Articles

• Does progressive muscle relaxation help you sleep? — A 2026 review of 31 trials found progressive muscle relaxation improved sleep quality and eased anxiety, though results varied widely.
• Do anthocyanins from berries help your heart and blood sugar? — Higher anthocyanin intake is linked to lower diabetes risk in big studies. Trials show better artery flow; blood sugar and blood pressure results are mixed.
• Do multivitamins slow biological aging? What the COSMOS trial found — A large US trial found a daily multivitamin slowed two aging clocks a little. Those are markers, not proof that you will live longer.
• Does L-theanine help you sleep? — Two recent reviews of trials found the tea amino acid L-theanine gives small gains in how people rate their sleep. Device-measured results are mixed.
• Does eating earlier in the day help blood sugar? What the trials show — Eating earlier in the day may lower blood sugar a little more than eating late. Weight loss looks about the same, and the trials are small.
• Do probiotics help irritable bowel syndrome? Early evidence shows some symptom relief — A 2026 review of 40 trials found probiotics eased IBS symptoms, but quality of life did not clearly improve. Strains and evidence quality vary.
• Does creatine help women after menopause? Small gains in muscle and strength — A 2026 review of seven trials found creatine with strength training gave postmenopausal women small gains in lean mass and leg strength.
• Do exercise snacks improve fitness? Early trials suggest a modest gain — Short bursts of activity spread through the day raised fitness in adults in recent reviews. Blood pressure and cholesterol showed no clear change.
• Does ultra-processed food harm your health? What the studies show — Trials find people eat extra calories and gain weight on ultra-processed diets. Large studies link high intake to heart disease, diabetes and depression.
• Can grey hair be reversed? What the evidence shows about remedies — A 2025 review found no product that reliably restores grey-hair colour. One small trial hints at prevention, and treating a deficiency helps some people.
• NMN and NR raise NAD+ levels — but a new review finds mixed health benefits — A 2026 review of 33 human studies finds NMN and NR reliably raise blood NAD+ and look safe short-term — but the health payoff is still mixed.
• Moderate drinking linked to lower type 2 diabetes risk — mainly in women — Pooling 55 cohort studies and 2.6 million people, researchers link moderate drinking to lower type 2 diabetes risk, mostly in women. Whisky trials hint at why.
• Does kimchi raise stomach cancer risk? What the studies show — Large reviews link pickled vegetables to a modestly higher stomach cancer risk, but results for kimchi itself are mixed.
• Does nicotine have any benefits? What the research shows — Nicotine patches and gum raise quit rates by 50% to 60%, and lab studies find small, brief attention gains. What it can and can't do — and the risks.
• Testosterone boosters: do any of them work? — Ashwagandha, fenugreek and tongkat ali modestly raised testosterone in small trials; most others, like tribulus, did not. Zinc helps only if you're deficient.
• Are seed oils bad for you? What the heart studies show — Seed oils in place of butter and lard lower LDL cholesterol and, in long-term trials, heart attacks. Pooled studies find no harm and no rise in inflammation.
• Does honey help a cough? What the trials found — In children, honey slightly eases a cold cough in small trials; a good adult trial found no benefit. Never give honey to babies under 12 months.
• Does cutting salt lower blood pressure? — Pooled data from 133 trials show cutting sodium lowers systolic blood pressure by about 4 mm Hg, and salt substitutes also cut strokes and deaths.
• How many steps a day do you really need for a longer life? — Large reviews link more daily steps to longer life and fewer depressive symptoms, with most of the benefit arriving well below 10,000 steps a day.
• Aromatherapy for sleep, anxiety and low mood: what 27 trials found — A 2025 review of 2,072 adults found inhaled essential oils improved sleep, anxiety and depression scores, but trials were small and most were unblinded.