Browse the evidence

On-body sensors (inertial, acoustic, physiological) can accurately detect eating events (gestures, chewing, swallowing) and classify food types, offering a continuous alternative to manual logging.

Wearable sensors can track your eating habits automatically by detecting gestures, chewing sounds, and swallowing. While current prototypes may be uncomfortable, they offer a more accurate and continuous view of your diet than manual logging.

Continuous, location-independent monitoring via on-body sensors is superior to ambient-embedded sensors for capturing real-world eating behaviors, including snacks and meals outside the home.

To get a complete picture of your diet, tracking must happen everywhere you go, not just at home. On-body sensors provide this continuous, location-independent monitoring.

Restricting-type anorexia nervosa (R-AN) patients require more calories to gain weight than binge-purging-type (BP-AN) patients.

If you have the restricting subtype of anorexia, you may need even higher calories than standard guidelines suggest compared to those who purge, as your body may be less efficient at converting calories to tissue.

Very low-volume SIT improves glycemic control (24h average blood glucose and glucose AUC) and increases GLUT4 protein content in men, but these specific metabolic adaptations were not observed in women in this study.

If you are a woman, be aware that this specific 3-minute SIT protocol may not improve your 24-hour blood glucose levels or increase muscle glucose transporters (GLUT4) to the same extent as it does for men, based on this study. While you still gain cardiovascular benefits (VO2 peak, blood pressure), you may need to combine this with other dietary or exercise strategies to manage blood sugar effectively.

Chronic magnesium supplementation (2 g/day) improves insulin response and action in aged non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) subjects.

If you have type 2 diabetes and are older, ensuring adequate magnesium intake might help your body use insulin better. This study used 2 grams of magnesium daily for 4 weeks, which improved how well insulin worked. Talk to your doctor about checking your magnesium levels and whether supplementation is appropriate for you, especially since magnesium deficiency is common in diabetes.

Adequate intake of zinc (15 mg/day) and copper (0.9 mg/day) supports bone health by stimulating osteoblast activity and inhibiting osteoclastic resorption, whereas deficiency accelerates bone loss.

Ensure you are getting enough zinc (around 15 mg/day) and copper (0.9 mg/day) in your diet, especially if you are postmenopausal or elderly. These minerals help build bone and prevent breakdown. If you are at risk of deficiency, consider a supplement, but be aware that excessive zinc can be toxic, especially if you lack copper.

Magnesium deficiency accelerates bone loss and decreases bone density, with recommended intakes of 400 mg/day for young people and 320-420 mg/day for older adults.

Aim for 400 mg of magnesium daily if you are under 30, and 320-420 mg if you are older, depending on gender. This helps maintain bone density. However, be aware that extremely high intake might not always translate to better bone strength, so stick to recommended ranges.

Short-term administration of the MC4R agonist RM-493 significantly increases resting energy expenditure (REE) and shifts substrate oxidation toward fat in obese individuals.

For obese individuals, activating the MC4R pathway with the drug RM-493 increases the calories your body burns at rest by about 111 kcal per day and shifts your metabolism to burn more fat. This happens without raising blood pressure or heart rate in the short term, though mild side effects like nausea or sexual side effects can occur.

Ginseng supplementation (Panax ginseng or Siberian ginseng) improves cognitive performance, anaerobic performance, and endurance capacity in untrained or moderately trained individuals, primarily through antioxidant properties and central nervous system stimulation.

If you are not a highly trained athlete, Ginseng (specifically Panax ginseng with standardized ginsenosides) may help boost your mental focus and short-burst physical performance. Stick to doses around 200mg daily. If you have high blood pressure, take blood thinners, or are a highly trained athlete, Ginseng likely won't help and may cause side effects like insomnia or heart rate issues.

Green Tea Extract (GTE) supplementation increases 24-hour energy expenditure and fat utilization in active individuals, but does not consistently improve sprint performance or antioxidant enzyme levels in trained sprinters.

If you are trying to manage body fat, Green Tea Extract (specifically with EGCG and caffeine) may help slightly increase your daily energy expenditure and fat burning. However, do not expect it to improve your sprint performance or replace proper training and diet.

Administration of a novel probiotic formulation (WBF-011) containing Akkermansia muciniphila, Anaerobutyricum hallii, Clostridium beijerinckii, Clostridium butyricum, and Bifidobacterium infantis significantly improves postprandial glucose control in subjects with type 2 diabetes.

If you have Type 2 Diabetes, adding a specific probiotic formulation (WBF-011) containing five specific anaerobic bacteria and inulin, taken twice daily with meals for 12 weeks, may help lower your post-meal blood sugar spikes and slightly improve your long-term A1c levels. This intervention was shown to be safe and well-tolerated in a clinical trial, suggesting it could be a useful adjunct to your current diabetes management plan, especially if you are already on metformin.

Long-term pharmacotherapy for obesity (specifically fenfluramine-phentermine combination) produces modest net weight loss (2-10 kg) and improves the likelihood of losing >10% body weight, but weight loss plateaus by 6 months and significant regain occurs upon discontinuation.

Long-term medication can help you lose 2-10 kg and makes it more likely you'll lose over 10% of your body weight, but it is not a cure. You must combine it with diet and exercise. The weight loss plateaus after 6 months, and if you stop the medication, you will likely regain the weight. It is most useful for carefully selected patients who have comorbidities and have struggled with lifestyle changes alone.

Dairy products provide a synergistic anti-obesity effect beyond elemental calcium, likely due to bioactive compounds in the whey fraction.

If you tolerate dairy, include 3-4 servings of low-fat dairy daily during weight loss. This provides synergistic benefits from whey proteins and calcium that are not found in calcium supplements alone.

Replacing 50% of meat and dairy consumption with fruits, vegetables, and cereals significantly reduces annual cardiovascular and cancer mortality in the UK population.

To maximize your long-term health and reduce your environmental footprint, aim to cut your meat and dairy intake by half. Replace those calories with more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. This shift is the single most effective dietary change for preventing heart disease and cancer deaths, far outweighing the benefits of just swapping red meat for chicken. While you should monitor Vitamin B12 levels, this change does not inherently compromise other key nutrients if you eat a varied plant-based diet.

Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption is the primary driver of reduced mortality when meat and dairy are reduced, outweighing the benefits of reduced saturated fat or salt intake.

When you cut back on meat and dairy, make sure you fill that space with plenty of fruits and vegetables. This addition is what actually drives the major health benefits, such as reduced heart disease and cancer risk, far more than just cutting down on fat or salt alone.

Implementing a 20% tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) reduces consumption, leading to significant health-adjusted life year (HALY) gains and healthcare cost savings, with the greatest relative health benefits accruing to the most socioeconomically disadvantaged populations.

A 20% tax on sugary drinks is projected to save the Australian healthcare system billions and add significant healthy life years, particularly for disadvantaged communities. The extra cost to consumers is small (around $35/year for the lowest income group), but the health system savings and health gains are much larger for these same groups.

Dietary substitution of saturated fatty acids (SFA) with oleic acid (a monounsaturated fatty acid) reverses SFA-induced metabolic dysfunction, including insulin resistance and inflammation, by enhancing mitochondrial oxidation and reducing pro-inflammatory lipid intermediates like ceramides and diacylglycerols.

If your diet is high in saturated fats (like red meat or processed foods), try replacing some of those fats with oleic acid-rich sources, such as extra-virgin olive oil. This substitution helps lower inflammation and improves insulin sensitivity by changing how your cells process energy, specifically by reducing harmful lipid byproducts like ceramides.

Daily consumption of a few grams of Nannochloropsis biomass provides a regular dietary intake of essential bioactive compounds, specifically EPA, carotenoids, and polyphenols, which contribute to preventing cardiovascular pathologies and metabolic disorders.

To support heart health and metabolic function, incorporate a few grams of Nannochloropsis biomass into your daily diet. This microalga is rich in EPA and antioxidants, offering a sustainable alternative to fish-based supplements for preventing cardiovascular issues.

Dietary intake of melatonin-rich plant foods (particularly seeds and fruits) increases serum melatonin levels and urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin concentrations in humans, contributing to endogenous modulation.

To support your natural melatonin levels through diet, prioritize eating seeds (like sunflower, flax, sesame) and fruits (like tart cherries, grapes, olives). These plant parts contain the highest concentrations of melatonin found in nature. While your body produces melatonin, dietary intake from these sources contributes to serum levels, which may be particularly beneficial as endogenous production declines with age.

Luseogliflozin (an SGLT2 inhibitor) significantly reduces epicardial fat volume (EFV) in patients with type 2 diabetes over a 12-week period.

For patients with type 2 diabetes and high BMI, Luseogliflozin can reduce dangerous fat around the heart (epicardial fat) within 3 months. However, it may also reduce muscle mass, so combining this medication with resistance training is recommended to preserve strength.

Adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), particularly Crohn's disease, exhibit significant alterations in body composition characterized by reduced fat-free mass and fat mass, which are often masked by normal or elevated BMI.

If you have IBD, do not rely on BMI alone to gauge your health. A normal BMI can hide significant loss of muscle and fat mass. Seek body composition analysis (like DXA or BIA) to detect these hidden deficits, as they impact bone health and quality of life, even if you are not 'underweight' by standard charts.

Corticosteroid therapy in IBD patients is associated with adverse body composition changes, including reduced fat-free mass and increased fat mass, depending on the patient subgroup.

If you are prescribed corticosteroids for IBD, be aware they can cause muscle loss and fat gain, particularly in women. Discuss monitoring strategies with your doctor, but do not avoid necessary treatment due to these side effects, as active disease causes even greater body composition damage.

Reduced fat-free mass (lean mass) in IBD patients is a stronger predictor of bone mineral density (BMD) than fat mass or BMI.

To protect your bones from IBD-related osteoporosis, focus on preserving muscle mass. Lean mass is the key body component that supports bone density, whereas fat mass and BMI do not offer the same protection. Prioritize resistance training and adequate protein intake to maintain lean mass.

Exercise intensity, rather than age, drives the magnitude of the acute hormonal response (testosterone, growth hormone) to exercise in females.

To maximize your hormonal response to exercise, focus on intensity (how hard you feel and your heart rate) rather than worrying about your age. If you push the intensity, your body responds with higher anabolic hormones, regardless of whether you are 20 or 60.