Browse evidence-based analysis of health-related claims and assertions
Chewing nicotine gum after colon surgery doesn't help your bowels start working again any faster than chewing regular gum.
Quantitative
The more methylene blue you add, the more hydrogen peroxide the mitochondria make—up to 25 times more at the highest dose tested.
In mice, methylene blue fixes energy problems only if they’re caused by a specific broken part (Complex I)—not if another part (Complex III) is broken. This is different from what was seen in guinea pigs.
Descriptive
When the first step of energy production is blocked, methylene blue can help mitochondria make energy again—but when the second step is blocked, it can't help at all.
Methylene blue makes mitochondria produce more hydrogen peroxide, but if you block a specific part of the energy chain (Complex III), that extra production stops—meaning methylene blue needs that part to work.
Mechanistic
Methylene blue can help mitochondria keep working when the first part of their energy system is broken, but it doesn't work at all when the second part is broken.
Each type of cooking oil makes a unique set of chemicals when heated, and scientists can tell them apart just by looking at what chemicals are made — because their fats are different.
Two harmful chemicals — HHE and ethyl furan — show up together when you heat oils like perilla oil, and they both come from the same type of fat: linolenic acid.
When you heat olive oil, it makes more of two harmful chemicals — HNE and ONE — than the other oils tested, likely because it’s high in oleic acid.
Perilla oil makes a specific harmful chemical called HHE and ethyl furan when heated, and peanut oil makes more of another chemical called pentyl furan — because each oil has different fats.
When you heat different cooking oils really hot for a long time, they break down and make harmful chemicals, and the type of oil you use determines which chemicals are made.
When pork is heated up and simmered in a microwave-style oven, its fats break down quickly and create strong, oily smells.
Adding seasonings while cooking pork helps create more savory, meaty smells because they supply ingredients that react with heat to make those flavors.
Adding spices or seasonings while cooking pork in a microwave-style oven helps reduce some smelly, oily flavors that come from fats breaking down.
Heating turmeric in oil between 50°C and 70°C for 4 to 6 hours pulls out useful plant chemicals.
Turmeric in olive oil released the most β-carotene when heated at 70°C for 6 hours.
Turmeric in coconut oil released the most carotenoids when heated at 50°C for 5 hours.
The most plant chemicals came out of turmeric when it was heated in coconut oil at 70°C for 4 hours.
When you heat turmeric in coconut oil, more of the beneficial plant chemicals come out than when you heat it in olive oil.
Different types of palm oil respond differently to antioxidant additives — some work better in one kind than another.
When palm oil is heated to high temperatures, a type of unhealthy fat called trans fat (C18:1n9t) is formed and can be measured with specialized equipment.
When palm oil is heated to 130°C, it creates chemical compounds called aldehydes, which can be detected by their unique infrared signature.
Adding certain chemical preservatives like TBHQ or BHT helps palm oil stay fresh longer when it's stored hot.
When palm oil products are stored hot, they go bad faster, turning rancid and changing color more quickly.