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| Under the Microscope |
| Creatine for the Brain |
The Research
Your brain is 2% of your body. It uses 20% of your energy. That fuel comes from adenosine triphosphate — your cells’ basic currency. Creatine helps recycle it faster.
A 2024 meta-analysis of 16 trials with 492 adults found small gains in memory and attention time. But no clear lift in overall cognition (Xu et al., Frontiers in Nutrition).
A 2026 review of six studies in adults over 55 found five of six showed a positive link with memory (Marshall et al., Nutrition Reviews).
The signal is real. It’s not loud yet. |
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The Community
Standard dose: 5 grams of creatine monohydrate a day. Peter Attia and Andrew Huberman both take it. Cost: about 15 cents.
Users report sharper focus under stress or poor sleep. A 2026 review found creatine may buffer the brain during sleep deprivation (Williams et al., Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine).
The community is ahead of the clinical data. At this price and safety record, many call it the simplest bet on the supplement shelf. |
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| Why This Matters Even More |
| Researchers increasingly hypothesize Alzheimer’s is “type 3 diabetes” — a condition where the brain can’t use glucose properly. Creatine doesn’t fix insulin resistance. But it gives your cells an alternate way to recycle adenosine triphosphate — the energy molecule your neurons depend on. When the main fuel line slows down, a backup matters. |
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| Clock Math |
| Time calculation is one of those everyday skills that keeps your mental math sharp — try to solve each one in under 10 seconds. |
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| The Mediterranean Diet Makes Your Cells Produce Brain-Protective Proteins |
| New finding from USC. |
| A team led by Roberto Vicinanza and Pinchas Cohen at the University of Southern California found something in the blood of older adults who eat a Mediterranean-style diet. They had higher levels of two tiny proteins — humanin and SHMOOSE. Both are made inside your mitochondria. Those are the small power plants that fuel every cell in your body. |
| Let me explain why this matters. These proteins aren’t just markers that show up in a blood test. In lab studies, humanin helped protect nerve cells from the kind of damage linked to Alzheimer’s disease. SHMOOSE has been tied to lower heart disease risk and slower aging. And now we know that what you eat may change how much of them your cells produce. |
| The link was specific. Olive oil, fish, and legumes — beans, lentils, chickpeas — were tied to higher humanin. Olive oil and fewer refined carbs — white bread, pastries, sugary snacks — were tied to higher SHMOOSE. |
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Think of it like this. Your food sends signals to the power plants in your cells. And those power plants respond by making molecules that guard your brain and your heart. That’s what this study suggests. |
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| I could be wrong, of course. This is observational work. Eating salmon doesn’t prove your mitochondria will churn out more protective proteins. But the direction fits 30 years of data on the Mediterranean diet. And the mechanism — food shaping mitochondrial biology — is a fresh lead. |
| I urge you to look at your plate this week. More olive oil. More fish. More beans. Fewer white-flour foods. Your cells may be paying attention. |
| University of Southern California · March 2026 |
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| A Sauna Habit That May Cut Dementia Risk |
| The Finnish data is striking. |
| A study called the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease study tracked 2,315 middle-aged men in eastern Finland for more than 20 years. The men who used a sauna four to seven times a week had a 66% lower risk of any form of dementia. Alzheimer’s risk dropped 65%. That held after the researchers adjusted for age, alcohol, blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, heart disease, and cholesterol. The sauna habit stood on its own. |
| So what does heat do to the brain? When your body gets hot, it triggers a wave of anti-inflammatory signals. Blood flow rises. Proteins that shield your cells from damage — called heat shock proteins — ramp up. Your heart rate climbs much like it does during a brisk walk. And these effects overlap with brain pathways tied to mood and stress. |
| Ashley Mason, a clinical psychologist at the University of California, San Francisco, is now running sauna trials with funding from the National Institutes of Health. Her focus is mood and sleep. The Finnish focus was dementia. The biology underneath may be the same. |
| The Protocol |
| When |
| Afternoon or evening — 1 to 2 hours before bed |
| Duration |
| 15–20 minutes per session, 3–4 times per week |
| Rules |
| Temperature between 176–194°F (80–90°C). Hydrate well before and after. Start with 5 to 10 minutes if you’re new. Cool down slowly. Skip if you have uncontrolled blood pressure or a heart condition — check with your doctor first. |
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| The Finnish men who saw the biggest drop went four or more times a week. But even two to three sessions showed a trend. Consistency over months and years is what counts. I urge you to try it. |
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| Aspirin Cut Dementia Risk 70% — but Only in One Genetic Group |
| Monash University analyzed genetic data from over 13,500 older adults in the ASPREE trial. People in the top 20% of a platelet-related genetic score who took daily low-dose aspirin had a 1% dementia rate — compared to 3.3% on placebo. That’s a 70% relative reduction. But the same group had more than double the rate of major bleeding (4.4% vs. 2.1%). Lead author Peter Fransquet said genetics may one day guide who benefits from aspirin and who faces too much risk. This is not a call to start aspirin on your own. |
| Monash University · Alzheimer’s & Dementia · September 2026 |
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| Sleep Gummies With CBN May Build Tolerance Fast |
| University of Connecticut researchers gave mice cannabinol — the cannabis-derived compound in many over-the-counter sleep gummies — twice daily for five days. The mice quickly built tolerance. When given a blocking drug, they showed withdrawal signs: head twitching and paw tremors. They also responded to cannabinol the same way they responded to THC, the compound that produces a high. Senior author Steven Kinsey says repeated use may carry risks most buyers don’t expect. If you rely on CBN gummies for sleep, this is worth knowing. |
| University of Connecticut · Drug and Alcohol Dependence · November 2026 |
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| Voice Changes Tied to 58% Higher Dementia Risk |
| A Drexel University study of 833,417 adults over 50 found that a diagnosed voice disorder — shifts in pitch, clarity, or volume — was linked to a 58% higher chance of dementia or cognitive decline. When voice disorders and hearing loss occurred together, the risk roughly doubled. Senior author Robert Sataloff said reduced communication may speed cognitive decline the same way hearing loss does. If your voice has changed in ways you can’t explain, mention it to your doctor. |
| Drexel University · Journal of Voice · August 2026 |
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| Mark Hyman, MD |
| Family Physician · 16-Time NYT Bestselling Author · Founder, Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine |
Mark Hyman is 66. He has practiced functional medicine for more than 25 years. And he treats his own body as carefully as any patient’s.
His daily supplement stack is specific:
• Omega-3 fish oil: 1 to 2 grams of EPA plus DHA daily (Big Bold Health brand). He calls this non-negotiable for brain and heart.
• Vitamin D3 with K2: 5,000 IU (Designs for Health). He considers widespread deficiency one of medicine’s most missed problems.
• Magnesium glycinate: about 400 mg. He estimates 75% of people are low and don’t know it.
• NMN — nicotinamide mononucleotide: roughly 900 mg a day (Wonderfeel Youngr brand). This feeds a molecule called NAD+ that declines with age and drives cell energy and DNA repair.
• Probiotics: Seed DS-01 Daily Synbiotic. He calls the gut a “second brain.”
• Multivitamin: Designs for Health Twice Daily Multi — his “nutritional insurance.”
He eats mostly whole foods — vegetables, olive oil, wild fish, nuts, and seeds. He fits his meals into a roughly 12-hour window. He strength-trains regularly, walks every day, and uses a sauna several times a week. |
| One honest note: His NMN use and periodic senolytic cycling — taking quercetin and fisetin in bursts to clear old, damaged cells — go beyond what large human trials have confirmed. While exercise rests on strong evidence, the evidence for omega-3, vitamin D, and magnesium supplementation is mixed. The rest is informed personal experimentation. He’s open about that. |
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