Browse the evidence

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with a 2- to 3-fold increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D), driven by hepatic insulin resistance, impaired beta-cell function, and lipotoxicity.

If you have been diagnosed with NAFLD, recognize it as a significant warning sign for type 2 diabetes. The presence of liver fat indicates underlying insulin resistance and beta-cell stress. Prioritize interventions that improve insulin sensitivity, such as weight loss and exercise, to mitigate this elevated risk.

Protein restriction (PR) and specific amino acid restrictions (e.g., methionine, BCAAs) improve metabolic health and extend lifespan/healthspan, likely mediated by mTOR inhibition.

Restricting protein intake, or specific amino acids like methionine or BCAAs, can improve metabolic health and extend lifespan in mice, and is linked to better health outcomes in humans. This suggests that optimizing protein quality and quantity, rather than maximizing it, may be beneficial for longevity.

Short-term aerobic exercise (as little as 4 days) significantly improves postprandial lipid profiles, reducing non-fasting triglycerides and LDL remnants.

You don't need to wait months to see benefits. Just 4 days of moderate exercise can help your body clear fats from your blood after meals, reducing heart disease risk. You can do this in one session or spread out over the day.

Food fortification significantly reduces the prevalence of inadequate micronutrient intakes in low-income regions, particularly for iron, vitamin A, and zinc, although its effectiveness varies by region and specific nutrient.

In regions where access to diverse, nutrient-dense foods is limited, supporting or consuming fortified foods (like fortified flour or oil) is a highly effective way to prevent micronutrient deficiencies, especially for iron, vitamin A, and zinc.

Calcium, iron, vitamin A, and zinc are the micronutrients with the lowest levels of adequate estimated intake globally, with strong regional variations in which specific nutrients are most deficient.

Focus on ensuring adequate intake of calcium, iron, vitamin A, and zinc, as these are the most commonly deficient nutrients globally. Tailor your diet to address specific regional deficiencies (e.g., iron and vitamin A in South Asia, calcium and folate in Southeast Asia).

Myosteatosis (intramuscular adipose tissue accumulation) is a consistent marker of aging that negatively correlates with muscle strength, mobility, and insulin sensitivity, independent of total muscle mass.

For older adults, maintaining muscle strength and mobility requires attention to muscle quality, not just size. Regular physical activity can prevent the age-associated increase in intramuscular fat (myosteatosis), which is a key driver of mobility disability and insulin resistance, even if muscle mass remains stable.

High levels of myosteatosis are associated with increased mortality and poor survival outcomes in cancer survivors, particularly those with low muscle mass.

For cancer survivors, assessing muscle quality (via imaging like CT scans) is important for predicting survival. High levels of fat infiltration in muscles (myosteatosis) are linked to higher mortality, especially when combined with low muscle mass.

Berberine improves endothelial function and reduces oxidative stress in human subjects.

In healthy humans, berberine supplementation (1.2 g/day) has been shown to improve blood vessel function and reduce oxidative stress. This suggests potential benefits for long-term cardiovascular health, even in the absence of diagnosed disease.

Plant-based meat substitutes generally offer lower energy, total fat, and saturated fat compared to equivalent animal meats, but often lack nutritional equivalence regarding key micronutrients (iron, zinc, vitamin B12) and frequently contain high sodium levels.

When choosing plant-based meat substitutes, prioritize products that are fortified with Vitamin B12, Iron, and Zinc, as only a minority of products on the market include these. Be mindful of sodium content, as many products (especially mince) can have significantly higher sodium levels than their animal meat counterparts. Use the Health Star Rating as a rough guide, but always check the Nutrition Information Panel for sodium and micronutrients.

Chronic supplementation with the mitochondrial-targeted antioxidant MitoQ (20 mg/day for 6 weeks) improves vascular endothelial function, measured by brachial artery flow-mediated dilation, in healthy older adults (60-79 years) with baseline impairment.

If you are over 60 and have signs of stiffening arteries or poor blood vessel flexibility, taking 20mg of MitoQ daily for at least 6 weeks may significantly improve your blood vessel function. This is a specific antioxidant designed to work inside your cells' energy producers, potentially countering age-related vascular decline.

In older adults with elevated baseline aortic stiffness (carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity >7.60 m/s), chronic MitoQ supplementation (20 mg/day for 6 weeks) reduces aortic stiffness.

If you are over 60 and have been told your arteries are stiff (high pulse wave velocity), taking 20mg of MitoQ daily for 6 weeks may help reduce that stiffness. This benefit appears specifically for those who already have elevated stiffness levels.

Chronic MitoQ supplementation (20 mg/day for 6 weeks) reduces plasma oxidized LDL levels, a marker of oxidative stress, in healthy older adults.

Taking 20mg of MitoQ daily for 6 weeks can help reduce oxidized LDL, a marker of oxidative stress, in older adults. This suggests the supplement is effectively reducing oxidative damage in the body.

Inulin-propionate ester (IPE) supplementation reduces systemic proinflammatory interleukin-8 (IL-8) levels in adults with overweight and obesity, an effect not observed with inulin alone.

For those managing obesity, IPE supplementation may offer an anti-inflammatory benefit by lowering IL-8, a marker linked to insulin resistance. This effect was specific to IPE and not seen with standard inulin, suggesting the targeted delivery of propionate plays a unique role in reducing systemic inflammation.

Inulin supplementation promotes a bifidogenic effect (increased Bifidobacterium) and alters gut bacterial composition at the class and order levels, whereas IPE primarily affects bacterial populations at the species level.

If you take inulin, expect it to boost Bifidobacteria and change the broad structure of your gut bacteria. If you take IPE, expect it to shift specific species of Bacteroides without boosting Bifidobacteria as much, likely due to the high propionate levels inhibiting that specific growth. Both interventions alter the microbiome, but in distinct ways.

A 4-week multimodal prehabilitation program (high-intensity exercise, nutritional support, psychological support, and smoking cessation) significantly reduces severe and medical postoperative complications in patients undergoing elective colorectal cancer surgery.

If you are having colorectal cancer surgery, ask your care team about a prehabilitation program. It typically involves 4 weeks of supervised exercise, nutritional support, and stress management before surgery. This can significantly lower your risk of serious complications and help you recover faster.

Overfeeding with saturated fat increases intrahepatic triglycerides (IHTG) and insulin resistance significantly more than overfeeding with unsaturated fat or simple sugars, primarily by stimulating adipose tissue lipolysis and increasing plasma ceramides.

If you are overweight and concerned about liver health, simply reducing calories is important, but the type of fat you eat matters significantly. Replacing saturated fats (found in butter, cheese, fatty meats) with unsaturated fats (found in olive oil, nuts, avocados) may help reduce liver fat accumulation and improve insulin sensitivity, even if total calorie intake remains the same. While simple sugars also increase liver fat, saturated fat appears to be particularly harmful by promoting fat release from body fat stores and increasing inflammatory markers like ceramides.

Implementation of a sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) excise tax leads to a significant decline in the volume of SSB sales, accompanied by a substitution effect toward untaxed beverages (particularly water), without increasing overall consumer spending per transaction.

A tax on sugary drinks successfully reduces the amount of sugary drinks sold by making them relatively more expensive. Consumers respond by buying less sugary drinks and more water or other untaxed beverages, keeping their total grocery bill roughly the same. This policy lever works through economic substitution rather than direct health mandates.

Post-operative weight regain is a common long-term risk associated with bariatric surgery, driven by reduced energy expenditure and hormonal changes, requiring lifestyle adherence.

Expect that weight maintenance requires ongoing effort. Monitor your weight, adhere to dietary guidelines, and stay active, as biological changes (like reduced energy expenditure) can promote regain if lifestyle habits slip.

Consumption of mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) and its bioactive compounds (polyphenols, polysaccharides, peptides) ameliorates metabolic syndrome markers, including hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension, through mechanisms involving enzyme inhibition (alpha-glucosidase, ACE) and antioxidant activity.

Incorporate mung beans, particularly sprouted or fermented varieties, into your diet to help manage blood sugar and blood pressure. The seed coat contains high levels of flavonoids like vitexin and isovitexin, which contribute to these benefits. While whole bean consumption is beneficial, specific extracts or processed forms (sprouted/fermented) may offer higher concentrations of active compounds.

Gut microbiota composition serves as a predictive biomarker for obesity-related metabolic abnormalities, with specific genera (Bacteroides, Parabacteroides, Blautia, Alistipes, Romboutsia, Roseburia) consistently associated with metabolic health status in obese populations.

Your gut bacteria composition is a strong indicator of your metabolic health risk. If you are obese, specific bacteria levels (like Bacteroides and Roseburia) can predict issues like high blood pressure or lipids. While this paper doesn't prescribe a specific diet, it suggests that interventions targeting these specific microbes (e.g., through prebiotics or probiotics) could help improve metabolic risk. Focus on dietary patterns that support a diverse microbiome, as specific genera are linked to better metabolic outcomes.

Oral administration of Akkermansia muciniphila (2x10^8 bacterial cells/day) reverses high-fat diet-induced obesity and metabolic disorders in mice by improving gut barrier function and lipid metabolism without altering food intake.

If you are struggling with obesity or metabolic issues, increasing your levels of Akkermansia muciniphila through diet (prebiotic fibers, polyphenols) or supplementation may help improve your gut barrier and lipid metabolism. Note that this benefit is most pronounced if you have existing metabolic disorders like those induced by a high-fat diet.

Akkermansia muciniphila abundance is inversely correlated with obesity and metabolic syndrome severity in humans, and its enrichment can serve as an indicator of metabolic health.

Monitoring your gut microbiome for Akkermansia muciniphila levels could be a useful indicator of your metabolic health. Higher levels are generally associated with better metabolic outcomes.

Dietary interventions, including calorie restriction, prebiotic fibers, and polyphenols, increase the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila in the gut.

To boost your Akkermansia muciniphila levels, focus on a diet rich in prebiotic fibers, incorporate polyphenol-rich foods (like cranberry, pomegranate, tea), and consider calorie restriction if you are overweight.

Obesity contributes to OSAS pathogenesis by causing upper airway narrowing due to fat deposition in the pharynx and thoracic cavity, reducing vital capacity, and altering ventilation-perfusion ratios.

Losing weight can mechanically open your airway by reducing fat deposition in the neck and pharynx. This is a primary treatment strategy for OSAS, especially if you are overweight.