Browse the evidence

Reducing the number of repetitions per set by 50% (from 10 to 5) while maintaining the same load and rest intervals prevents the depletion of muscle phosphocreatine (PCr) and ATP, thereby maintaining power output and avoiding the metabolic disruption associated with training to failure.

If your goal is to maintain power output across multiple sets, stop each set before you fail. In this study, doing 5 reps per set (instead of 10) with the same weight preserved energy stores (PCr and ATP) and kept power output stable, whereas going to failure depleted energy and dropped power by 33%. You can likely achieve similar strength benefits with less metabolic waste by stopping 1-2 reps short of failure.

Increasing adherence to plant-based dietary patterns over time is associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and a marginally lower risk of mortality.

Improving your diet to include more plant-based foods over time can lower your risk of type 2 diabetes and may slightly reduce your risk of death.

Higher-dose exercise (higher intensity, duration, or frequency) may improve overall functioning and depressive symptoms more than moderate-dose exercise, but compliance is lower.

While higher intensity exercise might offer slight benefits for overall physical functioning, moderate intensity is sufficient for reducing depression and is easier to sustain. Prioritize consistency over intensity to avoid dropout.

BMI and waist circumference are practical, economically viable predictors of insulin resistance, despite visceral fat being the strongest biological predictor.

For routine health checks, use waist circumference and BMI. They are cheap, easy, and good enough predictors of insulin resistance risk, even if they are not as accurate as MRI or DEXA scans for measuring visceral fat.

High-intensity exercise (80% VO2max) elicits a significantly greater relative increase in circulating irisin levels compared to low-intensity exercise (40% VO2max) when energy expenditure is matched, with peak relative increases occurring 6-19 hours post-exercise.

To maximize the release of irisin, a hormone linked to metabolic health and fat oxidation, prioritize high-intensity running (80% of your max oxygen uptake) over low-intensity jogging, even if you burn the same number of calories. The benefits of high intensity on this specific marker persist for up to 19 hours after your workout.

Intermittent Fasting (IF) and Intermittent Energy Restriction (IER) improve insulin sensitivity (HOMA-IR) to a greater extent than Continuous Energy Restriction (CER) in some studies, potentially due to rapid mobilization of visceral and hepatic fat.

If you have insulin resistance or Type 2 Diabetes, trying 2 days of significant calorie restriction per week may improve your blood sugar control better than daily dieting, likely by clearing fat from your liver. Ensure you eat enough protein on all days to protect muscle.

Fasting-mimicking diets (FMD) and periodic fasting provide healthspan benefits and rejuvenate systems (like hematopoietic and neural) by mimicking physiological responses to fasting without complete food deprivation.

You can achieve some of the regenerative benefits of fasting (like stem cell renewal) without starving yourself by using a Fasting-Mimicking Diet. This involves consuming very low calories and protein for specific periods, which triggers the body's stress response and regeneration pathways. This approach may be more feasible for people who find traditional fasting too difficult.

Among Spanish university students, higher diet quality is significantly associated with the practice of physical activity, while smoking status (non-smoking) is also independently associated with being physically active.

If you are a student trying to improve your diet, incorporating regular physical activity is a strong predictor of better diet quality. Conversely, focusing on diet quality is associated with being physically active. Address these habits together rather than in isolation.

Non-smoking status is significantly associated with physical activity practice in Spanish university students, independent of diet quality and gender.

For students, being a non-smoker is significantly associated with being physically active. If you are trying to start exercising, addressing smoking cessation may support your physical activity goals, as these behaviors tend to cluster.

Higher number of meals consumed daily is positively correlated with higher diet quality scores (DDS, MDS, DGS, GDQS) in Spanish university students.

Students who eat more meals per day tend to have higher diet quality. Consider eating more frequently rather than skipping meals to improve your overall diet.

Abrupt reduction in physical activity (specifically step counts to <1,500/day) in older adults causes rapid loss of leg fat-free mass (approx. 4% in 14 days) and muscle strength (approx. 8% in 2 weeks), leading to anabolic resistance and worsened glucose handling.

If you are an older adult or care for one, do not assume that staying home during a lockdown is physically neutral. Inactivity causes rapid muscle loss and metabolic issues. You must actively break up sitting time with light strolling, standing, or household chores, and perform resistance exercises at home to maintain muscle mass and strength.

Weight loss interventions in breast cancer survivors lead to improvements in clinical biomarkers, specifically reductions in insulin, insulin resistance, LDL-cholesterol, and glucose, though effects on inflammatory markers and sex hormones are inconsistent.

Losing weight through diet and exercise can improve your blood sugar control and cholesterol levels, even after breast cancer treatment. This is particularly true if you lose at least 5% of your body weight.

Unimolecular GLP-1/glucagon receptor co-agonists produce superior weight loss and metabolic improvements compared to GLP-1 mono-agonists by combining central satiety signaling with peripheral thermogenesis and lipolysis, while the GLP-1 component buffers the hyperglycemic risks of glucagon.

This research supports the use of GLP-1/glucagon co-agonists (like those currently in clinical trials or recently approved, e.g., tirzepatide, though this paper predates specific approvals) for treating obesity and type 2 diabetes. These drugs work by hitting two receptors: one to reduce appetite (GLP-1) and one to burn energy (Glucagon). The key advantage is that they are more effective than older GLP-1-only drugs (like liraglutide) and do not raise blood sugar, thanks to the balancing effect of the GLP-1 component. They are administered once weekly via injection. Patients should be aware of potential nausea, which is common but often manageable, and that long-term safety data is still being gathered.

High total fat intake has little influence on vascular function independent of fatty acid composition, whereas single high-fat meals acutely impair endothelial function compared with low-fat meals.

Focus on the type of fat you eat rather than just cutting total fat. While a single high-fat meal might temporarily stress your blood vessels, your long-term vascular health is determined by whether you consume saturated fats (which are harmful) or unsaturated fats (which are beneficial).

Saturated fatty acids adversely affect vascular function, while polyunsaturated fatty acids (specifically linoleic acid, EPA, and DHA) are beneficial for blood pressure and arterial compliance.

Prioritize unsaturated fats, especially omega-3s (EPA and DHA from fish), to support blood pressure and arterial health. Limit saturated fats, as they are associated with adverse vascular effects. This distinction is more important than the total amount of fat consumed.

Late-afternoon resistance training elicits greater hypertrophy and strength adaptations than morning training due to a higher exercise-induced testosterone response, despite higher baseline morning testosterone levels.

If your goal is maximizing muscle growth and strength, schedule your heavy resistance training sessions for the late afternoon (e.g., 4 PM - 8 PM). While your testosterone is naturally higher in the morning, your body's hormonal response to the stress of lifting weights is significantly greater in the late afternoon, leading to better long-term gains. Avoid morning training if you can, as high morning cortisol may blunt the anabolic benefits of morning testosterone.

Repeated morning resistance training can blunt the typical diurnal variation in strength performance, effectively increasing morning strength to match afternoon levels.

If you are forced to train in the morning due to schedule constraints, do not worry about the 'afternoon peak' myth. Consistent morning training will adapt your body, increasing your morning strength to levels comparable to the afternoon. The key is consistency; your body will adjust its circadian strength rhythm to match your training schedule.

Administration of 3 g American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) reduces postprandial glycemia in type 2 diabetic individuals, with no significant additional benefit from escalating the dose to 6 g or 9 g.

If you have Type 2 Diabetes, take 3 grams of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) either with your meal or up to 2 hours before it to significantly blunt your blood sugar spike. You do not need to take higher doses (6g or 9g) for better results, nor do you need to worry about the exact timing as long as it is within that 2-hour window. It will not cause low blood sugar on its own.

In older adults (aged 50+), lower serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels are significantly associated with a higher risk of sarcopenia, independent of obesity and other lifestyle factors.

If you are over 50, ensuring adequate Vitamin D levels may help protect against muscle loss (sarcopenia). This study links higher Vitamin D levels with lower sarcopenia risk, independent of weight. Consult a doctor to check your levels, as deficiency is common and potentially modifiable.

In older men with diabetes, treatment with insulin sensitizers (metformin and/or thiazolidinediones) significantly attenuates the accelerated loss of total and appendicular lean mass compared to untreated diabetes or diabetes treated without insulin sensitizers.

If you are an older man with diabetes, ask your doctor if your current medication is an 'insulin sensitizer' like metformin or a thiazolidinedione. This study suggests these drugs may help protect your muscle mass from the accelerated loss often seen in diabetes. If you are not on one, or are on other diabetes meds, discuss whether switching to or adding an insulin sensitizer might help preserve your strength and mobility.

High perceived stress is directly associated with unhealthy eating behaviors (emotional eating and uncontrolled eating) but does NOT influence weight status through these behaviors.

Stress reliably triggers emotional and uncontrolled eating in this population. However, changing these behaviors alone may not reduce severe obesity if the direct physiological stress response (e.g., cortisol) remains unaddressed.

Reliance on fast food and ethnic restaurants, driven by cost, convenience, and advertising, contributes to higher consumption of energy-dense, low-nutrient foods in low-income Latino families.

To improve diet, interventions should help families identify affordable, healthy alternatives to fast food and leverage programs like WIC to reduce the cost barrier. Addressing the 'convenience' factor is key.

Long-term adherence to low-carbohydrate-high-protein (LCHP) diets, particularly those high in animal protein and fat, is associated with an increased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, whereas vegetable-based LCHP diets are associated with lower mortality.

If you follow a low-carb, high-protein diet, prioritize plant-based proteins and fats. Animal-based high-protein, low-carb diets may be associated with higher mortality risks in the long term.

Vegetable protein intake is inversely associated with cardiovascular mortality and blood pressure, while total protein intake per se has an inconclusive relationship with all-cause mortality.

Include more vegetable proteins in your diet to potentially support cardiovascular health and lower blood pressure.