Browse the evidence

Time-restricted feeding (TRF) and alternative-day fasting (ADF) reduce body weight and improve lipid profiles in NAFLD patients, but TRF offers no additional benefit over daily caloric restriction regarding intrahepatic triglyceride reduction when caloric deficit is matched.

If you have fatty liver, losing weight is the most effective treatment. Time-restricted feeding (eating only between 8am and 4pm) can help you lose weight, but it does not reduce liver fat more than simply counting calories and eating less throughout the day. Choose the method that you can sustain long-term.

High-fibre interventions (e.g., high-fibre bread, whole grains) reduce NAFLD grade and liver enzymes (ALT, AST) independently of weight loss.

If you have fatty liver, increasing your fibre intake through whole grains or high-fibre bread can improve your liver enzymes and disease grade, even if you don't lose weight. This is a simple, sustainable dietary change that directly benefits liver health.

Semaglutide promotes resolution of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) without worsening liver fibrosis in patients with NASH and liver fibrosis.

If you have NASH, ask your doctor about Semaglutide. In clinical trials, the highest dose (0.4 mg daily) helped nearly 60% of patients resolve their liver disease without making scarring worse. It is a promising treatment for liver health.

Obesity is an independent risk factor for severe COVID-19 outcomes, including hospitalization, ICU admission, and mortality, with risk increasing as BMI increases.

Obesity significantly increases your risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19. Maintaining a healthy weight is a critical protective factor against severe viral infections.

Genetically modeled GLP-1 and GIP receptor agonism reduces the risk of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and lowers ALT levels.

Genetic evidence suggests that activating GLP-1 and GIP receptors improves liver health by reducing the risk of NAFLD and lowering ALT levels. This benefit is independent of alcohol consumption, suggesting a direct metabolic effect on the liver.

Twelve weeks of high-intensity resistance training (70-80% 1RM) significantly improves isokinetic muscle function (peak torque and total work) and hemorheological properties (erythrocyte deformability and aggregation) in middle-aged obese women, despite failing to produce significant changes in body composition, muscle hypertrophy (cross-sectional area), or blood lipid levels.

For middle-aged obese women, a 12-week resistance training program (3 days/week, 70-80% 1RM) will significantly improve muscle strength and blood flow properties (hemorheology) without necessarily changing body weight, muscle size, or blood lipids. Do not stop training if the scale or blood lipid panels don't change immediately; the functional benefits are real and significant. Focus on the feeling of strength and health markers beyond just weight.

Weight gain after a type 2 diabetes diagnosis is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease events and all-cause mortality.

Avoiding weight gain after a type 2 diabetes diagnosis is important for reducing the risk of heart disease and death. Maintaining a stable weight is associated with better cardiovascular outcomes than gaining weight.

General obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²) significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality across all glucose tolerance statuses (normoglycemia, pre-diabetes, and type 2 diabetes), regardless of glycemic control.

Maintaining a healthy weight is crucial for longevity, regardless of whether you have diabetes, pre-diabetes, or normal blood sugar. Obesity significantly raises your risk of dying from heart disease or other causes, so weight management should be a primary health goal.

Central adiposity (high waist circumference) is a significant independent risk factor for incident cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in individuals with normal glucose tolerance (NGT).

If you have normal blood sugar, don't ignore your waist size. High waist circumference significantly increases your risk of heart disease and death, even if your glucose levels are normal. Focus on reducing waist circumference through diet and exercise.

High intake of saturated fatty acids (SFA) from modern domesticated animal products and dairy increases LDL cholesterol and cardiovascular disease risk compared to ancestral diets rich in unsaturated fatty acids.

Prioritize unsaturated fatty acids (especially omega-3s) and fiber-rich foods over high-fat dairy and fatty cuts of domesticated meat. This shift aligns your diet with evolutionary norms and helps lower LDL cholesterol, reducing cardiovascular risk.

High intake of saturated fatty acids from modern diets is linked to endotoxemia and inflammation, whereas unsaturated fatty acids do not produce this response.

Be aware that high-fat meals, particularly those high in saturated fat, can trigger an inflammatory response (endotoxemia). Choosing unsaturated fats helps avoid this inflammatory spike.

Chronic static stretching exercises produce an overall unclear effect on skeletal muscle hypertrophy in healthy individuals, with a trivial point estimate and a prediction interval ranging from trivial negative to moderate positive effects.

Do not expect static stretching to build significant muscle on its own. While it improves flexibility, its impact on muscle size is negligible for most people. If you do stretch, ensure you are doing it for long durations (e.g., >60s per exercise) and high frequency, but prioritize resistance training for hypertrophy.

Trained individuals experience larger stretching-induced muscle gains compared to recreationally trained or sedentary individuals.

If you are already trained, static stretching may contribute more to muscle growth than it does for beginners or sedentary individuals. However, it is still not a replacement for resistance training.

Faster rates of body mass gain (via larger energy surpluses of 5-15%) primarily increase the rate of fat accumulation rather than augmenting strength or muscle hypertrophy compared to maintenance or moderate surpluses.

If your goal is to maximize muscle and strength gains, you do not need a large caloric surplus. A moderate surplus (approx. 5% above maintenance, leading to ~0.5% body weight gain per 2 weeks) is likely just as effective as a large surplus (15%) for muscle growth, while resulting in significantly less fat gain. Focus on progressive resistance training and adequate protein (>=1.8g/kg) rather than overeating.

Mono- and multireceptor agonists combining proglucagon-derived peptides enhance efficacy in managing obesity, diabetes, and conditions affecting the kidneys, liver, and heart.

New combination therapies that target multiple receptors (e.g., GLP-1/GIP, GLP-1/Glucagon) are showing enhanced efficacy for managing obesity, diabetes, and cardiometabolic conditions. Discuss these advanced options with your healthcare provider if standard treatments are insufficient.

A 1.5-year combined lifestyle intervention (normocaloric diet, exercise, CBT) inducing modest weight loss (~5%) normalizes long-term adiposity hormones (leptin, insulin, adiponectin) without triggering orexigenic short-term appetite signals, thereby avoiding the hormonal drive for weight regain typically seen with severe caloric restriction.

To maintain weight loss without triggering intense hunger, focus on a sustainable, healthy diet rather than severe calorie restriction. Combine this with regular mixed exercise (aerobic and resistance) and behavioral strategies (like CBT) over a long period (1.5 years). This approach normalizes metabolic hormones without activating strong hunger signals, making long-term maintenance more feasible than with crash diets.

A novel rice-based diabetes-specific formula (MFDM) containing physically modified rice flour, fructose, and isomaltulose significantly reduces postprandial glucose and insulin responses compared to a standard non-diabetes formula in adults with prediabetes or early type 2 diabetes, while eliciting similar hormonal (GLP-1, GIP, PYY, ghrelin) and satiety responses to a commercial diabetes-specific formula.

For individuals with prediabetes or early type 2 diabetes, consuming a meal replacement or formula containing physically modified rice flour, fructose, and isomaltulose (like the MFDM studied) can significantly blunt postprandial blood sugar and insulin spikes compared to standard non-diabetic formulas. This effect is comparable to established commercial diabetes-specific formulas, making it a viable, potentially more accessible option for managing post-meal glucose levels.

Viscous fiber supplementation (median dose 8 g/day) leads to modest reductions in body weight and waist circumference in individuals on ad libitum diets, primarily through increased satiety and energy excretion.

If you are not strictly counting calories, adding about 8 grams of viscous fiber daily (found in foods like oats, beans, or supplements) can help modestly reduce body weight and waist size by making you feel fuller and slightly increasing calorie excretion.

Dietary factors such as plant-based foods and specific dietary models possess anti-inflammatory properties and anti-atherogenic potential.

Eat more plant-based foods to reduce inflammation and protect your arteries.

Higher baseline physical activity engagement during early pregnancy predicts continued moderate physical activity in the third trimester, regardless of BMI or military status.

If you are pregnant and want to stay active, getting started with moderate physical activity early in pregnancy (before 12 weeks) is the best way to ensure you keep doing it later in pregnancy. Your early habits strongly predict your later habits, more so than your weight or job status.

Genetic polymorphisms (SNPs) significantly influence individual variability in fat loss efficiency in response to both dietary interventions and exercise regimens.

If you are struggling with fat loss despite consistent diet and exercise, consider that your genetic profile may influence your efficiency. While you cannot change your DNA, understanding your response patterns (e.g., better response to high-protein vs. low-fat diets) can help tailor your approach for better adherence and results.

Consuming saturated fat from dairy foods (specifically cheese) results in lower total and LDL cholesterol compared to consuming an equivalent amount of saturated fat from butter, due to the protective 'dairy food matrix' (including milk fat globule membrane and protein structure).

If you eat dairy, choose cheese over butter. While both contain saturated fat, the physical structure of cheese (the 'matrix') appears to raise cholesterol less than butter does. Current guidelines focusing only on limiting total saturated fat may inadvertently exclude beneficial foods like cheese.

Saturated fat intake increases LDL cholesterol primarily by increasing larger, less atherogenic LDL particles, whereas high-carbohydrate diets increase smaller, dense, pro-atherogenic LDL particles.

Don't just look at your total LDL cholesterol number. If you eat high-carb, your LDL particles might be small and dense (higher risk). If you eat saturated fat, your LDL particles might be larger (lower risk). Particle size is a better marker of risk than total cholesterol.

A short-term high-fat diet (65% energy from fat) for 5 days reduces large VLDL particles and small HDL particles (HDL-3/4) in men with overweight/obesity, which may be beneficial for cardiovascular health.

A short-term high-fat diet (65% of calories from fat) in sedent overweight men can improve specific lipid subfractions (reducing large VLDL and small HDL) which are linked to lower cardiovascular risk. However, this is a short-term effect in a controlled setting and should not be interpreted as a long-term dietary recommendation without medical supervision.