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216 verdicts
1.4 lbmore weight lost on green tea extracts and catechin drinks than on a dummy, averaged over 38 short trials (0.64 kg); in 237 women drawn from those who finished a year of strong decaffeinated extract or a dummy, 0.6 lb against 0.3 lbMAYBEPreliminary

Does Green Tea Help You Lose Weight? About 1.4 lb in Short Extract Trials, Less in the Best-Run Ones

Data graphic: six pooled estimates of extra weight lost on green tea against a dummy, with their ranges: 1.4 lb across 38 short extract trials, 1.6 lb and 2.7 lb in two other poolings, 2.1 lb in a 2012 review, 0.9 lb in its three trials best guarded against bias and 0.09 lb in its six outside Japan, both ranges including no difference; in a year of decaffeinated extract, 0.6 lb against 0.3 lb; beside them the figure 1.4 lb

Green tea extracts and catechin drinks took off about 1.4 lb more than a dummy, averaged over 38 short trials. The trials best guarded against bias could not tell green tea from a placebo, and in 237 women drawn from those who finished a year of strong decaffeinated extract or a dummy, the extract came to 0.6 lb, against 0.3 lb. The famous calorie burn is real, small, and plain caffeine did about as much.

140older adults with a raised marker of B12 shortfall, their median B12 level inside the normal range, randomised to four weekly B12 shots or salt-water shots (140): symptom scores, daily tiredness among them, compared in 134, did not differ significantly at three months (2001)NOUnsupported

B12 Shot Benefits: Real for Deficiency. Energy: Dummy Shots Kept Up. Weight: No Published Trial

Data graphic: two blocks of 70 dots, 140 older adults with a raised marker of B12 shortfall randomised to four weekly B12 shots or salt-water shots in a 2001 Danish trial; symptom scores, compared in 134 at three months, did not differ significantly; beside them the figure 140

B12 shots are a real treatment for people who cannot absorb B12. Sold for energy and weight loss to people who are not short of it, they have little behind them: in the placebo-controlled trials we found, dummy shots did about as well, and the one registered weight-loss trial we found never posted results.

−0.24BMI points per doubling of CRP, estimated from a CRP-raising gene variant in 21,836 Danish adults; not statistically significant (range 0.58 lower to 0.11 higher)NOUnsupported

Can Inflammation Cause Weight Gain? Genetic Studies Point the Arrow From Fat to Inflammation

Data graphic: in a genetic study of 21,836 Danish adults, a gene variant that raises CRP went with 0.24 BMI points less per doubling of CRP, a range from 0.58 lower to 0.11 higher that includes no difference; a variant that raises BMI went with more CRP; beside them the figure -0.24

Extra body fat raises inflammation markers, in genetic studies and weight-loss trials. The reverse did not hold up in the genetic studies of CRP, and anti-inflammatory drugs mostly did not take weight off: diacerein did in one small trial and two pills for psoriasis and lung disease do as a side effect, while one added 3.0 lb against a dummy pill in a 48-week trial of 286 adults with type 2 diabetes.

21%growth of one abdominal muscle on MRI in nine women after nine months of Pilates, with no comparison group; six hip and lower-back muscles in the same women did not grow significantlyMAYBEPreliminary

Does Pilates Build Muscle? Not Clearly. Past 60, It Builds Everyday Strength

Data graphic: in one MRI study of nine inactive women with no comparison group, the main abdominal muscle's volume rose 21% after 36 weeks of Pilates, while the glutes showed a small change that was not significant; three pooled lean-mass estimates found no clear gain; beside them the figure 21%

Pilates makes people stronger than doing nothing, most clearly past 60 and on practical tests such as standing up from a chair. Whether it adds muscle is less clear: three lean-mass poolings found no significant gain, and on MRI nine months grew the abs, while the hips barely changed. Against weights, it matched or lost on strength.

0.5 mmHgdifference in the fall of the top number after a year of coaching to drink more water against usual intake (both groups fell about 5 points), in a trial of 631 adults with kidney disease, 590 of them measured at a year; the true difference probably between 4 lower and 3 higherNOUnsupported

Does Drinking Water Lower Blood Pressure? Trials Don’t Show It; a Big Glass Raises It

Two results in the top blood-pressure number: after a year of coaching to drink more water, against usual intake, in 631 adults with kidney disease, the difference in the fall was half a point, range 4 lower to 3 higher, which includes no difference (both groups fell about 5 points); and in 11 healthy volunteers averaging 57, one 16-oz glass raised it about 11 points within the hour; beside them the figure 0.5 mmHg

In the largest published trial we found, 316 of 631 adults with kidney disease were coached to drink more water for a year and drank about 20 oz more a day; among the 590 measured at the end, their top number fell half a point more than the comparison group's (both fell about 5 points), a gap that chance could explain. Smaller trials pointed both ways. What water measurably does is the opposite: a 16-oz glass raised the top number of 11 healthy volunteers, average age 57, by 11 points within the hour.

24 weeksof four sachets a day of instant coffee, or a coffee-like dummy drink, in 126 overweight adults in Singapore: CRP was not significantly higher on coffee, and IL-6 was 15% higher, a difference that was not statistically significant (randomised, though most participants guessed which drink they had; paid for by a coffee maker, which made both drinks)NOUnsupported

Does Coffee Cause Inflammation? Trials Found No Significant Rise in CRP

Two ranges for a 24-week randomised trial of instant coffee against a coffee-like dummy drink in 126 overweight adults: CRP 12% higher on coffee, range 10% lower to 39% higher, and IL-6 15% higher, range 1% lower to 35% higher, neither statistically significant; beside them the figure 24 weeks

In trials that gave people coffee or none for up to 24 weeks, at up to 8 cups a day, CRP, the blood marker of inflammation most studies measure, was not significantly higher on coffee in their main comparisons. One small trial found IL-6 up 60%. Coffee drinkers in population studies tend to have slightly lower CRP. Where coffee seems to cause trouble is local: reflux in some people, and possibly gout attacks after a sudden extra few cups.

4.6%of people with a year of melatonin prescriptions diagnosed with heart failure in five years, against 2.7% of matched people with none on record, in one study still only a meeting abstractMAYBEPreliminary

Is Melatonin Bad for Your Heart? The Heart-Failure Study Counted Only Prescriptions

Two bars of new heart failure over five years: 4.6% of people with a year of melatonin prescriptions on file and 2.7% of matched people with none on record, in a study published only as a meeting abstract; beside them an empty dashed slot for store-bought use, which the study did not measure; beside them the figure 4.6%

One records study, still only a conference abstract, found heart failure in 4.6% of people with long-term melatonin prescriptions on record against 2.7% of matched people with none, and could not see store-bought melatonin. Three US cohorts that asked about supplements found heart attacks and strokes not significantly more common in users.

64% vs 67%regrew hair with castor and jojoba oils added to a steroid cream, against the steroid alone: patchy hair loss, 159 people, not randomised, three months; not a significant difference. In the other fair test, on lashes in 11 people, one of four measures beat a placeboMAYBEPreliminary

Does Castor Oil Help Hair Growth? Tested on Eyelashes and on Bald Patches, It Did Not Clearly Beat the Comparison

Two bars of bald patches regrown in three months in a study that was not randomised: 64% of 59 people who added castor and jojoba oils to a steroid cream and 67% of 100 on the steroid alone, a gap that was not significant; beside them the figure 64% vs 67%

Tested against a placebo on eyelashes in 11 people, and added to a steroid cream for bald patches in 59 people compared with 100 on the cream alone, castor oil did not clearly beat the comparison. The prostaglandin story behind it is a 2015 computer prediction. What leans its way is two rabbit studies and one of four lash measures. Rated Preliminary.

2 of 3poolings of small trials found people lighter after Pilates than after no exercise, each leaning on studies we doubt; the third, of mat Pilates, found it not more effectiveMAYBEPreliminary

Does Pilates Help You Lose Weight? A Little, Maybe. It Burns Like a Slow Walk

Six horizontal ranges against a line marked no difference, in pounds: the 2021 pooling, 5.3 lb lighter, range 1.7 to 8.9; the same chart without three doubtful trials, 1.5 lb lighter, range 8.3 lighter to 5.3 heavier; with them read as standard errors, 3.0 lb lighter, range 8.2 lighter to 2.2 heavier; the 2026 pooling, 8.8 lb lighter, range 3.7 to 13.9; without two doubtful studies, 6.5 lb lighter, range 16.5 lighter to 3.5 heavier; with them read as standard errors, 8.3 lb lighter, range 2.6 to 13.9; the four re-pools marked as our arithmetic; beside them the figure 2 of 3

Pooled small trials put people doing Pilates about 5.3 lb lighter than people doing no exercise, and that figure leans on three trials with improbably tidy numbers. A beginner mat class burns about what a 2 mph walk does. As a way to lose weight, the evidence is early.

12.9%had diarrhea in the first three weeks on a probiotic, against 11.7% on a dummy capsule, in a randomised trial of 2,924 older hospital patients on antibioticsNOUnsupported

Do Probiotics Cause Diarrhea? In Trials, About as Often as a Dummy Capsule

Two bars of diarrhea in the first three weeks of a trial of 2,924 hospital patients aged 65 and over on antibiotics: 12.9% on a probiotic capsule, 11.7% on a dummy capsule, a gap within chance; wind 12.5% against 10.2%, just inside the line; beside them the figure 12.9%

About as often as a dummy capsule does, in the trials that counted. In nearly 3,000 older hospital patients on antibiotics, 12.9% had diarrhea in the first three weeks on a probiotic and 11.7% on a dummy; in trials of healthy people, digestive complaints leaned only slightly higher, within chance. What probiotics prevent is narrower than sold, and for a few very ill people they are a real risk.