Diet, exercise & lifestyle

Supplements, “Natural Ozempic” & Viral Weight-Loss Hacks

Supplements are sold on promises that rarely match their trial data. This cluster reviews the supplements, herbal extracts, and viral weight-loss tricks people ask about most — from berberine and psyllium to the “pink salt trick” — and grades each on what randomized human studies actually show, including the ones marketed as natural alternatives to GLP-1 drugs.

62 research articles · newest update October 2026

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Thiamine and GLP-1 Drugs: The Deficiency Risk of Eating Very Little

Thiamine is the nutrient most likely to run out first when someone stops eating properly, because the body stores so little. Why guidelines tell clinicians to suspect deficiency broadly, and which symptoms should not wait.

7 min read · Updated September 2026

Akkermansia muciniphila for Weight Loss: What the Evidence Says

Akkermansia muciniphila has real randomized human evidence — and it is narrower than the marketing. The benefits were reported for the pasteurized form, the clear weight result is maintenance rather than loss, and the largest trial missed its primary endpoint.

8 min read · Updated August 2026

Can Fiber Boost Your Own GLP-1? Propionate and the SCFA Evidence

Every 'natural GLP-1 booster' rests on one mechanism: fiber ferments to short-chain fatty acids that trigger your own GLP-1. That pathway is real and was tested rigorously — with a research compound, and the outcome was prevented weight gain, not weight loss.

8 min read · Updated August 2026

5-HTP for Appetite & Weight Loss: The Evidence

Two small 1990s trials (Cangiano) found 5-HTP cut caloric intake and produced modest weight loss, and the serotonin-satiety mechanism is real — but there's no large modern RCT, plus a serotonin-syndrome risk with SSRIs and a contaminant history. A mixed verdict.

9 min read · Updated August 2026

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