with:

• Breathing problems
• Liver or kidney disease
• A history of seizures or brain injury
• Mental health conditions or substance use disorder
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding
• Current use of other CNS depressants or serotonergic drugs
• Children and adolescents in specific settings

Q: What are common vs. serious tramadol side effects?
A: Common side effects of tramadol include headache, nausea, dry mouth, sweating, dizziness, fatigue, constipation, and mild confusion. More serious reactions may involve seizures, respiratory depression, serotonin syndrome, overdose, hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, cardiac events, kidney dysfunction, and severe withdrawal symptoms.

Q: Is tramadol less addictive than other opioids?
A: Tramadol is often considered lower risk, but that perception is not strongly supported by evidence. It still activates opioid receptors and can lead to dependence, misuse, and withdrawal symptoms. People with a history of addiction or mental health instability are especially vulnerable.

Q: What are safer alternatives to tramadol for long-term pain?
A: Nondrug therapies like acupuncture, K-Laser therapy, physical therapy, and massage have been shown to relieve chronic pain without the risks of opioids. Nutrients such as magnesium, vitamin D, and choline support nerve and muscle function, while herbal remedies help reduce inflammation naturally. Stress-management tools also play a role in reducing pain perception and improving daily function.

Q: Can I stop taking tramadol suddenly, or do I need to taper off?
A: Tramadol should not be stopped abruptly, especially if you’ve been using it regularly for more than a few weeks. Sudden discontinuation can trigger withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, sweating, tremors, sleep disturbances, irritability, nausea, and flu-like sensations. To reduce these effects and avoid unnecessary discomfort, clinicians typically recommend gradually tapering the dose under medical supervision.

Test Your Knowledge with Today’s Quiz!

Take today’s quiz to see how much you’ve learned from yesterday’s Mercola.com article.

What is nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+)?

A structural molecule that forms and stabilizes cell membranes

A cellular coenzyme involved in metabolic and signaling reactions

NAD+ acts as a cellular coenzyme that supports metabolic and signaling reactions tied to energy production and mitochondrial function. Learn more.

A hormone that regulates blood sugar and insulin activity
A neurotransmitter that sends rapid signals between neurons

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) may be one of the most overlooked factors when it comes to optimizing cellular health. It is a cellular coenzyme that plays a role in many metabolic and signaling reactions.

For example, it partakes in redox reactions — chemical exchanges that transfer energy between molecules — which lead to the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), your body’s energy currency.1 In fact, research shows that a deficiency is linked to an array of conditions, such as sarcopenia and diabetes.2

But that’s not all — Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia,3 has now been linked to declining NAD+ levels. Following this line of thought, emerging research shows that boosting NAD+ intake can reverse the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. This discovery could be one of the biggest breakthroughs in recent times, as most people believe that Alzheimer’s only worsens the longer it goes,4 and treatment focuses on slowing decline rather than reversing it.

Video Link

Restoring Brain Energy Reversed Advanced Alzheimer’s in Animal Models

A study published in Cell Reports Medicine set out to discover how Alzheimer’s disease can be reversed by boosting NAD+ levels. For the experiment, the researchers used multiple mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease that already showed severe cognitive impairment, brain inflammation, tau pathology, and structural brain damage.5

Mice were administered P7C3-A20 at a dosage of 10 milligrams (mg) per kilogram (kg) of weight each day. Analysis involved observing changes across behavior, brain chemistry, and physical brain structure. For context, P7C3-A20 is a carbazole compound that can readily cross the blood-brain barrier. It works by binding to NAMPT (an enzyme that controls how much NAD+ is made from niacinamide) to enhance NAD+ production6 at safe levels.

• One striking finding is the rate of improvement — The authors reported that in treated mice, cognitive function recovered fully, meaning their memory performance returned to levels seen in healthy animals. These mice performed just as well as non-diseased controls on learning and memory tests.

• What changed inside the brain samples — Multiple hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease improved at the same time. Tau pathology, which refers to tangled protein structures that disrupt neuron function, decreased after NAD+ restoration. Neuroinflammation markers dropped, indicating a calmer immune environment in the brain. Signals of oxidative stress and DNA damage — both signs of energy failure inside cells — also declined.

• Results were observed right away — The intervention occurred after the disease had fully developed in these animals. Again, this directly challenges the long-standing belief that Alzheimer’s damage becomes permanent once it crosses a certain threshold.

• Other disease models were used to solidify the findings — The researchers tested the same approach in two different forms of Alzheimer’s pathology. In amyloid-driven mice and in tau-driven PS19 mice, restoring NAD+ reversed advanced disease features. That distinction matters because amyloid and tau represent different biological drivers of Alzheimer’s. Seeing improvement in both strengthens the argument that NAD+ disruption sits upstream of these visible brain lesions.

• Blood biomarkers also benefited — Treated animals showed reduced levels of phosphorylated tau 217, a biomarker now used clinically to track Alzheimer’s severity. This helps bridge the gap between animal research and its implications for Alzheimer’s disease in humans.

• At the center of all the changes is NAD+ homeostasis — NAD+ is required for cells to convert nutrients into usable energy and to repair daily damage to proteins and DNA. That said, the study found that Alzheimer’s disease severity correlated with how disrupted NAD+ balance became in the brain. In other words, as energy systems failed, disease features worsened and restoring that balance reversed the cascade.

The researchers described this as a “resilience” model rather than a single-target approach. Instead of attacking amyloid alone or tau alone, restoring NAD+ stabilized multiple systems at once — energy production, inflammation control, blood-brain barrier integrity, and cellular repair. Thus, the findings reframe Alzheimer’s as a system-level energy failure rather than a mystery buildup of toxic debris in the brain.

• Human relevance strengthened the findings further — Using human brain samples and sophisticated molecular analysis techniques, the authors reported that NAD+ disruption also tracked with Alzheimer’s severity in people. They identified overlapping biological nodes between mice and humans that responded to restored NAD+ balance.

• Mechanistic explanation of the benefits — The paper explained that NAD+ acts as a central coordinator for enzymes involved in DNA repair, mitochondrial function, and stress resistance. When NAD+ levels fall, these systems stall. Neurons, which require constant energy, suffer first. Restoring NAD+ reactivated these pathways simultaneously.

The study also highlighted why focusing solely on plaques has delivered limited success. Amyloid and tau accumulation appeared downstream of NAD+ disruption rather than as isolated causes. Once energy systems failed, the brain lost its ability to manage protein turnover, immune balance, and structural integrity. Fixing the upstream energy deficit corrected multiple downstream failures at once.

From a practical standpoint, the findings support the idea that improving cellular energy changes the trajectory of Alzheimer’s disease rather than simply slowing damage. It shows that neurons under metabolic stress can recover when you address cellular energy production at its root.

NAD+ Restores Memory by Rewriting Neuronal Instructions

In a related study published in Science Advances, researchers examined how restoring NAD+ reverses Alzheimer’s features inside brain cells from a genetic perspective. Specifically, the researchers focused on gene regulation, which influences how neurons read and process instructions that control memory and brain resilience.7

• Core findings of the analysis — Increasing NAD+ corrected widespread errors in gene instruction processing and restored memory performance, but only when a specific control protein, EVA1C, remained intact. When this was suppressed, the memory benefit disappeared, even with NAD+ restoration.

Another important improvement that was observed is memory retention. Animals receiving NAD+ showed clear restoration of learning and recall ability, measured through standardized behavioral tests used in neuroscience research. When researchers interfered with EVA1C expression in the hippocampus, those gains vanished, even though NAD+ levels rose.

• A deeper look into the mechanism at play — The study showed that NAD+ corrected abnormal alternative splicing events across many genes. For context, alternative splicing refers to how cells assemble genetic instructions before building proteins.

Think of the process as editing a recipe. If the editing goes wrong, the cell produces dysfunctional proteins. In Alzheimer’s models, these editing errors appeared widespread. NAD+ restored normal editing patterns, but only through EVA1C.

• The largest benefits appeared in hippocampal neurons — This is especially observed within the CA1 region. For context, the hippocampus is the brain’s memory hub, and CA1 neurons act as a relay station for forming and retrieving memories. When EVA1C levels dropped in this region, NAD+ no longer improved memory performance.

• Comparisons between test variables — NAD+ alone improved memory only when EVA1C function remained intact. Meanwhile, EVA1C suppression alone worsened memory outcomes even when energy levels improved. This shows that NAD+ and EVA1C did not work independently — they functioned as a linked system, with EVA1C acting as the gatekeeper for the cognitive benefits of NAD+.

The study also included human data. Researchers reported that EVA1C expression was reduced in the hippocampus of participants with Alzheimer’s disease compared to cognitively normal controls.

• A closer analysis of the mechanisms involved — Ribonucleic acid (RNA) splicing determines which protein versions neurons produce. In Alzheimer’s disease, incorrect splicing led to dysfunctional proteins that weaken synapses and disrupt communication between brain cells. Now, NAD+ restored normal splicing patterns by regulating EVA1C activity, which stabilized protein production inside neurons.

Again, the researchers emphasized that this process represented a form of resilience. Neurons did not simply slow deterioration — they regained the ability to produce functional proteins required for learning and memory.

Before Boosting Levels, It’s Important to Get a Baseline

Based on the findings, boosting NAD+ has enormous potential when it comes to managing Alzheimer’s disease. Hence, testing your current levels is important, as it would be wise not to take any supplement without proper direction or planning.

• A new test will be launched in the future — I’m excited to introduce the upcoming Mitochondrial Wellness Test Kit, which is designed to offer you a current snapshot of your mitochondrial function. While this provides an overview, additional targeted testing may still be needed to fully understand the more intricate nuances of your health.

• Existing NAD+ tests fall short — NAD+ is highly unstable once it’s outside the cells and degrades quickly, making reliable measurement difficult. To maintain accuracy, it requires immediate processing and advanced laboratory methods.

In practice, this means blood samples need to be collected and analyzed rapidly within the same research facility, which is not possible at most clinics. Moreover, transporting samples between labs further compromises integrity. Despite these obstacles, my team and I have remained committed to advancing practical health testing for everyone.

• A higher standard for NAD+ assessment — Mercola Labs is developing a novel solution that avoids the pitfalls of measuring NAD+. Instead, we assess NAD+ levels by analyzing redox balance among these essential biomarkers — acetoacetate and beta-hydroxybutyrate, lactate and pyruvate, and the oxidized and reduced forms of glutathione. Additional details will be shared closer to release.

Niacinamide Supports NAD+ Production

Taking niacinamide is a convenient way of boosting your NAD+ levels. However, this approach calls for precision and balance — the reason why I encourage proper testing. While high doses have shown benefits in clinical settings, smaller and consistent amounts are far more appropriate for everyday use. This approach supports mitochondrial and metabolic function without placing unnecessary stress on the body, since excessive intake can disrupt methylation pathways and raise the risk of adverse events over time.

• Take small, evenly distributed daily doses — For daily support, take 50 milligrams of niacinamide three times per day. This modest dose supports NAD+ production without the risks associated with high-dose vitamin B3 supplementation. You can even divide it into four servings per day. Take one dose upon waking, one before bed, and space the remaining doses evenly throughout the day.

• Excessive B3 intake can be counterproductive — Taking too much vitamin B3, whether as niacin or niacinamide, will lead to negative outcomes. Research cited by the Cleveland Clinic indicates that high doses can increase cardiovascular risk.8 Although both compounds are forms of vitamin B3, niacin does not activate NAMPT the way niacinamide does, making niacinamide the preferred option.

• Don’t forget the other B vitamins — Adequate intake of other B vitamins is essential for overall health and mitochondrial function, particularly niacin, riboflavin, and folate. Suboptimal mitochondrial health is often linked to B-vitamin deficiencies,9 which can typically be corrected with a low-dose, high-quality B-complex supplement.

When it comes to food sources, vitamin B3 is abundant in grass fed beef and mushrooms.10 Vitamin B6 is found in grass fed beef, potatoes, and bananas.11 Folate (vitamin B9) is plentiful in spinach, broccoli, and asparagus,12 while vitamin B12 is concentrated in foods such as grass fed beef liver, wild rainbow trout, and wild sockeye salmon.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About NAD+ and Its Link to Alzheimer’s Disease

Q: What is NAD+ and why is it essential for cellular and brain health?
A: NAD+ is a core cellular coenzyme required for energy production, mitochondrial function, DNA repair, and metabolic signaling. Low NAD+ levels impair cellular energy and are linked to aging, metabolic disease, and neurodegeneration.

Q: How is NAD+ connected to Alzheimer’s disease progression?
A: Research shows Alzheimer’s disease severity correlates with disrupted NAD+ balance. Declining NAD+ levels impairs neuronal energy, repair, and resilience, suggesting the condition is driven by upstream energy failure rather than plaque buildup alone.

Q: Can restoring NAD+ reverse Alzheimer’s-related damage?
A: In advanced animal models, restoring NAD+ led to full cognitive recovery, reduced inflammation, improved tau pathology, and lower blood biomarkers, even after severe disease was established, challenging the idea of irreversible damage.

Q: How does NAD+ improve memory at a genetic and cellular level?
A: NAD+ restores proper gene instruction processing through EVA1C-dependent RNA splicing, particularly in hippocampal neurons. This allows neurons to rebuild functional proteins required for learning and memory, promoting true neuronal recovery.

Q: What is the safest way to support NAD+ levels?
A: Modest, consistent niacinamide dosing, combined with adequate B vitamins, supports NAD+ production safely without disrupting methylation or increasing health risks.

Test Your Knowledge with Today’s Quiz!

Take today’s quiz to see how much you’ve learned from yesterday’s Mercola.com article.

Which type of oil supplies linoleic acid that accumulates in tissues and drives inflammation?

Seed oils

Seed oils are rich in linoleic acid, which oxidizes easily, builds up in tissues, and fuels inflammatory damage inside arteries for years before symptoms appear. Learn more.

Olive oil
Beef tallow
Ghee

If you wake up tired despite eight hours in bed, if your workouts leave you depleted instead of energized, if you feel like you’re running on fumes no matter how well you eat — your stress response is likely stuck in overdrive. This pattern has a name in traditional medicine. For centuries, Ayurvedic practitioners recognized it as a state of depletion requiring restoration, not more effort.

The remedy they reached for was ashwagandha, a root classified as an adaptogen, meaning it helps your body adapt to stress by restoring balance rather than forcing a response in one direction. Unlike stimulants that push energy or sedatives that suppress it, adaptogens support equilibrium. That ancient intuition now has modern validation.

Stress is woven into daily life in ways that are easy to normalize and hard to escape. Long work hours, irregular sleep, and relentless mental load quietly shift your body into chronic strain. Over time, that strain shows up as poor sleep, unstable energy, slower recovery, and a feeling that your body doesn’t fully reset — symptoms often ignored until performance, health, or motivation starts to slide.

Athletic training magnifies this problem rather than offsetting it. Physical effort demands recovery, and when stress stays elevated, recovery remains incomplete. Picture someone who trains four days a week, eats clean, and still can’t shake the brain fog or build the muscle they expect. They assume they need to train harder or find a new diet.

But when stress hormones run constantly high, the body treats every workout as another threat to survive rather than a stimulus to adapt to. No amount of effort overcomes that biochemical roadblock.

At the center of this connection sits the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, or HPA axis, your body’s stress thermostat. When it’s working properly, it ramps up cortisol to meet a challenge, then dials back down once the threat passes. Chronic stress miscalibrates this thermostat, leaving it stuck in the “on” position, pumping cortisol even when there’s no real threat.

Ashwagandha helps recalibrate this system so your body recognizes when it’s actually safe to rest and repair. Its active compounds, called withanolides, modulate stress signaling, support calming neurotransmitter activity, and provide antioxidant protection. Understanding these connections sets the stage for examining why ashwagandha has become a focus of serious scientific interest and what the research shows when stress regulation moves back in the right direction.

Ashwagandha Improves Stress, Hormones, and Recovery in Active Adults

A paper published in the Journal of Education, Health and Sport analyzed human clinical trials that examined ashwagandha supplementation in relation to cortisol control, testosterone balance, and physical recovery outcomes.1

The researchers focused on randomized, placebo-controlled studies conducted in adults between 2010 and 2025, prioritizing trials that measured objective markers such as blood hormones, aerobic capacity, and recovery indices. The goal was to determine whether ashwagandha meaningfully improves how the body handles stress and rebounds from physical demand.

• Ashwagandha benefits adults under psychological or physical strain — The review highlighted consistent benefits in chronically stressed adults, physically active individuals, and athletes exposed to demanding training loads. These groups showed measurable reductions in stress markers alongside improvements in perceived stress, anxiety scores, and physical readiness.

This matters because stress-related fatigue and stalled recovery often share the same root: excessive cortisol signaling.

• Cortisol dropped at a rate that clearly separated ashwagandha from placebo — One standout trial gave stressed adults 300 milligrams (mg) of ashwagandha root extract twice daily for 60 days. Their cortisol dropped 27.9% — nearly four times the reduction seen in the placebo group. That gap represents a meaningful shift from chronic stress physiology toward recovery physiology.

For someone running on stress hormones, a 28% drop in cortisol could mean finally sleeping through the night, waking up without an alarm, or noticing that afternoon slump disappears. Cortisol drives muscle breakdown, sleep disruption, and hormonal suppression when it stays elevated. So, lower cortisol shifts your body out of constant defense mode and back into repair.

• Multiple stress-related outcomes improved at the same time — Beyond cortisol, participants reported lower perceived stress scores and improved emotional stability across several trials. Anxiety ratings dropped, sleep quality improved, and subjective fatigue declined.

These outcomes cascade: lower stress hormones enable deeper sleep, deeper sleep accelerates recovery, faster recovery unlocks training gains. One improvement sets the next in motion. Rather than forcing performance, the herb supported the HPA axis, helping the body respond appropriately instead of overreacting.

• Hormonal balance shifted in a favorable direction — The review reported repeated findings of increased testosterone and DHEA-S levels, especially in physically active men and older adults with lower baseline hormone levels. Testosterone supports muscle repair, strength development, and motivation.

DHEA-S is a precursor hormone, a building block your body uses to make testosterone and estrogen. When chronic stress depletes it, your hormonal reserves run low. Restoring DHEA-S helps replenish that reserve tank. Importantly, these increases appeared alongside cortisol reductions, not through overstimulation.

Cortisol and testosterone have an inverse relationship — when one rises, the other tends to fall. This is why chronically stressed men often experience low testosterone symptoms (fatigue, reduced motivation, slow recovery) even when their levels test “normal.” By reducing cortisol, ashwagandha creates hormonal room for testosterone to rise naturally.

• Physical performance and recovery showed objective gains — Trials summarized in the review demonstrated improvements in VO2 max, a measure of how efficiently your body uses oxygen during exertion. A higher VO2 max means you can climb stairs, finish a workout, or keep up with your children without gasping for air. It’s the difference between feeling winded and feeling capable.

Participants also showed improved recovery and lower post-exercise fatigue scores, meaning they bounced back faster between training sessions.

Chronically elevated cortisol breaks down muscle tissue for fuel, impairs glycogen replenishment, and delays tissue repair. When cortisol normalizes, your body can finally use the protein you eat for building rather than burning, store carbohydrates efficiently in muscle, and repair micro-damage from training. The performance gains aren’t from stimulation — they’re from removing the brake that was preventing adaptation.

Most positive outcomes emerged after eight weeks or longer of daily supplementation. Short-term dosing produced smaller effects, while sustained use aligned with larger cortisol reductions and performance gains.

Why Ashwagandha’s Benefits Show Up Across Sleep, Metabolism, and Performance

These findings raised an obvious question: why does lowering cortisol produce such wide-ranging benefits? A review in Nutrition & Metabolism attempted to untangle the mechanisms.2 Rather than asking whether outcomes occur, this study focused on why they occur.

The review covered healthy adults, people under chronic psychological stress, recreational and trained athletes, and older adults experiencing fatigue or metabolic decline. Across these groups, improvements clustered around sleep quality, metabolic markers, and physical and mental performance.

• Sleep quality emerged as a primary driver of downstream benefits — Multiple randomized trials showed improvements in sleep onset time, total sleep duration, and sleep efficiency, especially at doses of 600 mg per day or higher over eight weeks or more. Sleep efficiency simply means how much time in bed you actually spend asleep.

Better sleep improves recovery, hormone balance, and next-day energy, which explains why performance metrics improve. The review detailed ashwagandha’s interaction with GABA receptors in the brain, which helps quiet overactive neural signaling tied to poor sleep and anxiety. GABA acts like the brain’s “off switch” for racing thoughts. When ashwagandha enhances GABA activity, it’s easier for your mind to quiet down at night instead of replaying the day’s stressors on a loop.

• Stress markers improved alongside sleep — The review reported consistent reductions in morning cortisol paired with better subjective stress scores and quality-of-life ratings. Morning cortisol reflects how hard your stress system runs at baseline. Lower values signal a calmer starting point each day, which supports steadier energy and emotional control.

• Metabolic health showed measurable improvement in several trials — Ashwagandha supplementation was linked to reductions in fasting blood glucose, insulin, and LDL cholesterol in adults. Lower insulin and glucose mean your cells handle fuel more efficiently. That efficiency supports endurance, reduces energy crashes, and speeds recovery between workouts.

• Body composition shifted in a favorable direction when paired with training — Trials summarized in the review showed greater muscle gains and fat reduction in participants who combined resistance training with ashwagandha supplementation compared to training alone. These changes tracked with improved sleep and lower stress hormones, not appetite suppression.

• Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory pathways played a role — Human trials showed reductions in markers of oxidative stress along with increases in antioxidant defenses. Oxidative stress is like rust accumulating inside your cells. Intense exercise, poor sleep, and chronic stress all accelerate this “rusting.” Ashwagandha helps your body produce more of its natural rust-proofing compounds. Lowering oxidative stress protects muscles, nerves, and mitochondria during repeated training.

This creates a virtuous cycle: lower cortisol enables deeper sleep. Deeper sleep enhances growth hormone release and tissue repair. Better recovery allows more productive training. More productive training builds fitness and resilience. Ashwagandha doesn’t create this cycle — it removes the cortisol block that was preventing it from turning.

Most benefits emerged after four to 12 weeks, with stronger outcomes at eight weeks or longer. Shorter trials showed smaller shifts. Across dozens of trials using 300 to 600 mg daily for up to 12 weeks, researchers reported no meaningful changes in blood counts, thyroid markers, or vital signs. Mild side effects occurred at similar rates in placebo groups. Rare liver injury cases resolved after stopping supplementation, reinforcing the importance of appropriate dosing and quality control.

How to Lower Stress Load and Recover Faster on Purpose

When your body feels stuck in survival mode, pushing harder rarely fixes the problem. High stress keeps cortisol elevated, which interferes with sleep, recovery, and training progress. The goal here is to calm the stress-response system first, then build habits that help your body repair and regain momentum instead of spinning its wheels.

1. Lower daily stress signals — If you wake up tired, feel on edge during the day, or notice that workouts leave you wiped out instead of energized, your nervous system is under constant pressure. Start with simple changes. Anchor your sleep with consistency: same bedtime, same wake time, even on weekends.
Dim lights after sunset, since bright screens tell your brain it’s still daytime. Treat the last hour before bed as a decompression zone, not a time to catch up on email. These habits reduce baseline cortisol and make ashwagandha far more effective instead of asking it to fight constant stress noise on its own.

2. Use ashwagandha to calm your system, not to push harder — When stress hormones stay high, adding stimulants or training intensity makes things worse. Ashwagandha works best as a steady, daily support that helps quiet stress signaling. If you’re mentally overloaded, training often, or sleeping lightly, consistency matters more than timing tricks. The real benefit comes when your body finally gets the message that it doesn’t need to stay on high alert.

3. Match your workouts to what your body can actually recover from — Too much intense exercise causes more harm than good. Long, exhausting sessions drive cortisol even higher and slow recovery. Moderate-intensity workouts, like walking, combined with shorter, focused workouts and real rest days protects recovery hormones. When stress drops, ashwagandha supports adaptation instead of acting as damage control.

4. Keep your blood sugar steady to avoid hidden stress spikes — Energy crashes act like stress to your body. If you feel shaky, irritable, or drained between meals, cortisol rises to fill the gap. Regular meals with enough carbohydrates and protein help keep energy steady throughout the day.

When blood sugar crashes, your body releases cortisol to compensate — it’s an emergency fuel system. Preventing those crashes with regular, balanced meals keeps cortisol from spiking unnecessarily. Start by aiming for 250 grams of carbs per day, which supports sustained metabolic health and ensures that your mitochondria function efficiently.

Prioritize easy-to-digest options like fruit and white rice. When your gut is ready, meaning no bloating and no irregular bowel movements, gradually add in root vegetables, then legumes, additional vegetables, and well-tolerated whole grains.

5. Give your body enough time to reset — Stress doesn’t unwind overnight. If you’re coming out of burnout, heavy training, or long-term pressure, your nervous system needs repeated signals that things are safe again. Staying consistent with sleep, nutrition, recovery-focused training, and daily ashwagandha use for at least eight weeks allows cortisol to settle, sleep to deepen, and energy to return.

Performance improves as a result, not by forcing it. If you are an athlete, a busy professional, or someone who simply feels run down, this approach helps your body stop fighting itself and start rebuilding again.

6. Choose a quality ashwagandha extract and use it consistently — Not all ashwagandha products are equal. Look for root extract (not leaf) standardized to contain a consistent percentage of withanolides, the active compounds responsible for stress-lowering effects. Capsules offer convenience; powders can be mixed into smoothies or warm milk (a traditional Ayurvedic preparation).

Aim for 300 to 600 mg daily, taken morning or evening — some prefer evening due to the calming effects. Plan for at least eight weeks of consistent use before evaluating results. The benefits build gradually as your stress signaling recalibrates.

Signs ashwagandha is working often appear gradually: falling asleep faster, waking feeling more refreshed, steadier energy without caffeine dependence, better workout recovery, and a general sense of feeling less “wired but tired.” Consider keeping a simple journal of sleep quality and energy levels for the first eight weeks.

Those with autoimmune thyroid conditions should consult their doctor, as ashwagandha stimulates thyroid function. Pregnant and breastfeeding women should avoid it due to insufficient safety data. If you take sedatives, thyroid medications, or immunosuppressants, check with your health care provider first.

FAQs About Ashwagandha

Q: What does ashwagandha actually help with?
A: Ashwagandha helps lower chronic stress by reducing cortisol, which supports better sleep, steadier energy, hormonal balance, and faster physical recovery. When stress signaling calms down, your body shifts out of breakdown mode and back into repair.

Q: Who benefits the most from using ashwagandha?
A: The higher your baseline stress, the more room there is for improvement. Someone already sleeping well with low anxiety may notice little change. Someone running on fumes, sleeping poorly, and feeling constantly on edge often notices significant shifts within weeks. This includes athletes, highly active adults, busy professionals, and anyone dealing with poor sleep, fatigue, or slow recovery.

Q: How long does it take to notice results?
A: Most clinical benefits show up after consistent daily use for at least eight weeks. Shorter use produces smaller effects, while longer, steady use aligns with deeper cortisol reduction, improved sleep quality, and better recovery.

Q: Does ashwagandha work on its own, or does lifestyle still matter?
A: Ashwagandha works best when stressors are reduced at the same time. Consistent sleep schedules, appropriate exercise intensity, and stable blood sugar allow the herb to reinforce calm stress signaling instead of fighting constant overload.

Q: Is ashwagandha safe when used correctly?
A: Clinical trials using standard doses for up to 12 weeks report no meaningful changes in blood markers or vital signs, with mild side effects occurring at rates similar to placebo. Using appropriate doses and high-quality preparations supports safe, predictable results.

You’ve done everything right. You’ve chosen organic produce, filtered your water, avoided alcohol during pregnancy. You’re breastfeeding your baby, knowing it’s the gold standard for infant nutrition. But new research reveals an uncomfortable truth: your breast milk also carries a chemical signature of modern life — traces of plastics from takeout containers, disinfectants from household cleaners, pesticides from conventional produce, even breakdown products of medications taken years ago.1

Early development depends on tightly regulated hormonal and metabolic signaling. When hormone-disrupting chemicals appear during this stage, researchers pay close attention, even when levels are low. These chemicals mimic natural hormones like estrogen or block hormone receptors, interfering with growth signals, metabolism, and brain development during a period when these systems are still forming.

What stands out in this research is not the presence of one dominant toxin, but the repeated detection of many different chemicals that originate from routine activities such as food storage, household cleaning, and personal care product use.

At the same time, breast milk remains the gold standard for infant nutrition, delivering immune protection and biological signals that no substitute matches. The concern is not whether breastfeeding is safe, but how modern environments influence what passes through breast milk — and its effects on future generations.

Breast Milk Carries a Mixture of Modern Industrial Chemicals

Researchers from McGill University used a non-targeted screening approach — essentially casting a wide net to identify any chemical signature present, rather than testing for a predetermined list of suspects.2 Think of it as the difference between searching for specific known criminals versus photographing everyone who passes through airport security to see who shows up.

Most safety testing evaluates chemicals in isolation — as if you encounter BPA alone, without simultaneous exposure to phthalates, parabens, and pesticides. But daily life doesn’t work that way. You’re exposed to dozens of chemicals simultaneously through food, air, water, and products. Regulatory science hasn’t caught up to this reality. The researchers analyzed 594 human milk samples collected in Montreal, Canada, and in Vhembe and Pretoria, South Africa, between 2018 and 2019, with eye-opening results.

• The study revealed chemicals that had never been reported in human milk before — Among the newly identified substances were antimicrobial preservatives, which appear in soaps, disinfectants, and personal care products. Plastic-related antioxidant additives also showed up, reflecting exposure from food packaging and manufactured materials. For parents, this confirms that everyday products leave biological traces in breast milk, even without obvious overuse.

• Agricultural and household chemicals appeared alongside personal-care residues — The researchers also detected propanil, an agricultural herbicide, and chloroxylenol, an antimicrobial common in household disinfectants. None of these compounds had been previously documented in human milk.

• Medication byproducts offered a real-world snapshot of treatment history — In samples from South Africa, scientists identified a breakdown product of efavirenz, a medication once widely used to treat HIV. When chemicals enter your body, they don’t necessarily stay in their original form. Your liver and other organs chemically modify them into metabolites — breakdown products that can be more or less toxic than the parent compound.

This is why researchers now track both the original chemicals and their transformed versions. According to study co-author Stéphane Bayen, the presence of the HIV drug breakdown product indicated maternal use during or before the sample years, before treatment guidelines changed after 2019. This shows how past medical decisions remain visible in biological samples years later.

Bayen described the results as evidence that people experience a “complex cocktail of chemical residues,” shaped by diet, environment, and lifestyle. This matters because chemicals rarely act alone. Two chemicals that seem safe individually might amplify each other’s effects when combined — or create entirely new effects. Regulatory testing evaluates one chemical at a time, but your baby receives them all at once.

• Some chemical levels correlated with measurable infant outcomes — Concentrations of certain chemicals, including bisphenol A and bisphenol AF, aligned with altered growth patterns among South African infants. Jonathan Chevrier, an associate professor of epidemiology involved in the work, stressed that this was the first study of its kind and that replication remains necessary before drawing firm conclusions. Still, this link explains why scientists track growth signals so closely during infancy.

• Breast milk remains the gold standard for infant nutrition — Bayen stated that the detected substances appeared at low concentrations and that the health effects of many remain unknown. Establishing baseline data allows regulators and scientists to expand testing targets beyond the usual suspects.

That creates a practical pathway for reducing exposure over time instead of guessing where risks originate. Once you understand the exposure pathways — how these chemicals travel from products to your bloodstream to your milk — the leverage points for intervention become obvious. You can’t control industrial contamination of the entire food supply, but you can control whether you microwave leftovers in plastic or store them in glass.

5 Separate Studies Point to the Same Exposure Problem

The McGill research didn’t rely on one analysis. It drew from five separate studies, each asking a different question about what ends up in breast milk, how those chemicals get there, and whether they relate to infant growth or development. Together, these studies show not only what turns up in human milk, but also how replacement chemicals, household habits, and regional differences shape what infants receive during a critical stage of growth.

• Bisphenols in breast milk linked to measurable changes in infant growth — A study published in Environmental Research examined bisphenols — plastic-related chemicals that disrupt hormones — in breast milk from South Africa and Canada.3 Levels of BPA, BPS, and BPAF were highest in rural South Africa and lowest in Montreal, where only BPS was detected.

Microwaving food in plastic containers and maternal diet strongly influenced exposure. Among South African infants, BPAF aligned with greater body length and head circumference, while higher BPA aligned with smaller head size.

This contradictory pattern reveals a problem with chemical substitution: manufacturers replace BPA with structurally similar cousins (BPS, BPAF), assuming safety, but these “replacements” interact with the body’s hormone receptors in entirely different ways. Same chemical family, opposite biological effects.

• Testing revealed chlorinated chemicals not previously found in human milk — Research published in Exposome used a broad scanning method rather than a preset chemical list.4 This approach identified six chlorinated compounds, including disinfectant antimicrobials, pesticide-related chemicals, a UV filter, and a breakdown product of an HIV medication.

Several of these substances had never been reported in human milk before. The findings show that standard testing overlooks meaningful exposures from cleaning products, agriculture, and medical treatments combined.

• Plastic substitutes appeared alongside the chemicals they replaced — A Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology study looked beyond BPA and searched for structurally similar replacements.5

Researchers identified 11 additional compounds, including chemicals used in thermal receipt paper, ultraviolet filters, and synthetic antioxidants. Two plastic stabilizers were detected in human milk for the first time. This demonstrates that removing one known chemical often results in exposure to newer alternatives rather than true reduction.

• Parabens showed up in multiple processed forms, not just their original state — A Chemosphere study focused on parabens, preservatives common in cosmetics and personal care products.6 Scientists identified common parabens, newly recognized parabens, and sulfated forms that show how the body chemically modifies these compounds.

Some parabens appeared only in South African samples. The same analysis detected phthalates, PFAS, and even a tire-related chemical, illustrating how environmental contamination reaches breast milk through indirect and unexpected routes.

• Country-specific patterns revealed chemical substitution rather than elimination — An Environmental Pollution study measured nine bisphenols using a sensitive extraction method.7 South African samples showed higher BPA levels, mostly in processed form, while Canadian samples showed a shift away from BPA toward BPS. BPAF appeared only in South Africa. These findings show that regulatory changes often swap one chemical for another, leaving overall exposure intact rather than reduced.

Practical Steps to Reduce Chemical Exposure While Protecting Your Baby

These findings might feel overwhelming — and the instinct might be to panic or dismiss breastfeeding altogether. But breast milk remains the best source of infant nutrition — irreplaceable, in fact — even in a world saturated with environmental chemicals. The goal here is not to create fear around breastfeeding.

The goal is to reduce the everyday exposures that contribute to chemical residues in human milk. When daily habits change, what transfers to your baby changes as well. That gives you meaningful control at a time when control often feels limited.

1. Keep breastfeeding as the nutritional foundation — If you’re breastfeeding, staying the course supports your baby’s immune defenses, gut development, and brain growth, while supplying antibodies, enzymes, and hormones that help guide healthy metabolism.

The researchers behind the breast milk findings stated clearly that breast milk remains ideal for infants because it delivers nutrition and immune protection no substitute can match. Lowering environmental exposure strengthens these benefits by reducing what transfers alongside those protective compounds rather than replacing breastfeeding itself.

2. Filter your drinking water — Drinking water and cooking water contribute to ongoing chemical intake, including residues from pesticides, plastics, and disinfectants. Install a high-quality water filtration system to intercept contaminants before they enter every glass of water you drink, every meal you cook, and every bottle you prepare. This single step lowers cumulative intake without changing routines.

3. Simplify personal care and household products — Many of the unexpected compounds identified in breast milk trace back to soaps, disinfectants, and cosmetic products. Reducing the number of products you use each day lowers the number of preservatives and antimicrobial agents absorbed through your skin.

Fewer products create fewer exposure pathways. Choosing natural personal care products and cleaning agents, or making your own at home, also reduces your exposure to toxic chemicals. Specific swaps that matter:

• Replace antibacterial hand soap with natural soap
• Skip body lotions with long ingredient lists; use organic coconut oil instead
• Eliminate triclosan-containing toothpaste (check labels)
• Make a simple deodorant from baking soda and coconut oil

4. Limit plastic contact with food and beverages — Plastic-related additives detected in breast milk originate largely from food packaging and storage materials. Switch to glass, stainless steel, or ceramic containers to eliminate contact with plastic stabilizers and antioxidants — especially when heating food, since heat dramatically accelerates chemical migration into whatever you’re eating or drinking. Prioritize these changes in order of impact:

• Don’t microwave in plastic (this showed the strongest correlation with BPA levels in the research)
• Switch hot food/beverage containers first (coffee cup lids, takeout containers for hot food, plastic wrap touching hot dishes)
• Replace plastic food storage gradually with glass (mason jars work for most needs; focus on acidic foods like tomato sauce first, as acids leach more chemicals)
• Avoid canned foods with BPA linings
• Don’t reuse disposable plastic bottles (reuse increases leaching)

5. Use my homemade formula recipe if breastfeeding is not possible — Some parents can’t breastfeed, and that reality deserves a practical solution. In those cases, my homemade formula recipe avoids industrial seed oils and unnecessary additives common in commercial formulas. This option allows greater control over ingredients and reduces exposure to avoidable contaminants.

Below is my preferred dairy-based formula, which will make 36 ounces of milk. If you need to make large batches to last several days, you can do so, but make sure to freeze the finished product. For children who are unable to tolerate milk proteins, I recommend trying my hypoallergenic milk formula instead.

Healthy Homemade Infant Formula

Procedure

1. Warm 1 7/8 cups of filtered water (to get this amount, measure out 2 cups of water and remove 2 tablespoons) over medium heat.
2. Add 2 teaspoons of grass fed beef gelatin and 4 tablespoons of lactose to the water; occasionally stir until dissolved.
3. Place 2 cups of raw organic whole cow’s milk into a clean glass blender. Add the remainder of ingredients to the blender:

• 1/4 cup of liquid homemade whey (for instructions, see Pope’s video. You can also visit the Weston A. Price Foundation’s website for their own homemade whey recipe)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons of raw cream
• 1/4 teaspoon acerola powder
• 1/4 teaspoon bifidobacterium infantis (a probiotic)
• 2 teaspoons Frontier Brand nutritional yeast flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon high-quality non-fermented cod liver oil. You could substitute the cod liver oil with wild-caught Alaskan Salmon oil or krill oil
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon organic ghee

4. Remove the pot of water from the stove. Add 2 teaspoons of coconut oil and 1/4 teaspoon high-vitamin butter oil to the water to melt. Once melted, add the water mixture to the blender ingredients and blend for about three to five seconds.

5. Pour the blended ingredients into glass jars or glass baby bottles and refrigerate. Before feeding, warm the formula by placing the glass bottle in a pot of hot water. A baby bottle warmer can also be used. Never microwave infant formula, as this will destroy many valuable nutrients and enzymes and pose a burn risk.

FAQS About Chemicals in Breast Milk

Q: Why are chemicals showing up in breast milk at all?
A: Breast milk reflects a mother’s daily environment. Chemicals from plastics, pesticides, disinfectants, and personal care products enter your body through food, water, air, and skin contact, then transfer into milk in small amounts.

Q: Does the presence of these chemicals mean breast milk is unsafe?
A: No. The researchers emphasized that breast milk remains the gold standard for infant nutrition because it delivers immune protection, hormones, enzymes, and growth signals no substitute can replicate.

Q: Which everyday habits most strongly influence exposure?
A: Studies linked higher chemical levels to common behaviors such as microwaving food in plastic containers, frequent use of personal care products, contact with food packaging, and environmental contamination tied to diet and household products.

Q: Are all plastic-related chemicals the same in how they affect infants?
A: No. Different bisphenols behaved differently. Some aligned with larger infant growth measures, while others aligned with smaller head size, showing that chemical substitutes do not act the same in the body.

Q: What matters most for parents who want to reduce exposure?
A: The biggest leverage points are reducing plastic contact with food, improving water quality, simplifying personal care and cleaning products, and maintaining breastfeeding whenever possible to preserve its well-documented health benefits.

Every year, more than 5 million Americans are admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) to get life-saving treatment. Thanks to modern technology, survival rates have never been higher — however, recovery is often brutal. Up to 80% of ventilated patients experience delirium,1 and nearly half develop severe muscle weakness that can linger for months. These complications stretch hospital stays and drive costs, with ICU care expenditures averaging over $4,000 per day.2

Heavy reliance on sedatives and opioids adds another layer of risk. Ironically, the very drugs meant to ease suffering can slow recovery, extend time on mechanical ventilation, and leave patients mentally foggy for weeks after discharge.3 In response to these concerns, researchers are exploring gentler, complementary approaches to support healing — including acupuncture, a therapy rooted in ancient tradition.

Video Link

A Legacy of Helping People Feel Less Pain

Acupuncture has been practiced for over 2,500 years in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and is based on the concept of ‘Qi’ (pronounced ‘chee’) — energy that flows through the body via pathways called meridians. The procedure involves inserting hair-thin, sterile needles into specific points on the body.4

These needles activate nerve pathways that run to the brain and spinal cord, triggering the release of your body’s natural painkillers. Acupuncture also signals the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, the master control centers for hormones and immune function.5

Understanding how acupuncture works is important if you’re curious about its role in critical care. You’re about to learn why this ancient therapy is gaining attention as a supportive option for ICU patients.

Acupuncture Could Hold the Key to a Speedy Recovery

A mini-review published in Frontiers in Neurology6 examined whether acupuncture can help ill patients recover more quickly in ICUs. The authors reviewed randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews, and mechanistic studies to evaluate their strengths and limitations.7 They focused on ICU patients who often struggle with persistent pain, delirium, muscle weakness, and digestive problems after prolonged stays.8

• Acupuncture reduces dependence on drugs — Acupuncture, especially electroacupuncture (EA) and transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS), is increasingly used in ICU recovery care. According to their findings, these approaches may reduce the need for sedatives and pain medications, help patients come off ventilators sooner, and shorten ICU stays.

• Muscle weakness improves with acupuncture — ICU-acquired weakness (ICU-AW), which involves significant muscle loss after extended hospital stays, impacts up to 50% of patients. Trials indicate that combining acupuncture with rehabilitation enhances muscle strength scores and reduces ventilation duration by approximately two days. Some studies also reported increased muscle thickness, suggesting improved recovery prospects.9

• Delirium-free days were reported — Recent studies suggest acupuncture may help prevent and treat delirium in ICU patients by balancing brain chemicals, calming inflammation, and supporting normal circadian rhythms. Early findings show more delirium-free days and lower delirium rates, though larger studies are still needed.

• Gut health benefits add another layer — Acupuncture helps normalize gut function by easing constipation and reducing diarrhea. Studies show it can increase bowel movements, relieve opioid-related constipation, and lower diarrhea rates in patients receiving tube feeding.

• What do the researchers say? — The authors stressed that acupuncture should be viewed as an add-on, not a replacement for standard treatments. They also added that:

“Current evidence shows that it can safely and effectively reduce dependence on analgesic and sedative drugs, facilitate ventilator weaning, mitigate ICU-AW, decrease the incidence of delirium, and improve gastrointestinal function.

These benefits position acupuncture as a reproducible, low-risk, and potentially individualized adjunct, particularly valuable when conventional therapies are limited by adverse effects.

Future research should prioritize large multicenter [Randomized Controlled Trials] or RCTs, establish standardized operating procedures and dose — response frameworks, and incorporate real-world data with long-term outcome measures.”

To build on these findings, another team of researchers reviewed additional studies to determine how often acupuncture helps ICU patients manage multiple symptoms and even prevent infections.

Acupuncture as a Complement to Shock and Sepsis Care

To determine whether acupuncture’s benefits extend beyond limited studies, a team of researchers analyzed 12 clinical trials involving 682 critically ill patients.10 The systematic review, published in the Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine in 2023, focused broadly on ICU care, but also touched on conditions like shock and sepsis, where acupuncture might offer supportive benefits. Here’s what the evidence suggests:

• Animal studies show heart benefits — In one experiment, stimulating a nerve similar to acupuncture reduced heart strain and improved blood flow. This effect may result from calming the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which controls involuntary functions such as heart rate and blood pressure.

• Case reports hint at better blood flow — Stimulating acupoints on the legs and feet may help improve circulation in patients with shock (a life-threatening drop in blood flow). These findings are preliminary and require further research.

• Acupuncture may fight inflammation in sepsis — Sepsis is a severe infection that triggers widespread inflammation and organ stress. Studies suggest that acupuncture can lower inflammation, reduce cell damage caused by unstable molecules, and improve blood flow through tiny vessels that keep organs alive.

• Boosts immune defenses in lab tests — Electrically stimulating an acupoint below the knee increased immune cells like natural killer (NK) cells and T-cells, which help fight infections and maintain immune balance.

• Small trials show symptom improvement — Patients who received acupuncture along with standard care had lower sepsis severity scores and fewer inflammatory markers. Mortality didn’t change, but these results are encouraging for future research.

Acupuncture Framed as Whole-System Support in the ICU

A 2024 narrative review in the Eurasian Journal of Anesthesiology & Intensive Care takes a big-picture look at acupuncture in critical care. Their goal was to identify how it not only works for one symptom, but also supports the entire system during severe illness.11 The researchers examined acupuncture as a whole-body support tool, drawing on both traditional acupuncture theory and modern ICU practice. Here’s what they found:

• Acupuncture is designed to restore balance during critical illness — In the ICU, where multiple systems are under stress simultaneously, acupuncture may help stabilize the body rather than targeting a single symptom.

• Multiple ICU-related health concerns are addressed at the same time — The authors grouped acupuncture’s potential benefits into eight areas, including pain management, anxiety and stress relief, improving sleep quality, side effect reduction, respiratory problems, treatment of circulatory shock, nutritional support, and functional recovery after critical illness.

• Mental health and sleep take center stage — Anxiety and poor sleep weren’t treated as secondary issues. They’re highlighted as primary targets for acupuncture due to their impact on healing and overall well-being.

• Reducing side effects from drugs is a major benefit — By easing symptoms like pain or nausea, acupuncture could help lower medication doses, reducing risks from sedatives and opioids.

Acupuncture Can Help with Multiple Conditions

Providing support for ICU-related problems and alleviating chronic pain are just some of the health advantages associated with acupuncture. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it also shows promise for helping improve the following conditions:12

Neurological and pain-related conditions
Internal and digestive disorders
Women’s reproductive health
Other conditions

Headaches
Dysentery, acute bacillary
Dysmenorrhea
Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever)

Facial pain (including craniomandibular disorders)
Epigastralgia (peptic ulcer, gastritis, gastrospasm)
Induction of labor
Depression (including depressive neurosis and post-stroke depression)

Neck pain
Biliary colic
Malposition of fetus
Adverse reactions to radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy

Knee and back pain
Renal colic

Sciatica
Morning sickness

Stroke
Leukopenia

Tennis elbow
Hypertension

Sprain
Hypotension

Rheumatoid arthritis
Nausea and vomiting

Pain in dentistry (including dental pain and temporomandibular dysfunction)

Postoperative pain

Thinking About Trying Out Acupuncture?

If you’re dealing with back pain or other nagging issues, acupuncture might be a natural way to find relief. It’s safe, effective, and supported by growing research — but it’s not something you can easily try at home. Ideally, acupuncture requires the help of a trained professional and needs to be done in a clean setting, using sterile, single-use needles. Here are tips to keep note of:13

1. Talk to your doctor first — Before booking your first session, check in with your primary care doctor. They’ll review your health history and make sure acupuncture is safe for your situation, especially if you’re pregnant, on blood thinners, or have cancer or a bleeding disorder.

2. Look for a licensed expert — In the U.S., choose someone with the credential LAc, short for licensed acupuncturist. This means they’ve passed national exams or met your state’s training requirements. If you’re outside the U.S., check with your local health board or traditional medicine council for certified providers.

3. Know what to expect at your visit — A typical acupuncture session lasts about an hour. Your first visit might run longer because you’ll discuss your symptoms and goals. The needling part usually takes 30 to 40 minutes, and you’ll rest quietly during that time.

4. Pay attention to how you feel afterward — Some people notice immediate results after one session, while others may need several. It’s common to feel sleepy, relaxed, or even more alert right after. You might also notice better sleep, digestion, or mood over time — your body will respond in its own way.

If you want to learn more about how it works, read, “Study Reveals Previously Unknown Mechanism Behind Acupuncture’s Ability to Reduce Pain.”

Not a Fan of Needles? Here’s How You Can Still Try Acupuncture

Acupuncture involves more than just needles — methods like electricity, lasers, and acupressure can also stimulate acupuncture points. For example, cancer patients receiving radiotherapy experienced reduced nausea and better sleep and mood, regardless of whether they received real or simulated acupuncture.

One popular needle-free technique is Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), also called psychological acupressure. EFT involves tapping specific meridian points with the fingertips while focusing on a problem and voicing positive affirmations.14 This process helps clear emotional blocks and restore balance in your body’s energy system, which is essential for healing and overall well-being. You can practice EFT on your own, but for better results, working with a skilled practitioner is recommended.

Drug-Free Therapies That Support ICU Recovery

Acupuncture isn’t the only tool that helps the body heal without relying on more medications. ICU patients often deal with pain, sleep disruption, anxiety, and muscle weakness — issues that aren’t always solved with pharmaceutical interventions alone. You can also try out:

• Mindfulness practices — Practices like focused attention meditation can help dial down pain intensity. These techniques change how the brain interprets pain signals, offering relief with virtually no side effects.

•  Massage therapy — Massage has been shown to ease muscle tension, reduce anxiety, and improve sleep in patients recovering from surgery or critical illness. It’s a gentle, noninvasive option that may improve circulation and reduce discomfort associated with long-term bed rest.

• Music therapy — Live or recorded music — especially when personalized to the patient — has been shown to reduce ICU-related anxiety, lower blood pressure, and help calm patients during mechanical ventilation. Music stimulates brain areas involved in healing and relaxation, making it a powerful complement to acupuncture and other sensory-based therapies.

• Post-ICU lifestyle habits that help with recovery — After ICU discharge, implementing healthy lifestyle habits is vital to support the healing process. Here are important considerations to remember:

◦ Swap seed oils for stable fats — Too much linoleic acid (LA) from oils like soybean, corn, and sunflower drives chronic inflammation. Reducing LA to below 5 grams per day may support mitochondrial health and reduce oxidative stress in recovery. Cut out vegetable oils and choose stable fats like ghee or beef tallow.

If you want to take the guesswork out of seed oils, I recommend signing up for the Mercola Health Coach app, which is due out shortly. Its Seed Oil Sleuth feature will help you track your LA intake automatically.

◦ Eat more omega-3s from clean sources — Krill oil or wild-caught fish like Alaskan salmon help cool inflammation and protect cells. These fats support recovery of the heart, brain, and immune system after illness or trauma.

◦ Get regular, safe sun exposure — Sunlight boosts vitamin D, which plays a role in immune function and pain sensitivity. Just 15 to 30 minutes a day can help rebalance circadian rhythms and mood after hospitalization. However, make sure to eliminate LA from your diet for at least four to six months before getting peak midday sun exposure. Read “Beyond Vitamin D Production — How Sensible Sun Exposure Supports Overall Health” for more information.

Acupuncture isn’t here to replace modern medicine — it’s here to help the body remember how to heal. In the ICU, machines and medications keep patients stable, but recovery begins when balance returns. Even when illness drains strength, sleep, and clarity, acupuncture offers steady hope: it calms the nervous system, eases stress and pain, and creates the quiet conditions where healing can begin again.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About How Acupuncture Supports ICU Recovery

Q: What is acupuncture, and how does it work?
A: Acupuncture is a natural therapy that involves stimulating specific points on the body, usually with thin, sterile needles, to promote healing. It is based on the flow of ‘Qi’ (pronounced chee), or life energy. When Qi is blocked, pain and illness can develop. Acupuncture helps restore that flow, reducing pain, enhancing sleep, and supporting the immune system, all by activating the body’s own healing response.

Q: How can acupuncture help with inflammation and sepsis in ICU patients?
A: Studies suggest acupuncture may reduce inflammation, oxidative stress, and tiny blood vessel damage seen in sepsis, while supporting immune balance. Small trials found lower sepsis severity scores, though it does not replace standard infection treatment.

Q: What ICU problems can acupuncture support at the same time?
A: Reviews report acupuncture may support pain control, anxiety and stress relief, sleep quality, reduced medication side effects, breathing support, circulation and immune function, digestion and nutrition, and physical recovery during critical illness.

Q: What role does EFT play in ICU-friendly acupuncture care?
A: Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) use fingertip tapping on acupuncture points to calm the nervous system and release emotional tension. It’s a needle-free option that offers many of acupuncture’s benefits for patients uncomfortable with or ineligible for needles.

Q: What lifestyle changes support drug-free recovery after ICU discharge?
A: Reducing seed oils, consuming clean omega-3s, and getting safe sunlight can decrease inflammation, aid immune repair, and restore your body’s rhythm — all without needing additional medications.

1 What is glyphosate’s primary role in conventional agriculture?

Killing weeds by disrupting plant growth pathways
Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum herbicide designed to kill plants by blocking a metabolic process essential for their growth. Learn more.
Preventing insect infestations in crops
Increasing the vitamin content of grains
Speeding up seed germination in organic farms

2 What is a risk of excess high-intensity exercise?

Sleep quality may suffer because of extra energy
Metabolism may slow down, depending on genetics
Social anxiety may worsen especially for younger people
Mitochondria and glucose control get disrupted
Extreme training can shut down mitochondria and disrupt blood sugar control. Learn more.

3 What mainly changes in your brain after lots of short-form video exposure?

Language skills and creativity
Sense of humor and optimism
Impulse control and stress regulation
Short-form video habits can also affect your attention aside from your self-control, and how your brain regulates stress. Learn more.
Hand-eye coordination and reflexes

4 How long does it take to see improvements in liver health from regular exercise?

Within one to two weeks of starting activity
After several years of consistent training
Only once major weight loss occurs
Within eight to 12 weeks of consistent exercise
Studies show liver fat reduction usually appears within eight to 12 weeks, while programs lasting six months or longer deliver stronger, longer-lasting metabolic benefits. Learn more.

5 Which factor receives little research funding despite being a major driver of heart disease risk?

Genetic cholesterol disorders
Environmental and endothelial damage
Pollution, lead exposure, chronic stress, and vessel damage drive heart disease risk but attract little funding because they cannot be patented or monetized like drugs. Learn more.
Dietary cholesterol intake and monitoring
Optimal statin dosing strategies

6 Why did Europe release its first clinical guide for photobiomodulation (PBM) in cancer care?

To standardize supportive light-based care in oncology
A clinical guide provides consistent treatment standards, making it easier for cancer centers to use PBM safely and effectively across Europe. Learn more.
To replace chemotherapy with light-based treatments
To limit PBM use to experimental research only
To regulate cosmetic light therapy clinics

7 Where does Big Food concentrate much of its marketing?

Whole food co-ops and local markets
Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs)
Ultraprocessed foods aimed at children
Big Food targets children by marketing ultraprocessed snacks as fun, normalizing poor nutrition early. Learn more.
Public health clinics and nutritionists

Test Your Knowledge with
The Master Level Quiz

1 Why should regulatory claims about glyphosate safety be questioned?

Key studies with secret industry backing were retracted
Confidence in glyphosate safety is weakened when key studies are retracted for ethical reasons and hidden industry ties. Learn more.
Regulators have banned all research on glyphosate for profit motives
Organic farmers control most of the published studies
Safety claims are based only on animal testing and not human consumption

2 Why is it hard to get much thymoquinone from black cumin seed oil?

The oil is hard to find
Thymoquinone is destroyed by cooking
There’s very little thymoquinone in the oil
Thymoquinone is the main beneficial compound in black cumin seed oil, but only tiny amounts are present in the oil. Learn more.
Most brands add sugar, which disrupts the chemical makeup

3 What is one effective way to reduce glyphosate exposure?

Choosing organic or regeneratively farmed foods
Eating organic or regeneratively farmed foods helps lower glyphosate exposure by avoiding crops treated with herbicides. Learn more.
Rinsing all produce with hot water to remove residue
Avoiding all fresh fruits and vegetables sold in grocery stores
Taking daily vitamin supplements to increase antioxidant effectiveness

4 Which activity is most reliable for long-term brain health?

Heavy weightlifting
Daily sprint intervals
Marathon training
Regular moderate walking
Moderate, consistent walking is linked to slower brain decline and fewer metabolic problems. Learn more.

5 Which is a recommended way to avoid per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in cosmetics?

Check labels for “perfluoro-” or “polyfluoro-”
Checking for “perfluoro-” or “polyfluoro-” on labels is the most direct way to avoid per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in cosmetics. Learn more.
Choose only fragrance-free beauty products
Wash your face more often with cold water
Buy products labeled “hypoallergenic”

6 What opportunistic pathogen often rises in the gut after a colonoscopy?

Bacteroides
Lactobacillus
Firmicutes
Proteobacteria
Proteobacteria thrive when the gut is disrupted, quickly taking advantage of higher oxygen and stress after procedures like colonoscopies. Learn more.

7 Which approach is most effective for rebuilding focus?

Relying on willpower alone
Ignoring phone use and multitasking
Creating focus blocks
Changing your environment and setting daily focus periods helps restore attention better than relying on willpower. Learn more.
Taking daily memory supplements

8 Why do vision problems often appear before heart symptoms?

Large arteries handle stress longer than small vessels in the body
Eyesight conditions need more time to develop than chest pain
Heart and eye symptoms always appear together
Small eye vessels show damage from poor blood flow sooner
Tiny blood vessels in the eyes are affected by poor circulation before larger heart arteries show problems. Learn more.

9 How many Americans are affected by Type 2 diabetes?

Fewer than 5 million
About 8 million
Nearly 18 million
Over 38 million
More than 38 million Americans have Type 2 diabetes, and the number keeps rising. Learn more.

10 Which combination of exercise produces the strongest improvements for fatty liver disease?

Stretching, flexibility exercises, and some calisthenics
Aerobic exercise combined with resistance training
Combining aerobic and resistance exercise improves fat burning, insulin signaling, and blood sugar regulation more effectively than either exercise type alone. Learn more.
Resistance training without cardiovascular activity
Light walking performed a few times per week

11 Which kind of fat is most strongly linked to low vitamin D levels?

Visceral fat
Visceral fat, stored deep around organs, has the strongest association with low vitamin D levels. Learn more.
Subcutaneous fat
Fatty acids
Neck fat

12 Which neurotransmitter helps with memory, attention, learning, and emotional regulation?

Dopamine
Acetylcholine
Acetylcholine supports memory, attention, learning, and mood by helping nerve cells communicate. Learn more.
Serotonin
GABA

13 Which substance found in plaques explains why clots resist breaking down?

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol
Red blood cells
Lipoprotein A
Lipoprotein A helps patch artery damage but makes clots harder to dissolve, promoting plaque buildup and raising heart attack risk. Learn more.
Dietary fats

14 Which of these isn’t released by microbes from fermented foods?

Acids
Enzymes
Metabolites
Hormones
Fermented food microbes release acids, enzymes, and metabolites — but not hormones — when passing through your gut. Learn more.

15 What role does brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) play in mental health?

It slows down brain development in childhood
It raises stress hormones during anxiety
It blocks new connections between brain cells
It supports learning, mood stability, and stress resilience
BDNF helps brain cells grow and connect, promoting learning, stable mood, and the ability to handle stress. Learn more.

16 Which cancer-related complications have the strongest clinical support for photobiomodulation (PBM)?

Fatigue and nausea from chemotherapy
Oral mucositis and radiation-related skin damage
Clinical research shows PBM is especially helpful for easing pain and healing mouth sores and skin reactions caused by cancer treatment. Learn more.
Hair loss and immune suppression
Infection risk and blood cell loss

17 What hormone is commonly known as the “bonding hormone”?

Oxytocin
Oxytocin is called the “bonding hormone” because it promotes connection and lowers stress. Learn more.
Cortisol
Insulin
Adrenaline

18 What happens to the brain when someone has long-term high blood pressure?

Attention and learning get a measurable boost
More oxygen reaches all brain regions over time
Blood flow drops and memory-related areas shrink
Long-term high blood pressure reduces brain blood flow and shrinks areas critical for memory, focus, and decision-making. Learn more.
Nerves controlling relaxation become more active

19 Which of the following is not considered a real food alternative to Big Food?

EatWild.com and Local Harvest
Digital farmers market platforms
Pasture-based meat and raw dairy
National frozen meal distribution centers
Industrial frozen meal brands reflect Big Food’s model, unlike small-scale, regenerative, or farm-direct options. Learn more.

20 Overconsumption of which type of oil poses a major threat to mitochondrial and skin health?

Seed oils high in omega-6 fatty acids
Omega-6-rich seed oils impair mitochondrial energy production and increase vulnerability to sun-related skin damage when consumed in excess. Learn more.
Olive oil high in monounsaturated fats
Fish oil rich in omega-3 fatty acids
Coconut oil high in saturated fats

21 How many daily grams (g) of carbohydrates helps maintain metabolic health?

50 g
100 g
250 g
Around 250 g of carbohydrates daily supports thyroid function and lowers stress hormones, while overly low-carb intake raises cortisol and strains metabolism. Learn more.
400 g

Aspartame, the artificial sweetener used in everything from diet soda to chewable vitamins, doesn’t just sweeten your food — it alters your genetic landscape and heightens your risk of glioblastoma, one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer, according to a new study.

What’s even more concerning is that these genetic shifts were traced back to disruptions in gut bacteria. If you still believe the claims that aspartame is “harmless,” these new findings will open your eyes to just how dangerous this widely used additive is.

Aspartame Activates Brain Cancer Genes, Study Finds

A recent animal study published in Scientific Reports investigated the effects of aspartame on gene expression and gut bacteria in mice with glioblastoma. Researchers assessed whether aspartame could influence tumor progression on a molecular level, even in the absence of visible tumor growth.1

• The mice used in the study had gliomas induced by transplanting cancerous cells — These test subjects were then split into two groups. One received aspartame in their drinking water, while the control group was given plain water.

• One of the most striking findings was the activation of cancer-linked genes — The researchers discovered dramatic internal changes — particularly at the genetic and microbial level — in the aspartame-exposed group. Specifically, they observed a significant upregulation of three key genes — myelocytomatosis (MYC), cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A (CDKN1A), and transforming growth factor-β (TGFB1).

• These three genes are well-established contributors to cancer progression — MYC is an oncogene, meaning it plays a direct role in driving uncontrolled cell growth, while TGFB1 is often associated with a poor prognosis in glioblastoma due to its ability to suppress immune function and promote tumor cell survival. CDKN1A is typically involved in controlling the cell cycle, but when dysregulated, it contributes to tumor aggressiveness.

• The most unsettling part? These changes happened without any measurable increase in tumor size. That means even if your tumor isn’t growing, it could still be genetically evolving into something far more dangerous.

Aspartame Alters Your Gut Microbiota by Affecting the Gut-Brain Axis

Aspartame was accidentally discovered in 1965 and had been used in consumer products since the 1980s. Being a low-calorie sweetener that’s 200 times sweeter than regular sugar, it became widely popular among people who want to cut back on their calorie consumption. It’s now used in over 6,000 different products worldwide, including diet soda, sugar-free gum and candy, and even condiments like ketchup and salad dressings.2

However, aspartame is not as safe as it seems — in fact, it has been associated with a long list of health problems, such as obesity, headaches, and depression.3 In 2023, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) declared aspartame as possibly carcinogenic to humans4 — and now, this animal study provides stronger evidence backing up this classification.

• The changes in gene activity were traced to a powerful biological process called RNA methylation — These changes occurred specifically along the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) pathway. RNA methylation is a chemical modification of messenger RNA (mRNA), the molecule your body uses to translate DNA into proteins.
This modification acts like a dimmer switch — it fine-tunes how active a gene becomes. When aspartame exposure elevated this process, the dimmer switch turned all the way up on cancer-promoting genes.

• Aspartame increases glioblastoma risk by affecting the gut-brain axis — This is the bidirectional pathway by which your gut and brain communicate with each other. Your gut bacteria synthesize short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate and metabolize dietary components like tryptophan into molecules that regulate the tumor microenvironment.
When these metabolites reach tumor sites, they improve immune surveillance mechanisms and alter cellular metabolic processes to inhibit tumor growth.

• Conversely, tumors also influence gut microbial composition — Certain gut bacteria that colonize tumor tissues contribute to carcinogenesis through multiple mechanisms — they induce DNA damage, suppress the immune system’s ability to recognize tumor antigens, and disrupt vital metabolic pathways. These create conditions conducive to tumor survival and proliferation.

To put it simply, some gut bacteria produce substances that help fight cancer, while others actually help tumors grow and spread; Aspartame alters your gut to increase the growth of tumor-spreading bacteria.

• Mice fed aspartame had a significant drop in bacteria from the Rikenellaceae family — Rikenellaceae are part of a group of microbes involved in producing SCFAs, which, as mentioned above, help inhibit cancer formation. According to the study authors:

“The composition and abundance of gut microbiota, particularly the Rikenellaceae family, are closely associated with the levels of volatile fatty acids, such as acetic acid, propionic acid, and butyric acid.
Numerous findings have provided compelling evidence of a robust connection between the abundance of the Rikenellaceae family in the gut and a diverse array of metabolic health conditions, including Parkinson’s disease and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Our study concluded that although the aspartame diet did not significantly affect tumor growth, it did induce changes in the composition of the gut microbiota, particularly a decrease in the relative abundance of the Rikenellaceae family. We speculated that gut microbiota could influence the progression of glioblastoma multiforme by gut-brain axis.”5

Previous Studies Have Associated Artificial Sweeteners with a High Risk of Cancer

There’s no doubt in my mind that artificial sweeteners like aspartame are among the most pernicious ingredients to ever make into our food supply. On the outside, swapping sugar for aspartame seems beneficial for your health, but on the contrary, this is one of the worst decisions you can make, with damaging, life-long implications.

This featured study now adds to the growing list of research linking artificial sweeteners to cancer and tumor growth. Among the most notable ones are:

• A 2006 lifespan rat study published in Environmental Health Perspectives — The researchers note that aspartame “is a multipotential carcinogenic agent, even at a daily dose of … much less than the current acceptable daily intake.”6

• A 2010 study published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine — The research confirms that this artificial sweetener is “a carcinogenic agent in multiple sites in rodents, and that this effect is induced in two species, rats (males and females) and mice (males).”7

• A 2012 paper published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition — Conducted by researchers from Harvard University, the study found a positive link between aspartame intake and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma (among males), and leukemia (in both males and females).8

• A 2022 study published in PLOS Medicine — The study found a link between aspartame and acesulfame-K, another artificial sweetener, and a higher risk of breast and obesity-related cancers.9

In 2024, the nonprofit organization U.S. Right to Know released a review highlighting multiple independent studies that linked aspartame not just to an increased risk of cancer, but to multiple health problems as well. The review notes:10

“Dozens of studies have linked the popular artificial sweetener aspartame to serious health problems, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, seizures, stroke and dementia, as well as negative effects such as intestinal dysbiosis, mood disorders, headaches and migraines.

Evidence also links aspartame to weight gain, increased appetite and obesity-related diseases … This evidence raises questions about the legality of marketing aspartame-containing products as ‘diet’ drinks or weight-loss products.”

Artificial Sweeteners Disrupt Your Gut Health in Many Ways

Your gut microbiome is composed of trillions of good and bad bacteria that influence various factors, such as regulating digestion, metabolism, and immune function. However, when you consume artificial sweeteners, especially on a day-to-day basis, your gut microbiome changes. Studies have found that consuming artificial sweeteners disrupts your gut’s delicate balance, which leads to a cascade of health issues.

• Aspartame blocks a gut enzyme associated with weight management — An aspartame breakdown product called phenylalanine was found to inhibit the activity of a gut enzyme called alkaline phosphatase (IAP). Previous animal studies have associated IAP with the prevention of metabolic syndrome development, as well as reducing its symptoms in those with the condition.11

• Neotame causes serious damage to the intestines and overall gut health — A relatively new artificial sweetener that’s chemically similar to aspartame, neotame not only damaged bacteria commonly found in the gut, but also led to intestinal cell death, one study reported. This sweetener also disrupted the intestinal barrier, leading to increased leakage and decreased presence of claudin-3, a protein important for cell binding. According to the study authors:12

“The study is the first to show that neotame can cause previously healthy gut bacteria to become diseased and invade the gut wall — potentially leading to health issues including irritable bowel syndrome and sepsis — and also cause a breakdown of the epithelial barrier, which forms part of the gut wall.”13

• Consuming sucralose induces gut dysbiosis and alters glucose and insulin levels — A study published in Microorganisms found that ingesting this sweetener in amounts “far lower than the suggested ADI [acceptable daily intake]”14 — for just 10 weeks was enough to induce gut dysbiosis and alter glucose and insulin levels in healthy, young adults. The sweetener affects bacteria belonging to the phylum Firmicutes, which are involved in glucose and insulin metabolism.

If you truly value your overall health, tending to your gut health is key — and one of the most significant changes you can make is to avoid artificial sweeteners.

Eliminate Aspartame (and Other Artificial Sweeteners) from Your Life

The research is clear — Aspartame isn’t harmless. It disrupts your gut microbiome, activates genes tied to tumor aggressiveness, and hijacks your cellular energy machinery. If you want to protect your body from chronic diseases and avoid a glioblastoma diagnosis, I recommend following these strategies:

1. Cut aspartame and all artificial sweeteners from your daily intake — If you’re still drinking diet sodas or using sugar-free products like flavored waters, gum, or chewable vitamins, it’s time to stop. These are common sources of aspartame. Ideally, remove all ultraprocessed foods from your diet, as many are hidden sources of artificial sweeteners.

I also advise reading labels carefully. Aspartame and other sweeteners often hide behind other names, so make sure to closely check the label of the products you buy.

2. Switch to natural sweeteners — Raw Manuka honey, maple syrup, and coconut sugar, all consumed in moderation, are some of the best choices. If you’re trying to transition off sweeteners entirely, fresh fruit is an excellent way to satisfy your cravings while keeping your blood sugar balanced.

3. Restore your gut microbiome immediately — Focus on foods that help your body rebuild a healthy microbial balance. Start with whole fruits, well-cooked vegetables, and well-tolerated, cooked starches.

Fermented foods like sauerkraut, kefir, and kimchi provide natural probiotics that help rebalance your microbiome. Collagen-rich bone broth supports the gut lining, and dietary fiber from well-tolerated fruits helps feed beneficial bacteria (but make sure your gut is in optimal condition, so the fiber will feed your good bacteria instead of the bad bacteria).

4. Don’t skimp on targeted carbohydrates — Most adults need around 200 to 250 grams of carbs per day for proper mitochondrial function. That includes the brain. Restricting carbs starves your body of energy and leads to reductive stress, which only worsens the cellular chaos tied to glioblastoma. I recommend slowly reintroducing safe carbs based on your gut’s tolerance.

5. Remove other common triggers of cellular damage — If you’re serious about disrupting the root cause of glioblastoma progression, eliminate the other big offenders that compromise mitochondrial and microbiome health. That includes seed oils, electromagnetic (EMF) exposure, xenoestrogens from plastics, and processed foods.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Aspartame and Glioblastoma

Q: How does aspartame increase the risk of glioblastoma?
A: Aspartame alters gene activity tied to cancer progression by activating RNA methylation pathways, especially the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) pathway. This boosts the expression of genes like MYC, TGFB1, and CDKN1A, which are known to drive tumor growth and make glioblastoma more aggressive — even if the tumor itself doesn’t visibly enlarge.

Q: What role does the gut microbiome play in brain cancer development?
A: Your gut bacteria influence your brain through the gut-brain axis. Aspartame disrupts this by reducing bacteria like Rikenellaceae that help produce anticancer compounds. These microbial imbalances weaken immune surveillance and encourage tumor-supporting conditions in the brain.

Q: Are artificial sweeteners really worse than sugar?
A: Yes. While marketed as safer low-calorie options, artificial sweeteners like aspartame have been linked to cancer, metabolic dysfunction, gut damage, and disrupted gene regulation. The evidence shows these additives are not harmless alternatives and could cause long-term harm to your health.

Q: What should I do if I’ve been consuming aspartame regularly?
A: Start by eliminating all artificial sweeteners from your diet — this includes checking labels on diet sodas, flavored waters, gum, vitamins, and condiments. Then, support your gut with natural carbs, fermented foods, dextrose water, and collagen-rich broths to help rebalance your microbiome and restore gene regulation pathways.

Q: Is there a safer way to satisfy my sweet cravings?
A: Yes. Transition to moderate use of natural sweeteners like raw honey, maple syrup, or coconut sugar. Better yet, rely on whole fruits with fiber, which offer natural sweetness while supporting gut and brain health. Always prioritize food sources that feed your beneficial bacteria, not fuel disease.