Browse the evidence

Higher protein intake (1.3-1.6 g/kg body weight) during caloric restriction preserves or increases lean muscle mass and strength, whereas standard protein intakes may fail to prevent muscle loss.

If you are trying to lose weight while maintaining your muscle, aim for 1.3 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight each day. Combine this with resistance training. This higher protein intake helps ensure that the weight you lose comes from fat, not muscle, and can even help you get stronger during your diet.

Resistance exercise training (RET) is as effective as aerobic exercise training (AET) for reducing the risk of chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer, and is superior for maintaining physical mobility in older adults.

Incorporate resistance training 2-3 times per week into your routine. You do not need to lift extremely heavy weights; moderate intensity (where you can complete 8-12 reps with some effort) is effective for reducing chronic disease risk and maintaining mobility. This is as important for your long-term health as your cardio workouts.

Resistance exercise training improves glycemic control and insulin sensitivity in older adults with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, independent of changes in lean body mass.

If you have prediabetes or Type 2 Diabetes, adding resistance training 2-3 times a week can significantly improve your blood sugar control. Focus on progressive exercises at a moderate-to-high intensity (70-85% of your one-rep max). This works by improving how your muscles use insulin, not just by building muscle.

Resistance exercise training reduces cancer mortality and recurrence risk in cancer survivors, with benefits seen even at low-to-moderate intensities.

If you are a cancer survivor, aim to do resistance training at least once a week. Even low-to-moderate intensity exercises can significantly reduce your risk of cancer recurrence and death. This is especially important for breast and prostate cancer survivors to maintain muscle and quality of life.

Weight loss of 3-10% of baseline body weight reduces systolic and diastolic blood pressure by approximately 3 mmHg, independent of salt restriction, primarily through decreased sympathetic nervous system activity and improved insulin sensitivity.

If you have high blood pressure and are overweight, aim to lose just 3-10% of your current body weight. You do not need to reach a 'perfect' weight to see benefits; this modest loss can lower blood pressure by about 3 mmHg. Work with a dietitian to achieve this gradually using calorie reduction and behavioral strategies like appetite awareness, rather than crash dieting.

Regular physical activity, including aerobic, dynamic resistance, and isometric training, reduces blood pressure, with isometric training showing significant reductions when performed at ~30% of maximal voluntary contraction.

Engage in 150-300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity (like brisk walking) or 75-150 minutes of vigorous activity weekly. Add resistance training twice a week. If you have limited time or equipment, try isometric exercises (like wall sits or handgrips) at about 30% of your maximum effort. The key is consistency and reducing sedentary time.

Adoption of the DASH diet or similar healthy dietary patterns (high in fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, low in saturated fat/salt) reduces blood pressure and is recommended as a first-line intervention for hypertension management.

Adopt a DASH-style diet: eat more fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy, and reduce saturated fats and salt. This is a proven, first-line strategy to lower blood pressure. If cost or access is a barrier, focus on affordable staples like beans, rice, and seasonal produce, and seek guidance from healthcare providers on local resources.

Ingesting 20-25g of high-quality protein (e.g., whey) post-resistance exercise maximizes muscle protein synthesis (MPS) in healthy young adults, with no additional benefit from consuming 40g or more per meal.

Eat 20-25g of high-quality protein (like whey, eggs, or meat) within a couple of hours after your resistance training session. You do not need to force-feed yourself 40g or more per meal, as your muscle protein synthesis will not increase further, and the excess protein will simply be burned for energy or excreted.

Resistance training to the point of contractile failure is the primary driver of hypertrophy, rendering specific load selection (light vs. heavy) less important as long as failure is reached.

Focus on pushing your sets to the point where you cannot complete another repetition with good form (contractile failure), regardless of whether you are using heavy weights or lighter weights. This effort level is what triggers muscle growth, making the specific weight you choose secondary to the intensity of your effort.

Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation (EPA/DHA) potentiates muscle protein synthesis and increases lean mass/strength in older adults, particularly when baseline protein intake is suboptimal.

Older adults aiming to build or maintain muscle should consider supplementing with 1.86g EPA and 1.50g DHA daily. This is most effective if your overall protein intake is not already maximized, as omega-3s help sensitize muscle to protein stimulation. Ensure you are getting adequate protein from food as well.

Athletes require 1.2–1.7 g protein/kg/day, which exceeds the standard RDA of 0.8 g/kg/day, to support adaptive physiological processes such as muscle protein synthesis and lean mass preservation.

If you train regularly, aim for 1.2 to 1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight each day. This is higher than the general population recommendation of 0.8 g/kg and is necessary to support muscle growth and recovery from exercise.

Consuming 20–25 g of high-quality protein per meal is sufficient to maximally stimulate muscle protein synthesis, and consuming more per meal does not further increase this anabolic response.

Split your daily protein intake into 4-5 meals, each containing 20-25 grams of high-quality protein (like meat, eggs, or dairy). This maximizes muscle building signals without wasting excess protein.

When training volume is not equated, non-failure training often results in greater strength gains than failure training due to the ability to perform more total work.

If you choose not to train to failure, ensure you perform enough sets to match the total volume of a failure-trained program. Failure training often limits total reps per set, so non-failure training can yield better strength gains simply by allowing more total work to be performed.

Ketogenic diets significantly improve glycemic control and reduce insulin requirements in patients with Type 2 Diabetes, allowing for medication discontinuation or reduction in a subset of patients.

If you have Type 2 Diabetes, a ketogenic diet (<20g carbs/day) can significantly lower your HbA1c and reduce your need for medication. However, you must work with your doctor to adjust your insulin or oral medications to avoid dangerous hypoglycemia. Do not stop medications abruptly without monitoring your blood glucose.

Consuming 20-25g of rapidly absorbed high-quality protein (e.g., whey) immediately after resistance exercise maximally stimulates muscle protein synthesis (MPS) in young healthy adults.

After your workout, eat 20-25 grams of whey protein (or equivalent high-quality source like milk). This is the sweet spot to maximize muscle building in young adults. Eating more than this won't build extra muscle, it will just be oxidized for energy.

Elderly individuals require a higher dose of protein (40g) compared to young adults (20g) to maximally stimulate muscle protein synthesis after resistance exercise.

If you are older, 20g of protein after a workout might not be enough to maximize muscle growth. Try increasing your post-workout protein to 40g to overcome age-related 'anabolic resistance' and stimulate muscle synthesis effectively.

Higher attendance (threshold of 5+ sessions) in a theory-based weight loss intervention is associated with significantly greater weight loss and fat reduction, demonstrating a dose-response relationship for attendance.

To maximize weight loss from this program, aim to attend at least 5 of the 9 sessions. This threshold is associated with significantly greater weight loss and fat reduction compared to lower attendance.

Consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) causes increased energy intake and weight gain compared to whole foods, independent of matched macronutrients.

Prioritize whole, minimally processed foods. Even if you match the calories and macros, ultra-processed foods are engineered to override your body's natural fullness signals, leading you to eat significantly more and gain weight.

Step reduction (SR) to <1,500 steps/day for two weeks causes significant declines in muscle protein synthesis (MPS), leg lean mass, and insulin sensitivity in older adults, with incomplete recovery upon return to habitual activity.

If you are older, do not underestimate the impact of even mild inactivity, such as reducing your steps to under 1,500 per day for a couple of weeks due to illness or weather. This causes your muscles to stop building protein and your blood sugar control to worsen. Crucially, your body may not fully bounce back to its previous state even after you start moving normally again. To protect your muscle, try to maintain your usual step count even during minor illnesses or bad weather, or use countermeasures like light resistance exercise and high-quality protein.

Resistance exercise (RT), even at low loads and volumes, performed during step reduction protects older adults against muscle atrophy and preserves muscle protein synthesis.

If you are an older adult who is forced to reduce your activity (e.g., due to illness or injury) and cannot walk your usual steps, do not just sit still. Perform low-load resistance exercises (like light leg extensions or curls) 3 times a week. Using light weights (about 30% of your max effort) for 20-25 reps can help protect your muscle mass and keep your muscles ready to grow when you recover.

High-quality protein supplementation (whey) during and after step reduction improves muscle protein synthesis recovery compared to low-quality protein (collagen) or no specific supplementation.

When recovering from a period of reduced activity, ensure you are eating high-quality protein (like whey, eggs, or meat) rather than just any protein source. In a study, older adults who took whey protein recovered their muscle-building capacity after inactivity, while those who took collagen (which lacks some essential amino acids) did not. Aim for about 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily, prioritizing high-quality sources.

Older adults (65+ years) require higher protein intakes (1.2–1.4 g/kg/day) than the standard RDA (0.8 g/kg/day) to maintain lean body mass and stimulate muscle protein synthesis.

If you are over 65, aim for 1.2 to 1.4 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight every day. This is higher than the standard recommendation of 0.8 g/kg. This higher intake helps counteract the natural loss of muscle strength and mass associated with aging. Ensure you are also engaging in resistance exercise to maximize these benefits.

Whey protein isolate is superior to other protein sources for stimulating muscle protein synthesis in older adults due to its high leucine content.

For older adults, whey protein isolate is an excellent choice for stimulating muscle growth because it is rich in leucine, the key trigger for muscle synthesis. If you cannot consume dairy, combine plant proteins to ensure adequate leucine intake.

Periodizing carbohydrate intake by performing high-intensity training with high carbohydrate availability followed by overnight restriction ('sleeping low') and subsequent low-intensity training with low carbohydrate availability significantly improves 10 km running performance and submaximal cycling efficiency in trained endurance athletes compared to maintaining high carbohydrate availability throughout.

If you are a trained endurance athlete, try a 'Sleep Low' strategy for 3 weeks. Keep your total daily carbohydrate intake the same (around 6g/kg), but change when you eat it. Eat high carbohydrates before and after your hardest workouts (like intervals). Then, skip carbohydrates after that workout and do not eat them during your next morning's easy, low-intensity workout. This may improve your running speed and cycling efficiency without reducing your overall training volume or intensity.