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News, research and guides
348 articles from our editorial and science team.
GuidesCurcumin and Ulcerative Colitis: What a Meta-Analysis of Trials Shows
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory disease in which patients increasingly look for extra support alongside standard mesalamine treatment. Curcumin, the active compound in turmeric, has a meta-analysis of six randomized trials behind it suggesting a real benefit as an add-on therapy — but as usual, the devil is in the details of dosing and formulation.
PZdr Piotr Zieliński12 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesVitamin E and Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis: What the PIVENS Trial Found
Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is one of the few serious liver diseases that for decades lacked any approved pharmacological treatment. The large, multicenter PIVENS trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that a high dose of vitamin E significantly improves liver histology in adults without diabetes — but with important caveats that are rarely discussed as loudly.
PZdr Piotr Zieliński12 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesGlucosamine and Temporomandibular Joint Pain: What a Trial Against Ibuprofen Found
Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain can accompany every bite, yawn, or conversation, and long-term use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen isn't a consequence-free solution. A small Iranian trial directly compared glucosamine sulfate with ibuprofen — with a surprisingly favorable result for the supplement, though broader systematic reviews call for tempering that enthusiasm.
MNMichał Nowak11 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesProbiotics and Acne Vulgaris: What a Randomized Clinical Trial Found
The link between the gut and the skin has stopped being just a lifestyle-article buzzword — a randomized clinical trial from 2024 tested a specific, well-described probiotic in patients with acne vulgaris and achieved a statistically significant improvement. It's still a single trial, but one worth discussing in detail, rather than lumping in with general "gut health" claims.
AKdr Anna Kowalczyk11 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesMagnesium and Restless Legs Syndrome in Pregnancy: What Does the Research Show?
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) affects a significant share of pregnant women, most often in the third trimester, and can effectively rob them of sleep at a time when rest matters most. A case-control study of 253 pregnant women found that blood magnesium and zinc levels were significantly lower in those with RLS than in healthy pregnant controls — but that's an observation, not proof that magnesium supplementation treats the symptoms.
AKdr Anna Kowalczyk11 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesOmega-3 and Atopic Dermatitis: Does Supplementation Actually Help?
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory condition where parents and patients readily reach for supplements, hoping to ease itching and skin lesions without adding more medication. A 2024 randomized trial found significant improvement in AD severity in children taking a specific product — but that product combined omega-3, gamma-linolenic acid, and vitamin D, not fish oil alone, which matters a great deal for interpreting the result correctly.
AKdr Anna Kowalczyk12 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesVitamin B12 and Peripheral Neuropathy in Vegans and Vegetarians
Over 30% of adult vegetarians in the US may have a vitamin B12 deficiency — and that deficiency directly threatens the myelin sheaths of nerves. A small but carefully designed 2023 study was among the first to measure concrete, objective indicators of peripheral neuropathy — hand dexterity and balance — in young adults on a plant-based diet, and link them directly to B12 status.
PZdr Piotr Zieliński12 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesCinnamon and LDL Cholesterol: What Does the Meta-Analysis Actually Show?
Cinnamon is often marketed as a natural way to lower "bad" LDL cholesterol. A meta-analysis of 13 randomized trials involving 750 people, however, paints a more nuanced picture than the popular belief: cinnamon significantly lowers triglycerides and total cholesterol, but its effect on LDL specifically turned out to be statistically insignificant.
PZdr Piotr Zieliński11 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesProbiotics and Infantile Colic: When Do They Actually Help?
Infantile colic can turn the first months of parenthood into hours of unexplained evening crying. An individual patient data meta-analysis of 4 trials (345 infants) found that the strain Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 significantly shortens crying time — but the effect was clear only in breastfed infants, not in those fed formula.
AKdr Anna Kowalczyk12 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesLemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) and Anxiety or Insomnia: What Does the Evidence Actually Show?
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) has been brewed into calming teas for centuries, but it's only in recent years that it has gotten a systematic review of clinical trials. A 2021 meta-analysis shows a statistically significant effect on anxiety and depression symptoms — with the caveat that the number of trials is small and the quality of evidence is moderate. Evidence for lemon balm's effect on sleep itself is far thinner — what we know comes mostly from single, small clinical trials.
JWJulia Wiśniewska11 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesCranberry and Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections: What Does the Updated Cochrane Review Show?
For years cranberry had a reputation as a home remedy for recurrent urinary tract infections, even though earlier large systematic reviews were skeptical about it. The latest, fifth update of the Cochrane review, from 2023 — now covering 50 studies and nearly 9,000 participants — changes that picture: in women with recurrent infections, cranberry products probably do meaningfully reduce the risk of another episode, though the effect is moderate and not visible in every patient group.
AKdr Anna Kowalczyk12 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesCoenzyme Q10 and Statin-Related Muscle Pain: What Does the Latest Meta-Analysis Show?
Muscle pain and weakness are among the most common reasons patients stop taking statins on their own — medications with well-documented cardiovascular benefit. Coenzyme Q10, whose production the body partially suppresses under statin therapy, has for years been recommended as a supplement to ease these complaints. A 2018 meta-analysis shows a real effect on muscle symptoms — but earlier analyses from the same decade reached the opposite conclusion, making this a good example of how much interpretation depends on which studies get selected.
PZdr Piotr Zieliński12 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesGinger and Migraine: Does It Help During an Acute Attack, or Only for Prevention?
Ginger is sometimes recommended as a natural way to ease a migraine attack, often alongside classic triptans or as an add-on to standard treatment. A 2021 meta-analysis pooling three randomized trials shows a real effect on pain during an acute migraine attack — but that's a completely different question from preventing migraines in the first place, where the evidence is much weaker, and one trial found no advantage of ginger over placebo.
JWJulia Wiśniewska10 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesFolic Acid and Postpartum Depression: What Does the Available Research Show?
Folic acid is mostly associated with preventing neural tube defects in the fetus, but a growing number of studies also look at its relationship with a mother's mood after childbirth. A 2022 meta-analysis suggests that continuous folic acid supplementation during pregnancy may be associated with a lower risk of perinatal depression — but this is still mostly observational data, not large randomized trials designed specifically for this purpose, which calls for caution in interpreting the conclusions.
AKdr Anna Kowalczyk11 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesZinc and Chronic Wound Healing: Does Supplementation Actually Help?
Zinc is often described as an almost universal wound-healing "accelerator" — from minor scrapes to venous leg ulcers that persist for months. The reality, as shown by the most rigorous systematic review available (Cochrane), is far more measured: in people with chronic leg ulcers, oral zinc supplementation, without first confirming an actual deficiency, did not statistically significantly speed up healing. That doesn't mean zinc is irrelevant to wound healing — it means its role shows up mainly where a real deficiency exists, not as a universal add-on for every patient.
PZdr Piotr Zieliński11 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesBerberine and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): What a Meta-Analysis of 10 Trials Shows
Berberine, a plant alkaloid best known for research on insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, has in recent years gained popularity as a natural support for women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). A fresh meta-analysis of ten randomized trials gives a concrete answer to whether adding berberine to standard PCOS treatment actually improves fertility and hormonal profile — and shows the effect is real, but has clear limits.
AKdr Anna Kowalczyk12 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesCaffeine and Cognitive Function in Older Adults: What the Large Cohort Studies Actually Show
"Coffee protects against dementia" is one of the most repeated claims in popular guides about brain aging. The largest meta-analysis of cohort studies to date, covering over 750,000 participants, paints a far more ambiguous picture — and it's caffeine itself, apart from coffee and tea as whole beverages, that comes out looking weakest.
PZdr Piotr Zieliński12 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesPhosphatidylserine and Post-Exercise Cortisol: Does This Supplement Really Blunt Training Stress
Phosphatidylserine is often marketed to athletes and people training intensely as a way to "calm down" cortisol after a workout and speed up recovery. Behind this claim stands a specific double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study — small, but methodologically solid. We take a close look at exactly what it showed, and what it didn't, before you decide on this fairly costly supplement.
MNMichał Nowak11 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesAshwagandha and Muscle Strength and Mass: What the Latest Meta-Analysis of 13 Trials Shows
Ashwagandha is today one of the most commonly supplemented adaptogens among people who train with weights, and supplement makers happily cite studies "proving" gains in strength and muscle mass. The latest, three-level meta-analysis pooling thirteen randomized trials gives a more measured answer: the overall effect is real, but specifically for muscle strength — what bodybuilders and strength trainees care about most — the evidence remains uncertain.
MNMichał Nowak12 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesProbiotics and Upper Respiratory Infections in Daycare and Preschool Children
The first year at daycare or preschool means, for many parents, an endless string of colds, runny noses and fevers — a child is healthy for two days, then sick again. Probiotics are among the most heavily marketed ways to "boost immunity" during this stretch, but a systematic review of the evidence paints a far more modest picture than the packaging suggests: the effect is real, but small, and depends on the specific strain rather than on probiotics in general.
AKdr Anna Kowalczyk11 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesVitamin D and Painful Periods — What an 11-Trial Meta-Analysis Shows
Dysmenorrhea — painful periods — affects a large share of women of reproductive age and is often dismissed as something you simply have to live with. A meta-analysis of 11 randomized trials shows that vitamin D supplementation significantly reduces menstrual pain intensity — but mainly for primary dysmenorrhea, not for pain secondary to other gynecological conditions.
AKdr Anna Kowalczyk11 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesL-Arginine and Preeclampsia Prevention — What a Systematic Review Says
Preeclampsia complicates 2 to 8% of pregnancies and remains one of the leading causes of maternal and neonatal complications. L-arginine, an amino acid that's a precursor of the vasodilator nitric oxide, has for years been studied as a potential, inexpensive preventive intervention in women at elevated risk — a systematic review of seven randomized trials shows a promising, though still uncertain, direction.
AKdr Anna Kowalczyk12 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesMelatonin and Sleep Quality in Children with ADHD — What a Randomized Trial Showed
Difficulty falling asleep affects a large share of children with ADHD, and the stimulant medications used to treat the disorder can make it worse. A randomized trial of 105 medication-free children shows that melatonin genuinely improves sleep measures — it shortens the time to fall asleep and lengthens sleep — but has no effect on ADHD symptoms themselves or on daytime behavior.
JWJulia Wiśniewska11 min
September 2, 2026
GuidesZinc and Chronic Urticaria — What Is Actually Known About This Link
Chronic urticaria — persistent hives and itching lasting weeks or months — is often linked online to zinc deficiency and "natural" treatment through supplementation. An honest look at the available scientific literature, however, shows something different: despite a mechanistically plausible hypothesis, dedicated clinical trials evaluating zinc specifically in chronic urticaria are essentially absent, and the one directly related study found no abnormality at all.
AKdr Anna Kowalczyk10 min
September 2, 2026