The dietary supplement industry has estimated sales of over $30 billion in the US and over $100 billion globally. Many consumers believe that dietary supplements are safer and possibly more effective than drugs to treat diabetes. The sheer volume of the literature in this space makes compiling them into one review challenging, so much so that primarily narrative reviews currently exist. By applying the interactive database supplied by the Office of Dietary Supplements at the National Institutes of Health, we identified the top 100 ingredients that appeared most often in dietary supplement products. One-hundred different keyword searches using the ingredient name and the word diabetes were performed using a program developed to automatically scrape PubMed. Each search was retained in a separate Excel spreadsheet, which was then reviewed for inclusion or exclusion. The studies that met the inclusion criteria were evaluated for effect of reducing and controlling diabetes. The PubMed scrape resulted in 6217 studies. For each keyword search only the most recent 100 were retained, which refined the total to 1823 studies. Of these 425 met the screening criteria. The ingredients, fiber, selenium and zinc had the most studies associated with improvement in diabetes. Several popular supplement ingredients (phosphorus, pantothenic acid, calcium, magnesium, glutamine, isoleucine, tyrosine, choline, and creatine monohydrate) did not result in any studies meeting our screening criteria. Our study demonstrates how to automate reviews to filter and collapse literature in content areas that have an enormous volume of studies. The aggregated set of studies suggest there is little clinical evidence for the use of dietary supplements to reduce or control diabetes.

β-Hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB), a leucine metabolite, can increase skeletal muscle size and function. However, HMB may be less effective at improving muscle function in people with insufficient Vitamin D₃ (25-OH-D < 30 ng/mL) which is common in middle-aged and older adults. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that combining HMB plus Vitamin D₃ (HMB + D) supplementation would improve skeletal muscle size, composition, and function in middle-aged women. In a double-blinded fashion, women (53 ± 1 yrs, 26 ± 1 kg/m², n = 43) were randomized to take placebo or HMB + D (3 g Calcium HMB + 2000 IU D per day) during 12 weeks of sedentary behavior (SED) or resistance exercise training (RET). On average, participants entered the study Vitamin D₃ insufficient while HMB + D increased 25-OH-D to sufficient levels after 8 and 12 weeks. In SED, HMB + D prevented the loss of arm lean mass observed with placebo. HMB + D increased muscle volume and decreased intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT) volume in the thigh compared to placebo but did not change muscle function. In RET, 12-weeks of HMB + D decreased IMAT compared to placebo but did not influence the increase in skeletal muscle volume or function. In summary, HMB + D decreased IMAT independent of exercise status and may prevent the loss or increase muscle size in a small cohort of sedentary middle-aged women. These results lend support to conduct a longer duration study with greater sample size to determine the validity of the observed positive effects of HMB + D on IMAT and skeletal muscle in a small cohort of middle-aged women.

Aquaculture has rapidly expanded as a critical source of global food production, contributing significantly to nutrition and livelihoods. However, climate change poses substantial challenges to aquaculture, particularly in terms of food safety. This review synthesizes the literature on the impact of climate-mediated environmental changes on food safety hazards in aquaculture, focusing on biological and chemical contaminants. Rising temperatures, altered salinity, and extreme weather are amplifying the proliferation of pathogens such as Vibrio spp ., algal biotoxins, and chemical pollutants like heavy metals and microplastics. These changes jeopardize the safety and sustainability of aquaculture products, especially in climate-vulnerable regions. Our findings highlight the urgent need for adaptive strategies to mitigate these risks, including enhanced monitoring, climate-smart aquaculture practices, and regulatory interventions. By examining the intricate relationship between climate change and food safety, this review calls for a comprehensive approach to safeguard human health and ecosystem resilience, ensuring that aquaculture can meet the demands of a growing global population.