Browse the evidence

Heat processing, particularly sterilization at high temperatures (110-120°C), can negatively impact protein quality by causing Maillard reactions that destroy essential amino acids like Lysine, Methionine, and Cysteine, thereby lowering the PDCAAS.

Be aware that ultra-high temperature (UHT) or sterilized milk products have lower protein quality scores (PDCAAS) compared to pasteurized milk. This is due to high heat destroying essential amino acids like Lysine. For general adult consumption, this difference may be negligible if total protein intake is high, but for infant formulas or specific medical nutrition, pasteurized options may offer better amino acid availability.

Increasing long-chain omega-3 fatty acid intake (via supplements or dietary replacement) does not significantly reduce all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, or major cardiovascular events in primary or secondary prevention populations.

If you are trying to prevent heart disease or reduce your risk of dying from cardiovascular causes, simply taking omega-3 supplements or eating more fatty fish is unlikely to make a significant difference based on current high-quality evidence. Focus on proven lifestyle factors like blood pressure management, smoking cessation, and overall diet quality rather than relying on omega-3 supplementation for prevention.

Daily oral taurine supplementation (1000 mg/kg body weight) in middle-aged mice extends median life span by 10-12% and increases life expectancy at 28 months by 18-25% while improving health span across multiple organ systems.

For middle-aged individuals, maintaining adequate taurine levels may support healthy aging. While this study used high doses in mice, human observational data links lower taurine levels to adverse health outcomes. Consult a healthcare provider before starting supplementation, especially if you have existing health conditions.

Taurine supplementation improves health span metrics in middle-aged mice, including reduced body weight gain, improved bone mass and strength, enhanced muscle endurance and strength, reduced anxiety, improved memory, better glucose homeostasis, and ameliorated immune cell prominence.

Taurine supplementation in middle age may support overall health, including bone, muscle, and metabolic function. While human trials are needed, these findings suggest potential benefits for healthy aging.

Equol is produced by only 25-50% of humans via gut bacteria, and this 'equol producer' status determines whether dietary soy provides significant health benefits.

Only about half of people produce 'equol' from soy. If you don't, eating soy might not give you the hormonal benefits others get. You can test your status or take equol supplements directly.

Oxidative stress accelerates telomere shortening disproportionately compared to genomic DNA due to telomeric DNA's poor repair capacity for single-strand breaks.

Telomeres are more vulnerable to oxidative damage than the rest of your DNA because they are harder to repair. Reducing oxidative stress (e.g., through diet and lifestyle) may help preserve telomere length.

Microalgae species with robust cell walls (e.g., Porphyridium, Phaeodactylum) exhibit significantly lower in vitro digestibility compared to species with simpler cell structures (e.g., Arthrospira, Chlorella vulgaris), limiting nutrient bioavailability.

If you are choosing a microalgae supplement, look for species known for high digestibility like Arthrospira (Spirulina) or Chlorella vulgaris. Species like Porphyridium or Phaeodactylum may have lower nutrient absorption due to tough cell walls. Processing methods (like breaking cell walls) can mitigate this, but raw biomass digestibility varies significantly by strain.

Population-based food fortification is the most effective and safe public health strategy to prevent micronutrient deficiency conditions, superior to individual supplementation for widespread impact.

Ensure your diet includes fortified staples like iodized salt, enriched flour, and vitamin D-fortified milk. This is the most reliable way to prevent common deficiencies like anemia, goiter, and bone issues, especially if you are in a high-risk group like pregnancy or old age.

The kynurenine/tryptophan (Kyn/Trp) ratio in blood serves as a robust biomarker for the rate of physiological aging (inflammaging) and predicts age-related diseases and mortality.

You can monitor your Kyn/Trp ratio as a blood test to assess your biological aging rate and risk for age-related diseases. A higher ratio indicates increased inflammatory activity associated with aging. This is a diagnostic tool, not a treatment, but it helps identify who might benefit from lifestyle interventions targeting inflammation.

Fasting sweat glucose levels do not robustly predict fasting blood glucose levels across a population of healthy and diabetic subjects, limiting the use of sweat glucose for universal diabetes diagnostics.

Do not rely on sweat glucose sensors to make immediate medical decisions about insulin dosing or hypoglycemia treatment based on population averages. The correlation between sweat and blood glucose is too weak and variable across individuals. Current technology may support personalized longitudinal tracking, but it is not yet a universal diagnostic tool.

Dietary calcium and vitamin D are inversely associated with hypertension risk, but calcium and vitamin D supplements do not significantly reduce this risk.

Do not rely on calcium or vitamin D supplements to prevent high blood pressure. Instead, focus on dietary sources, specifically low-fat dairy products, which provide these nutrients in a form associated with reduced hypertension risk.

Calcium supplementation does not negatively impact long-term iron status, despite short-term studies showing reduced iron absorption.

You can take calcium supplements without worrying about causing iron deficiency, even if you take them with meals. Long-term studies show that calcium does not harm your iron status, despite some short-term studies showing reduced absorption in a single meal.

Selenium's biological activity is primarily mediated through its incorporation into selenoproteins (containing selenocysteine), which support antioxidant defense systems, thyroid hormone metabolism, and neuroprotection.

Selenium works by forming selenoproteins. Ensuring adequate intake (55 µg/day) allows your body to produce these proteins, which protect cells from oxidative stress and support thyroid and nervous system health.

In older women, the use of supplemental iron is associated with a significantly increased risk of total mortality, with risk increasing in a dose-dependent manner.

If you are an older woman, do not take iron supplements unless a blood test confirms you have a deficiency. This study found that taking iron supplements was linked to a higher risk of death, and the risk got worse the more iron you took. Talk to your doctor about getting your iron levels checked before continuing any iron supplements.

In older women, the use of multivitamins, vitamin B6, folic acid, magnesium, zinc, and copper is associated with an increased risk of total mortality.

If you are an older woman, be aware that taking multivitamins, vitamin B6, folic acid, magnesium, zinc, or copper might be linked to a higher risk of death. This study found that women who took these supplements had a slightly higher chance of dying during the follow-up period. You should discuss with your doctor whether you really need these supplements.

Vitamin K supplementation effectively increases gamma-carboxylated osteocalcin levels but does not significantly prevent bone loss or reduce fracture risk in elderly populations.

Taking Vitamin K supplements will improve your osteocalcin levels, but current evidence suggests this does not prevent fractures or bone loss in older adults. Do not rely on Vitamin K alone for osteoporosis prevention; focus on weight-bearing exercise and adequate calcium/vitamin D intake.

Sleep promotes synaptic homeostasis by attenuating synaptic strength accumulated during wakefulness, allowing for energy restoration and the re-establishment of cellular stress reserves.

Trust your brain's ability to process information overnight. You don't need to cram endlessly; sleep actively prunes irrelevant data and restores energy. Consistent sleep supports better learning efficiency.

Inhibition of mTORC1 activity is a necessary physiological trigger for initiating autophagy during nutrient deprivation, which recycles cellular components to sustain blood glucose and amino acid levels.

Fasting works by turning off the 'growth' signal (mTORC1), which unlocks the body's internal recycling system (autophagy). This system breaks down old cellular parts to create glucose and amino acids, keeping you alive and healthy during food scarcity. You cannot have this benefit if your body is constantly in 'growth mode' due to constant eating.

High-dose alpha-tocopherol and selenium supplementation failed to prevent prostate cancer and may increase risk, contradicting earlier observational studies.

Do not rely on high-dose alpha-tocopherol and selenium supplements to prevent prostate cancer. Current high-quality evidence suggests they are ineffective and may carry risks. Focus on a balanced diet rich in natural vitamin E sources instead.

Iron status has a dual role in immunity: deficiency impairs immune cell function (B-cells, T-cells), but excess iron during infection can be exploited by pathogens, leading to an evolutionary mechanism of hypoferremia (iron withdrawal) during acute infection.

Maintain healthy iron levels through diet (red meat, beans, leafy greens) to support immune cell function. However, if you have a serious active infection (like malaria or TB) or a condition like hemochromatosis, consult your doctor before taking iron supplements, as excess iron can help pathogens grow. The body naturally restricts iron during infection (hypoferremia) to fight this.

The oral bioavailability of nutraceuticals is limited by physicochemical and physiological factors including liberation from food matrices, solubility in gastrointestinal fluids, interactions with GI components, chemical degradation, and epithelium cell permeability.

To maximize health benefits from nutraceuticals (like vitamins, carotenoids, or polyphenols), consider how they are delivered. Processing methods (cooking, homogenization) and food matrices (lipid-based delivery systems) can significantly enhance the release and absorption of these compounds. Simply consuming the raw nutrient may not yield optimal results if bioavailability is limited by solubility or permeability.

The presence of uncultured gut bacteria encoding the ismA gene (cholesterol dehydrogenase) metabolizes intestinal cholesterol into coprostanol, which is poorly absorbed, thereby significantly reducing both fecal and serum total cholesterol levels in humans.

This paper identifies a specific group of gut bacteria (encoding the ismA gene) that converts cholesterol into a form (coprostanol) that your body doesn't absorb, lowering your blood cholesterol. The effect is as strong as your genetic predisposition. While you cannot currently prescribe these specific uncultured bacteria, this highlights that your gut microbiome is a key lever for heart health. Future interventions may target these bacteria to lower cholesterol without drugs.

The gut bacterium Eubacterium rectale causally decreases plasma levels of hydrogen sulfite, a toxin that negatively affects cardiovascular function.

Maintaining a healthy gut microbiome, specifically by supporting bacteria like Eubacterium rectale, may help reduce hydrogen sulfite levels in your blood, which is beneficial for cardiovascular health.

The antioxidant capacity and stability of Cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (Cy3G) are highly dependent on pH, with its oxidative potential shifting approximately 58 mV per pH unit, and it scavenges superoxide radicals effectively but not hydroxyl radicals.

The antioxidant power of Cy3G changes with acidity. It works best against superoxide radicals. Processing methods that alter pH can change its stability and color, which may reflect its chemical state.