The Gary Null Show

The Second Part of How to Overcome Our Addictive Behavior: The Thirteenth Step 

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How to Overcome Our Addictive Behavior: The 13 th Step.“All crises show us what we’ve avoided.”—Gary Null, PhDToday we’re dealing with tens of millions of Americans who suffer from some form ofaddictive behavior.

HEALTH NEWS   Probiotics emerge as a potent tool against depression and anxiety Altered microbiome: Oral bacteria play a role in chronic liver disease, study reveals Health issues linked to cosmetic jab complications From yoga to awe walks: Many paths lead to better mental health, largest analysis of well-being interventions finds Weight loss drugs may cause nutritional deficiencies without proper guidanc       Probiotics emerge as a potent tool against depression and anxiety University of Calgary (Canada), January 14 2026 (Natural News) For decades, the standard pharmaceutical approach to treating depression and anxiety has dominated treatment options, despite significant drawbacks including delayed effects, debilitating side effects and high relapse rates. Now, compelling new research is challenging this paradigm by pointing to a surprising source of relief: the gut. A comprehensive scientific analysis, synthesizing data from over 1,400 clinically diagnosed patients, reveals that probiotics—beneficial bacteria readily available as supplements—can produce substantial reductions in both depressive and anxious symptoms.   The analysis major findings include:     A major analysis of 23 clinical trials finds probiotics can significantly reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in clinically diagnosed patients.   The benefits, appearing within 4-8 weeks, were comparable to some conventional antidepressants but without the same side-effect profile.   The gut-brain axis, a communication network largely ignored by conventional psychiatry, is central to understanding this connection.   Single-strain probiotic supplements, particularly certain Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species, showed the strongest mental health effects.   This research supports a holistic view of mental wellness, where gut health is a foundational component of treatment.     Altered microbiome: Oral bacteria play a role in chronic liver disease, study reveals Technical University Munich (Germany), January 15 2026 (Medical Xpress) Each year, more than two million people die from advanced chronic liver disease (ACLD). Previous research has linked gut microbiome disruptions to this condition and suggested that bacteria typically found in the mouth may colonize the gut. A new study published in Nature Microbiology now shows that identical bacterial strains occur in both the mouth and gut of patients with advanced chronic liver disease and also reveals a mechanism by which oral bacteria affect gut health. The researchers also found that this process coincides with worsening liver health. Researchers analyzed bacterial populations in saliva and stool samples from patients. The team found that both the gut and oral microbiome undergo significant changes as liver disease worsened, where changes to the oral microbiome were already detectable at earlier disease stages. In healthy individuals, bacterial communities differ substantially between body sites. In patients with liver disease, however, oral and gut microbiomes became increasingly similar as the disease progressed and nearly identical bacterial strains were recovered from the mouth and gut of patients. "These strains are typically found in the mouth and are rarely present in the healthy gut. However, we observed increases in the absolute abundances of these oral bacteria in patients with advanced chronic liver disease. This strongly suggests that these bacteria translocate from the mouth and colonize the gut," explains Melanie Schirmer, Professor of Translational Microbiome Data Integration at TUM.   Health issues linked to cosmetic jab complications Anglia Ruskin University (UK), January 9 2026 (Eurekalert)   Patients with chronic illnesses face a significantly higher risk of complications from cosmetic botulinum toxin injections, commonly known as Botox, according to a major UK study. Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) surveyed

HEALTH NEWS   Can exercise turn back the clock on your brain? New study says yes Why leaving things unfinished messes with your mind Short-term, calorie-restrictive diet improves Crohn’s disease symptoms Higher daylight exposure improves cognitive performance, study finds Breastfeeding may lower mums’ later life depression/anxiety risks for up to 10 years after pregnancy     Can exercise turn back the clock on your brain? New study says yes AdventHealth Research Institute, January 13 2026 (Eurekalert) A simple, steady exercise routine may help your brain stay biologically younger, supporting clearer thinking, stronger memory, and a greater sense of whole-person well-being.   The study found that adults who followed a year-long aerobic exercise program had brains that appeared nearly a year “younger” than those who didn’t change their activity levels.   Published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science, the study explored whether regular aerobic exercise could slow, or even reverse “brain age,” a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based biomarker of how old your brain looks compared to your actual age. A higher brain-predicted age difference (brain-PAD), indicates an older-appearing brain and has been linked to poorer physical and cognitive function and increased risk of mortality in previous research.  In this clinical trial, 130 healthy adults aged 26–58 were randomly assigned to either a moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise group or a usual-care control group. The exercise group completed two supervised 60-minute sessions per week in a laboratory plus home-based exercise to reach about 150 minutes of aerobic activity per week, aligning with the American College of Sports Medicine’s physical activity guidelines. Brain MRI and cardiorespiratory fitness, measured as peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak), were assessed at the beginning and end of the 12-month period.  Over 12 months, participants in the exercise group showed a measurable reduction in brain age, while the control group showed a slight increase. On average, the exercise group’s brain-PAD decreased by about 0.6 years, indicating a younger-appearing brain at follow-up. In contrast, the control group’s brains appeared about 0.35 years older, a change that was not statistically significant. Overall, the between-group difference in brain age was nearly one year, favoring the exercise group.     Why leaving things unfinished messes with your mind Yale University, January 12 2026 (Medical Xpress) In a new study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Yale professor of psychology Brian Scholl and lab members explored why humans so badly want to finish what we've started—in matters great and small. It turns out the brain just doesn't like dangling threads. The researchers had a hunch that visual clues could help explain the lure of the unfinished. Why is this state of leaving things undone so salient to us? It's an interesting quirk of human nature that science has not previously addressed. Unfinishedness has been found to decrease work satisfaction, impair sleep, and fuel ruminative thinking patterns. The researchers turned to the visual system. When we see unfinished events, are they somehow prioritized in memory?" To test their hunch that visual memory plays a role in making unfinishedness feel so sticky, the researchers ran four experiments involving a total of 120 participants who viewed computer animations of simple mazes populated by moving dots or lines. In several experiments, it seemed that the brain is wired to notice and remember incomplete things better than finished ones. The findings suggest that "unfinishedness" isn't just about motivation or satisfaction. It's built into the way people see and remember the world.   Short-term, calorie-restrictive diet improves Crohn’s disease symptoms     Stanford University, January 13 2026 (News-Medical)   There have been few large studies of dietary intervent