Browse evidence-based analysis of health-related claims and assertions
When people with early Alzheimer's take rapamycin once a week, the drug stays in their body about as long as it does in other groups — around 69 hours — which means it leaves the body at a similar rate even with weekly dosing.
For people with early Alzheimer’s taking a weekly 7 mg rapamycin pill, checking their blood 48 hours after the dose gives the most consistent results and best predicts their baseline levels—so that’s the best time to test it.
Taking a weekly 7 mg dose of rapamycin for early Alzheimer's doesn't vary too much from person to person, so doctors might not need to adjust doses or monitor blood levels in future studies.
Taking 6 mg of sirolimus once a week might help reduce signs of aging and inflammation in older people, but we’re not sure yet and need bigger studies to confirm it.
Doing chair stands and bike rides three times a week for 13 weeks helps older adults get stronger and more energetic, which is the base exercise plan used in this study.
Taking a drug called sirolimus once a week might help older adults get stronger when combined with weight training, by giving muscles a break to clean out damaged parts between workouts — but we’re not sure yet if this actually works in people.
Taking a weekly 6 mg dose of sirolimus seems to be safe for older adults (65–85 years old) if they also do light home exercises for 13 weeks — most side effects were caught through check-ups and self-reports, but the study was too small to catch very rare ones.
Taking a weekly low dose of a drug called rapamycin while doing a 13-week home exercise program might help older adults (65–85 years old) get stronger legs — but we’re not totally sure how much it helps because the study was small and short.
Eating insects might give you more energy when you work out, at least in animal studies that saw bigger metabolism boosts when both were combined.
Eating bugs might help animals go longer without getting tired, and they show fewer signs of fatigue in their bodies — but we don’t know if it works the same way in people yet.
Eating insects might help people lose fat and gain muscle, but scientists aren't totally sure yet because the results aren't the same in every study.
Taking insect supplements might help you get stronger if you're also working out, but we don't have solid proof yet because other lifestyle factors weren't well tracked.
Eating bugs might help build muscle when you lift weights, because they give your body the building blocks (amino acids) and turn on the muscle-growth switch inside your cells.
If we block a certain protein in the body for a few weeks, it might calm down long-term inflammation in older tissues and help them work better again — possibly by waking up old stem cells and improving the immune system.
Taking a lot of rapamycin each week might make it harder for older people to build muscle from exercise, but a smaller dose could be better for strength and body health.
Rapamycin might help older animals keep their muscle and stay lean by tweaking a key cell signal involved in aging.
Taking rapamycin, even in small doses now and then, might increase the chance of getting serious infections like pneumonia in older people because it can weaken the immune system.
Sirolimus stays in your body for a long time—about 2.5 days—so even if you take it just once a week, it might still be active when you work out again.
Taking a weekly 6 mg dose of rapamycin might actually slow down strength gains in older people who are working out, even though both those on and off the drug get a bit stronger.
Doing the 30-second chair stand test—standing up and sitting down as many times as you can in half a minute—can accurately show how strong your legs are and how well they work as you get older.
Taking rapamycin between workouts might help your muscles clean out junk and rebuild stronger as you age — like getting the best of both rest and exercise.
As we get older, a protein in our muscles called mTORC1 can become overactive, which slows down the body's cleanup process for damaged parts inside cells. Taking rapamycin might help turn that cleanup process back on.
Taking rapamycin with exercise might help improve muscle strength in older people by affecting a specific cell pathway in the body.
Older adults who take a weekly 6 mg dose of sirolimus while exercising might see slightly less improvement in hand strength and walking ability compared to those taking a fake pill — suggesting the drug could be limiting some of the usual benefits of exercise.