The Gary Null Show

How To Make Your Life More Manageable And Less Chaotic, you can read the full article on Gary Null Substack https://garynull.substack.com/p/how-to-make-your-life-more-manageable?r=zchpo

CIPS 
 
-Tucker Carlson Maha honeypot -12:40 
BEFORE MODERN MEDICINE, THERE WERE PLANTS.
Before aspirin, there was willow bark
Before cough syrup, there was elderberry
Before iron pills, there was nettle leaf
Before vapor rub, there was eucalyptus
Before sleep aids, there was lavender
Before band-aids, there was plantain leaf
Before cold medicine, there was wild cherry bark
Before eczema creams, there was calendula
Before disinfectants, there was thyme
Before antibiotics, there was garlic
Before pain balms, there was arnica
Before probiotics, there was sauerkraut
Before toothache gel, there was clove
Before scar creams, there was rosehip oil
Before anxiety pills, there was chamomile
Before migraine tablets, there was feverfew
Before muscle relaxants, there was valerian
Before energy drinks, there was ginseng
BEFORE EVERYTHING CAME FROM A LAB, IT CAME FROM THE EARTH.
Here is the transcription of the text in each image:
First Image
WHEN YOU FINALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT DRIVES THE SYSTEM, AND IT ISN'T HEALTH...
Mammography: $3.2 billion
Colonoscopy: $3.8 billion
Acid reflux meds: $15 billion
C-section: $300 billion
Blood pressure meds: $40 billion
Bariatric surgery: $9 billion
Cancer care: $350 billion
Cholesterol meds: $22 billion
Birth control: $30 billion
Diabetes care: $220 billion
Vaccines: $95 billion
Pharmaceuticals: $1.8 billion
Second Image
COUNTRIES WITH THE LOWEST AVERAGE IQ
Estimated national average. United States is about 98
Chalkboard in background: Knowledge Builds Brighter Futures
Niger: 48
Ivory Coast: 52
Malawi: 52
Yemen: 53
Zambia: 53
Chad: 56
Benin: 57
Mali: 58
Namibia: 59
 
If prone to stones, most guidelines recommend no more than 100 mg of oxalate daily. Some doctors recommend only 50 mg.
Wise to pair oxalate foods with calcium rich foods to reduce absorption. Keeping hydrated is crucial. Should take about 1000-1200 mg of calcium a day with meals when eating oxalate rich foods. Unfortunately most high oxalate foods do not contain enough bioavailable calcium relative to the oxalate load. For example, spinach is rich in calcium but almost 90-95% of it is already bound and not available.
Too much Vitamin C can make your body produce oxalate. Don’t take more than 500 mg a day.
 
Here are high-oxalate foods ranked from highest content to lowest
Spinach (½ cup cooked) – ~750–755 mg
Rhubarb (½ cup) – ~540–541 mg
Almonds (1 oz / ~22 nuts) – ~120–122 mg
Miso soup (1 cup) – ~110–111 mg
Baked potatoes with skin (1 medium) – ~90–97 mg
Grits (1 cup) – ~97 mg
Beets (½ cup) – ~76 mg
Cocoa powder (4 tsp) – ~67 mg
Okra (½ cup) – ~57 mg
Bran cereals / shredded wheat cereals (1 cup) – ~40–57 mg (bran higher)
French fries (½ cup / ~4 oz) – ~50–51 mg
Cashews (1 oz) – ~49 mg
Raspberries (1 cup) – ~48 mg
Sweet potatoes (1 cup) – ~28 mg (some sources higher for a medium baked potato)
Cranberries – low (typically <10 mg per serving)
Stevia sweeteners – negligible / essentially 0 mg
 
Aside from dairy, here are 10 plant based foods high in calcium:
Sesame seeds / tahini – ~90–100+ mg per tablespoon of seeds or tahini
Chia seeds – ~180 mg per ounce (about 2 tablespoons)
Calcium-set tofu – ~250–860 mg per ½ cup (depends on the coagulant used)
Fortified plant milks (soy, almond, oat, etc.) – ~300–450 mg per cup
Collard greens (cooked) – ~250–350 mg per cup
Kale (cooked) – ~150–180+ mg per cup
Bok choy (cooked) – ~150–185 mg per cup
Almonds – ~75–100 mg per ounce (about 23 almonds)
White beans / navy beans (cooked) – ~100–160 mg per cup
Dried figs – ~50–100+ mg per 3–5 figs
 
Other foods that help or relieve kidney stones include:
    Celery juice
    Pomegranate juice
    Basil juice
    Dandelion root juice
    Horsetail juice
    Wheatgrass juice
Need to be taking lots of fluids because it will stimulate urination.
Not much can be done with treatments.
extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy is the most common treatment for larger and obstructing stones. This sends non-invasive shock waves to break up stones into smaller pieces that can be passed
ureterocopy with laser lithotripsy -- a scope passed through the urethra and ladder to fragment stone with laser.
a good homeopathist can give preparations to help dissolve stones, including oxalate stones

The Gary Null Show - Friday - 10-16-26 

HEALTH NEWS
 
Study reveals how different plant saponins alleviate ischemic stroke
The bacteria on your tongue could be linked to your brainpower
Staying Active Could Have Two Major Benefits for People With Parkinson’s, Scientists Find
How spinach protects the brain while tap water may pose a hidden risk
Frequent and unintentional daytime napping linked to higher dementia risk in older adults
 
 
Study reveals how different plant saponins alleviate ischemic stroke
Zheijiang University (China), October 12 2026 (News-Medical)
Ischemic stroke accounts for approximately 85% of all strokes and remains a major cause of death and long-term disability. Current treatments can restore blood flow in eligible patients, but therapeutic options remain limited, particularly for protecting threatened brain tissue and supporting recovery. Two types of ginseng -- Panax notoginseng and Panax ginseng have long been used in traditional Chinese medicine and are commonly associated with "activating blood" and "replenishing qi," respectively. Modern studies have reported anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-apoptotic effects for their saponins.
A study published in Targetome reports that the two saponin preparations alleviate ischemic brain injury through shared neuroprotective effects but preferentially regulate vascular-cytoskeletal and mitochondrial-metabolic pathways, respectively.
The researchers established permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion in male C57BL/6 mice and administered low or high doses of P. notoginseng saponins (PNS) or P. ginseng saponins (PGS), with edaravone serving as a positive control. Twenty-four hours later, they assessed neurological deficits, infarct volume, tissue damage, neuronal integrity, and apoptosis; a separate experiment monitored survival for seven days. At 200 mg·kg, PNS and PGS lowered neurological scores from 3.67 in untreated model mice to 2.00 and 2.17, respectively. PNS reduced average infarct volume from 30.73% to 11.70%, comparable to the drug edaravone, while PGS reduced it to 13.33%. Seven-day survival increased from 25% in model mice to 75% with PNS and 50% with PGS.
 
The bacteria on your tongue could be linked to your brainpower
 
University of Exeter (UK), October 12 2026 (Medical Xpress)
Whether you're a quick or slow thinker depends on several factors, such as the efficiency of the brain's wiring and the amount of gray matter in specific control centers. But there may be another, rather surprising influence, and that's the bacteria in your mouth. Scientists have found an association between the mix of microbes on your tongue and how well the brain performs cognitive tasks as we age.
Previous studies have shown that poor oral health and gum disease are linked to cognitive impairment. Other research has found that nitrate from the food we eat can influence blood flow to the brain and cognitive performance.
The research team recruited 15 younger adults and 15 older adults.
Each volunteer completed a set of 10 tests that assessed memory, processing speed and focus. The researchers collected tongue swabs and blood and saliva samples. They then sequenced the DNA in the swabs to identify which bacteria were present.
People with higher levels of Prevotella histicola in their mouth showed faster reaction times on different cognitive tasks. But the results for another microbe, Haemophilus parainfluenzae, were mixed. Older adults had higher levels of bacteria tied to gum disease, such as Treponema and Tannerella.
 
Staying Active Could Have Two Major Benefits for People With Parkinson’s, Scientists Find
University of Cincinnati, October 13 2026 (SciTech Daily)
People with Parkinson’s disease who stay more physically active may experience slower declines in memory, thinking, and movement abilities, according to a study that followed participants for up to seven years. Researchers found that greater activity was consistently associated with more favorable outcomes.
The study included 294 adults with mild to moderate Parkinson’s disease, whose average age was 66. Participants reported how much time they spent being physically active each week, including activities at work, around the house, and during recreation. Participants were classified into three groups: those active for up to four hours weekly, those active for four to eight hours, and those exceeding eight hours.
On a 30-point cognitive assessment, where lower scores indicate poorer performance, the least active participants experienced an estimated average decline of 0.478 points per year. The middle group declined by 0.090 points annually, while the most active group showed almost no average decline, at just 0.007 points per year.
 
How spinach protects the brain while tap water may pose a hidden risk
Edith Cowan University (Australia), October 11 2026 (Natural News)
 
In a finding that underscores a critical nuance in nutritional science, a landmark 27-year study has revealed that not all nitrates are created equal. Researchers tracking over 54,000 adults discovered that the chemical compound nitrate, found in both spinach and tap water, has starkly opposite associations with dementia risk depending on its source. The research, published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia, suggests that while nitrate from vegetables is linked to a lower likelihood of dementia, nitrate from processed meats and drinking water—even at levels deemed safe by regulators—is associated with a higher risk.
 
 
A 27-year study found that nitrate from vegetables is linked to a lower risk of dementia, while nitrate from processed meats and tap water is associated with a higher risk.
 
Vegetables deliver nitrate with antioxidants that promote its conversion to beneficial nitric oxide. Processed meats contain compounds that can steer nitrate toward forming harmful molecules linked to brain cell damage.
 
Increased dementia risk was associated with nitrate levels in drinking water far below current U.S. safety limits, suggesting regulations set for acute infant poisoning may not protect against long-term brain health risks.
 
Consuming about 64 mg of nitrate daily from vegetables—equivalent to roughly half to one-and-a-half cups of raw leafy greens—was linked to the lowest dementia rates.
Vegetables deliver nitrate packaged with protective antioxidants like vitamin C and polyphenols. These compounds help steer nitrate toward forming beneficial nitric oxide while blocking its conversion into harmful molecules called N-nitrosamines, which animal studies have linked to brain cell damage.
 
Meat, however, presents a riskier biochemical package. It contains elements like heme iron and specific proteins that can promote the formation of those damaging N-nitrosamines. This creates a scenario where the same initial compound—nitrate—can lead to vastly different outcomes in the brain.
Researchers found elevated dementia rates associated with nitrate concentrations between 1.8 and 5.1 milligrams per liter. These levels are roughly one-tenth of the current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency safety limit of 44 mg/L, a standard set decades ago primarily to prevent acute infant illness, not long-term brain health in adults.The primary source of water nitrate is agricultural fertilizer runoff.
 
Frequent and unintentional daytime napping linked to higher dementia risk in older adults
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, October 13 2026 (Euerkalert)
 
Daytime napping is common among older adults. New research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests that how often, how intentionally, and how long older people nap may be linked to their risk of developing dementia.
The study, published in The Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, followed 995 U.S. Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older who were free of dementia at the start of the study in 2013 and tracked them for up to 10 years.
The researchers found that participants who napped frequently—defined as most days or every day—had a 48% higher risk of developing dementia compared to those who rarely or never napped, even after accounting for demographic factors, health conditions, and nighttime sleep characteristics such as sleep duration, daytime sleepiness, and a measure of obstructive sleep apnea risk. 
Unintentional napping—defined as falling asleep without meaning to rather than planning a nap—was associated with a 39% higher risk of dementia. Napping for 30 minutes or less was also linked to a 40% higher risk.

Part 3 of - How To Become Self-Sufficient Instead Of Co-Dependent - you can read the full article on Gary Null Substack https://garynull.substack.com/publish/post/220402566?back=%2Fpublish%2Fposts%2Fpublished

HEALTH NEWS
 
New review identifies pistachios as a promising whole food for sleep research
Dietitians Say Boiling Sweet Potatoes May Help Manage Blood Sugar Better Than Roasting or Baking
Very severe long COVID linked to differences in lung and mouth microbiomes
Using AI for just 10 minutes erodes your ability to persist at hard things
Late-night snacking may affect liver health
 
 
New review identifies pistachios as a promising whole food for sleep research
Augusta University Medical College of Georgia, October 6 2026 (News-Medical)
Nearly one-third of U.S. adults report sleeping less than seven hours a night, below the minimum amount recommended for most adults, while nearly one in five has trouble staying asleep most days or every day. At the same time, nearly one-third of Americans say they are seeking improved sleep from foods, beverages or nutrients. 
Pistachios have attracted researchers' attention because they naturally bring together several nutrients and plant compounds connected to sleep. Now, a new narrative review published in Nutrition Research Reviews identifies pistachios as a promising whole food for sleep research and explores how their nutrient profile may influence processes related to sleep quality, falling asleep, staying asleep and regulation of the sleep–wake cycle.
Pistachios provide tryptophan, vitamin B6 and magnesium, which the body uses in the production of serotonin and melatonin. Serotonin is involved in sleep regulation and is also used to make melatonin, the hormone that helps regulate the sleep–wake cycle. Pistachios also contain phytomelatonin, the form of melatonin produced by plants, although its absorption and effects from eating pistachios have not been established in people.
Pistachios provide vitamin B6 and magnesium, which are involved in the production and function of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a brain chemical that helps quiet nerve activity and plays a role in regulating sleep.
A one-ounce serving of pistachios provides about 71 milligrams of tryptophan, roughly 20% of the daily amount recommended for a 154-pound adult. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid the body uses to make serotonin, a brain chemical involved in sleep regulation, and melatonin, the hormone that helps regulate the sleep–wake cycle.
The authors of this review concluded that pistachios could represent a promising wholefood intervention for improving sleep due to their unique combination of nutrients and bioactives, and map a clear path to additional research needed.
 
Dietitians Say Boiling Sweet Potatoes May Help Manage Blood Sugar Better Than Roasting or Baking
University of West Indies (Jamaica), October 10 2026 (Natural News)
 
 
Boiling sweet potatoes may offer advantages for blood sugar management compared with roasting, baking, or frying. The report described boiling as the easiest cooking method and one that may help prevent large post-meal blood sugar spikes.
 
The glycemic index, or GI, is a scale that ranks carbohydrate-containing foods by how quickly they raise blood sugar after eating.
Boiling sweet potatoes may be better for blood sugar than baking or roasting, according to dietitians. The result is a sweeter, denser vegetable with a different effect on blood glucose than a boiled sweet potato.
 
Researchers compared a baked or roasted potato to a raisin and a boiled potato to a grape. That moisture difference is one reason the two preparations behave differently in the body.
 
Research on carotenoid retention suggests boiling generally preserves these compounds well compared with some higher-heat methods, though results vary by sweet potato variety and the antioxidant being measured. One study found that boiling unpeeled medium-sized sweet potato roots for 30 minutes resulted in a 14 to 59 percent reduction of total carotenoid content across four sweet potato cultivars. Other research on orange-fleshed sweet potato reported a true retention of all-trans-beta-carotene ranging from 70 percent to 80 percent with longer boiling times.
 
Very severe long COVID linked to differences in lung and mouth microbiomes
University of Dundee (UK), October 10 2026 (Medical Xpress)
People with long COVID have distinct differences in the mix of bacteria that live in their mouths and lungs, according to a study of more than 700 people published in the European Respiratory Journal. The research also shows that these differences in the lung microbiome are linked to respiratory symptoms, as well as the cognitive and digestive problems known to occur in long COVID.
Researchers say their findings may shed light on why some people develop long COVID and could point to new ways to treat the condition. Prior studies have shown some changes in the gut microbiome with long COVID, but COVID is a lung disease and so it makes sense to look to see if the lung microbiome is changed in long COVID."
Researchers divided the participants into four groups based on how severe their symptoms were five months after being discharged from the hospital. These were "very severe," with serious physical, mental and cognitive impairments; "severe," with serious mental and physical impairments but no cognitive problems; "moderate," with primarily cognitive difficulties; and "mild," with few symptoms and good recovery.
Six months after patients were discharged, researchers collected saliva samples from their mouths and sputum samples from their lungs and used DNA sequencing to identify which microbes were present.
This showed that people with very severe long COVID had clear differences in the microbiome in their mouths and lungs compared with people who did not have severe long COVID.  It also showed that there were differences linked to specific symptoms, including reduced lung function (meaning your lungs cannot hold as much air as normal or air cannot flow in and out of your lungs as easily as normal), neurocognitive symptoms (including "brain fog," difficulties with memory, attention and concentration) and gut symptoms (including pain, nausea, diarrhea and loss of appetite). Among the changes associated with long COVID symptoms was an overabundance of bacteria that produce lactic acid.
 
Using AI for just 10 minutes erodes your ability to persist at hard things
University of California at Berkeley, October 9 2026 (Eurekalert)
 
Brian Christian has spent 20 years thinking about how artificial intelligence will change our minds and our world. His 2020 book The Alignment Problem has been praised as one of the best on AI, and like many scientistss.
Christian was part of a team behind a landmark study that found that spending just 10 minutes relying on an AI tool significantly impairs our ability to focus and persist with difficult tasks. 
To test how quickly people’s focus and persistence plummeted, researchers designed a series of randomized controlled trials and recruited 1,222 participants online. 
For the first experiment with 354 participants, one group was tasked with solving 15 basic fraction problems without help, while another had ChatGPT open on the side to use for assistance and to even ask for the answer. The group with AI access started off more accurately than the group without it. Then, after 12 problems, researchers took away the AI tool. Almost immediately, the people in that group stopped solving questions accurately. 
A similar thing happened when they ran the experiment on a second, larger group of 667 participants. Whereas the AI users got answers wrong or gave up entirely when the AI assistance was withdrawn, the group without AI stuck with the task and were more successful at the end.
Researchers then ran a third experiment with 201 participants and an SAT reading comprehension prompt. The results echoed those from the fraction problems: When the AI tool was removed, persistence and accuracy dropped. 
The findings backed up what anecdotes and surveys have increasingly found in recent years: An overreliance on AI for answers erodes our cognitive fitness. When AI produces answers in seconds, we get used to that speed; anything that takes longer feels inefficient. And relying on AI also removes what the team called “productive struggle,” which can lead people to find their research strengths and passions.
 
Late-night snacking may affect liver health
Oregon Health & Science University, October 9 2026 (News-Medical)
New research led by Oregon Health & Science University suggests you should think twice about indulging in a late-night snack if you'd like to preserve liver health.
The study, published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, documents an increase in the correlation between people who reported late-night eating - defined as eating after dinner or after bedtime - and a heightened risk of two types of liver disease, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and cirrhosis.
Researchers analyzed three large, preexisting nationwide datasets. They extracted diet and lifestyle habits self-reported by almost 200,000 participants in all three studies, grouped them by eating behaviors, and then looked for correlations to people who reported fatty liver disease or cirrhosis.
They found a 20% to 30% increase in all forms of liver disease among the group of people who reported late-night eating compared to those who did not.
 
 
 

HEALTH NEWS
 
New review identifies pistachios as a promising whole food for sleep research
Dietitians Say Boiling Sweet Potatoes May Help Manage Blood Sugar Better Than Roasting or Baking
Very severe long COVID linked to differences in lung and mouth microbiomes
Using AI for just 10 minutes erodes your ability to persist at hard things
Late-night snacking may affect liver health
 
 
New review identifies pistachios as a promising whole food for sleep research
Augusta University Medical College of Georgia, October 6 2026 (News-Medical)
Nearly one-third of U.S. adults report sleeping less than seven hours a night, below the minimum amount recommended for most adults, while nearly one in five has trouble staying asleep most days or every day. At the same time, nearly one-third of Americans say they are seeking improved sleep from foods, beverages or nutrients. 
Pistachios have attracted researchers' attention because they naturally bring together several nutrients and plant compounds connected to sleep. Now, a new narrative review published in Nutrition Research Reviews identifies pistachios as a promising whole food for sleep research and explores how their nutrient profile may influence processes related to sleep quality, falling asleep, staying asleep and regulation of the sleep–wake cycle.
Pistachios provide tryptophan, vitamin B6 and magnesium, which the body uses in the production of serotonin and melatonin. Serotonin is involved in sleep regulation and is also used to make melatonin, the hormone that helps regulate the sleep–wake cycle. Pistachios also contain phytomelatonin, the form of melatonin produced by plants, although its absorption and effects from eating pistachios have not been established in people.
Pistachios provide vitamin B6 and magnesium, which are involved in the production and function of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a brain chemical that helps quiet nerve activity and plays a role in regulating sleep.
A one-ounce serving of pistachios provides about 71 milligrams of tryptophan, roughly 20% of the daily amount recommended for a 154-pound adult. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid the body uses to make serotonin, a brain chemical involved in sleep regulation, and melatonin, the hormone that helps regulate the sleep–wake cycle.
The authors of this review concluded that pistachios could represent a promising wholefood intervention for improving sleep due to their unique combination of nutrients and bioactives, and map a clear path to additional research needed.
 
Dietitians Say Boiling Sweet Potatoes May Help Manage Blood Sugar Better Than Roasting or Baking
University of West Indies (Jamaica), October 10 2026 (Natural News)
 
 
Boiling sweet potatoes may offer advantages for blood sugar management compared with roasting, baking, or frying. The report described boiling as the easiest cooking method and one that may help prevent large post-meal blood sugar spikes.
 
The glycemic index, or GI, is a scale that ranks carbohydrate-containing foods by how quickly they raise blood sugar after eating.
Boiling sweet potatoes may be better for blood sugar than baking or roasting, according to dietitians. The result is a sweeter, denser vegetable with a different effect on blood glucose than a boiled sweet potato.
 
Researchers compared a baked or roasted potato to a raisin and a boiled potato to a grape. That moisture difference is one reason the two preparations behave differently in the body.
 
Research on carotenoid retention suggests boiling generally preserves these compounds well compared with some higher-heat methods, though results vary by sweet potato variety and the antioxidant being measured. One study found that boiling unpeeled medium-sized sweet potato roots for 30 minutes resulted in a 14 to 59 percent reduction of total carotenoid content across four sweet potato cultivars. Other research on orange-fleshed sweet potato reported a true retention of all-trans-beta-carotene ranging from 70 percent to 80 percent with longer boiling times.
 
Very severe long COVID linked to differences in lung and mouth microbiomes
University of Dundee (UK), October 10 2026 (Medical Xpress)
People with long COVID have distinct differences in the mix of bacteria that live in their mouths and lungs, according to a study of more than 700 people published in the European Respiratory Journal. The research also shows that these differences in the lung microbiome are linked to respiratory symptoms, as well as the cognitive and digestive problems known to occur in long COVID.
Researchers say their findings may shed light on why some people develop long COVID and could point to new ways to treat the condition. Prior studies have shown some changes in the gut microbiome with long COVID, but COVID is a lung disease and so it makes sense to look to see if the lung microbiome is changed in long COVID."
Researchers divided the participants into four groups based on how severe their symptoms were five months after being discharged from the hospital. These were "very severe," with serious physical, mental and cognitive impairments; "severe," with serious mental and physical impairments but no cognitive problems; "moderate," with primarily cognitive difficulties; and "mild," with few symptoms and good recovery.
Six months after patients were discharged, researchers collected saliva samples from their mouths and sputum samples from their lungs and used DNA sequencing to identify which microbes were present.
This showed that people with very severe long COVID had clear differences in the microbiome in their mouths and lungs compared with people who did not have severe long COVID.  It also showed that there were differences linked to specific symptoms, including reduced lung function (meaning your lungs cannot hold as much air as normal or air cannot flow in and out of your lungs as easily as normal), neurocognitive symptoms (including "brain fog," difficulties with memory, attention and concentration) and gut symptoms (including pain, nausea, diarrhea and loss of appetite). Among the changes associated with long COVID symptoms was an overabundance of bacteria that produce lactic acid.
 
Using AI for just 10 minutes erodes your ability to persist at hard things
University of California at Berkeley, October 9 2026 (Eurekalert)
 
Brian Christian has spent 20 years thinking about how artificial intelligence will change our minds and our world. His 2020 book The Alignment Problem has been praised as one of the best on AI, and like many scientistss.
Christian was part of a team behind a landmark study that found that spending just 10 minutes relying on an AI tool significantly impairs our ability to focus and persist with difficult tasks. 
To test how quickly people’s focus and persistence plummeted, researchers designed a series of randomized controlled trials and recruited 1,222 participants online. 
For the first experiment with 354 participants, one group was tasked with solving 15 basic fraction problems without help, while another had ChatGPT open on the side to use for assistance and to even ask for the answer. The group with AI access started off more accurately than the group without it. Then, after 12 problems, researchers took away the AI tool. Almost immediately, the people in that group stopped solving questions accurately. 
A similar thing happened when they ran the experiment on a second, larger group of 667 participants. Whereas the AI users got answers wrong or gave up entirely when the AI assistance was withdrawn, the group without AI stuck with the task and were more successful at the end.
Researchers then ran a third experiment with 201 participants and an SAT reading comprehension prompt. The results echoed those from the fraction problems: When the AI tool was removed, persistence and accuracy dropped. 
The findings backed up what anecdotes and surveys have increasingly found in recent years: An overreliance on AI for answers erodes our cognitive fitness. When AI produces answers in seconds, we get used to that speed; anything that takes longer feels inefficient. And relying on AI also removes what the team called “productive struggle,” which can lead people to find their research strengths and passions.
 
Late-night snacking may affect liver health
Oregon Health & Science University, October 9 2026 (News-Medical)
New research led by Oregon Health & Science University suggests you should think twice about indulging in a late-night snack if you'd like to preserve liver health.
The study, published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, documents an increase in the correlation between people who reported late-night eating - defined as eating after dinner or after bedtime - and a heightened risk of two types of liver disease, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and cirrhosis.
Researchers analyzed three large, preexisting nationwide datasets. They extracted diet and lifestyle habits self-reported by almost 200,000 participants in all three studies, grouped them by eating behaviors, and then looked for correlations to people who reported fatty liver disease or cirrhosis.
They found a 20% to 30% increase in all forms of liver disease among the group of people who reported late-night eating compared to those who did not.
 
 
 

It's Friday,  and Gary takes calls from his listeners and reads part four of his latest essay Saving Civilization Before Our Own Beliefs and Behaviors Destroy It. 

ORDER NOW - CLICK HERE
 
THE LIES WE LIVE WITH,
YET THE TRUTHS WE MUST FACE
We spend much of our lives searching for success, security, approval, and control. Along the way, we absorb countless ideas about who we should be, what we should value, and what is supposed to make us happy. Rarely do we stop to ask whether these beliefs are true, or whether they are quietly keeping us from the lives we were meant to live.
In The Lies We Live With Yet the Truths We Must Face, Gary Null, PhD, examines the fears, habits, emotional wounds, and social forces that separate us from our authentic selves. With insight and compassion, he explores guilt, shame, addiction, materialism, betrayal, and the pressure to conform, while showing how courage, forgiveness, awareness, and love can lead us toward a more conscious life.
This book invites us to look honestly at what we have accepted, what we have avoided, and what we are finally ready to change. By releasing what no longer belongs in our lives, we can recover what has been lost, rediscover our inner strength, and begin creating a life of greater meaning, freedom, and purpose.
Within these pages, you will explore:
How social conditioning shapes your beliefs, choices, and sense of identity
Why guilt, shame, fear, and emotional wounds continue to influence your life
How to recognize the habits and distractions that keep you from being fully present
What it means to release addiction, negativity, and patterns of self sabotage
How love, forgiveness, trust, and vulnerability can restore human connection
Ways to reclaim your passion, inner strength, and authentic purpose
How conscious choices can help you create a more balanced, meaningful, and fulfilling life

HEALTH NEWS
 
Eating walnuts daily may boost mood and shift serotonin-related metabolism
Higher daily step counts linked to fewer mental health problems in early adolescence, study finds
How dementia risk and heart failure is being linked to dreaming
Sardinian village may be a new longevity hotspot
New study shows any healthy eating plan slows aging
 
Eating walnuts daily may boost mood and shift serotonin-related metabolism
University of Barcelona (Spain), October 2 2026 (News-Medical)
In a recent study published in Food & Function, researchers evaluated whether 8 weeks of walnut consumption affects mood states in young adults and whether these effects are associated with urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), cortisol, and urolithin levels. 
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter involved in mood regulation and is produced from the dietary amino acid tryptophan. Its main metabolite, 5-HIAA, can be measured in urine as an indicator of serotonin metabolism. Walnuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, tryptophan, fiber, and polyphenols, including ellagitannins that gut microbiota convert into urolithins. These metabolites may indicate walnut intake and biological responses; however, further research is needed to clarify how walnut consumption relates to mood and metabolic pathways. 
The study used an 18-week open-label randomized crossover trial involving adults aged 20–35 years.  Participants were randomly assigned to consume 40 g of walnuts per day with dinner or to refrain from nuts and nut products for the next 8 weeks. After a 2-week washout period, participants crossed over to the alternate condition.
During the walnut condition, total mood disturbance was 4.85 points lower than during the control condition. Anger and fatigue also decreased. Two trait food-craving domains showed initial reductions: anticipation of relief from negative states and feelings after eating and guilt associated with cravings or giving in to them.
Urinary 5-HIAA increased significantly during walnut consumption, while urinary cortisol did not differ significantly between conditions. Higher urinary 5-HIAA was associated with lower total mood disturbance. The paper also reports an association with lower fatigue.
 
Higher daily step counts linked to fewer mental health problems in early adolescence, study finds
King's College London, October 1 2026 (Eurekalert)
 
A study of more than 5,500 adolescents in the US found that those who took more daily steps at age 11 to 12 had fewer mental health problems a year later. 
The more adolescents walked, the fewer mental health problems they had a year later, and the benefit didn't level off at any point the researchers could measure. Teenagers who took under 5,000 steps a day had the most symptoms; those averaging around 8,000 had fewer; and those hitting 12,000 or more had the fewest of all. 
Adolescents with the highest step counts also showed slightly thicker brain tissue in two areas involved in movement and in regulating emotion, and this difference helped explain part of the link to better mental health. 
 
How dementia risk and heart failure is being linked to dreaming
Peking University (China), September 29, 2026 (NaturalHealth365)
How much of last night did you actually spend dreaming?  Most people have no idea.  Until recently, most sleep researchers didn’t either, since large studies relied on people guessing how well they slept.
Now, wrist trackers worn by more than 95,000 adults have put real numbers on those hours.  The results reach far beyond feeling rested in the morning, because one sleep stage lined up with lower risk for 83 separate diseases. Over a median follow-up of 8.9 years, the team checked those sleep patterns against more than 1,000 diseases in participants’ health records.
REM sleep, the stage when most dreaming happens, stood out above everything else.  For roughly every extra 48 minutes of REM, dementia risk fell by 46% and heart failure risk dropped by 26%. Even more striking, Parkinson’s disease risk was 80% lower.
Total hours were only part of the picture.  Participants who woke up often during the night faced a higher risk of several conditions.  For 69 of the 83 conditions tied to sleep duration, the lowest risk fell between six and eight hours a night.  Meanwhile, people sleeping fewer than five hours faced a higher risk of 37 different conditions, the worst showing in the entire study.
Chamomile, lemon balm, passionflower, and valerian root have long histories as evening teas.  In fact, research suggests valerian and chamomile can improve sleep quality for some people.  Pair a warm cup with magnesium-rich foods like pumpkin seeds, spinach, or wild-caught salmon at dinner.  Together, these create a slower wind-down than scrolling ever will.
 
Sardinian village may be a new longevity hotspot
University of Illinois at Chicago, October 6 2026 (Medical Xpress)
A terracotta-tiled village in the mountains of Sardinia may offer researchers a rare opportunity to uncover the secrets of exceptional longevity.
A new study found that women in the village of Bolotana, on the Italian island of Sardinia, who reach age 70 are nearly four times as likely to reach age 100 as women in the United States. The findings suggest the community could represent a newly identified "blue zone," an area where people live unusually long lives.
The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Aging, examined demographic records from the village of about 2,300 residents and found a favorable pattern of survival among older adults, particularly women. Researchers estimated that 13.8% of women in Bolotana who reach age 70 will live to 100, compared with approximately 3.5% of women in Italy and 3.6% of women in the United States. 
The traditional diet of the Sardinian longevity zone in the mountainous Ogliastra area is a largely plant-centered Mediterranean-pastoral diet rather than a strictly vegetarian diet. The diet centers heavily on locally grown vegetables, legumes, whole grains, potatoes, fruits when available, and olive oil. Beans and other pulses are regularly consumed. The mountain communities of the Blue Zone have a strong pastoral culture, and sheep's and goat's milk, cheese and other dairy foods are important sources of protein and fat. 
 
New study shows any healthy eating plan slows aging
German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases & University of Bonn, October 5 2026 (Natural News) 
 
 
A German study of 7,500 adults found ten distinct healthy eating styles (e.g., Mediterranean, Nordic, DASH) all linked to slower biological aging, emphasizing that consistency in whole, nutrient-rich foods—not rigid adherence to a specific diet—is key to longevity.
 
All ten diets share core elements like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes and healthy fats (e.g., olive oil, omega-3s), which reduce inflammation and support cellular repair regardless of cultural or regional dietary labels.
 
Even modest improvements (e.g., swapping fried foods for roasted vegetables) correlate with slower aging
 
Diets rich in antioxidants (berries, leafy greens) and anti-inflammatory foods (fatty fish, herbs like ginger) counteract chronic inflammation—a major driver of aging and disease—while processed foods and industrial oils accelerate it.
 
Diet works in tandem with sleep, physical activity and sunlight for optimal health, creating a "multi-pronged defense" against aging. The study emphasizes practical, adaptable habits over rigid rules for long-term well-being.