Paul Saladino
Paul Saladino is a health content creator and commentator who produces material on nutrition and wellness. His work focuses on animal-based diets, lifestyle optimization, and the health effects of substances such as nicotine. No academic publications were provided in his record.
67 claims checked on air: 11 context 2 contradicted 6 overstated 40 supported 8 unverified
What they said on air - overstated
Adding ammonia compounds like diammonium phosphate converts nicotine to freebase form, allowing it to cross the blood-brain barrier faster than natural nicotine salts.
"They added ammonia compounds, specifically diammonium phosphate, to convert nicotine into its freebased form... Freebased nicotine crosses the blood-brain barrier much more rapidly than nicotine salts that occur in wild tobacco." (said at 0:03:24)
Ammonium compounds added to tobacco do increase smoke alkalinity and convert nicotine salts toward the unprotonated freebase form, which increases volatile nicotine yield in smoke. However, evidence shows that nicotine absorption across physiological interfaces occurs rapidly regardless of the initial acid-base state of the inhaled particles because the lung-blood interface rapidly buffers nicotine. Observed changes in nicotine blood kinetics following smoke ammoniation are predominantly driven by higher nicotine delivery in the smoke rather than a faster intrinsic rate of absorption or biological membrane transport for freebase nicotine.
- partial: Significance of ammonium compounds on nicotine exposure to cigarette smokers. (Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association 2006) · cited 45x in the literature
"The observed change in the kinetics of nicotine (i.e., shorter t(1/2) and higher c(max)) after ammoniation is, however, predominantly due to the higher concentration of nicotine in the smoke, rather than to an increase in the absorption rate of free-base nicotine in the respiratory tract." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmedfull study (doi) - contradicts: Possible role of ammonia on the deposition, retention, and absorption of nicotine in human… (Chemical research in toxicology 2007) · cited 27x in the literature
"When particles deposit on the lung-blood interfaces, nicotine is absorbed rapidly, regardless of the acid-base nature of the particles. This is due to the buffering capacity of the lung-blood interfaces and the small mass of nicotine per puff distributed over a large number of particles depositing onto a huge lung surface." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmedfull study (doi)
Every dose of nicotine raises heart rate by 10 to 15 beats per minute and blood pressure by 5 to 10 mmHg.
"Every dose raises your heart rate 10 to 15 beats a minute and every dose raises your blood pressure 5 to 10 millimeters of mercury." (said at 0:19:35)
Acute nicotine administration stimulates the sympathetic nervous system and temporarily elevates heart rate and blood pressure. However, stating that 'every dose' produces a 10 to 15 beat per minute increase in heart rate and a 5 to 10 mmHg increase in blood pressure overstates both the magnitude and consistency of the response. First, acute tolerance (tachyphylaxis) develops rapidly with repeated dosing, attenuating subsequent cardiovascular responses. Second, controlled clinical trials and meta-analyses show average acute increases that are often more modest (typically ~3 to 6 bpm in heart rate and ~3 to 6 mmHg in blood pressure).
- partial: Acute effects of electronic cigarettes on arterial pressure and peripheral sympathetic act… (American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology 2021) · cited 77x in the literature
"Heart rate increased in the nicotine condition during VAPE and returned to BASE values in REC (5.0 ± 1.3 beats/min nicotine vs. 0.1 ± 0.8 beats/min placebo, during VAPE; P < 0.01). Mean arterial pressure increased in the nicotine condition during VAPE and remained elevated during REC (6.5 ± 1.6 mmHg nicotine vs. 2.6 ± 1 mmHg placebo" (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmedfull study (doi) - partial: Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Responses to Acute Use of Electronic Nicotine Delivery System… (Chest 2023) · cited 25x in the literature
"After product challenge, compared with control participants, ENDS users showed greater increases in adjusted mean differences in systolic BP (5.6 mm Hg [95% CI, 4.4-6.8 mm Hg] vs 2.3 mm Hg [95% CI, 0.8-3.8 mm Hg]; P = .001), diastolic BP (4.2 mm Hg [95% CI, 3.3-5.0 mm Hg] vs 2.0 mm Hg [95% CI, 1.1-3.0 mm Hg; P = .003), and heart rate (4.8 beats/min [95% CI, 4.0-5.6 beats/min] vs -1.3 beats/min [95% CI, -2.2 to -0.3 beats/min]; P < .001)" (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmedfull study (doi) - context: Pharmacodynamics of acute tolerance to multiple nicotinic effects in humans. (The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics 1997) · cited 55x in the literature
"Tolerance to various effects of nicotine (increases in heart rate, blood pressure, plasma epinephrine and energy expenditure) occurred within the range of nicotine levels found in smokers." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmed
Nicotine pouch use among youth quadrupled between 2022 and 2025, and lifetime use among 12th graders rose from 7% to 10% in a single year.
"Nicotine pouch use among the youth has quadrupled between 2022 and 2025. Lifetime use among 12th graders went from 7% to 10% in a single year." (said at 0:21:48)
The speaker overstates the scale and rate of increase in youth nicotine pouch use. Data from the Monitoring the Future study (a nationally representative survey of US 10th and 12th graders) published in 2025 showed that lifetime nicotine pouch use among 10th and 12th graders increased from 3.0% in 2023 to 5.4% in 2024 (an 80% relative increase, or roughly 1.8-fold), and past-30-day use increased from 1.3% to 2.6% (a doubling). Multi-country survey data of youth aged 16–19 (in Canada, England, the US, and New Zealand) similarly showed no significant change in lifetime use between 2022 and 2023, followed by a modest increase in 2024 to around 5% lifetime use in the US. Lifetime use among 12th graders reached 5.4% across 10th/12th graders in 2024, nowhere near 10% lifetime use in a single year, nor did overall youth pouch use quadruplicate.
- contradicts: Nicotine Pouch and E-Cigarette Use and Co-Use Among US Youths in 2023 and 2024 (JAMA Network Open 2025) · cited 59x in the literature
"nicotine pouch use increased from 2023 vs 2024 for lifetime use (3.0% [95% CI, 2.3%-4.0%] vs 5.4% [95% CI, 4.2%-6.8%]; risk difference [RD], 2.3% [95% CI, 1.0%-3.6%]; risk ratio [RR], 1.76 [95% CI, 1.30-2.40]), use in the past 12 months (2.4% [95% CI, 1.7%-3.2%] vs 4.6% [95% CI, 3.5%-5.9%]; RD, 2.2% [95% CI, 1.0%-3.4%]; RR, 1.95 [95% CI, 1.39-2.74]), and use in the past 30 days (1.3% [95% CI, 0.8%-1.8%] vs 2.6% [95% CI, 1.9%-3.4%]; RD, 1.3% [95% CI, 0.5%-2.1%]; RR, 2.05 [95% CI, 1.33-3.16])." (abstract, results, passage verified)
openalexfull study (doi) - contradicts: Awareness and use of oral nicotine pouches among youth and young adults, 2022–2024: repeat… (BMJ Public Health 2025) · cited 9x in the literature
"In 2024, approximately 5% of youth in Canada, the USA and NZ, and 10% in England, reported ever using pouches; past 30-day use ranged from 1.6% in NZ to 4.0% in England." (abstract, results, passage verified)
openalexfull study (doi)
In a 2023 Science study, taurine supplementation in monkeys improved bone density, immune health, body weight, muscle mass, liver health, and glucose tolerance.
"Monkeys supplemented with taurine improved bone density, immune health, body weight, muscle mass, liver health, and glucose tolerance. So, in both primates and mice, taurine supplementation significantly improved health markers and led to some degree of life extension." (said at 0:14:53)
The 2023 study published in Science (Singh et al., PMID 37289866) evaluated daily taurine supplementation for six months in middle-aged female rhesus macaques and found improvements across several healthspan markers, including bone density in the lumbar spine and femur, body weight and fat accumulation, fasting blood glucose, liver enzyme markers, and immune profiles. However, the speaker's assertion that taurine supplementation produced life extension in primates is overstated. Lifespan extension was directly assessed and observed only in model organisms (worms and mice); the primate trial was a short-term (6-month) investigation limited to healthspan metrics, not survival or longevity.
One pound of beef contains approximately 1 to 2 grams of taurine depending on the cut.
"1 lb of beef contains about 1 to 2 g of taurine depending on the cut of beef, with heart being one of the richer sources." (said at 0:15:18)
The claim overstates the taurine content of standard beef muscle cuts, though it may approximate levels found in certain organ meats like heart. One pound (453.6 g) of typical skeletal beef contains considerably less than 1 to 2 g of taurine. Published food analyses demonstrate that beef muscle typically contains between 30 and 160 mg of taurine per 100 g (yielding roughly 0.14 to 0.73 g per pound of beef). While taurine concentrations vary by muscle fiber type (with red/oxidative fibers and organ meats such as beef heart having significantly higher concentrations than white muscle cuts), standard beef cuts do not generally reach 1 to 2 grams per pound.
A 2025 trial in diabetes patients showed carnosine supplementation directly improved glycemic and inflammatory markers.
"There's a 2025 trial in patients with diabetes where supplementation with carnosine directly improved glycemic markers and inflammatory markers." (said at 0:19:03)
A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials found that carnosine (or beta-alanine) supplementation modestly reduced fasting blood glucose and HbA1c in patients with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. However, dedicated trial evidence evaluating inflammatory markers has failed to show a consistent anti-inflammatory benefit. Specifically, a randomized controlled trial analyzing inflammatory markers in adults with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes found that 14 weeks of carnosine supplementation produced no significant changes in CRP, TNF-α, IL-6, MCP-1, or adipokines compared to placebo.
Fact-checked episodes
Publications
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