Try This –4 Big Shares for the Week

Try This community, today I have some useful tips and some “feel-good” news too! 

High level:

1. Really sweet news, if you're in a funk!

2. Everyone is upset about Vital Farm eggs, but what is the truth?

3. Brain alert: the amazing benefits of owning a four-legged friend 

4. A major tip for anyone who can’t tolerate creatine
   
   

Number 1: Dark Chocolate Is Good for Your Mood 

Chocolate lovers, I’ve got some great news for you. A small randomized controlled trial tested whether eating 30 g of dark chocolate with high cocoa content (85%) each day for three weeks would affect mood and gut bacteria in healthy adults. Compared with people who ate no chocolate, those who consumed the 85% dark chocolate experienced a significant reduction in negative emotions, while milder chocolate (70%) didn’t show the same benefit.

What’s especially interesting is what happened in the gut: The high‑cocoa group showed greater gut microbial diversity and specific shifts in bacteria, including higher levels of Blautia obeum, a microbe linked in other research with better emotional health and anti‑inflammatory functions. Those changes correlated with the improvements in mood, supporting the idea that cocoa’s effects may operate partly through the gut‑brain axis, the two‑way communication system between your microbiome and your nervous system. 

Pretty cool. My sister liked to joke that she could always count on me to have some dark chocolate to share. Looks like I was just doing my part to create happier moods! :) 

Number 2: The Truth About Vital Farms

A lot of people are upset about Vital Farms eggs. If you haven’t seen the information taking the internet by storm, here’s the gist: A post went viral about how Vital Farms eggs have more “inflammatory” omega-6 oils than canola oil. 

But before you decide to boycott Vital Farms, take a look at this.

Seed Oil Scout, a community-driven platform that helps consumers find restaurants and products with little to no seed oils, actually tested all of the eggs at Whole Foods and found that Vital Farms had the lowest amount of omega-6 oils. 

It’s really easy to get caught up in the headlines and want to jump on the bandwagon of boycotting something, but we have to look at the facts. In my opinion, it’s so hard to eat healthier these days for a lot of folks. We don’t want to make it even harder to access whole foods by demonizing an entire brand before looking into the truth.

Seed Oil Scout points out that soy-free eggs have a better omega-3-to-omega-6 ratio than eggs from soy-fed chickens, but this doesn’t mean that Vital Farms eggs are totally unhealthy. They still contain the beneficial nutrients found in all eggs, like choline, fat-soluble vitamins, and antioxidants.

Number 3:  Dog Owners, You’re Protecting Your Brain (and a Tip for Non-Dog Owners Too)

We often hear that those with pets (especially dog owners) reap some serious benefits. For example, this post featured a study that found that owning a pet was associated with a younger “brain age” (up to 15 years younger!) than people who didn’t have pets.

Do pets just make us happy? Yes, and it’s more than that, according to this post by Aakash Gupta.

He explains that most people think dogs are simply “good for you,” but the deeper benefit is how they regulate your nervous system. Just a few minutes of petting your dog every day releases oxytocin (in both of you), lowers cortisol, and slows your heart rate—a powerful feedback loop that reduces neuroinflammation and preserves brain volume over time.

It’s not magic; it’s consistent nervous system regulation that most people don’t get elsewhere. Dogs force touch, connection, movement, and routine. While the referenced study had only 95 participants, it aligns with loads of other research looking at the cognitive benefits of being a pet owner, especially a dog owner. Cats offer similar benefits, but dogs drive more frequent tactile interaction. In essence, dogs are a daily delivery mechanism for brain-protective habits like physical activity, affection, and time outdoors—things we all need but often neglect.

If you don’t have a dog, you can still get these feel-good chemicals from human interaction. Spend quality time with your loved ones, get outside with them, and cuddle too! 

Number 4:  Does Creatine Make Your Stomach Hurt? Try This!

I just read this article by @BerbarianWizard on X about why creatine might be causing stomach pain. Honestly, I haven’t tried this myself because I can tolerate creatine pretty well, but I sent this to all my friends and family who tell me that creatine hurts their stomach.

Here’s the gist of the article: If you’re drinking your creatine with cold water and dealing with bloating, cramps, or diarrhea, it might not be intolerance; it could be a chemistry issue. Creatine monohydrate is poorly soluble in cold water. At fridge temp, you can only dissolve ~6 g per liter, meaning that scoop in your shaker is mostly undissolved crystals. Those gritty particles don’t fully dissolve in your gut either. Instead, they pass into the intestine, pull water in, and cause digestive distress, a classic osmotic effect.

Want to avoid that? Dissolve 5 g of creatine in 100 mL of hot (not boiling) water first. Stir until fully clear (no grit), then top off with cold water if needed. 

Timing also matters. Taking creatine post-workout is ideal because insulin sensitivity and sodium-potassium pump activity are at their highest. Both help shuttle creatine into muscle.

Bonus tip: Since creatine absorption depends on sodium, low-salt diets or heavy sweating without sodium replacement can impair uptake. Add a pinch of salt or take creatine with a salty meal for better results.

That’s it for now. See you next week. 

Much love,
Dhru Purohit  

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.