The FDA just reversed its biggest women’s health warning

Hi team — three discoveries on the radar today (and we kind of disagree with all of them) 👇

🛌 “Natural” sleep aid melatonin linked to heart failure (read the fine print though)
💃🏻 The FDA just said “oops” on a 20 year women’s health warning
☕ Tim Ferriss’ new coffee ritual could raise your LDL
(+ a reader hack that might change the game for your glucose levels)

Latest news:

⬛️ Turns out the FDA got hormone therapy wrong.

Millions of women were scared off hormone therapy for 20+ years, warning it increased risks of breast cancer, heart attack and stroke. The FDA just said: ‘Our bad’ [the reversal].

Julija’s Take (Clinical Strategy, Superpower)

The FDA’s reversal is a welcome correction, but we risk swinging from one extreme to another. Every woman metabolizes hormones differently - genetics, detox capacity, liver function, and medications all matter.

To claim “estrogen doesn’t cause cancer” oversimplifies biology. For some, estrogen therapy can be restorative; for others, it can be risky. The safest use of estrogen isn’t universal - it’s personalized.

Why this matters: Variants in genes like CYP1B1 can push estrogen down a toxic pathway linked to DNA damage. Understanding your genetics and metabolism is the key to using HRT safely — not blanket rules or fear-driven headlines.

🛌 Should you stop taking melatonin?

A huge insomnia study linked long-term melatonin use to a 90% higher risk of heart failure and twice as likely to die of any cause [the abstract]. It’s sparked fear among people who trust melatonin as a “natural” sleep aid, but the reality is more complicated.

Kathryn’s Take (Director Content & Media, Superpower)

When I first saw this study, I freaked out too. Then I read a breakdown from Dr Anant (Superpower’s Medical Advisor), and it actually calmed me down [Dr. Anant's post.] .

Once you look at the actual diagrams, a lot of the “melatonin causes heart problems” stuff falls apart. The people taking melatonin long-term are usually the ones with the worst insomnia, so they’re already at higher risk.

And the study treats “melatonin use” like one big blob (different doses, different brands, different quality), all mixed together.

Plus, smaller controlled studies often show the opposite: melatonin can actually protect the heart.

Why this matters: The lesson here isn’t “stop melatonin,” it’s “fix sleep first.” Long-term insomnia is the real risk driver, and supplements can’t replace proper sleep care. Treat the root cause of poor sleep and use melatonin carefully.

☕️ Tim’s cleaner way to brew coffee? We’re skeptical.

Tim Ferriss hyped about the new glass-and-metal AeroPress, calling it a cleaner way to brew without hot water touching plastic in 5-Bullet Friday. A real win for anyone cutting down on microplastic exposure.

Tash’s Take (Newsletter Nerd, Superpower)

As a lifelong AeroPress girlie and anti-plastic crusader, I was this close to celebrating… until he mentioned using a titanium metal filter.

Those fine meshes let through diterpenes, oily compounds in coffee that can raise LDL cholesterol more than bacon fat. Paper filters trap them, metal ones don’t.

Why this matters: If you’re brewing multiple cups a day Ferriss-style, your cholesterol could climb. An estimated 3 cups of unfiltered coffee a day could elevate your cholesterol from <99 (normal) to 105 (high) over one year. Go glass, skip plastic — but keep the paper filter.

Superpowered by You: Post-meal walks.

Signals reader Ahmed (31, Miami, FL) swears by a 5–10 minute stroll after dinner. Turns out, a quick walk post-meal doesn’t just feel good, it actually does good.

Research shows it can:

• Lower blood sugar by up to 25% [study]

• Improve 24-hour glucose control [study]

• Reduce bloating and GI discomfort [study]

Keep glucose steady. Big, fast spikes put stress on almost every metabolic system in your body.

Short on time? Try 10 body-weight squats instead — some studies suggest this may be even more effective than walking [the research].

The lab note:

Got the morbs 😔 Your folate levels might be part of the story.

Folate isn’t just a pregnancy nutrient. It plays a major role in mood, sleep, energy, and emotional regulation [learn more].

People with low folate have about 1.5 times higher odds of depression [the meta analysis]. Low levels limit your ability to make serotonin, which rarely ends well for mood or sleep.

If things feel off, test folate along with B12 and homocysteine. They share the same pathway and issues often show up together.

For a more accurate read, you can also test Folate, RBC. This measures the folate stored inside your red blood cells, giving you a longer-term picture that isn’t skewed by what you ate that week.

Walk it off, science nerds 👟

Give Superpower Signals a read and hit reply to let me know what you think. Your feedback shapes where we go next.