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Today’s Health Upgrade

• Does a supplement work better than statins?

• How “training age” influences the effectiveness of creatine

• Fact or fiction: alcohol and health benefits

• The mood-boosting diet

Not So Fast
The "Artery-Cleaning" Supplement That Doesn't Clean Anything

There’s a podcast clip circulating on social media claiming that a pill made from fermented soybeans, called nattokinase, supposedly clears plaque from your arteries. The promise is intriguing: No statins, no diet overhaul. Just a supplement that scrubs your pipes. 

Unfortunately, the flashy study that’s being referenced couldn't prove nattokinase does anything, and a more rigorous study found almost no benefit at all.

Here’s what we found when we went digging into the claims made in the video. A study followed more than 1,000 people taking nattokinase for a year and reported significant improvements in arterial plaque, but only at high doses. It sounds convincing until you look at the study's methods. 

Researchers looked backward at people who'd already decided to take the supplement, with no comparison group, and the work was tied to companies that sell it. That’s not a reason to doubt the results, and it suggests promise. But it doesn’t prove the supplement caused anything. For that, you need a randomized, placebo-controlled trial to see cause and effect. And, luckily, that type of study exists. 

A randomized trial compared nattokinase with a placebo and followed participants for 3 years. This is the kind of study designed to answer what the supplement really does.

The scientists found that taking nattokinase didn't slow artery changes and showed no changes compared to those using a placebo.

But the reason for hesitation goes deeper. Nattokinase actually thins the blood, and there are documented cases of serious bleeding, especially in people already taking aspirin or other blood thinners. 

All the more reason to make sure you speak with your doctor if you're going to take something for serious health concerns. 

If you want a healthier heart, we already know what protects arteries: keeping your LDL cholesterol and blood pressure in range (with your doctor), not smoking, training hard enough to make your heart work, and eating mostly whole foods with plenty of fiber will support the changes you desire. 

Together With Momentous
Is Creatine Better At Helping New Or Experienced Lifters?

There's a belief that supplements are something you earn. Put in a few years, hit a wall, and then supplements can help spark more progress. Beginners, the logic goes, grow fast enough already. 

There’s a lot of truth to the claim. You don’t need most supplements when you’re starting out (or arguably any at all). But a new analysis specifically tested whether beginners and advanced lifters see different results with creatine.

Scientists found that creatine helps beginners and seasoned lifters build muscle similarly, so your experience level doesn't determine whether it works for you.

Researchers pooled 61 controlled trials, most of them double-blind and placebo-controlled, then sorted everyone by training history. Across the whole group, people taking creatine alongside resistance training gained about 1.4 kg of fat-free mass more than those on placebo, with no change in fat mass or body-fat percentage. 

Creatine tops off your muscles' fast-energy system, so you can grind out an extra rep and recover faster between hard sessions. Over weeks, those small wins add up to more lean tissue. The energy and hydration benefits don't care how long you've trained.

Your training history won’t decide whether creatine works. Beginner or fifteen years under the bar, both groups beat placebo. But just because experience isn't a variable, that doesn’t mean all creatine delivers the results you want. 

One thing those 61 trials controlled for that your kitchen counter doesn't: whether the creatine was actually creatine.

In a clinical trial, the powder gets verified before anyone swallows it. The tub off a shelf gets no such promise. Supplements aren't approved before they're sold, and independent testing keeps turning up products that don't match their labels, are underdosed, are cut with fillers, or carry contaminants from cheap manufacturing.

You can do everything right, every day, paired with lifting, and still come up short because what you scooped wasn't what the label said.

That's the whole reason we point people to Momentous. Their creatine is the same pharmaceutical-grade form that's been in the research for over 30 years, with no additives, sweeteners, or fillers. It's also NSF Certified for Sport®, which means every batch is independently tested against 290 banned substances and confirmed that what's printed on the label is what's in the tub. 

Independent testing clocked it at 99.8% potency accuracy, with non-detectable levels of arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury.

Put simply: when you use Momentous, you get the exact creatine the studies used, in the exact dose the label promises. With creatine, that guarantee is the whole game.

APC readers get 35% off a first subscription or 14% off a one-time order with the code “PUMPCLUB.”

If you’re wondering how much to take, research suggests 3 to 5 grams of creatine monohydrate can help power physical performance. For cognitive benefits and to fight mental exhaustion, you likely need 10 grams per day. Pair it with lifting and be patient. It’s not magic, but it will help support your goals.

Fact Or Fiction 
Does Any Amount of Alcohol Provide Health Benefits?

For years, a glass of red wine carried a health halo, the comforting idea that a little indulgence was actually good for your heart. A sweeping new analysis suggests that wasn’t just a shaky claim; it was downright misleading.

The evidence that alcohol improves your health turned out to be false, and most of the evidence suggests that even at moderate amounts it can do harm. 

Scientists recently pooled 843 observational studies and rated alcohol's link to 20 different diseases. Higher intake was associated with higher risk across all 20 outcomes, including higher incidence of cancer that attacks the throat, mouth, esophagus, colon, liver, and breast. 

Most notably for people who don’t drink much, but do drink daily: elevated risk appeared at one drink a day. 

When your body processes alcohol, it produces acetaldehyde, a compound that damages DNA. The "benefit" that was previously linked to drinking looks more like a mirage made by those who tend to drink lightly. People who have the occasional drink are often better off and healthier to start with, and older studies frequently measured them against non-drinkers who had already quit because they were sick. 

This analysis used a method designed to strip those distortions out, and once it did, the health upside of alcohol shrank to almost nothing.

That does not mean a single glass will harm you or that any amount of alcohol is poison. But it does mean that having a drink nightly “in the name of health,” isn’t a thing. 

On Our Radar
The Eating Pattern Linked To Depression Prevention

You've heard that “food is medicine.” But the direct impact on your health can be difficult to measure, so a group of researchers decided to take a closer look to see whether there was a relationship between your diet and mental well-being.

Scientists gathered randomized controlled trials and found that Mediterranean-style eating improved mood in adults struggling with depression. 

Each study assigned one group to a Mediterranean-style diet (more vegetables, olive oil, fish, beans, whole grains) and compared them with a group eating their usual diet, typically for about 3 months. On average, the diet groups felt better. However, the five trials didn’t show consistent outcomes. Some people felt a real lift, others felt nothing at all, and some even experienced a slight dip. But overall, there was a clear trend: your meals appear to have some influence on your mood.

The leading theory is that a Mediterranean-style diet reduces inflammation and supports a healthier gut, and both of those have a direct link to the brain.

And there’s another layer that shouldn’t be overlooked. Since you know whether you're eating salmon and drinking water or digging in on a fried chicken sandwich washed down with a soda, some of the boost people felt could be the reality that when you are aware of your better (or worse) decisions, it can improve (or harm) your health.

Whether it has a direct impact or not, this is one of those cases where the downside is close to nothing.

The Mediterranean diet is already one of the best-studied dietary patterns for your heart, blood sugar, metabolic health, and long game.

If you want to adjust your diet, add more vegetables, beans, nuts, and whole grains, and use olive oil instead of butter (you don’t have to eliminate butter entirely, but it’s a heart-healthy swap). Add fish a couple times a week, fruit, and let herbs and garlic carry the flavor that is usually reserved for salt and heavy sauces.

The Positive Corner of The Internet
About Arnold’s Pump Club Editorial Standards

We do things a bit differently here, starting with transparency.

1. The Content: All APC emails are researched, written, and fact-checked by the APC editors (see bottom of the email), with written contributions from Arnold (noted with “Arnold’s Corner”). Links take you to original studies (not second-hand sources).

2. Does AI play a role? Not for the primary content, but it is used in two ways. The main items are original content written by the APC team. The summaries at the end are AI-generated based on the human-written content above. We also use an AI tool to review our interpretations of the research and ensure scientific accuracy. We don’t assume AI is right, but we use technology to hold ourselves accountable.

3. Yes, we have partners (all clearly noted by “Together With”). Why? Because it allows us to keep the APC emails free. We first test products, and then reach out to potential partners who offer ways to help you improve every day. The bar is set high, and to date, we have turned down millions in ad deals. (Example: we will not partner with any non-certified supplements or those without evidence in human trials). If we won’t buy the product, we won’t recommend it to you. And if there’s no evidence it works, then there’s no place for it here.

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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger​

Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell