Vitamin B12 shows up constantly in sports nutrition marketing, usually attached to promises about energy, endurance, and recovery. The underlying biology is real. B12 is essential for red blood cell production and nervous system function, and a deficiency genuinely impairs exercise capacity. The part that gets stretched is what happens once someone already has enough. … Read more
The protein RDA of 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight has been the reference number for decades. It shows up on nutrition labels, in dietary guidelines, and in most online protein calculators. A 2026 review in Frontiers in Nutrition argues that number was never built for the question people actually care about as they … Read more
The fear is common and specific: lose weight, regain it, and you will end up worse off than if you had never tried, a damaged metabolism, lost muscle, a body primed to store fat more aggressively next time. This idea, often called yo-yo dieting or weight cycling, has shaped both public attitudes and clinical caution … Read more
A study published in Nature Metabolism in May 2026 tracked what happens inside the body during seven days of water-only fasting, and the findings clarify something that had been more assumed than demonstrated: that fasting produces a distinct biological state, not just a longer version of skipping a meal, and that this state does not … Read more
Caffeine has one of the most robust bodies of evidence behind it of any performance-related substance, legal or otherwise. Its ergogenic effects are well-replicated across a range of sports, exercise types, and populations. It is also widely misused — overcaffeinated, poorly timed, or consumed in ways that trade short-term performance for disrupted sleep and long-term … Read more
Protein is probably the most discussed macronutrient in fitness, and the advice ranges from the official recommendations — which most exercise scientists consider too conservative for active people — to the gym floor wisdom of “more is always better.” Neither is quite right. The research gives a reasonably clear answer for most people, with meaningful … Read more
Creatine is the most thoroughly researched supplement in exercise science, and the evidence for its core benefits — more power output, better performance in short, high-intensity efforts, and support for muscle growth — is as solid as it gets in this space. But the dosage question is messier than most product labels or fitness influencers … Read more