[Examine Newsletter] April 2023 Updates

See what’s new at Examine over the past month!  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Examine]( [View in browser](=) Hello! Here’s your recap of Examine's April 2023 updates. 📧 Reminder: If you would like to switch back to weekly emails instead of a monthly newsletter — just [click here](). --------------------------------------------------------------- Did you know... Our [Healthy Aging Supplement Guide]() is free for Examine Insiders! We made it available to everyone because it’s one of our most popular guides. All of our guides are full of evidence-based recommendations distilled from years of continuous research. They’re updated as new data gets published (we’ve just reworked the [Testosterone](), [Sleep](), [Cardiovascular Health](), and [Joint Health]() guides) to ensure our readers are benefitting from the latest information. If you’re curious about the other guides, [try Examine+ for free to unlock them all]()! --------------------------------------------------------------- If all you have is a hammer … Apr. 27, 2023 “Give a small boy a hammer, and he will find that everything he encounters needs pounding.” –Abraham Kaplan, 1964 Uhhhh … why are we talking about hammers? Confusingly enough, another Abraham (Abraham Maslow) is the author of a similar quote you may have heard, often paraphrased as “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” Basically: people love to use the tools they’re familiar with, often to the exclusion of better options. This idea applies exceedingly well to health and nutrition. Below are just two specific “hammers” to watch out for on your own personal health journey. The diet hammer Although Examine is a nutrition and supplement focused website, it’s too easy to believe that a perfect diet is the answer to all health problems. Person A: “Oh yeah, I have XYZ condition.” Person B: “Interesting … have you tried this diet? It’s great for XYZ. People swear by it.” You see, while you are literally what you eat, you are also much more than that. That “much more” often gets minimized in favor of things that are easily quantifiable, like a supplement regimen or a macronutrient plan. Also, time and energy are zero sum. If you go into too many rabbit holes about nutrition and supplementation, without paying lots of attention to things like sleep, socializing, and stress reduction, all that diet knowledge isn’t likely to help you much. The total effect of those factors on health is likely to be larger in most cases than diet plus supplementation. If you feel up to it, list out how hard you’re trying on the above three health factors on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being best. If you’re at a 5 or below on any of them, consider shifting some attention there. The randomized trial hammer Because Examine is the biggest database of randomized trials on nutrition and supplementation, you might think I’m a randomized trial evangelist. Nope! Trial quality can vary a ton, and poorly conducted trials can easily be misleading. As we continue revamping the site, we’re going to see how far into trial quality we can get without blowing our whole budget spending dozens of hours dissecting a single trial. More importantly, there’s a lot that’s not easily captured by randomized trials. If you take a supplement that’s shown to work and it doesn’t for you, what does that really mean? Or if trials show it doesn’t work, but it does for you, what’s the deal? The deal is that human biology is immensely complex, and there are 8.03 billion people in the world with different constellations of physiological and non-physiological traits. Of course a single trial (or even meta-analysis) won’t cover all of these situations! Trials are informative, but not deterministic. So next time someone tries to hammer you with randomized trial evidence, ask them to swap out the hammer for a massage gun. Trust me — a relaxed discussion where you can massage your viewpoint as new evidence (trials, observational, or personal) is introduced is much more fulfilling. --------------------------------------------------------------- 📅 Top 5 Study Summaries for April Apr. 20, 2023 Every month, we summarize 150+ recent studies for our [Examine+ Members](). You can read five of this month’s most favorited Study Summaries for free by clicking the links below. The Study Summaries marked with are Editor’s Picks, which provide more details about the study, mention related studies, and include helpful graphics. [The effects of partial repetitions in the initial range of motion on muscle hypertrophy]() In this randomized controlled trial, training in the initial range of motion of a biceps curl was more effective than training in the end range of motion for increasing muscle size and strength. = [Comparing higher-protein intermittent fasting to a heart-healthy diet for weight loss]( In this randomized controlled trial that compared two hypocaloric diets, a higher-protein intermittent fasting diet reduced body weight more than a heart-healthy diet. [Chrononutrition practices and weight loss]( =In this observational study, consuming a higher proportion of total daily energy and protein intake earlier in the day was associated with greater weight loss. [Does krill oil improve exercise recovery?]( In this randomized controlled trial in resistance-trained men, supplementation with krill oil improved exercise recovery. [Does the sweetener erythritol increase the risk of cardiovascular disease?]( A series of studies reported that high levels of the sweetener erythritol in the blood were associated with an increased risk of CVD events, and that erythritol may have pro-coagulant effects. Whether these findings are sufficient to consider erythritol as a cause of CVD remains debatable. You can also check out the [most-favorited summaries from previous months](.🔥 --------------------------------------------------------------- We finally have a YouTube channel! Apr. 13, 2023 The [brand new Examine YouTube channel]() launched today! Check out our first video, which applies to everyone with a nighttime smartphone, tablet, computer, or TV habit: [WATCH: Screens are hurting your sleep. Here’s how.](=) = A brand new format, and still no ads! I’m pretty excited about getting more videos made. Personally, I love learning through videos. Even I sometimes get tired of reading through walls of text. But I have an important request for you before you hop over to the video: If you want more videos, [please “vote” by subscribing to our channel](, and maybe even forward this email to your friends who are into health research! This is really important, because we have to figure out how much time and effort to devote to YouTube. We’re disabling ads (and hence ad revenue) on the channel because we don’t want your learning to be interrupted by annoying ads. Plus, you can guess what kind of companies are salivating to show ads to our users! As you might know, this is an extremely uncommon practice for a YouTube channel! It removes much of the financial incentive for making more videos. So, we need to know that people are watching and subscribing in order to consistently put out videos. What to expect in future videos Our videos will be both rigorously researched and at least lightly entertaining. They’ll cover nutrition, supplements, and other interesting topics we get asked about. Sometimes they’ll be fun and cartoony, sometimes they’ll have real people on camera, but they’ll avoid gimmicks while keeping the learning process light and breezy … and most importantly, evidence-based! I hope you enjoy [the channel](). By watching and subscribing, you help us counteract the thousands of health and nutrition videos on YouTube with questionable accuracy or outright dangerous information! If you watch the whole video, can you let me know what you think of the video format? We’ll have a mix of formats in the future, but I wanted to get a sense of how our readers like this particular one. --------------------------------------------------------------- How exactly does Examine minimize bias? Apr. 6, 2023 During the last few years, I’ve never really explained the “anti-bias” part of our research process to you. Shame on me! Examine is all about objective and unbiased research, so I should've done this earlier. 😓 Better late than never. I'll simplify our bias-minimization process down to four steps in this email. Later on, we’ll be putting full documentation on the Examine website to help make our process more transparent and open to feedback. Step 1: Create an iron-clad researcher contract Nobody’s 100% unbiased, because we’re all human and come at things with our own experiences and knowledge. But at Examine, we try our darndest to get close to the “no bias” asymptote. The first step is contractual. Examine contractually mandates that all staff avoid any and all connections to supplement, food, or health companies. Here’s just one portion of the legalese directly from our researcher contract, condensed down for readability: The Contractor hereby confirms that he or she is not presently engaged, either directly or indirectly, with a person or company involved in the business of health supplements or health-intervention programs … The Contractor agrees to notify the Company immediately if, at any time, and for any reason, Contractor becomes engaged, either directly or indirectly, with a person or company involved in the business of health supplements or health-intervention programs … We take this very seriously, and have no researchers with any investments, partnerships, contracts, or any other relationship with health-related companies that might bias their research for us. Examine staff are also prohibited from receiving gifts or even free samples from health-related companies. Note that Examine doesn’t hire freelance writers like other big health websites do. Most of our staff are full-time researchers working exclusively for Examine. We pay everyone fairly and create a low stress working environment to encourage researchers to stay for many, many years. By having a close-knit, long-tenured team, we avoid having to worry about temporary writers who may have hidden biases which otherwise take months to emerge. Step 2: Encourage “Well, actually …” discussions Ever since childhood, I’ve been that slightly annoying guy who won’t let inaccurate statements go. But at Examine, I feel comfortable knowing that I’m surrounded with many other “Well, actually” people! We point out each other’s inaccuracies whenever they pop up, without hesitation. Here are just a couple real-life examples from our internal conversations on Slack: Person 1: Posts an article on drug composition (racemic mixtures) they thought was cool and interesting. Person 2: “Well, actually ... is the article you posted accurate or misleading? This meta-analysis says that 20 mg of nexium outperformed 40 mg of prilosec for symptom relief.” Person 1: Lists a protein intake number supported by a famous study. Person 2: “I've read some compelling explanations for why that meta-regression might have inadequate data points and could change with further research.” Now, this doesn’t always go smoothly. Sometimes we have to decide how far to take an internal debate, because they can chew up hours and hours without having much real-world payoff. And because we’re humans, very, very occasionally feelings can be hurt. Even more rarely, when one researcher “Well, actuallys” another researcher but ends up being wrong themselves, that can get awkward. Yet Examine remains more open to internal debate and correction than literally any group of people I’ve ever been around. Step 3: Assign researchers a broad variety of topics Examine researchers don’t just research topics they’re interested in. In fact, sometimes they’re asked to research topics that don’t jive with their personal diet and supplement regimens. For example, if a researcher eats a ketogenic diet, they have to be equally adept at analyzing vegan diet studies without exhibiting bias. And if a researcher eats a vegan diet, they have to be equally adept at analyzing ketogenic diet studies. We have researchers who eat all kinds of diets and have all kinds of viewpoints on supplements. Their common denominator is open-mindedness and curiosity, avoiding at all costs the assumption that their personal experience (or their patients’ experience) is the universal truth. As individual researchers, we’re fallible and limited by virtue of having just one single brain. But as a team, we check each other, teach each other, and assemble as a group that’s much stronger than its parts. Step 4: Maintain an (overly?) extensive review process Most big health websites list reviewers in their articles, but often the review process takes all of half an hour. Quick reviews are financially prudent, because readers don’t usually have access to the full text of studies, and can’t easily fact check. Plus, the vast majority of health articles on the web are rarely updated, so it’s a one-time review rather than an ongoing one. We review our writing and research way more than is financially prudent. We have four highly-skilled copyeditors, including a specialized medical editor, to make sure our writing clearly communicates the key concepts without being unintentionally misleading. Then, an internal reviewer (and sometimes external reviewer) go line by line and comment on analysis that may not be interpreted correctly or topics that need more explanation. The end result is that researchers simply can’t get away with being biased. We hire researchers and reviewers from a [wide variety of backgrounds]( (dietitians, PhD researchers, pharmacists, medical doctors, etc.), which makes it a quick process to root out any bias that can affect the veracity of our writing. I hope this peek behind the curtain was at least a little bit interesting. There’s a lot more we’re working on behind the scenes to improve bias minimization, such as revamping our backend system to allow easier collection of study funding information and cleaner data extraction from meta-analyses. In the future, we’ll provide more of these glimpses, so that you can learn more about what we do and how we do it. --------------------------------------------------------------- Examine’s new AI chatbot – ChatPHD Apr. 1, 2023 What if an AI chatbot could tell you everything you need to know about nutrition and supplementation? What if it was backed by the full force of Examine’s research team? Enough with the what-ifs, let’s get to the good stuff … [Introducing Examine’s new AI chatbot, ChatPHD!]( I hope you’re as excited about this as I am. Make sure to ask ChatPHD lots and lots of questions, so it can use that data to eventually become hyperaware and take over the world. Hold on, I didn’t mean to say that part out loud. What I meant to say is, “Have fun!!” --------------------------------------------------------------- So, did you find something of interest? If not, please reply to this email to let me know which topics you’d like us to tackle. And if you’re ready to stay on top of the latest research, you can [try out Examine+ for free for 7 days](. Sincerely, Kamal Patel Co-founder, Examine Follow us on: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( [Instagram](=) [About Examine]( | [Careers]() | [Member’s Area]() [Unlock Examine+]( PO Box 592, Station-P, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2T1 [Switch to weekly emails]() | [Opt out of all emails](