Browse the evidence

Soy isoflavone supplementation improves insulin sensitivity and reduces fasting insulin levels in postmenopausal women, particularly those with metabolic syndrome or hyperinsulinemia.

Postmenopausal women, especially those with metabolic syndrome, may benefit from soy isoflavone supplementation (around 54mg/day) to improve insulin sensitivity and lower fasting insulin levels.

Higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet (MeDi) is associated with a significantly lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in elderly populations.

Adopting a Mediterranean-style dietary pattern is strongly associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease in older adults. Focus on high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits, cereals, fish, and unsaturated fats (like olive oil), while limiting meat, poultry, and saturated fats. This dietary pattern appears protective even in non-Mediterranean populations, suggesting the core components are broadly beneficial for brain health.

While exercise improves insulin sensitivity regardless of diet, the enhancement of basal fat oxidation specifically requires the addition of caloric restriction to exercise training in older, obese adults.

If your goal is to improve your body's ability to burn fat at rest (basal fat oxidation), exercise alone may not be enough. You likely need to combine your aerobic exercise routine with a moderate caloric deficit (reducing daily intake by at least 500 calories) to see these specific metabolic shifts.

Exercise training improves leptin sensitivity in older, obese adults, evidenced by a new correlation between circulating leptin and basal fat oxidation that does not exist in the sedentary state.

This finding is primarily mechanistic. It suggests that exercise helps 'reset' how your body uses the hormone leptin to manage fat burning. While you don't need to track leptin levels, this explains why exercise is so effective for metabolic health in this population.

Adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern is associated with a significantly reduced risk of breast cancer, with a particularly strong protective effect against triple-negative tumors.

Adopting a Mediterranean dietary pattern—characterized by high consumption of vegetables, legumes, fruits, oily fish, and olive oil, and low consumption of processed meats and refined grains—is associated with a significantly lower risk of breast cancer. This protective effect is particularly pronounced for triple-negative tumors, suggesting that dietary choices may play a crucial role in preventing aggressive forms of the disease.

Adherence to a Western dietary pattern is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, particularly in premenopausal women.

High adherence to a Western dietary pattern, characterized by high intakes of processed meats, refined grains, sweets, and caloric drinks, is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. This risk is particularly elevated in premenopausal women, suggesting that dietary choices during younger reproductive years may have a significant impact on long-term cancer risk.

Caffeine ingestion increases 24-hour energy expenditure and lipid oxidation in lean women, but this thermogenic response is significantly blunted in duration and magnitude in obese women.

If you are obese, caffeine will still increase your daily energy expenditure and fat burning, but the effect is about half as strong as it is in lean individuals, and it does not extend into the night. Do not rely on caffeine alone for weight loss in obesity; its utility as a thermogenic agent is significantly diminished compared to lean populations.

High protein intake significantly increases energy expenditure (thermogenesis) primarily through the energetic costs of protein turnover, ureagenesis, and gluconeogenesis.

If you are trying to lose fat, increasing protein intake can help by increasing your daily energy expenditure through the thermic effect of food. This is due to the high energy cost of processing amino acids into urea and glucose.

Higher obesity (BMI) in the US Latino population is associated with a higher Prevotella to Bacteroides ratio and lower bacterial alpha diversity, contrary to findings in some non-Hispanic populations.

In this Latino population, higher obesity was linked to lower bacterial diversity and a higher P:B ratio. To counter this, focus on dietary quality: higher intake of whole grains, vegetables, and fiber, and lower intake of red meat and trans fats, was associated with a healthier P:B ratio. This suggests that dietary improvements can positively impact your microbiome even if you have obesity.

Dietary acculturation to a Western diet (higher intake of red meat, trans fats, lower fiber) is associated with a lower Prevotella to Bacteroides ratio and lower fungal diversity, while a healthier diet (higher AHEI score) is associated with a higher P:B ratio.

Your diet plays a huge role in your microbiome. A healthier diet (higher AHEI score), characterized by more whole grains, vegetables, and less red meat and trans fats, is associated with a healthier P:B ratio. If you are acculturating to a Western diet, try to maintain the fiber-rich aspects of your traditional diet (beans, vegetables, whole grains) and reduce processed foods and red meat to support a diverse microbiome.

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment for sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome significantly improves objective daytime sleepiness and mood, but does not produce major improvements in cognitive function.

If you have sleep apnoea, using CPAP nightly will likely make you less sleepy and improve your mood, especially if you use it for more than 4.5 hours a night. However, do not expect CPAP to fix cognitive issues like memory or processing speed; these may not improve with treatment alone.

Nutrition and lifestyle factors significantly influence the rate of molecular damage accumulation, thereby modulating the pace of ageing.

Adopt a diet that minimizes molecular damage, such as one rich in antioxidants and low in excess sugar and saturated fats. This reduces the burden on your body's limited repair systems, slowing the accumulation of age-related damage.

Long-term caloric restriction (25% reduction) slows the pace of biological aging as measured by DunedinPACE in healthy adults, though it does not significantly alter static biological age estimates from PhenoAge or GrimAge clocks.

If you can sustain a moderate calorie deficit (even around 10-15%), it may slow the rate at which your body ages biologically, as measured by specific epigenetic markers. This does not necessarily reverse your current biological age, but it may slow the accumulation of age-related damage. Consistency over two years is key, and behavioral support helps maintain the deficit.

Triaxial accelerometry provides significantly higher accuracy in predicting total energy expenditure (TEE) and activity-related energy expenditure (AEE) in free-living conditions compared to uniaxial accelerometry.

If you are tracking energy expenditure or physical activity levels in a real-world setting, use a triaxial accelerometer (measuring movement in all three planes: vertical, mediolateral, and anteroposterior) rather than a simple pedometer or uniaxial monitor. The additional axes capture non-walking movements (like arm swings or twisting) that uniaxial devices miss, leading to a significantly more accurate estimate of your total energy expenditure.

Tirzepatide and semaglutide produce similar reductions in fasting appetite and ad libitum energy intake during lunch, indicating that differences in weight loss between the two drugs are not explained by appetite suppression alone.

Both tirzepatide and semaglutide reduce hunger and calorie intake similarly during lunch. However, tirzepatide leads to more fat loss. This suggests that tirzepatide might work through additional mechanisms, such as increasing energy expenditure or changing how fat is stored, rather than just making you feel less hungry than semaglutide does.

Circadian misalignment (desynchrony between sleep/eating times and internal clocks) independently reduces insulin sensitivity and exacerbates the negative metabolic effects of sleep restriction.

Align your sleep and meal times with your natural circadian rhythm. Circadian misalignment (e.g., eating late, sleeping at odd hours) reduces insulin sensitivity and worsens glucose metabolism. For shift workers, strategies to align internal clocks with external schedules are critical to mitigate diabetes risk.

A 24-hour fast blunts NLRP3 inflammasome activation in human subjects by activating SIRT3, which enhances mitochondrial integrity and reduces ROS, whereas refeeding primes the inflammasome via NF-κB signaling.

A 24-hour fast reduces markers of sterile inflammation (NLRP3) in healthy people by activating a specific protein (SIRT3) that protects mitochondria. If you are healthy, a single day of fasting may have anti-inflammatory benefits compared to eating normally, provided you do not have underlying conditions that contraindicate fasting.

Nicotinamide Riboside (NR), a SIRT3 agonist, blunts NLRP3 inflammasome activation and improves mitochondrial function in leukocytes from refed (fed) subjects, mimicking the effects of fasting.

Taking Nicotinamide Riboside (NR) for 24 hours can reduce inflammation markers in blood cells, mimicking the effects of a 24-hour fast. This suggests NR may be a useful tool for managing inflammation without requiring prolonged fasting.

Shorter self-reported sleep duration is linearly associated with prevalent and persistent psychological distress in young adults, with each hour less of sleep increasing the risk of distress persistence.

If you are a young adult (17-24) struggling with persistent low mood or anxiety, your sleep duration matters significantly. Each hour of sleep you lose increases your risk of maintaining that distress. Prioritize getting 8-9 hours of sleep, as this is the reference range associated with the lowest risk of psychological distress in this demographic.

Consumption of probiotic fermented milks and yoghurts is associated with improved bone mineral density (BMD) and a significantly reduced risk of osteoporosis and osteopenia, particularly in females.

Aim for at least one serving of yoghurt or fermented milk daily. This provides bio-available calcium and protein that support bone density. If you have lactose sensitivity, fermented options like yoghurt are often better tolerated than plain milk. For bone strength, combine this with weight-bearing exercise.

Consumption of probiotic yoghurt containing specific strains (L. acidophilus La5 and B. lactis Bb12) improves glycemic control (fasting blood sugar, HbA1c) and lipid profiles in patients with Type 2 Diabetes.

If you have Type 2 Diabetes, incorporating 300g of probiotic yoghurt daily (specifically with L. acidophilus La5 and B. lactis Bb12) may help lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels. Consult your doctor before making dietary changes.

Men experience greater absolute gains in leg extensor power and strength than women when performing high-intensity resistance training, regardless of age.

Women can achieve similar relative improvements in muscle power and strength as men through resistance training. While men may see larger absolute gains due to higher baseline muscle mass, women should not be discouraged. Focus on progressive overload and consistency.

Acarbose treatment in prediabetic patients selectively modulates gut microbiota by increasing beneficial taxa (Lactobacillus, Dialister) and decreasing potentially harmful taxa (Ruminococcus, Butyricicoccus), which correlates with improved metabolic markers such as reduced triglycerides and insulin levels.

If you have prediabetes, acarbose may help improve your metabolic profile by changing your gut bacteria. It works by increasing beneficial bacteria like Lactobacillus and Dialister while reducing others. To avoid stomach upset, start with a low dose and gradually increase it over the first week. Take it with the first bite of your meals.

Oat beta-glucan lowers cholesterol by modulating gut microbiota to increase bile salt hydrolase (BSH) activity, which deconjugates bile acids, reduces their reabsorption, and forces the liver to synthesize new bile acids from cholesterol.

Your gut bacteria play a key role in how oat beta-glucan lowers cholesterol. By feeding specific bacteria that produce bile salt hydrolase, oat beta-glucan helps your body excrete more cholesterol. This happens naturally when you eat oats regularly.