Browse the evidence

Plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs) generally exhibit lower energy, total fat, and saturated fat content, but higher fiber and carbohydrate content compared to animal meat, though they often contain higher sodium levels and have lower amino acid bioavailability.

When choosing plant-based meat alternatives, expect lower saturated fat and higher fiber compared to animal meat, but be mindful of potentially higher sodium levels. Note that protein quality (bioavailability) may be lower than animal meat, so variety in protein sources is important. These products are not nutritionally identical to meat.

Consumption of Chlorella and Spirulina provides high-quality proteins and essential amino acids (lysine, leucine, isoleucine, tryptophan, valine) that contribute to high nutritional quality, potentially superior to conventional plant sources like soy.

Use Chlorella or Spirulina as a protein supplement to meet your daily protein needs. They offer a high protein content (over 50% dry weight) and all essential amino acids, making them a viable alternative to soy or animal proteins. Look for products like powders or tablets to easily integrate them into your diet.

Training in a low carbohydrate state ('train low') may improve fat oxidation pathways but reduces the ability to generate maximal power and may negatively affect race outcomes in high-intensity situations.

If you try training with low carbohydrates, do it on easy, low-intensity days to boost fat burning. Do NOT do this before or during high-intensity workouts or races, as it will likely hurt your speed and performance. Prioritize carbohydrates for your hard efforts.

Lockdown led to a shift towards 'Western-type' and 'Free Sugars' dietary patterns, characterized by increased consumption of sweets, salty snacks, and energy drinks, and decreased consumption of fruits and vegetables.

Be mindful of your food choices during stressful times. The study found that lockdown often leads to increased consumption of sweets, salty snacks, and sugary drinks, while decreasing fruit and vegetable intake. Try to maintain a balance and prioritize whole foods.

Sleep restriction during a caloric deficit reduces fat loss and increases fat-free mass loss compared to adequate sleep, making weight loss less effective.

If you are dieting, ensure you are getting enough sleep. Even if your total weight loss looks similar, sleeping less causes your body to break down more muscle and save less fat. This makes it harder to keep the weight off and lowers your metabolic rate. Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep to maximize fat loss.

Omega-3 fatty acids (specifically fish oils) may be effective in treating MASLD, potentially synergistically with chicory acid.

Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil may help reduce liver fat in MASLD. They are recommended in guidelines, though they are not a standalone cure.

High intake of white rice is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus, particularly in certain populations such as Japanese women.

Be aware that high intake of white rice may increase the risk of T2DM, especially in populations where it is a staple. Consider moderating white rice consumption and exploring whole grain alternatives.

The fatty acid profile of meat, particularly omega-3 content, is significantly influenced by animal diet, with pasture-fed animals having higher polyunsaturated fatty acid concentrations than grain-fed animals.

If you prioritize omega-3 intake from meat, consider choosing products from pasture-fed animals, as they tend to have a healthier fatty acid profile compared to grain-fed counterparts.

Increasing the dose of plant-based protein (e.g., 60g wheat) or blending complementary plant proteins (e.g., maize/soy) can overcome the inferior anabolic response of single plant sources in older adults, matching the efficacy of animal proteins.

If you eat plants, don't just eat a small scoop of protein powder. You need to eat more of it to get the same muscle-building signal as meat. Try mixing different plant proteins (like rice and pea) to get a better balance of amino acids, or ensure you are getting enough total protein at each meal to hit the leucine threshold.

Adherence to a 'prudent dietary pattern' (high fruit, green leafy vegetables, poultry, fish) during pregnancy is associated with a decreased risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), whereas a 'Western dietary pattern' (high red/processed meat, refined grains, sweets) increases GDM risk.

During pregnancy, prioritize a diet rich in fruits, green leafy vegetables, poultry, and fish while limiting red meat, processed meats, refined grains, sweets, and fried foods. This 'prudent' pattern is linked to a lower risk of gestational diabetes compared to a 'Western' pattern high in processed and refined foods.

Incorporating edible mushrooms into muscle foods (meat/fish) reduces sodium, saturated fat, and cholesterol content while increasing dietary fiber, protein, and bioactive compounds, thereby improving the nutritional profile and health benefits of the final product.

To make your favorite meat dishes healthier, replace a portion of the meat (e.g., 20-50%) with chopped edible mushrooms like Shiitake or Oyster. This lowers the sodium and saturated fat while adding fiber and umami flavor, making the dish more nutritious without sacrificing taste.

Dietary substitution of saturated fatty acids (SFA) with oleic acid (a monounsaturated fatty acid) reverses SFA-induced metabolic dysfunction, including insulin resistance and inflammation, by enhancing mitochondrial oxidation and reducing pro-inflammatory lipid intermediates like ceramides and diacylglycerols.

If your diet is high in saturated fats (like red meat or processed foods), try replacing some of those fats with oleic acid-rich sources, such as extra-virgin olive oil. This substitution helps lower inflammation and improves insulin sensitivity by changing how your cells process energy, specifically by reducing harmful lipid byproducts like ceramides.

Older adults disproportionately consume lower-quality plant-based proteins at lunch compared to younger and middle-aged adults, who primarily consume animal-based proteins at the same meal.

At lunch, older adults tend to eat lower-quality plant proteins (like bread) compared to younger people who eat meat or fish. Since animal proteins are more effective at building muscle, try to swap some of your lunch carbohydrates for a high-quality protein source like eggs, yogurt, or lean meat to better support your muscles.

Sarcopenic obesity (high BMI with low lean body mass) is associated with increased risk of dose-limiting chemotherapy toxicity and adverse survival outcomes in esophageal cancer patients.

For esophageal cancer patients, body composition (lean muscle mass) is as important as BMI. Doctors should consider lean body mass-based dosing for chemotherapy to reduce toxicity, especially in patients with sarcopenic obesity.

Flavonoids inhibit glucose transporters (GLUT2, GLUT5, GLUT7), thereby reducing intestinal glucose and fructose absorption.

Eating flavonoid-rich foods might slightly slow down sugar absorption by affecting transporters in the gut. This is a subtle effect and should not replace a balanced diet, but it may offer some metabolic benefit.

Vegetarian diets do not significantly reduce the risk of gestational diabetes or hypertension in pregnant women compared to omnivorous diets.

If you are pregnant, switching to a vegetarian diet may not specifically reduce your risk of gestational diabetes or high blood pressure compared to a standard diet. Consult your doctor for personalized advice.

GLP-1RA users tend to overconsume saturated fat and total fat percentages, potentially exacerbating gastrointestinal side effects like nausea and constipation.

You are likely eating too much saturated fat, which can worsen nausea and constipation common with GLP-1RA. Try to shift some calories from fats to fiber-rich carbohydrates and protein to improve GI comfort and nutrient density.

Long-term adherence to low-carbohydrate diets, particularly those high in saturated fats, is associated with increased LDL-cholesterol, increased cardiovascular disease risk, and increased mortality.

If you choose a low-carb diet, prioritize unsaturated fats (like olive oil, nuts, fish) over saturated fats (like red meat, butter) to protect your heart health and avoid raising LDL-cholesterol.

In healthy adults, higher dietary saturated fat intake is independently associated with higher LDL-C, but this relationship is not dose-dependent across typical intake ranges and is largely explained by abdominal visceral adipose tissue (VAT) mass rather than the fat itself.

If you are healthy and have a normal BMI, simply reducing saturated fat might not significantly lower your LDL-C if you have high visceral fat. Focus on overall body composition and visceral fat reduction, as these factors appear to drive LDL-C levels more strongly than SFA intake alone in this population.

Reducing saturated fat intake has little or no effect on all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, or cancer deaths in adults.

While reducing saturated fat is excellent for preventing heart attacks and strokes, you should not expect it to drastically extend your lifespan on its own. Focus on the quality of life and prevention of non-fatal cardiovascular events as the primary benefit.

A high-carbohydrate diet (CHORD) commonly prescribed for CPTII deficiency may be detrimental long-term by causing hyperinsulinemia, which inhibits CPT enzymes and diverts fatty acids to storage, potentially worsening insulin resistance and metabolic health.

Current advice to eat a very high-carb, low-fat diet might be hurting your long-term health. Try shifting to a moderate-carb diet (50-55% of calories) with higher protein (25-30%). This helps lower insulin levels, which may improve your body's ability to manage fatty acids and reduces the risk of insulin resistance.

Intravenous amino acid infusion improves muscle protein synthesis and reduces perioperative blood loss in total joint arthroplasty patients.

If your surgical team recommends intravenous amino acids during your joint replacement, it may help preserve muscle protein and reduce blood loss. This is a specific medical intervention that complements your surgery, not a substitute for post-operative nutrition.

Monounsaturated fat (MUFA) intake has a significant but weak correlation with multiple obesity and coronary indices (CI, AVI, BRI, WWI, AIP), suggesting a less pronounced impact on these specific metrics compared to SFA and PUFA.

In this study, monounsaturated fat (MUFA) intake was weakly correlated with various obesity and heart health markers. While MUFA is generally considered healthy, this study suggests its direct impact on these specific abdominal and coronary indices is less strong than that of saturated or polyunsaturated fats in this population.

Low-Carbohydrate High-Fat (LCHF) and Ketogenic diets do not significantly alter ALT levels in individuals with MASLD compared to control diets.

Current evidence from this meta-analysis does not support LCHF or Ketogenic diets as significantly effective for lowering liver enzymes (ALT) in people with MASLD compared to control diets. The wide variation in how 'low-carb' was defined across studies makes it difficult to draw firm conclusions, but it did not show the significant benefits seen with fasting or MedDiet.