Browse the evidence

High intake of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) combined with a high-fat (western) diet may exacerbate metabolic disease risk by interfering with fatty acid oxidation and causing mitochondrial stress.

If you are eating a high-fat diet, be cautious with high BCAA intake or high-protein supplements, as this combination may worsen metabolic health. Prioritize reducing dietary fat before adding high levels of BCAAs.

Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation reduces obesity-associated inflammation but does not necessarily improve insulin sensitivity or reduce body weight.

Omega-3s can help reduce inflammation, which is good for overall health. However, do not expect them to lower your blood sugar significantly or help you lose weight. They are a supportive tool, not a primary treatment for Metabolic Syndrome.

Maintaining optimal levels of 'longevity vitamins' (including taurine, ergothioneine, PQQ, queuine, and carotenoids) prevents the insidious accumulation of oxidative and metabolic damage associated with aging, thereby prolonging healthy lifespan.

Focus on dietary sources of the 11 putative longevity vitamins: taurine (seafood, meat), ergothioneine (mushrooms), PQQ (fermented foods, parsley), queuine (grains, beans), and carotenoids (colorful vegetables/fruits). If diet is insufficient, consider supplementation to reach optimal levels, as standard 'adequacy' guidelines may not prevent long-term aging damage.

Non-digestible oligosaccharides (NDOs) such as inulin and oligofructose increase calcium absorption in adolescents and postmenopausal women, but not necessarily in healthy adult men.

Consider consuming foods fortified with inulin or oligofructose (like some orange juices or breads) if you are an adolescent or postmenopausal woman, as they may help your body absorb more calcium from your diet.

Dietary supplementation with berry fruit polyphenols (specifically blueberries) reverses age-related cognitive and motor deficits in aged rodents by enhancing neuronal signaling and reducing oxidative stress.

Incorporate berries, particularly blueberries, into your diet as part of a broader strategy for brain health. While the strongest evidence comes from animal studies showing reversal of age-related decline, human observational studies suggest dietary antioxidants from whole foods are superior to supplements for cognitive health. Focus on whole food sources rather than isolated antioxidant pills.

Anthocyanins from purple fruits and vegetables improve cognitive function and reduce beta-amyloid deposition in early-onset Alzheimer's disease models via PPARγ activation.

Incorporate anthocyanin-rich foods (blueberries, black currants, purple vegetables) into your daily diet. This may help improve verbal fluency and memory in elderly individuals with mild cognitive impairment.

Specific polyphenols found in fruits (e.g., resveratrol, pterostilbene, quercetin) prolong lifespan and control signs of aging by regulating inflammation, cell senescence, and oxidative damage.

Include fruits known for high polyphenol content, such as berries (blueberries, cranberries), grapes, and cherries, in your diet to potentially benefit from their anti-aging properties.

Intestinal Alkaline Phosphatase (IAP) supplementation can detoxify LPS, preserve gut barrier integrity, and attenuate liver fibrosis in NAFLD and ALD models.

Intestinal Alkaline Phosphatase (IAP) is a naturally occurring enzyme that helps detoxify harmful bacterial products in the gut. While promising in animal studies for reducing liver fibrosis and inflammation, it is not yet an approved treatment for humans. Focus on maintaining gut health through diet and potentially discussing targeted therapies with a healthcare provider.

Consumption of Daucus carota (carrots) provides bioactive phytochemicals (phenolics, carotenoids, polyacetylenes, and ascorbic acid) that reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer through antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and lipid-modifying mechanisms.

Eat carrots regularly. Different colors offer different benefits: orange for eye/immune health (beta-carotene), purple/black for heart health and cancer risk reduction (anthocyanins/phenolics), and yellow for eye health (lutein). You don't need to buy expensive specialty varieties; standard orange carrots provide significant provitamin A. Processing (like blanching) can increase some phenolics, but cooking methods vary in their effect on other nutrients.

Folate supplementation reduces the risk of neoplasia and DNA damage in patients with long-standing ulcerative colitis.

If you have long-standing ulcerative colitis, ask your doctor to check your folate levels. Supplementation (often 5mg) may protect against colon cancer and blood clots by fixing DNA damage, especially if you take sulfasalazine.

Calcium deficiency is the most widespread micronutrient deficiency in Africa (affecting 54% of the population), primarily driven by low intake of calcium-rich animal products and high phytate interference.

Calcium deficiency is the most common micronutrient issue in Africa, affecting 54% of people. This is largely due to diets low in calcium-rich animal products and high in phytates. To address this, you need to diversify your diet to include more calcium-rich foods or consider direct fortification.

Iron deficiency risk in Africa is estimated at only 5% based on standard bioavailability assumptions, but this estimate rises to 43% if very low bioavailability (5%) scenarios consistent with high-phytate, low-animal protein diets are considered.

Standard iron deficiency estimates in Africa (5%) may be misleading. If your diet is high in phytates (cereals) and low in animal protein, your actual risk of iron deficiency could be as high as 43%. Consider strategies to improve iron bioavailability.

Adherence to a Western diet (high in refined carbohydrates, simple sugars, and saturated fats) causes intestinal dysbiosis, which triggers oxidative stress and inflammatory cascades leading to Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD).

To protect your gut health and reduce IBD risk, minimize intake of refined sugars, simple carbs, and saturated fats. These components drive dysbiosis and inflammation. Focus on whole foods to support a healthy microbiome.

Nutrients involved in one-carbon metabolism (folate, B12, B6, choline, betaine) regulate DNA methylation by modulating the levels of the methyl donor S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) and the inhibitor S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH).

Ensure adequate intake of B-vitamins, folate, choline, and methionine through diet to support healthy one-carbon metabolism. Do not assume that high-dose supplementation will automatically correct epigenetic markers, as tissue-specific responses vary and excess may not yield benefits.

Bioactive food components such as genistein, EGCG, sulforaphane, and curcumin can modify DNA methylation and histone acetylation, potentially acting as chemopreventive agents by reactivating silenced tumor suppressor genes.

Include foods rich in bioactive compounds (green tea, cruciferous vegetables, turmeric, soy) in your diet. While they may support healthy gene expression patterns, they are not substitutes for medical care or proven cancer treatments, and their potency is lower than pharmaceutical agents.

Dietary tryptophan metabolism via the kynurenine pathway (specifically IDO1 activity) is shifted toward protective indole metabolites when gut barrier integrity is maintained, whereas high-fat diets and inflammation shift it toward kynurenine, promoting inflammation and metabolic disease.

Your body processes dietary tryptophan differently depending on your metabolic health. In a healthy state, gut bacteria convert it into protective indoles that support the gut barrier. In states of obesity or high-fat diet consumption, the body's own enzymes (IDO1) take over, producing inflammatory byproducts. Maintaining gut health through diet helps preserve the beneficial bacterial pathway.

A higher Oxidative Balance Score (OBS), reflecting a predominance of antioxidant exposures over prooxidants in diet and lifestyle, is positively associated with longer leukocyte telomere length (LTL) in adult females.

For women, maintaining a diet and lifestyle that favors antioxidants over prooxidants is associated with longer telomeres, a marker of cellular aging. This involves consuming foods rich in antioxidants (like fruits, vegetables, whole grains) while minimizing prooxidant stressors like smoking, excessive alcohol, and high processed meat intake. While this study is observational, it suggests that holistic dietary patterns matter more than isolated supplements for preserving cellular longevity.

High copy number variation (CNV) of the salivary amylase gene (AMY1) in humans is an evolutionary adaptation to a starch-rich diet, particularly following the widespread adoption of cooking.

Humans have genetically adapted to digest starch efficiently, especially when cooked. This suggests that starch is a natural part of the human diet, and individuals may have varying capacities to digest it based on their genetics.

Okra mucilage has medicinal applications as a plasma replacement or blood volume expander and is used in Asian medicine as a protective food additive against gastric diseases.

Okra mucilage has been used medicinally as a plasma expander and to treat gastric diseases. While not a standard home remedy, its properties are recognized in some medicinal contexts.

Non-glycaemic carbohydrates (NSP, Resistant Starch) provide health benefits through fermentation in the large intestine, producing SCFAs and reducing fecal ammonia, but their benefits are not universal and depend on specific chemical properties.

Include a variety of non-glycaemic carbohydrates like whole grains, legumes, and vegetables. These provide fiber (NSP) and resistant starch, which feed gut bacteria and produce beneficial short-chain fatty acids. However, do not rely on isolated fiber supplements to replicate the benefits of whole foods, as the food matrix is crucial.

Ketogenic diets are associated with an increased risk of neural tube defects in offspring when followed by women prior to conception, regardless of folic acid supplementation.

Women planning pregnancy should avoid ketogenic diets due to the increased risk of neural tube defects, even if they take folic acid supplements.

Plant-derived bioactives, particularly flavonoids and polyphenols, promote healthy aging and longevity by acting as antioxidants that scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS), chelate pro-oxidant metal ions, and inhibit pro-oxidant enzymes, thereby mitigating oxidative stress associated with aging and age-related diseases.

Incorporate a wide variety of plant-based foods rich in polyphenols (e.g., berries, tea, dark chocolate, spices) into your daily diet to support your body's natural defense against oxidative stress and aging. Focus on whole foods rather than isolated high-dose supplements, as the complex matrix of compounds in plants offers balanced antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.

Certain flavonoids (e.g., quercetin, kaempferol) can exhibit pro-oxidant activity in the presence of transition metals (like copper or iron), leading to DNA damage and lipid peroxidation, particularly in vitro or in specific pathological contexts like cancer cells with high copper levels.

Do not take high-dose isolated antioxidant supplements (especially those known to be pro-oxidant like high-dose vitamin E or specific flavonoids) without medical supervision, especially if you have conditions affecting metal metabolism. Stick to whole food sources of antioxidants, which naturally regulate their own activity and minimize pro-oxidant risks.

Higher dietary total antioxidant capacity (TAC) is inversely associated with plasma high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels in adult populations, independent of single antioxidant intake.

Focus on increasing the total antioxidant capacity of your diet rather than relying on isolated vitamin supplements. Prioritize foods known to be high in antioxidants, such as fruits, vegetables, whole cereals, and red wine (in moderation), as these collectively help lower systemic inflammation markers like CRP.