Articles

• 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.
• Eye health supplements: 60-trial review ranks lutein combinations highest — A 2024 review of 60 eye-supplement trials: lutein with zeaxanthin, often plus omega-3, raised the eye's protective pigment most. Vision gains were smaller.
• Does cranberry juice help with UTIs? What the trials show — Cranberry juice and capsules cut repeat UTIs by about a quarter to a third in women, and by about half in children, pooled trials found.
• Does swimming lower blood pressure? — Swimming and water exercise lower blood pressure by about 4 to 9 mmHg in trials, with the biggest drops in people who already have high blood pressure.
• Does St John's wort help with depression? — Trials find St John's wort works better than placebo and about as well as standard antidepressants for mild to moderate depression, with fewer side effects.
• Does red yeast rice lower cholesterol? — Trials show red yeast rice lowers LDL cholesterol by roughly 20 to 40 mg/dL. It contains a statin-like compound, so side effects and product quality matter.
• Does music help you sleep? What the trials found — A Cochrane review of 13 trials found bedtime music improved how well people with sleep problems rated their sleep. Sleep-lab measures changed little.
• Does a hot bath before bed help you sleep? — A hot bath or shower 1–2 hours before bed shortens the time to fall asleep in pooled studies. The effect is modest and the trials are small.
• Does isometric exercise lower blood pressure? What wall sits and handgrips do — Isometric exercise lowered resting blood pressure by about 5 to 9 mmHg in pooled trials. Evidence is limited and some trials found no change.
• Does vitamin C help with colds? What the trials found — Taken daily, vitamin C shortened colds by about 8% in adults and 14% in children and eased symptoms. Soldiers and runners got about half as many colds.
• Does beetroot juice lower blood pressure? — Small trials find beetroot juice lowers clinic systolic pressure by about 4 to 5 mmHg in adults with high blood pressure. Home and 24-hour results are mixed.
• Does walking after meals lower blood sugar? — Trials show a short walk after eating blunts the post-meal blood sugar spike, with the biggest drop after dinner. Ten to thirty minutes was enough.
• Does fasting increase longevity? What the human studies show — Fasting can move some aging markers in trials, but no study has shown it extends life. Short eating windows and long nightly fasts were linked to more deaths.
• Does walking in the woods help your immune system and mood? — Forest trips raised natural killer cell activity, an immune marker, in small studies; pooled trials find short-term relief from anxiety and depression.
• Carnivore diet: what the evidence shows about weight, blood sugar and cholesterol — Small studies suggest some people lose weight and improve blood sugar on an all-meat diet, but LDL cholesterol often rises and long-term safety is untested.
• Does CBD help with anxiety, sleep or pain? What the evidence shows — Small trials suggest CBD can take the edge off anxiety, but the largest review found no clear benefit, and CBD alone has not reliably improved sleep.
• Psilocybin for depression: what the trials found — Trials show psilocybin with psychological support can cut depression scores within days, but the evidence is early and one large trial missed its goal.