Nutrition questions, answered directly

Most healthy adults do well on 0.8–1.2 g of protein per kg of body weight a day, spread across meals rather than saved for dinner. Regular strength training, losing weight in a calorie deficit, and being over about 65 all push the useful range higher, toward 1.2–1.6 g per kg.

No. Weight follows total energy intake over time, not one nutrient. Fibre-rich carbohydrates — oats, lentils, beans, fruit, whole grains — are filling for their calories, so they usually make losing weight easier rather than harder.

For most people, no. Whole fruit arrives packaged with fibre, water and micronutrients, which slows how fast that sugar is absorbed. The evidence concern sits with free sugars in drinks and processed food, and with fruit juice drunk in volume.

Usually not on a varied diet. The consistent exceptions are vitamin B12 on a fully plant-based diet, vitamin D through low-sunlight months or with little time outdoors, and iron or folate where pregnancy or a diagnosed deficiency applies.

Around 2–2.5 litres of total fluid suits most adults, and food contributes a meaningful share of it. Heat, altitude, illness and hard training raise the number, and pale-straw urine tells you more than hitting a fixed target.

For most people the effect of dietary cholesterol on blood cholesterol is modest — saturated fat and the overall pattern of eating matter more. Familial hypercholesterolaemia or existing heart disease is the case where a specific egg target is worth setting with your care team.

Up to about 400 mg of caffeine a day — roughly three to four cups of brewed coffee — is considered fine for most healthy adults. Pregnancy guidance is lower at around 200 mg, and caffeine within about eight hours of bed measurably degrades sleep quality even when you fall asleep fine.

No. Measured nutrient differences between organic and conventional produce are small and inconsistent. Eating more vegetables and fruit of any kind matters far more than the farming method behind them.

About 0.5–1 kg (1–2 lb) a week works for most people, which means a moderate daily deficit rather than an aggressive one. Faster loss costs proportionally more muscle and is much harder to hold onto afterwards.

Energy needs fall as body mass drops, portions creep up quietly, and water retention can mask real fat loss for two or three weeks at a stretch. Logging honestly for a week, keeping protein and strength training up, and judging progress across a month usually explains it.

Add energy density rather than volume: nuts and nut butters, olive oil, full-fat dairy, oats, dried fruit, and one extra meal or shake a day. Strength training steers more of that surplus into muscle instead of fat.

Head-to-head trials put it about level with regular calorie control — no better, no worse for weight or metabolic markers. Its real advantage is that some people find a single eating window easier to keep, and it fits shift work, fixed medication schedules and a history of disordered eating badly.

No. Spot reduction does not work; the body draws on fat stores broadly and the order is largely genetic. Overall fat loss plus strength training is the only route that reliably changes waist measurement.

A mixed meal with carbohydrate and some protein two to three hours ahead, or a smaller carb-focused snack 30–60 minutes ahead. Very high fat or very high fibre immediately beforehand tends to sit heavily and slow you down.

No. The anabolic window is far wider than it was marketed as, and total protein across the day matters much more than the minutes after a session. A shake is simply a convenient way to reach that total.

Creatine monohydrate has strong, repeatedly replicated evidence for strength and power output at 3–5 g a day. BCAAs add little for anyone already eating enough total protein, and most pre-workout blends are caffeine plus extras.

Keep protein steady and let carbohydrate drift down a little if your appetite does. Repair and adaptation happen on rest days, so eating far below your needs undercuts the training you already did.

Half the plate vegetables or fruit, a quarter protein, a quarter fibre-rich carbohydrate, with a little unsaturated fat. That gets you close to most national guideline targets without measuring anything.

Refrigerate within two hours, hold at or below 5 °C, and eat cooked leftovers within three to four days. Reheat until steaming hot throughout, and reheat a given portion only once.

No. Freezing locks nutrients in close to harvest, and canned pulses, fish and tomatoes are nutritionally solid choices. Check labels for added sodium and sugar, and rinse canned beans if you want to cut sodium further.

Compare per 100 g rather than per serving, then look at fibre, saturated fat, free sugars and sodium. The ingredient list runs in order of weight, so the first three entries tell you what you are mostly buying.

They run published population equations such as Mifflin-St Jeor, and land within roughly 10% for most adults. Every result names the equation it used and states what that equation cannot account for.

It is a population screening measure, not a diagnosis, and it cannot distinguish muscle from fat — which is why it misreads trained athletes and many older adults. Reading it alongside a waist measurement gives a much more useful picture.

Different equations weight age, sex, height, weight and activity differently, and activity multipliers cover broad ranges. Pick one, treat it as a starting point, and adjust it against four weeks of real-world results.

Every guide is built from systematic reviews, clinical guidelines, government health agencies and recognised nutrient databases, and each page links what it draws on so you can check it yourself. Where evidence is mixed or thin, the page says so rather than rounding it up to certainty.

Priority health pages are re-checked at least annually, and sooner when a major guideline shifts. Publish and update dates stay visible on every article.

The food and nutrient information applies to you as much as to anyone. Specific targets do change with kidney disease, diabetes, pregnancy, eating disorders and medicines such as warfarin or levothyroxine, so confirm the numbers with the clinician or dietitian managing your care.

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