Browse the evidence

Ingesting glycerol, amino acids, or neurotransmitter precursors during exercise provides no benefit to athletes.

Do not waste money on glycerol, amino acids, or neurotransmitter precursors during exercise. They do not improve performance.

Low HDL-C is the most common lipid abnormality in India, affecting 72.3% of the population, and is strikingly high in rural Jharkhand (61.7% isolated low HDL-C).

Get your lipid profile checked, paying special attention to HDL levels, as low HDL is very common in India and often goes unnoticed compared to high LDL.

Elevated activation in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) during initial orientation to appetizing food cues predicts future increases in BMI over a 1-year period.

If you find yourself automatically and rapidly orienting your attention to pictures of appetizing food, this neural pattern is associated with a higher risk of gaining weight over the next year. This suggests that training attention away from food cues or reducing exposure to food cues might be a useful strategy for weight management, as behavioral reaction times alone do not predict this risk.

Higher BMI is associated with greater activation in the anterior insula/frontal operculum and lateral OFC during initial orientation to appetizing food cues, and greater activation in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) and superior parietal lobe during orientation to unappetizing food cues.

Your brain's response to food cues, whether appetizing or unappetizing, is stronger if you have a higher BMI. This heightened neural activity in attention and reward centers suggests that food cues are more salient and motivating for you, making it harder to ignore them.

Higher BMI is associated with faster behavioral response times (attentional bias) to both appetizing and unappetizing food images, but not to neutral water images.

You may find yourself noticing food images faster than neutral objects, regardless of whether the food looks tasty or not. This automatic attentional bias is more pronounced in individuals with higher BMI and may contribute to overeating in cue-rich environments.

Untreated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) imposes a massive global economic burden, with undiagnosed cases in the US alone costing an estimated $149.6 billion annually due to lost productivity, comorbidities, and accidents.

If you suspect you have sleep apnea (snoring, daytime sleepiness), seek diagnosis. The economic and health costs of leaving it untreated are substantial, including increased risk of accidents and chronic diseases. Treatment, particularly CPAP, is often cost-effective and can save money in the long run by preventing comorbidities.

Non-Hispanic Blacks have higher rates of insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia compared to Non-Hispanic Whites, independent of adiposity, contributing to higher diabetes risk.

Biological factors like insulin resistance may be higher in Black individuals even at the same weight as White individuals. This is a risk factor for diabetes that should be monitored by a doctor.

Oligofructose (OFS) improves glucose tolerance and hepatic insulin sensitivity in high-fat-fed diabetic mice, but these benefits strictly require a functional Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Receptor (GLP-1R).

If you are looking to use oligofructose to help manage blood sugar, understand that its effectiveness depends on your body's ability to respond to GLP-1. In animal models, if the GLP-1 receptor is blocked or missing, oligofructose provides no metabolic benefit. This suggests that individual variations in GLP-1 receptor function might influence how well this specific fiber works for glucose control.

Current clinical guidelines and public health strategies are insufficient because they focus almost exclusively on increasing leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) while ignoring the health risks of sedentary behavior.

Advocate for a shift in how health is promoted. Support policies and personal habits that reduce sitting time, not just increase gym time. Recognize that sitting is a distinct health risk.

Increasing long-chain omega-3 fatty acid intake (via supplements or dietary replacement) does not significantly reduce all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, or major cardiovascular events in primary or secondary prevention populations.

If you are trying to prevent heart disease or reduce your risk of dying from cardiovascular causes, simply taking omega-3 supplements or eating more fatty fish is unlikely to make a significant difference based on current high-quality evidence. Focus on proven lifestyle factors like blood pressure management, smoking cessation, and overall diet quality rather than relying on omega-3 supplementation for prevention.

Liraglutide (1.8 mg/day) induces histological resolution of NASH without worsening fibrosis in non-diabetic and diabetic patients, primarily by improving hepatic insulin sensitivity and reducing de novo lipogenesis, independent of weight loss magnitude.

If you have NASH, ask your doctor about liraglutide. The LEAN study showed that 1.8 mg daily significantly increased the chance of resolving liver inflammation and fat without making scarring worse, especially in those who did not have diabetes. While weight loss helps, the drug also works by directly improving how your liver handles insulin and fat production.

Pioglitazone (30 mg/day) improves NASH histology in non-diabetic patients, but its clinical use is limited by side effects including weight gain and potential cardiovascular risks.

Pioglitazone (30 mg daily for 96 weeks) can improve liver inflammation in non-diabetics, but it is rarely used first-line because it causes weight gain and has cardiovascular safety concerns. It is generally reserved for cases where other treatments are not suitable or available.

Obeticholic acid (25 mg/day) significantly improves NASH histology and fibrosis in non-cirrhotic patients, but is associated with pruritus and adverse lipid changes.

Obeticholic acid (25 mg daily for 72 weeks) significantly improves liver inflammation and scarring in non-cirrhotic NASH patients. However, it causes itching in nearly a quarter of users and can negatively impact cholesterol levels. It is a potent option but requires careful monitoring for side effects.

Elevated hepatic anaplerotic/cataplerotic flux (biosynthetic workload) drives oxidative stress and inflammation in fatty liver by necessitating increased oxidative metabolism.

In fatty liver, the liver's attempt to produce glucose (gluconeogenesis) forces it to burn fuel inefficiently, creating toxic byproducts (ROS) that cause inflammation. Interventions that reduce this biosynthetic workload (like Metformin or genetic suppression of PEPCK) reduce inflammation, suggesting that therapies targeting hepatic glucose production may alleviate liver damage.

Estrogen levels are inversely associated with adiposity in premenopausal women, with higher estradiol levels found in healthy-weight women compared to obese women, suggesting a role for estrogens in restraining adipose tissue accumulation.

For premenopausal women, maintaining healthy weight may be biologically easier due to protective estrogen effects, but this protection diminishes after menopause. Focus on maintaining healthy weight before menopause to mitigate the inevitable fat gain associated with estrogen loss.

Polygenic obesity is influenced by hundreds of genetic variants affecting various biological pathways, including the central nervous system, adipocyte differentiation, and gut microbiota.

Your genetics play a role in your weight, but they are not your destiny. Lifestyle changes can still be effective, and future personalized medicine may offer more targeted treatments based on your specific genetic profile.

Gut microbiota dysbiosis is associated with the development and severity of specific diabetic complications, including nephropathy, retinopathy, neuropathy, and cardiovascular disease.

Your gut health is linked to your diabetes complications. While high blood sugar is a major factor, your gut bacteria also play a role in inflammation and disease progression. This doesn't mean you are to blame, but it does mean that supporting your gut health (through diet and potentially probiotics) might be part of a comprehensive strategy to protect your kidneys, eyes, and heart.

Daily oral taurine supplementation (1000 mg/kg body weight) in middle-aged mice extends median life span by 10-12% and increases life expectancy at 28 months by 18-25% while improving health span across multiple organ systems.

For middle-aged individuals, maintaining adequate taurine levels may support healthy aging. While this study used high doses in mice, human observational data links lower taurine levels to adverse health outcomes. Consult a healthcare provider before starting supplementation, especially if you have existing health conditions.

Taurine supplementation improves health span metrics in middle-aged mice, including reduced body weight gain, improved bone mass and strength, enhanced muscle endurance and strength, reduced anxiety, improved memory, better glucose homeostasis, and ameliorated immune cell prominence.

Taurine supplementation in middle age may support overall health, including bone, muscle, and metabolic function. While human trials are needed, these findings suggest potential benefits for healthy aging.

In HIV-associated wasting, weight loss is primarily driven by reduced energy intake rather than elevated total energy expenditure.

For HIV patients experiencing wasting, the primary driver is often reduced food intake, not an abnormally high metabolic rate. Interventions should prioritize increasing caloric intake and managing factors causing anorexia (like infection or medication side effects) rather than assuming the patient is 'burning too many calories' through hypermetabolism.

Traditional probiotics and prebiotics do not show significant impact on the amelioration of chronic inflammation-related diseases in general, necessitating the development of next-generation, disease-targeted strains.

Do not rely on over-the-counter, generic probiotics to treat chronic conditions like obesity, diabetes, or IBD. Current evidence shows they generally lack significant impact. Instead, consult healthcare providers for emerging, strain-specific therapies or next-generation probiotics designed for your specific condition.

Equol is produced by only 25-50% of humans via gut bacteria, and this 'equol producer' status determines whether dietary soy provides significant health benefits.

Only about half of people produce 'equol' from soy. If you don't, eating soy might not give you the hormonal benefits others get. You can test your status or take equol supplements directly.

Members of the Bacteroidetes phylum exhibit high metabolic flexibility and genomic diversity, allowing them to dynamically adjust gene expression and substrate utilization (dietary vs. host glycans) in response to environmental changes, which influences host energy harvest and metabolic health.

Focus on dietary diversity, particularly fiber, to support a resilient and metabolically flexible gut microbiome. Avoid extreme, restrictive diets that may deplete beneficial bacterial strains like Bacteroidetes, as their ability to adapt to different substrates is key to metabolic health. Recognize that probiotic effects are strain-specific and not guaranteed by phylum-level changes alone.

Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is contraindicated in men with untreated prostate or breast cancer, and is not recommended for improving cognitive function, depressive symptoms, or exercise capacity in hypogonadal men.

Do not take testosterone to fix your memory, mood, or physical frailty. It is not effective for these issues. Also, do not take it if you have untreated prostate or breast cancer.