The Gary Null Show

After one month, women who ate strawberries daily reported significantly less menstrual pain than those in the comparison group, and the difference met the researchers' threshold for a meaningful improvement. Lower pain scores were still observed at the two-month follow-up, one month after participants stopped eating strawberries.

Falling asleep can be compared to easing down a dimmer switch, with brain activity gradually shifting as sleep deepens. Researchers studying Hinoki, or Japanese cypress, are exploring whether its scent could help smooth that transition for women in middle age, when sleep problems are common.

In a small study, Japanese women aged 35 to 60 used essential oil extracted from Hinoki roots at bedtime in their own homes. Compared with an unscented control, repeated use over two weeks was associated with fewer nighttime awakenings and feeling less sleepy and more recovered from fatigue in the morning. Brain-wave recordings also showed changes consistent with a smoother transition into deeper sleep.

Preliminary results of an observational study reveal that a sugar called dietary N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc), which is common in red meat, is independently associated with a 63% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) in those with the highest versus lowest consumption, even after taking into account other T2D risk factors such as level of physical activity, overall diet, smoking status and other health conditions.

The association was weaker but remained significant after also accounting for body mass index (BMI).

When people consume these foods, animal Neu5Gc is absorbed and metabolically incorporated into human tissues, where it acts as a foreign molecule, a so-called xeno-autoantigen. The immune system produces antibodies against it, and the resulting chronic immune activation (xenosialitis) has previously been linked to cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

People in the highest quintile had a 63% higher risk, and those in the second-highest quintile a 41% higher risk, of developing T2D compared with those in the lowest quintile (men and women combined). In the highest quintile, men ate a median of 97 g of red meat per day (136 g including processed meat) and women 73 g (96 g), compared with 5 g (21 g) and 0 g (9 g) in the lowest quintile.

City of Hope, September 30 2026 (Eurekalert)

A new study by researchers at City of Hope, one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the country and ranked among the nation’s leading cancer centers, suggests eating less sugar could protect the microbiome during antibiotic treatment. 

Antibiotics disrupt the diversity of our gut bacteria, or microbiomes, which play an essential role in supporting our immune systems and overall health.

In the five-year study followed patients who were hospitalized for several weeks to receive intensive chemotherapy, sometimes with radiation, to wipe out their immune systems and then undergo a stem cell transplant. To prevent and treat infections, each patient took at least one antibiotic during their hospital stay, with 80% of them taking one or more of the broad-spectrum antibiotics that exert the strongest effect on the microbiome by targeting many types of bacteria.

The research team tracked 9,419 meals eaten by 173 hospitalized patients and profiled the microbiome diversity in stool samples from 158 patients.

No matter how the data was analyzed, patients who consumed more sweets while taking antibiotics were more likely to experience a loss of microbiome diversity as aggressive microbes crowded out other strains of bacteria.

One organism stood out: Enterococcus. When it takes over the microbiome, patients undergoing transplant face a higher risk of bloodstream infections, graft-versus-host disease and other life-threatening complications.

The combination of high-sugar foods and broad-spectrum antibiotics appeared to multiply injury to the microbiome, leading to a substantial 24% drop in bacterial diversity for every 100-gram increase in sweets (equivalent in sugar content to a large milkshake).

Telomeres are protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that safeguard DNA information inside cells. Shorter telomeres have been linked to an increased risk of age-related diseases including cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, some cancers and overall mortality, the study noted. The findings add to growing evidence that diet plays a role in cellular aging.

Moderate coffee consumption of up to one cup per day was associated with a 26% lower risk of short telomeres compared with non-consumers, according to the researchers. Participants who ate four to five servings of fruit daily had a 29% lower risk of short telomeres compared with those who ate the least fruit. Overall, participants with the highest total polyphenol intake had a 52% lower risk of short telomeres.

Other polyphenol-rich foods such as olive oil, red wine and vegetables did not show a statistically significant effect on telomere length in this study. A separate study found that higher blood levels of theobromine, a compound in cocoa, were associated with longer telomeres, specifically linked to theobromine rather than other cocoa or coffee metabolites.

Previous work has also shown that walnuts, which contain polyphenols, can help preserve telomere length. The current study assessed overall polyphenol consumption through dietary questionnaires rather than measuring specific compounds in blood.

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is widely recognized in Ayurvedic medicine as a potent Rasayana and aphrodisiac herb, with preclinical studies demonstrating androgen-modulating, anxiolytic, and antioxidant properties that may enhance male reproductive physiology. The present study aimed to rigorously evaluate the efficacy and safety of a standardized Ashwagandha Root Extract (ARE) in improving sexual function in healthy adult men.

ARE supplementation resulted in statistically significant improvements across multiple domains of sexual function compared with placebo, including SDI-2 scores, SSEs, sexual desire, and overall IIEF outcomes. Semen analysis demonstrated a 36% increase in ejaculate volume, 38% improvement in total sperm count, and an 87% increase in total sperm motility after 8 weeks, with moderate to large effect sizes indicating clinically meaningful benefits. No adverse events or safety concerns were reported.

Louisiana State University, September 23 2026 (Eurekalert)

The colorings, additives and preservatives added to food products, as well as food processing techniques, are a source of great concern because they are ubiquitous worldwide, yet the effects of these items on metabolic health are not fully understood. In addition, researchers are increasingly investigating how these dietary items may also affect the brain as people age.

The review examines several ways diet could potentially influence the aging brain, including pathways involving metabolism, inflammation, vascular health and other biological processes. It also considers evidence connecting ultraprocessed food consumption with cognitive performance and dementia-related outcomes.

The bottom line is that the data is concerning.

Current use of oral menopausal hormone therapy (commonly known as hormone replacement therapy or HRT) is associated with an increased risk of blood clots in legs / lungs regardless of dose or treatment duration, finds a large Danish study published by The BMJ .

Researchers searched Danish health registry data for women aged 50-69 living in Denmark between 2003 and 2021 and diagnosed with a first venous thromboembolism, ischemic stroke, or heart attack (myocardial infarction). None of the women had a history of blood clots, cancer, liver disease, endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, fertility treatment or surgery to remove ovaries (oophorectomy).

Among women unexposed to hormone therapy, rates of venous thromboembolism, ischaemic stroke, and heart attack were 15.8, 20.3, and 13.0 per 10,000 person-years, respectively.

Oral oestrogen therapy (alone or with progestin) was associated with one extra venous thromboembolism case per 1,055 women taking oral hormone therapy for one year, one extra stroke per 1,642, and one extra heart attack per 3,846.

Oral therapy was consistently associated with increased venous thromboembolism risk, whereas increased stroke and heart attack risks were confined to those taking high-dose oral oestradiol (above 1 mg/day) for more than a year, rising with longer use.

Researchers recruited 188 participants with full compliance. Participants spent two weeks drinking the watercress beverage, then two weeks drinking a matched placebo, with a one-month break separating the two phases, according to the report.

Detoxification byproducts for six separate environmental toxicants rose significantly during the watercress phase compared with the placebo phase. Two increases stood out clearly.

Acrolein detoxification rose 65.6%, and benzene detoxification rose 37.3%, both reaching strong statistical significance, according to the report.

Watercress contains a concentrated dose of a plant compound called phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), and researchers believe PEITC drives the entire effect. PEITC activates the glutathione detoxification pathway, one of the body's primary systems for neutralizing toxic compounds and flagging them for removal, the report stated.

Gary reads part II of his essay Staying Positive in the Negative World. You can read the full article on Gary Null Substack -----  https://garynull.substack.com/p/staying-positive-in-a-negative-world?r=zchpo

Detoxify and Rejuvenate Your Body DVD 

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What's In It?

Surviving the Future: Strategies for Getting Off the Grid - you can read the full article on Gary Null Substack 

Gary tackles the hard hitting topics on modern feminism 

Overcoming Negative Emotions - you can read the full article on Gary Null Substack 

Gary reads the second part of his essay Making Your Life Simple Again you can read the whole essay on Gary Null Substack https://garynull.substack.com/p/making-your-life-simple-again-why

Making Your Life Simple Again Why Do We Make Everything So Complicated?