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News, research and guides
348 articles from our editorial and science team.
GuidesThe Fasting-Mimicking Diet (FMD): What Is It and What Does the Research Actually Show?
The fasting-mimicking diet (FMD) is a five-day nutrition protocol designed by Valter Longo's team that aims to trigger effects in the body similar to full fasting, while still providing a limited amount of food. It gained wide attention through the commercial product ProLon, but behind the marketing there's also a real, if still limited, body of scientific literature. We explain how FMD differs from water fasting, which populations it has actually been studied in, and where the evidence is stronger versus where it's still an early stage of research.
AKdr Anna Kowalczyk13 min
September 16, 2026
GuidesPeptide Therapy: Overview and Safety — What's a Drug, and What's a Gray Market
"Peptides" has become a catch-all buzzword in biohacking covering both real, FDA-approved drugs and hundreds of substances sold online as "research use only" — with no oversight of quality, sterility, or dosing. This article pulls the two apart: we check which peptides actually made it through drug approval, which are circulating in a legal gray zone, and what real risk comes with the second group.
AKdr Anna Kowalczyk14 min
September 16, 2026
GuidesWhole-Body Cryotherapy: Does It Actually Work, or Is It Just a Pricier Cold Shower?
Cryotherapy chambers, where the temperature drops to -110°C or lower, promise faster recovery, less inflammation, and reduced muscle soreness after training — for a single session that can cost a fair amount of money. The latest meta-analyses, however, paint a more nuanced picture than wellness-industry marketing suggests: a real anti-inflammatory effect does exist, but the evidence for reducing muscle soreness right after exercise is much weaker than commonly assumed.
AKdr Anna Kowalczyk13 min
September 16, 2026
GuidesMercury in Fish: Should You Worry? What the Research and Official Guidelines Say
Fish are one of the best-documented sources of omega-3 fatty acids in the human diet, but also the main source of dietary exposure to methylmercury. Rather than a choice between "eat fish" and "avoid fish," official FDA and EPA guidelines offer something more precise: which species to eat without worry, and which to avoid — especially during pregnancy. We check where these recommendations come from and why two large cohort studies produced seemingly contradictory results.
AKdr Anna Kowalczyk13 min
September 16, 2026
GuidesPFAS — "Forever Chemicals": Should We Be Worried?
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are known as "forever chemicals" because they practically don't break down in the environment or in the human body. In 2024, the US EPA introduced the first-ever binding limits for PFAS in drinking water — a decision based on decades of research, including one of the largest epidemiological studies of an industrial population ever conducted anywhere in the world. We check what's actually linked to PFAS exposure, what remains speculation, and what practical steps can realistically reduce exposure.
AKdr Anna Kowalczyk14 min
September 16, 2026
GuidesMicronutrient Deficiencies: The Most Common Symptoms — A Practical Guide to Five Usual Suspects
Chronic fatigue, trouble concentrating, muscle cramps, or hair loss have dozens of possible causes — but five micronutrient deficiencies account for a surprisingly large share of such symptoms in the general population. This article is a practical guide to which deficiency is worth suspecting given which symptoms — not so you can diagnose yourself, but so you know exactly what to ask your doctor and which blood test to request first.
MNMichał Nowak14 min
September 16, 2026
GuidesSciatica: Causes and Evidence-Based Treatment
Sciatica — a burning pain that radiates from the lower back down the leg along the path of the sciatic nerve — is one of the most common reasons people see a doctor, and one of the most frequently mismanaged pain conditions. For decades the standard advice was bed rest; today we know that approach doesn't just fail to help, it can actively hurt recovery. We check what the research actually shows about disc herniation, piriformis syndrome, anti-inflammatory drugs, and surgery — and which symptoms mean sciatica has stopped being a home-care issue and become a medical emergency.
MNMichał Nowak13 min
September 13, 2026
GuidesCarpal Tunnel Syndrome: Causes and Evidence-Based Treatment
Numbness, tingling, and pain in the thumb, index, and middle finger that worsen at night — that's the classic picture of carpal tunnel syndrome, one of the most common compression neuropathies. We check what actually causes this condition, why obesity and hypothyroidism raise the risk more than you might expect, and what a randomized trial comparing wrist splinting with surgery actually found — including when a nerve conduction study is genuinely needed and when a clinical diagnosis is enough.
MNMichał Nowak12 min
September 13, 2026
GuidesDizziness: Causes and When to Worry
Dizziness is one of the most ambiguous symptoms in medicine — in one person it means benign BPPV that resolves after a few physical therapy maneuvers, in another it can be the first sign of a brainstem stroke. As a cardiologist, I look at this symptom primarily through the lens of the circulatory system — orthostatic hypotension, cardiac arrhythmias — but it's equally important to know when the problem goes beyond cardiology and needs urgent neurological or ENT evaluation. We check what actually distinguishes benign causes of dizziness from those requiring immediate hospital assessment.
KLdr Katarzyna Lewandowska13 min
September 13, 2026
GuidesSleep Apnea: Symptoms, Causes, and How Diagnosis Works
Loud snoring interrupted by silence, morning headaches, and daytime sleepiness despite what looks like a full night's sleep — obstructive sleep apnea is often dismissed for years, because most of its symptoms are noticed by a partner, not the patient. Yet untreated apnea isn't just about worse quality of life: it carries a measurably higher cardiovascular risk, confirmed in meta-analyses covering tens of thousands of people. Here's how to recognize the symptoms, what a sleep study actually involves, and what real treatment options exist beyond CPAP alone.
JWJulia Wiśniewska14 min
September 13, 2026
GuidesBruxism: Why We Grind Our Teeth and What Actually Helps
Clenching your jaw during the day at your desk and grinding your teeth at night — something you only learn about from a partner or a dentist — are two faces of the same phenomenon: bruxism. Stress and anxiety are the best-documented risk factor, but the list is longer, including certain antidepressants, alcohol, caffeine, and coexisting sleep apnea. We explain the mechanism, the consequences for teeth and the jaw joint, and what the evidence actually says about night guards and other treatments.
MWdr Marek Wójcik13 min
September 13, 2026
GuidesMaca Root, Libido, and Energy
Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is a Peruvian root from the cabbage family, eaten in the Andes for centuries as food and sold in the West for the past decade as a natural "aphrodisiac" and energy booster. A handful of small but genuinely conducted clinical trials actually do show an improvement in sexual desire with maca supplementation — and, interestingly, without any change in testosterone levels, one of the more curious and less well-known findings in this field. The second part of the marketing promise — "energy" — is far less documented, with evidence that is, in practice, almost entirely anecdotal.
MNMichał Nowak13 min
September 10, 2026
GuidesRhodiola for Fatigue and Stress
Chronic stress-related fatigue and professional burnout are among the most common reasons patients see a psychiatrist today, and rhodiola is one of the few adaptogens with studies specifically designed around this particular problem — not general "stress resistance," but measurable mental fatigue. We check what these studies actually show, where the evidence ends and overinterpretation begins, and for whom rhodiola may be a real element of support rather than a substitute for treatment.
MWdr Marek Wójcik14 min
September 10, 2026
GuidesBacopa Monnieri for Memory and Focus
Bacopa monnieri is one of the few plant nootropics for which a meta-analysis of randomized trials shows a specific, repeatable effect — but that effect covers a narrower range of cognitive functions than the popular "for memory and focus" slogan suggests. We check exactly which aspects of memory bacopa improves, why its effect on immediate focus is far less documented than on long-term recall, and why patience is key here.
JWJulia Wiśniewska13 min
September 10, 2026
GuidesCiticoline (CDP-Choline) and Concentration: What Does the Research Actually Show?
Citicoline is often marketed as an all-purpose nootropic for memory, mood, and focus at once. The evidence, however, is uneven — the most solidly documented effect isn't memory, but a narrower, more specific domain: psychomotor speed and attention. We check what studies on healthy teenagers and adults actually found, how much of that effect can be attributed to citicoline itself versus the caffeine present alongside it in some studies, and why it's worth knowing who funded a study before treating its result as final.
JWJulia Wiśniewska13 min
September 10, 2026
GuidesThe Carnivore Diet: Facts and Myths — What Does the Research Actually Say?
The carnivore diet (animal products only, zero plants) is one of the most radical dietary trends of recent years — surrounded by both enthusiastic accounts of vanishing digestive complaints and warnings about severe fiber and vitamin deficiency. The largest study to date covered more than 2,000 people, but relies entirely on self-report, with no control group — something experts critical of the study consider a significant limitation. We check what's actually known, where the data ends and anecdote begins, and what real risks come with a diet that has no room for even a single vegetable.
MNMichał Nowak14 min
September 10, 2026
GuidesSIBO — Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth
SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) is a condition in which bacteria that normally colonize the large intestine multiply excessively in the small intestine, where under normal conditions there are far fewer of them. The result is bloating, gas, abdominal pain, and diarrhea or constipation that's easy to mistake for irritable bowel syndrome — and indeed, research shows the two diagnoses overlap far more often than one might expect. The trouble is that the standard diagnostic tests for SIBO have real limitations, and the term itself is often used more broadly today than the evidence supports.
MNMichał Nowak13 min
September 10, 2026
GuidesLeaky Gut Syndrome — Is It a Real Diagnosis?
"Leaky gut" (leaky gut syndrome) is one of those terms that exist simultaneously in two very different worlds. In the scientific literature, increased intestinal permeability is a real, measurable physiological phenomenon, studied for decades and linked to several specific diseases. In the popular corners of the internet, "leaky gut syndrome" is often a standalone, all-encompassing diagnosis, made without testing and "treated" with expensive supplements. We check where one ends and the other begins.
AKdr Anna Kowalczyk13 min
September 10, 2026
GuidesHelicobacter pylori: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Infection
Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that colonizes the stomach of nearly half the world's population, in most cases without symptoms. The problem is that in some infected people it leads to chronic inflammation of the stomach lining, peptic ulcer disease, and, in rare cases, gastric cancer — and rising antibiotic resistance means standard treatment increasingly fails. We check how to recognize an infection, when treatment actually reduces gastric cancer risk, and when antibiotic therapy "just in case" misses the point.
MNMichał Nowak14 min
September 10, 2026
GuidesMicroplastics in the Human Body: Should We Be Worried?
Over the past five years, scientists have found microplastics in blood, placenta, lungs, and even the brain. The headlines sound alarming, but the gap between "plastic particles were detected in tissue" and "plastic is harming us" is enormous and rarely explained clearly. We check what's actually known: where microplastics have been found, what the real, verified exposure sources are, what one large study linking them to cardiovascular risk actually showed, and why most of this science is still at the hypothesis stage rather than proven causation.
AKdr Anna Kowalczyk14 min
September 10, 2026
GuidesHyperbaric Oxygen Therapy — What It Is and Does It Work?
A hyperbaric chamber today conjures two entirely different worlds: a hospital ward treating carbon monoxide poisoning and non-healing wounds, and private wellness clinics where healthy people pay for sessions supposedly reversing aging and improving cognitive function. It's no accident these two pictures look so different — because the quality of evidence behind them differs too. We check where solid, well-documented medicine ends and preliminary, promising but still speculative science begins.
AKdr Anna Kowalczyk14 min
September 10, 2026
GuidesInfrared Sauna vs. Traditional Sauna: How Different Are They, Really?
The infrared sauna is marketed as a gentler, more convenient alternative to the traditional Finnish sauna — operating at a lower temperature, but supposedly delivering similar benefits. That's partly true, but the real story is more complex: both forms heat the body through completely different physical mechanisms, have very different depth and quality of evidence behind them, and one of the few areas where the infrared sauna has genuinely strong, randomized data concerns a narrow group of cardiac patients in Japan — not the general population looking for a biohacking edge.
KLdr Katarzyna Lewandowska13 min
September 10, 2026
GuidesSwimming as a Workout: What Are the Real Health Benefits?
Swimming is sometimes called the most complete form of physical activity — it engages nearly every muscle group, is gentle on the joints, and doesn't require high fitness to get started. One of the largest cohort studies in this field even suggests that swimmers have significantly lower all-cause mortality than runners, walkers, or sedentary people. We check what research actually confirms about swimming — for the cardiovascular system, joints, and mental health — and where the swimming community's enthusiasm runs ahead of the available evidence, particularly on bone density.
MNMichał Nowak13 min
September 10, 2026
GuidesMobility and Flexibility Training: Why Should You Add It to Your Workout Plan?
Mobility is often treated as an add-on to "real" training — something you do in the last five minutes of a session, if there's even time for it. Yet joint range of motion is one of those fitness parameters that deteriorates fastest without deliberate work on it, and its loss has real consequences: from worse resistance-training technique, through higher risk of overuse injury, to — in older adults — a documented link to falls. We check exactly what research says about mobility training, how it differs from ordinary stretching, and when stretching can actually do harm.
MNMichał Nowak13 min
September 10, 2026