Browse the evidence

Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet) significantly reduces the incidence of major cardiovascular events, including coronary heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular mortality, in high-risk populations.

Adopt a Mediterranean-style eating pattern as your primary dietary strategy for heart health. Prioritize extra-virgin olive oil as your main cooking fat, fill your plate with minimally processed vegetables, fruits, legumes, and nuts, and include moderate amounts of fish and poultry. Limit red and processed meats, refined grains, and full-fat dairy. If you drink alcohol, moderate red wine with meals is consistent with the traditional pattern, but do not start drinking if you do not already. This pattern has been shown to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular death by approximately 30% in high-risk individuals.

A self-regulation program emphasizing daily self-weighing and behavioral adjustment significantly reduces the risk of regaining 2.3 kg or more over 18 months compared to standard newsletters, with face-to-face delivery being superior to internet delivery for minimizing total weight regain.

To maintain weight loss, you must actively monitor your weight daily and adjust your diet or exercise if you gain more than 1.4 kg. Use a self-regulation system: stay in the 'green zone' (maintain), solve problems in the 'yellow zone' (1.4-2.2 kg gain), and restart active weight loss efforts if you enter the 'red zone' (>=2.3 kg gain). Face-to-face support is more effective than internet-only support for minimizing total weight regain, but both are superior to doing nothing.

Adding liraglutide (1.2 or 1.8 mg/day) to maximized metformin and thiazolidinedione (TZD) therapy significantly improves glycemic control (A1C, fasting, and postprandial glucose) and induces dose-dependent weight loss in patients with type 2 diabetes.

If you have Type 2 Diabetes and are already taking metformin and a TZD (like rosiglitazone) but your blood sugar isn't controlled, adding liraglutide (1.2 or 1.8 mg once daily) can significantly lower your A1C and help you lose weight. While you might experience some nausea or stomach issues, these are usually temporary and happen mostly in the first few weeks. This combination is effective for improving blood sugar without causing major low blood sugar episodes.

Liraglutide treatment in combination with metformin and TZD leads to significant reductions in systolic blood pressure and favorable changes in lipid profiles (specifically free fatty acids, LDL, and triglycerides) compared to placebo.

If you are taking metformin and a TZD for Type 2 Diabetes, adding liraglutide (1.2 or 1.8 mg once daily) can also help lower your blood pressure and improve your cholesterol levels (specifically LDL and triglycerides). This adds cardiovascular benefits to the blood sugar and weight control benefits. Be aware that you might experience some nausea, but it usually gets better over time.

Liraglutide treatment improves beta-cell function (measured by C-peptide and HOMA-B) and reduces the proinsulin-to-insulin ratio compared to placebo when added to metformin and TZD.

If you are taking metformin and a TZD for Type 2 Diabetes, adding liraglutide (1.2 or 1.8 mg once daily) can help your pancreas work better by improving beta-cell function. This is measured by markers like C-peptide and the proinsulin-to-insulin ratio. While this is a technical benefit, it contributes to better overall blood sugar control.

Liraglutide (1.8 mg/day) added to metformin and sulfonylurea provides superior glycaemic control and significant weight loss compared to insulin glargine in type 2 diabetes, while maintaining a non-inferior hypoglycaemia risk profile.

If your diabetes is not controlled by metformin and a sulfonylurea, adding once-daily liraglutide (1.8 mg) is a highly effective strategy. It lowers blood sugar better than insulin glargine and helps you lose weight, whereas insulin typically causes weight gain. Be prepared for temporary nausea in the first few weeks, which usually subsides. This treatment requires daily injections but offers superior metabolic benefits compared to basal insulin in this context.

Consuming an additional daily serving of minimally processed plant-based foods (whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, olive oil) is associated with significantly reduced risk of mortality and chronic diseases (CHD, diabetes, stroke, colorectal cancer) and has among the lowest environmental impacts.

Add one extra serving of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, or olive oil to your daily diet. This simple change is linked to lower risks of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer, and early death, while also being better for the environment. Focus on minimally processed options.

Structured exercise programs significantly improve maximum walking distance and pain-free walking distance in patients with intermittent claudication compared to usual care or placebo.

If you have leg pain when walking due to narrowed arteries, do not stop walking. Supervised exercise programs are the standard, high-quality treatment. Aim for sessions 2-3 times a week for at least 30 minutes. You may need to walk until pain starts, rest, then walk again. This improves your walking distance significantly over time.

When resistance training sets are performed to momentary muscular failure, low-load training (≤60% 1RM) produces muscle hypertrophy equivalent to high-load training (>60% 1RM).

If you want to build muscle but only have light dumbbells or bodyweight, you can still get great results. The key is to perform your sets until you physically cannot complete another repetition with good form (momentary muscular failure). You will likely need to do more repetitions (e.g., 20-30+) compared to heavy lifting, but the muscle growth will be the same as if you were lifting heavy weights.

High-load resistance training (>60% 1RM) produces significantly greater gains in maximal strength (1RM) compared to low-load resistance training (≤60% 1RM), even when both are taken to failure.

If your primary goal is to increase your maximum lifting capacity (1RM), you should prioritize heavier weights (above 60% of your max). While light weights will still make you stronger, heavy weights will make you stronger faster and to a greater degree. However, light weights are still a valid tool for building strength, especially for joint health or volume accumulation.

For healthy, exercising individuals, an overall daily protein intake of 1.4–2.0 g/kg body weight per day is sufficient to build and maintain muscle mass, with higher intakes (2.3–3.1 g/kg/d) only necessary during hypocaloric periods to maximize lean body mass retention.

Aim for 1.4 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight every day if you are training. If you are cutting calories to lose fat, bump this up to 2.3–3.1 grams per kilogram to protect your muscle. You do not need to exceed these amounts for muscle growth in a caloric surplus.

Transitioning from insufficient sleep (5 hours) to adequate sleep (9 hours) reduces energy intake, specifically fats and carbohydrates, and leads to slight weight loss, demonstrating that recovery sleep can reverse the positive energy balance caused by sleep restriction.

If you have been sleeping poorly, switching back to 7-9 hours of sleep will help you eat less, particularly fats and carbs, and may help you lose the weight gained during the sleep-deprived period. Consistency is key.

Creatine monohydrate supplementation (5g/day for 5-7 days, followed by 3-5g/day maintenance) significantly increases intramuscular creatine and phosphocreatine stores, leading to enhanced high-intensity exercise performance, greater training adaptations, and increased lean body mass in athletes.

Take 5 grams of creatine monohydrate four times a day for 5-7 days to saturate your muscles, then switch to 3-5 grams daily to maintain levels. This is the most proven supplement for increasing strength and power output. It is safe, legal, and does not cause kidney damage or cramping as commonly feared.

Regular exercise (specifically thrice-weekly moderate-intensity aerobic activity and twice-weekly resistance training) improves cancer-related health outcomes including fatigue, anxiety, depression, quality of life, and physical function, and does not exacerbate lymphedema.

If you have cancer or are a survivor, ask your oncologist about exercise. They can refer you to a program. The recommended dose is 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity 3 times a week and resistance training 2 times a week. This improves fatigue, mood, and function, and is safe even if you have lymphedema.

Physical activity interventions significantly improve quality of life, body composition (BMI, body weight), and physical function (peak oxygen consumption, peak power output, 6-minute walk distance) in cancer survivors after completion of primary treatment.

If you have completed your primary cancer treatment, engaging in regular physical activity (aerobic and/or resistance training) is strongly recommended. Aim for a program lasting at least 13 weeks, performed 2-5 times per week at a moderate to vigorous intensity. This will help you improve your body composition, physical strength, and overall quality of life compared to remaining sedentary.

In breast cancer survivors specifically, physical activity is associated with significant improvements in insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), fatigue, depression, and specific strength metrics (bench press, leg press).

For breast cancer survivors, regular physical activity may help lower insulin-like growth factor-I levels, which is a potential biomarker for cancer risk, while also reducing fatigue and depression. This supports the general recommendation for exercise but highlights specific hormonal benefits.

Short-term high-intensity interval training (ST-HIIT, <12 weeks) significantly improves maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max), diastolic blood pressure, and fasting glucose in overweight/obese populations.

If you are overweight or obese, engaging in short-term high-intensity interval training (less than 12 weeks) can significantly boost your aerobic fitness, lower your diastolic blood pressure, and improve your fasting glucose levels. Focus on intervals performed at high intensity (at least 85% of your max heart rate or oxygen uptake) with short rest periods.

Long-term high-intensity interval training (LT-HIIT, ≥12 weeks) significantly improves waist circumference, body fat percentage, VO2 max, resting heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure in overweight/obese populations.

If you are overweight or obese, committing to long-term high-intensity interval training (12 weeks or more) can significantly reduce your waist circumference and body fat, improve your aerobic fitness, lower your resting heart rate, and reduce both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Consistency over time is key to seeing these broad cardiometabolic benefits.

Sedentary, overweight or obese postmenopausal women with elevated blood pressure experience a graded, statistically significant increase in cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max) when engaging in physical activity doses of 4, 8, or 12 kcal/kg/week, with higher doses yielding proportionally greater fitness gains compared to a non-exercise control.

If you are a sedentary, overweight postmenopausal woman with high blood pressure, you do not need to start with the standard 30-minute daily exercise recommendation to see benefits. You can start with half that dose (expending ~4 kcal/kg/week) and still see significant improvements in your cardiorespiratory fitness. If you can handle more, increasing the dose to 8 or 12 kcal/kg/week will yield even greater fitness gains in a predictable, graded manner.

Higher current body mass index (BMI) is strongly and continuously associated with an increased risk of developing non-insulin-dependent diabetes in women, with significant risk elevation starting at average weights (BMI 23-23.9 kg/m²).

Maintaining a healthy weight is critical for preventing type 2 diabetes, even if you are not clinically obese. Risk begins to rise noticeably at average weights (BMI 23-24). Avoiding significant weight gain after young adulthood is one of the most effective ways to lower your diabetes risk, as even moderate weight gains (20-35 kg) drastically increase relative risk.

Weight reduction significantly lowers blood pressure in individuals with high-normal diastolic blood pressure, producing a net reduction of 2.3 mm Hg in diastolic and 2.9 mm Hg in systolic pressure over 18 months.

If you have high-normal blood pressure, losing weight is the most effective non-drug strategy available. This study showed that losing about 4kg (9lbs) over 18 months, achieved through dietary changes and brisk walking, significantly lowered blood pressure. Supplements and stress management techniques did not show significant blood pressure benefits in this specific population, so focus your efforts on sustainable weight loss.

Sodium reduction significantly lowers blood pressure in individuals with high-normal diastolic blood pressure, producing a net reduction of 0.9 mm Hg in diastolic and 1.7 mm Hg in systolic pressure over 18 months.

Reducing sodium intake can help lower blood pressure in people with high-normal levels. This study showed a small but significant drop in blood pressure (0.9 mm Hg diastolic) after 18 months of sodium reduction. While less effective than weight loss, it is a valid strategy. Focus on reducing sodium through food selection and cooking methods.

Consuming sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is causally associated with greater long-term weight gain and increased risk of obesity, whereas substituting SSBs with water, coffee, or diet beverages mitigates this gain.

To prevent weight gain, reduce your intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and fruit juices. Try replacing one serving of these drinks daily with water, black coffee, or diet beverages. This simple swap is associated with significantly less weight gain over time.

Excess body weight and weight gain are strongly associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and premature mortality, even within the 'normal' BMI range.

Maintain a stable weight and avoid excess adiposity to reduce your risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and premature death. This is true even if you are currently in the 'normal' BMI range, as weight gain itself is a significant risk factor.