A groundbreaking study has found that vitamin D supplementation is associated with a significant 40% reduction in dementia risk over a 10-year period, according to research discussed by Dr. Rhonda Patrick.
The large-scale study, which included over 12,000 adults, revealed that after just 5 years, 84% of vitamin D supplement users remained dementia-free compared to only 68% of non-users. The protective effect was observed across various populations, with particularly notable benefits for certain groups.
“Vitamin D is not just a vitamin,” explains Dr. Patrick. “Vitamin D gets converted into a steroid hormone that regulates over a thousand genes in our body. It enters the nucleus of our cells and it regulates, it activates and turns on or it suppresses and turns off up to nearly 5% of the protein encoding human genome.”
The findings are especially promising for those with genetic risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases. Vitamin D reduced dementia risk by approximately 33% in adults with mild cognitive impairment who also carried the APOE E4 gene variant—a key genetic risk factor that can increase Alzheimer’s risk up to tenfold in individuals with two copies.
The study’s results gain additional significance considering that up to 70% of Americans have insufficient or deficient vitamin D levels. About 30% are clinically deficient with levels below 20 nanograms per milliliter, while another 40% fall into the insufficient range between 20-30 ng/mL.
Several factors contribute to widespread vitamin D deficiency, including:
– Limited sun exposure
– Sunscreen use
– Darker skin pigmentation
– Advanced age (a 70-year-old produces four times less vitamin D from sun exposure than a 20-year-old)
– Northern latitude residence
– Higher body fat percentage
The study revealed interesting demographic differences in vitamin D’s protective effects. Women derived substantially greater benefits than men, experiencing nearly a 50% lower dementia incidence compared to non-supplementing women, while men saw a 26% reduction.
Additionally, those with normal baseline cognitive function who supplemented with vitamin D had a 56% lower dementia incidence, while those with existing mild cognitive impairment still experienced a 33% reduction.
This research builds upon multiple previous studies linking vitamin D to brain health. These include Mendelian randomization studies showing genetically low vitamin D levels increase dementia risk by up to 54%, and neuroimaging research demonstrating how vitamin D deficiency accelerates brain aging through increased white matter hyperintensities.
The study found that all forms of vitamin D supplementation provided protection: calcium with vitamin D (44% lower risk), vitamin D3 (37% lower risk), vitamin D2 (50% lower risk), and combined forms (50% lower risk).
Dr. Patrick suggests that most people can maintain optimal vitamin D levels (between 30-60 ng/mL) with daily supplements of 2,000-4,000 IU, though annual blood testing is recommended to ensure appropriate dosing.
Vitamin D appears to support brain health through multiple mechanisms, including enhanced removal of amyloid beta (linked to Alzheimer’s disease), modulation of neuroinflammation, upregulation of neurotrophic factors that support learning and memory, and reduction of oxidative stress.
Given these findings and vitamin D’s wide-ranging benefits, supplementation represents a simple, inexpensive intervention that could significantly impact dementia risk across the population.
When seven-time world champion cliff diver Rhiannan Iffland encountered a bright red warning sign at Austria’s Area 47 adventure park, she made a decision that would spark international debate. The sign featured a crossed-out female figure stating, “Due to high risk of injury, women are not allowed to use this slide!”
Despite the clear prohibition, the 33-year-old Australian diving champion decided to take her chances on Europe’s fastest waterslid. It reaches bone-rattling speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour. Her Instagram video, showing her plummeting down the silver vertical drop attraction, carried a defiant message: “Apparently women are not supposed to do this slide.”
The footage quickly went viral, but not for the reasons Iffland might have expected. Instead of celebrating her daredevil spirit, viewers flooded the comments with warnings about the serious medical dangers that prompted the ban in the first place.
“The amount of people that don’t understand why women aren’t supposed to go on this slide is scary,” one Instagram user commented. Another questioned: “The sign says ‘due to high risk of injury’. Why would you still go down?”
The restriction isn’t rooted in outdated gender stereotypes, but in a disturbing pattern of severe injuries that have plagued high-speed water attractions worldwide. Medical research has documented how the extreme forces generated by these slides can cause devastating internal damage to women. High-pressure water can enter the body and causing tears, infections, and other serious complications.
The dangers became tragically real for 38-year-old Monu Bhagat, who suffered an 8-centimeter internal tear while using the VertiGo slide at Spain’s Aqualandia water park in Benidorm. Despite following safety instructions to cross her arms and legs, Bhagat experienced what she described as “a tight pull” during her descent.
“As I went down I felt a tight pull and to start with I thought I had a wedgie, but as I got out of the pool blood started pouring down my legs,” Bhagat recalled. “My daughter saw the blood and she was so scared.”
Bhagat spent 24 hours in hospital receiving stitches and an epidural, with doctors expressing surprise at the severity of her injuries. Her case wasn’t isolated, similar incidents have occurred at water parks across Europe. This has prompted facility operators to implement gender-specific restrictions on their most extreme attractions.
Area 47 officials explained that their ban wasn’t implemented arbitrarily. When the park opened in 2009, the slide was available to all visitors regardless of gender. However, a pattern of accidents in the second year forced management to consult with medical professionals and authorities.
“Initially, this particular slide was open to both women and men,” an Area 47 spokesperson explained. “However, in the second year, we noticed a significant increase in accidents on this slide, which required us to take action.”
The consultation process led to what officials described as a “difficult decision”: either dismantle the attraction entirely or restrict its use to men only. The park chose the latter option, prioritizing visitor safety over accessibility.
“Our highest priority is ensuring the safety and happiness of all our guests, regardless of gender,” the spokesperson emphasized. “The risks for women using this slide were tragically highlighted a few years ago when a woman was severely injured on a similar slide in the Canary Islands.”
Following the online backlash to her stunt, Iffland clarified her intentions: “It was never my intent to mock the safety regulations of this water slide. A person’s safety is paramount and I am constantly weighing up any danger with my job. To suggest otherwise, is wrong.”
The medical community has documented these risks extensively. Studies show that high-pressure water entering the female body can cause internal tears, infections from waterborne contaminants, and other serious complications that can have lasting health consequences.
Hollywood actor Matthew McConaughey has entered the self-help industry, partnering with established gurus like Dean Graziosi and Tony Robbins to sell a $397 online course called “Road Trip: The Highway to More.” This surprising career pivot has definitely raised eyebrows among critics who question the authenticity of such celebrity-endorsed self-improvement programs.
McConaughey’s entry into the self-help world began with his 2020 book “Green Lights,” which combined autobiography with spiritual development themes. The book’s success caught the attention of self-help entrepreneurs Graziosi and Robbins, who saw an opportunity to capitalize on McConaughey’s image and star power.
According to Graziosi, he was so impressed by “Green Lights” that he immediately called Robbins, urging him to read it. Robbins allegedly responded by calling McConaughey “crazier than me” and praising his “depth of wisdom.” This led to McConaughey speaking at their events, which reportedly drew over two million people across two sessions.
The collaboration culminated in “The Art of Living” event. It was a long, live-streamed extravaganza that served as an elaborate sales pitch disguised as a spiritual awakening. McConaughey headlined the event alongside other self-help personalities, delivering scripted monologues interspersed with audience interaction through chat messages.
The event followed a familiar pattern: participants were encouraged to confess their shortcomings, acknowledge their desire for “more,” and trust in the process. McConaughey shared personal anecdotes, including a dramatic story about visiting a monastery in New Mexico where a monk’s simple “me too” response to his four-hour confession allegedly provided profound relief.
After hours of motivational content, the event pivoted to its true purpose: selling the “Road Trip” course. Originally priced at $3,900, then reduced to $997, the course was offered for the “event-only” price of $397. Additionally, they provided a payment plan option of three installments of $150.
The package also promised:
12 course sessions with McConaughey
Monthly live trainings (one featuring McConaughey)
Access to an online community
Three months of “Mastermind” platform access
Various bonus courses on topics like persuasion and confidence
Critics have identified several concerning elements in the presentation:
Artificial Authenticity: Despite claims of unfiltered, direct communication, McConaughey was reading from a teleprompter throughout much of the event, undermining the supposed spontaneity.
Parasocial Manipulation: The event repeatedly emphasized personal connection, with hosts claiming McConaughey was “individually connecting” with each of the 2.4 million alleged participants while simultaneously addressing them as a collective.
Manufactured Urgency: The course was presented as an “event-only” opportunity, creating pressure to purchase immediately without proper consideration.
Vague Promises: The actual content offered little concrete value beyond generic self-help platitudes about journaling, confession, and trusting oneself.
The event bore striking similarities to prosperity gospel preaching, with its emphasis on confession, trust, and the promise of material and spiritual abundance. McConaughey’s use of phrases like “name it, claim it, and declare it” directly links to prosperity gospel terminology.
Perhaps most concerning was the event’s apparent targeting of vulnerable individuals. Chat messages revealed participants struggling with addiction, depression, financial problems, and relationship issues. These are people genuinely seeking help who might view McConaughey’s Hollywood success as validation of his wisdom.
While McConaughey may genuinely believe in his message, his partnership with established self-help marketers raises questions about the commodification of personal growth. The $397 price tag for what amounts to recorded lectures and an online forum offers little beyond common-sense advice dressed up in celebrity appeal.
Shelby Houlihan was once America’s brightest middle-distance hope. She is back on the track, and so is the ghost of her pork burrito. After serving a four-year doping ban for testing positive for Nandrolone, the 1500m and 5000m record holder has returned to competition. She is now trying to run away from what remains one of the most ridiculous doping defenses in sports history.
Yes, this is the same Shelby Houlihan who claimed a tainted burrito, specifically one allegedly made with uncastrated boar meat from a food truck, was to blame for her positive test. What followed was a surreal saga of science denial, half-baked excuses, and an online defense campaign that looked more like a Reddit conspiracy thread than a legal battle.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) wasn’t buying it. In a scathing 44-page decision, they shredded the burrito defense. They mentioned it was “possible but improbable”—which is lawyer-speak for you’ve got to be kidding me.
They pointed out that uncastrated boar meat barely exists in the U.S. commercial food chain. Additionally, the food truck she supposedly got it from had zero connections to wild boar processing. Experts testified that the USDA’s system would have caught such contamination anyway.
Worse, Houlihan herself wasn’t even sure what she ate. She said she ordered beef, but figured it might have been pork because it was “more greasy than normal.” That vague recollection became the foundation for a failed appeal and a GoFundMe campaign begging for $300,000 to cover legal fees. It raised only $16,000 before disappearing quietly. She also claimed to be broke and working DoorDash while still training at elite altitude camps.
Her lawyer, Paul Green, only added to the comedy by claiming that nandrolone “would never help” a distance runner, which is absurd. Nandrolone does help with recovery and boosting red blood cell production, exactly what endurance athletes want.
Then her coach, Jerry Schumacher, doubled down on the nonsense by claiming he had “never heard of nandrolone.” One prominent coach responded bluntly to Schumacher’s statement: “If you’ve never heard of nandrolone, you’re pathetic and you’re a liar.”
This wasn’t just a sketchy legal case; it was a full-blown performance. Anonymous “studies” popped up online defending her. GitHub pages authored by clearly connected users argued for her innocence. Even the website LetsRun.com joined the circus, selling Burrito Track Club t-shirts and comparing her case to George Floyd’s.
To make matters worse, Houlihan was reportedly still training with banned teammates in what were described as “chance encounters”—a clear violation of anti-doping rules. One athlete even left the Bowerman Track Club over the whole mess.
Houlihan’s sudden meteoric rise, like slashing 36 seconds off her 5000m time during the pandemic, only fueled suspicions. And now, despite her years away, she’s back posting times nearly identical to her pre-ban bests.
So, what now? Houlihan claims she wants to move forward, but she’s still running in the shadow of a burrito. Her “clearshelby.com” campaign tried to paint her as a victim of the system, but the facts just don’t line up. The CAS, the Swiss Federal Court, and independent scientists all agree: her story doesn’t hold up.
The only thing weirder than the original excuse is that some people still believe it.
A Dublin courtroom became the unlikely scene of a d**g transaction when a convicted dealer decided to conduct business during his own sentencing hearing.
It seems like some criminal habits are harder to break than others.
Tony Roe, 30, was caught red-handed passing d**gs to a fellow defendant while waiting to learn his fate at Dublin’s Criminal Courts of Justice building on April 15, 2024. The exchange involved alprazolam tablets worth €160 (approximately $188 USD) and c**nabis. It was all conducted under the watchful eyes of court officials.
The timing couldn’t have been more ironic. Roe was there to be sentenced for attempted robbery. This would add to an already extensive criminal record that includes 124 prior convictions, with 29 of those specifically for d**g dealing. His decision to continue his illegal trade inside the very courtroom was either due to remarkable audacity or a complete inability to read the room.
Judge Treasa Kelly handed down a three-year sentence for the attempted robbery, then addressed the courthouse d**g dealing with an additional three-month sentence. However, this additional time will run concurrently with his existing sentence, meaning Roe won’t spend any extra time behind bars. The judge noted that he’s already scheduled to remain incarcerated until October 2025.
Roe’s legal representative highlighted that their client had entered an early guilty plea, though this gesture of cooperation seems somewhat undermined by his decision to turn the courthouse into a pharmaceutical marketplace.
This incident joins a growing collection of weird courtroom behavior that has captured public attention in recent months. From defendants attempting to use artificial intelligence avatars as legal representatives to wardrobe choices that infuriate judges, it appears that common sense sometimes gets checked at the courthouse door.
While most people would consider a sentencing hearing an appropriate time for reflection and remorse, Roe apparently saw it as just another business opportunity.
When it comes to avoiding unwanted romantic advances, female frogs have developed some surprisingly dramatic tactics that would make even the most skilled actors jealous. New research published in Royal Society Open Science reveals that European common frogs have mastered the art of deception, with some females literally playing dead to escape persistent male suitors.
The study, led by Dr. Carolin Dittrich from the Natural History Museum of Berlin, sheds light on what scientists call “explosive breeding” behavior in frogs. During spring mating season, these amphibians gather in large numbers where males compete intensely for female attention. The situation can become so chaotic that multiple males will pile onto a single female in what researchers term “mating balls.” It is a potentially deadly scenario for the females involved.
“It can look disgusting, I have to say,” Dr. Dittrich told the New York Times, describing these frantic breeding gatherings.
For years, scientists assumed female frogs were largely passive participants in this process. However, the new research reveals that females have developed three distinct avoidance strategies: rotation, release calls, and tonic immobility – essentially faking death.
The most popular escape tactic proved to be rotation, used by 83 percent of females in the study. When grabbed by an unwanted male, females begin spinning around their own axis, forcing the male to work harder to maintain his grip.
Nearly half of the females (48 percent) employed vocal deception, mimicking the sounds males typically make to signal their gender to other males. “Males typically use release calls to signal other males that they are a male, so to let them go,” Dittrich explained to New Scientist.
But perhaps the most dramatic strategy involves complete physical shutdown. About one-third of females engaged in tonic immobility, stiffening their arms and legs and lying motionless on their backs – essentially playing dead to convince males they’re not viable mates.
The research team observed these behaviors by placing pairs of differently sized females with males in controlled environments for one hour each. They discovered that smaller females were more likely to use all three tactics and had greater success in escaping unwanted attention.
This size advantage appears to be mechanical rather than behavioral. When there’s a significant size difference between male and female frogs, males may struggle to maintain their grip during the female’s escape attempts. The researchers noted that size-mismatched pairs generally had weaker physical bonds during mating attempts.
The study challenges long-held assumptions about female passivity in amphibian reproduction. These behaviors may serve multiple purposes – from testing male strength and endurance to reducing the risk of drowning in crowded mating situations.
“I think even if we call this species a common frog and think we know it well, there are still aspects we don’t know and perhaps haven’t thought about,” Dittrich told the Guardian.
The researchers suggest that these avoidance behaviors might be stress responses, particularly among younger, less experienced females. The connection between age and behavior frequency indicates that reproductive experience may influence how females respond to male advances.
Interestingly, the death-feigning behavior has only been documented in a handful of species as a mating avoidance strategy, making this discovery particularly significant for understanding animal behavior. While tonic immobility is well-known as an anti-predator response throughout the animal kingdom, its use in reproductive contexts remains relatively rare.
The findings highlight the complex dynamics of animal mating systems and suggest that female choice plays a more active role in frog reproduction than previously understood. Rather than being helpless victims of male harassment, these females demonstrate sophisticated behavioral adaptations that help them navigate the dangerous world of explosive breeding.
