Browse evidence-based analysis of health-related claims and assertions
A few people went back to eating fiber even though they felt better without it—mostly because of their beliefs or culture, not because they felt worse.
Descriptive
People who cut back on fiber didn’t just feel better right away—they kept feeling better for at least six months.
This study shows that people with constipation don’t need fiber to poop normally—many felt better when they stopped eating it.
Cutting fiber might help constipation because it makes poop smaller and less gas is made in the gut, so it’s easier to go and you don’t feel as bloated.
Mechanistic
People with constipation who kept taking fiber pills or eating lots of whole grains didn’t feel better—even if they tried to change their habits, the fiber kept them feeling the same.
Correlational
Men and women were equally likely to choose to stop, reduce, or keep eating fiber after being advised to change their diet.
Older people with constipation were a bit less likely to stop eating fiber, but it wasn’t a big or clear difference—age didn’t strongly predict who changed their diet.
Most people with chronic constipation chose to keep eating less fiber after trying it, because they felt better—only a few went back to eating lots of fiber.
People with constipation who ate no fiber stopped straining to poop, while everyone who kept eating fiber still had to strain hard.
Everyone with constipation who ate a lot of fiber felt bloated—those who cut back felt bloated less often, and those who stopped fiber entirely didn’t feel bloated at all.
Only people who stopped all fiber felt less stomach pain—those who just cut back or kept eating fiber still had the same pain after six months.
People with constipation who stopped eating fiber completely stopped having blood in their stool, while those who kept eating fiber still had bleeding.
People with chronic constipation who kept eating lots of fiber (like whole grains and veggies) for six months didn’t see any improvement—they still pooped rarely and felt bloated and strained.
People with chronic constipation who cut back on fiber (but didn’t eliminate it) started pooping almost daily and felt less strain and bloating after six months.
For people who have trouble pooping and feel bloated, stopping all fiber-rich foods like veggies, fruits, and whole grains for six months helped them poop daily, stop straining, and feel less bloated.
This compound helps eye cells fight stress for a few hours, but after a full day, it stops working—so it won’t help if the damage lasts too long.
Quantitative
When eye cells are starved of oxygen and sugar, their natural defense system weakens—but this compound can help restore part of it, at least in the first few hours.
Cutting off oxygen and sugar from eye cells for 6 hours kills more than 40% of them—making it a reliable lab way to mimic stroke-like damage.
A plant-derived chemical from a South American tree shows promise in protecting eye cells from oxygen-starvation damage, hinting it might help with brain injuries too.
This compound only works if you give it at just the right amount—too little or too much doesn’t help, so getting the dose exactly right is super important.
If you give too much of this compound, it starts killing eye cells instead of helping them—typical of many natural substances that have a narrow safe range.
This compound can help eye cells survive short-term oxygen loss, but loses its power if the stress lasts too long.
This compound works best at one very specific dose—too little does nothing, too much hurts—and scientists can predict this pattern very accurately with math.
This compound helps eye cells make more of a natural 'clean-up' enzyme that fights harmful chemicals, but only if given early after stress begins.