Browse the evidence

Moderate consumption of full-fat dairy foods is neutral or beneficial for cardiovascular health, contradicting previous guidelines that recommended reducing or avoiding them in favor of low-fat options.

You do not need to avoid full-fat dairy products like cheese, butter, or whole milk for heart health. Current evidence suggests moderate consumption is neutral or even beneficial compared to low-fat alternatives, which may have higher sugar content. Focus on fermented dairy (yogurt, kefir) for potential added benefits, but do not fear the fat content in whole dairy.

Fermented dairy products (yogurt, kefir, cheese) provide greater cardiovascular benefits than non-fermented dairy due to bioactive peptides, probiotics, and specific lipid profiles.

Prioritize fermented dairy products like yogurt, kefir, and cheese. They appear to offer better cardiovascular protection than non-fermented milk, likely due to probiotics and bioactive peptides created during fermentation.

In asymptomatic individuals with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) and obesity, alternative cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) indices—specifically oxygen uptake recovery, heart rate recovery, and oxygen uptake at the ventilatory threshold—are significantly impaired compared to healthy controls and are independently associated with markers of subclinical cardiovascular dysfunction (aortic stiffness, diastolic dysfunction, and microvascular impairment).

If you have Type 2 Diabetes and are overweight, standard fitness tests might not tell the whole story about your heart health. Specific recovery metrics after exercise (how fast your oxygen use and heart rate drop) and your ventilatory threshold are better indicators of early heart stress. These markers can help identify who is at risk for developing heart failure before symptoms appear, allowing for earlier lifestyle or medical intervention.

The Long-Lever Posterior-Tilt Plank (LLPTP) imposes a greater stimulus on core musculature than the traditional prone plank (TPP) by increasing lever length, narrowing the base of support, and requiring isometric gluteal activation to maintain a posterior pelvic tilt.

To perform the Long-Lever Posterior-Tilt Plank, lie face down with elbows at nose level, spaced 6 inches apart. Lift your body onto your forearms and toes, keeping a straight line from head to heels. Crucially, squeeze your glutes hard to tilt your pelvis backward (tailbone toward feet, pubic bone toward belly button). Hold this rigid position for 10-30 seconds. If your hips sag, you are doing it wrong; reset and focus on glute activation. This is for those who find standard planks too easy.

Orlistat combined with behavioral intervention results in greater weight loss (average 3.0 kg or 6.6 lb more) than placebo plus behavioral intervention at 12 months, though with higher rates of gastrointestinal adverse effects leading to withdrawal.

Orlistat (120 mg, 3x/day) combined with behavioral counseling helps you lose about 3 kg (6.6 lbs) more than placebo over 12 months. However, be aware that gastrointestinal side effects are common and lead to higher dropout rates. Serious side effects are not increased, but the modest benefit may not be worth the side effects for everyone.

A 16-week intensive lifestyle intervention combining a hypocaloric normoproteic diet and supervised moderate exercise significantly reduces hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) and body weight in patients with compensated cirrhosis and obesity, without causing clinical decompensation.

For patients with compensated cirrhosis and obesity, a structured 16-week program involving a moderate caloric deficit (500-1000 kcal/day) with adequate protein (0.8 g/kg ideal body weight) and supervised moderate exercise (60 mins/week) can safely reduce portal pressure and body weight. This approach does not appear to worsen liver function or cause decompensation, challenging the notion that such interventions are unsafe in this population.

Greater weight loss (≥10%) is associated with a greater reduction in HVPG, and higher physical activity levels (METs) are associated with greater HVPG reduction, suggesting independent benefits of weight loss and exercise on portal pressure.

While the intervention is safe for all, patients aiming for maximum portal pressure reduction should target at least 10% body weight loss and engage in higher volumes of physical activity (measured in METs), as these factors are independently associated with greater improvements in hepatic hemodynamics.

Supplementing a very low calorie diet (VLCD) with long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) significantly enhances weight loss and BMI reduction in severely obese women compared to VLCD alone.

If you are following a strict, low-calorie diet for obesity, adding a high-quality fish oil supplement (providing roughly 2.8g of EPA/DHA daily) may help you lose weight and body fat faster than dieting alone. This works by boosting your body's fat-burning (ketosis) and reducing fat storage signals.

A biphasic ketogenic Mediterranean diet (KEMEPHY) protocol, alternating short ketogenic phases with longer maintenance phases, enables significant long-term weight loss and maintenance in obese subjects without the typical weight regain seen in standard diets.

To lose weight long-term, try alternating short periods (20 days) of very low-carb eating with longer periods (months) of a balanced Mediterranean diet. Use protein-rich meal replacements and herbal supplements during the low-carb phases to manage hunger and fatigue. This approach helps you lose weight and keep it off by preventing the metabolic and hormonal backlash that often causes weight regain when you return to normal eating.

A combined weight loss intervention using meal replacements and guided aerobic exercise produces comparable total weight loss in pre- and postmenopausal women, but postmenopausal women experience superior metabolic risk factor improvements and preserve lean body mass more effectively.

For postmenopausal women, a structured weight loss program using meal replacements and supervised aerobic exercise is highly effective. While total weight loss may be similar to younger women, the metabolic benefits (blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose) are often greater, and muscle mass is better preserved. Focus on high-protein meal replacements and consistent aerobic activity to maximize these benefits.

Green coffee bean extract (GCA) containing high chlorogenic acid significantly reduces body weight, BMI, and percent body fat in overweight adults without requiring changes to diet or exercise.

If you are overweight, taking green coffee bean extract (specifically high-chlorogenic acid extracts like GCA) may help you lose weight and reduce body fat, even if you don't change your diet or exercise habits. The study used doses between 700mg and 1050mg per day. However, note that this specific study has been retracted, so verify current scientific consensus before starting.

Continuous energy restriction (CER) leads to greater improvements in diet quality (Healthy Eating Index) compared to intermittent energy restriction (IER) over 12 months.

If your goal is not just weight loss but also improving your overall diet quality (e.g., eating more fruits, vegetables, and less saturated fat), continuous daily restriction may be more effective than intermittent restriction. However, if your main goal is simply weight loss and maintenance, intermittent restriction is equally effective for that specific outcome.

IER+MED improves liver function (measured by Alanine Transaminase/ALT) more effectively than a DASH diet, independent of total fat mass loss.

If you have elevated liver enzymes, switching to an IER+MED pattern may offer specific liver health benefits beyond what you get from just eating a healthy diet (DASH).

Men experience significantly greater long-term weight loss from VLED+BT compared to women, while women show less difference between VLED+BT and BT alone.

Men tend to lose significantly more weight long-term with VLED+BT than women do. Women still benefit, but the difference between using VLED and not using it is smaller. This suggests that treatment plans might need to be tailored differently for men and women to achieve optimal results.

Baseline intestinal microbiome composition predicts the magnitude of weight loss and improvement in hepatic steatosis in response to a calorie-restricted diet, independent of dietary compliance.

If you are struggling to lose weight on a standard calorie-restricted diet despite good adherence, your gut microbiome might be resisting the change. This is not a personal failure. Future testing may identify if your specific microbial profile (e.g., high levels of Escherichia/Shigella or Klebsiella) predicts poor response to simple calorie restriction, potentially guiding you toward other interventions like bariatric surgery or targeted microbiome modulation.

Combining a hypocaloric diet with Monoselect Camellia (a green tea extract) yields superior weight loss compared to hypocaloric diet alone.

If you are on a calorie-restricted diet for weight loss, adding 150mg of Monoselect Camellia (a green tea extract) daily may help you lose more weight than dieting alone. This works by boosting fat oxidation and reducing lipid absorption.

Men lose more absolute weight than women using the MetaWell program, but women have a higher proportion of achieving clinically significant weight loss (>5% body weight).

Both men and women can achieve significant weight loss with this program. While men tend to lose more total kilograms, women are slightly more likely to hit the clinically significant 5% weight loss milestone. Focus on your own progress rather than comparing absolute numbers with the opposite sex.

A ketogenic diet maintains resistance exercise performance and does not impair strength gains, even if there is a slight loss in lean body mass.

If you lift weights, you can switch to a ketogenic diet without losing your strength. You might lose a small amount of lean mass, but your power and strength gains will be similar to those on a high-carb diet. Focus on your training intensity.

Bariatric surgery (Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy) produces comparable long-term weight loss and metabolic improvements in patients with metabolic syndrome compared to those without it.

If you have severe obesity and metabolic syndrome, bariatric surgery is a highly effective option that yields long-term weight loss and metabolic improvements comparable to those without metabolic syndrome. It is currently the most effective intervention for severe cases.

Combining a hypocaloric diet with Monoselect Camellia (a green tea extract) yields superior weight loss compared to hypocaloric diet alone.

If you are following a calorie-restricted diet for weight loss, adding 150mg of Monoselect Camellia (a green tea extract) daily may help you lose more weight than dieting alone. This combination was identified as one of the most effective strategies in a large network meta-analysis of obesity treatments.

A fully health-insurance-financed, long-term (4-year) conservative multimodal obesity therapy program achieves clinically significant weight loss (average 5 kg or 4%) and metabolic improvements in patients with obesity grade 2 and 3 under real-world conditions.

If you have obesity grade 2 or 3, a fully funded, long-term conservative therapy program combining diet, exercise, and behavioral therapy can help you lose an average of 5 kg and improve your metabolic health. This program is available in Germany through specific health insurance contracts and may be more cost-effective than some medications.

Combining 16:8 time-restricted eating (TRE) with structured exercise yields modest additional reductions in body weight and fat mass compared to exercise alone.

If you already exercise regularly, adding a 16:8 time-restricted eating schedule (fasting for 16 hours, eating within 8 hours) may help you lose an extra 1-1.5 kg of body weight and about 1 kg of fat mass over 4-8 weeks compared to exercising without dietary timing restrictions. This benefit is modest but real, particularly if you perform aerobic exercise.

Engaging in more than 300 minutes of moderate-intensity or 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity per week provides additional health benefits, though the relative benefits tend to diminish at higher levels.

If you have the time and capacity, increasing your aerobic activity beyond 300 minutes of moderate or 150 minutes of vigorous exercise per week can provide additional health benefits. However, be aware that the benefits diminish at higher levels, so focus on maintaining the baseline 150-300 minute recommendation consistently before aiming for higher volumes.

Dietary modulation of the gut microbiota, specifically through the intake of prebiotics, probiotics, and polyphenols, can alter microbial composition and metabolic activity to confer health benefits, although human clinical efficacy remains ambiguous compared to animal models.

Focus on diverse plant-based foods (prebiotics) and fermented foods (polyphenols/probiotics) rather than relying on specific supplement brands. Human evidence for specific probiotic strains is mixed, so consistency in dietary fiber intake is likely more impactful than isolated supplements.