Good afternoon Nikkola Newsletterers!
We've been working around the clock to develop new and helpful content for you. Last week's newsletter mentioned a course and an ebook in the works. Today, I just published the ebook below. Many of you want more support for optimizing hormones, so with last week's PCOS ebook and today's testosterone ebook, I'm doing my best to get high-quality, actionable content out to you as fast as possible.
Please pass the link to the ebook along to others who could also use it. There's a lot of helpful information in it for the cost of a cup of coffee.
Enjoy today’s carefully curated newsletter! And if I could ask just one favor, please use your personalized link to recommend others subscribe: [RH_REFLINK GOES HERE].
📖 Deep Dives
Creatine: Health, Fitness, Performance Benefits. If you could only choose one supplement to build muscle (assuming you already use the Foundational Five), creatine monohydrate would have to be first on the list. Yet, it does much more than build muscle. It offers a host of health benefits, from helping to deal with depression, slowing age-related muscle loss, and enhancing athletic performance. If you’re not using it now, you could be missing out on one of the most potent (and affordable) health-promoting supplements on the planet. Keep reading (or listen)...
Should I get a flu shot? Pros, cons, and facts you should know. Should I get a flu shot? Based on the advertising every fall, it would seem that you should. But is the focus on flu shots supported by facts? The majority of people I know don’t get the flu shot. But across the population, avoiding the flu shot could be more the exception than the rule. If you’re for or against the flu shot or stuck on the fence, this blog post will give you some crucial points to consider. Keep reading (or listen)...
🩺 Health
A technical explanation of why those with type II diabetes need to make resistance training a nonnegotiable. Unveiling a groundbreaking link between exercise and cellular health, researchers at Helmholtz Munich and the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke have discovered the key role that regulatory T cells (Tregs) play in muscle function and overall metabolic health. These findings, published in Cell Metabolism, could revolutionize treatments for metabolic disorders like obesity and type 2 diabetes. The study reveals that Tregs are instrumental in muscle function, regeneration, and repair, particularly during exercise. A crucial mediator in this cellular interplay is the interleukin-6 (IL6) receptor signaling on T cells, an essential component for Treg functionality. These revelations could explain why treatments targeting IL6R have been linked to muscle weakness and highlight the urgency in developing precision medicines focused on Tregs for combating diabetes and obesity.
🏋️♀️ Exercise
Here's a major health breakthrough you won't want to miss: The first-ever meta-analysis of 38 randomized controlled trials has shown the undeniable power of long-term exercise training (ET) in reducing key markers of inflammation: IL-6, CRP, and TNFα. The anti-inflammatory benefits were especially prominent in those with a BMI over 25, participants under 60, and those engaged in moderate-intensity workouts for longer than 12 weeks. Now, why does this matter? Chronic low-grade inflammation is a ticking time bomb in your body, linked to debilitating conditions like Type 2 Diabetes and dementia. Importantly, the study underscores that not all exercise is created equal—moderate intensity is the gold standard for quashing inflammation. Before you dive into your next workout, consider this: Not only are you sculpting a fitter you, you're actively fighting off disease.
🌲 Essential Oils
Bergamot proves to be beneficial in another study. Next to lavender, bergoamot essential oil seems to be one of the most-studied and effective essential oils for supporting sleep and improving mood. A new study showed that bergamot inhalation at night helped people wake up feeling more refreshed and decreased feelings of depression.
💊 Supplements
Diving into the effects of creatine (Cr) supplementation on athletic performance and muscle biology, a meta-analysis (MA) has unpacked crucial insights that should capture the attention of fitness enthusiasts and aging populations alike. Studies included in this MA consistently show that Cr significantly bolsters muscle growth and strength, particularly in younger adults engaged in weightlifting activities like bench presses and back squats. Older individuals aren't left behind, as Cr supplementation was found to enhance muscle mass and upper-lower body strength during resistance training. The analysis further explores the benefits of Cr in various athletic settings, revealing advantages in both anaerobic sprints and aerobic soccer performance. Notably, the MA concludes that combining Cr with other supplements like HMB can amplify training outcomes, marking a promising avenue for future research.
Wowser. Ginger could be a potent natural remedy for those with autoimmune conditions. Recent research shows that daily consumption of ginger has a powerful impact on neutrophils and NETosis, both in mice and healthy humans. For the mice, ginger effectively dialed down symptoms associated with autoimmune diseases like APS and lupus. Meanwhile, for us mere mortals, ginger consumption led to a boost in neutrophil cAMP levels, reducing inflammation. As this insight stems from a pilot clinical trial, it opens the door to exploring ginger as a supplemental treatment for inflammatory conditions like arthritis and lupus.
🌎 Other News & Stories Worth Reading
‘Definite Causal Link’ Between COVID Vaccine Rollouts and Peaks in All-Cause Mortality, New Study Finds. A new study of 17 countries found a “definite causal link” between peaks in all-cause mortality and the rapid rollouts of the COVID-19 vaccines and boosters. Researchers with Canada-based Correlation Research in the Public Interest found more than half of the countries analyzed had no detectable rise in all-cause mortality after the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic on March 11, 2020 — until after the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines and boosters. Keep reading...
Meat From Animals Vaccinated With mRNA Vaccines May Soon Make Its Way Into the US Food Supply. Shrimp have become the latest addition to a growing list of food sources targeted by mRNA gene therapy technology. An Israeli company seeking to bring mRNA vaccines to shrimp farming has raised $8.25 million from a group of venture capitalists to promote and improve animal health in marine species through its orally administered RNA-particle platform. ViAqua, a biotechnology company, created an RNA-based vaccine product that uses ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi) to manipulate gene expression in shrimp. RNAi is a biological process where RNA molecules are used to inhibit gene expression or translation by neutralizing targeted mRNA molecules. Keep reading...
Censorship is Death of Science and Leads to Death of People. On May 15, 1970, the New York Times published an article by esteemed Russia scholar Albert Parry detailing how Soviet dissident intellectuals were covertly passing forbidden ideas around to each other on handcrafted, typewritten documents called samizdat. Here is the beginning of that seminal story: Censorship existed even before literature, say the Russians. And, we may add, censorship being older, literature has to be craftier. Hence, the new and remarkably viable underground press in the Soviet Union called samizdat. Keep reading...