Browse the evidence

BPC-157 accelerates tissue repair (tendons, muscles, ligaments, GI mucosa) by stimulating angiogenesis and modulating inflammation, though it lacks FDA approval and robust human clinical trials.

BPC-157 is a peptide studied for its ability to speed up the healing of tendons, muscles, and gut lining. While animal studies show promising results for tissue repair, it is not yet approved by the FDA for human use. It is sometimes used off-label in sports medicine, but robust human clinical trials are still needed to confirm its safety and efficacy.

Carnivore and animal-based diets do not consistently improve athletic performance and may impair high-intensity exercise capacity due to reduced muscle glycogen and constrained metabolic flexibility.

Do not switch to a carnivore or animal-based diet expecting better performance, especially if your sport involves sprinting, lifting, or high-intensity intervals. These diets reduce muscle glycogen and make it harder to produce energy quickly. While you might lose weight or feel less bloated, your high-intensity performance will likely suffer. Stick to established sports nutrition guidelines that prioritize carbohydrate availability for intense training.

Carnivore and animal-based diets pose significant risks for micronutrient deficiencies, altered gut microbiota, and unfavorable lipid profiles, with no long-term safety data in athletes.

Be cautious with long-term carnivore or animal-based diets. You risk missing key nutrients like fiber, vitamin C, and magnesium, which can affect gut health and recovery. Your cholesterol levels might also rise significantly. There is no long-term safety data for athletes on these diets. If you choose to try it, monitor your blood work closely and consider it experimental, not optimal.

Obesity and poor-quality diets are causing a decline in US life expectancy and an increase in mortality rates for chronic diseases, reversing decades of progress.

Recognize that preventing chronic disease and maintaining longevity requires addressing the root causes (diet quality and obesity) through policy and individual food choices, rather than relying solely on medical treatments for existing conditions.

Exercise training has no significant effect on weight maintenance (prevention of weight regain) after an initial weight loss phase.

Exercise alone is not enough to keep weight off after you've lost it. To maintain your weight loss, you need to focus on sustainable dietary changes, as exercise has not been shown to prevent weight regain on its own.

Internet-based commercial weight loss programs (e.g., eDiets.com) produce minimal weight loss (1.1% at 1 year) and are not recommended based on current evidence.

Internet-based programs like eDiets.com are convenient but produce minimal weight loss (1.1% at 1 year). They are not recommended for significant weight loss. If you choose to use one, be aware that it is unlikely to produce substantial results without additional support.

Time-restricted feeding (TRF) shows promise for health but current evidence is insufficient to draw clear conclusions regarding its efficacy compared to other fasting methods.

Be cautious with time-restricted feeding claims. While popular, there isn't enough scientific evidence yet to confirm it works as well as other fasting methods for weight loss or health markers.

Alternate-day fasting (ADF) preserves resting metabolic rate (RMR) better than daily caloric restriction during weight loss, as indicated by a non-significant decrease in adjusted RMR for ADF compared to a significant decrease for CR.

If you are worried about your metabolism slowing down too much on a diet, ADF might be a better choice than daily restriction. This study suggests ADF may help preserve metabolic rate better, which could make it easier to keep the weight off.

Alternate-day fasting (ADF) leads to a significant increase in Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) levels during the 24-week follow-up period compared to daily caloric restriction, which saw a decrease.

If you are concerned about cognitive function while dieting, ADF might be a better option than daily restriction. This study suggests ADF may increase BDNF levels, a hormone linked to brain health and energy balance, during the follow-up period.

Weight loss maintenance interventions for men are currently insufficiently supported by high-quality evidence, with most studies showing high risk of bias and no maintenance studies meeting low risk criteria.

While initial weight loss programs for men can be effective, there is currently very little high-quality evidence to guide how men should maintain that weight loss long-term. Be cautious of programs claiming specific maintenance protocols without robust scientific backing.

Ramadan Fasting (RF) protocols (28-30 days) have insufficient evidence to draw definitive conclusions regarding their effects on body weight, composition, or glycemic control compared to Time-Restricted Feeding.

Do not rely on Ramadan Fasting as a proven, standalone strategy for weight loss or metabolic health improvement based on current scientific evidence. The data is too sparse to recommend it over established methods like TRF.

The renal safety of long-term low-carbohydrate diets in obese individuals remains undetermined due to insufficient reporting of renal function data in clinical trials.

Do not start a low-carb diet if you have existing kidney disease. For healthy obese individuals, current data does not show harm, but long-term safety is not proven because most studies don't track kidney function. Monitor your health with a doctor.

The impact of a ketogenic diet on endurance performance is controversial and context-dependent, with some studies showing improvement and others showing impairment.

If you are an endurance athlete, switching to keto is risky for performance. Some people improve, but many see a drop in high-intensity performance. It requires a long adaptation period and may not be suitable for all types of endurance sports.

Intermittent fasting does not significantly improve cardiovascular risk factors (lipid profile, blood pressure) or diabetes markers (HbA1c, fasting glucose) compared to daily caloric restriction.

Do not expect intermittent fasting to fix your cholesterol or blood sugar better than a standard calorie-restricted diet. The primary benefit is weight loss, which may indirectly help these markers, but the fasting pattern itself offers no superior advantage for cardiovascular or diabetes risk factors.

Vitamin D supplementation is recommended for fall prevention, but not for cardiovascular disease prevention or death reduction in the general population.

Take Vitamin D to help prevent falls, especially if you are elderly. However, do not take it expecting it to prevent heart disease or extend your life, as there is no evidence for these benefits.

Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is not bidirectionally related to depression; anxiety predicts EDS, but EDS does not predict depression.

If you have excessive daytime sleepiness but not clear depression, check for anxiety. Treating the anxiety might resolve the sleepiness, as EDS does not directly cause depression.

Long-term calorie-restricting diets do not produce sustained weight loss or significant health improvements compared to control groups, and often result in greater weight regain than initial loss.

Relying solely on severe calorie restriction for long-term obesity management is unlikely to succeed. Most people regain the weight, often exceeding their starting weight. Health improvements seen in some studies are often due to other factors like exercise or medication reduction, not the diet itself. Sustainable weight management requires addressing the high rate of weight regain and the methodological biases that make diets appear more effective than they are.

Selenium supplementation (200 mcg/day) decreases cardiovascular disease mortality in populations with low baseline selenium.

For populations with low selenium, increasing intake (e.g., via selenium-enriched foods) may reduce cardiovascular mortality. Individual supplementation should be discussed with a doctor.

Postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT) is associated with a lower risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in women, contradicting assumptions that hormone replacement universally increases stroke risk.

If you are considering or using hormone therapy, discuss your specific stroke risks, particularly for hemorrhagic stroke, with your healthcare provider, as some data suggests it may lower SAH risk.

Migraine with aura is a stroke risk factor more common in women, requiring specific attention in stroke prevention guidelines.

If you have migraines with aura, inform your doctor, as this condition increases your stroke risk and requires specific preventive strategies.

Intensive glucose lowering treatment in type 2 diabetes does not reduce all-cause mortality or cardiovascular death and significantly increases the risk of severe hypoglycemia.

For people with type 2 diabetes, aggressively lowering blood sugar to very low targets (like <7%) does not extend life or prevent heart attacks, and significantly increases the risk of dangerous low blood sugar episodes. Standard care may be safer and equally effective for survival. Focus on overall cardiovascular risk management rather than just hitting a specific low number.

Intensive glucose lowering treatment reduces the risk of non-fatal myocardial infarction and microalbuminuria, but these benefits disappear when restricted to high-quality double-blind trials.

While intensive glucose lowering might slightly reduce the risk of non-fatal heart attacks or early kidney signs (microalbuminuria), this benefit is not robust enough to be seen in the most rigorous studies. Given the increased risk of dangerous low blood sugar, these marginal gains may not be worth the trade-off for many patients.

Creatine supplementation may benefit child development, including premature infants, pregnant/lactating women, and babies.

Creatine might be beneficial for premature infants and pregnant women, but this is still an emerging area of research. Consult a pediatrician or obstetrician before considering supplementation for these groups.

Low baseline Vitamin D status (25(OH)D concentration) is associated with a higher risk of developing hypertension and cardiovascular disease in observational studies, but this association does not translate to benefit from supplementation.

Having low Vitamin D levels is a marker of higher risk for heart issues and high blood pressure, but simply taking Vitamin D supplements does not reduce that risk. Focus on overall health markers rather than just correcting Vitamin D levels for heart health.