Claims checked

202 verdicts
1.3 mmHghigher systolic pressure in 1,578 people who had used cannabis in the past month than in never-users, in a one-visit survey of 12,426 US adults; their odds of high blood pressure were not significantly higherMAYBEPreliminary

Can Weed Raise Blood Pressure? Up, Down or Nowhere, While the Heart Speeds Up

Two bars of systolic pressure above never-users' in a one-visit US survey of 12,426 adults: 1.3 points in past-month cannabis users and 2.6 in near-daily users; beside them the figure 1.3 mmHg

In the hours after THC, the heart sped up in study after study. Blood pressure was another matter: it rose a little in some studies, fell in others and dropped when people stood up. In population studies, among them a one-visit survey of 12,426 US adults and a 35-year study, users' rates of high blood pressure were not significantly higher.

0.03 mmHga year: the gap in systolic pressure change between daily aspirin and a dummy pill in 19,114 older adults over a median 4.7 years, a difference that was not significantNOUnsupported

Does Aspirin Lower Blood Pressure? Not in the Largest Trials. At Bedtime, the Evidence Splits.

Two bars of the yearly fall in systolic pressure in 19,114 older adults over 4.7 years: 0.49 points on daily aspirin and 0.46 on a dummy pill, nearly the same length; beside them the figure 0.03 mmHg

Against a dummy pill in 19,114 older adults, daily aspirin made a gap of 0.03 points a year in systolic pressure, not a significant one. Taken at bedtime, it lowered pressure in one laboratory's trials and in a 2020 pooling of mostly Chinese trials; four independent crossover trials found no significant fall.

2.4points lower systolic pressure in current smokers than in never-smokers, measured at a study visit, across 141,317 people in 23 studies; worn for 24 hours, smokers' cuffs read about 3 points higher in a 19-study pooling; genes that made people smoke more raised their heart rate, with no clear sign that they raised blood pressureMAYBEPreliminary

Does Smoking Raise Blood Pressure? Each Cigarette Does, Briefly. Lasting High Blood Pressure Is Unsettled

Two bars of smokers' systolic pressure against never-smokers': 2.4 points lower at a study visit, across 141,317 people in 23 studies, and about 3 points higher on a cuff worn for 24 hours, in 19 studies; beside them the figure 2.4

Each cigarette raises blood pressure for under an hour. Across 141,317 people measured at a study visit, smokers' readings were 2.4 points lower than never-smokers'; worn for 24 hours, smokers' cuffs read higher. Whether smoking causes lasting high blood pressure is not settled.

0.5 mg/dLhigher fasting blood sugar with peanuts than with the comparison diets, pooled across 8 trials (0.03 mmol/L, our conversion); the range ran from about 1.3 lower to 2.5 higher, so it includes no differenceNOUnsupported

Do Peanuts Raise Blood Sugar? Hardly, in Glycemic Index Tests and 8 Trials

A forest plot of fasting blood sugar with peanuts minus comparison diets in 8 trials, from about 6.8 mg/dL lower to 5.9 higher, every range crossing zero, pooled about 0.5 higher with a range from 1.3 lower to 2.5 higher; beside it the figure 0.5 mg/dL

Hardly. Peanuts' glycemic index averages about 14 of 100 in the published tests, and in 8 trials pooled in 2022, fasting blood sugar with peanuts came out about 0.5 mg/dL higher than on the comparison diets, a range that includes no difference. What to watch is the jar: reduced-fat peanut butter carries more carbohydrate.

38people in the three studies we found that gave volunteers both paraxanthine and caffeine to compare: 12, 12 and 14MAYBEPreliminary

Paraxanthine vs Caffeine: Three Small Trials, No Clear Edge

Dots, one a person, in the three studies found that gave volunteers both paraxanthine and caffeine: 12 in a 1995 study, 12 runners and 14 rowers; beside them the figure 38

Paraxanthine is what your liver makes from most of the caffeine you drink, now sold as caffeine without the jitters. We found three small trials, 38 people in all, that gave volunteers both. In the one that measured blood pressure and adrenaline, the two rose about equally at the higher dose. The fewer-jitters evidence is mostly mice and one trial of 12 runners.

5small trials of collagen alone against a dummy: four favoured it on some hair measure and the fifth reports a rise not checked against its dummy; none enrolled people diagnosed with hair lossMAYBEPreliminary

Does Collagen Help Hair Growth? Small Trials of Collagen Alone Lean Its Way. None Enrolled People Diagnosed With Hair Loss.

Five rows, one for each small trial of collagen alone against a dummy: four marked with the hair measure it favoured over the dummy, one drawn hollow and marked as a rise not checked against its dummy, and an empty sixth row for trials in people diagnosed with hair loss, none found; beside them the figure 5

Five small trials gave collagen on its own against a dummy. Four found some hair measure better: slightly thicker strands in three, less shedding in one; the fifth reports thicker strands we could not check against its dummy. None enrolled people diagnosed with hair loss, and most of the other trials test mixtures. We rate it Preliminary.

7.1%higher LDL on 10.6 oz (300 g) of shrimp a day than on a low-cholesterol diet, in 18 young adults over three weeks; about the same rise as on two eggs (1996 trial)MAYBEPreliminary

Is Shrimp High in Cholesterol? Yes. Two-Thirds of a Pound a Day Raised LDL 7%, About as Much as Two Eggs.

Three dots on one scale of average LDL in a 1996 feeding trial of 18 young adults: 91 mg/dL on a low-cholesterol diet, 98 on 300 g of shrimp a day and 100 on two eggs a day; the shrimp rise marked as unlikely to be chance and the gap between shrimp and eggs as could be chance; beside them the figure 7.1%

Yes: a 3-ounce serving of shrimp carries about 161 mg of cholesterol, about as much as a large egg. In a feeding trial, two-thirds of a pound a day raised LDL 7.1%, about as much as two eggs did; in another, half a pound of prawns a day found no significant difference against crab sticks. No trial we found recruited people whose cholesterol was already high.

2.5 pointsbigger fall in fatigue score on vitamin D than on dummy pills (10-to-50 scale) after four weeks, in 120 tired adults below 20 ng/mL; end scores 21.6 against 22.5, not clearly apartMAYBEPreliminary

Does Low Vitamin D Make You Tired? The Best Trial in Tired, Deficient Adults Found a 2.5-Point Gap at Four Weeks. Genes That Lower It Did Not Clearly Raise Tiredness.

Bars of fatigue score on a 10 to 50 scale in a trial of 120 tired adults low in vitamin D: 24.9 at the start and 21.6 at four weeks on vitamin D, 23.3 and 22.5 on dummy pills; beside them the figure 2.5 points

In the best trial we found, of 120 tired, otherwise healthy adults below 20 ng/mL, a vitamin D dose cut fatigue scores 2.5 points more than a dummy pill at four weeks, and the end scores were too close to call. A genetic study of 327,478 Britons found no clear link. Real deficiency brings aching bones and weak muscles.

8–10%rise in testosterone within two weeks, held for a year, on finasteride 1 mg and 5 mg in a placebo-controlled trial of 895 men; DHT fellNOUnsupported

Does Finasteride Lower Testosterone? No. It Rose About 8 to 10% in Two Large Trials. What Falls, by About 70%, Is DHT, the Hormone Made From It.

Two bars of change in the blood on finasteride: testosterone up about 8 to 10% in an 895-man trial, and DHT, the hormone made from it, down about 70%; beside them the figure 8 to 10%

No. In the controlled trials, testosterone on finasteride rose modestly, about 8 to 10% in two large trials and more in men who started low, or did not change significantly; DHT, the hormone made from it, fell about 70%. Sexual side effects are a separate question: about 4 in 100 men on the hair dose reported one in the first year, against 2 in 100 on a dummy pill.

6.8%lower testosterone after three weeks of about three beers a day, in 10 men, in a trial an alcohol-industry foundation paid for; in 7,938 men in population studies, drinkers' levels were no lowerMAYBEPreliminary

Does Alcohol Lower Testosterone? A Heavy Night Can, for Hours. Three Beers a Day Cut It 6.8% in 10 Men; in 7,938 Men, Drinkers’ Levels Were No Lower.

Bars of testosterone percent lower in drinkers: a claimed 20 to 50% that no study was found behind; 6.8% lower in a three-week trial of about three drinks a day in 10 men, paid for by an alcohol-industry foundation; and no lower in 7,938 men in population studies; beside them the figure 6.8%

A heavy night can lower testosterone for hours. Three weeks of about three beers a day cut it 6.8% in 10 men. In 7,938 men in population studies, drinkers' levels were no lower, and the pooled study that says otherwise rests on three rows whose comparison group averages 1,640 ng/dL.