Ask Doc Before I became a doctor – and long before I started writing for my publisher, Stansberry Research – I worked on Wall Street.
Longtime readers are already familiar with my story, but if you're not...
I spent a decade as a derivatives trader at the investment bank Goldman Sachs and several other major institutions, including Chase Manhattan and Yamaichi (then known as the "Goldman Sachs of Japan").
If there's one thing I've learned from my career, it's this... Wall Street doesn't care about individual investors.
In 2008, people around the U.S. lost jobs, homes, and retirement savings. It took years for average folks to recover. Some never did. As big banks like Citigroup and Goldman lost billions of dollars during the crisis, they also received billions in bailouts from the government... and then turned around and gave billions out in bonuses.
During the crisis, Rolling Stone published an article by Matt Taibbi. The article was a true exposé of the B.S. that goes on in the financial world.
The subject was one I'm well versed in: the investment bank Goldman Sachs. Taibbi shredded the company in an article titled "The Great American Bubble Machine."
The article claimed that Goldman has helped engineer most of the great asset bubbles of the past 80 years... including the tech bubble, the credit bubble, and the rise and fall of oil prices. Taibbi also wrote that Goldman had packed the government with former employees who help it suck billions of dollars from a gullible public. It's one of the most damning articles I've ever read in mainstream media.
But none of it came as a surprise to me. I've seen firsthand the lengths Wall Street has gone to in order to keep profits rising even as everyday people suffer.
And it's happening again...
I can tell you for a fact that not only is the market at a critical inflection point... but your money could be as well.
Your retirement, your ability to live comfortably without worry, to enjoy what you've worked your whole life for...
It could all be on the line.
And what you choose to do in the coming weeks may determine if you sink into loss... or set yourself up to grow your wealth from the ashes.
I want to outline – as simply, plainly, and clearly as I can – the steps Wall Street is taking to trigger another financial crisis.
It may only be weeks away.
I recently sat down on camera to share all the details about the dangerous events happening in the markets and how to keep your money safe from Wall Street bigwigs. I even explain how you can profit.
If you haven't watched my full video yet, I urge you to do so today – just click here.
Now, let's get into some of the things you've had on your minds this week. As always, keep sending your comments, questions, and topic suggestions to [email protected]. We read every e-mail.
Q: What is your take on coconut oil in our morning coffee? – S.A.
A: Coconut oil has some saturated fat known to trigger inflammation, but research suggests that different types have different effects based on the length of a saturated fat's carbon chain (longer chains are worse).
Coconut oil has medium-chain saturated fat. These chains can more easily pass through our bodies than long-chain fats. Plus, our livers help break them down easier, meaning you gain less weight. So you don't need to limit coconut oil just because of the saturated fat.
We've also seen a few promising studies that suggest coconut oil reduces inflammation in cases of arthritis and bowel disease.
Still, we remain cautious. We want to see more long-term human studies. What's more, olive oil promises most of coconut oil's benefits, only with more concrete proof and fewer risks. As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, Starbucks is rolling out coffee with olive oil... you can do the same if you're looking for this type of addition.
By the way... definitely stay away from coconut oil for cooking. Coconut oil has a much lower smoke point than olive oil.
Q: We use extra-virgin olive oil exclusively when needed in cooking. Oil is not needed that often, so it is not a source of the daily dose. Could a handful of olives every day replace the daily olive-oil consumption you recommend?
Thanks. – B.T.
A: In whatever form you eat them, olives are rich in vitamin E and antioxidants, along with monounsaturated fat.
Some people avoid eating olives because they're high in saturated fat. But as I've said before, the right kind of saturated fat is actually good for you. They also reduce inflammation. In fact, olives have been used for thousands of years for their anti-inflammatory properties.
Now, here's where olives start to differ from olive oil... Olives need to be cured before they're eaten, and this process removes some of the antioxidants you'd get from olive oil. On the other hand, they do contain fiber, which you don't get in olive oil. Olives also have a higher sodium content than olive oil, thanks to the brine needed to cure the olives.
Which olives are best depends on what nutrients are most important to you. Green and black olives come from the same trees... They're simply picked at different times. Black olives are higher in iron, but green olives contain nearly twice as much vitamin E.
No matter what way you choose to consume olives – either whole olives or olive oil – you're getting incredible health benefits.
What We're Reading...
- Did you miss it? Major bank failures are giving us an investing opportunity.
- Something different: Why the English language is so difficult to read.
Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,
Dr. David Eifrig and the Health & Wealth Bulletin Research Team
March 17, 2023