Browse the evidence

High-purity steviol glycosides (≥95%) are safe for use as food sweeteners, whereas crude or partially purified stevia leaf extracts are unsafe due to reproductive and renal toxicity.

If you are using stevia as a sweetener, ensure you are using a high-purity steviol glycoside product (typically ≥95% purity). Avoid consuming crude stevia leaf extracts or uncharacterized stevia compounds, as these have been linked to reproductive and kidney issues in animal studies and are not approved for use in conventional foods by the FDA.

High-dose concentrated green tea extracts, particularly those rich in EGCG, can cause liver toxicity, whereas moderate consumption of brewed green tea is generally safe.

Enjoying brewed green tea is generally safe and healthy. However, be cautious with green tea extract supplements, especially those high in EGCG. These concentrated forms have been linked to liver damage in some cases, particularly when taken on an empty stomach or in high doses. Consult a healthcare provider before using these supplements.

Maintaining high levels of control beliefs, social support, and physical exercise in midlife significantly reduces age-related declines in functional health over a 10-year period, independent of physical risk factors.

Focus on building strong social connections, maintaining a sense of control over your life, and exercising vigorously during your 40s and 50s. These habits act as a buffer, preserving your physical independence and reducing disability risk when you reach your 60s and 70s.

Obesity prevalence is significantly higher in lower-socioeconomic-status (SES) and minority populations primarily due to environmental constraints (obesogenic environment) rather than individual lack of willpower or genetic factors alone.

If you live in a food desert or an unsafe neighborhood, your struggle with weight is not a moral failure. The environment is designed to make unhealthy choices the default. Advocating for better local food options and safe spaces for exercise is as important as personal diet changes.

Resistance exercise preferentially increases circulating lactate and purine metabolites (inosine, hypoxanthine, xanthine) compared to endurance exercise, suggesting a higher demand for glycolytic ATP turnover and nucleotide degradation during anaerobic efforts.

Resistance training creates a unique metabolic environment with high lactate and purine breakdown. This signals your body to adapt to high-intensity demands. Embrace the burn as a sign of effective glycolytic training, not just fatigue.

Meat and meat products are the primary source of total protein (39.0%), branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs: leucine 39.9%, isoleucine 41.3%, valine 37.4%), and most essential amino acids (lysine 49.2%, histidine 46.6%, threonine 44.7%, tryptophan 41.4%, methionine 44.2%) in the average Polish diet, while grain products are the dominant source for specific non-essential amino acids like cysteine (41.7%), glutamic acid (33.8%), and proline (34.1%).

To ensure adequate intake of essential amino acids, particularly BCAAs and lysine, include meat, poultry, or fish in your diet. If you reduce meat consumption, prioritize grains (for cysteine, glutamic acid, proline) and dairy or legumes to fill the gaps. A combination of these three food groups (meat, grains, dairy) typically covers over 80% of your amino acid requirements.

Weight loss of 7-10% is required to resolve NAFLD, but achieving this through lifestyle changes alone is difficult as only 10-20% of individuals succeed, and weight loss is less effective for NASH resolution in diabetic patients.

To resolve fatty liver disease, you need to lose 7-10% of your body weight. This is a high bar, and most people struggle to reach it with diet and exercise alone. If you have diabetes, this is even harder. Because lifestyle changes alone often fail to hit this target, you should discuss pharmacological options (like GLP-1 agonists) with your doctor to help you reach this weight loss goal.

GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors show promising benefits for NAFLD/NASH patients, particularly by addressing underlying metabolic dysfunction, though specific histological resolution data is still emerging.

If lifestyle changes aren't enough to manage your fatty liver, ask your doctor about GLP-1 agonists (like semaglutide) or SGLT2 inhibitors (like empagliflozin). These diabetes/obesity drugs have shown promise in improving liver health by targeting the underlying metabolic issues.

Lean individuals can develop NAFLD due to visceral adiposity and insulin resistance, and this condition carries similar risks of fibrosis and NASH as obesity-related NAFLD.

Even if you are lean, you can still have fatty liver disease, especially if you are of Asian descent. This is often due to hidden visceral fat. Because lean NAFLD can still lead to serious liver damage (NASH and fibrosis), you should get screened if you have risk factors like family history or metabolic issues, regardless of your weight.

Assessment of metabolic risk factors is critical in patients with NAFLD because advanced liver fibrosis correlates with metabolic comorbidities, and early identification of these factors prevents cardiovascular and liver-related mortality.

If you have NAFLD, focus on managing your metabolic health (blood sugar, blood pressure, weight) even if your liver enzymes look normal. This is the most effective way to protect your heart and liver from serious damage.

Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in athletes across various sports and ethnicities, often leading to musculoskeletal issues like stress fractures and muscle weakness.

Don't assume your fitness protects you from Vitamin D deficiency. It is very common in athletes, especially those who train indoors or have darker skin. Get tested to avoid stress fractures and muscle weakness.

A multifaceted behavioral change program (ParkFit) does not increase overall physical activity volume in sedentary Parkinson's disease patients, though it improves specific activity types and physical fitness.

For Parkinson's patients, simply 'trying harder' to be active via behavioral coaching may not increase your total daily movement time. However, it can improve your fitness and specific exercise habits without increasing fall risk. Focus on the quality and type of activity (like walking or cycling) rather than just total hours, as these specific improvements are measurable and beneficial.

Longitudinal sleep trajectories characterized by consistently short sleep (<5 hours) or decreasing sleep duration are associated with significantly increased risks of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality compared to stable normal sleep (7-8 hours).

Monitor your sleep duration over time, not just on a single night. If you consistently sleep less than 5 hours a night, or if your sleep duration is steadily decreasing over months or years, you are at a significantly higher risk for heart disease and early death. Aim for a stable 7-8 hours of sleep. If you are experiencing a decline in sleep, investigate underlying causes (stress, health issues) and seek medical advice, as this pattern is a strong predictor of adverse health outcomes.

Insulin resistance (IR) and hyperinsulinemia are independent, nontraditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in type 2 diabetes, contributing to excess morbidity and mortality beyond traditional risk factors like hypertension and dyslipidemia.

If you have type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance, your risk of heart disease is higher than what standard blood pressure and cholesterol tests show. This is largely driven by how your body handles insulin. Focus on improving insulin sensitivity through lifestyle changes (like weight management and exercise) and medications that address insulin resistance, not just traditional risk factor management.

Inflammation, marked by elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cells, and adhesion molecules, is a key nontraditional risk factor for CVD in diabetes, linked to insulin resistance and obesity.

Chronic, low-grade inflammation is a major driver of heart disease in diabetes, often stemming from excess body fat and insulin resistance. This inflammation damages blood vessels and promotes clotting. Strategies to reduce body weight and improve insulin sensitivity can lower inflammatory markers like CRP and reduce CVD risk.

Polysomnography (PSG) is an essential component of the preoperative workup for patients undergoing bariatric surgery because clinical parameters (BMI, neck circumference, Epworth Sleepiness Scale) are inadequate predictors of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).

If you are having weight loss surgery, do not skip the sleep study. Feeling tired or having a large neck does not reliably tell you if you have sleep apnea. You need a full night sleep study (PSG) before surgery to ensure you are safe during anesthesia and recovery.

The deleterious effects of total sitting time on HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and post-load glucose become significantly more severe as the duration of uninterrupted sitting bouts increases.

Be aware that sitting for long periods (e.g., >30 mins) is worse for your cholesterol and blood sugar than sitting for the same total time in shorter chunks. If you have a long meeting or drive, try to break it up if possible to mitigate the metabolic impact.

Increased sleep irregularity (defined as higher standard deviation of daily sleep duration) is associated with increased odds of incident obesity, essential hypertension, hyperlipidemia, major depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder.

Focus on keeping your sleep schedule consistent. Going to bed and waking up at roughly the same time every day is critical for preventing obesity, hypertension, and depression, even if you are getting the recommended 7-9 hours of total sleep. Use wearable data to track your sleep regularity (consistency) rather than just total hours.

Higher percentages of REM and deep sleep are associated with a reduced incidence of atrial fibrillation, while higher light sleep percentages are associated with increased odds of atrial fibrillation.

Prioritize sleep quality that promotes REM and deep sleep. While total duration is important, the composition of your sleep matters for heart health. Consistent sleep schedules and avoiding alcohol before bed may help increase deep and REM sleep, thereby reducing atrial fibrillation risk.

Average daily sleep duration exhibits a J-shaped association with hypertension, major depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder, where both short (5h) and long (10h) durations increase risk compared to the median (6.8h).

Aim for approximately 7 hours of sleep per night. Both sleeping significantly less (5 hours) or significantly more (10 hours) is associated with higher risks of hypertension, depression, and anxiety. Use your wearable to track your average daily sleep duration and adjust your schedule to stay within the moderate range.

General poor nutrition, characterized by low consumption of fresh/frozen meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, and dairy, is a primary risk factor for esophageal cancer, independent of alcohol and smoking.

Prioritize a diet that includes regular servings of fresh or frozen meat/fish, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. The study suggests that the combination of these food groups is more protective than any single nutrient. Avoid diets heavily reliant on processed meats or lacking in fresh produce, as this pattern is associated with significantly higher esophageal cancer risk, independent of alcohol or smoking habits.

Skeletal muscle mass measured via D3-creatine dilution is a strong predictor of functional capacity, mobility limitations, and injurious falls in older adults, whereas lean body mass measured by DXA is only weakly or not associated with these outcomes.

If you are assessing muscle health in older adults, standard DXA scans may underestimate the risk of falls and disability because they include non-muscle tissue in 'lean mass'. Accurate assessment of functional muscle mass (via D3-creatine dilution in research settings) reveals that muscle mass is a critical driver of mobility. For clinical practice, this implies that relying solely on DXA lean mass may miss high-risk individuals who have low functional muscle mass despite normal lean mass readings.

GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) reduce major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in type 2 diabetes patients through pleiotropic mechanisms including blood pressure reduction, improved endothelial function, and anti-inflammatory effects, independent of weight loss.

If you have type 2 diabetes and are at risk for heart problems, GLP-1 receptor agonists (like semaglutide or liraglutide) offer heart protection beyond just lowering blood sugar. They work by improving blood vessel function and lowering blood pressure. While they are injections that can cause stomach upset, the cardiovascular benefits are significant and often independent of weight loss.

A low-protein/high-carbohydrate (LPHC) diet or specific restriction of methionine and branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) extends longevity and improves metabolic health in model organisms and middle-aged humans by suppressing mTORC1 and GH/IGF-1 signaling while promoting autophagy and FGF21 production.

Focus on the source and balance of protein rather than just total grams. Prioritize plant-based proteins and consider reducing methionine-rich animal proteins (like red meat) if you are middle-aged, as this may support longevity pathways. However, ensure adequate protein intake in older age to prevent frailty.