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09/04/2026

Shatavari Makes Life Easier for Perimenopausal Women
You hear more about menopause than perimenopause. But perimenopause can also mess up your quality of life. A herb that is gathering impressive scientific evidence may help.
The period of transition into menopause, called perimenopause, is characterized by changing hormones and longer times between periods. Like menopause, perimenopausal women often experience hot flashes and night sweats. These symptoms can then affect sleep, mood and quality of life.
Asparagus racemosus, or wild asparagus, is in the same family as, but distinct from, the Asparagus officinalis that we eat. In traditional herbalism, the most valued part of the plant is the root, which is known in the traditional Ayurvedic system of healing as shatavari.
Still not well known in the West, shatavari is accumulating an impressive body of research as a herb for menopause and perimenopause. In Ayurvedic medicine, it is considered an adaptogenic herb that shines for its ability to maintain female reproductive health. Shatavari contains phytoestrogens and seems to have progesterone enhancing and estrogen mimicking properties.
This new 8-week, double-blind study included 73 perimenopausal women between the ages of 40 and 55 who were experiencing symptoms like hot flashes, insomnia, migraine or irritability.
Half were given 300mg of shatavari root extract standardized for at least 10% shatavarins and half were given a placebo after breakfast.
By the end of the study, the women in the shatavari group had significantly greater improvement on the Menopause Rating Scale total score with a 12.54 point reduction versus 1.61 on placebo. There was significantly greater improvement in all domains, including physical, which improved by 4.24 points versus getting worse by 0.36 on placebo; psychological, which improved by 4.65 points versus 0.75 points on placebo; and urogenital, which improved by 3.65 versus 1.22.
Shatavari also produced significantly greater improvement in menopausal quality of life.
The POMS scale measures mood and emotional well being. Scores for fatigue and vigor improved significantly more in the shatavari group. And while stress continued to worsen on a scale of perceived stress in the placebo group, it improved significantly in the shatavari group.
The news was just as good when it came to hot flashes. Already improving by week 4, by the end of the study there was significantly greater reduction in hot flashes in the shatavari group.
There were no adverse events: important when considering treatments for perimenopause and menopause.
This study adds to the growing body of research that demonstrates that shatavari seems to be an important herb for women going through perimenopause.
Int J Womens Health. 2025 Nov 3;17:4057–4073.

09/03/2026

Vitamin D Improves Cognition in At Risk Population
The scientific evidence for the benefits of vitamin D for dementia and Alzheimer’s is rapidly accumulating. This new study adds even more.
Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is that area of cognition that is worse than the normal cognitive decline expected from aging but not as serious as the cognitive decline of Alzheimer’s.
46% of people with MCI experience sleep disturbances. The trouble is, the MCI makes the sleep disturbances worse, and then the sleep disturbances make the MCI worse.
Around 27% of people with MCI progress to Alzheimer’s disease. The period of MCI may be an important window for preventing Alzheimer’s. And vitamin D might help to do just that, according to this new study.
The study of 54 people with MCI and sleep disturbances found that those who supplemented 5000 IU of vitamin D a day or more had significantly better cognition as measured by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment compared to people who did not take vitamin D daily.
This is the first study to suggest the potentially valuable possibility that simply taking vitamin D could preserve cognition in people with MCI and sleep disturbances.
Sleep Medicine. Oct 2026;146:108960.

08/31/2026

Eating the Pounds Away!
Many diets are hard to maintain because they require you to eat less. Instead, this diet asks you to change the foods you eat while allowing you to eat as much as you want: delicious, filling and effective!
This 16 week controlled study of 223 overweight people asked half of them not to change their diet at all and half of them to adopt a vegan diet. They were allowed to eat as much as they wanted as often as they wanted. The vegan diet consisted of fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes.
Energy density, or the amount of calories in each gram of food, remained the same in the control group, because they did not change their diet. But it plummeted by a significant 30% in the vegan group.
Even though the vegans were eating just as much food, the food they were eating, while being low in fat, was high in fiber and water, increasing food volume without increasing calories. The vegan group ate just as much and felt just as full, but they took in way less calories.
The result was significantly greater weight loss in the vegan group.
This study suggests an easier way of losing weight that does not require difficult to maintain calorie restrictions and small servings that leave you hungry. And, it would be very difficult to reduce calories by 30% by eating less and still achieve adequate nutrition.
So, don’t eat less. Eat lots! But eat more healthy plant-based foods.
JAMA Netw Open. August 2026;9;(8):e2627483.

08/28/2026

Black Seed Could Provide Cardiovascular Benefits to Diabetic and Overweight People.
If you are diabetic or overweight, black seed could help you to prevent cardiovascular disease.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the world. Type 2 diabetes and obesity provide pathways to cardiovascular disease.
Nigella sativa, or black seed, is, among other powers, antioxidant, anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory. So, could it help people who are at risk to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease?
This meta-analysis of 31 controlled studies included 2,145 people who have type 2 diabetes or who are overweight.
Black seed did not help everything. But it helped a lot!
It did not help waist circumference, insulin or insulin resistance. But it helped everything else.
When it came to helping obesity, black seed significantly reduced weight and body mass index.
When it came to diabetes, it significantly decreased fasting blood sugar and HbA1c. That black seed can help HbA1c is of special importance because HbA1c is the most important marker of long term blood sugar and diabetes control. Every 1% drop in HbA1c reduces the risk of the cardiovascular complications of diabetes by 37%.
When it came to blood pressure, black seed significantly reduced both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
These results show that black seed modestly, but significantly, improves a variety of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in people who are at higher risk because they are diabetic or overweight, including weight, BMI, blood sugar, long-term glucose control and blood pressure. So, black seed could be an important addition to an overall lifestyle and supplement program for preventing cardiovascular disease.
Endocrinol Diabetes Metab. 2026 Mar 20;9(2):e70207.

08/26/2026

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08/26/2026

Saffron for Diabetes & Cardiovascular Disease
With its constellation of any 3 of abdominal obesity, elevated triglycerides, low HDL-cholesterol, high blood pressure and elevated blood sugar, metabolic syndrome now affects 25% of all adults in the world. It can lead to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Help can come from a natural, beautiful and unexpected place.
A new meta-analysis of 25 studies of 1486 people with metabolic syndrome, diabetes, high blood pressure, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or obesity found that the herb saffron significantly improves fasting blood glucose, long-term glucose control, triglycerides, total cholesterol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
That’s a lot of help and good news for people with metabolic syndrome.
Phytother Res. May 2025;39(5):1883-1904.

08/25/2026

Pomegranate Helps Your Heart
Pomegranate is loaded in polyphenols and has proven powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This systematic review and meta-analysis put those powers to the test against risk factors for heart disease.
The meta-analysis included 53 controlled studies of children and adults that used a variety of forms of pomegranate supplement, including whole fruit, juice, extract and more.
It found that supplementing pomegranate modestly, but significantly, reduced weight and body mass index.
Both systolic and diastolic blood pressure were significantly reduced. For systolic, pomegranate extract or peel extract may have been best; for diastolic, pomegranate extract and juice were.
Total cholesterol went down modestly but significantly. Heart healthy HDL cholesterol went up significantly, especially with pomegranate extract and peel extract. The bad LDL cholesterol dropped significantly, again, especially with pomegranate extract and peel extract.
There were also blood sugar benefits with some forms and for some people. Pomegranate extract significantly improved fasting blood glucose, but only in unhealthy people. Pomegranate extract alone significantly lowered insulin. The extract also significantly reduced insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in unhealthy people. Pomegranate modestly, but significantly, reduced long-term glucose control (HbA1c).
This large study adds to the evidence for pomegranate as a heart healthy supplement that could help people at risk of metabolic syndrome, with its constellation of cardiovascular, glucose control and weight problems. It may work best and with the greatest versatility as an extract in people with existing health conditions at doses equal to or greater than 1000mg a day.
Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. October 2025;35(10):104154.

08/25/2026

08/24/2026

New Evidence that Ginger Reduces Blood Pressure
It’s hard to believe, but it is estimated that over a billion people have high blood pressure. It might also be hard to believe, but something as safe, simple and inexpensive as ginger supplements might help that.
High blood pressure increases the risk of stroke, heart attack, heart failure and kidney disease. Ginger might be able to help in a number of ways, including being anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and being able to dilate blood vessels.
This systematic review and meta-analysis set out to measure the effect of ginger on blood pressure by pooling the results of 12 controlled studies. The results are exciting.
Ginger reduced systolic blood pressure by a significant 5.03 mmHg. It worked even better on people who actually had high blood pressure, bringing it down by 6.88 mmHg. Ginger worked best when taken at doses of 2000 mg a day or more.
When it comes to diastolic blood pressure, ginger brought about significant reductions of 2.03 mmHg. When people who had high blood pressure took it, the reduction swelled to 4.01 mmHg. Again, doses of 2,000mg or more were more effective.
This meta-analysis suggests that ginger could help people manage high blood pressure as part of their program.
J Hum Nutr Diet. 2026 Aug 7;39(4):e70329.

08/21/2026

Tongkat Ali Increases Testosterone
Recent research is confirming that tongkat ali is living up to its reputation.
Hypogonadism, a condition in which men don’t produce enough testosterone, can lead to reduced libido, erectile dysfunction, infertility, obesity, reduced muscle mass, fatigue and depression.
7 out of 9 observational and controlled studies in a systematic review found that tongkat ali significantly increases testosterone.
A meta-analysis of 5 controlled studies found that tongkat ali significantly increases testosterone, especially in men with hypogonadism.
Medicina (Kaunas). August 4, 2022;58(8):1047