Can Spending Time in Nature Improve Your Diet?

Can Spending Time in Nature Improve Your Diet?

Author: Dr. Mercola May 20, 2026 Duration: 6:14
  • Spending time in nature shifts your food preferences so you naturally choose healthier, whole foods without relying on willpower
  • Even short, daily exposure to natural environments improves diet quality, making simple habits like walking outside highly effective
  • Nature doesn't reduce how much you eat but changes what you want to eat, steering you away from processed foods toward real nourishment
  • Exposure to nature increases how much you value your health in the moment, which directly influences better food decisions
  • Using nature as a daily routine or pre-meal reset helps break stress-driven eating patterns and makes healthy eating easier to sustain

Each week, Dr. Joseph Mercola-Take Control of Your Health offers a direct conversation about navigating the often-confusing world of wellness. Dr. Mercola brings decades of experience as a natural health advocate to these discussions, focusing on practical strategies that go beyond conventional approaches. The episodes dig into the interconnected areas of holistic health, physical fitness, and alternative methods for building resilience. You’ll hear detailed explorations of how everyday choices impact long-term vitality, with an emphasis on personal agency and evidence-informed alternatives. This isn’t about quick fixes but about understanding the underlying principles that can help you make better decisions for yourself and your family. The tone is straightforward and investigative, aiming to equip you with knowledge that is frequently overlooked. Tuning into this podcast feels like accessing a deep resource of non-mainstream health perspectives, all centered on the fundamental goal of sustainable well-being. It’s for anyone who feels that managing their health requires looking at the full picture, from nutrition and movement to the less obvious environmental factors. Dr. Mercola’s weekly insights serve as a catalyst for taking a more active, informed role in your own health journey.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health
Podcast Episodes
Black Cumin Oil's Benefits Come with a Linoleic Acid Tradeoff [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:52
Black cumin seed oil has a long history of traditional use, and its benefits trace to thymoquinone. However, it also contains the omega-6 fat linoleic acid (LA), which exposes you to risks that may outweigh its benefits…
Journal Retracts Unethical Glyphosate Safety Study 25 Years Later [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:13
A highly influential 2000 glyphosate safety study long cited by regulators worldwide was retracted after evidence showed it was ghostwritten by Monsanto scientists and misrepresented as independent research Internal comp…
Gestational Diabetes Is Becoming the New Normal in Pregnancy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:14
Gestational diabetes rates climbed every single year in the U.S. from 2016 through 2024, turning what was once uncommon into a routine metabolic stress test that many pregnancies now fail The condition reflects years of…
How Your Sleep Patterns Shape Eye Health Over Time [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:27
Sleep acts as a nightly repair cycle for your eyes, helping regulate eye pressure, tear balance, immune defense, and retinal cleanup that protect vision over time Irregular or fragmented sleep disrupts your eyes' interna…
Overlooked Role of Smell in Physical, Mental, and Social Well-Being [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:43
About 22% of adults have some degree of smell loss, and this sensory change often appears years before serious problems like memory decline, heart disease, or reduced longevity become obvious Loss of smell is linked to h…
How Your Vagus Nerve Shapes Heart Aging and Resilience [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:16
Heart aging begins with weakened communication between your brain and heart, not just clogged arteries or genetics, and preserving that signaling slows structural decline inside heart tissue Research shows that losing va…
The Hidden Risks of Unnecessary Gluten-Free Diets in Children [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:03
Gluten-free diets were initially intended for children with medical conditions such as celiac disease, wheat allergy, and non-celiac gluten sensitivity A review published in Frontiers in Nutrition found that gluten-free…
The Medicalization of Death and How to Reclaim a Better Way to Die [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:44
Scott Adams, who recently passed from an aggressive, rapidly progressing prostate cancer, openly shared his final journey with a wide audience, offering valuable insights for others facing the dying experience Over centu…
A Single Binge-Drinking Episode Can Damage Your Gut [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:56
A single binge-drinking episode triggers rapid immune and barrier damage in your gut, and those changes continue to affect digestion, inflammation, and nutrient absorption for days or weeks afterward Alcohol causes your…
Food Additives Now Shape Everyday Eating [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:41
Most people are exposed to multiple food additives every day because they're built into common packaged foods, not just occasional treats Children receive a higher additive load from the same foods adults eat, which plac…