Michał Nowak

Creatine

One of the most thoroughly studied supplements in the world — supports strength, muscle mass and, according to newer research, cognitive function.

Collagen

Collagen peptides are often used as a supportive measure for skin elasticity and joint comfort — the evidence is promising but still limited.

Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum)

A functional mushroom with more than 2,000 years of history in Chinese and Japanese medicine, studied for its immune-modulating effects — human clinical evidence, however, remains modest and partly contradictory.

Cordyceps militaris

A laboratory-cultivated functional mushroom — this is the species behind almost every 'cordyceps' supplement sold today. High, stable cordycepin content, but evidence for improved physical performance in humans is still mixed.

Shiitake

A culinary-functional mushroom rich in lentinan and beta-glucans, studied clinically for immune modulation and lipid profile — one of the best-researched functional mushrooms on the market.

Poria (Fu Ling)

A sclerotium-forming fungus present in Chinese medicine formulas as Fu Ling for centuries — as a standalone supplement, though, it has very modest, indirect clinical data in humans.

Umbrella Polypore (Zhu Ling)

A mushroom present in Chinese medicine recipes as Zhu Ling for 2,500 years — a potent diuretic. Modern research on the isolated polysaccharide PPS focuses mainly on hepatitis B and anticancer mechanisms in a test tube, not standalone supplementation.

Birch Polypore (Fomitopsis betulina)

A bracket fungus common on birches in Poland, known for its discovery alongside Ötzi's remains — historically fascinating, but still not clinically confirmed as a supplement.

Artist's Conk (Ganoderma applanatum)

A common, woody bracket fungus famous for the fact that you can draw on it — studied in the lab for polysaccharides and triterpenes, but not a popular dietary supplement.

Beefsteak Fungus (Fistulina hepatica)

A distinctive, 'bleeding' mushroom that looks like raw meat — prized more as a culinary curiosity than a supplement; preliminary chemical studies point to a very high content of phenolic compounds.

Enokitake (Flammulina velutipes)

A popular culinary mushroom, also known in English-speaking countries as Velvet Foot, studied in the lab for its immunomodulatory protein FIP-fve — on the market almost exclusively as food.

Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus)

One of the most popular edible mushrooms in Poland, containing a natural compound structurally similar to lovastatin — studied mainly for its effects on lipid profile and immunity.

Elm Oyster Mushroom (Hypsizygus ulmarius)

A culinary mushroom closely related to shimeji, studied in the lab and in animals for antioxidant, hepatoprotective, and blood-sugar-supporting effects — with no clinical studies in humans.

Wood Ear (Auricularia auricula-judae)

A jelly fungus popular in Asian cuisine, growing in Poland mainly on elder — studied since the 1980s for anticoagulant and antiplatelet effects relevant to people taking blood-thinning medication.

Ganoderma tsugae (Hemlock Reishi)

A North American relative of reishi that grows on eastern hemlock — popular among herbalists in the US and Canada as 'hemlock reishi,' but with a much thinner body of scientific research.

Ganoderma sinense (Black Reishi)

A rare, dark-purple bracket fungus known in Chinese medicine as 'Zi Zhi' — unlike Ganoderma lingzhi, this is a genetically distinct species, with its own, smaller body of research: a chemotherapy-support drug registered in China, plus preliminary data on protecting the heart from anthracycline cardiotoxicity.

Willow bracket (Phellinus igniarius)

A common, hard bracket fungus that mainly parasitizes willows, with documented traditional use as tinder and a brewed drink among Siberian and North American peoples — but with no significant clinical studies in humans.

Hairy Bracket (Trametes hirsuta)

A common bracket fungus closely related to turkey tail, valued in biotechnology as a laccase producer. No clinical trials in humans and no presence on the supplement market.

Mossy Maze Polypore (Cerrena unicolor)

A common European bracket fungus that decomposes dead hardwood, known in biotechnology mainly as a source of the enzyme laccase — with no culinary or supplement history and no studies in humans.

Intermittent Fasting (IF)

An eating pattern based on cycles of eating and fasting, e.g., 16:8 — the evidence is solid for weight reduction, less conclusive for effects independent of caloric deficit.

Mediterranean Diet

The best-studied eating pattern for cardiovascular health and longevity.

Strength Training

One of the single strongest predictors of healthy aging — it shapes muscle mass, bone density, and insulin sensitivity.

Sauna (Thermal Heat Therapy)

Regular sauna use is linked in cohort studies to lower cardiovascular mortality risk — the strongest data comes from Finland.

Ketogenic Diet

A very low-carbohydrate, high-fat eating pattern that puts the body into a state of ketosis — with strong evidence in drug-resistant epilepsy and moderate evidence for short-term weight loss.

DASH Diet

An eating pattern developed specifically to lower blood pressure — one of the best-studied dietary approaches in cardiology, confirmed by multicenter NIH-funded trials.

Vegan Diet

An eating pattern that fully excludes animal products — with real cardiometabolic benefits, but one that requires deliberate planning and vitamin B12 supplementation.

Paleo Diet

An eating pattern recreating a presumed hunter-gatherer diet — it eliminates grains, dairy, and processed food, but evidence for its advantage over other diets is limited and based on small, short studies.

Low-Glycemic Diet

An eating pattern based on choosing carbohydrates by glycemic index and glycemic load — with solid evidence supporting glycemic control in people with type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance.

VO2 max

The maximum amount of oxygen the body can take up during exercise — one of the strongest, well-documented predictors of lifespan, measurable in a sports diagnostics lab.

Adaptive Thermogenesis

A drop in resting energy expenditure beyond what body-mass loss alone would predict — the mechanism explaining why weight loss naturally slows over time, even with a maintained calorie deficit.

Panax Ginseng

One of the longest-used adaptogens in traditional medicine — with moderate evidence for improved cognitive function and reduced chronic fatigue.

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

Short, intense bursts of effort produce comparable or better metabolic results than longer moderate-intensity training — at a substantially smaller time investment.

Autophagy

An intracellular 'housekeeping' process that clears out damaged proteins and organelles, whose discovery earned a Nobel Prize — one of the key mechanisms studied in the context of slowing aging.

Heart Rate Variability (HRV)

The variability in the time between successive heartbeats is one of the best non-invasive indicators of autonomic nervous system balance — today available in nearly every sports watch.

Eleuthero (Siberian Ginseng)

Despite its common name 'Siberian ginseng,' this is a completely different plant from Panax ginseng — with a distinct profile of active compounds and its own, equally promising evidence base.

Citicoline (CDP-choline)

A compound naturally occurring in the body as an intermediate in phosphatidylcholine synthesis — one of the few nootropics with real, though moderate, evidence for improved attention and psychomotor speed.

Zone 2 Endurance Training

Long, easy aerobic exertion kept slow enough that you can hold a conversation — deceptively boring, but it's exactly this that builds the fitness foundation HIIT's effects rest on.

Cold Plunges and Cold Exposure

Controlled exposure to cold water has become one of the most recognizable biohacking practices — with real, though more modest than pop culture suggests, scientific backing.

Red Light Therapy (Photobiomodulation)

Exposure to red and near-infrared light has become a popular biohacking tool — with real, though still limited, evidence mainly in the context of skin health.

The Myth of Multitasking

What we experience as 'doing several things at once' is actually rapid switching of attention between tasks — and every switch carries a measurable, cumulative cognitive cost.

Keto, DASH, or Mediterranean? Which Approach Has the Strongest Evidence for Weight Loss

We compare three popular eating patterns based on real scientific evidence — not social media popularity — to help you choose the approach that fits your goal.

July 31, 2026

Creatine and the Brain: What a New Meta-Analysis Shows About Cognitive Function

For decades, creatine has been associated mainly with the gym, but a growing body of research suggests its role in the brain — an organ with enormous energy demands — may be just as interesting as its role in muscle.

August 4, 2026

What we now know about NMN and longevity — a review of human studies

NMN, a precursor of NAD+, has for years been one of the most hotly debated supplements in the biohacking community. We look at what the latest clinical trials in humans show, as distinct from earlier studies in mice.

August 11, 2026

How to build a workout routine when you're short on time — a minimalist's guide

Lack of time is the most commonly cited reason for giving up regular physical activity. We show a research-backed, minimalist way to stay fit on a very limited time budget.

August 11, 2026

Adaptogen Ranking: Which One Works Best for Stress, Sleep and Energy

Ashwagandha, rhodiola, ginseng, eleuthero — they're all called 'adaptogens', but they have different mechanisms and different strengths. We sort out which one fits which context, based purely on the strength of the available evidence.

August 18, 2026

Nootropics Ranking: Focus Substances With the Strongest Evidence

The 'brain booster' market is full of promises with nothing to back them up. We've compiled the nootropics that actually have randomized clinical trials behind them, ranked by real strength of evidence — not social-media popularity.

August 18, 2026

Cold Showers and Immunity: Do You Really Get Sick Less?

"Cold exposure boosts your immune system" is one of the most repeated claims in biohacking — but the newest, largest meta-analysis on the topic shows something more complex: inflammation rises short-term, and immune markers don't budge. There is, though, one real, if surprising, long-term effect. We break down the evidence.

August 22, 2026

HRV Training and Resonance Breathing: Does It Really Reduce Stress?

Your watch shows your HRV, but the measurement itself changes nothing. HRV training (biofeedback) is a specific technique — breathing at a resonance rate, usually around 6 breaths per minute — with real scientific support for reducing stress and anxiety. Here's how it works and how to start.

August 22, 2026

Red Light Therapy and Muscle Recovery: When Does It Actually Work?

Photobiomodulation is mostly associated with skin, but a growing number of meta-analyses examine its effect on muscle strength and recovery. The result is more complex than a simple "works" or "doesn't work" — WHEN you apply the light and how trained the person is turn out to matter most. We break down the evidence.

August 22, 2026

Zone 2 vs. HIIT: Which Improves VO2max More Effectively?

This is one of the most disputed topics in endurance biohacking. One meta-analysis suggests HIIT has an edge, another finds no difference between intervals and continuous training — but with a significant caveat about the quality of the studies analyzed. We check what the data really show before you pick one protocol over the other.

August 22, 2026

How Many Sets Per Week Per Muscle Group? What the Meta-Analyses Show

"More is better" is an intuitive but incomplete summary of what's known about training volume. The classic Schoenfeld meta-analysis shows a continuous dose-response relationship, but a newer systematic review suggests a clear plateau around 12-20 sets per week. We break down these two seemingly contradictory conclusions.

August 22, 2026

Beta-Alanine and Exercise Capacity: Who Does It Actually Work For?

Beta-alanine is one of the few pre-workout supplements whose effect can be felt almost tangibly — the characteristic skin tingling (paresthesia) after a dose leads many people to take effectiveness for granted. The largest available meta-analysis, covering over 1,400 participants and 65 different research protocols, shows something that requires real clarification: not every type of exercise responds to it the same way.

August 25, 2026

Citrulline Malate and Training Performance: Real Effect or Overhyped Supplement?

Citrulline malate is a staple ingredient in nearly every pre-workout on the market, marketed as a way to squeeze out noticeably more reps at the gym. The newest, and so far largest, meta-analysis on this topic from 2026 gives an answer more measured than the marketing suggests — the effect is real and statistically detectable, but certainty of evidence was rated low, and an earlier meta-analysis of the same question found a result that wasn't even statistically significant.

August 25, 2026

Fasted Training and Fat Loss: A Real Mechanism, a Wrong Conclusion?

Fasted training has a reputation as a "hack" for faster fat loss — and, rare in the world of popular fitness advice, the underlying mechanism itself is scientifically true. The problem is that the study testing whether this mechanism translates into a real, long-term difference in body composition gave an answer that undermines the entire rationale for this strategy as a weight-loss tool.

August 25, 2026

Creatine and Hair Loss: Does the Supplement Really Raise DHT?

"Creatine causes baldness" is one of the most repeated warnings in gym culture — and it rests on exactly one study from 2009, which never measured hair loss at all. That study did show a real spike in DHT, the hormone responsible for pattern hair loss, up 56% after a week of creatine loading. The catch: nobody since has ever tested whether that DHT spike actually translates into real hair loss — and those are very different questions.

August 23, 2026

Cold Water After Strength Training: Does It Help or Block Muscle Growth?

An ice bath after a strength session is associated with recovery and professionalism — yet a 12-week study shows the opposite: people using cold water after every workout gained significantly less strength and muscle mass than people using standard active recovery. The culprit is suppression of the very molecular signals muscle relies on to grow after exercise.

August 23, 2026

The Post-Workout Anabolic Window: Myth or Real Time Limit?

"You have 30 minutes after training to eat protein, or you lose the gains" is one of the most deeply rooted beliefs in gym culture. A meta-analysis covering over 1,000 participants shows it's an oversimplification based on misreading short-term cellular signaling data. What matters is total daily protein intake, not a rigid minute-count after your last rep.

August 23, 2026

High-Protein Diets and Kidneys: Do They Harm Healthy People?

"Too much protein wrecks your kidneys" is a warning almost everyone hears the moment they start eating more meat or protein powder. A systematic review shows higher protein intake raises glomerular filtration rate (GFR) — but that means the kidney is working harder within normal range, not that it's being damaged. There's an honest catch, though: almost no study ran longer than six months, so the truly long-term question remains open.

August 23, 2026

Alcohol After Training: How Much Do You Really Lose From Your Muscle Gains?

One beer or a couple of drinks after a hard workout doesn't zero out the whole session's effects — but it isn't neutral either. A study published in PLOS ONE shows that alcohol consumed after strength training clearly lowers the rate of muscle protein synthesis, and pairing alcohol with protein doesn't fully protect against that drop. The good news: even after alcohol, protein synthesis remains elevated above resting levels.

August 23, 2026

Non-Alcoholic Beer and Marathon Recovery: Does It Really Help Runners?

It sounds like a gym joke, yet it's one of the more intriguing findings in sports recovery science: a double-blind randomized controlled trial on 277 marathon runners found that drinking non-alcoholic beer for several weeks before and after a race cut the risk of upper respiratory tract infection more than threefold compared to placebo. This isn't locker-room folklore or brewery marketing — it's concrete data from the Munich Marathon, with measurements of interleukin-6, leukocyte counts, and actual illness tracking for two weeks after the race. In this article, we look at exactly what the study showed, what mechanism might explain it, and where scientific certainty ends and overinterpretation of a single, if solidly designed, experiment begins.

August 24, 2026

Walking After Meals: How Much Does It Really Lower the Post-Meal Blood Sugar Spike?

"Be active" is advice so general it barely tells you when exactly to move. A randomized clinical trial in people with type 2 diabetes found something far more specific: a short walk right after a meal lowers the post-meal glucose spike more effectively than a generic recommendation to "meet your daily activity target" without specifying timing. What's more, the effect wasn't the same across all meals — after dinner specifically, walking cut the glucose spike by roughly 22%, considerably more than after other meals of the day. This suggests that for blood sugar control, what matters isn't just how much you move over 24 hours, but precisely when you do it. In this article we break down these findings step by step and explain exactly which population they've been shown in.

August 24, 2026

Almond Mushroom (Agaricus blazei)

A mushroom from the Brazilian forests studied mainly for immune modulation and blood-sugar support — human evidence is mixed and preliminary, despite the supplement's considerable popularity.

Cauliflower Mushroom (Sparassis crispa)

A rare, prized forest mushroom with one of the highest documented beta-glucan contents — in Poland it's mainly foraged for the table, while Japanese research into its effects on immunity and blood sugar rests almost entirely on animal models.

Hon-shimeji (Lyophyllum shimeji)

A wild-growing, mycorrhizal 'true shimeji' from Japan and Scandinavian pine forests — genetically and ecologically distinct from the cultivated bunashimeji sold under the same name.

Shaggy Bracket (Inonotus hispidus)

A rare, striking orange-rust bracket fungus in Poland, parasitizing mainly apple and ash trees; a relative of chaga with limited, mostly Chinese, in vitro research into anticancer and antioxidant compounds.

Ochre Bracket (Trametes ochracea)

A species nearly identical to turkey tail, often mistaken for it in the field. It has a single laboratory study on a fruiting-body extract behind it — no clinical trials whatsoever.

Grifola sordulenta

A Patagonian 'sister' species to Grifola gargal, growing on koihue and prized locally for its culinary qualities — but, unlike gargal, with practically no research in humans or animals at all.

HbA1c (Glycated Hemoglobin)

A biomarker reflecting average blood glucose over the past 2–3 months — the gold standard for diagnosing and monitoring diabetes, far more stable than a single glucose measurement.

What is biohacking

From the DIY-biology movement through the Quantified Self to today's social-media-popular trend — what biohacking actually is in practice, and where science ends and marketing begins.

Zinc

A trace element essential for the work of over 300 enzymes in the body — its deficiency, more common than widely believed, affects immunity, wound healing, and hormone balance.

Chronotype

An individual, largely genetically determined preference for sleep and activity timing — ignoring it leads to a phenomenon known as 'social jet lag,' linked to worse metabolic health.

SHBG (Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin)

A transport protein whose level determines how much testosterone is actually 'available' to tissues — without knowing SHBG, a total testosterone result alone can be misleading.

PSA and Prostate Health

Prostate-specific antigen is one of the most commonly ordered tests in men over 50 — but also one of the most controversial, due to a high false-positive rate.

Sleep and Memory

Learning during the day is only half of the memorization process — the other half happens at night, as the brain actively consolidates and organizes newly acquired information during sleep.

Growth Hormone (GH)

A peptide hormone responsible for growth in childhood and tissue regeneration throughout life — surrounded by a dense web of marketing myths about supplements supposedly 'releasing GH.'

Telomeres and Telomerase

Protective 'caps' on the ends of chromosomes that shorten with every cell division — one of the most recognizable, though still imperfect, biomarkers of cellular aging.

hCG as Adjunct Therapy in TRT

Human chorionic gonadotropin is sometimes added to testosterone replacement therapy specifically to prevent testicular atrophy and preserve fertility — a problem exogenous testosterone alone doesn't solve.

Male Fertility and Semen Quality

A widely cited 2017 meta-analysis showed a decades-long decline in sperm counts in Western countries — we look at what's actually known about the factors affecting male fertility.

NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis)

All the energy burned on everyday movement unrelated to formal exercise — fidgeting, standing, gesturing — can differ by as much as 2000 calories a day between individuals, despite no difference in the number of planned workouts.

Chronic Stress

Short-term stress is a natural, adaptive body response — the problem is when it becomes chronic. A large meta-analysis of data from nearly 200,000 people found a concrete number for how much chronic job stress raises coronary heart disease risk.

Insomnia

Chronic difficulty falling or staying asleep isn't just a matter of 'sleep hygiene' — the best-studied intervention, recommended as first-line treatment, is cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), not sleeping pills.