Browse the evidence

Maintaining a Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18.5 and 25.0 kg/m2 reduces the risk of several cancers, including breast (postmenopausal), colon, endometrium, esophagus, gallbladder, pancreas, and kidney cancers.

Strive to maintain a BMI between 18.5 and 25.0 kg/m2 by balancing your caloric intake with physical activity. If you are overweight or obese, focus on gradual weight loss through portion control and increased activity, as this reduces risk for multiple cancers.

Habitual dynamic exercise does not increase protein requirements and may improve metabolic efficiency, while resistance exercise requires increased amino acid availability post-exercise to achieve net positive protein balance.

You do not need to eat more protein just because you exercise regularly. Your body actually becomes more efficient at using protein with training. However, if you do heavy resistance training (weightlifting), you must ensure you eat enough protein after your workout to help your muscles recover and grow, because your body breaks down protein faster than it builds it immediately after the session.

High-intensity dynamic exercise (>70% VO2max) causes a net loss of muscle protein due to increased amino acid oxidation and breakdown, whereas resistance exercise primarily stimulates protein synthesis post-exercise but also elevates breakdown.

If you do very intense cardio (like sprinting or heavy cycling), your body may break down muscle protein for fuel. If you lift weights, your body tries to build muscle after the workout, but it also breaks down protein at the same time. To grow, you need to eat enough protein to tip the balance toward building.

Excluding physiologically implausible energy intake reports (where reported intake is <78% or >122% of predicted energy requirement) from dietary datasets reveals strong, biologically plausible positive associations between energy intake and BMI, whereas including these reports yields weak or spurious associations.

If you are analyzing diet and weight data, do not trust raw self-reported intake numbers. They are often inaccurate, especially for heavier individuals. You must filter out reports that are physiologically impossible (e.g., claiming to eat very little while having a high metabolic need) to see the true relationship between what people eat and their body weight. Without this filter, you might incorrectly conclude that obese people eat less than thin people.

Intensive lifestyle interventions resulting in significant weight loss (approx. 8.6% at 1 year) improve glycaemic control, reduce cardiovascular risk factors, and induce remission of type 2 diabetes, although they have not been shown to reduce the rate of major cardiovascular events compared to standard care.

Focus on losing 7% of your body weight through diet and 150 minutes of moderate exercise weekly. This will significantly improve your blood sugar control and quality of life. While this may not statistically reduce heart attack rates in large groups, it is the most effective first-line treatment for managing Type 2 Diabetes.

Obesity (BMI >= 30) is significantly associated with low leisure-time physical activity in women, but this association was not observed in men in this specific population.

For women, increasing leisure-time physical activity is a key strategy to prevent obesity. For men in this population, leisure-time physical activity was not significantly associated with obesity, suggesting that dietary factors or other lifestyle elements may be more critical targets for weight management.

Urban residence is associated with higher prevalence of overweight, obesity, and abdominal obesity compared to rural residence in both men and women.

If you live in an urban area, be mindful of the higher risk of obesity. Urban environments often promote Western-style diets and lower physical activity. Focus on whole foods and finding opportunities for physical activity to counteract these environmental factors.

Endurance training activates specific signaling pathways, including MAPK and AMPK, which regulate the transcription of genes involved in metabolic adaptation and mitochondrial biogenesis.

Understanding that your body uses molecular signals (like AMPK and MAPK) to adapt to exercise reinforces the importance of consistent training. These signals trigger the building of mitochondria and enzymes that make you more efficient. You don't need to manipulate these signals directly; simply engaging in regular endurance exercise activates them naturally.

Increased mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and oxidative damage contribute to age-related mitochondrial dysfunction and muscle loss, but this can be mitigated by upregulating antioxidant defenses through exercise and caloric restriction.

Oxidative stress damages mitochondria and contributes to muscle loss. Instead of relying solely on antioxidant supplements, focus on lifestyle strategies like exercise and caloric restriction. These approaches upregulate your body's natural antioxidant defenses, improving mitochondrial function and reducing oxidative damage.

Supplementing a suboptimal dose of whey protein (6.25 g) with either leucine or essential amino acids (EAAs) stimulates myofibrillar protein synthesis (MPS) at rest to the same extent as a full dose (25 g) of whey protein, but only the full dose sustains elevated MPS rates following resistance exercise.

If you are eating a small amount of protein (e.g., 6-7g) after a workout, adding leucine or essential amino acids will boost your muscle protein synthesis to the same level as eating a full serving (25g) of protein, but only for the first few hours. To keep muscle building active for the full 5+ hours post-workout, you need the full dose of protein, not just the leucine boost.

Higher consumption of whole grain foods is associated with a significantly lower risk of ischemic stroke in women, independent of known cardiovascular disease risk factors.

To lower your risk of ischemic stroke, aim to increase your daily intake of whole grains. Focus on foods like dark bread, whole grain breakfast cereals, popcorn, cooked oatmeal, wheat germ, brown rice, and bran. You do not need to reach extreme levels; even increasing your intake by just one serving per day (replacing refined grains) can provide significant protective benefits. This advice applies specifically to women, as this study focused on female nurses, but the biological mechanisms (fiber, antioxidants, minerals) are likely relevant broadly.

Consuming fried foods four or more times per week significantly amplifies the genetic risk for higher BMI and obesity, with the effect size nearly doubling in high-genetic-risk individuals compared to low-risk individuals.

If you have a family history of obesity or known genetic risk factors, limiting fried food consumption to less than once a week is crucial. For those with high genetic risk, eating fried foods four or more times a week can nearly double the negative impact on your BMI compared to low-risk individuals. For those with low genetic risk, the impact is smaller but still present.

Early time-restricted feeding (eTRF) reduces appetite and increases fat oxidation but does not significantly alter 24-hour energy expenditure in humans.

If you try eating all your meals between 8 am and 2 pm, you likely won't burn significantly more calories than usual. However, you will likely feel less hungry and more full throughout the day because your hunger hormones (ghrelin) are better regulated. This makes it easier to eat less without feeling deprived, which is the actual mechanism for weight loss.

Consumption of flavonoid-rich foods (cocoa, tea, berries) produces small but measurable improvements in blood pressure, endothelial function, and insulin resistance, mediated by enhanced nitric oxide bioavailability and AMPK activation.

Incorporate flavonoid-rich foods like dark chocolate (cocoa), tea, and berries into your daily diet. You do not need large quantities; even small amounts (e.g., ~30 kcal/d of dark chocolate) can contribute to lower blood pressure and better vascular health. Focus on consistency rather than high doses of supplements.

Substituting red meat with fish or low-quality carbohydrates results in less favorable lipid changes compared to substituting with high-quality plant proteins.

If you replace red meat with fish or refined carbohydrates, you may not see the same cholesterol benefits as if you replaced it with plant proteins. While fish is better than red meat for LDL, plant proteins are the best option for improving lipid profiles.

Training twice every second day with low muscle glycogen during the second session enhances mitochondrial enzyme activity and fat oxidation markers compared to daily training with normal glycogen, but does not improve 1-hour endurance performance.

If you are an endurance athlete, splitting your daily training into two sessions on alternate days (training low on the second session) may boost your mitochondrial enzymes and fat-burning capacity. However, do not expect this to make you faster in a 1-hour race compared to training daily with normal glycogen. In fact, your high-intensity session quality may suffer initially. Prioritize recovery and glycogen replenishment if performance is your primary goal.

A low-glycemic load diet produces greater weight loss and body fat reduction than a low-fat diet specifically in obese young adults with high insulin secretion (high 30-minute post-glucose insulin levels).

If you are obese and struggling with weight loss, your body's insulin response to carbohydrates might dictate which diet works for you. If you have high insulin levels after eating carbs, a low-glycemic load diet (focusing on nonstarchy vegetables, legumes, and temperate fruits) is likely more effective for weight loss than a standard low-fat diet. If your insulin response is normal, both diets may yield similar results. Consider getting your insulin response tested to guide your dietary choice.

Higher circulating levels of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA, DPA, DHA) are associated with lower total mortality and specifically reduced cardiovascular mortality in older adults without prevalent cardiovascular disease.

For older adults (65+) without existing heart disease, maintaining higher blood levels of EPA, DHA, and DHA is linked to living longer, primarily by reducing heart-related deaths. This suggests that ensuring adequate intake of these fatty acids through diet (e.g., fish) is a viable strategy for longevity, with an estimated gain of over 2 years of life after age 65 for those with the highest levels compared to the lowest.

Endurance training progressively increases fat oxidation during exercise by shifting substrate reliance from plasma free fatty acids to intramuscular triglycerides (IMTG), with significant metabolic adaptations occurring as early as 5 days of training.

If you start an endurance training program, expect your body to become more efficient at burning fat within the first week, even before you see weight loss. This happens by shifting fuel use from blood fats to stored fat inside your muscles. Stick with it; the metabolic shift is real and measurable early on.

Among overweight women, higher intake of trans, saturated, and animal fats is associated with greater long-term weight gain, whereas total fat percentage shows only a weak association.

If you are overweight, paying attention to the *type* of fat you eat matters more than the total amount. Specifically, increasing your intake of trans fats, saturated fats, and animal fats is associated with greater weight gain over time. You do not need to fear monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats as much, as they were not associated with weight gain in this study. Focus on quality of fat sources rather than just total fat grams.

Consuming two or more cups of coffee per day is associated with a substantially lower risk of type 2 diabetes in younger and middle-aged women, an effect observed for both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee.

If you are a woman between 26 and 46 years old, drinking 2-3 cups of coffee daily (caffeinated or decaf) is linked to a significantly lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. You don't need to drink excessive amounts to see this benefit. If you are sensitive to caffeine or have sleep issues, choose decaffeinated coffee. Avoid adding large amounts of sugar or high-calorie creamers, as these can lead to weight gain, which increases diabetes risk. Focus on the coffee itself as a healthy habit.

High dietary intake of protein and minerals (specifically potassium, zinc, magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus) is associated with higher plasma levels of Insulin-like Growth Factor I (IGF-I) and the IGF-I:IGFBP-3 molar ratio in middle-aged to elderly men.

To support healthy IGF-I levels, focus on consuming adequate amounts of protein and minerals rather than just total calories. Ensure your diet includes sources of potassium, zinc, magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus. Both animal sources (like fish, poultry, and milk) and plant-based proteins contribute to this effect. Red meat is not uniquely required for this benefit.

The age-related decline in plasma IGF-I can be mitigated by high intakes of protein and minerals, resulting in IGF-I levels in older men comparable to those in younger men with lower intakes.

As you age, maintaining high protein and mineral intake is crucial for preserving IGF-I levels. This may help counteract the natural age-related decline in growth hormone and IGF-I, potentially supporting muscle mass and metabolic health.

Post-diagnosis obesity (BMI >= 30 kg/m2) is associated with a 52% increase in all-cause mortality and a 2.28 times greater risk of breast cancer-specific mortality compared to normal BMI.

Maintaining a normal BMI after a breast cancer diagnosis is strongly associated with better survival. Obese women (BMI >= 30) had more than double the risk of dying from breast cancer compared to those with a normal BMI. Survivors should aim to achieve and maintain a healthy weight through diet and exercise, as this is linked to significantly improved mortality outcomes.