Browse the evidence

Higher intake of dietary fiber and whole grains is associated with lower T2D risk and improved postprandial metabolic responses.

Increase intake of dietary fiber and whole grains. Differentiate between high-quality, minimally processed carbohydrates and refined starches/sugars.

Prebiotics (Inulin, Pectin, Beta-glucans) and Probiotics (Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium) supplementation can improve gut homeostasis, reduce infection risk, and potentially enhance athletic performance (endurance, strength) by modulating the gut microbiota.

Consider adding prebiotics (like inulin or beta-glucans) and specific probiotic strains (Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium) to your diet. This can help reduce the risk of respiratory infections and potentially improve endurance performance by supporting gut health and immune function.

Substituting white rice and white bread with brown rice and whole wheat bread, respectively, leads to favorable changes in nutrient intake, specifically increasing fiber, magnesium, zinc, and vitamin E while decreasing total carbohydrates and certain B vitamins.

If you currently eat white rice and white bread, switching to brown rice and whole wheat bread will significantly boost your fiber and magnesium intake. Be aware that this switch might slightly reduce your intake of some B vitamins, so ensure you are getting these from other sources like meat, eggs, or fortified foods.

Dairy products are a primary source of high-quality protein, essential amino acids, and critical micronutrients (calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B12, phosphorus) in the average diet, contributing significantly to daily nutrient requirements.

Include dairy products in your diet to efficiently meet requirements for calcium, vitamin B12, and riboflavin. Cheese and milk are particularly dense sources of these nutrients. While dairy contributes modestly to total calories, its nutrient density is high, making it an efficient food choice for bone health and metabolic function.

Daily supplementation of 700–800 IU vitamin D3 combined with >1000 mg calcium reduces hip and nonvertebral fracture risk in older adults by approximately 20%.

If you are an older adult, taking 700-800 IU of Vitamin D3 daily along with at least 1000 mg of calcium can significantly lower your risk of breaking a hip or other bones. This combination is more effective than calcium alone.

Vitamin D supplementation (>=700 IU) improves muscle strength and balance, reducing fall risk in community-dwelling and institutionalized older individuals.

To help prevent falls, older adults should consider taking at least 700 IU of Vitamin D daily. Lower doses may not provide the muscle strength and balance benefits needed to reduce fall risk.

Long-term consumption of whole fruits (excluding juices) at levels of ≥4 servings/day is associated with a statistically significant reduction in the risk of developing hypertension compared to low intake (≤4 servings/week).

To lower your risk of high blood pressure, aim to eat at least 4 servings of whole fruits every day. Focus on fruits like apples, raisins, grapes, and berries. Do not substitute whole fruit with fruit juice, as this study found no blood pressure benefit from juice. While vegetables are healthy, this specific research suggests that consistent, long-term fruit consumption is a more reliable dietary lever for preventing hypertension than total vegetable intake alone.

Oral creatine monohydrate supplementation (20g/day loading followed by 2g/day maintenance) combined with resistance training significantly increases fat-free mass, upper arm muscle area, and 1RM strength compared to resistance training alone.

If you are an experienced lifter, adding creatine monohydrate to your routine can help you gain more strength and muscle mass than training alone. Start with 20g per day for 5 days, then drop to 2g per day. Ensure you are doing resistance training consistently.

Endurance athletes should consume approximately 20-25g of high-quality protein (specifically rapidly digested, leucine-enriched sources like whey) within the first 30-60 minutes post-exercise to maximize muscle protein synthesis and facilitate muscle remodelling.

After your endurance workout, consume 20-25 grams of high-quality protein (like whey) within the first hour. This specific timing and dose maximizes your body's ability to repair and remodel muscle tissue, leading to better adaptations over time. Do not delay this feeding by more than 3 hours, as the anabolic window closes.

Older adults with low BMI (<22 kg/m2) who consume a low variety of micronutrient-dense foods are at extreme nutritional risk, with 0% meeting the Estimated Average Requirements (EAR) for all 14 micronutrients.

If you are an older adult with a low body weight, you are at high risk for missing essential vitamins and minerals. You must eat a wide variety of nutrient-rich foods (fruits, vegetables, dairy, grains) every day. Relying on a limited diet, even if it is 'healthy' low-calorie food, will likely result in severe nutrient deficiencies.

Ingesting 23 g of protein with 5 g of leucine following endurance exercise achieves near-maximal myofibrillar protein fractional synthetic rate (FSR), providing bioequivalent stimulation to a three-fold higher dose (70 g protein / 15 g leucine).

After intense endurance exercise, consume 23 grams of protein combined with 5 grams of leucine (spread over 4 servings in the first 90 minutes) along with carbohydrates and fat. This specific dose maximizes your muscle's ability to synthesize new protein. Consuming significantly more protein (e.g., 70g) provides no additional benefit for muscle synthesis and is less nutritionally efficient.

Post-exercise branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplementation significantly reduces delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) compared to placebo in untrained or recreationally active adults.

If you are new to exercise or train recreationally, taking a BCAA supplement (typically 5-10g) after your workout may help reduce muscle soreness the next day. This might help you stick to your routine. However, if you are an advanced athlete, you likely won't see much benefit, and you should prioritize getting enough total protein from food rather than relying on BCAAs.

Post-exercise ingestion of protein-leucine (specifically 70g protein/15g leucine) modulates the skeletal muscle transcriptome by accelerating a biphasic regenerative response: an early pro-inflammatory phase (30 min) that clears debris and initiates repair, followed by a later anti-inflammatory/promyogenic phase (240 min) that promotes muscle differentiation and reduces inflammation.

After intense endurance exercise, consuming a high-dose protein-leucine supplement (approx. 70g protein with 15g leucine) split over the first 90 minutes of recovery helps your body manage inflammation and initiate muscle repair genes more effectively than lower doses or no protein. This supports a faster transition from the inflammatory phase to the regenerative phase.

Adherence to a Mediterranean diet pattern, characterized by high intake of polyphenols, fiber, and healthy fats (olive oil, nuts, fish) and low intake of sugar, refined carbs, and saturated fat, provides hepatic and cardiometabolic benefits for NAFLD, even independent of weight loss.

Adopt a Mediterranean-style eating pattern: eat more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and fish, and use olive oil. Limit red meat, processed foods, sugar, and refined carbs. You don't need to be perfect; even partial adherence helps. This pattern supports liver health and heart health simultaneously.

A well-designed vegan diet, supplemented with Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D, is safe, nutritionally adequate, and effective for maintaining or improving health in the general adult population.

To follow a healthy vegan diet, ensure you eat a wide variety of plant foods daily. Crucially, supplement with Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D (especially in winter). This approach is safe and supports overall health for most adults.

A well-designed vegan diet significantly reduces cardiovascular disease risk factors, including LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure, and can reverse coronary atherosclerosis.

Adopt a well-designed vegan diet to improve heart health. This can significantly lower LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure. For those with existing heart disease, this diet, combined with lifestyle changes, can help reverse atherosclerosis.

Suboptimal intake of fruits and vegetables significantly contributes to global cardiovascular disease mortality, with inadequate fruit consumption linked to approximately 521,395 coronary heart disease deaths and 1,255,978 stroke deaths annually, and inadequate vegetable intake linked to 809,425 coronary heart disease deaths and 210,849 stroke deaths annually.

Increase your daily intake of fruits and vegetables to reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. The data shows that not eating enough is a major contributor to cardiovascular deaths worldwide. Focus on adding more variety to your meals, as both fruits and vegetables offer distinct protective benefits against coronary heart disease and stroke.

Vitamin D supplementation (≥ 1000 IU/day) reduces the risk of developing diabetes in individuals with prediabetes by improving insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function.

If you have prediabetes, check your Vitamin D levels. Supplementation with ≥ 1000 IU/day can significantly reduce your risk of developing diabetes by improving insulin sensitivity. Monitor calcium levels to avoid hypercalcemia.

Whey protein supplementation (25 g/day for 13 days) significantly reduces exercise-induced muscle damage, as measured by serum creatine kinase (CK) levels, in older adults following prolonged walking, whereas pea protein supplementation at the same dose does not.

If you are over 60 and engage in long-distance walking, whey protein (25g/day) may help reduce muscle damage markers more effectively than pea protein. Ensure you consume it consistently for at least 13 days, starting before your activity.

Oral magnesium supplementation (365 mg elemental magnesium daily for 3 months) significantly improves insulin resistance, HOMA-IR, and metabolic markers in hypomagnesemic, obese, pre-diabetic patients with mild-to-moderate chronic kidney disease.

If you have early-stage kidney disease, are overweight, and have pre-diabetes, getting your magnesium levels checked is a low-cost, high-value step. If you are deficient, taking 365 mg of elemental magnesium daily, alongside a kidney-friendly diet and light exercise, can significantly improve your body's ability to handle insulin and sugar.

Low dietary intake of fruits and vegetables doubles the risk of most types of cancer and markedly increases the risk of heart disease and cataracts due to insufficient antioxidant defense against endogenous oxidative damage.

Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily. This is the most effective dietary change to reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, and cataracts by providing antioxidants that protect your DNA and cells from natural wear and tear. Focus on variety to ensure you get ascorbate, tocopherol, and carotenoids.

Curcumin supplementation combined with piperine significantly reduces symptoms of knee osteoarthritis (pain and physical function) to a degree non-inferior to ibuprofen, with fewer gastrointestinal side effects.

If you have knee osteoarthritis, taking 1500 mg of Curcuma domestica extract daily for four weeks can reduce pain and improve function just as well as taking 1200 mg of ibuprofen, but with fewer stomach issues. Look for standardized extracts.

Total daily intake of elemental calcium should be 1200 mg and vitamin D supplementation should be 800-1000 IU daily for adults over age 50 at moderate risk of vitamin D deficiency.

Ensure you get 1200 mg of elemental calcium daily from food and supplements combined. If you are over 50, take 800-1000 IU of Vitamin D3 daily to support bone health and calcium absorption.

Consuming five or more servings of fruit and vegetables daily is associated with a significantly lower risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality compared to lower intake, with diminishing returns observed beyond this threshold.

Aim to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. This level of intake is associated with the lowest risk of death from heart disease and other causes. Eating more than five servings does not appear to offer additional mortality benefits, so focus on consistency rather than excessive quantities.