Creatine Bias

From eNewsletter 10/21/2026

I know I've wrote about creatine several times in the last few years. Given how white hot the topic is through the media and word of mouth, I must remind you to temper the enthusiasm.

If you read this headline, I bet this would draw extreme excitement: "Creatine may help build muscle even without exercise, researchers find." The press release continues with: "Creatine helped middle-aged adults gain muscle and strength even without a structured workout program in a new 12-week study. When combined with exercise and a calorie-reduced diet, it produced even greater strength gains while helping participants add lean tissue and lose fat." Salivating yet?

The problem with this study from Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition is that the lead author is anything but unbiased. Read the Disclosure Statement: "R.B.K. has conducted industry-sponsored research on creatine, received financial support for presenting at conferences, and has served as an expert witness throughout his career. He serves as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for AlzChem (a company that makes creatine monohydrate and provided the supplements for the study), is a co-founder of the non-profit International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), and a member of the scientific advisory boards for Oath Nutrition and Trace Minerals."

As I've said before, when independent creatine studies are performed, some have shown to be slightly beneficial, but not enough to outweigh the side effects that we've seen consistently over decades. Other independent studies show no benefit.

In many cases, the supplement industry is just as culpable for biased research as is the pharmaceutical industry. Luckily, you have us to sift through what is independent and what is not :) Best, Steve

To read the rest of today's issue, please go to this page.

Staggering Ultraprocessed Food Data

From eNewsletter 10/19/2026

DID YOU KNOW that US packaged food companies could prevent around 150,000 diet-related deaths annually by ⁠moving sales towards healthier products in sectors including baked goods, savory snacks, cookies and ⁠candy, according to a study from the global nonprofits ShareAction and ATNi?

Companies moving sales towards the healthiest half of products within each food category could substantially reduce healthcare costs and also prevent approximately $11.6 billion in lost pay due to diet-related ill health.

The study noted that healthier options already exist across these sectors, meaning that many benefits could be achieved through portfolio shifts and product reformulation.

What's even worse? According to a study from Nutrients, 71% of 651 baby foods from major U.S. retailers qualify as ultra-processed, containing additives primarily used for flavor, color, and texture. Every single baby cereal and starch product studied was ultra-processed, with some items containing up to 56 separate ingredients.

To read the rest of today's issue, please go to this page.

Why Healthy People Need Supplements

From eNewsletter 10/14/2026

DID YOU KNOW that a study from Proceedings of the Nutrition Society pokes a hole in the common belief that healthy people don't need supplements?

When researchers gave a daily multivitamin to apparently healthy adults, they were surprised to find that many weren't so well-nourished after all: at the start, 40% were low in folate, 34% in vitamin B12, and a striking 83% had low or borderline riboflavin (B2). After 12 weeks of supplementing, several of these B-vitamin levels improved significantly, and homocysteine - a marker tied to heart and brain health - dropped by 33%.

If hidden nutrient shortfalls lurk in people who look perfectly healthy, how useful is the standard trope to "only supplement if you're deficient" when most people never get their nutrient levels checked in the first place?

To read the rest of today's issue, please go to this page.