Browse the evidence

Vitamin D supplementation (700-800 IU/d) reduces hip fracture risk in elderly individuals only when combined with calcium supplementation; vitamin D alone provides no significant benefit.

If you are over 50 and concerned about hip fractures, taking Vitamin D alone is likely ineffective. You need to combine 700-800 IU of Vitamin D with 1000-1200 mg of Calcium daily. This combination is most critical for those who are deficient or live in supervised settings where compliance is higher. For healthy community-dwelling individuals with good diet, the benefit may be minimal.

Maintaining serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations between 30–50 ng/mL (75–125 nmol/L) is required to ensure optimal skeletal and non-skeletal health effects, whereas levels below 20 ng/mL indicate deficiency requiring medical treatment.

Aim for a blood test to check your 25(OH)D levels. If you live in Central Europe, you likely need supplementation, especially from October to March. The goal is to keep your levels between 30-50 ng/mL. For most adults, this means 800-2,000 IU/day, but obese individuals or the elderly may need higher doses. Do not rely solely on sunscreen or diet, as these are often insufficient.

Hydroxytyrosol (HTyr) and its derivatives provide cardioprotective benefits by protecting LDL from oxidation, with a specific health claim established by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) requiring a daily intake of 20g of olive oil containing at least 5mg of HTyr and derivatives.

To get the heart-protective benefits of hydroxytyrosol, incorporate high-quality extra virgin olive oil into your daily diet. The European Food Safety Authority suggests that 20 grams of olive oil containing at least 5mg of hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives provides these benefits. This is easily achieved by using EVOO as your primary cooking fat and dressing.

Higher visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) volumes are independently associated with lower serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations, with VAT showing a stronger inverse association than SAT.

If you have higher body fat, especially visceral fat, your blood vitamin D levels are likely to be lower, even if you get enough sun and eat vitamin D-rich foods. This is partly because vitamin D gets stored in fat cells. If you are lean, your vitamin D levels may be higher for the same intake. Focus on managing adiposity, as it directly impacts your vitamin D status.

Higher cumulative consumption of extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) is dose-dependently associated with a lower risk of breast cancer, with the highest quintile of consumers showing the lowest risk.

The more extra-virgin olive oil you consume as part of your daily diet, the greater the potential protection against breast cancer, up to a point. Aim to derive 15-20% of your daily calories from EVOO (roughly 3-4 tablespoons) to maximize the intake of protective polyphenols.

Habitually low magnesium intake induces biochemical pathway changes that increase the risk of chronic degenerative diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and neurological disorders.

Ensure adequate magnesium intake through diet or supplementation, as deficiency is linked to chronic diseases. Standard blood tests may not detect deficiency, so focus on dietary sources and recommended intake levels rather than relying solely on serum magnesium tests.

Magnesium deficiency impairs insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism by affecting the tyrosine kinase activity of the insulin receptor and glycolytic enzymes.

Maintaining adequate magnesium levels supports proper insulin receptor function and glucose metabolism, potentially reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Magnesium acts as a physiological calcium antagonist in the cardiovascular system, inhibiting L-type calcium channels and promoting vasodilation, which may help regulate blood pressure.

Adequate magnesium intake supports cardiovascular health by helping to regulate blood pressure through calcium channel inhibition and nitric oxide production.

Regular consumption of mango fruit provides significant dietary sources of Vitamin C and Vitamin A, with specific cultivars like Ataulfo offering exceptionally high Vitamin C levels (up to 125.4 mg/100g) and sufficient Vitamin A to meet substantial daily requirements.

Include mangoes in your diet to boost Vitamin C and A intake. Cultivars like Ataulfo are particularly rich in Vitamin C. A single medium-sized mango can provide a significant portion of your daily Vitamin A needs, making it a valuable food for overall health, especially if you live in an area where these vitamins are scarce.

Oral supplementation with RRR-alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) increases the oxidation resistance of human low-density lipoproteins (LDL) in a dose-dependent manner, mediated by increased alpha-tocopherol content within the LDL particles.

Taking 150-1200 IU of natural Vitamin E (RRR-alpha-tocopherol) daily for 3 weeks increases the ability of your LDL cholesterol to resist oxidation, a key step in artery damage. This effect is real but varies by person and is not the only factor protecting your arteries; other antioxidants like carotenoids also matter. Do not view this as a substitute for a heart-healthy diet.

Interindividual variability in flavonoid metabolism, driven by genetics, microbiome composition, and age/sex, creates heterogeneous health outcomes, meaning population-level benefits do not guarantee individual efficacy.

Don't assume all flavonoid sources (berries, tea, cocoa) will affect you identically. Your gut bacteria and genetics dictate whether you convert these foods into active metabolites. If you don't see benefits from one source, try a different flavonoid subclass or food matrix, as your 'converter' status may vary by compound.

Supplementation with glycine and cysteine increases glutathione (GSH) concentration and biosynthesis rates, leading to a significant decrease in oxidative stress biomarkers in the blood plasma of elderly persons.

Supplementing with glycine and cysteine can boost glutathione levels and reduce oxidative stress in older adults. This suggests that targeted amino acid supplementation may be a useful strategy for supporting antioxidant defenses in aging.

Shift workers often exhibit irregular eating patterns, including increased snacking frequency and reduced intake of dietary fibers, vitamins, and minerals, contributing to nutritional deficiencies.

Ensure your night shift snacks include sources of fiber and micronutrients (like vegetables, whole grains, or supplements if necessary) rather than just high-fat or high-sugar convenience foods. Regularly assess your intake of zinc and vitamins A and D.

Baking flaxseed into muffins eliminates detectable levels of cyanogenic glycosides (linustatin, linamarin, neolinustatin), addressing safety concerns about raw consumption.

If you are worried about toxins in flaxseed, bake it. Baking muffins with flaxseed destroys the potentially harmful cyanogenic glycosides, making it a safe way to consume it.

High phytate-to-zinc molar ratios in plant-based diets significantly inhibit zinc absorption, compounding zinc deficiency risks in populations relying on cereals.

If you eat a plant-based diet, high phytate levels in cereals can block zinc absorption. To mitigate this, use preparation methods like soaking, germination, or fermentation to reduce phytate and improve zinc bioavailability.

Calcium deficiency risks are high globally (51% in 2011), with animal products being the major source of dietary calcium in many regions.

Calcium deficiency is a major global health issue, affecting over half the world's population. Ensure adequate intake through dietary sources, particularly if you live in or consume foods from regions with high deficiency risks.

Supplementation with vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids significantly reduces the rate of disciplinary offences (antisocial behavior) in young adult prisoners compared to placebo.

For individuals with poor diets who exhibit behavioral issues, ensuring adequate intake of essential vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids may be a valuable, low-risk adjunct to behavioral interventions. This is not a standalone cure but a physiological support strategy.

Dairy consumption is associated with a reduced risk of colorectal, bladder, gastric, and breast cancers, while showing no association with pancreatic, ovarian, or lung cancer, and inconsistent evidence for prostate cancer.

Including dairy in your diet may help protect against colorectal, bladder, gastric, and breast cancers. While the link to prostate cancer is unclear, the protective benefits for other common cancers suggest that dairy is a beneficial part of a healthy diet.

Food fortification significantly reduces the prevalence of inadequate micronutrient intakes in low-income regions, particularly for iron, vitamin A, and zinc, although its effectiveness varies by region and specific nutrient.

In regions where access to diverse, nutrient-dense foods is limited, supporting or consuming fortified foods (like fortified flour or oil) is a highly effective way to prevent micronutrient deficiencies, especially for iron, vitamin A, and zinc.

Calcium, iron, vitamin A, and zinc are the micronutrients with the lowest levels of adequate estimated intake globally, with strong regional variations in which specific nutrients are most deficient.

Focus on ensuring adequate intake of calcium, iron, vitamin A, and zinc, as these are the most commonly deficient nutrients globally. Tailor your diet to address specific regional deficiencies (e.g., iron and vitamin A in South Asia, calcium and folate in Southeast Asia).

Cessation of creatine supplementation leads to a regression of muscle phosphocreatine stores to baseline levels within 4 weeks, although some gains in fat-free mass may persist longer.

If you stop taking creatine, your muscles' ability to perform high-intensity work (via phosphocreatine) will drop back to normal within about a month. However, the actual muscle tissue you built may remain for a while. You don't need to take it forever to keep your muscles, but you will lose some performance edge.

Saturated fatty acids (e.g., palmitate) activate inflammatory pathways via Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and Protein Kinase C (PKC) isoforms, leading to insulin resistance, whereas unsaturated fatty acids generally do not trigger this response.

The type of fat you eat matters for inflammation. Diets high in saturated fats (like those found in some animal products) can trigger inflammatory pathways that block insulin action. In contrast, unsaturated fats (like those in plants and fish) generally do not trigger this inflammatory response. Prioritizing unsaturated fats may help reduce metabolic inflammation.

Plant-based meat substitutes generally offer lower energy, total fat, and saturated fat compared to equivalent animal meats, but often lack nutritional equivalence regarding key micronutrients (iron, zinc, vitamin B12) and frequently contain high sodium levels.

When choosing plant-based meat substitutes, prioritize products that are fortified with Vitamin B12, Iron, and Zinc, as only a minority of products on the market include these. Be mindful of sodium content, as many products (especially mince) can have significantly higher sodium levels than their animal meat counterparts. Use the Health Star Rating as a rough guide, but always check the Nutrition Information Panel for sodium and micronutrients.

Chronic supplementation with the mitochondrial-targeted antioxidant MitoQ (20 mg/day for 6 weeks) improves vascular endothelial function, measured by brachial artery flow-mediated dilation, in healthy older adults (60-79 years) with baseline impairment.

If you are over 60 and have signs of stiffening arteries or poor blood vessel flexibility, taking 20mg of MitoQ daily for at least 6 weeks may significantly improve your blood vessel function. This is a specific antioxidant designed to work inside your cells' energy producers, potentially countering age-related vascular decline.