References & Endnotes

Hall KD, Guo J. Obesity Energetics: Body Weight Regulation and the Effects of Diet Composition. Gastroenterology, 2017;152(7):1718-1727. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Sacks FM, Bray GA, Carey VJ, et al. Comparison of weight-loss diets with different compositions of fat, protein, and carbohydrates. N Engl J Med, 2009;360(9):859-873. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Müller MJ, Bosy-Westphal A. Adaptive thermogenesis with weight loss in humans. Obesity, 2013;21(2):218-228. ↩ back to text

Hall KD, Ayuketah A, Brychta R, et al. Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food Intake. Cell Metab, 2019;30(1):67-77. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Monteiro CA, Cannon G, Levy RB, et al. Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them. Public Health Nutrition, 2019;22(5):936-941. The NOVA classification reference paper. ↩ back to text

Fazzino TL, Rohde K, Sullivan DK. Hyper-Palatable Foods: Development of a Quantitative Definition and Application to the US Food System Database. Obesity, 2019;27(11):1761-1768. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Gibney MJ. Ultra-Processed Foods: Definitions and Policy Issues and Implications. Current Developments in Nutrition, 2019;3(2):nzy077. Cited here for the counter-argument that NOVA's "processing" category partly proxies for already-known drivers of overeating (energy density, low protein/fibre) rather than acting as an independent mechanism. ↩ back to text

Helms ER, Aragon AA, Fitschen PJ. Evidence-based recommendations for natural bodybuilding contest preparation: nutrition and supplementation. J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2014;11:20. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Morton RW, Murphy KT, McKellar SR, et al. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. Br J Sports Med, 2018;52(6):376-384. Meta-regression identifying approximately 1.6g/kg/day as the point of diminishing returns for muscle gain from protein intake. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Trumbo P, Schlicker S, Yates AA, Poos M. Dietary reference intakes for energy, carbohydrate, fiber, fat, fatty acids, cholesterol, protein and amino acids. J Am Diet Assoc, 2002;102(11):1621-1630. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Churchward-Venne TA, Breen L, Phillips SM. Alterations in human muscle protein metabolism with aging: protein and exercise as countermeasures. Mol Aspects Med, 2014;39:36-45. ↩ back to text

Leidy HJ, Clifton PM, Astrup A, et al. The role of protein in weight loss and maintenance. Am J Clin Nutr, 2015;101(6):1320S-1329S. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Phillips SM, Van Loon LJ. Dietary protein for athletes: from requirements to optimum adaptation. J Sports Sci, 2011;29 Suppl 1:S29-38. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Schoenfeld BJ, Aragon AA. How much protein can the body use in a single meal for muscle-building? Implications for daily protein distribution. J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2018;15:10. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Devries MC, Phillips SM. Protein intake and resistance exercise increase fat-free mass without affecting renal function in healthy individuals. J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2018. ↩ back to text

Burke LM, Hawley JA, Wong SH, Jeukendrup AE. Carbohydrates for training and competition. J Sports Sci, 2011;29 Suppl 1:S17-27. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Ludwig DS. The glycemic index: physiological mechanisms relating to obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. JAMA, 2002;287(18):2414-2423. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Mozaffarian D. Dietary and Policy Priorities for Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, and Obesity: A Comprehensive Review. Circulation, 2016;133(2):187-225. ↩ back to text

International Agency for Research on Cancer. IARC Monographs evaluate the carcinogenicity of aspartame. IARC Press Release, 2023;No. 256. Classified aspartame as Group 2B ("possibly carcinogenic to humans") on the basis of limited evidence. ↩ back to text

Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). Aspartame safety evaluation, 96th meeting summary. WHO, 2023. Reaffirmed the existing acceptable daily intake of 40mg/kg bodyweight/day. ↩ back to text

Toews I, Lohner S, Küllenberg de Gaudry D, Sommer H, Meerpohl JJ. Association between intake of non-sugar sweeteners and health outcomes: systematic review and meta-analyses of randomised and non-randomised controlled trials and observational studies. BMJ, 2019;364:k4718. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Higgins KA, Mattes RD. A randomized controlled trial contrasting the effects of 4 low-calorie sweeteners and sucrose on body weight in adults with overweight or obesity. Am J Clin Nutr, 2019;109(5):1288-1301. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Suez J, Korem T, Zeevi D, et al. Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota. Nature, 2014;514(7521):181-186. A widely cited mouse-and-human study; cited here specifically for the microbiome interaction, with the caveat (see Section 7) that downstream health effects in humans at typical intake are not yet well established. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Reynolds AN, Akerman AP, Mann J. Dietary fibre and whole grains in diabetes management: Systematic review and meta-analyses. PLoS Med, 2020;17(3):e1003053. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Volek JS, Phinney SD, Forsythe CE, et al. Carbohydrate restriction has a more favorable impact on the metabolic syndrome than a low fat diet. Lipids, 2009;44(4):297-309. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Siri-Tarino PW, Sun Q, Hu FB, Krauss RM. Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies evaluating the association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nutr, 2010;91(3):535-546. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Mensink RP. Effects of saturated fatty acids on serum lipids and lipoproteins: a systematic review and regression analysis. World Health Organization, 2016. ↩ back to text

Sacks FM, Lichtenstein AH, Wu JHY, et al. Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association. Circulation, 2017;136(3):e1-e23. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Malhotra A, Redberg RF, Meier P. Saturated fat does not clog the arteries: coronary heart disease is a chronic inflammatory condition, the risk of which can be effectively reduced from healthy lifestyle interventions. Br J Sports Med, 2017;51(15):1111-1112. A published dissenting view from credible cardiologists; presented here as a genuine minority position, not a fringe one, though it remains a minority position in the literature. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

International Agency for Research on Cancer. IARC Monographs evaluate consumption of red meat and processed meat. IARC Press Release, 2015;No. 240. ↩ back to text

Bouvard V, Loomis D, Guyton KZ, et al. Carcinogenicity of consumption of red and processed meat. Lancet Oncol, 2015;16(16):1599-1600. Source for the approximately 18% relative risk increase per 50g/day processed meat portion. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Poore J, Nemecek T. Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science, 2018;360(6392):987-992. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Marklund M, Wu JHY, Imamura F, et al. Biomarkers of Dietary Omega-6 Fatty Acids and Incident Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality. Circulation, 2019;139(21):2422-2436. Large pooled biomarker analysis finding no evidence of harm, with signal toward modestly lower cardiovascular risk at higher linoleic acid biomarker levels. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Mozaffarian D, Aro A, Willett WC. Health effects of trans-fatty acids: experimental and observational evidence. Eur J Clin Nutr, 2009;63 Suppl 2:S5-21. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Müller TD, Finan B, Bloom SR, et al. Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). Molecular Metabolism, 2019;30:72-130. ↩ back to text

Wilding JPH, Batterham RL, Calanna S, et al. Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity. N Engl J Med, 2021;384(11):989-1002. (STEP 1 trial.) View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Jastreboff AM, Aronne LJ, Ahmad NN, et al. Tirzepatide Once Weekly for the Treatment of Obesity. N Engl J Med, 2022;387(3):205-216. (SURMOUNT-1 trial.) View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Wilding JPH, Batterham RL, Davies M, et al. Impact of semaglutide on body composition in adults with overweight or obesity: exploratory analysis of the STEP 1 study. Diabetes Obes Metab, 2022;24(8):1553-1564. Reports that roughly 39% of total weight lost in the body-composition substudy was lean mass, in participants not specifically prescribed resistance training or a protein target. ↩ back to text

Holick MF. Vitamin D deficiency. N Engl J Med, 2007;357(3):266-281. ↩ back to text

Institute of Medicine (US). Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D. National Academies Press, 2011. ↩ back to text

Weaver CM. Potassium and health. Adv Nutr, 2013;4(3):368S-377S. ↩ back to text

He FJ, MacGregor GA. Salt and sugar: their effects on blood pressure. Pflugers Arch, 2015;467(3):577-586. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

O'Donnell M, Mente A, Rangarajan S, et al. Urinary Sodium and Potassium Excretion, Mortality, and Cardiovascular Events. N Engl J Med, 2014;371(7):612-623. PURE study; reports a J-shaped association and is the basis for subsequent PURE-investigator critiques of population-wide sodium reduction targets for normotensive individuals. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Sonnenburg JL, Bäckhed F. Diet–microbiota interactions as moderators of human metabolism. Nature, 2016;535(7610):56-64. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Wastyk HC, Fragiadakis GK, Perelman D, et al. Gut-microbiota-targeted diets modulate human immune status. Cell, 2021;184(16):4137-4153. View study ↗

Hill C, Guarner F, Reid G, et al. Expert consensus document: The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics consensus statement on the scope and appropriate use of the term probiotic. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol, 2014;11(8):506-514. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA). Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for water. EFSA Journal, 2010;8(3):1459. ↩ back to text

Sawka MN, Burke LM, Eichner ER, et al. American College of Sports Medicine position stand: exercise and fluid replacement. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 2007;39(2):377-390. Source for the bodyweight-scaled (ml/kg) approach to daily fluid targets used here in preference to a flat population-level litre figure. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Cameron JD, Cyr MJ, Doucet É. Increased meal frequency does not promote greater weight loss in subjects who were prescribed an 8-week equi-energetic energy-restricted diet. Br J Nutr, 2010;103(8):1098-1101. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Lowe DA, Wu N, Rohdin-Bibby L, et al. Effects of Time-Restricted Eating on Weight Loss and Other Metabolic Parameters in Women and Men With Overweight and Obesity. JAMA Intern Med, 2020;180(11):1491-1499. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Sutton EF, Beyl R, Early KS, Cefalu WT, Ravussin E, Peterson CM. Early time-restricted feeding improves insulin sensitivity, blood pressure, and oxidative stress even without weight loss in men with prediabetes. Cell Metab, 2018;27(6):1212-1221. Small, short, weight-stable feeding trial in men with prediabetes; cited here specifically for the finding that benefits occurred without weight change, not as evidence the effect is large or broadly generalisable. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

de Cabo R, Mattson MP. Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Health, Aging, and Disease. N Engl J Med, 2019;381(26):2541-2551. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Bagherniya M, Butler AE, Barreto GE, Sahebkar A. The effect of fasting or calorie restriction on autophagy induction: A review of the literature. Ageing Res Rev, 2018;47:183-197. Notes that most human evidence relies on indirect biomarkers rather than direct tissue measurement of autophagy, and that the strongest signal in the literature comes from longer fasting durations than typical daily time-restricted-eating windows. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Aragon AA, Schoenfeld BJ. Nutrient timing revisited: is there a post-exercise anabolic window? J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2013;10:5. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Kerksick CM, Arent S, Schoenfeld BJ, et al. International society of sports nutrition position stand: nutrient timing. J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2017;14:33. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Parr EB, Camera DM, Areta JL, et al. Alcohol ingestion impairs maximal post-exercise rates of myofibrillar protein synthesis following a single bout of concurrent training. PLOS ONE, 2014;9(2):e88384. Also the source for the dose-dependent suppression of post-exercise muscle protein synthesis referenced in this section. ↩ back to text

World Health Organization. No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health. WHO statement, 2023. ↩ back to text

Kreider RB, Kalman DS, Antonio J, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2017;14:18. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Maughan RJ, Burke LM, Dvorak J, et al. IOC consensus statement: dietary supplements and the high-performance athlete. Br J Sports Med, 2018;52(7):439-455. ↩ back to text

Trexler ET, Smith-Ryan AE, Stout JR, et al. International society of sports nutrition position stand: Beta-Alanine. J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2015;12:30. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Abbasi B, Kimiagar M, Sadeghniiat K, Shirazi MM, Hedayati M, Rashidkhani B. The effect of magnesium supplementation on primary insomnia in elderly: A double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. J Res Med Sci, 2012;17(12):1161-1169. Trial used magnesium oxide, not magnesium glycinate specifically — see note in Section 11. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Singh M, Das RR. Zinc for the common cold. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2013;6:CD001364. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Giesbrecht T, Rycroft JA, Rowson MJ, De Bruin EA. The combination of L-theanine and caffeine improves cognitive performance and increases subjective alertness. Nutr Neurosci, 2010;13(6):283-290. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Ziegenfuss T, Landis J, Hofheins J. Acute supplementation with alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine augments growth hormone response to, and peak force production during, resistance exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2008;5(Suppl 1):P15. Conference abstract; n=7. Flagged in the text as too small and unreplicated to draw a firm conclusion from. ↩ back to text

Solomon SJ, Kurzer MS, Calloway DH. Menstrual cycle and basal metabolic rate in women. Am J Clin Nutr, 1982;36(4):611-616. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Mountjoy M, Sundgot-Borgen JK, Burke LM, et al. IOC consensus statement on relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S): 2018 update. Br J Sports Med, 2018;52(11):687-697. ↩ back to text

Sicherer SH, Sampson HA. Food allergy: A review and update on epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, prevention, and management. J Allergy Clin Immunol, 2018;141(1):41-58. ↩ back to text

Misselwitz B, Butter M, Verbeke K, Fox MR. Update on lactose malabsorption and intolerance: pathogenesis, diagnosis and clinical management. Gut, 2019;68(11):2080-2091. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Biesiekierski JR, Peters SL, Newnham ED, Rosella O, Muir JG, Gibson PR. No effects of gluten in patients with self-reported non-celiac gluten sensitivity after dietary reduction of fermentable, poorly absorbed, short-chain carbohydrates. Gastroenterology, 2013;145(2):320-328. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Seufert V, Ramankutty N, Foley JA. Comparing the yields of organic and conventional agriculture. Nature, 2012;485(7397):229-232. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Blesso CN, Fernandez ML. Dietary Cholesterol, Serum Lipids, and Heart Disease: Are Eggs Working for or Against You? Nutrients, 2018;10(4):426. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Poole R, Kennedy OJ, Roderick P, Fallowfield JA, Hayes PC, Parkes J. Coffee consumption and health: umbrella review of meta-analyses of multiple health outcomes. BMJ, 2017;359:j5024. View study ↗ ↩ back to text

Bouzari A, Holstege D, Barrett DM. Vitamin retention in eight fruits and vegetables: a comparison of refrigerated and frozen storage. J Agric Food Chem, 2015;63(3):957-962. View study ↗ ↩ back to text