Browse the evidence

Physical activity enhances sleep quality in adults, with specific benefits observed in older populations.

Incorporate regular physical activity into your routine to improve sleep quality, which is essential for healthy ageing and overall well-being.

In patients with Type 2 Diabetes and NAFLD, adding liraglutide or sitagliptin to metformin significantly reduces intrahepatic lipid, visceral adipose tissue, and body weight, whereas adding insulin glargine does not.

If you have Type 2 Diabetes and fatty liver, adding a GLP-1 agonist (like liraglutide) or a DPP-4 inhibitor (like sitagliptin) to your metformin can significantly reduce liver fat and belly fat. Adding insulin, however, does not appear to reduce liver or belly fat, even though it controls blood sugar.

Reduction in body weight is an independent determinant of reduced intrahepatic lipid in patients with T2DM and NAFLD, regardless of the specific antidiabetic agent used.

Losing weight is the key to reducing liver fat, regardless of whether you use a GLP-1, a DPP-4 inhibitor, or lifestyle changes. The drug helps you lose weight, and the weight loss reduces the liver fat.

Time-restricted feeding (TRF) or early meal timing improves metabolic health (weight loss, insulin sensitivity, glucose control) by aligning peripheral tissue clocks with feeding rhythms, whereas mistimed feeding (eating during the inactive phase) causes circadian misalignment and metabolic dysfunction.

Align your eating window with your active hours. Prioritize eating the majority of your calories earlier in the day (e.g., breakfast and lunch) and finish eating several hours before bedtime. This extends your overnight fast and aligns your peripheral metabolic clocks with your feeding, improving insulin sensitivity and weight management. Avoid late-night snacking, especially high-carb meals, as this causes circadian misalignment and metabolic dysfunction regardless of total calories.

Consuming complex, whole plant foods containing diverse dietary fibers and phytonutrients increases gastrointestinal tract (GIT) microbiota diversity and stability more effectively than consuming purified fiber isolates or ultra-processed foods.

Prioritize whole plant foods (fruits, vegetables, whole grains) over isolated fiber supplements or highly processed foods. The physical structure and variety of fibers and phytonutrients in whole foods are essential for feeding a diverse and healthy gut microbiome, which in turn supports metabolic health and reduces inflammation.

A 3-month low-calorie lacto-ovo vegetarian diet and a low-calorie Mediterranean diet produce equivalent reductions in body weight, BMI, and fat mass in overweight omnivores.

If you are overweight and want to lose weight, both a low-calorie vegetarian diet (including eggs and dairy) and a low-calorie Mediterranean diet will work equally well over 3 months. The key is the caloric deficit, not the specific exclusion of animal products, provided you follow a structured plan.

Weight loss reverses the metabolic and autonomic alterations associated with obesity, including sympathetic overactivity.

Achieving weight loss is not just about reducing mass; it actively reverses the harmful nervous system adaptations (like high sympathetic tone) that contribute to heart disease risk in obesity.

Oral supplementation with beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) increases plasma concentrations to levels sufficient to activate mTORC1 and stimulate protein synthesis, whereas endogenous conversion from oral leucine fails to reach these effective thresholds.

If your goal is maximizing muscle protein synthesis via the mTORC1 pathway, direct HMB supplementation is more effective than relying on your body to convert Leucine into HMB. Direct HMB intake raises plasma levels to ~400 µM, while Leucine only raises it to ~10 µM, which is insufficient for significant anabolic effects.

Replacing saturated fatty acids (SAFA) with unsaturated fatty acids (specifically polyunsaturated fatty acids, PUFA) lowers LDL-C and reduces cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.

To lower your LDL cholesterol and heart disease risk, swap saturated fats (found in fatty meats, butter, and full-fat dairy) for unsaturated fats (found in vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds). Specifically, replacing 5% of your daily calories from saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat can reduce heart disease risk by about 10%. Avoid coconut oil for this purpose, as it raises LDL cholesterol.

Adopting the Portfolio Diet, which combines viscous fiber, plant protein, nuts, and phytosterols, lowers LDL-C by approximately 17-30%, comparable to low-dose statins.

To significantly lower LDL cholesterol, adopt the Portfolio Diet. This involves consuming 20g of viscous fiber (from oats/barley), 50g of plant protein (soy/legumes), 42g of nuts, and 2g of phytosterols (from fortified margarine) daily, while keeping saturated fat below 7% of total energy. This combination can lower LDL-C by 17-30%, comparable to low-dose statins.

Immobility and bedrest during COVID-19 hospitalization significantly accelerate muscle loss, with ICU stays associated with an 18.5% decrease in rectus femoris muscle mass within 7 days.

If you are recovering in the hospital, ask for early mobilization. Even small movements can prevent the rapid muscle loss (up to 18.5% in a week) seen in ICU patients.

Resistance exercise combined with nutritional support (protein/micronutrients) is the primary evidence-based intervention for increasing muscle mass and strength in sarcopenia, outperforming exercise alone.

To build muscle and fight sarcopenia, do not rely on exercise alone. Combine resistance training with adequate nutritional support, specifically focusing on protein and micronutrients, as this combination is proven to be more effective than exercise by itself.

Adherence to a Mediterranean diet significantly improves metabolic syndrome components (including body weight, blood pressure, glucose, and lipid profiles) and reduces the incidence of cardiovascular disease and stroke in adults.

Adopting a Mediterranean-style diet is one of the most effective dietary strategies for improving metabolic health. It consistently lowers cardiovascular disease risk, reduces stroke incidence, and improves key markers like blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol. While it includes healthy fats like olive oil and nuts, it does not promote weight gain and often aids in weight management. For best results, focus on high intake of plant foods and olive oil, moderate dairy/fish, and low red meat, while ensuring any physical activity advice is consistent with your current routine.

Combined aerobic and resistance exercise is the most effective intervention for combating age-related sarcopenia, as it addresses both mitochondrial dysfunction and muscle mass loss simultaneously.

To fight age-related muscle loss, do not rely on just one type of exercise. Combine aerobic activity (like walking or cycling) with resistance training (lifting weights). This dual approach targets both the energy systems and the muscle fibers, offering the best protection against sarcopenia.

Resistance exercise yields clinically meaningful cognitive improvements in older adults at significantly lower doses (78–679 METs-min/week) compared to aerobic or mixed modalities.

If you are over 50 and want to protect your memory, prioritize resistance training (bands or weights). You do not need to do high volumes of exercise; even low doses (e.g., 15-20 minutes of resistance work a few times a week) can yield significant cognitive benefits, potentially more so than equivalent amounts of aerobic exercise.

Resistance training (RT) and mixed training (MT) significantly improve knee extension strength (KES) and gait speed (GS) in older adults with sarcopenia, whereas whole body vibration training (WBVT) does not.

For older adults with sarcopenia, engaging in resistance training (using weights, bands, or body weight) or mixed training (combining resistance with balance/aerobic exercises) is the most effective non-pharmacological strategy to improve leg strength and walking speed. Whole body vibration is not recommended for these specific goals. Aim for 1-5 sessions per week, lasting 20-90 minutes, over at least 6 weeks.

Adherence to a healthy dietary pattern (rich in vegetables, fruit, whole grains, fish, and olive oil) is associated with a reduced likelihood of developing depression.

Focus on building a diet rich in plant-based foods, whole grains, and quality proteins like fish. This pattern is consistently linked to lower depression risk across different cultures. You don't need to be perfect; just increasing these foods while reducing processed items can help.

High carbohydrate (CHO) availability before, during, and after exercise improves endurance performance by delaying glycogen depletion and maintaining high rates of CHO oxidation.

If you are training or competing for more than 90 minutes, prioritize high carbohydrate intake before, during, and after your sessions. This strategy is proven to improve performance by 2-3% in time trials and increase capacity by ~20% by ensuring your muscles have enough glycogen to sustain high-intensity effort without fatiguing early.

Management of sarcopenia in cirrhosis requires a multi-pronged approach including specific nutritional targets (35 kcal/kg, 1.2-1.5 g/kg protein) and exercise (150-200 mins/week), with late-evening snacks recommended.

To fight muscle loss, you need to eat enough calories (at least 35 per kg of body weight) and protein (1.2-1.5 grams per kg) every day. Don't restrict protein even if you have liver confusion. Also, eat a snack before bed to stop your body from breaking down muscle overnight. Combine this with moderate exercise for 150-200 minutes a week.

Weight-bearing exercise during childhood and adolescence maximizes peak bone mass, which delays the onset of osteoporosis by approximately 13 years and reduces fracture risk by up to 50% in post-menopausal women.

Prioritize weight-bearing physical activities (like jumping, running, or resistance training) during childhood and teenage years. This is the most effective window to build maximum bone density, which acts as a buffer against bone loss later in life. Even if you were less active as a child, starting exercise in adulthood still helps preserve existing bone strength.

Aerobic exercise training significantly improves body composition, cardiovascular health, and metabolic profiles in patients with metabolic syndrome, with isolated aerobic exercise appearing optimal for reducing fat mass and body mass.

If you have metabolic syndrome, engaging in aerobic exercise for at least 12 weeks is a highly effective strategy to improve your health. You can expect improvements in your weight, waist size, blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels. You do not necessarily need to combine this with resistance training to see these benefits, as aerobic exercise alone is sufficient and optimal for many of these outcomes. Aim for moderate to high intensity aerobic activity, but consistency over 12+ weeks is key.

Participation in running is associated with a significantly lower risk of all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality compared to non-running, regardless of the specific dose or volume of running.

Start running, even if it's just once a week for less than 50 minutes. You do not need to run fast, long, or frequently to gain significant protection against all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality. The key is participation, not perfection or high volume.

Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption causes significant health harms, specifically weight gain, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, through mechanisms involving liquid calorie non-satiety, high glycemic load, and insulin resistance.

Limit sugar-sweetened beverages to reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Liquid sugar is processed differently than solid sugar, leading to less fullness and higher blood sugar spikes. Even modest reductions in consumption can lower your long-term health risks.

Maximal fat oxidation (MFO) occurs at exercise intensities between 45% and 65% of VO2max, with rates ranging from 0.17 to 1.27 g/min in trained individuals, and can exceed 1.5 g/min in ketogenic-adapted individuals.

To maximize the amount of fat your body burns per minute, exercise at a moderate intensity, specifically between 45% and 65% of your maximum heart rate capacity (VO2max). If you are adapted to a ketogenic diet, you may achieve even higher fat oxidation rates, but for most people, staying in this moderate zone is key for maximizing fat burning efficiency.