BodyFat.Tips Desk

BodyFat.Tips Desk

The BodyFat.Tips Desk is the research and editorial operation behind BodyFat.Tips, a publication of TAK Marketing, LLC, part of the Omnishun information systems. It is a desk, not a person: no headshot, no invented bio, no borrowed credentials. Every verdict here is produced by reading the research itself rather than the press release, rating how strong the evidence actually is on a fixed four-point scale, tracing where the claim came from, and correcting in public when we get something wrong. Nobody pays us to reach a conclusion. This is journalism, not medical advice — take personal health questions to a clinician. How we work, in detail: bodyfat.tips/how-we-read-a-study/
  • Joined: June 1, 2024
  • Articles: 232
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.

4 of 10small trials in which coconut water did significantly better than plain or flavoured water on a measure of fluid kept, for a few hours; five found a gap within chanceMAYBEPreliminary

Benefits of Drinking Coconut Water: More Hydrating Than Water? Not Reliably

Ten markers, one per small trial of coconut water against plain or flavoured water: 4 found it better on a fluid measure for a few hours, 1 only for a concentrate, 5 found a gap within chance; beside them the figure 4 of 10

Is coconut water more hydrating than water? Not reliably. In 4 of the 10 small trials we read, coconut water did significantly better than plain or flavoured water on some measure of fluid kept over a few hours; five found a gap within chance, and over four ordinary days urine was the same. It carries plenty of potassium and little salt: less than a sixth of the sodium in oral rehydration solution.

28%bigger blood-sugar rise after a meal when 20 people with type 2 diabetes had 250 mg of caffeine in decaf before it, against the decaf alone; of the 17 one-dose tests we read, 13 gave caffeine or coffee before the food, and 7 of those found a significantly bigger rise over the whole testMOSTLYSupported

Does Coffee Raise Blood Sugar? Before a Meal, Caffeinated Coffee Makes the Rise Bigger

Thirteen markers, one per test of caffeine or caffeinated coffee taken before food: 7 found a significantly bigger blood-sugar rise over the whole test, 1 marginally, 3 at some points only, 2 no significant difference; beside them the figure 28%

Caffeinated coffee, even black, drunk before a carbohydrate meal, makes the blood-sugar rise after it bigger for a few hours: 28% bigger in 20 people with type 2 diabetes. With nothing to eat, black coffee did not significantly raise blood sugar in small tests. Over whole days, 10 people with type 2 diabetes on caffeine capsules averaged 8% higher, while 87 adults, nearly all without diabetes, averaged 95 mg/dL on coffee days and 96 without. Weeks-long trials found no significant rise in fasting blood sugar.

6 mmHghigher top number than on a dummy pill after two weeks of prednisolone 30 mg a day, in a trial of 32 healthy young men (12 on that dose, 8 on the dummy pill); 7.5 mg a day did not raise it, and most other placebo-controlled studies at 20 to 60 mg a day found no significant rise, though three found a riseMAYBEPreliminary

Does Prednisone Raise Blood Pressure? Sometimes a Little, at Higher Doses

Three bars of the change in the top number over two weeks in a 2013 trial of 32 healthy young men: up 4 on prednisolone 30 mg, unchanged on 7.5 mg, down 3 on a dummy pill; the authors put the gap at about 6; beside them the figure 6 mmHg

Sometimes, a little, at higher doses, and the small trials disagree. Two weeks of 30 mg a day of prednisolone left the top number about 6 points above a dummy pill in a trial of 32 healthy young men; most other placebo-controlled studies at 20 to 60 mg a day found no significant rise, three found a rise, and at 7.5 mg a day or less, five two-year trials found no significant rise. Never stop it suddenly: take a high reading to your prescriber.

3.0points higher on top in the evening than in the morning, in a week of home readings by 1,919 Finnish adults aged 41 to 74; in Japan, morning readings run higherMAYBEPreliminary

Is Blood Pressure Higher in the Morning? Than at Night, Yes. Than in the Evening, It Depends

Two bars of evening minus morning home blood pressure on the top number: 3.0 points higher in the evening in 1,919 Finnish adults, 2.2 points lower in 5,057 Chinese outpatients; beside them the figure 3.0

Blood pressure falls in sleep and climbs as you wake, so mornings read higher than nights. Whether morning home readings run above evening ones depends on where, and when, you measure: in 1,919 Finns, evening home readings ran 3 points higher; in Japan, mornings run higher. A steep morning climb went with more strokes in some studies and fewer events in others.