The Orange Pill Podcast

Ashwagandha has become synonymous with stress relief, but what happens when you put that claim through a placebo-controlled clinical trial? A 12-week randomized, double-blind study of a standardized ashwagandha root extract found an unexpected result: perceived stress improved substantially in both the ashwagandha and placebo groups, with no significant difference between them. But look beyond stress scores, and a much more interesting picture emerges. In Episode 144 of the Orange...

Can the same supplement produce completely opposite biological effects depending on sex? A 2026 preclinical study investigating calcium alpha-ketoglutarate (Ca-αKG) in mouse models of lung adenocarcinoma found a striking divergence: supplementation reduced tumor growth and cell proliferation in female mice, while increasing both in males. Pasted markdown In Episode 143 of the Orange Pill Podcast, we explore how researchers traced this unexpected response to epigenetic reprogramming, why genes including Kdm6a,...

Dietary supplements are no longer a niche wellness habit. According to a new 2026 report from the National Center for Health Statistics, 60.2% of U.S. adults used at least one dietary supplement in the previous 30 days—and 38.7% used two or more. In Episode 142 of the Orange Pill Podcast, we unpack the latest NHANES data to explore who's supplementing, how habits change with age and sex, and the rise...

IBS isn't simply a digestive disorder—it's increasingly understood as a complex disorder of gut-brain interaction. An 8-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial investigated whether a multi-species probiotic could influence not only IBS-related quality of life, but also oxidative stress and inflammatory biomarkers. In Episode 141 of the Orange Pill Podcast, we unpack four surprising findings from the study—from improvements in quality of life to the unexpected disconnect between symptom improvement and...

GLP-1 receptor agonists have transformed the conversation around obesity and metabolic health. But as their use continues to grow, researchers and clinicians are beginning to pay closer attention to the nutritional consequences that can accompany significant appetite suppression, rapid weight loss, and persistent gastrointestinal side effects. In this episode of The Orange Pill Podcast, we explore the emerging concern around thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency in people using GLP-1 receptor agonists....