Browse the evidence

In humans, modest dietary restriction combined with exercise is associated with smaller nucleoli in muscle biopsies.

For older adults, combining a modest 12.5% reduction in calories with a 12.5% increase in physical activity over 13 weeks was associated with smaller nucleoli in muscle tissue. This suggests that these lifestyle changes may improve cellular metabolic health.

Obesity is driven by a 'Nutrition Transition' involving three overlapping processes: dietary changes, physical environment changes, and cultural shifts, which must be addressed simultaneously for policy to be effective.

Understand that obesity is not just about food or exercise, but about how our culture, environment, and food systems interact. Effective solutions require changing the environment (e.g., urban design, food availability) and cultural norms, not just individual knowledge.

Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) induces a leaner gut microbiota phenotype (increased Bacteroidetes, decreased Firmicutes) and enhances fat malabsorption, whereas very low calorie diet (VLCD) increases the energy-reabsorbing potential of the microbiota despite achieving identical weight loss.

If you lose weight through surgery (LSG) versus a strict low-calorie diet, your gut bacteria adapt differently. Surgery shifts your microbiome towards a 'lean' profile (more Bacteroidetes, fewer Firmicutes) and increases fat excretion, while dieting may actually increase your gut's ability to harvest energy from food. This suggests surgery might have a unique metabolic advantage beyond just eating less.

Moderate exercise combined with appropriate energy and protein intake is a necessary intervention to reverse sarcopenia in cirrhosis, potentially alongside pharmacological agents like BCAAs or testosterone.

Cirrhosis patients should engage in moderate exercise alongside a high-protein, high-calorie diet (1.2-1.5g/kg protein, >35 kcal/kg). A late-night snack is crucial to prevent overnight catabolism.

Branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplementation (0.45 g/kg or 12g/day) can improve ammonia metabolism and nitrogen balance in cirrhosis patients, though single doses may transiently raise blood ammonia.

BCAA supplementation (12g/day) is a viable long-term strategy to lower ammonia levels in cirrhosis. Single doses may spike ammonia, so long-term use is preferred.

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.

Tart Montmorency cherry juice and pomegranate extracts accelerate the recovery of muscle function and reduce soreness following eccentric exercise.

If you have a competition or hard training session in 2-3 days, consume tart cherry juice (approx. 2 servings/day) starting 4 days prior. Note that the specific effective dose is not standardized, and the benefit may be modest compared to the cost.

Vitamin D supplementation (4,000 IU/day) augments the recovery of maximal force after eccentric exercise in vitamin D-insufficient individuals.

If you are vitamin D deficient, take 4,000 IU of Vitamin D3 daily, especially during winter. This helps your muscles recover force faster after hard workouts. Do not use mega-bolus monthly doses.

Natural phytochemicals (resveratrol, quercetin, berberine, curcumin, fisetin) activate SIRT1, which modulates metabolic pathways, reduces oxidative stress, and exerts anti-inflammatory effects, potentially preventing or treating metabolic disorders.

Incorporate foods rich in polyphenols (berries, grapes, onions, turmeric, green tea) into your diet. While isolated high-dose supplements face bioavailability challenges, the cumulative effect of these compounds through whole foods may support SIRT1 activity, helping manage oxidative stress and inflammation associated with metabolic health.

Non-digestible oligosaccharides (NDOs) such as inulin and oligofructose increase true fractional calcium absorption in adolescents and postmenopausal women.

If you are an adolescent or postmenopausal woman, consuming 8-15 grams of inulin or oligofructose daily (e.g., in fortified orange juice) can significantly improve how much calcium your body absorbs. This is a functional food approach that may help if you struggle to meet calcium requirements through diet alone.

High-intensity interval training (HIT) improves aerobic capacity, mitochondrial function, and cardiac function in heart failure patients, but carries higher inherent risks requiring caution.

If you have stable heart failure, high-intensity interval training (short bursts of high effort followed by rest) can significantly improve your heart's pumping ability and energy levels more than moderate continuous exercise. However, this must be done under medical supervision due to safety risks.

A Ketogenic Diet (KD) enhances endurance exercise capacity and prevents muscle injury during exhaustive exercise by altering lipid metabolism and IL-6 synthesis, though it may increase intramuscular oxidative stress.

A high-fat, low-carb diet may help endurance athletes by improving fat oxidation and preventing muscle damage, but monitor for increased oxidative stress.

High neuroticism and impulsivity are risk factors for obesity, while high conscientiousness and self-control act as protective factors against weight gain.

If you struggle with weight, recognize that traits like impulsivity or neuroticism are risk factors, not life sentences. Focus on building self-control skills and regulating internal urges, as these psychological levers directly influence eating behavior and physical activity adherence.

Sensitivity to reward and impulsivity are positively correlated with obesity and metabolic syndrome, particularly in specific demographic subgroups.

If you are highly sensitive to rewards, standard diet advice may fail because your brain prioritizes immediate gratification. Use environmental controls to reduce exposure to high-reward foods and practice delaying gratification to counteract impulsivity.

Conscientiousness and self-control are protective factors against weight gain by regulating internal urges and providing control over impulsive behavior.

Leverage your natural self-discipline by focusing on consistency rather than perfection. Use your ability to regulate urges to create structured eating and activity routines, which serves as a strong buffer against weight gain.

Combining beta-alanine with sodium bicarbonate or creatine may provide a modest additive ergogenic effect, but evidence for a synergistic effect is mixed and not consistently statistically significant.

If you use beta-alanine, adding sodium bicarbonate or creatine might offer a small additional boost, but results are inconsistent. Be aware that sodium bicarbonate can cause GI distress. The modest benefit may not justify the complexity for everyone.

Within-day energy deficiency, where energy intake and expenditure are assessed in 1-hour intervals, reveals that athletes with menstrual dysfunction spend significantly more time in an energy-deficient state (>300 kcal deficit) than eumenorrheic athletes, even when total daily energy availability appears similar.

Don't just look at your total daily calories. If you train hard, ensure you are eating enough *around* your training sessions. Spreading your intake to avoid large deficits during and immediately after exercise may help protect your hormonal health, even if your total daily calories look okay on paper.

Targeted diabetes self-management education improves glycemic control (A1c) and self-efficacy in food-insecure individuals, often more significantly than in food-secure individuals.

If you are food-insecure, diabetes education is highly effective for you. Studies show that food-insecure patients often benefit MORE from self-management education than food-secure patients. Ensure your education focuses on practical, cost-neutral strategies for managing blood sugar when food access is limited.

Chitosan reduces total cholesterol by approximately 5% but has inconsistent effects on LDL-C, HDL-C, and triglycerides, with limited long-term efficacy data.

Chitosan may lower total cholesterol slightly, but it does not reliably lower LDL-C. Given its inconsistent effects and potential for gastrointestinal side effects, it is not a first-line supplement for lipid management.

Consumption of edible mushrooms provides bioactive compounds (polysaccharides, phenolics, terpenoids) that exert anti-carcinogenic, antioxidant, and hypocholesterolemic effects, potentially reducing risks of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and liver injury.

Incorporate edible mushrooms (like white button, oyster, or shiitake) into your diet regularly to gain access to unique bioactive compounds like beta-glucans and phenolics. These compounds support heart health by lowering cholesterol, boost immunity, and may help reduce cancer risk. You don't need to eat them in large quantities; their potency comes from these specific nutrients. If you dislike the texture, look for mushroom extracts or powders added to other foods.

Dual GCGR-GLP-1R co-agonists (e.g., cotadutide) reduce body weight and improve NASH histology, but their efficacy in humans is currently comparable to, not superior to, optimized GLP-1R agonists.

For those with Type 2 Diabetes and NASH (liver disease), dual-acting drugs like cotadutide offer a way to target both weight and liver health. However, current human trials show these drugs are roughly as effective as standard GLP-1 injections (like liraglutide) for weight loss, and less effective than the newer GLP-1/GIP combinations (like tirzepatide). They are a viable option, especially if liver health is a primary concern, but may not offer the maximum weight loss benefit available.

Implementing a 20% tax on sugar-sweetened drinks in the UK reduces the prevalence of obesity by 1.3% (approx. 180,000 adults) and overweight by 0.9% (approx. 285,000 adults) through a mechanism of reduced energy intake driven by price elasticity.

A 20% tax on sugary drinks in the UK is projected to reduce the number of obese adults by 1.3%. This policy works by making sugary drinks more expensive, leading to a modest but significant reduction in consumption and overall energy intake across all income groups.

Marine microalgae (specifically Schizochytrium and Crypthecodinium species) provide a sustainable, non-polluted source of DHA and EPA that serves as a viable alternative to fish oil for human supplementation and infant formula enrichment.

If you want the health benefits of Omega-3s (DHA and EPA) but want to avoid fish due to taste, smell, or concerns about mercury/pollutants, choose a supplement derived from marine microalgae (like Schizochytrium or Crypthecodinium). These are widely available, safe for infants and pregnant women, and provide the same fatty acids as fish oil without the fishy aftertaste or environmental risks.

Combined lifestyle interventions (diet, exercise, education, self-monitoring) for gestational diabetes reduce the risk of large-for-gestational age (LGA) infants and decrease neonatal fat mass.

For women with gestational diabetes, combining healthy eating, physical activity, and blood glucose monitoring helps prevent having an overly large baby and reduces fetal fat mass. This approach is the primary recommended treatment.