Browse the evidence

In patients with Type 2 Diabetes, long-term high-MUFA diets reduce glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting glucose.

If you have Type 2 Diabetes, incorporating more monounsaturated fats (like olive oil or nuts) into your diet, while keeping calories steady, can help lower your long-term blood sugar levels (HbA1c).

Increasing protein intake to approximately 2.3 g/kg/day during a hypoenergetic diet preserves lean body mass in resistance-trained athletes compared to a standard protein intake of 1.0 g/kg/day.

If you are a resistance-trained athlete cutting weight, increase your protein to roughly 2.3 grams per kilogram of body weight daily. Keep your training volume and intensity normal. This strategy will significantly reduce the amount of muscle you lose during your caloric deficit compared to eating standard protein levels, without hurting your strength or power performance.

A vegan diet improves cardiovascular risk markers, specifically by lowering total and LDL cholesterol and improving fatty acid profiles, compared to a non-vegetarian diet.

Adopting a vegan diet can significantly improve your cholesterol numbers, lowering both total and LDL cholesterol by roughly 20-25% compared to a standard diet. This benefit comes from eating more plant-based oils (like rapeseed or margarine), soy, and rye, which replace animal fats and improve your overall fatty acid profile.

Older adults exhibit 'anabolic resistance,' requiring higher doses of dietary protein (specifically leucine-rich protein) per meal to maximally stimulate muscle protein synthesis compared to younger adults.

If you are over 60, aim for at least 1.2-1.5 g of protein per kg of body weight daily, distributed evenly across 3-4 meals. Each meal should contain a substantial amount of high-quality protein (approx 0.6g/kg of lean mass) to overcome age-related anabolic resistance. Combine this with resistance training for best results.

HMB supplementation increases lean mass gains by 50-200% and strength by 300% in humans undergoing resistance training compared to unsupplemented subjects, primarily by reducing exercise-related muscle damage and protein breakdown.

If you are resistance training, adding 1.5-3 grams of HMB daily can significantly boost your muscle growth and strength gains compared to training alone. It works by reducing muscle damage and breakdown during exercise.

Protein supplementation alone does not improve functional frailty outcomes (lean body mass, strength, gait speed) in pre-frail or frail older adults, but when combined with exercise training, it yields greater benefits than exercise alone.

Do not rely on protein supplements alone to fight frailty. They are ineffective without physical activity. Combine protein supplementation (up to 32g/day) with exercise training to see improvements in muscle mass and strength.

A very low carbohydrate diet (14% energy, <50g/day) with low saturated fat (<10%) and high unsaturated fat improves glycemic control (HbA1c) and reduces medication requirements in type 2 diabetes patients with baseline HbA1c >7.8%, compared to a high-carbohydrate diet.

If you have Type 2 Diabetes and your HbA1c is above 7.8%, switching to a very low-carb diet (under 50g carbs/day) while keeping saturated fat low (under 10% of calories) can significantly lower your blood sugar and reduce your need for diabetes medication compared to standard high-carb advice. Ensure you replace carbs with unsaturated fats (like olive oil, nuts) rather than saturated fats to maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

A very low carbohydrate diet reduces glycemic variability (GV) and time spent in hyperglycemic ranges in Type 2 Diabetes patients, regardless of baseline HbA1c levels, compared to a high carbohydrate diet.

Using a very low carbohydrate diet (<50g/day) helps stabilize blood sugar levels throughout the day, reducing dangerous spikes and swings (glycemic variability). This is beneficial for reducing oxidative stress and cardiovascular risk, independent of average blood sugar levels.

For endurance events lasting longer than 2.5 hours, ingesting 60-70 g/h of carbohydrates (up to 90 g/h if tolerable) improves performance by maximizing exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rates.

If your race is longer than 2.5 hours, aim to consume 60-70 grams of carbohydrates per hour. If you can handle it, try up to 90 grams per hour. To maximize absorption and reduce stomach upset, use drinks that contain both glucose and fructose. Practice this exact intake during your long training runs to ensure your stomach can handle it on race day.

Adherence to a Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet) improves insulin sensitivity and glycemic control in obese individuals with type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance, independent of significant weight loss.

Adopt a Mediterranean-style eating pattern focusing on extra-virgin olive oil, nuts, vegetables, and whole grains. This specific combination improves insulin sensitivity more effectively than standard low-fat diets, even if you don't lose a lot of weight. Prioritize food quality over strict calorie counting for metabolic health.

Long-term substitution of 35% of dietary protein with soy protein (totaling ~16g/day) significantly improves cardiovascular risk factors (fasting glucose, total/LDL cholesterol, triglycerides) and reduces inflammation (CRP) in type 2 diabetic patients with nephropathy.

If you have type 2 diabetes and kidney issues, replacing about a third of your animal protein with soy protein (specifically textured soy protein) for at least four years can significantly lower your blood sugar, cholesterol, and inflammation markers. This should be done under medical supervision alongside your standard medications.

Substituting traditional hummus for energy-dense dips and spreads (e.g., mayonnaise, butter, sour cream) improves overall diet quality and nutrient density while reducing caloric, saturated fat, and sodium intake.

Replace high-calorie, low-nutrient spreads like mayonnaise, butter, or ranch dressing with hummus on sandwiches, baked potatoes, or with vegetables. This single swap reduces saturated fat and sodium while increasing fiber and essential nutrients without requiring you to change your entire diet.

Adherence to a prudent dietary pattern, characterized by high intake of wholemeal bread, fruits, vegetables, and fish, is associated with significantly reduced all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in middle-aged adults.

Adopt a dietary pattern rich in wholemeal bread, fruits, vegetables, and fish. This combination is linked to lower mortality rates in middle-aged adults, regardless of gender. This approach is more predictive of health outcomes than focusing on single nutrients like fat or carbohydrates.

Resistance exercise stimulates muscle protein synthesis (MPS), but net muscle growth requires a sustained positive balance between MPS and muscle protein breakdown (MPB), which is best achieved by consuming adequate protein (1.6 g/kg/day) distributed across meals rather than in a single bolus.

To build muscle, lift weights and eat enough protein (about 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight daily). Don't obsess over drinking a shake immediately after your workout. Instead, spread your protein intake evenly across 3 or 4 meals throughout the day to keep your body in a growth state.

Diets high in ultra-processed foods (UPF) have the least healthful nutritional profile (higher in fat, saturated fat, sugar, and sodium; lower in fiber and protein), even if UPF items themselves do not always have the worst profile.

When evaluating food, look at the whole diet, not just individual items. A diet high in ultra-processed foods tends to be less healthy (more fat/sugar, less fiber/protein). However, not every UPF item is bad; it is the overall pattern of consumption that matters.

Replacing saturated fatty acids (SAFA) with unsaturated fatty acids (specifically polyunsaturated fatty acids, PUFA) lowers LDL-C and reduces cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.

To lower your LDL cholesterol and heart disease risk, swap saturated fats (found in fatty meats, butter, and full-fat dairy) for unsaturated fats (found in vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds). Specifically, replacing 5% of your daily calories from saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat can reduce heart disease risk by about 10%. Avoid coconut oil for this purpose, as it raises LDL cholesterol.

Adopting the Portfolio Diet, which combines viscous fiber, plant protein, nuts, and phytosterols, lowers LDL-C by approximately 17-30%, comparable to low-dose statins.

To significantly lower LDL cholesterol, adopt the Portfolio Diet. This involves consuming 20g of viscous fiber (from oats/barley), 50g of plant protein (soy/legumes), 42g of nuts, and 2g of phytosterols (from fortified margarine) daily, while keeping saturated fat below 7% of total energy. This combination can lower LDL-C by 17-30%, comparable to low-dose statins.

Ad libitum consumption of diets low in fat (20-25% energy) and high in complex carbohydrates and protein prevents weight gain in normal-weight subjects and causes spontaneous weight loss (3-4 kg) in overweight subjects.

To lose weight without counting calories, switch to a diet where fat provides only 20-25% of your energy (higher if you are very active) and fill the rest with complex carbohydrates and protein. This approach leverages satiety signals to naturally reduce intake, leading to a modest but consistent weight loss of 3-4 kg in overweight individuals over several months.

Replacing palm oil (high in saturated palmitic acid) with soybean oil (higher in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats) in a population's cooking oil supply significantly reduces serum total cholesterol and improves the overall lipid profile.

If you cook with palm oil or shortenings high in saturated fats, consider switching to oils higher in unsaturated fats, such as soybean, canola, or olive oil. This simple swap can help lower your total cholesterol levels and improve your overall cardiovascular risk profile.

Dietary modifications focusing on high fiber (≥25-35g/day), low saturated/trans fat (≤10% energy), and controlled sugar intake (≤50g/day) reduce diabetes risk and improve cardiovascular risk factors.

Eat more vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. Limit saturated fats (like butter) and sugars. Aim for 25-35 grams of fiber daily. This helps manage weight and lowers diabetes and heart disease risk.

Athletes should consume high-quality protein distributed across 4-5 daily meals, targeting 0.3-0.4 g/kg per meal, to optimize muscle protein synthesis and adaptation to training.

Eat 4-5 meals a day, each containing about 0.3-0.4 grams of high-quality protein per kilogram of your body weight. For a 70kg athlete, this is roughly 21-28g of protein per meal. If you are trying to lose weight, aim for the higher end (0.4-0.5 g/kg) to protect muscle mass.

For events lasting longer than 90 minutes, consuming 30-90 g/hour of carbohydrates during the event improves performance by maintaining exogenous fuel supply as endogenous stores dwindle.

For races longer than 90 minutes, consume 30-60 grams of carbohydrates per hour. For races longer than 2 hours, aim for up to 90 grams per hour using a mix of carbohydrate sources (e.g., glucose and fructose). Practice this during training to avoid stomach issues.

Saturated and trans fatty acid intake should be limited to approximately 10% of total energy intake to reduce LDL-cholesterol and coronary heart disease risk.

Limit your intake of saturated and trans fats to about 10% of your daily calories. Focus on reducing foods high in these fats, such as fatty meats and processed foods, and replace them with healthier fats like those found in fish and plants.

Refined sugar intake should not exceed 10% of total energy intake to prevent obesity and caries.

Keep your refined sugar intake to 10% or less of your daily calories. This means limiting sugary drinks and processed sweets. Focus on getting your carbohydrates from whole foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.