Confidence tier Preliminary

Early, small, conflicting, or animal-only. Not actionable alone.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.