Browse the evidence

Long-term consumption of dietary gluten is not associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease in adults without celiac disease.

If you do not have celiac disease, there is no evidence that eating gluten harms your heart. In fact, avoiding gluten might lead you to eat fewer whole grains, which are good for your heart. You do not need to follow a gluten-free diet for cardiovascular health.

Indian diets exhibit a significant caloric deficit in protein sources (6-8% of total calories) compared to the EAT-Lancet reference diet (29%), driven by low consumption of legumes, animal proteins, and tree nuts across all income and geographic groups.

Current Indian dietary patterns, even among the wealthy, fail to provide adequate protein, contributing to health issues. To align with healthy standards, individuals must significantly increase intake of protein-rich foods like legumes, nuts, dairy, and potentially animal proteins, while reducing the disproportionate share of calories derived from cereals.

Peri-operative protein or amino acid supplementation does not significantly improve muscle strength (quadriceps or handgrip) or functional outcomes in total joint arthroplasty patients.

Do not expect protein supplements to restore your leg strength after surgery. The evidence shows they help keep muscle mass from shrinking, but they do not significantly improve strength or walking ability on their own. You must combine supplementation with physical therapy and exercise to regain strength.

Circulating levels of soluble CD36 (sCD36) are abnormally elevated in NAFLD patients and positively correlate with the histological grade of hepatic steatosis, suggesting its utility as a biomarker.

Soluble CD36 levels in the blood may serve as a biomarker to assess the severity of fatty liver disease. This is a diagnostic tool rather than a treatment target for patients at this stage.

MCP-1/CCR2 and RANTES/CCR5 chemokine signaling pathways are critical for macrophage recruitment and the progression of hepatic steatosis to NASH.

Chemokines like MCP-1 and RANTES recruit inflammatory immune cells to the liver, worsening NAFLD. Blocking these pathways (currently experimental) or reducing their expression through diet/lifestyle may help mitigate liver inflammation.

Macrophage polarization towards the M1 pro-inflammatory phenotype is driven by glycolysis and the accumulation of TCA cycle intermediates (succinate, itaconate), which promotes the production of inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β) and contributes to metabolic disease.

Chronic low-grade inflammation, driven by immune cells like macrophages, is a key factor in metabolic disease. Supporting a healthy gut microbiome helps prevent the metabolic reprogramming of immune cells that leads to this inflammation.

Depletion of Kupffer cells (liver macrophages) improves insulin signaling and hepatic insulin sensitivity in obese mice.

Targeting liver inflammation may be a viable strategy for improving insulin sensitivity, though current clinical applications of macrophage depletion are limited.

Domestic economic development, urbanization, and women's empowerment drive global increases in BMI, whereas economic and cultural globalization do not significantly predict weight gain.

Focus on understanding how your country's economic development, urbanization, and social changes (like women's workforce participation) impact your community's health. Simply opening markets to global goods does not automatically cause obesity; domestic socio-economic transitions are the stronger drivers.

A 12-month very low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet (20–50g carbs/day) produces greater reductions in HbA1c and body weight, and allows for greater discontinuation of diabetes medications, compared to a moderate-carbohydrate calorie-restricted low-fat diet in overweight adults with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes.

If you have Type 2 Diabetes or Prediabetes and are overweight, switching to a very low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet (20-50g carbs/day) for 12 months is likely to lower your blood sugar (HbA1c) and help you lose more weight than a standard low-fat, calorie-restricted diet. Crucially, this approach may allow you to reduce or stop diabetes medications, but this must be done under a doctor's supervision. To succeed, combine the diet with behavioral strategies like mindful eating and regular physical activity.

High protein intake, specifically rich in leucine, mitigates muscle loss and anabolic resistance during periods of reduced physical activity.

Eat 0.4 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight every 4 hours. Ensure these sources are rich in leucine (e.g., whey, meat, eggs) to maximize muscle protein synthesis and prevent muscle loss during inactivity.

Higher protein intake is associated with weight loss maintenance, with maintainers consuming significantly more protein (g/kg body weight) than regainers.

Ensure adequate protein intake (approx 0.9-1.0 g/kg body weight) to help maintain weight loss. This may help with satiety and preserving muscle mass.

Essential amino acid (EAA) supplementation enriched with leucine effectively augments daily and per-meal protein intake in older adults without suppressing appetite or compromising total energy intake, unlike intact protein sources such as whey.

If you are an older adult struggling to eat enough protein to maintain muscle, try an EAA supplement enriched with leucine (3-15g) taken as a gel or liquid before or between meals. Unlike protein shakes, these won't make you feel too full to eat your regular food, helping you hit your protein goals without losing energy intake. Combine this with resistance exercise for the best results, especially if you have sarcopenia or obesity.

Adopting vegetarian or vegan diets significantly improves cardiometabolic risk factors, including lower total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, blood pressure, BMI, and fasting glucose, compared to omnivorous diets.

To improve heart health and metabolic markers, shift your diet towards plant-based sources (vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains) and reduce or eliminate animal products. Expect improvements in cholesterol, blood pressure, and weight management, though you should monitor nutrient status, particularly B12.

Adopting a healthful plant-based diet (high in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes; low in refined grains, sweets, sugar-sweetened beverages, and animal foods) is associated with favorable health outcomes, including reduced risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and mortality.

To improve your health, focus on the quality of your plant-based foods. Prioritize whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes while minimizing refined grains, sweets, and sugar-sweetened beverages. You do not need to eliminate animal products entirely to see benefits; simply increasing the quality of plant foods in your diet is associated with lower risks of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and mortality.

A low-carbohydrate diet (LCD) with carbohydrate intake restricted to <14% of total energy (approx. <50g/day) enables significant medication withdrawal and superior glycemic control compared to a low-fat diet (LFD) in type 2 diabetes patients, without increasing adverse events.

To achieve medication withdrawal in Type 2 Diabetes, restrict carbohydrates to under 50 grams per day (less than 14% of calories) while ensuring adequate protein and unsaturated fats. This approach, combined with regular exercise and clinical monitoring, allows for significant reduction in diabetes medications and better blood sugar control compared to traditional low-fat diets, without increasing the risk of hypoglycemia.

Implementing a Low Carbohydrate Diet (LCD) with 12% carbohydrate intake significantly reduces glucose variability (M value) and average blood glucose in Type 2 Diabetes patients compared to standard Calorie Restriction (CR) diets within 48 hours.

For Type 2 Diabetics, switching to a Low Carbohydrate Diet (around 12% carbs, ~1400 calories) for just two days can significantly stabilize blood sugar swings compared to standard calorie-restricted diets. This suggests that reducing carbohydrate intake is a potent lever for managing glucose variability, even in the short term.

Adherence to a healthy dietary pattern (high in fiber, low in fat/sugar) is significantly associated with a lower prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, specifically obesity, hypertension, and high serum triglycerides, in middle-aged adults.

Focus on your overall dietary pattern rather than single nutrients. A 'good' pattern involves eating vegetables, fruits, nuts, and fish regularly, choosing whole grains and low-fat dairy, and limiting sweets, soda, and salty foods. Adhering to this pattern is strongly linked to lower risks of obesity, high blood pressure, and high triglycerides in middle age.

Whey protein hydrolysate (WPH) supplementation improves peak torque and muscle hypertrophy associated with strength training more effectively than whey protein concentrate (WPC) or whey protein isolate (WPI).

If your goal is maximizing strength and muscle size from training, choose Whey Protein Hydrolysate (WPH) over Concentrate (WPC) or Isolate (WPI). Take it before and immediately after your workout. While WPC and WPI support muscle protein synthesis, WPH is specifically noted to be more effective for improving peak torque and hypertrophy.

Carbohydrate intake of 10 g/kg/day for 36-48 hours prior to competition optimizes glycogen stores and improves sports performance without requiring prior depletion.

If you are an athlete preparing for a major event, eat 10 grams of carbohydrates for every kilogram of your body weight each day for the two days before the race. Keep your meals light, low in fat and fiber, and easy to digest to avoid stomach issues. You do not need to starve yourself of carbs beforehand.

Protein intake of 1.2-2.0 g/kg bodyweight per day is required for athletes to repair muscle damage and avoid catabolism, with post-exercise doses of 0.25-0.3 g/kg being optimal for synthesis.

Eat 1.2 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily. After exercise, aim for 15-25 grams of protein. Ensure you are also eating enough carbohydrates and total calories so your body uses the protein for muscle building rather than energy.

Consuming yerba mate drink (YMD) alongside a pre-exercise carbohydrate meal significantly increases fat oxidation and improves time trial cycling performance compared to consuming either YMD alone in a fasted state or a carbohydrate meal alone.

If you are a trained cyclist, drinking yerba mate daily and eating a carbohydrate-rich meal (1g per kg of body weight) about an hour before your workout can boost your fat burning and improve your performance. This combination works better than drinking yerba mate while fasted or just eating the carbs alone.

Female volleyball players should consume 1.6–2.2 g/kg/day of protein to optimize training adaptation and preserve lean mass, particularly during energy deficits.

Aim for 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of your body weight every day. This helps your muscles recover and grow, especially if you are training hard or trying to lose fat. You can get this from food like chicken, fish, eggs, or dairy, or supplements if needed.

Female volleyball players should consume 6–10 g/kg/day of carbohydrates to optimize muscle glycogen storage and 7–10 g/kg/day for recovery.

Eat 6 to 10 grams of carbohydrates for every kilogram of your body weight each day. On days with heavy training or matches, aim for the higher end (7-10 g/kg) to help your muscles recover and store energy. Good sources include pasta, rice, fruits, and vegetables.

Distributing protein evenly across the day (0.4g.kg per meal, minimum 4 meals) optimizes muscle protein synthesis, recovery, and adaptation in rugby players compared to disproportionate intake.

To maximize muscle growth and recovery, eat 0.4 grams of protein per kilogram of your body weight at four different meals. For a 90kg player, that is 36g of protein at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack. This keeps your body in an anabolic state throughout the day. If you struggle to eat enough, use protein supplements, especially after training.