Browse the evidence

Post-acute SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with a higher burden of self-reported depression, anxiety, and impaired quality of life across all domains, independent of physical symptoms.

Do not ignore feelings of depression, anxiety, or a drop in quality of life after COVID-19. These are common, measurable outcomes linked to the severity of your illness. Seek support from mental health professionals, as addressing these issues is a critical part of your overall recovery.

Oral administration of live Bacteroides vulgatus and Bacteroides dorei reduces gut microbial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) production, thereby attenuating endotoxemia and inhibiting atherosclerotic lesion formation.

For individuals with coronary artery disease, maintaining or restoring healthy levels of Bacteroides vulgatus and Bacteroides dorei may help reduce systemic inflammation and arterial plaque buildup. This is achieved by lowering gut-derived lipopolysaccharides (LPS) that trigger immune responses. While this study used direct bacterial gavage in mice, the findings suggest that dietary or probiotic strategies supporting these specific bacterial species could be a valuable adjunctive strategy for cardiovascular health, particularly by reducing endotoxemia.

US obesity prevalence has not levelled off but continues to rise, with a temporary pause in men's rates between 2009-2012 followed by a resumption of increase.

Do not assume the obesity epidemic is over because headlines might suggest rates are stable. The data shows that while there was a brief pause in men's obesity rates around 2009-2012, the overall trend is still increasing, particularly for women. Effective, sustainable, and culturally-tailored interventions are still urgently needed to counteract these rising trends.

Obesity disparities are significant across race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, with Non-Hispanic Black and Mexican-American populations facing the highest prevalence and rates of increase.

Recognize that obesity risk is not evenly distributed. Non-Hispanic Black and Mexican-American populations face significantly higher prevalence and rates of increase. Interventions must be culturally tailored and address socioeconomic disparities to be effective.

Combined exercise and nutritional supplementation does not provide a clinically significant additional benefit to muscle mass, strength, or physical performance compared to exercise alone in older adults.

If you are over 60, focus on resistance training. You do not need to buy expensive protein powders, creatine, or amino acid supplements to see improvements in muscle mass, strength, or physical performance. Exercise alone is sufficient for the vast majority of older adults.

Pharmacological elimination of senescent cells (senolytics) or suppression of their secretory phenotype (senomorphics) delays or alleviates multiple age-related pathologies and extends healthspan in animal models.

Current research suggests that clearing senescent cells may help delay age-related diseases. However, effective treatments are still in clinical trials. Do not attempt to self-medicate with unproven supplements claiming to be 'senolytics' without medical supervision, as efficacy and safety are not yet established for general use.

Current global supplies of EPA and DHA from traditional marine sources are insufficient to meet human nutritional requirements, creating a supply-demand gap of over 0.4 to 1 million tonnes annually.

You cannot rely on current global fish stocks alone to meet recommended Omega-3 intake levels for everyone. The system is already strained. Consumers should look for products fortified with novel, sustainable sources of EPA/DHA (like algae oils) to ensure adequate intake without contributing to overfishing.

Novel sources of EPA and DHA, such as genetically modified oilseed crops (canola/camelina) and microalgae, can fully replace fish oil in aquaculture feeds without negative impacts on fish growth or health.

Look for farmed fish fed with novel Omega-3 sources (algae or GM plant oils). These products often have higher or equal Omega-3 levels compared to standard farmed fish and support sustainable fishing practices.

Dietary interventions do not significantly reduce symptoms of anxiety.

While improving your diet can help with depressive symptoms, it is not currently supported by evidence as a primary treatment for anxiety. If you are struggling with anxiety, rely on established treatments like therapy or medication, and use diet as a supportive tool for overall well-being rather than a specific anxiety cure.

Ageing is associated with immunosenescence, leading to increased susceptibility to infections and poorer responses to vaccination.

As you age, your immune system naturally weakens. Ensure you are up-to-date on vaccinations, including flu and pneumonia shots, and maintain a nutrient-rich diet to support your immune health.

Higher fecal short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) levels are associated with gut dysbiosis, increased gut permeability, obesity, and cardiometabolic risk factors, suggesting that high fecal SCFA excretion reflects inefficient absorption rather than health benefits.

High levels of short-chain fatty acids in your stool might not be a sign of a healthy gut; this study links them to obesity and metabolic risks. This suggests your body might not be absorbing these beneficial compounds efficiently. Focus on overall gut health and diversity rather than just maximizing SCFA production, as poor absorption (high fecal SCFA) is a marker of metabolic dysregulation.

Sleep deprivation accelerates the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer's, by impairing the glymphatic clearance of beta-amyloid (Aβ) and increasing neuroinflammation.

Prioritize 7-8 hours of sleep to support your brain's waste clearance system. Sleep deprivation impairs the glymphatic system, leading to the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease. Consistent, adequate sleep is a critical protective factor for long-term cognitive health.

Consumer wearable sleep trackers generally overestimate total sleep time and sleep efficiency while underestimating wake after sleep onset compared to polysomnography, with high sensitivity but low specificity for wake detection.

Use wearable sleep trackers to observe long-term trends in your sleep habits, not to diagnose sleep disorders. Expect them to overestimate how much you slept and underestimate how much you were awake. For clinical concerns, rely on professional sleep studies (PSG).

Obesity increases susceptibility to Covid-19 through mechanisms including chronic inflammation, immune dysfunction, altered lung mechanics, and increased ACE2 expression.

Obesity contributes to severe Covid-19 through chronic inflammation, immune issues, lung mechanics, and higher ACE2 expression. Weight management and medical care for obesity are important for reducing risk.

Diabetes increases susceptibility to Covid-19 through mechanisms including aggravated inflammatory storms, immune dysfunction, lung injury, and increased ACE2 expression.

Diabetes contributes to severe Covid-19 through chronic inflammation, immune issues, lung injury, and higher ACE2 expression. Good glycemic control and medical care for diabetes are important for reducing risk.

The relationship between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lifespan is complex and non-linear; while the Free Radical Theory of Aging posits that ROS accumulation causes aging, experimental evidence shows that both increasing and decreasing ROS levels can extend or shorten lifespan depending on the species and context, suggesting mild ROS elevation can be beneficial via redox signaling.

Do not assume that taking high-dose antioxidant supplements will automatically extend your lifespan. The science suggests that a moderate level of oxidative stress is necessary for cellular signaling and health. Instead of focusing solely on eliminating ROS, focus on overall healthspan factors like exercise, which naturally modulates ROS in a beneficial way. The relationship between ROS and aging is too complex for simple 'antioxidant = longevity' rules.

Biological age biomarkers (e.g., arterial stiffness, epigenetic clocks) provide a more accurate assessment of cardiovascular risk and mortality than chronological age alone.

Do not rely on your birth year to assess your heart health. Ask for biological age assessments, such as arterial stiffness (PWV) or coronary artery calcium scoring, to get a true picture of your cardiovascular risk and take early preventive action.

Accumulation of Advanced Lipoxidation and Glycation End Products (ALEs and AGEs) driven by oxidative stress causes protein cross-linking and aggregation, leading to cellular dysfunction, damage, and death, which are key mechanisms in aging and age-related chronic diseases.

Aging and chronic diseases are linked to the accumulation of damaged proteins (ALEs/AGEs) caused by oxidative stress. Strategies that support the body's antioxidant systems and protein quality control (like caloric restriction or specific nutrient supplementation mentioned in the paper) may help delay these processes.

Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a valid biomarker for estimating biological age and predicting mortality risk, but it is not a standalone clinical risk marker for age-related pathologies due to high inter-individual variability and inconsistent correlations with specific diseases.

Use telomere length as one data point in a broader assessment of biological age, alongside other markers like epigenetic clocks or frailty indices. Do not rely on it alone to diagnose disease risk or predict mortality. Focus on modifiable lifestyle factors (stress management, nutrition, exercise) which are shown to influence telomere dynamics.

Combining multiple dietary assessment methods (e.g., FFQ and 24-HDR) and using statistical modeling reduces within-person variation and improves the accuracy of usual intake estimates.

To get accurate usual intake data, combine different dietary assessment methods and use statistical modeling to account for within-person variation.

GrimAge epigenetic age acceleration (GrimAgeAA) is a superior predictor of age-related clinical phenotypes and all-cause mortality compared to first-generation (Horvath, Hannum) and second-generation (PhenoAge) epigenetic clocks, remaining significant after adjusting for socioeconomic and lifestyle factors.

Use GrimAge epigenetic testing as a high-fidelity biomarker to assess your biological aging risk. Unlike standard age, GrimAge accounts for lifestyle and environmental impacts. A high GrimAgeAA score indicates a significantly higher risk of mortality and functional decline (e.g., frailty, slower walking speed). This information should be used to intensify preventive health measures, such as optimizing cardiovascular health, managing smoking status, and maintaining physical activity, rather than as a deterministic prediction of fate.

In nonmetastatic colorectal cancer patients, the co-occurrence of systemic inflammation (elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio ≥3) and sarcopenia (low skeletal muscle index) doubles the risk of overall and cancer-specific mortality compared to having neither condition.

If you have early-stage colorectal cancer, ask your care team to check your muscle mass (via CT scan) and inflammation markers (blood test) early on. Having both low muscle and high inflammation significantly increases your risk of death, but because these factors are modifiable, identifying them opens the door for interventions like resistance training and nutritional support to potentially improve your survival chances.

Higher genetically predicted body mass index (BMI) and fat mass index causally increase the risk of aortic valve stenosis, heart failure, deep vein thrombosis, arterial hypertension, peripheral artery disease, coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, and pulmonary embolism.

Maintaining a healthy body weight, specifically by reducing fat mass, is a critical step in preventing a wide range of cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure, coronary artery disease, and aortic valve stenosis. Genetic predisposition to higher BMI increases this risk, suggesting that lifestyle interventions aimed at weight loss and fat reduction are essential for cardiovascular health, regardless of current symptoms.

Higher genetically predicted fat mass index is strongly associated with an increased risk of aortic valve stenosis, with the strongest magnitude of association observed among all cardiovascular conditions studied.

Reducing fat mass is particularly important for preventing aortic valve stenosis, as it shows the strongest association among all cardiovascular conditions studied. Focus on fat loss strategies, such as caloric deficit and aerobic exercise, to specifically target fat mass reduction for better heart valve health.