SNR #224: Kurtis Frank - Understanding The Placebo Effect & Supplement Misconceptions

Kurtis Frank graduated from the University of Guelph with a bachelor's degree in Applied Human Nutrition. During his undergraduate studies in human nutrition, he co-founded the website Examine.com to gather and present as much evidence-based information on dietary supplements as possible in as unbiased a manner as possible.

To that end, Kurtis worked tirelessly for seven years to make Examine the premier resource on the Internet for learning about the science of supplementation. Today, it boasts guides on over 500 supplements containing over 41,000 scientific citations.

Kurtis then became Director of Research for Legion Athletics, a company that produces evidence-based supplements. There, he takes an active role in managing the scientific advisory board, creating new and improving existing formulations, writing informative articles on our blog, and generally guiding the scientific direction of the company.

In This Episode We Discuss What is an accurate way to think about the placebo effect? How the placebo effect and actual drug effect are not mutually exclusive Should coaches actively “placebo their clients”? The nocebo effect People using supplements to “reduce inflammation”: do they have a reason? What anti-inflammatory compounds actually work? Supplements for joint pain and joint health: what works and what doesn’t? Supplements that help with sleep quality and sleep onset