Revive Wellness

A recent study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who consumed about 100 grams of sugar per day, or roughly 25 teaspoons, had more than double the risk of developing dementia.

Sugar doesn’t just affect your metabolism. It also influences how your brain ages.

Reducing added sugars and focusing on whole, nutrient-dense foods is one of the most powerful ways to protect cognitive function long term.

Don’t suffer in silence. We have the right probiotic strains at Revive Wellness to sort out female ecology 🥳

Results from a small clinical trial suggest that curcumin might boost the efficacy of conventional therapy in multiple myeloma patients by modulating molecular pathways tied to inflammation and tumour survival. However, results are preliminary and larger, better-controlled studies are needed.

In this pilot randomised clinical trial from Indonesia, 33 patients with multiple myeloma were assigned to receive either standard therapy (melphalan plus prednisone) or the same therapy plus 8 g of curcumin daily as an adjuvant. These patients were ineligible for bone marrow transplant. The study found that the curcumin group achieved a much higher remission rate (75% versus 33.3%, P=0.009, per-protocol analysis of 24 patients) and showed significantly greater reductions in inflammatory/pro-tumour markers such as NF-κB, VEGF and TNF-α. TNF-α levels were significantly correlated with remission (Odds Ratio, OR=1.35; P=0.03). There were early deaths and dropouts in both arms (infection, cytopenia, adverse events); 12/17 vs 12/16 patients in the respective groups completed 4 cycles of treatment.

What was encouraging from the trial were the biologically coherent effects: NF-κB/VEGF/TNF-α shifts all aligned with the proposed mechanism. However, there were several limitations such as the few participants, the high dropout rate, the short follow-up and the outdated conventional treatment.

Also worth noting is the curcumin was not given with any technology to enhance its bioavailability, hence the very high dose.

Of course, curcumin is widely regarded as an ‘antioxidant’, and we have the “antioxidants are contraindicated during conventional cancer therapy” mantra that has been widely repeated in oncology. However, it is increasingly being questioned (at least by biomedical scientists), especially in the light of clinical trial data such as this and nuanced biochemical evidence. Specifically, many natural compounds like curcumin are not merely antioxidants; they act as redox modulators—context-dependent regulators that can enhance oxidative stress in cancer cells while protecting normal tissue through selective activation of adaptive pathways such as Nrf2, AMPK and p53.

Curcumin, in particular, has been shown in multiple preclinical studies to sensitise malignant cells to chemotherapeutic agents and enhance apoptosis. Human data, including the above pilot trial, support the possibility that it can improve remission rates rather than blunt therapy responses. In other words, the “antioxidant = interference” dogma fails to account for biological complexity and context specificity.

For more information see: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35919637/

I recently posted a study suggesting that non-antibiotic drugs may have an unexpected disruptive effect on gut flora. Now a study from Australia has generated findings suggesting that certain drugs might also contribute to the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). While antibiotic overuse is a primary driver, emerging evidence suggests that non-antibiotic medications (NAMs) may also play a role. The authors note that this concern is particularly relevant in residential aged care facilities (RACFs), where both NAMs and antibiotics are frequently used.

They investigated nine NAMs commonly used in RACFs, including ibuprofen, diclofenac, paracetamol (acetaminophen), furosemide, metformin, atorvastatin, tramadol, temazepam and pseudoephedrine at gut-relevant concentrations in a test tube model of ciprofloxacin-induced mutagenesis in Escherichia coli.

Findings showed that ibuprofen and paracetamol significantly increased mutation frequency and conferred high-level ciprofloxacin resistance. Whole-genome sequencing identified mutations in the regulatory genes GyrA, MarR, and AcrR, with the latter two correlated with overexpression of a key drug efflux pump (a bacterial defense mechanism). Co-exposure to two NAMs further elevated mutation rates and ciprofloxacin resistance levels. Mutants showed ≥4 fold increased resistance, not only for ciprofloxacin but also for other antibiotic classes such as β lactams, levofloxacin and minocycline. Notably, ciprofloxacin resistance rose by up to 32 fold.

The authors suggested their findings underscored the overlooked role of NAMs in driving AMR and highlighted the need to reassess polypharmacy risks in aged care settings.

The University of South Australia’s official media release (dated 26 August 2025) emphasised that common painkillers "quietly fuel one of the world’s biggest health threats: antibiotic resistance" by increasing bacterial mutations and resistance.
However, it should be noted that this work needs to be repeated, and the findings were laboratory-generated and may not reflect the real-world situation.

For more information see: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40855113/