Browse the evidence

The US recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.8 g/kg/d, which is inadequate for exercising individuals.

Practitioners should consider recommending higher protein intakes for athletes.

Athletes are typically advised to consume twice the US RDA for protein.

Practitioners should recommend higher protein intakes for athletes based on this advice.

Strategies for incorporating healthier fats into meals were discussed at the symposium.

Practitioners can utilize strategies discussed to promote healthier fat choices in meals.

100 g/hr of carbohydrate may be advisable for the Olympic Cycling Road race.

Consider recommending carbohydrate intake strategies for endurance athletes.

The Expert Group Statement advocates for an evidence-based approach to nutrition in high-performance tennis.

Practitioners should implement evidence-based nutritional strategies for tennis players.

The statement emphasizes a 'food first' philosophy, prioritizing food over supplements.

Nutritionists should focus on whole foods to meet players' nutrient needs.

Consumption of a proprietary Medium Chain Triglyceride (MCT) complex for seven days improves self-reported mental focus and perceived energy in golfers without increasing physiological arousal or energy expenditure.

If you play golf and struggle with focus, try a proprietary MCT supplement taken once daily for a week. This may improve your mental focus and perceived energy without making you feel physically more tired or increasing your calorie burn. Note that the specific ingredients are not disclosed, so you must trust the brand's formulation.

A guideline-based approach to weight management counseling in primary care is proposed.

Practitioners should adopt a guideline-based approach in counseling patients about weight management.

Standalone digital health exercise interventions provide no significant benefit on core sarcopenia outcomes (muscle mass, physical performance) in older adults, whereas combined digital interventions (exercise plus nutrition) significantly improve muscle strength and quality of life.

If you are an older adult with sarcopenia, a digital exercise app alone is unlikely to significantly improve your muscle strength or physical function. To see real benefits, you need a program that combines digital exercise guidance with nutritional support. Look for comprehensive digital interventions that include both components.

Individualized strength-oriented fitness programs significantly improve strength preparedness (maximal strength, endurance, speed-strength) in women of early mature age (21-30 years) even under prolonged war-related environmental stress.

If you are living in a high-stress or crisis environment, do not abandon strength training. Instead, individualize your program to your current capacity and stress levels. Focus on gradual progression of resistance and volume. This approach can maintain and even improve your strength and functional stability despite external chaos.

Supplementation with whey protein, creatine HCl, and glutamine combined with undulating resistance training improves strength and muscle mass gains in athletes, even in those with lower genetic predisposition for strength (low TGS), compared to non-supplemented athletes with higher genetic predisposition.

If you are an athlete looking to maximize strength and muscle, combining resistance training with specific supplements (whey protein, creatine HCl, glutamine) may yield better results than training alone, even if you don't have 'strength genes'. Ensure you take whey protein post-workout, creatine pre-workout, and split glutamine doses morning and night.

Weekly subcutaneous administration of GLP-1 receptor agonist (dulaglutide) significantly reduces HbA1c and body weight in patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus who fail to adhere to low carbohydrate diet (LCD) or calorie restriction diet (CRD).

If you have Type 2 Diabetes and struggle to maintain a low-carb or calorie-restricted diet due to lifestyle, cognitive issues, or lack of support, ask your doctor about once-weekly GLP-1 receptor agonists like dulaglutide. This medication can significantly lower blood sugar (HbA1c) and help with weight loss even when dietary adherence is inconsistent. It is particularly useful for elderly patients or those with comorbidities who find daily management difficult.

Long-term adherence to a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet is projected to result in obesity (mean BMI 31.76), whereas shifting 50% of kilocalories from BMI-increasing foods to BMI-decreasing foods is projected to result in a normal BMI (23.26).

If you are following a low-carb, high-fat diet, be aware that while you might lose weight quickly, this specific analysis projects that maintaining this diet long-term (over 20 years) could lead to obesity. To achieve a normal BMI long-term, the model suggests shifting half your calories from foods that increase BMI (like animal fats and sugars) to foods that decrease it (like vegetables and whole grains).

Personalization and gamification are crucial elements for motivation and engagement in running applications.

When choosing or designing a running app, look for features that allow you to set specific goals and customize notifications. Gamified elements like badges or social sharing can boost motivation if they align with your personal values. Avoid apps that offer only generic advice.

Women may benefit from shorter rest intervals (e.g., 1 minute or less) than men to maintain performance and strength gains during resistance training.

If you are a woman, try resting 60 seconds or less between sets. You might find you can maintain your performance better than if you rested longer, and you'll finish your workout faster. However, be cautious with very short rests (20s) for strength goals, as they may hinder gains.

Short-term adoption of a vegan diet (e.g., 3 weeks) leads to significant weight loss and reduced caloric intake without negatively impacting fitness scores or sports performance.

If you switch to a vegan diet, expect to lose weight, likely fat, due to lower calorie density. Your strength and fitness scores should remain stable in the short term (3 weeks) if you keep training. Monitor your energy levels and adjust portions if you feel fatigued.

Individualized, multi-disciplinary nutrition counseling combined with lifestyle modification (diet and exercise) leads to significant weight loss and improved metabolic markers in prediabetic subjects, even when caloric intake increases due to behavioral flexibility.

For prediabetic individuals, rigid calorie counting often fails due to social pressures and lifestyle constraints. Instead, work with a clinical team to build self-management skills. Focus on problem-solving for specific triggers (like work dinners or alcohol) and gradually improve food choices. The study shows that even if your total calorie intake eventually rises, improved behavioral habits and increased physical activity can still drive significant weight loss and metabolic improvement.

Standardizing dietary interventions by objective diet quality (e.g., HEI-2020) while allowing variable diet types (cultural/personalized) improves adherence and external validity compared to fixed-type, one-size-fits-all interventions.

Focus on the quality of your diet (vegetables, fruits, legumes, nutrient density) rather than forcing yourself into a specific named diet (like Keto or strict Mediterranean) if it clashes with your culture or preferences. Use tools to measure your diet quality objectively. If you can maintain high quality while eating foods you culturally and personally enjoy, you will adhere better and see better long-term health outcomes.

Food Is Medicine (FIM) interventions, including produce prescriptions and medically tailored meals, show promise in improving diet quality and food security, but current evidence is insufficient to definitively establish their effectiveness on clinical outcomes or cost savings due to small sample sizes and lack of randomized controlled trials.

To improve health through diet, simply knowing what to eat is often not enough due to structural barriers like cost and access. Food Is Medicine programs attempt to bridge this gap by providing healthy food directly (via vouchers or meals) alongside healthcare. While these programs show promise in improving diet quality, they are not yet proven to significantly reduce clinical events or healthcare costs due to limited high-quality research. Patients should look for programs that integrate food provision with healthcare support, especially if they face food insecurity.

EPA and DHA supplementation inhibits the elevation of inflammatory markers (IL-6, TNF-α) and muscle damage markers (CK, Mb) following eccentric exercise, though results for CK/Mb are inconsistent.

Fish oil may help lower inflammation after hard exercise, but it does not reliably reduce the blood markers of muscle damage (like CK) in all cases. Focus on the functional benefits (less soreness, better strength retention) rather than blood tests.

Whey protein supplementation combined with resistance exercise training increases skeletal muscle mass and handgrip strength in older adults with sarcopenia compared to resistance exercise alone, although the effect sizes are small and may not exceed the minimally important clinical difference.

If you are an older adult with sarcopenia, adding whey protein to your resistance training routine can help you gain a small amount of muscle and grip strength. However, do not expect dramatic changes; the benefits are modest and may not translate to major functional improvements. Consistency with both exercise and protein intake is key.

Intermittent Energy Restriction (IER) involving alternating periods of energy restriction with refeeds may preserve resting energy expenditure (REE) and fat-free mass (FFM) better than Continuous Energy Restriction (CER) during weight loss, though evidence in athletes is currently limited.

If you are an athlete struggling with plateaus or extreme hunger on a standard diet, try adding 'refeed' days where you eat at maintenance or slightly above. This might help preserve your muscle and keep your metabolism from slowing down as much as it would on a constant low-calorie diet. However, be aware that direct proof in athletes is still scarce, so monitor your progress closely.

Strict exercise technique (minimizing involvement of ancillary muscle groups) is recommended over non-strict technique (using momentum or body sway) to ensure the target muscle receives the primary hypertrophic stimulus and adheres to recommended tempo and ROM.

Aim for strict form by minimizing body sway and momentum, especially if the assisting muscles are not being effectively trained (e.g., hip extensors during bicep curls). This ensures the target muscle handles the load and adheres to the recommended 2-8 second tempo and long muscle length ROM. However, if assisting muscles are also at long muscle lengths, some involvement may be acceptable.

A 6-week Low-Carbohydrate High-Fat (LCHF) nutrition education program improves subjective energy levels, satiety, and metabolic health markers in women with pre-existing non-communicable diseases from under-resourced communities.

If you have metabolic issues and live in a low-resource setting, a LCHF approach focusing on affordable whole foods (eggs, chicken, vegetables) can be sustainable and improve energy and satiety. Leverage social support (groups, messaging apps) to maintain adherence, as isolation is a major barrier. Expect some initial resistance from family or doctors, but visible health improvements often convert them to supporters.