From Memios
The Longevity Letter
Practical writing and video on living strong and active into your 90s. No hype, no supplements to sell. Just what the evidence supports and what it looks like on an ordinary Tuesday.
568 items
Clear filters
SupplementsCreatine monohydrate
Creatine is one of the few supplements where the exercise evidence is strong rather than suggestive: meta-analyses of randomised trials show small-to-moderate added gains in lean tissue and strength when it is combined with resistance training, and a European regulator has accepted a cause-and-effect relationship for repeated short, high-intensity efforts.
2026-09-30 · 18 min read
MedicationsCyclobenzaprine
The best evidence is a meta-analysis of 14 placebo-controlled back pain trials: cyclobenzaprine beat placebo for global improvement (odds ratio 4.7, 95% CI 2.7 to 8.1).
2026-09-30 · 23 min read
SupplementsDandelion
Not enough research to say. Most of the evidence is from animal and cell studies.
2026-09-30 · 8 min read
SupplementsDevil's claw
Devil's claw is used for musculoskeletal pain. A Cochrane review of herbal medicine for low back pain found that standardised daily doses of 50 mg or 100 mg harpagoside may reduce pain more than placebo.
2026-09-30 · 12 min read
MedicationsDoxycycline
For the uses where randomised evidence exists the effect sizes differ a lot by condition. Randomised placebo-controlled trials give it a protective efficacy of 84% to 96% against Plasmodium falciparum infection when taken daily for malaria prophylaxis.
2026-09-30 · 17 min read
FastingEarly time-restricted eating
Limited evidence. Evidence is limited to a handful of small or short trials.
2026-09-30 · 8 min read
MedicationsEmpagliflozin
Large placebo-controlled outcome trials, all funded by the manufacturers, show fewer heart failure hospitalisations and cardiovascular deaths in heart failure (reduced and preserved ejection fraction).
2026-09-30 · 13 min read
SupplementsEphedra
Ephedrine is a mixed sympathomimetic: it releases noradrenaline and stimulates alpha and beta receptors, raising heart rate and cardiac output, constricting blood vessels.
2026-09-30 · 14 min read
MedicationsEstradiol
The best evidence is that systemic estradiol reliably reduces hot flushes and night sweats and reduces fractures.
2026-09-30 · 22 min read
MedicationsEthinyl Estradiol; Norgestimate
The evidence strongly supports that this combination prevents pregnancy when taken as directed, and one brand (Ortho Tri-Cyclen) has trial evidence supporting an approved use for moderate acne.
2026-09-30 · 16 min read
MedicationsFamotidine
The evidence is strongest for what famotidine does to stomach acid and to ulcers caused by aspirin: in one 404-patient placebo-controlled trial it cut the rate of endoscopic gastric ulcers from 15.0% to 3.4% over 12 weeks.
2026-09-30 · 22 min read
Fasting48- to 72-hour fast
Evidence is very limited: small, short studies of cancer patients fasting around chemotherapy.
2026-09-30 · 10 min read
FastingFasting safety: who should not fast or needs a clinician first
Harms reported: hypoglycaemia with sulfonylureas and insulin, euglycaemic diabetic ketoacidosis with SGLT2 inhibitors, dehydration linked to SGLT2 inhibitors and diuretics, lean mass loss.
2026-09-30 · 14 min read
ResearchFecal microbiota transplantation (FMT): what it treats and what can go wrong
For recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection, a Cochrane review found FMT likely leads to a large increase in resolution (RR 1.92, moderate certainty).
2026-09-30 · 12 min read
ResearchDo fermented foods change the gut microbiome?
The best-known human trial (Wastyk 2021, Stanford, 18 people per arm) found a high-fermented-food diet steadily increased gut microbiota diversity and lowered inflammatory markers over 17 weeks.
2026-09-30 · 7 min read
MedicationsFerrous Sulfate
Once swallowed, ferrous iron is absorbed in the small intestine and used by the body to build hemoglobin, correcting iron-deficiency anemia over weeks.
2026-09-30 · 12 min read
MedicationsFinasteride
Finasteride lowers DHT, and the downstream effects are real but modest. In benign prostatic hyperplasia it shrinks the prostate, improves urinary flow and symptom scores modestly.
2026-09-30 · 22 min read
MedicationsFluticasone propionate and salmeterol
In asthma, adding salmeterol to fluticasone reduced severe exacerbations in a very large safety trial and did not raise serious asthma-related events.
2026-09-30 · 16 min read
MedicationsGabapentin
For postherpetic neuralgia and painful diabetic neuropathy, Cochrane found moderate-quality evidence that roughly 1 more person in 6 or 7 gets substantial pain relief than on placebo.
2026-09-30 · 13 min read
SupplementsGinkgo
The strongest current synthesis is a 2026 Cochrane review of 82 randomised trials in 10,613 people.
2026-09-30 · 19 min read
ResearchWhat "good" and "bad" gut bacteria actually means
The honest summary is that "good" and "bad" are shorthand for statistical associations plus a small number of mechanistic experiments, and that the same species can sit on either side of the line depending on strain.
2026-09-30 · 19 min read
SupplementsGymnema
The best evidence is a handful of small, heterogeneous trials in people with type 2 diabetes.
2026-09-30 · 13 min read
MedicationsHydrochlorothiazide and lisinopril
For blood pressure, the strongest evidence is for the thiazide half: a Cochrane review of first-line drugs found high-quality evidence that low-dose thiazides reduced death and cardiovascular events against placebo.
2026-09-30 · 19 min read
MedicationsIbuprofen
For short-term pain, the evidence is strong and quantified: a Cochrane review of 72 placebo-controlled trials found that about 54% of people given ibuprofen 400 mg after surgery got at least 50% pain relief.
2026-09-30 · 21 min read