Browse the evidence

Consuming high-quality protein at intakes of 1.2-1.6 g/kg/day, distributed across meals with ~30g per occasion, optimizes health outcomes by preventing sarcopenia, improving weight management, and enhancing athletic performance.

Aim for 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily. Distribute this evenly across 3-4 meals, aiming for about 30 grams of high-quality protein (like meat, eggs, or dairy) at each meal. This approach helps preserve muscle, keeps you fuller longer, and supports overall health without harming kidney function in healthy adults.

Endurance training does not compromise gains in aerobic capacity when performed concurrently with resistance training.

You do not need to choose between getting fit (aerobic) and getting strong. You can improve your VO2max and your strength at the same time without one cancelling out the other.

Replacing processed carbohydrates (high GI/GL grains, potatoes, added sugars) with unprocessed carbohydrates (whole grains, legumes, whole fruits) or healthy fats reduces the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Focus on the quality of your carbohydrates rather than just cutting them out. Swap refined grains, potatoes, and sugary drinks for whole grains, legumes, and whole fruits. This shift is strongly linked to better metabolic health and lower disease risk.

Current Canadian Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI) for protein (0.86 g/kg/day) is inadequate to maintain nitrogen balance in habitually exercising male and female endurance athletes, resulting in negative nitrogen balance.

If you are an endurance athlete, the standard recommendation of 0.86 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight is likely not enough to keep your body in a neutral protein state. You are likely losing muscle protein even if you eat enough calories. Consider increasing your protein intake above this baseline to support recovery and maintenance.

High-glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates increase glycogen storage by ~30% over 24 hours compared to low-GI foods when total carbohydrate amount is identical.

If you need to maximize glycogen storage over 24 hours and total carbohydrate intake is fixed, choose high-glycemic index foods (like white rice, potatoes, or sugary drinks) over low-glycemic index foods (like whole grains). This can increase your glycogen storage by about 30% compared to low-GI options.

Higher intake of trans fatty acids (TFA) is associated with a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in a dose-response manner.

Avoid trans fatty acids. This meta-analysis confirms that higher TFA intake increases CVD risk, with a 16% increase in risk for every 2% of daily energy intake from TFA. Unlike total fat, saturated fat, or unsaturated fats, TFA shows a clear harmful dose-response relationship.

A low-carbohydrate Mediterranean-style diet (≤50% carbohydrates) delays the need for antihyperglycemic drug therapy and improves glycemic control more effectively than a low-fat diet in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes.

If you have newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes, switching to a Mediterranean-style diet that limits carbohydrates to 50% of calories (while ensuring at least 30% comes from fats like olive oil) can significantly delay the need for diabetes medication compared to a standard low-fat diet. Combine this with regular moderate exercise, aiming for about 3 hours per week.

Intermittent fasting and time-restricted eating are effective weight loss strategies comparable to daily calorie restriction.

Try intermittent fasting (like 16:8 time-restricted eating or 5:2 fasting) if you struggle with counting calories. It helps restrict intake by limiting the eating window. Be aware of side effects like dizziness, especially if you take diabetes medication.

High-protein diets (1-1.2 g/kg/day) aid in weight loss maintenance by increasing satiety and preserving lean body mass.

To maintain your weight loss, aim for 1-1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of your ideal body weight daily. This helps you feel full and keeps your muscle mass. If you have kidney disease, consult your doctor first.

Carbohydrate intake should be periodized ('fuel for the work required') based on the daily fuel cost of exercise rather than a fixed macronutrient ratio, ensuring high availability for high-intensity/long-duration sessions and lower availability for low-intensity/short sessions.

Stop counting carbs as a fixed percentage of your diet. Instead, match your carbohydrate intake to your daily training load. On heavy training days or long sessions, eat more carbs. On rest days or light recovery sessions, eat fewer carbs. This is called 'fueling for the work required'.

High carbohydrate availability is required for sessions involving higher intensity workloads, optimal performance, or maximizing recovery, whereas low carbohydrate availability may be sufficient for light or low-moderate intensity exercise.

Eat high carbohydrates before and during hard workouts, long runs, or races to ensure you can perform well and recover. On easy recovery days or short light sessions, you can eat fewer carbohydrates without compromising performance.

Intensive Therapeutic Lifestyle Change (ITLC) programs utilizing whole-food plant-based diets, exercise, stress management, and sleep optimization can treat and reverse chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

To reverse chronic conditions like heart disease or diabetes, you need an intensive lifestyle change program, not just minor tweaks. This involves eating a whole-food plant-based diet, exercising regularly, managing stress, and prioritizing sleep. These changes should be done intensively, often in a structured program lasting 8-18 weeks, to induce significant health improvements.

Tirzepatide demonstrates greater comparative weight loss and metabolic benefits than semaglutide in real-world observational studies, particularly in patients without pre-existing diabetes.

If you are using Semaglutide and not achieving your weight loss goals, switching to Tirzepatide may result in greater weight loss and better metabolic outcomes, especially if you do not have Type 2 Diabetes. Real-world data suggests Tirzepatide is more potent than Semaglutide in routine practice.

A 12-month very-low-carbohydrate (Atkins) diet produces significantly greater weight loss and more favorable metabolic risk factor changes (triglycerides, HDL-C, blood pressure) than low-carbohydrate (Zone), low-fat/high-carbohydrate (LEARN), or very-low-fat (Ornish) diets in overweight premenopausal women.

If you are an overweight premenopausal woman looking to lose weight and improve metabolic health, a very-low-carbohydrate diet (like Atkins) may offer superior results compared to low-fat or moderate-carb diets. Expect a modest but significant weight loss (approx. 4.7 kg over a year) and improvements in blood pressure and cholesterol ratios. The key is strict adherence to the carbohydrate limits (≤20g initially, then ≤50g) and utilizing behavioral strategies to maintain the diet.

Achieving a weight loss of ≥10% within the first year after a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis significantly increases the likelihood of biochemical remission (HbA1c < 48 mmol/mol without medication) at 5 years.

If you have been recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, aim to lose 10% of your body weight within the first year. This level of weight loss, even without extreme diets or intensive programs, significantly doubles your chances of putting the disease into remission (normalizing blood sugar without medication) within five years. Focus on sustainable weight loss rather than extreme restrictions.

Weight loss achieved between 1 and 5 years after diagnosis is also associated with diabetes remission, with a risk ratio of 2.43 for ≥10% weight loss.

Even if you haven't lost weight in the first year, losing 10% of your body weight between year 1 and year 5 after diagnosis is still strongly associated with putting Type 2 diabetes into remission. It is never too late to start losing weight for this benefit.

Supplementing with 15g of collagen peptides daily, taken immediately after resistance training, significantly increases fat-free mass and muscle protein synthesis markers in recreationally active men compared to placebo, without increasing fat mass.

If you are lifting weights 3 times a week, take 15 grams of collagen peptides immediately after your workout. This specific timing and dosage has been shown to help you gain more lean mass and strength than training alone, likely by supporting the structural proteins in your muscles and tendons. It does not add fat.

Lifestyle interventions involving caloric restriction and increased physical activity reduce the risk of incident Chronic Kidney Disease in overweight or obese diabetic patients by approximately 30%.

If you are overweight and have diabetes, combining a healthier diet with regular physical activity can significantly lower your risk of developing kidney disease. This approach works by reducing weight, blood sugar, and blood pressure.

For Asian-Indian populations, reducing carbohydrate intake from 65-75% to 50-55% of total calories, while increasing protein to 20-25% and healthy fats to 20-30%, significantly reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

If you are of Asian-Indian descent, your current diet likely provides 65-75% of your calories from carbohydrates, which significantly increases your risk of diabetes, especially if you carry weight around your midsection. To protect your health, shift your plate composition: aim for 50-55% of calories from complex carbs (like brown rice, whole grains, and vegetables), 20-25% from protein (legumes, pulses, or lean meats), and 20-30% from healthy fats (nuts, seeds, mustard/groundnut oil). This balance is more effective for prevention than extreme low-carb or high-carb approaches.

Sleep restriction (4 hours time-in-bed for five nights) significantly reduces myofibrillar protein synthesis (MyoPS) rates in healthy young men, but performing high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) during this period maintains MyoPS at control levels.

If you are experiencing sleep restriction (e.g., 4 hours of sleep for several nights), your body's ability to build muscle protein drops significantly. However, doing High-Intensity Interval Exercise (HIIE) during this period can keep your muscle protein synthesis rates normal. Do not skip exercise when you are sleep-deprived; instead, consider HIIE as a tool to protect your muscle mass.

Plant-based protein sources can stimulate muscle protein synthesis (MPS) and support muscle mass gains comparable to animal proteins when consumed in sufficient quantities, combined to optimize amino acid profiles, and processed to enhance bioavailability.

To build muscle on a plant-based diet, focus on variety and volume. Combine different plant proteins (like beans and rice) in meals to ensure you get all essential amino acids. You may need to eat slightly more total protein (aim for 1.4-2.0 g/kg/day if active) or larger portions of specific proteins (like pea or soy) to hit the leucine threshold needed to trigger muscle growth, similar to how you would with animal proteins.

Processing plant proteins (e.g., isolation, heating, fermentation) significantly improves their digestibility and bioavailability, making them more effective for MPS than raw plant foods.

If you struggle to eat enough plant protein from whole foods alone, consider using plant protein isolates or concentrates (like pea or soy isolate). These are processed to remove anti-nutrients that block digestion, making the protein much more available for your muscles than raw beans or grains.

Low energy availability (LEA) of 25 kcal/kg fat-free mass per day significantly reduces daily integrated myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic muscle protein synthesis in trained females, even when protein intake is maintained at 2.2 g/kg lean mass per day.

If you are a trained female athlete trying to build or maintain muscle while in a caloric deficit, simply eating high protein is not enough. You must ensure your energy availability is sufficient (above ~30 kcal/kg fat-free mass). Severe energy restriction will blunt muscle protein synthesis and lean mass gains, even with optimal protein intake. Focus on balancing energy intake with exercise expenditure.

Prolonged supplementation with 15g/day of collagen peptides, when combined with resistance exercise training, significantly increases fat-free mass (FFM) in recreationally active men compared to placebo, likely through enhanced passive connective tissue adaptations rather than increased contractile muscle fiber hypertrophy.

If you are lifting weights regularly, adding 15 grams of collagen peptides daily (specifically after your workout) can help you gain more lean mass than training alone. This gain appears to come from stronger connective tissues rather than bigger muscle fibers, which may help you lift heavier or recover faster. It is not a replacement for high-quality protein but a useful addition.