Browse the evidence

Acute high-intensity exercise increases circulating irisin levels, and this elevated irisin directly modulates human muscle metabolism by activating AMPK, thereby facilitating glucose and lipid uptake.

To trigger the release of irisin, which helps your muscles process glucose and fats more efficiently, you need to perform high-intensity exercise. Moderate, steady-state exercise may not significantly raise irisin levels. Focus on intensity (like sprint intervals) to get this metabolic benefit, but understand that the hormone spike is temporary and serves as a signal for immediate metabolic adaptation rather than a permanent state change.

Probiotic therapy significantly reduces liver aminotransferases (ALT, AST), total cholesterol, TNF-α, and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

If you have been diagnosed with fatty liver (NAFLD), adding a probiotic supplement (specifically strains like Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium) for at least 8 weeks may help lower liver enzymes, cholesterol, and improve insulin sensitivity. This is not a replacement for diet and exercise, but a potential supportive therapy to discuss with your doctor.

Dietary nitrate from vegetables (e.g., beetroot, leafy greens) lowers blood pressure via the nitrate-nitrite-nitric oxide pathway, with effects dependent on baseline blood pressure levels.

To lower blood pressure using diet, focus on high-nitrate vegetables like rocket, spinach, beetroot, and lettuce. You can get benefits from acute doses (like a glass of beetroot juice) or daily consumption. However, if you use antibacterial mouthwash, it may block the benefit by killing the oral bacteria needed to convert nitrate into nitric oxide. The effect is most pronounced in people with higher baseline blood pressure.

Dietary nitrate enhances exercise performance and preserves endothelial function in patients with peripheral arterial disease and healthy individuals, likely by improving blood flow to hypoxic tissues.

If you have peripheral arterial disease or are an athlete looking to improve performance, incorporating high-nitrate vegetables like beetroot, spinach, or rocket into your diet may help. The benefits come from nitric oxide improving blood flow to working muscles. This effect is seen with both acute doses (a single serving) and chronic daily intake.

Aging impairs contraction-induced mTORC1 signaling and muscle protein synthesis (MPS) in skeletal muscle, leading to a blunted hypertrophic response to resistance exercise compared to young adults.

For older adults, standard resistance exercise may not trigger the same muscle-building signals (mTORC1) as it does in younger people. This biological impairment contributes to slower muscle growth. To counteract this, older adults may need to focus on higher-intensity resistance training or combine exercise with specific nutritional strategies (like protein intake) to help stimulate the mTORC1 pathway, as the natural response is blunted by aging.

High-intensity strength training increases serum adiponectin levels and decreases inflammatory markers (CRP) and free fatty acids (FFA) in older adults with type 2 diabetes.

Strength training not only builds muscle but also improves your body's hormonal balance by increasing adiponectin (which helps insulin work) and reducing inflammation (CRP) and free fatty acids. This biochemical improvement contributes to better blood sugar control.

Activation of PPAR-γ by thiazolidinedione (TZD) agonists (e.g., pioglitazone, rosiglitazone) improves insulin sensitivity and glycemic control in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) by promoting lipid storage in adipose tissue, reducing free fatty acid release, and increasing adiponectin levels.

If you have Type 2 Diabetes, medications like pioglitazone work by helping your body store fat safely in your skin and fat tissue rather than in your liver and muscles. This reduces stress on your organs and helps your insulin work better. While you might gain some weight, it is often a sign that the medication is protecting your vital organs from harmful fat buildup.

Oral supplementation with propionic acid (500 mg twice daily for 8 weeks) significantly reduces LDL and total cholesterol levels in hypercholesterolemic humans by modulating intestinal cholesterol absorption via an immune-dependent pathway involving regulatory T cells and IL-10.

If you have high LDL, adding 500mg of propionic acid twice daily for two months can significantly lower your bad cholesterol. This works by boosting specific immune cells in your gut that tell your intestines to absorb less cholesterol. It is a targeted, immune-based approach distinct from standard statins.

Disruption of circadian rhythms (e.g., shift work, jet lag, or genetic clock gene mutations) directly contributes to obesity, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease by desynchronizing internal physiological processes and peripheral clock genes.

If you work shifts or have irregular hours, treat your 'biological day' as the time you are awake and active. Eat your largest meals during your active phase and avoid eating during your biological night. Consistency in timing is more important than the clock time itself.

Weight loss significantly improves cardiovascular disease risk factors (triglycerides, HDL, glucose, insulin, CRP) only in individuals who are insulin resistant; insulin-sensitive individuals see little to no improvement in these metabolic markers despite similar weight loss.

If you are overweight and insulin resistant, weight loss will significantly improve your blood fats, blood sugar, and inflammation markers. If you are overweight but insulin sensitive, you will still lose weight, but your blood fats and sugar may not improve as dramatically. This suggests that targeting weight loss is most critical for those who are insulin resistant.

Circadian misalignment, such as that experienced during shift work or social jet lag, causally impairs glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, thereby increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes.

If you work shifts or have irregular sleep schedules, prioritize managing light exposure and meal timing. Try to eat during your 'biological day' (when you are naturally alert) rather than your 'biological night'. If you must eat at night, be aware that glucose tolerance is impaired. On days off, try to keep your sleep/wake times closer to your workdays to minimize social jet lag.

Supplementation with 4 g/day of EPA or DHA accelerates chylomicron triglyceride clearance in healthy adults by increasing pre-heparin lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity during the fed state.

Taking 4 grams per day of EPA or DHA (purified ethyl esters) for at least 4 weeks can help your body clear fat from your blood faster after meals. This happens by boosting the activity of an enzyme called LPL. This effect is specific to the fed state (after eating) and was seen in healthy people with normal cholesterol levels.

Hyperinsulinemia alone inhibits whole-body protein synthesis and degradation by lowering plasma amino acid concentrations, whereas maintaining basal or elevated amino acid levels allows insulin to stimulate protein synthesis and suppress degradation.

To maximize muscle protein synthesis, you cannot rely on insulin alone. If you consume carbohydrates that spike insulin without adequate protein, your body may actually reduce protein synthesis because insulin lowers circulating amino acids. Ensure you consume sufficient protein alongside carbohydrates to maintain plasma amino acid levels, allowing insulin to effectively stimulate muscle building.

High intake of total and animal protein is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, whereas vegetable protein intake shows no such association.

If you are consuming high amounts of protein, particularly from animal sources like meat and dairy, be aware that long-term intake is linked to a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This risk appears to be driven by body fat levels (adiposity) and is less pronounced or non-existent for vegetable proteins. Focus on balancing your protein sources and maintaining a healthy body weight.

Oral testosterone supplementation (80 mg twice daily) increases lean body mass and decreases fat mass in healthy elderly men (aged 60+) with low-normal gonadal status over a 12-month period.

For older men with low-normal testosterone levels, oral testosterone therapy can effectively increase muscle mass and reduce body fat over a year. However, it does not necessarily improve muscle strength, and monitoring for side effects like increased hematocrit is crucial. This suggests that addressing hormonal deficits can be a viable strategy for managing body composition in aging, even without overt hypogonadism.

Obesity is an independent risk factor for multiple cancers, with endometrial, post-menopausal breast, and colorectal cancers accounting for over 60% of cancers attributed to obesity.

Maintaining a healthy weight is one of the most effective ways to reduce your risk of developing endometrial, breast, and colorectal cancers. Focus on sustainable lifestyle changes rather than quick fixes, as even modest weight loss can significantly lower risk.

Rapidly Available Glucose (RAG) is a superior predictor of in vivo glycaemic response compared to Glycaemic Index (GI) because it accounts for the absolute amount of glucose absorbed per serving rather than just the digestibility rate.

To better control blood sugar, look at the Rapidly Available Glucose (RAG) of foods rather than just their Glycaemic Index (GI). RAG measures the actual amount of glucose likely to be absorbed from a standard serving. For example, instant potatoes have a high GI (fast absorption) but low RAG (low total carbs per serving), whereas white rice has a moderate GI but high RAG (high total carbs). Prioritize foods with lower RAG values per serving to minimize blood glucose spikes.

Iron deficiency anemia blunts the efficacy of iodine supplementation in reducing goiter size, and concurrent iron supplementation restores this efficacy.

If you are in a region with goiter and suspect iron deficiency (anemia), iodine supplements alone may not shrink your thyroid. You likely need both iron and iodine. Consult a doctor for testing and dual supplementation.

Selenium deficiency impairs the thyroid's ability to handle high iodine loads, potentially causing damage, and selenium supplementation must follow iodine normalization to prevent hypothyroidism.

If you have both iodine and selenium deficiencies, fix iodine first. Adding selenium too early can worsen thyroid function.

A Mediterranean diet supplemented with olive oil or nuts improves insulin sensitivity and lowers blood pressure in high-risk cardiovascular patients, independent of weight loss.

If you have high blood pressure or insulin resistance, adopting a Mediterranean diet with olive oil or nuts can help lower these numbers. You do not need to restrict calories or salt to see these benefits. Focus on replacing refined carbohydrates and saturated fats with olive oil and nuts to improve your metabolic health.

Higher body mass index (BMI) is linearly associated with an increased risk of incident type 2 diabetes, with the magnitude of this risk being significantly stronger in younger adults (ages 20-40) compared to older adults.

If you are under 40, your body is extremely sensitive to weight gain. Every kilogram you gain now carries a much higher risk of triggering diabetes than it would if you gained that same weight at age 60. Prioritize weight stability and metabolic health in your 20s and 30s, as the protective effect of youth is easily overridden by adiposity.

Infusion of ketone bodies (specifically sodium DL-beta-hydroxybutyrate) directly reduces plasma alanine levels and decreases urinary nitrogen excretion, thereby conserving protein during starvation.

When your body enters a state of ketosis (whether through fasting or a ketogenic diet), it actively reduces the breakdown of muscle protein. This happens because ketone bodies signal the body to lower the release of alanine from muscles, effectively sparing your muscle mass during periods of low food intake.

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced by gut microbiota fermentation activate G-protein coupled receptors (FFAR2/FFAR3), leading to increased secretion of GLP-1 and PYY, which improves insulin secretion and energy expenditure.

Eating prebiotic fibers (like inulin, resistant starch) feeds gut bacteria that produce SCFAs. These SCFAs signal your body to release hormones (GLP-1, PYY) that help regulate blood sugar and increase energy expenditure. This is a natural way to support metabolic health through diet.

Women with PCOS should undergo screening for impaired glucose tolerance using a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) rather than fasting plasma glucose alone, as fasting glucose misses a majority of cases in this population.

If you have PCOS, do not rely on a simple fasting blood sugar test to check for diabetes risk. You must get a 2-hour Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT). This test involves drinking a sugary solution and having your blood drawn twice. It is more accurate for PCOS patients because your fasting sugar might look normal even if your body struggles to handle sugar after eating. This screening should happen at diagnosis and every 2 years, or annually if you have other risk factors.