Look up any remedy. See everything the research says, including what never surfaced.

Trial registries, unpublished studies, drugs tested under code names, foreign journals, FDA reports and patient forums, counted and scored.

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RemedyAll remediesAshwagandhaBerberineBlack seed oilFenbendazoleIP6IvermectinMistletoe extractTurkey tail mushroomTurmeric ConditionAll conditionsArthritis pain (osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis)AsthmaBlood sugar and type 2 diabetesBody weightCancerChemotherapy side effectsCholesterol and blood fatsDepressionHeart-valve and artery calcificationHPV and cervical cell changesIntestinal wormsKidney stonesSleep and insomniaStress and anxietyTestosterone and male fertility

25 findings across 9 remedies and 15 conditions

• Ashwagandha and sleep and insomnia4/5 ModerateHeld up in trialsBased on the evidence, ashwagandha root extract modestly improves sleep quality and helps people fall asleep a few minutes faster, mostly in small, short trials from India.
• Ashwagandha and stress and anxiety4/5 ModerateHeld up in trialsBased on the evidence, standardized ashwagandha root extracts lower stress and anxiety scores more than placebo in many small trials, though most are short, from India, and several were run by the extract makers.
• Berberine and blood sugar and type 2 diabetes4/5 ModerateHeld up in trialsBased on the evidence, berberine lowers blood sugar modestly in type 2 diabetes, about half a point of HbA1c in pooled trials, though most trials are small, short and from China.
• Berberine and cholesterol and blood fats4/5 ModerateHeld up in trialsBased on the evidence, berberine lowers LDL cholesterol and triglycerides by a small amount, though most trials were small, short, from China and judged at high risk of bias.
• Black seed oil and blood sugar and type 2 diabetes4/5 ModerateHeld up in trialsBased on the evidence, black seed lowers blood sugar modestly, about half a point of HbA1c in pooled trials of people with type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome, though most trials were small and short.
• Turmeric and arthritis pain (osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis)4/5 ModerateHeld up in trialsBased on the evidence, turmeric and curcumin extracts modestly ease knee osteoarthritis pain in short trials, but most trials are small, short, test branded products and are rated low quality.
• Turmeric and depression4/5 ModerateHeld up in trialsBased on the evidence, curcumin added to usual care modestly lowers depression scores in short randomized trials, though the trials are small and their quality is rated low.
• Ashwagandha and testosterone and male fertility4/5 ModerateTrials disagreeBased on the evidence, ashwagandha raises testosterone modestly in men, about 57 ng/dL in pooled trials, but two placebo trials found no difference and no placebo trial we read reported pregnancies.
• Mistletoe extract and chemotherapy side effects4/5 ModerateTrials disagreeBased on the evidence, mistletoe injections may modestly improve quality of life and some side effects during chemotherapy, mostly in breast cancer, but most trials were not blinded and the largest blinded trial found no benefit.
• Turkey tail mushroom and cancer4/5 ModerateTrials disagreeBased on the evidence, PSK, a prescription extract of turkey tail, may modestly lengthen survival when added to older chemotherapy after surgery for stomach or colorectal cancer. Store-bought turkey tail has not been tested this way.
• Berberine and body weight3/5 LimitedTrials disagreeSmall or mixed human studies suggest berberine may trim body weight by about a kilogram, but results disagree and the largest recent trial found no loss of belly fat.
• IP6 and heart-valve and artery calcification3/5 LimitedTrials disagreeSmall or mixed human studies suggest IP6 may slow calcium build-up in heart valves and arteries, but the trials used an intravenous drug form, not oral supplements.
• IP6 and kidney stones3/5 LimitedTrials disagreeSmall or mixed human studies suggest IP6 in the diet may lower the risk of kidney stones, but the results disagree and no controlled trial of phytate itself has counted stones.
• Turmeric and cancer3/5 LimitedTrials disagreeSmall or mixed human studies suggest curcumin may help some chemotherapy regimens or ease treatment side effects, but controlled trials on tumors disagree and the strongest positive one used an intravenous form.
• Black seed oil and asthma3/5 LimitedPromising, unprovenSmall or mixed human studies suggest black seed added to usual asthma treatment may improve symptom control and some lung-function measures, but every randomized trial had fewer than 100 people and lasted three months or less.
• Black seed oil and chemotherapy side effects3/5 LimitedPromising, unprovenSmall or mixed human studies suggest black seed may ease some side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, such as fever, mouth sores and skin damage, but the trials were small and several had no placebo.
• Fenbendazole and intestinal worms3/5 LimitedPromising, unprovenSmall or mixed human studies suggest fenbendazole can clear roundworm and reduce hookworm and whipworm in people, based on 1970s trials of a form that was never approved for human use.
• IP6 and chemotherapy side effects3/5 LimitedPromising, unprovenSmall or mixed human studies suggest IP6 may ease chemotherapy side effects and protect quality of life, based on three small randomized trials in breast cancer patients.
• Turkey tail mushroom and chemotherapy side effects3/5 LimitedPromising, unprovenSmall or mixed human studies suggest turkey tail extracts may soften the drop in immune cells during cancer treatment, but the effect on how people actually feel is uncertain.
• Turkey tail mushroom and hpv and cervical cell changes3/5 LimitedPromising, unprovenSmall or mixed human studies suggest a turkey tail vaginal gel (Papilocare) may help low-grade cervical changes and HPV clear, but no blinded trial has been published and FIGO and IGCS do not endorse it.
• Black seed oil and cancer2/5 PreliminaryPromising, unprovenAnimal studies and case reports suggest black seed or its compound thymoquinone may act against cancer, but no controlled trial has tested that, and the only phase I study of thymoquinone found no responses.
• IP6 and cancer2/5 PreliminaryPromising, unprovenAnimal studies and case reports suggest IP6 may act against several kinds of cancer, but no controlled human trial has measured its effect on tumors, and we found none registered.
• Fenbendazole and cancer2/5 PreliminaryUnproven, with warning signsAnimal studies and case reports suggest fenbendazole has some anti-cancer activity in cells and mice, but no human trial has tested it, the only PubMed case series of remissions was retracted, and most published human cases describe liver injury.
• Ivermectin and cancer2/5 PreliminaryUnproven, with warning signsAnimal studies and case reports suggest ivermectin slows cancer cells and tumors in mice, but no controlled trial in people with cancer has reported results, the largest human report was retracted, and published cases include serious poisoning.
• Mistletoe extract and cancer3/5 LimitedFailed its best testSmall or mixed human studies suggest mistletoe injections do not reliably lengthen survival: the best-run placebo-controlled trial found no benefit, while open and observational studies report longer survival.