Research
5 Studies You Need to Know
Five groundbreaking studies on Vitamin D, arginine, amino acids, mitochondria, and caloric restriction reveal how powerful nutrition and targeted supplementation are for your health.
Research
Five groundbreaking studies on Vitamin D, arginine, amino acids, mitochondria, and caloric restriction reveal how powerful nutrition and targeted supplementation are for your health.
Line items
Every week, groundbreaking studies appear. Incredible studies with incredible results. Unfortunately, most people completely miss this. They don't know what's being published every day in some of the world's most prestigious scientific journals. Because the problem is pressing, because we read brilliant studies daily... today's newsletter is here to help you benefit from them too.
Let's go...
What was shown? The study published in the prestigious Journal of Endocrinological Investigation and conducted by researchers in India summarizes several studies on "Vitamin D and Corona" (a "meta-analysis"). Overall, 13 studies were reviewed, involving a total of 3,000 COVID-infected patients. When Vitamin D was administered after diagnosis confirmation, the probability of ending up in intensive care or dying was 60% lower, and the probability of COVID-related complications was reduced by 70%.
Our commentary: Unfortunately, people still write to us claiming that "a little bit of Vitamin D" couldn't possibly help during the pandemic. That's exactly the narrative we seem to have been fed. When someone says something like that, you know they haven't engaged with the data and are buying into a particular narrative. The scientific databases, however, are full of data — Vitamin D not only reduces the probability of contracting COVID, but also — as shown here — of ending up in intensive care, dying, or suffering from long-term effects. Yet it matters to no one, people apparently want to suffer.
What was shown? Patients with brain metastases were given either 10 grams of plain old arginine or a placebo before a radiation therapy session. 80% of tumors in the arginine group responded to therapy, while only 20% in the placebo group did. In the arginine group, there were even complete remissions. The researchers, who published this work in the prestigious journal Science, found the results so impressive that they now want to conduct further studies with arginine as an adjuvant or as a standalone treatment.
Our commentary: This study is so groundbreaking because arginine not only greatly enhanced the effect of conventional therapy, but also apparently promoted complete remission. The body converts arginine to nitric oxide (NO), which reprogrammed the cancer metabolism so that malignant cells were far more susceptible to radiation therapy. NO also plays a major role in the immune system, which suggests that the immune system was also involved here.
What was shown? Briefly: It shows that a low-protein diet in an Alzheimer's mouse model impaired synaptic function and accelerated brain atrophy. What's remarkable is that these abnormal changes were significantly improved by administering the seven essential amino acids (EAA for short). Inflammatory processes and progressive brain atrophy in this model were "profoundly suppressed" by EAA. "Here we've demonstrated how important protein and amino acid nutrition is for maintaining the homeostasis of the brain against neurodegenerative processes."
Our commentary: This study was also published in the prestigious journal Science and shows how important protein, especially essential amino acids, is for brain health. What was particularly striking is that a low-protein diet significantly caused the brain, to put it mildly, to decline faster. The authors rightly state that protein malnutrition is a risk factor for neurodegeneration, especially in old age. So: why not give grandma a protein shake!
What was shown? The results published in Nature are straightforward: Mitochondrial dysfunction alone is sufficient to cause progressive, human-like Parkinsonism, in which the loss of dopamine release makes a decisive contribution to motor limitations observed in Parkinson's disease. The role of mitochondria in this disease has been largely ignored until now.
Our commentary: For many, many years, we've placed mitochondria at the center of our health efforts. Simply because the "cellular power plants" play a major role by virtue of their importance for energy production and the energy content of cells. Think about us: when we have no energy, our lives fall apart — because order always requires energy. Without energy, our cells look catastrophic too. Anyone who wants to learn more about mitochondria should just read our literature.
What was shown? In the study, conducted also by the now well-known longevity researcher Valter Longo, it was demonstrated that simple caloric restriction works better regardless of diet composition than cyclical "fasting" — here Longo's promoted "fasting-mimicking diet" was used, where days are periodically interspersed in which only plant-based foods can be eaten. Promising study results preceded the research.
Our commentary: For years, or rather decades, it's been known that the only proven dietary means of influencing tumor growth seems to be caloric restriction. There are no usable results for either ketogenic diet forms or — as here — vegan modifications. This study is likely a setback for Longo, who believes that calorie-reduced "plant days" can mimic fasting. What becomes clear here is that sustained caloric restriction is superior.
