Evidence Dashboard
Every topic sorted by what the evidence actually says — and what you should do about it. Six verdicts, updated as new studies land.
Foundations — skipping is actively harmful
5 topicsThe non-negotiable foundations of health. Skipping these has documented harm, not just "reduced optimization." If you only do a few things, these come first.
Sleep
7–9 hours, non-negotiable. Chronic short sleep drives mortality, dementia, CVD, diabetes. Fear-mongering is overstated; foundations are not.
Exercise
Single most evidence-backed intervention in all of health. Skipping causes sarcopenia, CVD, depression, diabetes.
Nutrition & Diet
You have to eat. Eating poorly is the largest preventable cause of chronic disease. Whole foods, fiber, polyphenols.
Light & Circadian
Morning sunlight is the most powerful free intervention. Circadian disruption is documented harm — cancer, depression, metabolic disease.
Core Supplements (Tier 1)
D3, omega-3, magnesium have RCT-level evidence. D3 deficiency in modern populations is documented harm. Tier 3/4 is optional; Tier 1 is not.
Strong evidence of benefit — but optional
8 topicsReal benefits with defensible evidence, but you can be healthy without them. Skipping isn't harmful if the Essentials are covered. Optimization layers on top of the foundations.
Fasting & TRE
16:8 is the practical baseline. Metabolic switch at ~12h, autophagy signaling builds around 16h. Most of the real-world benefit is just "don't eat late at night."
Vegetarian Diet
CVD and mortality benefits come from whole-food plant-based (hPDI), not from the label itself. A junk-food "vegetarian" diet (uPDI) performs worse than omnivorous eating. Quality ≫ label.
Coffee
3–4 cups/day → 17% lower all-cause mortality in observational data. Real downsides too (dependence, sleep architecture, masking).
Tea
Mortality, CVD, cancer benefits across 38-cohort meta. L-theanine + caffeine is a gentler stimulant profile.
Matcha
Concentrated whole-leaf green tea. Calm-alert cognitive profile from L-theanine + caffeine synergy.
Cacao
COSMOS trial: 27% reduction in CVD death. Dark/raw only — watch sugar and heavy metals.
Sauna & Heat Therapy
Finnish KIHD cohort: 40% lower all-cause mortality, 66% lower dementia at 4–7x/week. Traditional Finnish only; infrared is much weaker evidence.
HRT (Perimenopause)
For symptomatic women in the transition window, modern transdermal E2 + micronized progesterone has a favorable profile. WHI fear was dramatically overstated.
Strong evidence of harm
2 topicsWell-established harm. Reduce or eliminate.
Alcohol
WHO Group 1 carcinogen, linked to 7 cancer types. The old "J-curve" (low doses protective) is mostly confounded — modern Mendelian randomization studies find no safe amount.
Sugar & Fructose
Fructose is metabolized almost identically to alcohol in the liver — hepatic fat, insulin resistance, NAFLD. The problem is concentrated industrial sugar and HFCS, not whole fruit.
Mechanisms concerning, proof limited, low cost to avoid
3 topicsLong-term human evidence is incomplete, but mechanisms are plausible and safer alternatives are cheap or free. Classic precautionary principle — reduce exposure without waiting for definitive proof.
Microplastics
Now detected in placenta, testes, and brain tissue. Endocrine disruption mechanistically plausible. Highest-yield reductions: no plastic food containers, no bottled water, no thermal receipts.
Fragrance
"Fragrance" on a label can legally hide 50+ undisclosed chemicals, including phthalate endocrine disruptors. Unscented swaps are free and trivial.
Seed Oils
Linoleic acid and oxidized metabolites (OXLAMs) are mechanistically concerning, but human outcome data is genuinely mixed. Olive oil, avocado oil, and butter are better defaults — but don't panic about restaurant canola.
Emerging or genuinely debated
7 topicsInteresting, mechanistically plausible, but the evidence is still developing or the experts genuinely disagree. Too early to commit.
Cold Plunge & Cold Exposure
Real acute effects (NE surge, BAT), thin durable outcomes. Actively blunts post-workout hypertrophy. Hype far exceeds evidence.
Ketogenic Diet
Therapeutic-grade evidence for epilepsy and T2D reversal. For general health, the dramatic LDL rise in "lean mass hyper-responders" is still an unresolved cardiovascular question.
Cannabis & THC
Modern 20%+ THC products have a very different risk profile than 1990s weed. Real medical uses, real CUD and psychosis risk at high potency and young age. CBD is a separate conversation.
Psilocybin
Phase 3 evidence for treatment-resistant depression; microdosing mostly placebo; real contraindications
LSD
MM-120 Phase 3 trials underway for GAD; alcohol use disorder evidence holds up; same framework as psilocybin
MDMA / Molly
Strong PTSD trial evidence but FDA rejected approval Aug 2024; recreational risks (hyperthermia, hyponatremia) underappreciated
Bluetooth / RF
Non-ionizing radiation isn't mechanistically obviously harmful. Some lab signals for oxidative stress, but epidemiology is weak. Speakerphone and wired headphones cost nothing and sidestep the debate.
Body systems & mechanisms
4 topicsNot recommendations — foundational knowledge. These are parts of your body and how they work, so you can make better decisions about the actions above. Learn them once, reference them forever.
Cortisol & HPA
How your stress hormone actually works: morning peak, evening nadir, the 5pm energy second wind explained. "Adrenal fatigue" isn't a real diagnosis — HPA dysregulation is.
Liver
Phase I/II detox, NAFLD, gut-liver axis. The main drivers of liver damage are alcohol and fructose.
Gut Microbiome
SCFAs, butyrate, diversity, gut-brain axis. Shaped by fiber, fermented foods, sleep, stress, alcohol.
NAD+ & Aging
Salvage pathway, sirtuins, CD38. Protected by fasting, exercise, alcohol reduction. Supplement evidence (NMN/NR) still mixed.
How these verdicts work
Essential — Foundations. Skipping is actively harmful — documented sarcopenia, CVD, metabolic disease, cognitive decline. The minimum.
Beneficial — Strong evidence of benefit but optional. Optimization on top of the Essentials. Skipping isn't harmful if the foundations are covered.
Avoid — Strong evidence of harm. No serious debate.
Precautionary — Long-term proof incomplete, but mechanisms plausible and avoidance is nearly free. Apply the precautionary principle.
Watch — Emerging research, genuine expert disagreement, or context-dependent. Interesting, but too early to commit.
Reference — Body systems and mechanisms. Not actions — foundational knowledge about how your body works.
These verdicts are updated as new studies land. Something in "Watch" might graduate to "Beneficial" or "Essential" as the evidence strengthens. Reference topics grow as more body systems get their own deep dives (Brain, Heart, Serotonin, Nitric Oxide, etc. are planned).