Browse the evidence

The glycemic response (FPG reduction) during the first 3 weeks of caloric restriction is a strong predictor of overall glycemic improvement (FPG and HbA1c) at 20 weeks, independent of total weight loss.

Monitoring fasting blood glucose in the first 3 weeks of a new diet plan can help predict long-term success. If blood sugar levels drop significantly during this early period, it is a strong indicator that the patient will achieve better long-term glycemic control, regardless of the total amount of weight lost.

A high frequency of previous dieting is a strong predictor of significant weight regain after a weight-loss intervention.

If you have a history of frequent dieting, you are at higher risk for regaining weight after a diet. This is not your fault, but it is a known risk factor. To succeed, you need a structured maintenance plan that addresses the behavioral patterns of previous diets, rather than just relying on willpower.

A decrease in 24-hour Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) during a very low energy diet predicts greater weight regain during the subsequent maintenance phase.

If you lose weight very quickly through severe restriction, your metabolism may slow down significantly. This makes it harder to keep the weight off. To mitigate this, avoid extreme deficits and focus on gradual weight loss to minimize metabolic adaptation.

Higher subjective hunger scores, as measured by the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ), predict greater weight regain after a weight-loss intervention.

Feeling hungry after a diet is a strong predictor that you might regain the weight. Instead of fighting hunger with willpower, focus on foods that keep you full (high volume, high fiber) to reduce the hunger score.

Short-term circadian misalignment (simulated night shift) significantly reduces skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity in healthy young men, primarily by decreasing nonoxidative glucose disposal.

If you work night shifts or have an irregular schedule, your body's ability to process glucose in your muscles is impaired, even if you get enough sleep and eat the same amount of food. This happens because your internal biological clock is out of sync with your behavior. To mitigate this, try to keep your meal and sleep times as consistent as possible relative to your work schedule, and be aware that your risk for insulin resistance is higher during periods of circadian disruption.

Higher taurine intake, indicated by higher 24-hour urinary excretion, is associated with significantly lower risks of cardiovascular disease, including reduced blood pressure, lower body mass index, and decreased coronary heart disease mortality.

To support cardiovascular health, prioritize dietary sources of taurine such as seafood, meat, and dairy. Epidemiological evidence suggests that higher taurine intake is linked to lower blood pressure, healthier body weight, and reduced heart disease risk. If you consume a diet low in these foods, consider increasing intake of taurine-rich sources.

Taurine supplementation attenuates blood pressure and stroke incidence in salt-sensitive hypertensive models by modulating sympathetic nervous system activity and reducing inflammation.

In salt-sensitive individuals, taurine may help mitigate blood pressure spikes. This is supported by animal studies showing reduced stroke risk with taurine-rich diets. For humans, this suggests that maintaining adequate taurine intake, possibly through seafood, may be beneficial, especially if salt intake is high.

Taurine supplementation lowers total cholesterol and arterial fat deposition by increasing bile acid production and LDL receptor expression in the liver.

Taurine may help lower cholesterol and arterial fat by improving how the liver processes lipids. This is supported by studies showing reduced cholesterol with taurine supplementation. Including taurine-rich foods in your diet may support heart health.

In older adults (aged 70-79), abdominal obesity (measured by waist circumference) is an independent risk factor for chronic heart failure, whereas total body mass index (BMI) is not a significant predictor when abdominal fat is accounted for.

If you are over 70, focus on your waist circumference rather than just your weight. A larger waist circumference significantly increases your risk of heart failure, even if your overall weight (BMI) is normal. Maintaining a smaller waist size is more critical for heart health than maintaining a specific total body weight.

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) applied to critically ill patients in the ICU, added to usual care, is more effective than usual care alone for preventing skeletal-muscle weakness.

For ICU patients who cannot actively exercise due to sedation or critical illness, applying Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) to major muscle groups (like quadriceps) daily, starting from the first few days of admission, is a proven strategy to prevent muscle weakness. Ensure the device intensity is high enough to cause a visible muscle contraction. This should be done alongside standard medical care.

Walking group interventions targeting both genders are more effective at increasing physical activity than those targeting only women.

If you are organizing or joining a walking group, consider including both men and women. Mixed-gender groups may be more effective at increasing physical activity levels, possibly by attracting more male participants.

Walking group interventions targeting older adults (>61 years) are more effective at increasing physical activity than those targeting younger adults (≤60 years).

Walking groups are particularly beneficial for older adults. If you are over 60, joining a walking group may provide a significant boost to your physical activity levels.

Walking group interventions delivered by lay people are as effective as those delivered by professionals.

You don't need a professional to lead your walking group. Lay people, with basic training, can effectively lead walking groups and achieve similar results to professional-led groups.

High-dose long-chain corn bran arabinoxylan supplementation increases fecal propionate concentrations in adults with overweight and obesity, driven by specific shifts in gut microbiota composition (Bifidobacterium longum, Bacteroides obeum, and Prevotella succinatutens) rather than baseline microbiota.

If you have overweight or obesity, adding high-dose corn bran arabinoxylan (25-35g/day) can boost beneficial gut bacteria that produce propionate, a metabolite linked to metabolic health. However, results vary by person; your specific gut bacteria determine if and how much propionate you produce. Consistency is key, as effects were seen within one week.

When adipose tissue expansion capacity is exceeded, lipid accumulates in non-adipose tissues (lipotoxicity), which directly causes insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.

Focus on strategies that improve your body's ability to store fat safely in adipose tissue (like increasing adipocyte number or function via PPARg activation) rather than just losing weight. If your body spills fat into organs (liver, muscle), it causes insulin resistance regardless of your total weight.

Activation of PPARg increases lipid storage capacity in adipose tissue, thereby preventing lipotoxicity and improving insulin sensitivity.

Medical treatments that activate PPARg (like TZDs) work by forcing fat cells to store more fat safely, keeping it out of the liver and muscles where it causes damage.

Increasing the expression of PGC1a enhances fatty acid oxidation and mitochondrial function in peripheral tissues, which prevents lipotoxicity and improves insulin sensitivity.

Increasing PGC1a activity helps muscles and liver burn fat more efficiently, reducing the toxic buildup of lipids in organs and improving how the body handles glucose.

Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MD) significantly reduces the overall risk of cancer incidence and mortality by approximately 10% through the modulation of chronic low-grade systemic inflammation (inflammaging).

Adopt a Mediterranean-style eating pattern as your default lifestyle. Prioritize daily consumption of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and olive oil. Include fish regularly and limit red meat and saturated fats. If you drink alcohol, do so moderately with meals. This approach has been shown to reduce overall cancer risk by 10% by lowering chronic inflammation, whereas taking antioxidant supplements is not recommended and may be harmful.

Dietary fiber from the Mediterranean Diet reduces colorectal cancer risk by decreasing systemic inflammation, modulating gut microbiota, and reducing contact time of carcinogens with the intestinal epithelium.

Increase your intake of dietary fiber through whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables. This helps feed beneficial gut bacteria, reduces systemic inflammation, and may lower your risk of colorectal cancer.

Acute net muscle protein balance following resistance exercise and essential amino acid (EAA) ingestion accurately reflects the net muscle protein balance over a full 24-hour period.

To maximize muscle growth, you should combine resistance exercise with protein (specifically essential amino acids) intake. This study proves that the acute boost in muscle protein synthesis you get from this combination adds up over the full day. You don't need to worry that your muscles 'forget' the workout or that your body cancels out the benefit later in the day; the acute positive balance contributes directly to your 24-hour net gain.

Adherence to a traditional Mediterranean dietary pattern is associated with a significant reduction in overall mortality among elderly populations.

For elderly individuals, prioritizing a diet rich in olive oil, vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains, while limiting meat and refined sugars, is strongly associated with living longer. This pattern has shown benefits across diverse cultures, suggesting that adopting these core components can improve longevity regardless of specific ethnic background.

Specific nutrient intake accelerates the gastric emptying of that specific nutrient (e.g., glucose accelerates glucose emptying, fat accelerates fat emptying) through desensitization of intestinal feedback mechanisms.

If you need to absorb glucose quickly, train your stomach by consuming high glucose loads regularly. Similarly, high-fat diets accelerate fat emptying. This specificity means you should match your training nutrition to your race nutrition strategy.

Consuming 50g of extra virgin coconut oil daily for 4 weeks does not significantly increase LDL cholesterol compared to extra virgin olive oil, whereas butter significantly increases LDL cholesterol compared to both oils.

If you are replacing butter with coconut oil in your diet, you likely will not see a negative spike in your LDL cholesterol, and it may behave similarly to olive oil in this regard. However, coconut oil does raise HDL (good cholesterol) more than olive oil or butter. It is not a free pass to eat unlimited fat, but it is not as detrimental to LDL as butter.

Consuming 50g of extra virgin coconut oil daily for 4 weeks significantly increases HDL cholesterol compared to butter and olive oil.

You can expect your HDL (good cholesterol) to rise if you switch to coconut oil, more so than if you eat butter or olive oil. However, because coconut oil does not lower LDL (unlike olive oil) and butter raises it, the overall cardiovascular benefit is not clear-cut.