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• The ID2020 Alliance is a public-private partnership founded by Bill Gates’ GAVI: The Vaccine Alliance, The Rockefeller Foundation, Microsoft, Accenture and Ideo.org

• General partners in the alliance include, among others, Facebook, Mastercard, the United Nations International Computing Centre and Okta, an identity platform

• The ID2020 Alliance is painting itself as the global identification superpower, intent on creating a digital ID that will track you throughout your life, via the help of multibillion-dollar corporations

• In the end, the global superpowers won’t go so far as to create a worldwide digital ID that can simply be left behind when you feel like it; they’ll want something more permanent, something that can’t be left at home, like an implantable microchip

• Whatever the “final” digital ID ends up being called, it will include your digital identity, vaccination status and other health data, along with programmable central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), for starters

Since the beginning of the pandemic, efforts have been underway to advance digital identification systems, including mobile driver’s licenses and vaccine passports. In 2020, the World Economic Forum (WEF) rolled out plans for its COVIDPass, which required users to have their blood screened at an approved COVIDPass laboratory.1

They would then be issued a QR “health code” via their cellphone, to be presented at airports, borders and entrances to various events. Of course, only those with a “passing” result would be allowed entry, shedding light on the technology’s nefarious potential.

If you refuse to have your blood tested, or the blood test shows you’re infected, you’ll be unable to go about your daily life as you did prior to 2020. Freedoms have been blatantly lost and restricted, with many signing up for this prison-like existence voluntarily in the name of health protection.

According to WEF, COVIDPass doesn’t include tracing technology,2 but it easily could at some point. Then, your whereabouts could be tracked and your movement restricted based on what your phone’s QR code reveals about your health, your finances — or anything, really. This is only the beginning.

If you haven’t yet heard of the ID2020 Alliance, this is definitely something that should be on your radar. It’s a public-private partnership founded by Bill Gates’ GAVI: The Vaccine Alliance, The Rockefeller Foundation, Microsoft, Accenture and Ideo.org.3 General partners in the alliance include, among others:4

• The Learning Economy Foundation, founded by the United Nations in 2018

• Facebook

• Mastercard

• ShareRing

• Simprints

• National Cybersecurity Center

• The United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC)

• Okta, an identity platform

ID2020 began as a digital identity program for Bangladesh and has since expanded to include “the implementation of digital technologies which tie with the [Learning Economy] Foundation’s vision of a world in which learners can map their educational progress to achieve their academic, employment, and life goals.”5

In August 2021, when the Learning Economy joined the ID2020 Alliance, Ethan Veneklasen, ID2020 head of advocacy and communication, stated, “Education and workforce development represent an exciting opportunity to apply digital ID technology, especially as we think about the potential of digitally verifiable educational credentials.”6

This gives a glimpse into where this technology is going. Soon, there’s no telling what you’ll be asked to digitally verify, but your “educational credentials” are sure to be fair game, along with everything else.

Not content to let a single company, state or government handle the roll out of digital IDs, the ID2020 Alliance is painting itself as the global identification superpower. “No government, company or agency can solve this challenge alone,” ID2020 states on its website. “Setting the future course of digital ID and navigating the associated risks is a challenge that requires sustained collaboration and global partnership.”7

The idea of global synchronization has a familiar ring to it, doesn’t it? In October 2022, the World Health Organization announced a global initiative of its own, called One Health Joint Plan of Action. In WHO’s case, the organization is joining forces with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and others to gain further control of human health and the environment.8

The ID2020 Alliance is working to become a similarly powerful entity in the realm of digital IDs. Just as WHO is working on coordinating financing in order to achieve their global agenda, the ID2020 Alliance is similarly combining multiple globalist organizations, synchronizing their plans — and their resources. According to ID2020:9

“Ad-hoc investments in single use-case projects (“business as usual”) will be insufficient to bring about transformative impact. Changing the flow of funds is necessary to re-align incentives. That’s why collaborative funding mechanisms are essential to ensure that digital ID can be a platform to enable the delivery of diverse benefits and services throughout an individual’s life.”

Did you notice “throughout an individual’s life”? So the plan is for the digital ID to track you from cradle to grave. It then goes on to state that it plans to achieve its goals via the help of multibillion-dollar corporations:10

“Private sector engagement is critical for solving at scale. Alliance partners include companies with a collective footprint in the billions and a shared commitment to an ethical approach to digital ID.

Decisions about how Alliance funds are administered, which programs to fund, and which technical standards to support are made jointly by Alliance partners through a transparent governance process, preventing dominance by any single institution or sector.”

Some have speculated that the introduction of digital IDs and vaccine passports in the U.S. is laying the infrastructure for a social credit system similar to the one in China. China’s social credit system, a massive undertaking of government surveillance that aims to combine 600 million surveillance cameras — about one for every two citizens — with facial recognition technology, has an end-goal of being able to identify anyone, anywhere, within three seconds.11

At present, the system is still disjointed and focused on corporate social credit more so than individual social credit, but it’s “evolving rapidly.”12 Here’s an example of how social credit can work, from 2019 — before the pandemic, which has only accelerated data collection and surveillance measures — from Wired:13

“The criteria that go into a social credit ranking depends on where you are, notes [Mareike] Ohlberg, [research associate at the Mercator Institute for China Studies]. ‘It’s according to which place you’re in, because they have their own catalogs,’ she says. It can range from not paying fines when you’re deemed fully able to, misbehaving on a train, standing up a taxi, or driving through a red light.

One city, Rongcheng, gives all residents 1,000 points to start. Authorities make deductions for bad behavior like traffic violations, and add points for good behavior such as donating to charity. One regulation Ohlberg recently read specifically addresses stealing electricity. Of course, you’ll have to get caught first or be reported by someone else.

While facial recognition is infamously used to spot jaywalkers, in some cities it’s not so automated, Ohlberg notes.

Private projects, such as Sesame Credit, hoover up all sorts of data on its 400 million customers, from how much time they spend playing video games (that’s bad) to whether they’re a parent (that’s good). That can be shared with other companies. One infamous example is Sesame Credit linking up with the Baihe dating site, so would be partners can judge each other on their looks as well as their social credit score; that system is opt-in.”

Programmable central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) add another layer of control. As a fiat currency in digital form that is programmable, it would be easy to make it so you can only spend your money on certain things or in specific places, as desired by the issuer.

Then there are the seemingly innocuous smart meters, which raise serious privacy concerns, not to mention health concerns from their related electromagnetic fields. Before smart meters were widely available, your electricity usage was recorded by a meter reader who would visit your property once a month and manually record your energy usage.

Now, this data is tracked at hourly or half-hour intervals, which energy companies are billing as a way to save you, the customer, money.14 But like digital IDs and CBDCs, smart meters aren’t there for your benefit.

Smart meters do more than measure your energy usage. They’re also capable of distinguishing what type of energy you’re using. So they know if you’re doing a load of laundry, watching TV or have left your home for the day. While this might not sound nefarious on the surface, it’s an intensely personal form of surveillance — one that could easily be used against you, including to ration your energy.15

Now consider that many not only have smartphones and smart meters but also have connected alarm clocks, vehicles, refrigerators and doorbells, each of which reveals another layer of details about your most personal moments, which could be used for nefarious purposes.

As The Telegraph reported,16 Britain’s Crossbench Peer Lord Alton warned of the dangers of intertwining mass surveillance systems with daily living. “[W]e simply cannot allow the tools of genocide to continue to be used so readily in our daily lives. Mass surveillance systems have always been the handmaiden of fascism. The government should come forward with a timetable to remove these cameras and technology from the public sector supply chain.”

In the end, the global superpowers won’t go so far as to create a worldwide digital ID that can simply be left behind when you feel like it. They’ll want something much more permanent, something that can’t be left at home.

Sweden is one of the earliest adopters of implantable microchips. The chip is implanted just beneath the skin on the hand, and operates using either near-field communication (NFC) — the same technology used in smartphones — or radio-frequency identification (RFID), which is used in contactless credit cards.17

Already, Sweden has become more or less a cashless society. Now, this tiny implant will replace the need for debit and credit cards all together, as well as identification and keys. To pay for an item, all you have to do is place your left hand near the contactless card reader, and the payment is registered.

An estimated 5,000 to 10,000 Swedes have been chipped so far, although Swedish authorities claim they don’t know the exact number, as there’s no central registry. In the end, everything will be connected to a single implantable device.

Right now, it’s a tossup as to whether a vaccine passport or a digital identity platform will be the foundation for what’s to come, but what is certain is that whatever it’s called, it will include your digital identity, vaccination status and other health data, along with programmable CBDCs.

Ultimately, your digital identity will include everything else that can be known about you through surveillance via implanted biosensors, your computer, smartphone, GPS, social media, online searches, purchases and spending habits. Imagine having AI listening, watching and scoring every move you make and every heartbeat, and algorithms deciding what you can and cannot do based on your behavior, expression, social contacts and personal views.

Add to that technologies that can modify your behavior and emotional state with or without your knowledge, which is what the WEF’s 2020 briefing document on the Internet of Bodies (IoB) describes,18 and the future looks like a prison-state.

To put it simply, as targetTRUTH tweeted, “ID2020 is an alliance among numerous companies to microchip every single human being on the planet.”19 In the meantime, to ensure that you can be traced and tracked at all times, WEF announced that clothing of the future will also contain built-in digital passports — and they’re slated to reach the market in 2025.20

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Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Dr. Mercola, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked.

The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Mercola and his community. Dr. Mercola encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. The subscription fee being requested is for access to the articles and information posted on this site, and is not being paid for any individual medical advice.

If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your health care professional before using products based on this content.

• Unlicensed COVID-19 shots will be added to the U.S. childhood, adolescent and adult vaccine schedules after a unanimous (15-0) vote by the U.S. CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices

• By adding the shots to the vaccine schedule, it paves the way for U.S. schools to mandate them for attendance

• Pfizer and Moderna, the shots’ makers, will also be granted permanent legal indemnity, which otherwise would have disappeared once COVID-19 shots were no longer protected under emergency use authorization

• Once the CDC recommends a shot for “routine administration to children or pregnant women,” it becomes liability free

• Even though COVID-19 shots have been added to the childhood vaccine schedule, they haven’t been mandated for school attendance in most states — yet. In the event that they are — and even before that — it’s time for dissent and a complete overhaul of the CDC

Unlicensed COVID-19 shots will be added to the U.S. childhood, adolescent and adult vaccine schedules after a unanimous (15-0) vote by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

The move is likely to shatter whatever remaining trust Americans had in the CDC — “as it should,” said Dr. Robert Malone, the inventor of the mRNA and DNA vaccine core platform technology.1 “I am shocked by the malfeasance. I have no trust left at all in our public health system. It is broken.”

By adding the shots to the vaccine schedule, it paves the way for U.S. schools to require them for attendance. The shots were also added to the Vaccine for Children (VFC) program, which provides vaccines to children at no or low cost using federal funding.2 Pfizer and Moderna, the shots’ makers, will also be granted permanent legal indemnity, which otherwise would have disappeared once COVID-19 shots were no longer protected under emergency use authorization (EUA).3

Many countries around the world have already walked back their recommendations to give COVID-19 shots to kids, as it became apparent that they may cause deadly side effects and are far less effective than promised.

In January 2022, Sweden’s Health Agency recommended against COVID-19 jabs for kids aged 5 to 11, stating the benefits do not outweigh the risks.4 Denmark also no longer recommends COVID-19 shots for children under 18,5 and in September 2022, England announced it would no longer offer COVID-19 shots to children unless they’re high risk.6

Meanwhile, in the U.S., the CDC added COVID-19 jabs to the new childhood vaccination schedule on October 17, 20227 — days before the ACIP’s actual vote.

“When the CDC briefer … was asked how CDC could add an EUA (unlicensed) vaccine to the schedule, she said something like, ‘We checked with OGC [Office of General Counsel] and they said it was OK.’ And that was that. No legal justification. No moral or ethical justification. And definitely no medical or scientific justification,” Dr. Meryl Nass, a board-certified internal medicine physician with special expertise in vaccine safety and vaccine mandates, wrote on her blog.8

Steve Kirsch, executive director of the Vaccine Safety Research Foundation, also asked Grace Lee, ACIP committee chair, if she wanted to see data from Israel showing the COVID-19 shots are not safe. She did not. According to Kirsch:9

“These people do not want to see any data that shows the vaccines are not safe … She [Lee] refused to answer my Yes or No question on this important data and called the cops on me (even though I didn’t violate any laws). I have it all on video. That is the level of corruption we are dealing with here: ‘scientists’ who simply look the other way when asked if they want to see the safety data.”

Vaccine makers have nothing to lose by marketing experimental COVID-19 shots, even if they cause serious injury and death, as they enjoy full indemnity against injuries occurring from COVID-19 shots or any other pandemic jab under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act, passed in the U.S. in 2005. As reported by investigative journalist Jordan Schachtel:10

“In March 2020, the federal government invoked the PREP Act, which gave Pfizer and Moderna a tort liability shield due to the declared ‘public health emergency,’ which the government is reportedly going to revoke in early 2023. The companies’ emergency use authorization shots have since been protected by the federal government through this 2005 congressional action.”

Once the shots’ EUA status was revoked, they would need to seek FDA approval; however, it’s suspected that this has been purposely delayed to protect Pfizer and Moderna from facing legal liability for injuries caused by COVID-19 shots. However, once the CDC recommends a shot for “routine administration to children or pregnant women,” it becomes liability-free. Schachtel explained:11

“By adding the shots to the childhood schedule, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will transfer liability for vaccine injuries to the federal government’s National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), allowing for Pfizer and Moderna to finally bring an FDA approved shot to the market without opening itself up to lawsuits.

Moreover, it will act as another windfall for companies that have already brought in hundreds of billions of dollars in revenues, by requiring these vaccinations for children who attend public schools.

… Over the course of COVID Mania, Pfizer and Moderna have raked in hundreds of billions of dollars in liability free dollars, enriching their executives and board members beyond their wildest dreams.

Thanks to Big Pharma’s successful regulatory capture of Government Health, and corrupt bureaucrats’ willing compliance, it looks like the mRNA drug cartel will be completely off the hook when it comes to compensating the countless Americans who were harmed by their junk products.”

Now that COVID-19 shots have been added to the schedule, expect to see the end of the public health “emergency.” “The ‘emergency’ can now end,” Kirsch said. “They needed the emergency to be able to create EUA approval which gave them liability protection as long as the emergency existed. The emergency is no longer needed. The vaccine makers can now manufacture fully ‘approved’ vaccines and have complete liability protection forever.”12

It’s interesting to note, however, that the day before the ACIP vote, Dr. José Romero, the CDC’s director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said that the CDC was not adding COVID-19 shots to the childhood schedule.

By the next morning, the CDC revealed that it was, in fact, adding them.13 “CDC tried to hide what it was doing until the last minute,” Nass wrote.14 The question is, why? Why did the CDC make the announcement now, when it doesn’t go into effect until 2023?

The answer could lie in creating the perfect timeline to prevent any gaps in liability for the vaccine makers. Nass explained:

“The EUAs disappear when the emergency stops (the declarations stop, and they are being renewed every 3 months). So yes, they want to be ready for the ending of the emergency, and they want to seamlessly shift liability to the other liability shield, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.

But that did not seem to require any action at this time. What might require action is licensing the vaccines. Could it be possible that the FDA folk have said they won’t be issuing any more licenses any time soon? There have not been announcements that Pfizer and Moderna have filed the paperwork for licenses. Because, despite everything that has happened, legally you really cannot mandate an experimental product.

If I were the mfrs’ or government’s lawyers, I would be making sure that the transition from CICP [Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program] to VICP could happen instantaneously, with no moment in time during which the mfrs and government program planners were subject to liability. Putting it on the childhood schedule is necessary to move the vaccine to the VICP.”

As far back as fall 2021, 60% of U.S. parents opposed adding COVID-19 shots to list of required shots for school.15 ACIP isn’t focused on appeasing parents’ wishes, however. ACIP committee member Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told CNN that adding COVID-19 shots to the CDC’s recommended vaccine schedule would not impact which vaccines are required for school entrance:16

“We recognize that there is concern around this, but moving Covid-19 to the recommended immunization schedule does not impact what vaccines are required for school entrance, if any … Indeed, there are vaccines that are on the schedule right now that are not required for school attendance in many jurisdictions, such as seasonal influenza. Local control matters, and we honor that.

The decision around school entrance for vaccines rests where it did before, which is with the state level, the county level and at the municipal level, if it exists at all. They are the arbiters of what vaccines are required, if any, for school entry. This discussion does not change that.”

This is lip service, however. California and Washington, D.C., have already announced that COVID-19 shots would be mandatory for students,17 and others are sure to follow. Malone said:18

“Mainstream media is pretending that states determine what vaccines are used, but the truth is that pediatricians use the CDC schedule and state public health officials use this schedule. State public health systems use the schedule to determine which vaccines to require for children to enter schools.

Yes, some states have more stringent requirements than others. Some states allow for ‘opt-outs,’ but in the end, most states follow the CDC guidelines. The ACIP functionally establishes ‘standard of care’ in this area. Therefore, we can expect an even bigger home schooling and private schooling boom.”

Governors from several U.S. states, however, have already spoken out, vowing not to mandate COVID-19 shots for schoolchildren. Among them:19

• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who stated, “As long as I am governor, in Florida there will not be a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for children in our schools. That is your decision to make as a parent. These are new shots. I get a kick out of it when people compare to MMR — things that have been around for decades and decades.”

• Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who tweeted, “I’ve always said mandates are the wrong approach, & TN has led in pushing back on federal covid vaccine requirements. Thanks to our work with the General Assembly, TN families won’t be impacted by today’s CDC vote. We’ll continue to stand for TN children & for personal freedom.”

• Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who similarly said, “Regardless of what the CDC says, as long as I am governor, we will never force kids to get a COVID vaccine to go to school.”

• Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, who stated, “Here in Alabama, the parents make decisions when it comes to their children’s health care. We do NOT mandate the covid shot for kids — nor will we ever.”

Sen. Rand Paul also condemned the CDC’s decision, calling it “appalling”: “This is the same committee that approved booster vaccines for children despite no evidence that COVID boosters reduce transmission, hospitalization or death among children. Appalling!”20

The video above was produced in 2015, but it’s still relevant today and explains how bribery is effectively legalized in the U.S., affecting laws that are meant to serve the people — but which actually serve corporate donors.

The CDC cannot accept “commercial support,” but its foundation — The National Foundation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — does accept “donations” for the benefit of public health.21

A foundation is a nongovernmental entity that is typically established to make grants to institutions or individuals for scientific and other purposes. Donors often give money to foundations instead of to the institution itself, in part, because foundations have a fiduciary responsibility to represent the donor’s interest.

As reported by “A Midwestern Doctor” on Substack, who remains anonymous, the CDC Foundation has received close to $1 billion from corporate donors. Historical examples of these corrupt donations include $60,000 a pesticide research firm prove the safety of two pesticides and more than $1 million from Coca-Cola, which in turn received advice from a CDC staffer on how to stop efforts to reduce sugar consumption worldwide.22

So, finding out who funds The CDC Foundation gives clues as to where their allegiance lies — and why the CDC and ACIP have voted to approve every vaccine presented to them, even when evidence suggested they do otherwise. Who’s funding the CDC? Here’s a short list:23

• Vaccine profiteers — The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, GAVI Alliance (created by Gates) and Imperial College London

• Vaccine Manufacturers — Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson Foundation, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Gilead (remdesivir’s manufacturer)

• Big Tech — Facebook, Google, Microsoft, PayPal

Further, many ACIP and CDC members have owned patents on the vaccines they’ve voted in favor of. “Despite this,” a Midwestern Doctor noted, “They always claim these massive financial conflicts of interest they held have not clouded their judgment on which vaccines they approved (which is technically true since they almost always approve every vaccine that comes their way).

Providing royalty payments to bureaucrats responsible for pharmaceutical approvals is a slippery slope that consistently incentives everyone within the federal bureaucracy to push through dangerous and ineffective products.”24

They added the commonly held belief that the move to add COVID-19 shots to the childhood vaccination schedule was done despite the adverse effects it will have on children — for the protection of the CDC’s funders, vaccine manufacturers:25

“Many outside observers suspect this approval was done to shield the vaccine manufacturers from the inevitable liability they were facing from the explosion of severe injuries from the vaccines and mounting evidence the vaccines were fraudulently marketed (e.g. they are not effective at preventing COVID-19 or transmission of the disease).

By being added to the schedule, this affords the COVID-19 manufacturers the absurd protection that was enshrined by the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act a law (brokered by Fauci) that removed the ability of those harmed by vaccines to sue vaccine manufacturers for their injuries (and for parents of vaccine injured children to receive any support or compensation for many vaccine complications).”

Ron Paul put it simply when he spoke about the CDC on the “Liberty Report”: “They’re not our friends. They’re not friends of liberty. They’re not friends of medicine. They’re certainly not friends of kids. But do you know who their best friends are? The pharmaceutical companies.”26

The addition of COVID-19 jabs to the childhood vaccine schedule shows the CDC has closed its eyes to the risks these shots pose and is moving forward to protect its friends at all costs. “Now there is no question whether these are public health professionals carefully considering decisions for 334 million people. They are careerists who love vaccines and are blind to the consequences of their actions. Blind is putting it charitably,” Nass said.27

In a clip on Mikhaila Peterson’s podcast, shared by the “Liberty Report,” Robert Kennedy Jr. lays out exactly why the CDC is intent on making COVID-19 shots routine for children:28

“So they’re never going to market a vaccine, allow people access to a vaccine, an approved vaccine, without getting liability protection. And now, the Emergency Use Authorization vaccines have liability protection under the PREP Act and the CARES Act.

So as long as … you take an emergency use, you can’t sue them. Once they get approved, now you can sue ’em, unless they can get it recommended for children. Because all vaccines that are recommended, officially recommended for children get it, liability protection. Even if an adult gets that vaccine. That’s why they’re going after kids.”

At this point, even though COVID-19 shots have been added to the childhood vaccine schedule, they haven’t been mandated for school attendance in most states — yet. In the event that they are — and even before that — it’s time for dissent. “This is regulatory agencies and their advisory committees gone amuck,” Nass said. “Time for the people to stop consenting.”

Malone added, “Where do we go from here? It is time for an overhaul of the CDC, the ACIP, the FDA, NIH, NIAID and the whole HHS enterprise. It is time for parents to take control back from the state.”29

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Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Dr. Mercola, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked.

The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Mercola and his community. Dr. Mercola encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. The subscription fee being requested is for access to the articles and information posted on this site, and is not being paid for any individual medical advice.

If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your health care professional before using products based on this content.

• The prevention, treatment and reversal of Type 2 diabetes begins with improving your insulin sensitivity, which fasting accomplishes and which may be an important factor for those struggling with other obesity-related conditions

• Data reveal working out before breakfast and putting off eating until lunch may reduce your overall caloric intake during the day and aid in weight loss and management

• The study participants fasted from sunup to sunset; but eating just hours before going to sleep may result in other negative health effects as under the best circumstances your stomach takes hours to empty, increasing your risk of heartburn and reflux if you lie down too soon after meals

• Eating within three hours of bedtime may be one of the worst things you can do, as it detrimentally affects the health of your mitochondria

• Although beneficial, fasting should not be done if you are underweight, pregnant, breastfeeding or have an eating disorder, and while it supports your health, I recommend using a cyclical ketogenic diet with fasting for the greatest health benefits

Fasting has been practiced for centuries. In fact, science shows that, like animals, we have a fasting instinct that extends through the ages: Hippocrates prescribed and championed fasting while using apple cider vinegar.1

Religions around the world developed fasting independently as a practice and the Greeks not only prescribed it for illness, but required it in preparation for many rituals to contact supernatural forces. Fasting has also been used as a means of political protest.

Gandhi fasted on at least 14 different occasions, three times for as long as 21 days. One of the longest recorded political fasts was by Terence McSweeney, past mayor of Cork, who for political reasons fasted 74 days until his death in 1920.2 Fasting may seem daunting and a challenge, but can provide long-term benefits and helps your body remove toxins.

The detoxifying effects of fasting are in fact why I developed the partial fasting regimen detailed in my book, “KetoFast.” KetoFasting combines a cyclical ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting with cyclical partial fasting to optimize health and longevity and support safe detoxification.

Like other studies before it, recent research finds fasting may improve insulin sensitivity,3 reverse diabetes4 and supports your weight management efforts when combined with exercise.5

The research, presented at Digestive Disease Week 2019,6 was based on the fasting prayer practices of Muslims during Ramadan. The pilot study enlisted 14 healthy individuals who routinely fasted for 15 hours a day from dawn to dusk over 30 days.

Researchers collected blood samples before the individuals began their religious fast and at the end of the fourth week of fasting. An additional blood panel was drawn one week post fasting. The research work was partially supported by a National Institutes of Health Public Health Service grant.7

Fasting for 30 days raised the levels of tropomyosin (TPM) proteins that in turn improved insulin resistance and reduced the adverse effects of a diet rich in sugar. Higher levels of TPM 1, 3 and 4 were found in the blood samples of the participants.8 TPM is a key factor in maintaining the health of cells important to insulin resistance.

TPM 3 plays an important role in improving sensitivity to insulin, which means better blood glucose control. The research team was led by Dr. Ayse Leyla Mindikoglu, associate professor of medicine and surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, who commented on the results:9

“Feeding and fasting can significantly impact how the body makes and uses proteins that are critical to decreasing insulin resistance and maintaining a healthy body weight. Therefore, the timing of and duration between meals could be important factors to consider for people struggling with obesity-related conditions.

According to World Health Organization data, obesity affects over 650 million people worldwide, placing them at risk for any number of health conditions.

We are in the process of expanding our research to include individuals with metabolic syndrome and [nonalcoholic fatty liver disease] to determine whether the results are consistent with those of the healthy individuals.

Based on our initial research, we believe that dawn-to-sunset fasting may provide a cost-effective intervention for those struggling with obesity-related conditions.”

An editorial written in the BMJ10 by noted research scientist James DiNicolantonio, PharmD.,11 discusses the results of several studies that have found repeated episodes of fasting may induce cell growth of pancreatic beta cells in mouse models.

The growth is associated with an increased expression of Ngn3,12 a protein involved in converting DNA into RNA critical for endocrine cells in the pancreatic islets of langerhans, the cells responsible for producing insulin.

The increase in islet beta cells induced through intermittent fasting was accompanied by a marked improvement in blood sugar control in the animal studies. These observations were of greatest interest to individuals suffering from Type 1 diabetes, as they often experience near complete inflammatory destruction of the islet beta cells.

However, the same occurs in the later stages of severe Type 2 diabetes. DiNicolantonio believes these findings may be replicated clinically, opening the path to reversing Type 2 diabetes in those with “enough discipline and commitment to adopt a lifestyle that would have prevented diabetes in the first place.”13

As a first step, he recommends you first practice a diabetes preventive lifestyle, eating a diet primarily of whole foods, complemented with regular exercise. This will help improve your insulin sensitivity and may prove sufficient for those with a recent diagnosis of diabetes to reverse their condition over time.

In those who fail to respond, he recommends an intermittent fasting protocol. Making the transition back to a health protective diet from fasting, supplemental measures may be implemented to shield the beta cells from toxicity so they retain functional capacity.

Reducing islet oxidative stress may be accomplished using spirulina, NAC and/or berberine.14 The goal is to achieve normal blood sugar control without drugs and maintain compliance with a diabetic preventive diet and lifestyle.

Another recent study evaluating the effectiveness of omitting a meal before an early workout was published in the Journal of Nutrition.15 The researchers wanted to see if skipping breakfast before working out would affect the relationship to food for the remainder of the day.

While exercise plays an important role in weight management and overall health, past studies have demonstrated people who begin a new exercise program often compensate for energy burned during exercise by eating more later in the day, or by moving less.

The researchers enrolled 12 healthy, physically active young men who all completed three stages in randomized order separated by over one week.16 During the one stage, the participants ate a breakfast of oats and milk followed by rest. In another they had the same breakfast and then exercised for 60 minutes.

During another stage, the participants fasted overnight and then exercised in the morning before eating. The following 24 hours of caloric intake was monitored and calculated. The researchers found those who fasted and then exercised had a negative 400 calorie intake during the day as compared to those who ate and rested or who ate breakfast before exercising.

According to the researchers, these results have implications for those who want to include exercise in their weight control efforts.17 Javier Gonzalez, Ph.D., from the University of Bath, oversaw the study and suggested working out on an empty stomach probably will not trigger overeating, but instead may lead to a calorie deficit.

The study was small and used fit young men. The researchers question if the results would be comparable in groups of older, overweight, out of shape or female participants. The study did not explain why the participants who had skipped eating before exercise did not continue to eat all day.18 Gonzalez hopes to study these questions.

Diabetes is a condition in which your body develops a resistance to insulin and leptin signaling, which drives your blood glucose level high. Conventional medicine aims to treat the symptoms of diabetes, while the condition is in fact preventable and in most cases reversible simply by changing your diet and lifestyle habits.

One significant risk factor for insulin resistance is overeating carbohydrates and added sugar, as these spike your insulin level and gradually increase cellular resistance to insulin. Overeating carbohydrates and sugar is also a primary cause of obesity, a growing epidemic in the U.S.

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey19 is an in-depth survey designed to assess health and nutritional status of Americans. In their most recent findings, published for 2015-2016,20 data showed an increasing number of health conditions associated with obesity, including diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, arthritis and certain cancers.

The rate of adults with obesity from 2007-2008 to 2015-2016 increased from 33.7% to 39.6%.21 A variety of reasons may be attributed to these rising numbers, including a sedentary lifestyle,22 increased highly processed food consumption,23 medications24 and psychological triggers,25 to name a few.

In addition to supporting your weight management efforts, fasting also offers several other benefits that are foundational to optimal health. This cycling of feeding and fasting mimics the eating habits of our ancestors and restores your body to a more natural state, allowing a host of biochemical benefits to take place.

When you eat throughout the day, your body becomes adapted to burning sugar and carbohydrates as a primary fuel, down-regulating enzymes involved in the use and burning of stored fat. This increases your insulin resistance and your risk of gaining weight.26 It’s important to realize that in order to lose body fat, your body must be able to burn fat.

Two powerful ways of shifting to a fat burning metabolism is fasting and eating a cyclical ketogenic diet. In addition to promoting insulin and leptin sensitivity, fasting also normalizes ghrelin levels,27 known as the hunger hormone.

Human growth hormone (HGH) production is also affected by fasting, rising as much as 1,300% in women and 2,000% in men.28 29 HGH plays a role in fitness, longevity and muscle growth, and boosts fat loss.30

Fasting also helps suppress inflammation and reduce oxidative damage,31 improve immune function32 and reduce your risk of heart disease.33 One of the side effects of rising ketone levels produced during fasting is an improvement in cognitive function34 and a reduction in neurological diseases, such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.35

Additionally, fasting helps reduce your cravings for sugar as your body adapts to burning fat,36 thus boosting your weight loss efforts even further. According to research presented at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting,37 intermittent fasting will also drastically reduce a woman’s risk of breast cancer.

While the featured study demonstrated those who practice intermittent fasting from sunup to sunset experienced health benefits, eating too close to bedtime can have negative health repercussions. Adding to the problem, the late-night meal tends to be the largest meal of the day for most Americans, and often consists of heavily processed foods.

Under the best of circumstances, your stomach takes several hours to empty after you eat. As you age or if you experience acid reflux, the process takes even longer. When you recline for sleep, it’s easier for acid to enter your esophagus, leading to acid reflux.38

You may have acid reflux even if you don’t experience heartburn but have symptoms like hoarseness, chronic throat clearing and even asthma. Eating late at night also throws off your body’s internal clock.

In short, it may be one of the worst things you can do, as it detrimentally affects your mitochondria.39 A foundational cause of many degenerative diseases are your mitochondria, little powerhouses located in most of your body’s cells.40

When they receive inappropriate amounts of proper fuel they may begin to deteriorate and malfunction. This dysfunction lays the groundwork for subsequent breakdowns of various bodily systems.

Millions suffer from Type 2 diabetes, but it is not an inevitable risk of life. Fasting is the most profoundly effective metabolic intervention I’m aware of. It’s like getting a free stem cell transplant, and it massively upregulates autophagy and mitophagy.

It also stimulates mitochondrial biosynthesis during the refeeding phase, which allows your body to naturally regenerate. For these reasons, fasting not only is beneficial for Type 2 diabetes and obesity but also for health in general, and likely even longevity. There’s even evidence to suggest fasting can help prevent or even reverse dementia, as it helps your body clean out toxic debris.

Other ailments that can benefit from fasting include polycystic ovaries, polycystic kidneys and fast growing cancer cells. The reason for this is because when autophagy increases, your body starts breaking down old protein, including fast growing cells.

Then, during the refeeding phase, growth hormone increases, boosting the rebuilding of new proteins and cells. In other words, it reactivates and speeds up your body’s natural renewal cycle.

Gradually easing into longer fasts will naturally minimize most side effects associated with fasting, as will transitioning over to a high-fat, low-carb diet, to help your body to adjust to using fat as a primary fuel.

The so-called “keto flu” is often related to sodium deficiency, so it’s recommended to take a high-quality unprocessed salt each day. I typically pour salt in my hand and lick it throughout the day when fasting, as I obviously can’t put it on food. This will also help reduce the likelihood of intractable muscle cramps at night.

An alternative to eating salt straight, or putting it in water, is to add it to a bit of bone broth. Another important mineral is magnesium. It’s particularly important if you are diabetic, as magnesium deficiency is very common among Type 2 diabetics. This is another possible culprit if you’re getting muscle cramps.

It is also important to understand that when you’re fasting, you’re going to automatically liberate toxins from your fat stores. Using an infrared sauna and taking binders like chlorella, modified citrus pectin, cilantro or even activated charcoal can help eliminate these liberated toxins from your body and prevent their reabsorption.

As mentioned, my KetoFasting protocol addresses this and other important fasting concerns. Lastly, although it’s highly beneficial for most, fasting is not for everyone. You should not do any type of extended fasting if you are underweight, pregnant, breastfeeding or have an eating disorder.

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Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Dr. Mercola, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked.

The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Mercola and his community. Dr. Mercola encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. The subscription fee being requested is for access to the articles and information posted on this site, and is not being paid for any individual medical advice.

If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your health care professional before using products based on this content.

• In October 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a new initiative called One Health Joint Plan of Action

• The plan was launched by the Quadripartite, which, in addition to WHO, includes the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH)

• The World Health Organization already has too much power; this new initiative will only give it more

• The One Health Joint Plan of Action combines multiple globalist organizations and synchronizes their plans, while at the same time combining their resources and power to create a global superpower

• Decentralized health care and pandemic planning makes sense, as both medicine and government work best when individualized and locally oriented. As it stands, however, the opposite global agenda is being applied

In October 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a new initiative called One Health Joint Plan of Action. The plan was launched by the Quadripartite, which, in addition to WHO, consists of the:1

• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

• World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE)

The World Health Organization already has too much power. This new initiative amounts to taking multiple globalist organizations and synchronizing their plans, while at the same time combining their resources and power to create a One Health plan.

“The Quadripartite will join forces to leverage the needed resources in support of the common approach to address critical health threats and promote the health of people, animals, plants and the environment,” according to a WHO press release.2 One can only imagine what this really means, particularly as they highlight “emerging and re-emerging zoonotic epidemics.”3

On paper, WHO states the One Health Joint Plan of Action (OH JPA) “seeks to improve the health of humans, animals, plants, and the environment, while contributing to sustainable development.”4 Its five-year plan, which spans 2022 to 2026, intends to expand capacities in six One Health areas:5

• Health systems

• Emerging and re-emerging zoonotic epidemics, endemic zoonotic

• The environment

• Neglected tropical and vector-borne diseases

• Food safety risks

• Antimicrobial resistance

The plan includes a technical document “informed by evidence, best practices and existing guidance,” which covers a set of actions intended to advance One Health at global, regional and national levels.

“These actions notably include the development of an upcoming implementation guidance for countries, international partners, and non-state actors such as civil society organizations, professional associations, academia and research institutions,” a WHO press release reads.6 In other words, the ultimate goal is to create rules to be followed on a global scale, including the following “operational objectives”:7

• Providing a framework for collective and coordinated action to mainstream the One Health approach at all levels

• Providing upstream policy and legislative advice and technical assistance to help set national targets and priorities

• Promoting multinational, multi-sector, multidisciplinary collaboration, learning and exchange of knowledge, solutions and technologies

WOAH director general Dr. Monique Eloit stated, “Using a One Health lens that brings all relevant sectors together is critical to tackle global health threats, like monkeypox, COVID-19 and Ebola.”8 Meanwhile, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus repeated the rhetoric that a “One Health” approach would be necessary to save the world:9

“It’s clear that a One Health approach must be central to our shared work to strengthen the world’s defences against epidemics and pandemics such as COVID-19. That’s why One Health is one of the guiding principles of the new international agreement for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, which our Member States are now negotiating.”

Timing-wise, WHO’s One Health Joint Plan of Action announcement may be serving the purpose of covering up the lab origins of SARS-CoV-2, so they can continue to go into caves and other areas, dig up new, or unknown, viruses and bring them back into densely populated areas where high-security biosafety laboratories are typically located.

WHO’s investigation into COVID-19’s origin was a “fake” investigation from the start. China was allowed to hand pick the members of WHO’s investigative team, which included Peter Daszak, Ph.D., who has close professional ties to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).

The inclusion of Daszak on this team virtually guaranteed the dismissal of the lab-origin theory, and in February 2021, WHO cleared WIV and two other biosafety level 4 laboratories in Wuhan, China of wrongdoing, saying these labs had nothing to do with the COVID-19 outbreak.10

Molecular biologist Richard Ebright, Ph.D., laboratory director at the Waksman Institute of Microbiology and member of the Institutional Biosafety Committee of Rutgers University and the Working Group on Pathogen Security of the state of New Jersey, called out the members of the WHO-instigated investigative team as “participants in disinformation.”11

Only after backlash, including an open letter signed by 26 scientists demanding a full and unrestricted forensic investigation into the pandemic’s origins,12 did WHO enter damage control mode, with Ghebreyesus and 13 other world leaders joining the U.S. government in expressing “frustration with the level of access China granted an international mission to Wuhan.”13

Of note, according to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his book “Vax-Unvax,”14 of which I received a preview copy, Ghebreyesus was chosen to be WHO’s director general by Bill Gates — not because of his qualifications, as Tedros has no medical degree and a background that includes accusations of human rights violations, but due to this loyalty to Gates.

Gates, through his billions in donations to WHO, has significant leverage over WHO’s decisions. So who is ultimately controlling WHO’s One Health Joint Plan of Action and its initiatives aimed at further controlling global health and society?

Giving WHO and its cronies more global control is a bad idea. Decentralized health care and pandemic planning — moving from the global and federal levels to the state and local levels — makes sense, as both medicine and government work best when individualized and locally oriented. As it stands, however, the opposite global agenda is being applied.

If there were any doubt, watch TrustWHO, above, a documentary film produced by Lilian Franck that delves into the corruption behind the preeminent organization that’s being trusted with public health. In it you’ll learn that industry influences, from Big Tobacco to the nuclear industry and pharmaceuticals, dictated WHO’s global agenda from the start.

WHO’s 2009 H1N1 pandemic response was heavily influenced by the pharmaceutical industry. Many are also unaware that WHO signed an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is “promoting peaceful use of atomic energy,” in 1959, making it subordinate to the agency in relation to ionizing radiation. WHO works closely with IAEA and has downplayed health effects caused by the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear disasters.15

If history is any indication, WHO’s assembly of global superpowers striving to control everything from health to the environment is not going to act in the public’s best interest. During the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO acted to protect its allegiance to China above all else — including public health.

According to a Sunday Times investigation published in August 2021, WHO’s allegiance to China was secured years earlier, when China secured WHO votes to ensure its candidates would become director-general. Further:16

“The WHO leadership prioritized China’s economic interests over halting the spread of the virus when Covid-19 first emerged. China exerted ultimate control over the WHO investigation into the origins of Covid-19, appointing its chosen experts and negotiating a backroom deal to water down the mandate.”

Its China ties played a “decisive role” in the course of the pandemic. On January 28, 2020, four weeks after Taiwan had alerted WHO that a mysterious respiratory illness was spreading in China, WHO had not yet taken action and continued to praise China.

Ghebreyesus even praised China for their transparency and said the Chinese president had “shown ‘rare leadership’ and deserved ‘gratitude and respect’ for acting to contain the outbreak at the epicenter,” the Sunday Times reported. “These ‘extraordinary steps’ had prevented further spread of the virus, and this was why, he said, there were only ‘a few cases of human-to-human transmission outside China, which we are monitoring very closely.’”17

Speaking with the Sunday Times, Ebright said it was this close connection that ultimately steered the course of the pandemic:18

“Not only did it have a role; it has had a decisive role. It was the only motivation. There was no scientific or medical or policy justification for the stance that the WHO took in January and February 2020. That was entirely premised on maintaining satisfactory ties to the Chinese government.

So at every step of the way, the WHO promoted the position that was sought by the Chinese government … the WHO actively resisted and obstructed efforts by other nations to implement effective border controls that could have limited the spread or even contained the spread of the outbreak.

It is impossible for me to believe that the officials in Geneva, who were making those statements, believed those statements accorded with the facts that were available to them at the time the statements were made. It’s hard not to see that the direct origin of that is the support of the Chinese government for Tedros’s election as director-general …

This was a remarkably high return on [China’s] investment with the relatively small sums that were invested in supporting his election. It paid off on a grand scale for the Chinese government.”

It’s already clear that WHO’s usefulness as a guardian of public health needs to be reevaluated. Now, it stands to become even more powerful. Rather than learning anything from the course of the pandemic response, it seems they’re willing to risk it all and continue following what got us into this mess in the first place. Only now, they’ll be doing so with additional collaborative powers.

The One Health Joint Plan of Action’s continued focus on “zoonotic epidemics,” when evidence strongly suggests SARS-CoV-2 came from a lab,19 is revealing. So, too, are its claims that only One Health can save us from “ecosystem degradation, food system failures, infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance.”20

The disturbing part is One Health sounds like a fairy tale that will lead to a utopian society. In reality, the “health” it’s spreading isn’t health like you’re thinking, but rather health in the form of whatever product, technology or globalist agenda they’re pushing. By joining forces, they become that much harder to overcome — and they’re already moving ahead on financing and plans for “implementation.”

According to WHO, “Efforts by just one sector or specialty cannot prevent or eliminate infectious disease and other complex threats to One Health … Building on existing structures and agreements, mechanisms for coordinated financing are under development to support the plan’s implementation.”21

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Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Dr. Mercola, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked.

The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Mercola and his community. Dr. Mercola encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. The subscription fee being requested is for access to the articles and information posted on this site, and is not being paid for any individual medical advice.

If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your health care professional before using products based on this content.

• The Mercola website was cyberattacked and taken offline September 23, 2022

• September 28, Category 4 hurricane Ian barreled through Cape Coral, Florida, damaging our headquarters. The White House has described the natural disaster as “likely to rank among the worst in the nation’s history”

• October 12, 2022, Gov. Ron DeSantis held a roundtable discussion at the Mercola Market in Cape Coral. Local business leaders shared their top concerns and most pressing needs for the rebuilding process

• Key concerns and requests for aid included addressing the mountains of debris and the widespread supply chain issues that affect construction materials and business equipment

• Business owners also need financing and emergency bridge loans to cover expenses and meet payroll, as well as rapid construction permits. DeSantis supports temporarily relaxing local codes to allow property owners to place trailers on their properties while rebuilding their main homes. Mental health support services are also needed

As previously reported, the Mercola website was cyberattacked and taken offline September 23, 2022. The attack also destroyed our email servers. We’d barely begun recovering from that ordeal when Category 4 hurricane Ian barreled through Cape Coral, Florida, on September 28, damaging our headquarters.

The storm ripped off our building’s solar panels, damaging the roof along with them, so there were leaks throughout the building. Winds of 155 mph (just 2 mph short of a Category 5 hurricane) were recorded along with a catastrophic storm surge that rose more than 12 feet above ground level.1

Some areas also received nearly 16 inches of rainfall. A press release from the White House described the natural disaster as “likely to rank among the worst in the nation’s history.”2

In its wake, millions of Floridians were left without basic necessities like clean drinking water and electricity. During the storm, 99% of Cape Coral lost power,3 and the Sanibel Causeway, a series of bridges that connect Sanibel Island to Florida’s mainland, was destroyed, leaving residents stranded on the island.4

At least 127 people were killed by Hurricane Ian.5 Fortunately, all of our employees remained safe, although some lost vehicles and others lost their homes. October 5, 2022, AFAR magazine published a report on the reality on the ground in the aftermath of hurricane Ian, and how you can help:6

“In the hours and days that followed, we saw the footage from Fort Myers Beach that looked like a bomb scene, shell-shocked locals … surveying the damage …

In Fort Myers Beach, one of places hardest hit by Ian’s wrath, authorities estimate over 80% of the structures will have to be rebuilt, with entire communities having effectively been swept away by the storm surge.

To the north, Pine Island’s roads connecting it to the mainland have also been washed away, leaving the island accessible by boat only (if you can find one that has survived the storm) …

More than 2.5 million people in Florida were without power at the height of the storm-related outages. And some 42,000 linemen — the workers responsible for repairing, maintaining, and installing high-powered electrical lines … are working tirelessly to restore it to communities here, a process that could take weeks or months.

A friend in Naples tells me exhausted linemen with nowhere to sleep or shower are staying in their trucks, and locals are gathering wet wipes and deodorant for them. On Sunday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s office reported that more than 1,600 rescues had been made in Florida so far, with over 1,000 team members dedicated to ongoing search and rescue …

[A] mother, Callie Brown, and her partner who dumped Christmas decorations from plastic storage bins as water rose to their attic and loaded their three-month-old son and cat inside to swim for their lives down what was once their street …”

In addition to the Florida Disaster Fund and United Way Worldwide, local grassroots organizations are also collecting donations to help those most in need.

Examples of the organizations listed in this and other articles7 include Metropolitan Ministries, Collaboratory, the Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida, Captains for Clean Water, All Hands and Hearts and A Voice in the Wilderness Empowerment Center, which has been feeding people left homeless after the hurricane.

As reported by CBC News,8 an estimated 10,000 Floridians are in temporary shelters after the storm destroyed their homes and apartments. Florida already struggled with a housing shortage before the storm, thanks to the influx of people escaping tyranny in other states over the past couple of years.

“The issues of displacement and homelessness were among the top concerns shared by our CEO, Steve Rye, during Gov. Ron DeSantis’ October 12 roundtable discussion, which took place at the Mercola Market in Cape Coral.”

Hurricane Ian took many homes down to their bare foundations, making rebuilding a lengthy process. Volunteers and out-of-state aid workers who are helping in the cleanup and recovery also need places to stay, and in some cases are paying up to three times the normal price for a rental. Residents can’t afford such exorbitant prices, especially as many have also lost their jobs as businesses were wrecked.

Taken together, the situation has become rather untenable. Many have no choice but to relocate, either to another county or another state altogether. The issues of displacement and homelessness — which directly affect some of our own staff members — were among the top concerns shared by our CEO, Steve Rye, during Gov. Ron DeSantis’ October 12 roundtable discussion,9 10 11 which took place at the Mercola Market in Cape Coral. As reported by WKMG ClickOrlando:12

“Accompanying DeSantis at the 2:15 p.m. roundtable were secretaries Dane Eagle of the Department of Economic Opportunity and Melanie Griffin of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. and Laura DiBella, deputy secretary of Enterprise Florida.

The group faced questions from South Floridian residents and business owners keen on hearing the latest state efforts to help their communities bounce back from Ian’s destruction …

On the topic of temporary housing, DeSantis reiterated the recent launch of FEMA’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance program in Florida, with many Floridians in areas hit hard by Ian now eligible for FEMA-funded temporary housing as their own property undergoes repairs or otherwise.”

Robbie Roepstorff, president of Sanibel Island’s Edison National Bank, reviewed the most urgent needs of the local banking industry, which included “securing electrical access, funding commercial restoration of flooded or otherwise damaged banks and keeping employees on a good payroll.”

Roepstorff also suggested the state take action to prevent property owners whose properties have been affected from receiving property tax notices for their now destroyed or nonexistent homes. DeSantis promised accommodations will be made, but didn’t get further into specifics.13

Other concerns and requests for aid raised by local business owners included:14

• Mountains of debris, making for a generally unsafe environment for residents, in addition to presenting difficulties for the recovery effort

• Widespread supply chain issues affecting construction materials and business equipment that need to be replaced

• Lack of business financing and emergency bridge loans to cover expenses and meet payroll

• Need for more rapid construction permits, as well as labor

• Need for a temporary relaxing of local codes to allow property owners to place trailers on their properties while rebuilding their main homes — a strategy DeSantis said he supports

• Need for mental health support services

• Many residents still do not have power and/or internet restored, which also hampers recovery efforts

DeSantis also received a lot of praise for his quick and robust response to the crisis. As just one example, Marty Harrity, a co-owner of Doc Ford’s Rum Bar and Grille, and the Dixie Fish Co., praised the speed with which the state was able to erect a temporary bridge to replace the Sanibel Causeway. “It’s miraculous,” he said. DeSantis agreed, saying “Nobody thought we would be able to do that this soon.”

As reported by The Washington Post,15 the private home insurance market is also caving after the calamity of hurricane Ian, and many homeowners may find themselves facing high out-of-pocket costs to rebuild, or be forced to take their insurer to court:16

“The home-insurance business was in trouble even before Hurricane Ian tore across the state last month. Big insurers were taking their business elsewhere, smaller ones were going broke, costs due to litigation and fraud had soared, and so had premiums.

The private market was pulling back as the risk of weather-related damage mounted, leaving homeowners to buy protection from the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and the federal National Flood Insurance Program — or else to go uninsured.

This creaking system could be flattened altogether by Ian. Expect an epidemic of new litigation as insurers and policy holders fight over what destroyed their homes. (Standard policies cover damage from wind but not from flooding.) Costs to private insurers alone could reach $63 billion.

This worsening mess proves, for the umpteenth time, that rebuilding homes and other structures isn’t good enough: The public and private treatment of weather-related risks needs to go back to the drawing board … the current approach discourages responsible choices on what gets built and where.”

The article goes on to review how insurance, hidden state subsidies and mortgage securitization contribute to the problem, and while the Bloomberg editors who penned it are clearly Great Reset supporters, they do make some good points on rebuilding to improve rather than undermine resiliency over time:

“… policy makers owe it to voters to … attend to fundamentals. An approach that prioritizes rebuilding and carrying on as before, rather than reducing risk and improving resilience, is a formula for continually escalating harms …

The government needs to understand how its pre- and post-disaster interventions interact, and get its countless agencies and programs on the same page.

Gather and disseminate location-based information about climate-related risks; use that information to guide infrastructure investment; and so far as politics allows, confront businesses and households with the true costs of their choices.

Curbing subsidies through the federal flood-insurance program is difficult but indispensable. Urge or require property owners in high-risk areas to insure themselves.

Oblige states to cover a bigger share of recovery spending. Condition new federal investment on disaster-planning and mitigation … Help the victims, to be sure. But concentrate as well on ensuring that next time, they’ll be fewer and better prepared.”

These challenges will not be our downfall. On the contrary, they will make us stronger. Any time you stand up to adversity, it strengthens your resiliency, and I’m certain we, as a business, and Florida as a whole, will be better for it in the end. That said, this past month has definitely stretched us thin.

We want to thank everyone who has reached out with concerns and well wishes. Many have also reached out asking how they may assist. The challenges of the past few weeks, from our website being hacked to surviving a Category 4 hurricane, are unlike anything we’ve faced before. We got knocked down, but not for long. We have a lot of rebuilding to do still, but we are back on our feet.

If you’d like to help, the Mercola Market store is up and running and our fulfillment centers are open and able to ship products. So, if you need anything from the Mercola Market, you can support us by shopping there. We do need your help as we continue to support our community in rebuilding homes and businesses.

We’re committed, as always, to help you optimize your health and build your own resilience against the many threats facing us these days. Make sure you’re getting our daily newsletter and sign up for a free subscription to my Substack at TakeControl.Substack.com.

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Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Dr. Mercola, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked.

The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Mercola and his community. Dr. Mercola encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. The subscription fee being requested is for access to the articles and information posted on this site, and is not being paid for any individual medical advice.

If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your health care professional before using products based on this content.

• While past research has indicated statins increase your risk of diabetes, data demonstrate they double your risk of Type 2 diabetes, and when taken for more than two years may even triple your risk

• Statins work by blocking a liver enzyme your body uses to make cholesterol; blocking this enzyme triggers a depletion of CoQ10 and vitamin K2, both necessary for heart health and the prevention of some cancers. Your body makes cholesterol as it is necessary for the production of hormones and cell walls, and to produce substances to digest food

• While the relative risk reduction of a cardiovascular event with statin medications is between 20% and 25%, the absolute risk, or the actual difference in rates of coronary death is 2.3%

• Additional risks associated with statin medications include neurodegenerative diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, cataracts and heart disease; consider using natural approaches to improve your cardiovascular health

Statins are a type of medication prescribed to lower cholesterol levels. They work by blocking an enzyme in the liver your body uses to make cholesterol.1 Although vilified for many years as causing heart attacks and stroke,2 your body makes cholesterol as it is needed to produce hormones, build cell membranes and produce substances used to digest food.3

Cholesterol is found in foods from animals, such as dairy products and meats.4 Your body makes the fatty substance cholesterol, but it cannot travel in the bloodstream alone.5 The body encases small particles of cholesterol inside protein particles that are able to mix easily with the blood. These are called lipoproteins and they’re responsible for transporting cholesterol.6

One of the main types of lipoproteins is high-density lipoprotein (HDL), sometimes called the “good” cholesterol as its job is to collect cholesterol and deliver it to your liver where it’s removed.7

Low density lipoprotein (LDL) and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) are often referred to as “bad.”8 It’s important to remember that only 20% of the cholesterol in your body is acquired from the food you eat, while the rest is made by your body.9

Prescriptions for statins are written to reduce the levels of cholesterol made by the body.10 However, since your body is so complex, changing one factor often results in unintended events, sometimes called side effects or adverse reactions.11 As suggested by one study, one adverse reaction from statin drugs may be doubling your risk of Type 2 diabetes.12

Past studies have demonstrated that statins increase the risk of diabetes.13 A new study led by a graduate researcher at The Ohio State University14 explored this link in research published in Diabetes Metabolism Research and Reviews. The study was a retrospective evaluation of medical records using employees and spouses from a private insurance plan.

Yearly biometric screening, health surveys, medical claims and pharmacy data were gathered from 2011 through 2014.15 Individuals who had indications for statin use, or who had a previous cardiovascular event, were enrolled. Adults who had Type 2 diabetes before the study or who acquired it in the first 90 days were excluded.

Records were classified as belonging to a statin user if they had two or more prescriptions filled, but individuals using statins before January 2011 or within the first 90 days of enrollment in the insurance were excluded. Data were collected from 755 individuals using statins and 3,928 who were not.16

After accounting for factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, education and body mass index, the researchers found those who used statins during the study were two times as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than those who did not take statin medications.17

Interestingly, individuals who used statin drugs longer than two years experienced an increased risk of more than three times as likely to get the disease.18 The data also indicated that individuals taking statin medications had a 6.5% increased risk of high blood sugar as measured by hemoglobin A1c values.

The hemoglobin A1c blood test is an average level of blood sugar measuring the past 60 to 90 days.19 The test measures how much sugar is bound to hemoglobin on red blood cells. Since red blood cells live for up to 90 days, the test is an average of your blood glucose level during this time.

In 2012, the FDA20 approved changes to labels on statin medications to provide information on adverse events, including reports of increased blood sugar and higher A1c testing. Other side effects listed on the label included cognitive effects such as memory loss and confusion.

While there had been reports of rare but serious liver conditions in those taking statin medications,21 in the same announcement, the FDA22 removed the need for routine monitoring of liver enzymes and recommended they should be performed before starting therapy and then as clinically necessary. Since severe injury was rare, they concluded routine monitoring would not be effective.

The NHS, National Health Services from England, recommends23 statins should not be used in those with severe liver disease since they affect your liver and are “more likely to cause serious problems if you already have a severely damaged liver.”

In 2014,24 one team of researchers discovered adding Glyburide to a statin regimen suppressed the immune response they believed was responsible for the development of Type 2 diabetes. The team led by Jonathan Schertzer, Ph.D., from McMaster University, believed this finding may lead to a next generation of statins. As reported in a press release:25

“Recently, an increased risk of diabetes has been added to the warning label for statin use. This was perplexing to us because if you are improving your metabolic profile with statins you should actually be decreasing the incidence of diabetes with these drugs, yet, the opposite happened.

We found that statins activated a very specific immune response, which stopped insulin from doing its job properly. So we connected the dots and found that combining statins with another drug on top of it, Glyburide, suppressed this side effect.”

In other words, to offset a significant adverse event from one drug, the team recommended the addition of a second drug, which comes with an additional list of side effects including vasculitis, hyponatremia (low blood sodium associated with confusion, seizures and muscle weakness),26 alopecia and liver damage.27

One journalist for Diabetes.co.uk commented on this turn of events, saying: “However, as glyburide stimulates insulin production, using a type 2 diabetes drug to prevent type 2 diabetes seems a peculiar treatment.”28

Statin medications deplete your body of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), which may account for some of the devastating long-term results. It was strongly suggested29 the FDA add a black box warning to statin medications to advise patients and physicians about this, but in 2014 the FDA decided against it.30

The reduction in CoQ10 may be responsible for an increased risk of acute heart failure31 and atherosclerosis, as reported in a 2015 scientific investigation.32 The study addressed physiological mechanisms in the reduction of CoQ10, including the inhibition of the synthesis of vitamin K2 necessary to protect against arterial calcification.

A reduction in vitamin K2 may contribute to osteoporosis,33 heart disease,34 brain disease35 and inappropriate calcification.36 Statins have also been associated with an increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases,37 cataracts,38 cancer.39 40 and musculoskeletal disorders.41

In one study,42 a research team evaluated the use of statins in patients with terminal illnesses who had a high likelihood of dying within one year. They found those who stopped taking statins had a mean survival of 39 more days than those who continued to take statins — 229 days without statins and 190 days with statins.

Although the FDA calls liver complications rare, one physician’s43 search of MedWatch, the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting Program, found 5,405 individuals reporting hepatitis or liver function abnormalities associated with just two statin medications between 2006 and 2013.

How effective a medication may or may not be is expressed as relative risk or absolute risk.44 If the type of risk is not identified it may be difficult to determine whether taking action would affect you.

For instance, if a medication under investigation to prevent prostate cancer enrolls 200 men and splits them into two equal groups, one is likely to receive a placebo and the other is likely to receive the experimental drug. In the placebo group, two men may develop prostate cancer; in the treatment group, perhaps only one man develops it. When compared, the researchers find there’s a 50% reduction in relative risk.

Relative risk is determined by comparing the number between two groups. One man developed it in the treatment group and two in the control group. Since one is half of 2, there’s a 50% reduction in the development of the disease. The absolute risk is far smaller.

The risk of developing prostate cancer in the control group was 2%, since two out of 100 developed prostate cancer, but in the treatment group it was 1%. This means there’s a 1% absolute risk of developing prostate cancer with the medication as compared to 2%. Your absolute risk is not 50% less but rather just 1% less when taking the medication.

Knowing the difference between relative risk and absolute risk is necessary when balancing the benefits of statin medications against the side effects and adverse events. If you are in a position of needing to decide to use statin medications, it’s important to note the relative reduction in risk of a major cardiac event while using statins was between 20% and 25%.

In the case of having to decide whether the potential benefits of statins are worth the known risks, for example, it’s important to consider a report from 2016. In an Expert Analysis article, it was noted that a meta-analysis45 of 27 randomized trials revealed that “[F]or every ~40mg/dL LDL-C reduction with statin therapy, the relative risk of major adverse events is reduced by ~20-25%, and all-cause mortality is reduced by 10%.”

While another study found a similar relative risk, the actual difference in rates of coronary death in the population was 9% in the placebo group and 6.7% in those who were treated with statins.46

Researchers therefore found the difference between the treated and untreated groups was a mere 2.3% and not the inflated relative risk of 28%. They wrote that while the reduction in relative risk appears impressive to some readers, this form of data presentation is misleading.47

Before becoming concerned about your cholesterol levels, it’s important to evaluate whether you really need a statin drug to reduce your risk of a cardiovascular event. Updated guidelines published by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology are based on a personalized risk assessment.48

However, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services critically evaluates those with cholesterol levels over 200 milligrams per deciliter.49 I believe this total cholesterol measurement has little benefit in evaluating your risk for heart disease unless the number is over 300.

In some instances, high cholesterol may indicate a problem, provided it’s your LDL or triglycerides and you have low HDL. A better evaluation of your risk of heart disease are these two ratios in combination with other lifestyle factors, such as your iron level and diet.

• HDL/Cholesterol ratio — Divide your HDL level by your cholesterol. This ratio should ideally be above 24%.

• Triglyceride/HDL ratio — Divide your triglyceride level by your HDL. This ratio should ideally be below 2. Data demonstrate a ratio greater than four is a powerful predictor of coronary artery disease.50

You have control over your health and may protect your heart and lower your risk of heart disease by following suggestions affecting your lifestyle and exposure to environmental toxins.

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