Browse the evidence

Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MD) prevents obesity and reduces cardiometabolic risk in children and adults, whereas adoption of Western diets (high in saturated fats, refined carbs, and processed meats) accelerates obesity epidemics.

Adopt a Mediterranean-style dietary pattern: prioritize vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and olive oil; consume fish and poultry moderately; and minimize red meat, sweets, and processed foods. This approach is cost-effective, transferable to non-Mediterranean regions by substituting local equivalents, and is the most effective dietary strategy for preventing obesity and cardiometabolic disease in both children and adults.

High-protein diets improve weight loss maintenance by increasing satiety and thermogenesis compared to carbohydrates and fats.

To keep weight off, prioritize protein. Aim for up to 25% of your calories from protein sources. This helps you feel fuller longer and boosts your metabolism slightly compared to carbs or fats. Combine this with low fat and high fiber for best results.

Maintaining or increasing dietary protein intake (specifically 1.0 g/kg body weight) during periods of muscle disuse (bed rest or immobilization) attenuates muscle mass loss and improves nitrogen balance compared to standard or low-protein diets.

If you are recovering from an injury or illness that requires you to rest or immobilize a body part, do not skip protein. Even if your appetite is low, prioritize consuming about 1.0 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight daily. This helps maintain muscle mass and nitrogen balance better than just eating enough calories. If you struggle to eat enough food, consider protein supplements or essential amino acid supplements to support muscle preservation.

Obese individuals should consume at least 1 g/kg ideal body weight of protein per day to support muscle mass, with higher amounts recommended for high-risk groups.

Eat at least 1 gram of protein per kilogram of your ideal body weight every day. If you are older, sick, or losing weight rapidly, you may need even more. Combine this with exercise for best results.

Highly processed, fiber-depleted carbohydrate foods lead to rapid digestion and absorption, which is associated with overconsumption and obesity-related diseases, whereas slow-release carbohydrates from unprocessed plant foods are beneficial to health.

Choose whole, unprocessed plant foods over highly processed, fiber-depleted products. The physical structure of the food (cell walls) slows digestion, which is linked to better health outcomes and reduced obesity risk. You don't need to count carbs, but you should prioritize foods where the starch is encapsulated by fiber.

In adults with type 2 diabetes, a low-carbohydrate, high-unsaturated fat diet provides superior glycemic stability and reduces diabetes medication requirements compared to a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet, despite achieving equivalent weight loss.

If you have type 2 diabetes, switching to a low-carbohydrate diet (around 14% of calories from carbs) while keeping saturated fat low can help you stabilize your blood sugar and potentially reduce your need for diabetes medication, even if you lose the same amount of weight as you would on a standard low-fat diet. This approach focuses on reducing glycemic spikes rather than just calories.

A low-carbohydrate, high-unsaturated fat diet improves cardiovascular risk markers (specifically triglycerides and HDL-C) compared to a high-carbohydrate diet in type 2 diabetes patients, without adversely affecting renal function.

For people with type 2 diabetes, choosing a low-carbohydrate diet rich in unsaturated fats can improve blood lipid levels (lower triglycerides, better HDL) without harming kidney function. This makes it a safe and effective option for managing cardiovascular risk alongside blood sugar control.

Carbohydrate loading (10–12 g/kg/day for 36–48 hours) improves performance by 2–3% and delays fatigue in endurance events lasting longer than 90 minutes.

If you are competing in an event lasting over 90 minutes (like a marathon or long triathlon), eat 10–12 grams of carbohydrates for every kilogram of your body weight each day for the 2 days before the race. This maximizes your muscle fuel stores and helps you delay fatigue.

Consuming a high carbohydrate diet (8.5 g/kg/day) during intensified running training significantly attenuates the decline in physical performance and mood state compared to a moderate carbohydrate diet (5.4 g/kg/day).

If you are increasing your training volume or intensity significantly, you must increase your carbohydrate intake to approximately 8.5 grams per kilogram of body weight daily. Failing to do so will likely result in a faster decline in your running performance and a noticeable drop in your mood and energy levels, signaling overreaching. Stick to this high-carb intake throughout the intensified training block to maintain your fitness and well-being.

Takeaway and fast foods are significantly higher in energy density, total fat, saturated fatty acids (SFAs), and trans fatty acids (TFAs) compared to home-prepared meals, contributing to adverse lipid profiles and increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Fast food is inherently high in energy density and unhealthy fats. A single meal can exceed recommended daily limits for saturated and trans fats. To improve diet quality, minimize fast food consumption and choose meals with lower energy density and healthier fat profiles.

Curcumin supplementation improves lipid profiles in Type 2 Diabetes patients by significantly reducing triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and VLDL cholesterol, while increasing HDL cholesterol.

For better heart health with diabetes, consider adding curcumin to your regimen. It helps lower bad fats (LDL, Triglycerides) and raise good fats (HDL). Use a bioavailable form for best results.

A Low FODMAP diet effectively alleviates symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) in approximately 85% of cases by reducing the fermentation of rapidly absorbable carbohydrates in the small intestine, thereby reducing gas production and visceral hypersensitivity.

If you suffer from IBS, try a Low FODMAP diet to reduce symptoms. This involves temporarily avoiding foods high in fermentable carbohydrates (like certain fruits, wheat, onions, and dairy). This diet alleviates symptoms in about 85% of users by reducing gut fermentation. Consult a healthcare provider to ensure you reintroduce foods correctly to maintain microbiota diversity.

A low-carbohydrate diet (20% energy from carbs) transiently improves glycaemic control (HbA1c reduction) and reduces insulin requirements in type 2 diabetes patients compared to a low-fat diet, despite producing similar weight loss.

If you have Type 2 Diabetes, switching to a low-carbohydrate diet (targeting 20% of calories from carbs) can significantly lower your blood sugar (HbA1c) and reduce your need for insulin within 6 months, even if you lose the same amount of weight as you would on a standard low-fat diet. This approach is safe for your cholesterol profile and can be managed with minimal medical resources (e.g., group education).

HMB (beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate) supplementation acts as a potent stimulator of protein synthesis and inhibitor of protein breakdown, helping to slow or reverse muscle loss in aging, illness, or starvation.

If you are recovering from illness or are older, ask your doctor about adding HMB to your nutritional supplements. It helps stop muscle breakdown and builds muscle when combined with protein.

Mediterranean Diet (MD) interventions significantly improve liver enzymes (ALT, AST), Fatty Liver Index, and liver stiffness in NAFLD patients, often with higher adherence than other diets.

Adopting a Mediterranean-style dietary pattern is an effective strategy for improving liver health in NAFLD. This involves increasing fiber, fruits, nuts, and healthy fats (like olive oil) while reducing refined carbohydrates and sodium. This approach not only improves liver enzymes and fat content but also tends to have higher patient adherence compared to other restrictive diets.

Consuming dietary pulses (beans, chickpeas, lentils, peas) at a median dose of 130 g/d significantly reduces LDL cholesterol levels compared to isocaloric control diets.

To lower your LDL cholesterol, try adding about 1 serving (130g) of cooked beans, lentils, chickpeas, or peas to your daily diet. Replace other carbs or proteins with these pulses to keep your calories the same. You might feel some bloating at first, but it usually gets better. This simple change can lead to a modest but meaningful drop in bad cholesterol.

A high-carbohydrate/high-fiber diet significantly improves blood glucose control and reduces LDL cholesterol in diabetic patients compared to a low-carbohydrate/low-fiber diet, neutralizing the adverse effects of high carbohydrate intake.

Diabetics can safely increase carbohydrate intake if they focus on fiber-rich foods like legumes, vegetables, and fruits. This high-fiber, high-carb approach improves blood sugar control and lowers bad cholesterol (LDL) without raising triglycerides, unlike high-starch diets.

Post-exercise co-ingestion of protein with carbohydrates (1.2 g/kg/day carbohydrate) accelerates protein synthesis and recovery more effectively than carbohydrates alone.

After a game or hard practice, eat a meal or snack containing both protein and carbohydrates as soon as possible. The paper suggests a carbohydrate target of 1.2 g/kg paired with protein. This combination speeds up muscle repair better than carbs alone.

High dietary glycemic load combined with low cereal fiber intake significantly increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, whereas high cereal fiber intake is inversely associated with diabetes incidence.

Focus on the quality and fiber content of your carbohydrates rather than just cutting them out. Choose foods with a low glycemic load and high cereal fiber (like whole grains, vegetables, and legumes) to significantly lower your risk of type 2 diabetes. Avoid high glycemic load foods, especially if your fiber intake is low.

High intake of trans fatty acids and animal (saturated) fats increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, while vegetable (unsaturated) fats are associated with a reduced risk.

Replace saturated and trans fats with unsaturated vegetable fats. Focus on sources like vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds. This shift is associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, independent of total fat calories.

Ketogenic diets, characterized by high fat and low carbohydrate intake, improve metabolic health and reduce body weight by shifting metabolism towards fatty acid oxidation and ketone production.

Adopt a ketogenic diet by limiting carbohydrates to under 40 grams per day, while increasing fat intake and keeping protein moderate. This shift forces your body to burn fat for fuel, which can lead to weight loss and improved metabolic markers.

Six months of daily supplementation with 3.4g of a commercial CLA mixture (containing cis-9,trans-11 and trans-10,cis-12 isomers) significantly reduces total body fat mass and specifically leg fat mass in overweight and obese adults, while preserving lean body mass.

If you are overweight or obese, taking 3.4g of a standard CLA mixture daily for 6 months can help you lose body fat, specifically in your legs, without losing muscle. However, do not expect the scale to drop significantly, as lean mass may increase. This works best if you maintain your usual diet and exercise habits, as no restrictions were required.

Whole grains improve dietary carbohydrate quality by increasing dietary fiber and reducing the glycemic index/load compared to refined grains, leading to better metabolic biomarkers.

Focus on whole grains that are low in glycemic index, such as oats, barley, and rye, rather than just any whole grain. Whole grain bread and pasta can still have a high glycemic index depending on how finely they are milled. Pairing whole grains with protein and fat can further blunt blood sugar spikes.

Ingesting 40 g of whey protein following whole-body resistance exercise stimulates a greater myofibrillar protein synthesis (MPS) response than 20 g in young resistance-trained men.

If you perform a full-body resistance workout, consume 40g of high-quality protein (like whey) immediately after. This dose stimulates muscle protein synthesis significantly more than the commonly recommended 20g. While 20g is effective, 40g provides a greater anabolic response for whole-body training sessions.