01Markers · Inflammation
ESR
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate
Measures how quickly red blood cells sink to the bottom of a tube of blood. Inflammation adds proteins that make the cells clump and fall faster.
- Measured in
- Blood (whole blood)
- Units
- mm/hr
- Also called
- sed rate, Westergren ESR
- NAC
- L-carnitine
- Vitamin C
- Omega-3
- Vitamin K2
- Creatine
- Ashwagandha
- HIIT
- L-theanine
- Melatonin
- Ubiquinol (CoQ10)
- Berberine
- Collagen
- Finnish sauna
- Iron
- Lion's mane
- Magnesium
- Milk thistle
- NAD+
- PQQ
- Red yeast rice
- Resveratrol
- Taurine
- Vitamin D3
- Vitamin E
- Zinc
- Zone 2 cardio
AWhat moves ESR
11 of 27 studied
Moves it8
Human studies found a change. The grade reflects the studies behind it, from A (strongest) to D.
NACLowersGrade B
NAC lowers ESR.
Human trials · Small effect · 5 studies linked
- Effects of N-acetylcysteine supplementation on disease activity, oxidative stress, and inflammatory and metabolic parameters in rheumatoid arthritis patients: a randomized double-blind placebo-control (2022)
- Study of the Effects of N-acetylcysteine on Inflammatory Biomarkers and Disease Activity Score in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis. (2021)
- A Pilot Study to Evaluate the Effects of Oral N-Acetyl Cysteine on Inflammatory and Oxidative Stress Biomarkers in Rheumatoid Arthritis. (2019)
- Evaluating the Effect of Oral N-acetylcysteine as an Adjuvant Treatment on Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Randomized, Double Blind Clinical Trial. (2018)
- Treatment for non-thyroidal illness syndrome in advanced chronic kidney disease: a single-blind controlled study. (2017)
L-carnitineLowersGrade B
L-carnitine lowers ESR.
Human trials · 2 studies linked
4 studies in corpus; ESR is rarely reported as a carnitine trial endpoint. Nonspecific marker.
- The effects of L-carnitine supplementation on inflammation, oxidative stress, and clinical outcomes in critically Ill patients with sepsis: a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial. (2024)
- Effects of L-carnitine supplementation in patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 disease: a pilot study (2022)
Vitamin CLowersGrade B
Vitamin C lowers ESR.
Human trials · 2 studies linked
27 studies mention ESR. No vitamin C → ESR effect systematically extracted.
Omega-3LowersGrade B
Omega-3 lowers ESR.
Small effect · 1 study linked
ESR reduction observed in rheumatoid arthritis RCTs; less consistent in general population. Effect likely secondary to IL-6 and fibrinogen reduction.
- Guo XF, Li X, Shi M, Li D (2019)
Vitamin K2LowersGrade B
Vitamin K2 lowers ESR.
Human trials · 1 study linked
2 studies with ESR data. Insufficient for directional assessment.
CreatineLowersGrade C
Creatine lowers ESR.
Human trials · 2 studies linked
9 studies mention ESR in corpus but none extract creatine-attributable ESR changes as primary endpoint. ESR is a non-specific inflammatory marker; if hs-CRP and IL-6 decrease, ESR may follow, but direct evidence is absent.
AshwagandhaLowersGrade C
Ashwagandha lowers ESR.
Human trials · 1 study linked
HIITLowersGrade C
Studied, no change3
Studies looked and found no meaningful change. That is a result, not missing data.
L-theanineNo changeGrade B
Studies of L-theanine found no change in ESR.
Human trials · 1 study linked
MelatoninNo changeGrade B
Studies of Melatonin found no change in ESR.
Human trials · 1 study linked
9 studies reference ESR. No MA-level data for melatonin-specific effects.
Ubiquinol (CoQ10)No changeGrade B
Studies of Ubiquinol (CoQ10) found no change in ESR.
Human trials · 1 study linked
Not studied16
No usable human study has measured ESR with these. A gap is not a negative result: nobody has looked.
BerberineCollagenFinnish saunaIronLion's maneMagnesiumMilk thistleNAD+PQQRed yeast riceResveratrolTaurineVitamin D3Vitamin EZincZone 2 cardio