Every weekday, we help you make sense of the complex world of wellness by analyzing the headlines, simplifying the latest research, and providing quick tips designed to help you stay healthier in under 5 minutes. If you were forwarded this message, you can get the free daily email here.
Today’s Health Upgrade
A breakthrough for joint pain?
Chew on this: Creatine gummies have a creatine problem
Do this before learning to strengthen your memory
From hope to action
On Our Radar
Scientists Reversed Cartilage Loss in Aging Joints. Here's What It Really Means.
If you've been told your cartilage is "just wearing out," and there's nothing to do but manage pain until you need a new knee, you're not alone. Osteoarthritis affects one in five American adults, and the medical playbook hasn't changed much in decades: painkillers, weight loss, and wait for surgery.
That may change in the near future.
Stanford researchers discovered that blocking an aging-related enzyme reversed cartilage loss and prevented arthritis from developing after joint injuries.
Before you run to your doctor, this is an “on our radar” item because the results have only been discovered in mice. But the enzyme has been studied in humans for other purposes, suggesting we are on the doorstep of a big breakthrough.
The study found that levels of this enzyme double as we age. It breaks down a molecule essential for tissue repair. When researchers blocked the enzyme (called 15-PGDH) in aged mice, thinning knee cartilage thickened across the joint surface.
More importantly, the regenerated tissue was functional cartilage — the smooth, weight-bearing kind — not the inferior scar-like cartilage that typically forms after damage.
Here’s why researchers are so excited: After treatment, cells producing healthy cartilage nearly doubled, while degradative cells dropped significantly.
An oral version of this drug already completed Phase 1 human trials for age-related muscle weakness and met its safety targets. Human cartilage tissue from knee replacement patients also responded positively when treated in the lab.
However, this likely won't be available for years. Human trials for cartilage haven't started, and the results need to be replicated to assess effectiveness and safety before we know for sure whether it works.
If you’re curious about the health of your knee joints, you can take this knee health quiz to understand your pain, stiffness, and overall function. And if you're experiencing joint problems and need help, here's a great resource to help find an orthopedic doctor near you.
For now, one of the best ways to keep your cartilage nourished is to stay active. And maintaining a healthy weight reduces joint stress.
Together With Momentous
Lab Tests Show 4 of 6 Best-Selling Creatine Gummies Fail to Deliver Labeled Dose
If you've switched to creatine gummies because they're easier to take than powder, you might want to check what's actually in the bottle. A recent independent lab analysis suggests that many popular gummy products contain almost no creatine.
When researchers tested six of the best-selling creatine gummies on Amazon, four of them failed to deliver the creatine listed on the label, and two contained literally zero detectable creatine.
SuppCo, an app that helps verify the quality and purity of products, purchased 11 creatine products directly off store shelves (five powders and six gummies) and sent them to an accredited lab for analysis. The testers measured creatine content per serving, purity percentage, creatinine levels (a marker of creatine breakdown), and heavy metal contamination.
Every powder passed with flying colors, delivering 98-103% of their labeled creatine content.
The gummies told a different story. Two products contained zero detectable creatine. Two others contained trace amounts so small you'd need to eat 800-2,000 gummies to get a single effective dose. Only two gummy brands actually delivered what they promised.
Why the massive difference? Creatine appears to be difficult to stabilize in a gummy.
Even the gummies that passed showed elevated creatinine levels, a harmless byproduct but a clear sign of degradation. The sugar-based gummy format may simply not be as effective at keeping creatine stable over time.
If you prefer gummies, look for brands with third-party testing verification. But if reliability matters most, creatine monohydrate powder remains the most consistent option.
If you still prefer a non-powder or pill option, go with Momentous Creatine Chews.
Momentous doesn’t guess. Every batch is third-party tested to confirm it delivers exactly what the label promises with no degradation, no “fairy dust” dosing, no surprises. And that means you’re actually getting what it says on the label. And Momentous is backed by high ratings from SuppCo.
That matters because creatine only works if you take a real dose consistently. And consistency is easier when you trust what’s in your hand.
If you want simplicity without sacrificing reliability, we recommend the Creatine Chews. And today, they just released two new flavors: strawberry and mango. And, as an APC reader, you get 35% OFF your first purchase subscription (and 14% off any one-time purchase).
Take them daily. Don’t overthink timing. And make it automatic.
Instant Health Boost
Why Some Memories Stick, And Others Don't
You've read entire books and remembered nothing. Yet you still recall random facts from a conversation years ago. Turns out, the difference might come down to a single question.
When you're genuinely curious about something, your brain opens a "learning window" that helps you remember everything better, not just the thing you wondered about.
Researchers had participants rate their curiosity about various trivia questions, then showed them unrelated faces while they waited for the answers. The twist: participants were later tested on both the trivia and the random faces.
The curious brain crushed it on both. When participants felt high curiosity about a trivia question, they remembered the answer better (no surprise). But they also remembered the unrelated faces shown during that curious state, faces that had nothing to do with what they were wondering about.
Even more impressive: these benefits held up 24 hours later. This wasn't just short-term recall. Curiosity burned information into long-term memory.
Brain scans revealed why: Curiosity activates your brain's reward circuitry, the same dopamine pathways that light up when you anticipate money or other rewards. That dopamine surge primes your brain's memory center (hippocampus) to encode whatever comes next more effectively. Think of curiosity as hitting "record" on your mental DVR.
Want to strengthen your recall and memory? Here are three tips that can help:
Before you need to learn something, spark curiosity first. Ask yourself a question about the material, even one you can't answer yet. That wondering state is the point. Whatever it takes, you want to prime your curiosity before learning and not after.
Use the spillover strategically. Preparing for a big presentation? Start with the part that genuinely interests you. The curious state you create will help you absorb the boring parts that follow.
Reframe dry material as mysteries to solve. "What happens when..." beats "Here are the facts about..."
The Positive Corner
From Hope To Action: Meet Jeremi
On Monday, Arnold promised to share stories of people who turned hope into action and inspired him. This continues a week-long collection of real people who turned hope into action and changed their lives with the Pump Club.
Tell us about yourself:
I’m 42 years old and am a proud husband and father to two amazing kids, Jade and Owen. They’re grown now, and I’m still trying to adjust to not having them at home, which has been a bit of a struggle for me. Being a Dad has been the absolute greatest part of my life. I work as a Registered Nurse in Medical Oncology, and am also an Army Veteran.
How long did you hope things would get better before they did?
I would say that it took several years for me to turn things back around. Once I committed to that change, I knew that I had my work cut out for me. I really try to keep things in perspective and not set unrealistic expectations. I think it’s important to keep in mind that if you haven't made the best choices for your health over the years, you’re not going to get visible abs in 30 days.
Everybody is going to be different, but for me, it took six and a half months of being all-in with my diet and training to complete my transformation. I lost over 50 pounds and got ripped. Even then, the work is never done. You have to keep showing up to maintain what you’ve worked so hard for. Keep setting goals because there is no finish line.
Six months and 50 pounds later, Jeremi got ripped — and was able to maintain his new body —at 42.
What actually made things get better?
I had what I keep referring to as a “mindset reset,” which means leaving the past in the past, and just looking ahead. Don’t beat yourself up over mistakes made. Instead, embrace your power to change your future. You can’t change what’s done, but you can change what happens moving forward. Keep showing up, don’t allow yourself to fall back into old habits, and you’ll be amazed at what happens. It eventually just becomes part of your routine.
What was your plan?
My plan was to get back in shape by going all-in with my diet and training. I wanted to fully commit rather than just sort of dipping my toes in the water. As the saying goes, “Father Time is undefeated”, but I was (and am) prepared to give him a hell of a fight.
How did you show up on the days when you didn’t feel like it?
Leave the excuses at the door, don’t overthink it, just do it. Inevitably, life happens. But as part of my routine, sometimes that means making adjustments. I can tell you there has never been a day that I regretted showing up. It still makes me proud.
What’s been the hardest part about change?
Leaving the past in the past. I think it can become pretty toxic, focusing too much on what was, and not enough on what could be. Learn from your mistakes and try to do better moving forward. You’re never going to be perfect, and that’s okay. We don’t need perfection. We just need to keep showing up and being the best that we can be. That also means being completely honest with yourself.
Did you notice that what you learned with this success translates to anything else in your life?
Absolutely. There are so many great life lessons in the process of all of this- working hard, pushing yourself, discipline, not making excuses, no shortcuts, and also pivoting and finding a way to keep moving forward when things don’t go as planned. I believe that if you practice these things on a daily basis, it rewires your brain to apply these things in all aspects of life. People tend to associate the physical benefits of the gym, but the mental benefits are every bit as important.
Better Today
Take any of these tips from today’s email and put them into action:
1. Why Your Cartilage Breaks Down With Age (And the Enzyme That Could Stop It)
Stanford researchers found that blocking 15-PGDH — an enzyme that doubles in activity as we age — reversed cartilage thinning and nearly doubled the number of healthy cartilage cells in aged mice, with an oral version already passing Phase 1 human safety trials. This is still years from availability, but staying active and maintaining a healthy weight remain your best moves for protecting joint cartilage now.
2. An Independent Lab Analysis Found That Popular Creatine Gummies Had Zero Detectable Creatine
An independent SuppCo lab analysis tested 11 creatine products and found that 4 of 6 best-selling Amazon gummies failed to deliver the labeled dose, and 2 contained zero detectable creatine, while every powder tested delivered 98-103% of its labeled content. If reliability matters most, creatine monohydrate powder remains the most consistent option. If you want a chewable, opt for Momentous Creatine Chews, which pass all label accuracy tests.
3. How Curiosity Activates Dopamine Pathways That Prime Your Brain for Stronger Memory
Research found that curiosity activates dopamine reward pathways, priming your hippocampus to encode information more effectively. The memory boost extends to unrelated information, lasting at least 24 hours. To strengthen recall, spark curiosity before you need to learn something by asking yourself a question about the material, even one you can't answer yet.
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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell
