Browse the evidence

Bariatric surgery is associated with a significantly lower risk of incident coronary artery disease (CAD) compared to usual medical care in patients with type 2 diabetes and severe obesity.

For patients with severe obesity and type 2 diabetes, bariatric surgery is associated with a significantly lower risk of coronary artery disease (heart attacks, angina, interventions) compared to standard medical care.

Consumption of fermented foods containing live lactic acid bacteria (LAB) delivers high loads of viable microbes (up to 10^9 CFU/g or ml) to the human gastrointestinal tract, contributing to the transient gut microbiome and offering health-promoting properties via metabolic activity.

Eat fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, kimchi, and sauerkraut that contain live cultures. These deliver billions of bacteria to your gut, which may support health through metabolic byproducts and transient microbial presence. Avoid assuming all fermented foods (like bread or beer) contain live bacteria, as heat or processing often kills them. For maximum benefit, choose artisanal or refrigerated products over heavily processed shelf-stable versions.

Disruption of circadian rhythms and sleep loss alters gut microbiota composition (dysbiosis), leading to increased intestinal permeability and systemic low-grade inflammation, which contributes to metabolic dysfunction and mood disorders.

Prioritize consistent sleep schedules and duration. If you are a shift worker or experience jet lag, be aware that your gut health and metabolic risk are compromised. Restoring circadian alignment is a prerequisite for optimal gut barrier function and metabolic health.

Motorized treadmill running is biomechanically comparable to overground running for most spatiotemporal, kinematic, kinetic, and muscle activity measures, with specific exceptions in sagittal plane kinematics at footstrike.

You can use a motorized treadmill for most of your training without worrying about drastically different biomechanics compared to running outside. The study shows that speed, stride length, and muscle activation are largely the same. However, be aware that your foot lands at a slightly different angle and your knee bends differently on a treadmill. If you are using treadmill data to prescribe specific gait corrections or footwear for outdoor racing, account for these small sagittal plane differences.

Cylindrical foam rollers are more effective than roller massagers (bars/sticks) for recovering strength performance post-exercise, though device type does not significantly impact pre-rolling performance gains.

If you are choosing between a foam roller and a roller massager (bar/stick) for post-workout strength recovery, a cylindrical foam roller may be slightly more effective. For pre-workout warm-ups, the type of device matters less.

Dietary phospholipids (PLs) containing omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) provide superior anti-inflammatory benefits and more efficient tissue incorporation compared to omega-3 PUFAs in triglyceride (TAG) form.

If you are taking fish oil for inflammation, consider switching to a phospholipid-based source (like krill oil or specific marine phospholipid extracts). The paper suggests these deliver omega-3s more efficiently to your tissues and may work at lower doses than standard triglyceride fish oils, potentially offering better anti-inflammatory results with fewer side effects.

Sleep deprivation impairs endurance performance (time to exhaustion, distance covered) and accuracy/reaction time, but its effect on anaerobic power (peak/mean power) is inconsistent and less clear.

Be aware that sleep deprivation consistently hurts your endurance and accuracy. While its effect on pure strength or sprint power might be less consistent, you cannot rely on sleep loss to 'boost' performance. Ensure you get adequate sleep to maintain your accuracy and endurance levels.

Integrative nutritional biomarkers, which combine exposure and effect data, enable precision nutrition by accounting for inter-individual genetic and epigenetic variations in response to diet.

Personalized nutrition is moving beyond one-size-fits-all diets. By using integrative biomarkers that reflect both what you eat and how your body responds (influenced by your genetics), you can receive dietary recommendations tailored to your unique biology for optimal health.

Adherence to a Mediterranean Diet may attenuate the negative cardiovascular effects associated with specific genetic polymorphisms, such as the T-allele of the TCF7L2 gene and the G-allele of the MLXIPL gene.

If you have a family history of heart disease or diabetes, adhering to a Mediterranean Diet may be particularly beneficial in mitigating your genetic risk. Consult a genetic counselor or doctor for personalized advice.

Long-term adherence to a Mediterranean Diet is associated with longer telomere length, a marker of biological age, particularly in women and those with specific PPARγ2 gene variants.

Maintaining a Mediterranean Diet over the long term may support cellular health markers associated with aging, such as telomere length, especially for women.

Dietary fiber interventions in humans alter gut microbiota composition and increase short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production, but the resulting impact on metabolic regulation (insulin sensitivity, lipid profiles) is highly heterogeneous and not consistently observed across all study populations.

Increasing dietary fiber intake is likely to change your gut bacteria, but it may not automatically fix metabolic issues like insulin resistance or high cholesterol. The benefit depends heavily on the specific type of fiber (e.g., soluble vs. insoluble) and your unique gut microbiome profile. Focus on diverse, whole-food sources of fiber rather than assuming all supplements or fiber types yield the same metabolic results.

Plant-based diets (vegetarian or vegan) do not provide advantages for strength, anaerobic, or aerobic exercise performance compared to omnivorous diets, though they are viable for supporting athletic performance.

You do not need to eat meat to perform at a high level. Current research indicates that vegetarian and vegan diets support strength, anaerobic, and aerobic performance equally well to omnivorous diets, provided you consume enough total protein and variety. Focus on getting adequate calories and protein from diverse plant sources to match your training demands.

High consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is associated with a three-fold increased risk of incident frailty in older adults.

Limit your intake of ultra-processed foods, such as packaged snacks, sugary drinks, and processed meats. High consumption is linked to a three-fold increased risk of frailty. Focus on minimally processed foods.

Very Low Carbohydrate Ketogenic Diets (VLCKD) alter gut microbiota composition by generally decreasing alpha diversity and richness, while selectively increasing beneficial bacteria such as Akkermansia muciniphila and Lactobacillus, which may contribute to metabolic and neurological benefits.

If you start a ketogenic diet, expect your gut bacteria to change. You might see a drop in overall variety, but this often comes with an increase in beneficial bacteria like Akkermansia and Lactobacillus. This shift is linked to the diet's benefits for seizures and metabolism. If you have specific gut issues, monitor your response, as individual results vary.

Advanced resistance training techniques (supersets, drop sets, cluster sets, BFR, AEL) provide time-efficient alternatives to traditional training for maximizing muscle hypertrophy, particularly for breaking plateaus and preventing monotony, though they do not consistently yield superior chronic hypertrophy compared to matched-volume traditional training.

If you are a trained lifter stuck on a plateau or short on time, swap some of your traditional sets for advanced techniques. Use supersets (agonist-antagonist) or cluster sets to lift more total weight in less time. Use Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) with light weights (20-40% 1RM) to get similar growth to heavy lifting without joint stress. Use Drop Sets or Sarcoplasmic Stimulating Training (SST) to induce metabolic stress efficiently. Do not expect these to magically grow muscle faster than heavy traditional training if you match the volume; use them to break monotony and save time.

Probiotic supplementation does not consistently improve athletic performance metrics (e.g., VO2 max, peak power) across all strains and populations.

Do not take probiotics expecting a direct boost in speed or strength. The evidence for performance enhancement is mixed and strain-specific. Focus on strains with validated health benefits (e.g., immune support) instead.

Genetic susceptibility to obesity, measured by polygenic risk scores, is partly mediated by emotional and uncontrolled eating behaviors.

Your genetics may make you more susceptible to emotional eating, but this doesn't mean you are powerless. Focus on managing your environment and behaviors, such as reducing access to energy-dense foods and learning emotion regulation skills, to mitigate genetic risk.

Fermentation of plant-based matrices using exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing lactic acid bacteria improves the textural properties (viscosity, water-holding capacity) and stability of plant-based yogurt-like products, serving as a clean-label alternative to added hydrocolloids.

To get a creamy, stable plant-based yogurt without added gums, look for products fermented with specific EPS-producing bacteria (like certain strains of Weissella or Lactobacillus). This natural process creates a thicker texture and better mouthfeel than unfermented plant milks.

Dietary non-digestible carbohydrates (fiber) serve as the primary carbon source for gut bacteria, and their fermentation into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate regulates mucosal immune homeostasis by influencing T-cell differentiation and barrier integrity.

Prioritize non-digestible carbohydrates (fiber) from diverse plant sources as your primary fuel for gut bacteria. This fermentation process produces short-chain fatty acids like butyrate, which are critical for maintaining the intestinal barrier and regulating immune cells (Tregs and Th17). A lack of fiber leads to reduced bacterial diversity and increased susceptibility to inflammation.

Specific bacterial metabolites, particularly short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate and polysaccharides like PSA, directly modulate adaptive immunity by promoting Treg differentiation and suppressing pro-inflammatory Th17 responses.

To support immune balance, focus on consuming fiber-rich foods that feed your gut bacteria to produce SCFAs like butyrate. These metabolites help expand regulatory T cells (Tregs) which calm inflammation, while suppressing excessive inflammatory Th17 responses. This is a key mechanism for preventing autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.

Acute sarcopenia in post-COVID-19 patients is driven by a multi-factorial mechanism involving hyper-inflammatory cytokine storms, mitochondrial dysfunction, and immobility, leading to rapid muscle mass and strength loss.

If you have recovered from severe COVID-19, expect some muscle loss due to the illness's inflammatory impact. Prioritize early nutritional support (high protein) and gradual, supervised physical rehabilitation to counteract this loss, rather than assuming it is permanent.

Muscle-strengthening activities are associated with a 17% lower incidence of diabetes, with risk decreasing markedly up to 60 minutes per week (L-shaped association).

To reduce your risk of developing diabetes, incorporate 30-60 minutes of muscle-strengthening exercises per week. The biggest benefit comes from getting up to 60 minutes, after which additional time yields diminishing returns for diabetes risk specifically.

Higher adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet (MeDi) in middle-aged adults is associated with slower longitudinal progression of Alzheimer's disease biomarkers, specifically reduced rates of cerebral glucose hypometabolism and beta-amyloid deposition, compared to lower adherence.

Adopting a Mediterranean-style diet in middle age may help slow the brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease, such as reduced glucose metabolism and amyloid buildup. Focus on increasing fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals, and fish, while reducing dairy, meat, and saturated fats. This dietary pattern may provide up to 3.5 years of protection against these specific brain biomarkers.

During pandemic lockdowns, university students experienced a significant decrease in nutrient and caloric intake alongside a significant increase in alcohol consumption.

During disruptions, prioritize maintaining nutrient density even if calories drop. Be aware that alcohol consumption may increase as a coping mechanism, which can further displace essential nutrients.