[Examine Newsletter] June 2023 Updates

See what’s new at Examine over the past month!  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Examine]( [View in browser](=) Hello! Here’s your recap of Examine's June 2023 updates. 📧 Reminder: If you would like to switch back to weekly emails instead of a monthly newsletter — just [click here](). --------------------------------------------------------------- 📅 Top 5 Study Summaries for June June 29, 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. [Is magnesium intake linked to brain health?]() In this cross-sectional study, higher magnesium intake was associated with larger brain volumes, especially in participants who increased their magnesium intake over time, and with lower white matter lesions. = [Good for what ails you? An umbrella review of physical activity for mental health]() In this umbrella review, physical activity had moderate-sized beneficial effects on depression, anxiety, and psychological distress. [Muscular failure and muscle hypertrophy: Taking the hard road to Gainzville]() In this randomized controlled trial, resistance-trained participants training with high-velocity loss thresholds (i.e., closer to muscular failure) increased their vastus lateralis thickness more than participants training with lower-velocity thresholds. [Daily step patterns and mortality]() In this cohort study, walking 8,000 steps or more on at least 1–2 days per week was associated with lower all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality, compared with no days of walking 8,000 steps. [How much muscle glycogen is needed for high-intensity exercise performance?]() In this crossover trial in recreationally active men, short-duration/high-intensity exercise performance was similar after 3 days of either a moderate-carbohydrate or high-carbohydrate diet, despite the participants having higher muscle glycogen levels after the high-carbohydrate diet. You can also check out the [most-favorited summaries from previous months]().🔥 --------------------------------------------------------------- Introducing our faster update process June 22, 2023 Greetings! [Nick Milazzo]() here. I’m a Lead Researcher at Examine, and am coordinating a brand new page update process. You’ll soon notice Examine pages being updated at a much quicker pace, which also happens to be the number one request we get from readers! Examine has over a thousand pages, and updating them on a limited budget is a daunting task. Remember, we’re a small company that’s entirely self-funded. Fortunately, we have some of the leanest and meanest nutrition researchers out there, and they’re always chomping at the bit to dive into a topic. That said, enthusiasm and intellectual horsepower aren’t the only necessities for writing high-quality pages and keeping them updated — it also takes a good strategy. Here’s what we do currently to update and create the pages on our site: Step 1: A “trigger” event tells us it’s time to get to work. Historically, our most common triggers were: a certain amount of time passing since the previous update and readers making a request. Starting this month, we’ll also trigger page updates based on new studies being released or specific topics trending online. One of our big goals is to make sure we catch new research as quickly as possible, so that you’re never reading an out-of-date page. Step 2: Our researchers read and analyze new studies, and decide what should be included on the page. Being comprehensive is great, but being correct is essential. While we typically include most of the studies relevant to a topic, some don’t make the cut. If a study’s methods are dubious or the data looks like it could be fudged, we won’t put it on our page. Step 3: The researcher writes and modifies the page’s FAQs based on what they’ve learned. Our researchers are smart and (almost more importantly) naturally curious. We encourage them to write about the aspects of a topic they find most interesting as often as possible. We always cover certain core questions, and also strive to include answers to questions we get from readers. Step 4: The new material gets edited and reviewed by the team and by outside experts. Our researchers are as objective and accurate as they come, but nobody is immune to mistakes. As a result, every piece of writing, whether it’s a single-sentence addition or a brand new page, is edited by one of our ace copyeditors and reviewed by at least one additional researcher, and often an external expert like an MD, RD, or PhD to make sure the material is accurate and relevant. Having an interdisciplinary team check our material also ensures we minimize any mistakes or oversights. It’s also part of what makes us … well, us. We want you to know it’s not just one person writing what they think is correct. And that’s it! Wash, rinse, repeat. Did you find this look behind the scenes interesting? I want to make sure you have a clear view of how much we think about our strategy for keeping our pages up to date. If you have any questions about our process, just hit ‘Reply’ to this email. I also have one more bit of good news — we’ve had three specialized researchers start working for Examine just this month (two pharmacists and a physician), and we have a whole slate of updates that are now coming through the pipeline. We’re also updating our site to make it far easier to find our newest updates, but I’ll let Kamal elaborate on that soon! --------------------------------------------------------------- Your opinion is wrong! June 15, 2023 You have lots of opinions. It comes with being a human in modern society. Some of them are pretty inconsequential: - What’s the best Marvel movie? - What’s the most underrated type of nut? Others can be consequential because they affect your health and the health advice you give other people: - What’s the best diet? - Should the average person take any supplements? Now here’s the part where I either annoy you or give you something to think about. Most of us have at least one “wrong” opinion and are also totally, blissfully unaware that we’re wrong. Worse, when we encounter people or information that might intrude on our bliss, the way we handle these situations can inadvertently lead to harm. What’s the problem, exactly? When people hold an unsupported viewpoint, they tend to be resistant to changing it. Especially if they feel strongly about their position, it contains a kernel of truth, and other people are arguing illogically or meanly against them. If you doubt this, just head to Twitter or any other social media platform. (Or maybe don’t.) Disagreements can get … ugly. Tweeting about nutrition information online can get complicated quickly. Once you have an audience, it doesn’t take long to start posting primarily to show how smart or insightful you are, rather than taking your time to write nuanced and not-as-exciting takes. After all, you have to keep your audience glued to your content, and catchy or blanket statements sell! (Sidenote: This is why Examine employs an entire team of full-time researchers. A large research team means that we can provide objective analysis from different perspectives, without an attachment to any particular diet or supplement. Catchiness doesn’t matter to us, because we don’t make money from pageviews or third-party ad revenue.) These pitfalls of social media science debate are part of the reason I don’t post much on my personal accounts. I know I’m not particularly smart or insightful on any single topic. Rather, I just really enjoy learning (which is why my social media handle is [@thefoodlearner](=)). And while online nutrition arguments can sometimes be interesting, participating in them can take a surprising amount of time, time that could instead go to growing Examine or watching cat videos. As a presumably rational and open-minded Examine reader, you’re unlikely to hold many unsupported or wrong viewpoints. But you are almost certainly wrong about at least one opinion. And like a game of telephone, your wrong or even imprecise opinions can spawn even more wrong or imprecise opinions in other people. Stop this process before it starts! How can you prevent the spread of misinformation? The first step is to admit you have a problem. Do you ever make blanket statements about a health topic? Have you ever stated strong viewpoints without reading most of the relevant full text papers? Do you think you’re almost certainly right about most (or, gasp, even all) of your health viewpoints? Maybe you’re a rare breed. Maybe you’re consistently nuanced and cautious in your language. But I bet there’s a topic or two that gets you heated enough where you, too, may claim something that’s at least partially unsupported by evidence or logic. Personally, I’ve slowly started to use more and more moderating language to soften my views, saying things like, “XYZ might be beneficial, but current evidence doesn’t cover most populations,” or “I’m nowhere near an expert on XYZ, so please double-check with someone else, but this study seems to be misinterpreted.” And even so, I’m still wrong too often! So, here are some more ways I try to prevent myself from either purposely or inadvertently spreading flawed opinions: - Criticize your own viewpoints publically. This may seem counterintuitive, but the strongest arguments aren’t built on one-sided analysis. Pretend that you have a nerdy little angel on your shoulder consistently reminding you: Are you 100% sure? If not, express some uncertainty. Might the other side have a point? And so on. - Clearly tag your opinions as opinions. Unless you’re a primary investigator literally restating the conclusions of your study along with its stated (and unstated) limitations, it doesn’t hurt to say “I think that …” rather than implying what you’re saying is an obvious fact. - Realize that what’s true for yourself isn’t necessarily true for other people. This often applies to diets and supplements — what works for one person doesn’t always apply as well to someone else due to differing health conditions, genetics, gut microbiomes, and a million other factors. - Don’t act like a know-it-all. Phrasing your opinions (or your interpretations of evidence) in a humble way can lead to much more fruitful discussions than flaunting knowledge and looking down on people. It’s okay to not know something! That’s a perfect opportunity to learn. - Don’t assume that the available evidence can explain everything. Hypotheses are progressively tested and retested, so a trial or meta-analysis on a topic is useful, but not always the end-all be-all. Be aware that there’s always science being done. Do you have a theory or opinion that’s near and dear to you? Is there any closely-held opinion you’ve changed your mind on? Perhaps one you’ve had many arguments about with friends and family or Twitter? Let me know and I may include yours in a future email about trending diet and supplement topics. Stay tuned! --------------------------------------------------------------- A couple YouTube Shorts June 8, 2023 Here are Examine’s first two YouTube Shorts: - [Give me your best nutrition advice in ten words or less]( - [Is capsaicin an effective pre-workout supplement?]( 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! Why are these clips so short? YouTube and Instagram promote short clips way more than long videos, on average. If you use either service, you’ve probably noticed this. Examine had no say in this decision, believe it or not. If we did, we’d have told them: “Short is great for cat videos! But health is different than entertainment, and length is often needed to capture important details and caveats that prevent people from being misled.” That all being said, we’ll still be releasing both long-form and short-form content. Our goal for shorts is to make them extra information-dense and very unlikely to mislead. Information dense … objective … balanced … does this mean our videos will never go viral? I guess we’ll see. Just wait until I start throwing in puns, impressions, and slick dance moves (just kidding … about the third one … maybe). Who’s that guy in the second video? That’s [Morgan](, a research team lead at Examine. Hailing from the Pacific Northwest, Morgan has a master’s in Nutrition and came to Examine a couple years ago after being recommended by one of the best reviewers Examine has ever had, Stephan Guyenet, PhD. Despite his deep knowledge base, Morgan is as humble a guy as you’ll meet. He’s also very quirky, in the best possible way. Case in point: On an off day during last year’s annual team retreat, Morgan went skydiving alone without telling anyone, and only casually mentioned it to me later that day. He didn’t even necessarily want to be in videos for Examine, but did like the idea of us putting out useful information in video form. I, for one, look forward to seeing what topics he has in store for us! Are there any YouTube science channels whose Shorts you especially like? If so, let me know, so we can learn how to make our content even more helpful and interesting to you. --------------------------------------------------------------- 📅 Top 5 Study Summaries for May June 1, 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. [Reducing a marker of biological age with high-intensity exercise]( In this randomized controlled trial, 4 weeks of high-intensity interval training reduced a marker of biological age by almost 4 years in a group of middle-aged adults. = [Garlic extract for cardiovascular disease markers in people with heart disease]( In this meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, supplementation with garlic extract improved a number of cardiovascular disease markers in adults with coronary artery disease. [Omega-3 fatty acids for improving cognition]( =In this meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials in older adults with mild cognitive impairment, supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids improved cognition. [Does caffeine increase fat metabolism?]( In this meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, ingesting caffeine increased fat metabolism to a small-to-moderate extent. Surprisingly, this effect was independent of dosage. [Comparing slow and fast fat loss]( In this randomized controlled trial in resistance-trained women, severe energy restriction and progressive energy restriction promoted similar changes in body composition. You can also check out the [most-favorited summaries from previous months](.🔥 --------------------------------------------------------------- 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](, [Nick Milazzo](, and [Morgan Pfiffner](. P.S. If you’re a journalist who wants the latest research-backed nutrition information to help you meet your deadlines, contact us [here]( for complimentary Examine+ access. P.P.S. If you’re a health professional who wants group access to Examine+ for your clients and colleagues, contact us [here](. 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