Bamboozled

“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.” ~ Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World

“Narcissists are unstable and go through repeated cycles of self-destruction, with other people usually paying the heft of the price. They are aware of what they are doing to others — but they do not care. Narcissists tend to be divisive, vindictive, confrontational, aggressive, hate-filled, raging, incoherent, judgment-impaired, and irrational.” ~ Sam Vaknin, Malignant Self-Love

Carl Sagan‘s words from 30 years ago, about the American public no longer caring about the truth and unwilling to acknowledge they have been bamboozled by the men controlling the levers of power over our civilization, has never been more prescient than during our current period of delusion, degradation and decay. As the crumbling American empire of debt and denial approaches its disastrous rendezvous with destiny, the populace remains gloriously and willfully ignorant of reality, mathematical certainty of collapse, and the treachery of those constituting the Deep State ruling class. We are truly living in a demon haunted world, run by child rapists and satanists.

It’s interesting Sagan had the foresight to make this brilliant observation in 1995, well before it became readily provable here in this century of the bamboozle, where the banality of evil, inflicted upon the masses by faceless apparatchiks, at the behest of soulless billionaire psychopaths in suits, has turned a once vibrant republic into a dying totalitarian hollowed out husk of a nation. I was bamboozled for about the first forty years of my life, but the weapons of mass destruction bamboozle in 2003 was the final straw. My eyes were opened to the utter corruption and lies of those hand selected by the real ruling class to lead our nation.

I’m convinced this century will see the end of the American Empire, likely to last less than 100 years (1946–2033?). As we approach the final blood letting that always marks the final years of a Fourth Turning, the malevolent, degenerate billionaires who currently control our world and pull the levers manipulating the willfully ignorant masses, are maximizing multiple bamboozles in an attempt to expand their wealth, optimize their power, and exploit the system to control the masses in an AI based technocratic gulag. We are nothing but expendable pieces in their demented game of Risk.

These Deep State fiends are the ruling social order doing everything in their power to avoid being swept away by the forces of this Fourth Turning, including mass murder (Covid jabs), global war, assassinations, planned starvation, imprisonment of truth tellers, and unrelenting propaganda designed to bamboozle the public into believing these totalitarian charlatans are actually doing these things (AI data centers, Iran War for Israel, kidnapping world leaders, waging a proxy war against Russia, threatening to invade multiple sovereign nations) for their own good. These bamboozles did not happen by happenstance.

As Edward Bernays explained in his 1928 book – Propaganda – there has always been a ruling elite who knew they could manipulate the minds of the masses in order to control the world. Back then they only had newspapers and radio. Bernays would be flabbergasted at the propaganda tools currently in the hands of the bamboozlers. Convincing a massively dumbed down populace of anything today is like taking candy from a baby.

“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society. In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind.” ~ Edward Bernays in Propaganda

The bamboozles went into overdrive at the start of this century. Those who profit from chaos, war and debt were down in the dumps, as there were no major conflicts in the world, deficits and government spending were under control, the internet was going to make our lives easier, and the optimism of a new century was lifting the spirits of America. The Deep State bad actors needed to rectify the situation and the 9/11 bamboozle was just what the doctor ordered. This inside job, probably in cooperation with Israel, ignited two decades of war, tens of trillions in government debt creation, implementation of the surveillance state through the pre-written Patriot Act, 100% increase in inflation (using the fake CPI number), and multiple bubbles/crashes used to lure the masses into consumer debt servitude to the Wall Street banking cabal.

Sagan feared the dumbing down of America through government indoctrination centers, known as public schools, would lead to a celebration of ignorance (have you seen the high school graduation videos floating around on-line?). With a populace unable or unwilling to think critically, the mouthpieces for the ruling elite in the media were easily able to manipulate the emotions, fears and greed of the average person and convince them to act in a way that would benefit the agenda of our overlord class. The slow decay of our culture turned into an avalanche of degeneracy and deceit.

Our world is supposedly driven by science and technology, but our schools matriculate mostly morons into society. The elitists who declare themselves scientific and medical experts (Fauci, Birx, Gates), technological geniuses (Musk, Karp, Altman, Theil) and social philanthropists (Soros, Adelson, Hoffman) are either mass murders, chaos coordinators, grifters, war mongers, and/or totalitarian-minded pretentious traitors to mankind. These people have far too much power and dominion over the narratives spun to sway the public. Truth is of no interest to these demons. The current combustible amalgam of public ignorance and elitist wealth and power is destined to ignite and create a conflagration which could burn our nation to the ground.

I certainly have a foreboding we have entered an age of darkness, where the “invisible government” (aka Deep State), who have relied on Huxley’s soft totalitarianism, where the masses have learned to love their servitude, have begun to lose control of the narrative, as financial collapse looms, and are now turning to Orwell’s “boot stamping on your face forever” totalitarianism, with AI data (Surveillance) centers providing the backbone and enforcement mechanism for this authoritarian dystopian future.

“There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always— do not forget this, Winston— always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face— forever. ” ~ George Orwell, 1984

The Covid bamboozle perfectly captures the willful ignorance of the vast majority of Americans, who refuse to accept the unequivocal fact they were bamboozled by Fauci, Gates, Trump, Biden, and hundreds of other so called bought off “experts”. As a key element of their de-population agenda, a fake pandemic with a billion dollar marketing campaign; 24/7 media fear propaganda; never ending lies about cases, deaths, and treatments; killing patients with remdesivir and vents while paying hospitals per death; suppressing ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine because they worked; and forcing a toxic gene therapy (not a vaccine) to be injected into billions of guinea pigs across the world. Despite real scientific proof the shots killed people and will continue to kill people into the future, most of the jabbed prefer to remain bamboozled because the truth of their acquiescence to authority is too painful to confront. Willfully ignorant they prefer to remain.

Sagan foresaw the gutting of American jobs, the rise of technology in the hands of a few, and a populace so bamboozled by those in control of the narrative, they were incapable of resistance and unable to discern truth from falsehood. The unpayable national debt exceeding $39 trillion and the unfunded social welfare liabilities exceeding $200 trillion are guaranteed to create a governmental financial collapse. Credit card debt, mortgage debt, auto loan debt and student loan debt are at all-time highs, with defaults accelerating. We are losing a war, AI is taking our jobs, inflation is soaring, and the average schmuck is buying stocks at all-time highs, when a crash is inevitable. It seems Americans love being bamboozled, until the consequences land on their heads like a ton of bricks. Sagan warned us.

“I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time — when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness… ~ Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World

We are currently experiencing the biggest bamboozle of them all – Trump’s presidency. His Make America Great shtick convinced millions to vote for him, but a huge chunk voted for him because his 75 IQ cackling hyena whore of an opponent was an absolutely unacceptable alternative. Virtually everything he promised to do turned out to be a lie. His extreme narcissism was perfectly described by Sam Vaknin in the quote above. Trump stated how little he cares about the financial plight of average Americans when questioned recently.

Trump was going to end the Ukraine war in a week. He was going to keep us out of Middle East wars. He was going to reduce the deficit. DOGE was going to reduce government waste and save trillions. Gas was going to be $2.00 a gallon. Tariffs were going to restore manufacturing to America. He was going to release ALL the Epstein files. He was going to deport all the illegal invaders. He was going to prosecute all his enemies who stole the 2020 election and persecuted him and the J6ers. He was going to make future elections safe and fraud free. Everyone was going to get DOGE checks. Everyone was going to get tariff checks.

It is crystal clear to anyone with two brain cells Trump has failed to deliver on any of these campaign promises. The country was clearly bamboozled, but the MAGA NPCs reject all evidence of the bamboozle. They are captured and unwilling to recognize they were lied to and misled. It is too painful for those who saw Trump as some sort of savior to admit they have been bamboozled. The older I get, the less sure I am about what is happening in this world and who is responsible for the insanity. When every conspiracy theory comes true, I am now inclined to believe the worst scenario in every staged situation presented to the public by our overlords. Was Trump in on the bamboozle from the get go, or did something or someone “convince” him it was in his best interest to follow orders and set in motion the downfall of an empire?

In my estimation, the dystopian nightmare ignited by Trump at the start of 2026 is entirely related to the Epstein files and Israel blackmailing Trump, politicians in both parties, and billionaires who liked to rape children. Trump kidnapping foreign presidents; threatening to invade Greenland, Cuba and numerous other sovereign nations; turning on the America First patriots who got him elected (Massie, MTG, Carlson); embracing the traitorous Israel Firsters (Levin, Loomer, Huckabee); ramping up the Ukraine proxy war against Putin; and ultimately being Netanyahu’s bitch by insanely going to war with Iran under the false pretense of them being 2 weeks away from a nuclear bomb they would use on Israel, has set in motion a series of financial, political, and societal events which will have disastrous consequences for Americans and the world.

And still, the vast majority of Americans are either oblivious to the gathering storm, or openly cheering on their own downfall, because they refuse to believe they have been bamboozled once again. This tweet from X poster MW4Liberty succinctly and brutally captures this moment in time:

We live in an open air prison called America.

Debt slaves to central bankers who counterfeit our money.

Ruled by Baal worshiping pedos who traffic kids and souls.

Many of you out there?

Perfectly content in your recliner.

TV on. Phone in hand. Brain off. Worshiping a politician.

Mention any of this? Question the war?

You EXPLODE. You rush to defend your chains. That’s the conditioning talking.

The fear. The manufactured consent.

The illusion of choice they programmed into you.

Your “agency” is a f***ing joke.

They own your thoughts, your outrage, your vote. You’re a good little order taker.

History will not remember you well.

We have passed the point of no return. It is impossible to wake a vast majority of bamboozled boobs from their self-induced stupor. They will need to experience a banquet of consequences, on par with the Red Wedding scene from Game of Thrones, before reality will set in. There are a tireless, irate minority of men and women who still adhere to Samuel Adams‘ belief in prevailing over the forces of evil by setting brush fires of freedom in the minds of men. I consider myself a member of this small club.

This irate minority who form the resistance to the Deep State and their malicious machinations are why those pulling the levers of our society are accelerating their diabolical plans. They are scared of us because they are actually the minority, pretending to be the majority. They have abruptly abandoned their climate hoax bamboozle because it does not jive with their new AI surveillance center bamboozle that requires more electricity and water than exists on the planet today.

At the outset of 2026 you barely heard a peep about data centers. Now, there is a frenzy of planned data (surveillance) centers because they are the key cog for pedo-billionaires to technologically control the global population through permanent surveillance, dominion over your financial assets, social credit scores based on your obedience to their commands, and ability to ruin your life with the push of a button. Believing their bamboozles has given you the illusion of freedom. But your controllers have decided the illusion has become to expensive to maintain, so these data (surveillance) centers are the brick wall at the back of the theater, described many years ago by Frank Zappa. Our choice is sedately accept our techno-imprisonment or fight using any means necessary. This is how Fourth Turnings roll. Good luck and Godspeed.

“The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it’s profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.” ~ Frank Zappa

by Jim Quinn at theburningplatform.com on June 3, 2026

Message from Jesus: Find Your God Spark

 

The problem in the world right now

is that people believe in Jesus,

but they don't believe they are Jesus.

People ask Jesus... "protect me, help me, save me”.

But people refuse to BE JESUS.

People on earth need to drop their religious associations in order to fully understand his most powerful message that:

JESUS IS US. WE ARE JESUS.

WE ARE GOD. GOD IS US.

Each person must drop the belief that's separating them from God, from Jesus. Each one of us needs to

find our God spark... the light, the Source within us.

How do we do that? Only by starting to

see ourselves as the CREATOR,

how we influence the reality around us, how we manifest what it is that we want in our life. We are the creator of life here on this planet. We forget that we create things. We're so consumed by distraction and fear that we forget that we are the Creator. We need to remember and bring back our God spark by reminding ourselves of being the Creator of this reality, of this life, of choosing to be here in this body with these hands and this touch and feel and smell and taste. We have to remember ourselves as the God, as Jesus, as the creator, as this God spark, but without the attachment, without the ego.

A day is coming soon when everyone is going to be prompted to find that in themselves. The earth is about to be infused with his frequency, his beautiful swirling golden Christ consciousness energy... across the entire planet. It's going to happen in our lifetime. It's going to be a moment of great judgment. Everyone's going to be infused with this Christ conscious energy. It will be a moment of choice when this energy comes through.

It's not how good of a person are you. It's not how much you love humanity. It's not how much unity you want for the world. It's not how spiritual you are, how much you read the Bible, how much you pray, how much you believe in aliens. None of that. It all comes down to only one thing:

HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE YOURSELF?

The people who are angry and spiteful and corrupt and narcissistic who are projecting their inner hatred and fear and judgment onto anyone and anything else in order to justify the lack of unconditional love they have for themselves will be faced with their own image looking back at them from a mirror.

A time of great judgment is coming, but

we're not being judged by God.

We're not being judged by Jesus.

We're being judged by ourselves

and the love that we may or may not have.

So, how do you show yourself love? How are you not showing yourself love? How can you talk nicer to yourself? How can you be kinder to yourself? Have more compassion for yourself if you're angry or resentful or fearful?

We approach a moment when everything will change. And we are being prompted to take this radical responsibility for ourselves, for the reality that we're creating, for the life that we're living.

Stop giving your power away. Everything in this reality is a reflection of you. If you're not right internally, if you're not aligned, if you're not harmonious, if you're not full of unconditional love and gratitude for the simple fact of being alive, then you're missing the point.

Everything in this world right now is here playing out to lead us back to the only thing that truly exists, which is you... as a God spark, as a fractal of the whole. Everything you see around you... it's just a fever dream for your soul. It's playing out exactly the way you need it to play out in order to learn the lessons needed.

You don't always have to be learning lessons. You don't always have to be clearing karma. You don't always have to be suffering just because you're used to suffering. You can enjoy. You can relax. The more enjoyment you find in the little things, the more gratitude you have for the simplest expressions, the more enjoyment you bring... the more abundance you attract.

Whatever you focus on right now is being amplified... so be hyper-vigilant of your mindset. Be hyper-aware of your heart space. Bring discernment to the people in your life that lift you up and the people in your life that bring you down... because every time you choose to have that person around, to take that action, to have that thought, you're making a choice in love or fear... and that's determining every other timeline you hop into.

If you take the time once a day, every day, you can change your entire life, you can truly wake up in a different reality... one where you are provided for, where you are protected, where you are abundant, where you are safe, where you have joy and happiness.

There will always be challenge... because we live in a lower frequency, full of polarity. But when challenge happens, you can look at it with ease and grace and gratitude rather than reaction and attachment and aversion and fear and anxiety.

You are the creator of this reality. And the more you understand that, the easier it will be to step into that role and create the life that you deserve to live.

We are in this together and what an incredible time to be alive right here, right now... at the precipice of the greatest awakening humanity has ever seen. So do something with it. Change your life for the better. Take that leap of faith. I promise you there are only good things waiting on the other side of change.

as channeled by Elizabeth April on YouTube @ElizabethApril on June 15, 2026

Star Travel

 

How do ET's travel from one star to another? It would seem that because the distances are so great, ET's must use things like portals and wormholes... but that's not the answer. Fundamentally, everything exists everywhere at the same time. So it's all a matter of localizing the pattern, so to speak. It's a matter of understanding that location is not something an object exists in. Location is a vibrational variable in the object itself. So in other words, an object here has a different locational vibrational variable than the same object over there. If you learn what that variable here is and you can isolate it and change it to the location vibrational variable over there... then this object has to stop existing here, blink out and start existing over there instantly. No travel happens. It simply stops existing here and starts existing over there because you have re-identified its location in the universe... because it's all here and all now. So it's a matter simply of learning how to access that locational energy variable in an object and re-identify its location, so then it has to start existing in that location. So travel for them between stars is literally almost instantaneous using that methodology.

by Darryl Anka on YouTube @HeartCoherenceCollaborative on June 18, 2026

Olive Oil Every Night Before Bed

 

What if one of the most powerful night time recovery tools for your body has been sitting quietly in your kitchen this entire time? Not in a prescription bottle, not in a trendy supplement, but in a simple dark glass bottle of extra virgin olive oil. Most people think of olive oil as something you drizzle over salad or cook vegetables with. But researchers studying aging, inflammation, brain health, and metabolism have uncovered something fascinating. When consumed in the evening, especially before bed, olive oil may support several of the body's most important overnight repair systems.

As we age that matters more because your body does its deepest healing while you sleep. During the night, your brain clears metabolic waste. Your muscles rebuild damaged tissue. Your liver processes toxins. Your blood vessels relax and repair. Your immune system recalibrates itself. Even your skin regenerates more rapidly during deep sleep.

But here's the problem. Many adults in their 50s, 60s, and 70s are not getting the quality of sleep or cellular recovery they once did. And often it's not because the body is broken. It's because the body is missing the signals and nutrients it needs to perform these natural repair processes efficiently.

What's happening in your body is not random. It's physiological. Inflammation rises. Blood sugar becomes less stable overnight. Digestive function slows. The brain becomes more vulnerable to oxidative stress and over time these small disruptions accumulate into fatigue, stiffness, poor sleep, brain fog, and accelerated aging. This is where olive oil becomes far more interesting than most people realize.

Extra virgin olive oil contains powerful polyphenols, natural plant compounds. Extra virgin olive oil is liquid gold that interacts with inflammation pathways, blood vessels, gut bacteria, and even the brain itself. Certain compounds in olive oil appear to activate cellular cleanup systems linked to longevity and healthy aging. Others help stabilize blood sugar and support heart health during sleep.

This is not about magic foods or exaggerated health claims. You don't need to fight your body... just understand it.

So what actually happens if you drink a small amount of olive oil before bed consistently? Let's look at the science of overnight repair, digestion, inflammation, brain health, metabolism, and sleep quality... and discuss practical protocols that make this habit safer and more effective, especially for older adults, because your body is designed to heal itself when given the right environment.

In this post we're counting the brain protein linked to cognitive decline down from number seven to number one, ranked from powerful to absolutely extraordinary... each benefit builds on the last. And by the time we get to number one, I think you'll understand why I call olive oil the night time miracle that nobody told you about.

Let's begin. Coming in at number seven, and this one surprises almost everyone I mention it to. Drinking extra virgin olive oil before bed can dramatically improve the quality of your sleep. And the reason why has everything to do with how your aging nervous system responds to inflammation. Poor sleep in adults over 60 is rarely just a matter of stress or bad habits. More often, it is driven by what scientists call neuro-inflammation... low-grade chronic inflammation inside the brain that disrupts the production of melatonin and interferes with the deep restorative sleep stages your body desperately needs.

Think of neuro-inflammation like a low fire burning inside a factory at night. The workers, your brain cells, can't do their repair jobs properly because they're constantly dealing with the smoke and heat. After age 65, this inflammatory burden increases significantly and sleep quality tends to suffer as a direct result. This is where olive oil becomes remarkable.

Researchers at the University of Seville published findings showing that oleocanthal, the same natural compound I mentioned earlier, functions in a manner biochemically similar to ibuprofen. It inhibits the same inflammatory enzymes called COX-1 and COX-2 without the gastro-intestinal side effects that make anti-inflammatory medications so problematic for older adults.

When you consume a tablespoon of high quality extra virgin olive oil about 30 minutes before sleep, you're essentially giving your brain a gentle natural anti-inflammatory signal right at the moment when it needs to transition into repair mode. A study from the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry found that participants who consumed olive oil polyphenols in the evening reported a 28% improvement in sleep continuity, meaning they woke up less frequently during the night and spent more time in the deeper stages of sleep.

For someone in their 70s who may already be struggling with fragmented sleep, that is a meaningful life-changing difference. Practically speaking, if you want to get better sleep and reduced brain inflammation, you want to use one tablespoon of cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, the kind where you can actually taste a slight peppery bite in the back of your throat. That bite is the oleocanthal. No bite, no benefit.

Take it straight or stir it into a small amount of warm water with a pinch of sea salt. For a synergy boost, pair it with a small handful of tart cherries or a cup of tart cherry juice, which contains natural melatonin. Together, the anti-inflammatory action of the oil and the melatonin in the cherries work on two separate pathways simultaneously, giving your sleep quality a double advantage.

And speaking of working on multiple pathways at once, what I'm about to tell you next, benefit number six, is something that will matter enormously to anyone who is ever worried about their heart health after a certain age.

Number six is about your heart and what happens to your arteries while you sleep, and how olive oil can change everything about that process for the better. Here is something I explain to every patient who comes to me concerned about their cardiovascular health. The most dangerous time for your heart is not during the day when you're active and your circulation is robust. The most dangerous time is in the early morning hours between 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. when blood pressure tends to surge and arterial stiffness is at its highest. This is why so many heart attacks occur not during exertion, but during sleep or upon waking.

After age 70, arterial walls lose elasticity, a process accelerated by inflammation and oxidative stress, and that stiffness puts enormous pressure on the heart itself. Extra virgin olive oil consumed before bed begins working directly on this problem. The oleic acid in olive oil, which makes up approximately 73% of its fat content, has been shown to reduce LDL oxidation, which is the process by which bad cholesterol becomes truly dangerous. Unoxidized LDL is relatively harmless. Oxidized LDL is what embeds in arterial walls and begins building plaques. A clinical trial conducted at the University of Navarra followed 296 adults over the age of 65 for three years and found that those who consumed olive oil daily showed a 22% reduction in oxidized LDL markers compared to the control group.

But the truly fascinating part is what happens specifically during night time consumption. Your liver does the majority of its cholesterol regulation work between midnight and 3:00 a.m. By consuming olive oil before bed, you're providing your liver with a dose of healthy monounsaturated fats and polyphenols right before it enters this critical metabolic window. Think of it like giving the night shift workers at a factory their tools and supplies right before they go to work. They clock in rather than searching for what they need in the dark.

One tablespoon before bed is the sweet spot. If you are currently taking any heart medications, please discuss this with your physician first... not because olive oil is dangerous, but because its cholesterol-lowering effects can occasionally interact with dosage requirements. For synergy, pair your olive oil with a small piece of dark chocolate, 85% cacao or higher. The flavanols in dark chocolate and the polyphenols in olive oil have been shown in a University of L'Aquila study to work together to improve endothelial function, the health of the cells that line your blood vessels by up to 40% compared to either one alone. Moving to number five... and this one is going to resonate deeply with anyone who wakes up stiff, achy, or in joint pain... because what olive oil does inside your joints overnight is nothing short of remarkable. Number five is the overnight joint restoration that happens when olive oil polyphenols reach your synovial tissue.

Synovial tissue is the thin layer of cells that lines your joints and produces the lubricating fluid that allows your bones to move smoothly against each other. Think of it like the oil seal inside a mechanical engine. After 60, that seal starts to thin. The fluid production slows and inflammation begins to erode the cartilage beneath it. This is the biological foundation of osteoarthritis, which affects more than 32 million Americans, the vast majority of them over the age of 60.

Here is what the science tells us. Oleocanthol, beyond its general anti-inflammatory properties, has been shown in research from the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens to specifically inhibit the inflammatory cascade that drives cartilage degradation. It targets a protein called Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) which is the primary chemical signal that tells your body to break down joint cartilage. When you block IL-1β, you don't just reduce pain, you potentially slow the structural destruction of the joint itself. A 12-week study published in the journal Nutrients found that participants with moderate knee osteoarthritis who consumed extra virgin olive oil daily reported a 41% reduction in pain scores and a 38% improvement in joint mobility compared to the control group... 41% reduction in pain without a single prescription medication.

The reason night time consumption matters here specifically is that your body's tissue repair processes, including cartilage maintenance, are regulated by growth hormone, which peaks during deep sleep, particularly in the first two hours after you fall asleep. By consuming olive oil before bed, you're ensuring that the anti-inflammatory and tissue supportive compounds are present in your bloodstream precisely when your body is trying to repair damaged joint tissue.

Take one tablespoon 30 to 45 minutes before bed for enhanced absorption into joint tissue. Pair it with a source of vitamin C. A small glass of warm lemon water works beautifully. Vitamin C is essential for collagen synthesis and collagen is the primary structural protein in both cartilage and the synovial membrane. Together, olive oil's anti-inflammatory power and vitamin C's collagen supporting role create a night time joint restoration protocol that is simple, affordable, and evidence-based.

Coming up at number four, we're talking about your gut and what happens in your digestive system overnight when olive oil is present may surprise you, especially if you've been told that gut health is only relevant for younger people. It is, in fact, even more critical as we age. Number four is the gut microbiome restoration that olive oil triggers during your sleeping hours.

Let me give you a statistic that should stop you cold. Research from the American Gut Project found that adults over the age of 70 have on average 35% less microbial diversity in their gut compared to adults in their 30s. That loss of diversity, a condition scientists call gut dyspiosis, is directly linked to increased systemic inflammation, weakened immunity, impaired nutrient absorption, and even cognitive decline.

Your gut is not just a digestive organ. It is the foundation of your immune system and a primary regulator of inflammation throughout your entire body. Extra virgin olive oil is one of the most powerful pre-biotic substances we have identified. The polyphenols in olive oil, specifically hydroxytyrosol and oleuropein, are not absorbed in the small intestine. They travel intact to the large intestine where they selectively feed and stimulate the growth of beneficial bacteria like lactobacillus and bifidobacterium, while simultaneously suppressing harmful bacterial species.

A study conducted at the University of Hainan found that participants who consumed olive oil polyphenols for 30 days showed a significant increase in lactobacillus species and a measurable reduction in gut inflammatory markers. Night time is the optimal window for this gut restoration because your digestive system undergoes what researchers call the migrating motor complex, a series of wave-like muscular contractions that clean your intestines between meals. This process is most active during sleep, and having olive oil present in your system during this overnight cleansing cycle amplifies its gut supporting effects considerably.

One tablespoon before bed taken with a small amount of warm chamomile tea creates a particularly synergistic combination. Chamomile contains apigenin, a flavonoid that supports the gut lining's integrity, while olive oil provides the pre-biotic polyphenols. Together, they support what gastroenterologists call gut barrier function, the ability of your intestinal wall to keep harmful bacteria and inflammatory compounds from leaking into your bloodstream.

Number three... After a certain age, your muscles become one of the most critical determinants of how long you live and how well you live. Olive oil's extraordinary ability for gut microbiome healing to combat sarcopenia, the silent muscle wasting disease that begins stealing your strength and independence long before most people notice it happening.

Sarcopenia is the gradual loss of muscle mass and strength that occurs with aging. After the age of 60, the average person loses between 1 and 2% of their muscle mass every single year without intervention. By age 75, that can translate to a 30 to 35% reduction in total muscle mass compared to your peak. And with that loss comes increased fall risk, reduced metabolic rate, insulin resistance, and a dramatic decline in functional independence.

The reason muscle loss accelerates with age is partly due to a phenomenon called anabolic resistance - a big term that simply means your aging muscles become less responsive to the protein you eat. In a 30-year-old, eating a high protein meal triggers robust muscle protein synthesis. In a 70-year-old, the same meal produces a significantly blunted response. Your muscles in a sense have become hard of hearing when it comes to the signals that tell them to grow and repair. This is where olive oil performs in a way that genuinely astonishes. A study from the University of Connecticut found that olive oil polyphenols, specifically oleuropein, can directly stimulate the production of a hormone called IGF-1 or insulin-like growth factor 1 in muscle tissue. IGF-1 is one of the primary signals that tells muscle cells to synthesize new protein and resist breakdown. The study found a 25% increase in muscle protein synthesis rates in older adults who supplemented with olive oil polyphenols for eight weeks compared to a placebo group. Additionally, extra virgin olive oil has been shown to reduce the activity of a protein called myostatin, which functions essentially as a break on muscle growth. As we age, myostatin activity tends to increase, further accelerating muscle loss. Olive oil's polyphenols appear to partially release that break, allowing your body to better maintain and even rebuild muscle tissue, particularly during the overnight protein synthesis window that occurs during deep sleep.

For maximum muscle benefit, consume your tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil approximately 30 minutes before bed, paired with a small serving of protein, a few ounces of cottage cheese, a boiled egg, or a small portion of Greek yogurt. The casein protein in dairy products releases slowly over several hours, meaning it's still available to your muscles at 2 and 3 in the morning when growth hormone peaks and muscle repair is most active. Together, with olive oil's ability to enhance the anabolic response, this combination forms what I consider the best muscle preservation protocol available to people over 60.

Number two deals with blood sugar regulation and the prevention of the metabolic crisis that silently undermines health in millions of older Americans every single night while they sleep. Olive oil has the powerful ability to stabilize blood sugar overnight and protect aging metabolic systems from the destructive cycle of night time glucose spikes and insulin dysregulation.

Here's something that most people and frankly many physicians overlook. Blood sugar fluctuates significantly during sleep. In people with insulin resistance, which affects more than 50% of adults over the age of 65, whether diagnosed or not, blood sugar can spike in the early morning hours due to a process called the dawn phenomenon, where the liver releases stored glucose between 4 and 8 a.m. in anticipation of waking. In a healthy metabolic system, insulin manages this surge smoothly. In an insulin resistance system, it causes a significant spike that night after night, year after year, contributes to cellular aging, vascular damage, and dramatically increased risk of type 2 diabetes and dementia.

Extra virgin olive oil consumed before bed has been shown to address this problem through multiple pathways simultaneously. A study published in the journal Diabetes Care found that adding olive oil to an evening meal reduced post-meal blood glucose response by up to 22% compared to a control meal without olive oil. The mechanisms include slowing gastric emptying, meaning food is released from the stomach more gradually into the intestine, preventing sharp glucose spikes, as well as directly improving insulin sensitivity in muscle and liver cells through the action of oleic acid on cellular membrane receptors.

After the age of 70, insulin sensitivity naturally declines by approximately 30 to 40% compared to young adulthood, partly due to mitochondrial dysfunction... mitochondria being the tiny energy generating powerhouses inside every cell. When mitochondria become less efficient, cells struggle to process glucose properly and the overflow ends up damaging blood vessels and nerves. The polyphenols in extra virgin olive oil have been shown in research from the University of Naples to improve mitochondrial efficiency in muscle cells, essentially helping those energy factories run more cleanly and effectively.

For blood sugar regulation, timing is everything. Consume your tablespoon of olive oil 20 to 30 minutes before your last small meal or snack of the evening. Pair it with a small amount of apple cider vinegar, just one teaspoon stirred into warm water. Research from Arizona State University found that apple cider vinegar consumed before meals reduce post-meal blood glucose levels by 19% in people with insulin resistance. When combined with olive oil's gastric slowing and insulin sensitizing effects, you have a remarkably powerful, remarkably simple tool for overnight metabolic protection.

Now we have arrived at number one... extra virgin olive oil's emerging role in brain protection, specifically, its ability to enhance the glymphatic system, which is your brain's overnight self-cleaning mechanism, and in doing so, help clear the toxic proteins associated with cognitive decline.

Let me explain the lymphatic system because this is one of the most important discoveries in neuroscience in the past two decades and most people have never heard of it. While you sleep, your brain shrinks slightly, literally, allowing cerebral spinal fluid to flow through the spaces between brain cells like a powerful wash cycle. This system, called the glymphatic system, flushes out metabolic waste products that accumulate during the day, including a protein called beta amyloid which is the primary toxic protein that forms plaques in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. Without sufficient high quality sleep and a properly functioning lymphatic system, beta-amyloid accumulates night after night, year after year, decade after decade until the burden becomes catastrophic.

Researchers at Temple University, led by Dr. Dominico Protocol, published groundbreaking research showing that oleocanthal, the anti-inflammatory compound in extra virgin olive oil, can stimulate the mechanisms by which the brain clears beta-amyloid and another toxic protein called tau. The researchers observed a 50% increase in the efficiency of this clearance process with regular oleocanthal exposure. 50%!!!

The reason night time consumption is so critical for this benefit specifically is that the glymphatic system operates almost exclusively during sleep. It is essentially inactive during waking hours. So if you want olive oil's brain protective compounds to be present and active when your brain's cleaning system turns on, you must consume it before sleep. Drinking olive oil in the morning or at lunch does not deliver the same neurological benefit. The timing is not incidental. It is the entire mechanism.

Extra virgin olive oil may be one of the most accessible tools we have to support that system. For maximum brain benefit, take one tablespoon of ultra high quality one-brain detox and glymphatic system benefits... extra virgin olive oil ideally with a polyphenol content above 300 mg per kilogram, which should be listed on quality certified labels, 30 to 45 minutes before bed.

Sleep in a lateral position, so on your side rather than your back. As research from Stony Brook University found that the glymphatic system functions up to 25% more efficiently in the lateral sleeping position... and pair your olive oil with a small serving of blueberries or a teaspoon of ground turmeric in warm almond milk. Blueberries contain anthocyanins that have been shown to cross the blood-brain barrier and reduce neuro-inflammation while curcumin and turmeric may further inhibit amyloid aggregation. Together this trio... olive oil, blueberries and turmeric represents what I would describe as the most evidence-supported night time brain protection protocol available to aging adults today... without a single prescription required.

Here is what I need you to understand before we close. You are not too old. You are not too far along. The research I have shared with you today, the sleep improvements, the heart protection, the joint restoration, the gut healing, the muscle preservation, the blood sugar stabilization, and the extraordinary brain clearing benefits of extra virgin olive oil... none of it comes with an age limit.

One tablespoon every night before bed. That is the entire protocol. Costs less than a dollar a day. It requires no prescription, no equipment, no gym membership, and no dramatic life overhaul. Just a tablespoon of liquid gold timed with intention and paired with knowledge. Your independence is worth fighting for... the ability to carry your own groceries, remember your grandchildren's birthdays, wake up without aching joints, and get through the night without fear. I have spent three decades watching people transform their health in their 60s, 70s, and 80s. I have seen it happen again and again, and every time it starts with a decision, a decision to stop accepting decline as inevitable and to start using what the science actually tells us.

from YouTube @Healthylifesecrets-51k on June 13, 2026

2026: Direction of a Trumped Up World

 

With a whimper rather than a bang, the world has become a different place than it was in January 2021, when Donald Trump left office. Almost everything we are now told about the global status quo is mistaken—largely because critics focus only on what Trump says rather than on what he does.

Rather, the Left—and some on the Right—are furious whenever Trump tweets, says, or does something that offends their delicate sense of taste, tradition, and decorum. Their outrage leads them to ignore whether this "Art of the Deal" theater ultimately leaves the United States stronger. More often than not, it does.

We are not bogged down in a forever war with Iran; we are engaged in over four months of frustrating negotiations with a theocracy that has no intention of giving up its nuclear weapons and ability to bully and undermine most of the Middle East.

Israel is not without friends and is more regionally dominant than at any point in its history. Radical Islam—whether in the form of the Iranian regime, Hezbollah, Hamas, or the Houthis—is at its weakest point in half a century.

China is recalibrating nearly all of the assumptions it has held for the past two decades. Russia is humiliated and hemorrhaging. Latin America is more pro-American than ever before.

So let's start with Latin America.

In 2013, John Kerry boasted to the Organization of American States that "the era of the Monroe Doctrine is over."

He may not have anticipated how naturally his declaration would be interpreted throughout the Americas: that the Obama administration would no longer act unilaterally to prevent distant, hostile regimes from establishing spheres of influence in the Western Hemisphere. And indeed, Latin America subsequently witnessed a wave of left-wing—and sometimes overtly communist—governments emerging during the Obama and later Biden administrations. But that left-wing wave is over.

Instead, here is where things stand as of July 2026: Latin America has swung decisively away from communism and toward Washington over the last few years. Broadly speaking, the governing pro-American or right-leaning administrations include Argentina (Javier Milei), Chile (Jose Antonio Kast), Bolivia (Rodrigo Paz Pereira), Paraguay (Santiago Pena), Ecuador (Daniel Noboa), Panama (Jose Raul Mulino), Honduras (Nasry Asfura), Costa Rica (Laura Fernandez), and El Salvador (Nayib Bukele).

Guatemala and the Dominican Republic are both pro-U.S., and new conservative governments will soon take power in Colombia and Peru. Only Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Uruguay remain governed by hard-left administrations that are either openly anti-American or friendlier to the China-Iran-Russia axis than to the United States.

Why these dramatic changes? There are many reasons, but one stands out: the U.S. now helps its friends and harms its enemies.

China is now backing away from its efforts to control the Panama Canal in the face of U.S. pressure. Venezuela is no longer a Stalinist bully exporting death and destruction to its neighbors. Instead, Trump captured and jailed its thuggish Chavista president, Nicolas Maduro. Russia and China once bought sanctioned Venezuelan oil on the cheap—but no longer. Almost all illegal immigration from Mexico and Latin America has abruptly ceased, for the first time in history.

How about our North American neighbors?

The Carney government in Canada is finally rethinking its pro-Chinese, Europhilic, anti-Americanism—after welching on its 2 percent defense commitment, running up a $50 billion trade surplus with the United States, and loosening security along its side of the border. Now a new Canadian-American relationship is emerging. Canada is finally working to meet its defense commitments. All trade issues are on the table. And the shared border is more securely patrolled.

Trump has enormous leverage over an often-duplicitous Mexico.

That country's anti-American posture is hardly surprising, given the concessions the United States has long extended to it. Mexico receives some $65 billion annually in remittances, much of it sent by illegal aliens who are often subsidized through American entitlement programs. Most had their entry into the U.S. effectively greenlighted by Mexico City.

Mexico has run up a $200 billion trade surplus under the guise of "free trade." And its drug-exporting cartels have killed thousands of Americans while pouring billions of dollars in drug profits into the Mexican economy. Trump, however, can sharply tax remittances, reduce Mexico's trade surpluses, halt all illegal and much legal immigration, and end cartel infiltration—realities that Mexico apparently still has not fully grasped.

The quagmire of the Middle East?

The Middle East is now suddenly a different place. Whatever the final denouement with Iran, Tehran has lost a half-century and half-trillion-dollar investment in its military and nuclear industrial complex. The once-feared bully of the Muslim Middle East has been humiliated and exposed as a paper tiger, with its economy, and perhaps its very existence, now dependent on the disposition of the Trump administration. In its sporadic missile launches, Iran often leaves Israel alone because it knows the Jewish state can target any of its unhinged leaders whenever hostilities resume.

In a development that would once have seemed surreal, Israel is providing intelligence and missile defense to the Muslim Gulf states, which are effectively fighting alongside the United States and Israel against a fellow Muslim nation.

Hamas has been crushed. Hezbollah's once-feared missile arsenal and many of its crazy leaders have been largely eliminated. The Houthis, lacking any credible air defenses, know that every missile they launch at Israel or into the Red Sea could cost them another port facility or power station. Lebanon is reawakening from its 50-year coma.

Russia lost its last client in the Middle East with the fall of the Assad regime. Neither China nor Russia can any longer supply Iran by land, sea, or air. Nor can they purchase its sanctioned oil. America's allies are growing stronger, while the China-Russia axis grows weaker.

Soon the Strait of Hormuz—Iran's supposed trump card—will be nearly as irrelevant to global energy markets as it is already to the U.S. Existing pipelines that bypass the Gulf are being expanded. New ones are planned or already under construction to the Red Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Gulf of Oman beyond the Strait. The U.S. is the largest producer of oil and gas in history and does not need Middle Eastern oil or gas—or, for that matter, much of anything else besides.

And then there are our European allies.

Europe publicly despises Trump. Privately, however, many Europeans concede that his antics compelled them to meet their long-neglected 2 percent defense commitments and inspired their new pledges to spend 5 percent of GDP on defense. Although the medicine initially seemed worse than the disease, Europe now quietly acknowledges that Trump was right—and just in time to accelerate rearmament as Russia pressed westward.

If left unchecked, Europe's embrace of near-total disarmament, shocking demographic decline, unending hostility toward fossil fuels and nuclear energy, mass illegal immigration from the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere, and steadily expanding socialism will turn the continent into a third world hellhole.

The U.S. is allowing Ukraine both to manufacture Patriot missiles and to strike targets anywhere inside Russia. Yet Trump remains almost alone among Western leaders in describing the war as a tragic waste of hundreds of thousands of human lives that must end. At the same time, he has given Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy greater targeting leeway and access to more controversial weapons than any previous president.

In any case, our rival Russia is now in its weakest political, economic, and military condition since the post-Soviet chaos of the 1990s. Had anyone predicted five years ago that Russia would be importing gasoline or that buildings around the Kremlin would routinely be struck by drones, he would have been dismissed as delusional. Nor could anyone have imagined Russia suffering perhaps well over one million dead, wounded, missing, or captured in a Stalingrad-like slog of its own making in Ukraine—while losing perhaps half its arsenal of ships, tanks, and aircraft.

And China?

It is stagnating almost as rapidly as it once rose, burdened by a fertility rate of just 1.0 while importing 75 percent of its daily oil consumption, 42 percent of its natural gas, and 30 percent of its daily food. Its weapons exports are proving no match for Western arms.

An aging, increasingly isolated, and deeply paranoid leader knows that an invasion of Taiwan could prove as disastrous for China as the wars in Ukraine and Iran have been for Russia and Iran. Meanwhile, a gradually awakening West seems to be finally weary of Chinese mercantilism and is starting to demand reciprocity in trade.

An anti-bloc of Australia, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, and Taiwan is rearming as never before. These nations are also integrating more closely with American forces in response to the common existential threat posed by China.

Meanwhile, with the departure of the Biden-era DEI apparatus, the U.S. military has exceeded every one of its recruiting targets, all of which had, in recent years, been anemic. The Pentagon will soon oversee a defense budget approaching 5 percent of GDP, the highest since the Iraq and Afghanistan buildup in 2008-11. Its weapons procurement system is undergoing revolutionary changes, placing as much emphasis on quantity and affordability as on quality.

Small, high-tech defense start-ups are finally being given the chance to compete with ossified conglomerates that have long relied on lobbyists to preserve their costly monopolies. Even left-leaning Silicon Valley, once largely hostile to the defense industry, is now emulating the World War II-era War Production Board in its eagerness to ensure U.S. global supremacy in next-generation weaponry.

The booming U.S. economy now produces $31 trillion in goods and services, roughly one-third more than either the more populous European Union or China. America is pulling ahead in most of the next-generation fields of rocketry, satellite launches, space exploration, artificial intelligence, robotics, genetic engineering, and cryptocurrency. Its stock market is at record highs.

Add it all up, and the picture is almost surreal: at the very moment the Left insists that the U.S. has grown weak and isolated, America and its allies occupy a position of global preeminence not seen since the end of World War II.

by Victor Davis Hansen at townhall.com on July 16, 2026

Altogether, Mr. Trump’s speech and document drops are obviously an effort to move election reform, the Save America Act, through Congress, where it has languished in a procedural miasma for months due to one man: Senate Majority Leader John Thune. The President’s emphasis last night on China’s election meddling is purposeful in ways not broadly apprehended, but I will tell you:

If Congress does not find a way to vote that bill out to Mr. Trump’s desk before they recess for the rest of the summer in late July, Mr. Trump will invoke an executive order under the National Emergencies Act (NEA) — Public Law 94-412; codified at 50 U.S.C. §§ 1601–1651 — requiring the fifty states to employ all the same provisions that are in the SAVE America Act for the 2026 midterm elections. Under the NEA, the federal courts cannot be used to fight or strike down the executive order; it can only be stopped by a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate.

If that is the course that this takes, you can expect Antifa and the Democratic-Socialist foot-soldiers to take to the streets this fall in a violently-amplified episode of “No Kings” demonstrations — because fair and honest elections with citizens-only voting will mean the end of the Democratic Party, and they know it. Last night’s move by President Trump is only the opening bid of a quickening game against the Deep State, and their partners-in-sedition. The game is gonna get rough now.

by James Howard Kunstler at kunstler.com on July 17, 2026

Ashwagandha

 

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is an adaptogenic herb used in Ayurvedic medicine to help the body resist physical and psychological stress. It is primarily taken to reduce anxiety, lower cortisol levels, and improve sleep quality, with clinical trials supporting its efficacy for generalized anxiety disorder.

Key benefits and considerations include:

• Stress and Anxiety: Extracts significantly reduce perceived stress and fatigue, with optimal effects often seen at doses of 300–600 mg/day of standardized root extract.

• Sleep and Energy: It promotes restful sleep and may improve energy levels, endurance, and cognitive focus, particularly in individuals with insomnia or stress-related fatigue.

• Other Potential Uses: Research suggests it may support thyroid function in hypothyroidism, enhance testosterone levels in men, and improve reproductive health, though more robust studies are needed for some claims.

• Safety and Interactions: Common side effects include gastro-intestinal upset and drowsiness. It should be avoided by pregnant individuals and those with hyperthyroidism or autoimmune conditions. It can interact dangerously with sedatives, thyroid medications, diabetes drugs, and immuno-suppressants, so medical consultation is essential before use.

  ~AI

Ashwagandha is an ancient medicinal herb that's been around for centuries. It's actually an evergreen shrub that can be found in Africa, India, and the Middle East with multiple benefits that have been well documented in animal and human trials.

First of all, it's associated with stress reduction and improved mental well-being. It's been known for its adaptogenic properties, which means that it helps the body adapt to stress and promotes a sense of balance. It's been used for centuries to reduce stress, anxiety, and symptoms of depression.

One of the ways it does this is by regulating cortisol, a hormone related to response to stress, thereby producing a calmer state of mind and overall mental well-being. In a double-blind placebo-controlled study, Ashwagandha also improved sexual performance and testosterone levels.

The reduction in cortisol levels actually improves sleep and Ashwagandha has been shown over and over again to improve sleep... and getting a great night's sleep is one of the best things you can do to improve your overall health and improve your longevity.

Second, it enhances physical performance and endurance. Ashwagandha has been traditionally used to boost energy levels and enhance physical performance. Research shows that it improves cardiovascular endurance, increases muscle strength, and reduces exercise-induced muscle damage. It also improves exercise recovery time, reduces fatigue, and aids athletes engaging in regular physical activity.

It also has anti-inflammatory and immune boosting effects. Ashwagandha contains compounds that improve anti-inflammatory properties. These reduce inflammation in the body and can support a healthy immune system. Ashwagandha's immune-enhancing ability is attributed to its ability to enhance the performance of immune cells and promote overall immune function.

On top of all these incredible benefits, Ashwagandha can also uncouple your mitochondria, which is the ultimate way of improving life span and muscle performance... and it does this by improving mitochondrial biogenesis, making more mitochondria, and improving the ability of mitochondria to repair themselves and clean up their act without damaging themselves. Studies show that Ashwagandha given to animals increases animal life span by over 20% compared to animals that are not given Ashwagandha.

Are you going to notice an immediate difference if you begin taking it? Are you going to notice calmness or are you going to notice your stress levels reduced? You're not going to find it from the first dose in general. It has a cumulative effect.

How do you use Ashwagandha to normalize cortisol levels? Ashwagandha is an herb that's been used for 6000 years and so has stood the test of time with minimal side effects. It is hands down one of the best adaptogens or herbs that help you cope with stress as well as depression and has been shown to increase stamina, especially with endurance when you're exercising.

There's been a study with favorable results in the hormone cortisol which is probably the reason why it's helping shrink fibroids. Cortisol is typically an anti-inflammatory hormone so if we're reducing this anti-inflammatory hormone by taking Ashwagandha, why would you have more benefit? You would think a person with high cortisol would not have inflammation, but the confusion lies in the difference between acute stress and chronic stress. When you're chronically stressed you have an elevated amount of cortisol, very similar to when you have high levels of insulin, so you develop cortisol resistance, just like you would with insulin resistance... so cortisol resistance is a situation where you have high levels of cortisol, but the cortisol is not penetrated into the cell... so we don't really get the benefits of cortisol... we get the opposite sometimes. What Ashwagandha is doing is making cortisol more sensitive so the feedback loop can connect and the body doesn't have to produce so much. It can it can be lowered.

This is why Ashwagandha is also good for the immune system and has cognitive benefits to improve situations like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. There's also some benefits that it can help lower blood sugars because any time you're in stress mode the body will start burning more sugar. Even though your diet may be sugar-free you're actually living on sugar when you're going through chronic stress.

It's important to realize that the dose is variable, depending on lifestyle. If you're doing strengthening type exercises or endurance type exercises I would recommend taking about 300 milligrams twice a day - in the morning and before bed. You might want to take it for a period of time and then come off of it for a while and see how you feel... because it's for stress and it's very powerful and maybe you might not need it once you really change your lifestyle.

You want to use Ashwagandha as a tool - take it as needed. It's not meant to be taken for the rest of your life. If you don't exercise and you're a bit sedentary, you probably only need 100 milligrams once a day.

from YouTube @Drberg on July 20, 2023

You might have heard that Ashwagandha is one of the most powerful supplement that everybody should take on the regular basis. And yes, that is correct, but most people are using Ashwagandha in the wrong ways. So either they are getting side effects from it or they don't see any health benefits from using it. So I'm going to share with you three common mistakes that people make while taking Ashwagandha and the exact clinical protocol that has been shown in research studies to work.

Ashwagandha has several health benefits from improving your anxiety, improving your sleep, helping lower inflammation, getting more energy, anti-aging, and also improving your longevity. Plus, it improves person's immunity as well as help them lose weight. Research suggests that a majority of the chronic health problems that we are dealing with are caused by our body being stuck in survival mode. What this means is that the root of all of these chronic diseases is chronic underlying inflammation because of being physically stressed out all the time. I'm talking about cellular stress as well - the stress your body goes through because of the exposure to several toxins.

When your body is chronically stressed out it raises your cortisol level. Because of this, your body goes into a chronic inflammation mode which starts affecting your mitochondria, your adrenals, your heart, and your brain, which ultimately causes the body to start storing more fat... so you ultimately gain more weight. It also starts affecting your energy levels and starts affecting your brain activity, so you become brain foggy. And it starts affecting your hormones, so it affects your sleep as well as your gut.

That is why even though you are eating that perfect diet and working out on the daily basis you still feel that it is not working for you. You feel broken. You still don't feel that your health is perfect. The underlying reason for that is that cellular stress which you have not yet worked on. This is where Ashwagandha comes into the picture to help at the cellular level in reducing the stress on your cells.

So how does Ashwagandha do that? Ashwagandha is an adaptogen... it helps your cells in adapting to any kind of cellular stress, whether it is because of toxins or physiological stress or chemical stress or even psychological stress. So Ashwagandha is not a hormone. It is not a stimulant. It is not even a vitamin or a mineral. So it doesn't push your body to do anything. It supports your body at a cellular levels to perform at its highest potential.

That's where Ashwagandha is very different from any other supplement that you might be taking. That's the reason it has been becoming so popular and is a part of any wellness routine. But most people are using Ashwagandha in the wrong ways. Either they are getting side effects from it or it is not working for them.

The first mistake that people take is taking the wrong kind of Ashwagandha. If you go on Amazon right now and type in Ashwagandha, at least 100 different supplements will come up. A lot of these supplements are useless because they do not have the right quality and the quantity of Ashwagandha in them. The primary active ingredients in Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) are withanolides, a group of steroidal lactones responsible for the herb's adaptogenic and anti-inflammatory properties. Other significant bioactive compounds include alkaloids (such as withasomine and cuscohygrine), saponins (sitoindosides), and withaferin A, which is noted for its cytotoxic and potential anti-cancer effects.

So you need to find a supplement which has a minimum of 5 to 10% of withanolides and there are two forms of Ashwagandha one being KSM66 and the other being sensoral. They are the most studied and standard form of Ashwagandha extract world over. So look at your Ashwagandha supplement and make sure it does mention that does it come from KSM66 or sensoral or they have more than 5% of withanolides.

The second mistake is that a lot of people are taking Ashwagandha on an empty stomach. Ashwagandha is absorbed very well when taken with food.

The third most common mistake is the dosage and the timing of Ashwagandha. Either you can take it in the morning or before bed; it has different effects on your body depending on the time you take it. When you take Ashwagandha in the morning it helps your body in improving energy and decreasing fatigue. When you take it in the night it improves your sleep and anxiety levels.

If you are going through a lot of fatigue or tiredness or if you're stressed out a lot then taking Ashwagandha in the morning is the right way to doing it. But if you're taking Ashwagandha for improving your sleep or you have too much anxiety going on then taking Ashwagandha at night time is a better choice.

What I do with my patients is I split the dosage between morning and night so they get both benefits of Ashwagandha. Research shows the dosage levels have to be between 300 mg to 600 mg because that's the dosage that works for people in majority of cases. But here's the catch... do not start with highest dosage. You have to start slow and then build it up.

Let me share the protocol that I follow with my patients. First of all, I choose the right Ashwagandha – KSM66 or sensoral with more than 5 to 10% of withanolides. I start slow with 300 mg of Ashwagandha first in the morning and 300 mgs of Ashwagandha at bedtime. One week after they have been on this 300 mg at nighttime, then I add another 300 mg of Ashwagandha during the morning hours because that continues to help support their cortisol rhythm as well as their adrenal gland. So people will see an improvement in their energy levels.

Here is what you can expect each week in your first 30 days of Ashwagandha. In the first one to two weeks you might not see a huge difference. The only improvement that you might see is that your sleep is improving slightly and you might also feel that your stress levels are slightly lower. But remember Ashwagandha is working at a very subtle level, so it takes time to make those changes in your body. So the first one to two weeks is building that dose in your body.

By weeks three and four, you will feel your sleep quality has improved dramatically. You will notice that your deep sleep is getting longer and longer. Plus you will notice that your stress and anxiety levels are also dramatically decreasing. You will also notice that your energy levels during the day are stabilizing and you'll feel more physical energy as well as mental energy.

After week four, you are going to see that you have consistent energy throughout the day. Your sleep quality will be at the optimal levels plus you will feel that your mood is more stabilized. You will feel happy in general as your stress, depression, low mood as well as anxiety levels will also all fall off as inflammation in your body decreases. You may also feel that your body is performing at an optimal level and that your body is getting lighter as you lose some of that visceral fat.

For best results take Ashwagandha on a regular basis for four to six weeks. Then take a break for four or five days to a week before restarting the cycle.

from YouTube at AnshulGuptaMD on January 21, 2026