Browse the evidence

Post-exercise supplementation with 40g of whey protein provides no additional benefit to cardiorespiratory fitness or cardiometabolic health adaptations compared to an isocaloric placebo when combined with low-volume high-intensity interval training (LOW-HIIT) in sedentary, healthy adults.

If you are sedentary and start doing low-volume high-intensity interval training (HIIT), you do not need to rush to consume 40g of protein immediately after your workout to get the best heart and metabolic health benefits. Consuming an equivalent amount of calories from carbohydrates (like maltodextrin or even just eating a normal meal) provides the same improvements in fitness and blood pressure. Focus on consistency with the training rather than expensive post-workout supplements.

Replacing saturated fatty acids with omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids has a neutral effect on blood pressure.

Switching from saturated fats to omega-6 oils will not significantly lower your blood pressure. If blood pressure management is your primary goal, other dietary strategies (like reducing sodium or increasing potassium) may be more effective, though this substitution still benefits cholesterol levels.

A 2-year low-carbohydrate high-protein (LCHP) diet does not cause harmful effects on glomerular filtration rate (GFR), albuminuria, or electrolyte balance in healthy obese individuals compared to a low-fat diet, despite inducing glomerular hyperfiltration.

If you are obese but have healthy kidneys (no diabetes or high blood pressure), you can follow a low-carb, high-protein diet for weight loss without fearing kidney damage. While your kidneys will filter more blood (hyperfiltration) and you may urinate more, this is a normal physiological response to high protein and does not lead to kidney disease in healthy people over a 2-year period.

A low-fat diet intervention (targeting 20% of calories from fat) does not reduce the incidence of coronary heart disease, stroke, or type 2 diabetes compared to a control group with minimal dietary guidance.

Do not rely on a low-fat diet as a primary strategy for preventing heart disease or diabetes. Simply reducing fat to 20% without improving the quality of the remaining calories (e.g., replacing with refined carbs) does not improve outcomes.

Supplementing with whey protein, soy protein, or isolated leucine (standardized to ~3g leucine per serving) provides no additional benefit for increasing skeletal muscle mass or strength compared to a placebo when combined with resistance training in previously untrained college-aged males who already consume adequate protein (>1.3 g/kg/day) and increase caloric intake.

If you are a beginner lifter eating enough protein (over 1.3g/kg/day) and eating enough calories to support training, you do not need to spend extra money on whey, soy, or leucine supplements. They will not help you build more muscle or strength compared to a placebo, as long as your total diet is sufficient. Focus on your training and total food intake first.

Long-term carbohydrate manipulation (weeks to months) does not influence strength gains or hypertrophy in strength-trained individuals, provided total caloric and protein intake are adequate.

You do not need to eat a high-carbohydrate diet to build muscle or get strong. Focus on hitting your protein targets and maintaining a caloric surplus (if bulking) or deficit (if cutting). You can choose your carbohydrate intake based on preference, activity level, or metabolic health without sacrificing strength gains.

Obesity is a chronic, relapsing disease driven by a syndemic interaction of macro-systems (climate, globalization, policy) and micro-systems (behavior, environment), rather than solely individual choice.

Stop blaming yourself or others for obesity. Recognize it as a chronic disease shaped by your environment, food systems, and socioeconomic status. Seek medical help and policy changes rather than relying solely on willpower.

Body Mass Index (BMI) is an insufficient and potentially misleading sole diagnostic measure for obesity due to its inability to capture phenotypic heterogeneity and visceral adiposity.

Do not rely on BMI alone to assess your health. Ask your doctor for additional metrics like waist circumference, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels to get a complete picture of your metabolic health.

High-dairy-protein diets with variable carbohydrate and fat ratios provide no advantage for fat loss or lean mass preservation compared to a control diet when both are combined with energy restriction and exercise.

If you are overweight and want to lose fat while keeping muscle, eat a high-protein diet (around 30% of calories) from dairy sources, create a moderate calorie deficit (500 kcal/day), and exercise regularly (resistance and cardio). You do not need to strictly limit carbohydrates or fats to see good results; the total protein amount and energy deficit matter more than the specific ratio of carbs to fat.

High-temperature cooking and prolonged storage can decrease protein quality by reducing the bioavailability of essential amino acids, particularly lysine, through the Maillard reaction and protein aggregation.

Avoid charring or overcooking meats and grains. High-temperature methods like grilling or prolonged roasting can chemically alter amino acids (especially lysine), reducing the protein's quality. Moderate cooking is generally better for preserving bioavailability.

A ketogenic diet (defined as <50g carbohydrate/day or blood ketones ≥0.5 mM) has largely neutral or detrimental effects on athletic performance compared to a higher-carbohydrate diet, despite significantly increasing fat oxidation rates.

If your goal is to improve athletic performance (endurance, strength, or power), a ketogenic diet is not recommended. While it increases fat burning, it does not translate to better performance and may actually hinder it, especially in elite athletes or high-intensity efforts. Stick to a higher-carbohydrate diet for optimal results.

Spirulina supplementation does NOT significantly preserve skeletal muscle mass (SMM) during gradual weight loss compared to placebo; both groups lost similar amounts of muscle mass.

Do not rely on spirulina to preserve your muscle mass during a weight cut. This study showed that wrestlers taking spirulina lost the same amount of muscle as those taking a placebo. To preserve muscle, you must ensure your overall protein intake is high (1.6-3.1 g/kg/day) in addition to following your gradual weight loss diet.

Global average total protein intake (78.2 g/day) exceeds the minimum requirement for health in all surveyed countries, with national means never falling below 46 g/day, indicating that protein deficiency is not a widespread global issue in terms of quantity.

You do not need to worry about global protein shortages or your personal intake being critically low if you eat a standard diet. The global average is 78g/day, and even the lowest-consuming nations average 46g/day, which is sufficient. Focus on the source (animal vs. plant) and overall diet quality rather than fearing protein deficiency.

Daily supplementation with 0.6 g/kg body weight of whey protein does not enhance body composition, core muscle endurance, or joint flexibility adaptations in trained women performing 10 weeks of Pilates training, despite increasing total daily protein intake to ~1.78 g/kg.

If you are a trained woman doing Pilates regularly, adding whey protein supplements on top of your normal diet will not make you lose more fat, gain more muscle, or improve your flexibility compared to just doing the training. Focus on consistent training and adequate whole-food protein intake rather than buying supplements.

Usual intakes of animal and plant protein are not adversely associated with all-cause, cardiovascular disease, or cancer-related mortality risk in adults.

You do not need to restrict your protein intake, whether from animal or plant sources, to avoid increasing your risk of death from all causes, heart disease, or cancer. The data suggests that typical protein intakes within recommended ranges are safe and not linked to higher mortality.

High intake of saturated fatty acids (SFA) at the population level is not associated with increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence or mortality, provided the SFA is not replaced by low-quality carbohydrates.

You do not need to fear saturated fats if your overall diet is balanced. The key is not to replace fats with refined sugars or white flour. Focus on whole foods, adequate protein, and healthy fats rather than strictly limiting total fat grams.

Pre-sleep protein supplementation (20g or 60g bolus) does not improve performance, body composition, or recovery in British Army recruits undergoing basic training.

If you are undergoing intense military-style or high-volume training, taking 20-60g of protein right before bed will not give you extra strength, muscle, or recovery benefits compared to just eating enough protein throughout the day. Focus on total daily intake and training quality instead of specific supplement timing.

There is no significant evidence that total fat intake or protein intake interacts with polygenic risk to affect BMI, based on pooled meta-analyses.

Don't rely on simply increasing total protein or total fat to manage genetic obesity risk. The evidence suggests that the specific type of fat (omega-3 vs. trans/SFA) is the key dietary lever, not the total amount of protein or fat.

Orlistat produces minimal weight loss (2.78-3.16%) and has a high gastrointestinal side effect profile, making it a less effective first-line treatment compared to GLP-1RAs.

Orlistat is an over-the-counter medication that produces minimal weight loss (approx 3%). It has significant gastrointestinal side effects and is considered less effective than prescription options like GLP-1RAs. It is not recommended as a first-line treatment.

Pre-sleep protein supplementation (20g or 60g) does not improve acute muscle recovery (function, soreness, or damage markers) following load carriage in British Army recruits.

If you are doing heavy load carriage (marching with weight), adding extra protein right before bed (20g or 60g) will not speed up your recovery, reduce soreness, or protect your muscle function compared to just eating your normal diet. Focus on getting your total daily protein needs met rather than stressing about pre-sleep dosing for this specific activity.

Adopting a restricted carbohydrate diet defined as less than 45% of total energy intake does not significantly alter the risk of all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), or cardiometabolic disease (CMD) mortality compared to consuming 45-65% of energy from carbohydrates.

If you choose to eat a diet where less than 45% of your calories come from carbohydrates, current large-scale data suggests this will not increase your risk of dying from heart disease, metabolic disease, or any other cause compared to eating the standard recommended amount (45-65%). You do not need to fear moderate carbohydrate restriction regarding mortality risk, provided you maintain a balanced intake of fats.

Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQs) used in the PURE study likely overestimate carbohydrate intake and underestimate fat intake in Chinese populations due to the exclusion of edible oils from fat calculations.

When tracking your diet, do not forget to include cooking oils in your fat intake. Self-reported diets often miss these 'invisible' fats, leading to an overestimation of carbohydrate consumption.

Higher percentage of energy from protein or fat at breakfast is associated with a higher risk of major cardiovascular events, myocardial infarction, and stroke.

In this study, eating a breakfast where protein and fat make up a larger percentage of energy was linked to higher heart disease risk. This suggests that for Chinese adults, a breakfast higher in carbohydrates and lower in protein/fat may be more cardioprotective.

Isoenergetic pre-exercise meals with varying carbohydrate content (high vs. low) do not improve resistance training volume performance compared to a low-calorie placebo in resistance-trained individuals.

If you are eating a pre-workout meal, the specific amount of carbohydrates matters less than the total calories and protein, provided you are already eating a moderate amount of carbs throughout the day. You do not need to force-feed high-carb meals before lifting to maximize volume; a lower-carb, isoenergetic meal works just as well.