Brain.
Evidence-led reading on brain from the HL Benefits desk. Long reads, careful guides, and the boring-but-true positions the research keeps settling on.
Dihexa: The Synapse-Building Peptide Reportedly 7× Stronger Than BDNF
Dihexa is the peptide marketed as 7x stronger than BDNF. The honest version: zero human trials, a retracted paper, and a failed Phase 2/3 trial.
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Cerebrolysin: The Memory Peptide Used in 50 Countries — But Not the U.S.
Cerebrolysin is the porcine-brain peptide mixture European neurologists use for stroke recovery and vascular dementia. The FDA has never approved it. The Cochrane evidence is mixed, the gray market…
Anxiety Peptides: How Selank Compares to Xanax (Without the Withdrawal)
BrainKetogenic Diet for Mental Health: Depression, Bipolar, and Brain Energy Theory
BrainFocused Ultrasound for Mental Health: The Non-Invasive Brain Treatment You Haven't Heard Of
Electric Medicine and Brain Stimulation: TMS, tDCS, and the Future of Mental Health
A guide to non-invasive brain stimulation covering TMS, tDCS, the Stanford 5-day protocol, UCLA research, and FDA-cleared devices for mental health.
Dopamine Detox: What the Neuroscience Actually Says About Resetting Your Brain
Your brain can't be 'detoxed' from dopamine. Here's what the neuroscience actually says about reward prediction, receptor recovery, and what works instead.
Bright Light Therapy for Depression and SAD: Devices, Timing, and Protocol
A 10,000 lux light box can match antidepressants for both seasonal and non-seasonal depression. Here's the evidence-based protocol, device comparison, and who should avoid it.
We started this section because the conversation about brain had become unbearable — too loud, too certain, too often selling something. The boring middle — what the evidence actually supports, repeated across decades, written without a brand to defend — is not a position you can monetize, but it is the position the research keeps quietly settling on.
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A companion section to brain, with its own evidence-led reading list.
Definitive guides.
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Ketamine Therapy for Depression: How It Works, Cost, and Where to Find It
Ketamine therapy offers rapid relief for treatment-resistant depression, with effects in 40 minutes. Learn about costs, types, finding providers, and risks.
Psilocybin Microdosing: Benefits, Risks, and What 10 Million Americans Are Doing
10 million Americans microdosed last year. Brain scans show real changes, but mood and cognition remain indistinguishable from placebo.
A claim about brain is not a study. A study is not a meta-analysis. A meta-analysis is not a guideline. The article doesn't fit on a label.
On our desk this week.
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Neurowellness: The #1 Wellness Trend of 2026 and How to Regulate Your Nervous System
The Global Wellness Summit named neurowellness the top trend for 2026. Here is the science behind vagal tone, HRV, and a daily protocol for nervous system regulation.
Men's Mental Health: Why Therapy for Men Is Surging and How to Start
Men's therapy use surged 36% between 2019 and 2021. Here's what changed, what works, and how to get started.