[Examine Newsletter] March 2021 Updates + Happy April Fool's

Hello, Here’s your recap of Examine's March 2021 updates. --- Mar 4, 2021 New pages on Depression, Nitric Oxide, and TEF (Thermic Effect of Food) We have another trio of new pages this week: - [Depression](=) - [Nitric Oxide]( - [TEF (Thermic Effect of Food)](=) Quick reminder: Examine is building up a collection of health condition and health topic pages in 2021. We’re starting with topics with these characteristics: - Most important (like depression) - Generate a lot of questions (like nitric oxide) - Frequently misunderstood (like TEF) Remember that health knowledge builds up over months and years! So when you get our updates, pay special attention to any topics that you’re not very familiar with and that might apply to you, your friends, and your family. If you quickly scan these topics, you’ll build up a useful knowledge base over time. This practice pays lifelong health dividends. --------------------------------------------------------------- Mar 11, 2021 The latest evidence on cannabis Are you interested in cannabis for health reasons? We’ve updated our page with dozens of new studies: [The health effects of cannabis]( If you're curious about the connections among emerging cannabis research, cannabis hype, and cannabis skepticism, here’s a quick summary: - Cannabis is a relatively inexpensive potential therapy with widely varying regulations depending on where you live. - Cannabis can have many different impacts on health and how you feel because it affects your body's endocannabinoid system. - The endocannabinoid system is a newcomer onto the science scene, with the first natural endocannabinoids discovered in the early 1990s. So the research base is still building. - Different cannabis strains and different cannabis extracts can have widely varying impacts. Individual people also experience different impacts. That’s one reason why human studies are so important — to rigorously test variation. - For the same reason, we try to discuss different types of cannabis products separately on our evidence page, when possible. Sometimes they differ in meaningful ways. - With emerging therapies like cannabis, it’s common to see hype based on anecdotes. Those anecdotes shouldn’t be ignored though. Tons of studies are ongoing, to build on centuries of anecdotes with controlled trial evidence. - Cannabis use is still taboo in some circles due to stances against recreational abuse (or even just recreational use). As you can see, there’s a whole lot going on, and I only covered a few of the bigger points. Long story short, cannabis research is increasingly important as more people are considering it for health purposes. And researching this particular herb is quite complicated. Luckily our research team is on the job: [The latest cannabis evidence]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Mar 25, 2021 Top five study summaries for March Every month, we summarize 150+ new studies for our [Examine Members](. Below are five of our Members’ favorites from this month’s issue. If you’re low on time and not sure whether to read on, here’s a rundown of the topics: - Weight-loss maintenance - The consequences of sleep deprivation - Sleep supplements - Intense exercise and cardiovascular disease - The risk of calcium supplements Study 1: [What factors determine weight-loss maintenance?]() Keeping your weight down can be trickier than losing it in the first place. Many weight-loss interventions are successful in short-term studies, but few studies have assessed what makes it possible not to regain. Study 2: [Sleep deprivation decreases testosterone levels and muscle protein synthesis]() Poor sleep is associated with worsened muscle mass and function, but more research is needed to explore the mechanisms behind this association. Study 3: [Effects of various supplements on sleep quality]() Poor sleep increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and mental health problems. Are there supplements that can make you sleep better? Study 4: [Examining the relationship between physical activity levels and CVD risk]() If you exercise a lot, do you get optimal cardiovascular benefits? Or do the benefits start to wane — and maybe even reverse — with very high exercise levels? Previous research has relied on self-reported levels of physical activity, which tend to be unreliable. This study used accelerometer data to examine the associations between different levels of physical activity and the risk of cardiovascular disease. Study 5: [Is calcium supplementation increasing your risk of cardiovascular disease?]() Some meta-analyses have associated calcium supplementation with an increased risk of cardiovascular events; but other studies have failed to replicate these findings. What does the latest evidence say? --- Did you see anything of interest above? If not, stay tuned for next month’s top five! --------------------------------------------------------------- Apr 1, 2021 Help us put the SUPER back in Superfood 🍽️ Most so-called “superfoods” make our researchers sooooooo angry! 😾 Each week brings some new hype around the latest exotic berry or some weird ancient grain. Three exasperated researchers recently cornered me: - “Kamal, what about the REAL superfood that fits in flat, easily stackable boxes?” - “Even children like it! Think of the children!!!” - “Did you know that famous martial artists from the 80s ate this superfood exclusively?” You might be wondering which superfood they’re referring to. Wonder no more! We wrote an in-depth analysis of it: [This underrated superfood is a tasty game-changer]() --------------------------------------------------------------- 📣 Ready to stay on top of the latest research? Become an [Examine Member]( today (with a 14-day free trial). Sincerely, Kamal Patel Co-founder, Examine ⇨ If you would like to switch your email preference from monthly back to weekly, just [click here](. [About Examine]() | [Free Membership trial]( | [Instagram](=) | [Facebook]() | [Twitter](=) [I want an email once a month](=) | [Unsubscribe]( | [Update your profile]( | PO Box 592, Station-P, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2T1