Browse the evidence

High-protein diets improve insulin sensitivity primarily through weight loss and increased satiety, but may have negative effects if protein quality is poor.

Increasing protein can help you feel full and preserve muscle, which supports weight loss. However, don't obsess over hitting extreme protein targets. Focus on high-quality protein sources and ensure you are getting enough fiber and nutrients. If you are not losing weight, high protein alone may not improve your insulin sensitivity.

Low-sodium diets are significantly associated with hypertension and dyslipidaemia management, but not significantly associated with diabetes in this population.

If you have high blood pressure or high cholesterol, reducing your sodium intake to under 2000mg per day is associated with better health outcomes. However, this specific restriction may not help manage diabetes.

Ketogenic and low-carbohydrate diets improve glycemic control and can induce remission, primarily through weight loss, though some benefits may occur independently of weight loss via reduced glycemic load.

A ketogenic or low-carbohydrate diet can significantly lower blood sugar and HbA1c, sometimes even without major weight loss. This is achieved by drastically reducing carbs and eating healthy fats. While weight loss often accompanies this and aids remission, the direct reduction in glycemic load is also beneficial. Monitor your lipid levels and ensure you are getting enough fiber and micronutrients.

Uniform dietary interventions fail to deliver consistent metabolic benefits in individuals with metabolic syndrome due to biological heterogeneity, whereas food-based dietary patterns emphasizing whole foods and limiting ultra-processed foods provide relatively consistent metabolic benefits across diverse phenotypes.

Stop looking for a single 'best' diet for metabolic syndrome. Instead, focus on the quality of your food: eat more whole foods (vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains) and minimize ultra-processed foods. This approach is more likely to benefit you regardless of your specific metabolic profile.

Adopting a low-carbohydrate, high-fat dietary pattern (defined as carbohydrate energy ≤40-49% and fat energy ≥34-40%) is associated with a significantly lower triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, a surrogate marker for insulin resistance, primarily through the reduction of fasting triglyceride levels.

To potentially improve your insulin resistance markers, consider shifting your energy intake to include fewer carbohydrates (around 40-49% of calories) and more fat (around 34-40% of calories). This shift is linked to lower triglyceride levels, which is a key component of insulin resistance. Focus on whole food sources for these macronutrients.

Higher consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF), specifically beverages and snacks, is significantly associated with food addiction (FA) in young adults, independent of BMI and other demographic factors.

If you struggle with compulsive eating or 'food addiction,' focus on reducing ultra-processed beverages and snacks. These specific categories showed the strongest link to addictive behaviors in young adults, regardless of your weight. Prioritize whole foods to potentially reduce the reinforcing power of your diet.

Consuming whole dairy milk provides superior nutrient bioavailability and fewer adverse metabolic effects compared to isolated dairy nutrients or high-dose supplements due to the protective food matrix.

Prioritize drinking plain cow's milk over calcium supplements or isolated whey powders when possible. The natural structure of milk helps your body absorb nutrients better and avoids potential side effects linked to high-dose isolated supplements.

Fermented dairy products offer enhanced health benefits compared to unfermented milk due to bioactive compounds produced during fermentation and reduced lactose content.

If you experience bloating or discomfort from milk, try fermented options like yogurt or kefir. The fermentation process breaks down lactose and creates beneficial compounds that support gut health.

Inadequate dietary intake of carbohydrates and proteins in endurance athletes negates the structural and functional cardiac advantages typically observed in women during marathon racing, leading to prolonged elevation of muscle damage and inflammatory markers.

If you are an endurance athlete, your sex does not protect you from the negative cardiovascular effects of poor nutrition. Ensure you are consuming adequate carbohydrates and proteins daily. Failure to do so can lead to prolonged inflammation and muscle damage, even if you are a woman who typically has better cardiac recovery profiles than men.

High scores on the Chinese Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Index (CEDII), characterized by high intake of refined carbohydrates, meat, and eggs, are associated with accelerated biological aging, evidenced by shorter leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and lower mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn).

If you live in a region with a high-carbohydrate, grain-based diet, prioritize coarse grains over refined grains and increase vegetable and fat (healthy sources) intake. This specific dietary pattern is linked to lower systemic inflammation and slower biological aging markers like telomere shortening. Standard Western dietary advice may not capture these nuances, so focus on local food quality and inflammatory potential.

The association between high inflammatory dietary patterns (high CEDII) and accelerated aging (short LTL) is significantly stronger in individuals with abnormal metabolic status, specifically those who are overweight, have raised blood pressure, or elevated triglycerides.

If you have metabolic issues like high blood pressure, high triglycerides, or excess weight, your diet's inflammatory potential matters even more for your aging process. Prioritizing an anti-inflammatory diet is crucial for this subgroup to mitigate accelerated biological aging.

Yogic asana practice reduces body fat percentage in obese or overweight populations, with effects being more pronounced in longer-duration interventions (8-12 weeks) compared to short-term or low-intensity sessions.

To use yoga for fat loss, commit to a program lasting at least 8-12 weeks, practicing 2-3 times per week for 50-90 minutes. While yoga alone may not burn as many calories as running, it effectively reduces body fat percentage, especially when combined with basic dietary awareness. Focus on consistency rather than intensity.

Micronutrient deficiencies, specifically low serum zinc and vitamin C, are associated with increased susceptibility to Buruli ulcer, suggesting that nutritional interventions could serve as a prophylactic measure.

In regions with high Buruli ulcer prevalence, improving dietary diversity and ensuring adequate intake of zinc and vitamin C may reduce susceptibility to the disease. This suggests that public health efforts should prioritize nutritional support alongside case detection.

Modifying food labels to indicate ultra-processing status improves consumer understanding and purchasing intentions.

Look for food labels that explicitly mark ultra-processed foods to make better purchasing decisions.

A higher Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) score is positively and nonlinearly associated with an increased risk of stroke in the general US population.

To lower your stroke risk, prioritize an anti-inflammatory diet. This means eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats (like olive oil and fish) while minimizing processed foods, refined sugars, and excessive alcohol. The study shows that diets high in inflammatory potential are linked to nearly double the odds of having a stroke compared to anti-inflammatory diets.

Donkey milk consumption improves antioxidant defenses, reduces inflammation, and enhances mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle and liver, offering a hypoallergenic alternative to cow milk.

Donkey milk offers superior antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits compared to standard cow milk, along with being hypoallergenic. It is a viable alternative for those with milk allergies or those seeking enhanced metabolic health markers, though it is less accessible and more expensive.

Peripheral administration of Pancreatic Polypeptide (PP) induces satiety and reduces energy intake in both rodents and healthy humans, primarily through activation of hypothalamic Y4 receptors.

Peripheral PP administration reduces food intake, but its short half-life limits its current therapeutic use. Future therapies may utilize long-acting, enzyme-resistant PP analogues.

High carbohydrate consumption, particularly refined grains, is associated with lower HDL-C and higher triglycerides, contributing to the high prevalence of dyslipidemia in Iran.

To improve your lipid profile, consider reducing your intake of refined carbohydrates and increasing your consumption of whole grains and fiber. This may help improve your HDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Exercise increases circulating undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) levels, which is associated with increased whole-body insulin sensitivity.

Exercise naturally increases osteocalcin levels, which helps improve insulin sensitivity. You don't need to target this specifically; regular physical activity is sufficient to trigger this beneficial hormonal response.

Tesofensine (combined with metoprolol) significantly reduces body weight, waist circumference, and glucose levels in adults with hypothalamic obesity compared to placebo.

Tesofensine combined with metoprolol significantly reduces weight, waist circumference, and glucose in adults with hypothalamic obesity. It works by increasing sympathetic tone. Side effects are generally mild.

Sensory-related industrial additives (SRIAs) in ultra-processed foods increase the risk of obesity-related conditions by enhancing sensory qualities that encourage overconsumption, independent of conscious palatability ratings.

To reduce the risk of overconsumption linked to ultra-processed foods, prioritize whole foods and minimize intake of products containing sensory-related industrial additives (SRIAs). These additives, found in 64.9% of US packaged foods (especially sweets, beverages, and ready-to-eat meals), are designed to enhance taste, texture, and appearance, which can bypass natural satiety signals and drive overeating. Check ingredient lists for terms like 'modified starch,' 'artificial flavor,' 'colors,' and 'sweeteners' as indicators of high SRIA content.

GLP-1 agonists (Semaglutide, Liraglutide) and dual GIP/GLP-1 agonists (Tirzepatide) are potential pharmacotherapies for MASLD/MASH due to their metabolic effects and ability to induce weight loss.

GLP-1 and GIP/GLP-1 agonists (like Semaglutide and Tirzepatide) are promising treatments for MASLD because they drive significant weight loss and improve metabolic health. They are often used in patients with Type 2 Diabetes. Oral options exist for Semaglutide.

Higher habitual and lunch-specific carbohydrate quality index (CQI) is significantly associated with a reduced odds of low HDL cholesterol, but shows no significant association with metabolic syndrome or other MetS components.

Focus on the quality of carbohydrates you eat, particularly at lunch and throughout your habitual diet, to support healthy HDL cholesterol levels. This involves choosing foods with higher fiber, lower glycemic index, and fewer solid sugars. However, do not assume that high carbohydrate quality alone will prevent metabolic syndrome; you must also manage other factors like blood pressure, blood sugar, and waist circumference through comprehensive lifestyle changes.

Among older adults (65+), higher intake of carbohydrate-rich foods is negatively associated with self-reported depressive symptoms, contradicting the hypothesis that carbohydrates have no association with depression.

For older adults, eating carbohydrate-rich foods like pasta and cookies was linked to fewer depressive symptoms in this study. Rather than strictly avoiding carbs for mental health, consider that these foods may serve as comfort strategies that help alleviate negative emotions in this age group.