Issue #74 (December 2020)

• Deep Dive: Comparing different protein sources' impact on bone turnover
  Eating more plants can be healthy but may negatively impact bone health due to lower protein, calcium, and vitamin D intake. This trial examined how the same amount of protein from animal or plant sources affected bone turnover.
• Deep Dive: Does low protein intake slow down chronic kidney disease progression?
  Very low protein diets seem to slow progression but don't affect mortality, raising the question of whether there's a risk-benefit tradeoff. Higher quality, larger trials could shed more light on this issue.
• Deep Dive: How does alternate-day fasting compare to no diet or other diets?
  ADF helps people lose weight and lower cholesterol, but there's no clear advantage over continuous energy restriction based on the current evidence. Larger, longer studies are needed, though.
• Mini: Dietary approaches and supplements to combat chronic pain Open Access
  What nutritional interventions impact different chronic pain conditions? This NERD Mini summarizes the evidence from a systematic review released earlier this year.
• Interview: Jeff Rothschild, RD, CSSD, PhD(c)
  What should we eat before exercise? To find out, we picked the lead author's brain of a recent review that answers that exact question!
• Deep Dive: Will nitrates improve your training performance? It depends!
  Nitrates provide a small but significant performance boost, but dose, timing, and your baseline aerobic fitness matters.
• Deep Dive: Determining the per-kilogram effects of weight loss on lipid levels
  How much do blood lipids change for each kilogram of weight lost? This study aimed to answer this question, while also exploring whether the method of weight loss (through lifestyle, drugs, or bariatric surgery) matters much.
• Deep Dive: The best non-drug ways to lower blood pressure
  Drugs are usually an effective way to lower blood pressure, but non-drug interventions can help a lot, too! This network meta-analysis looked at which non-drug methods are the best for lowering blood pressure.

Researchers

Wyatt Brown; Dylan T. Dahlquist, MSc, CSCS; Antonis Damianou, MSc; Brad Dieter, PhD; Rachel Hathcock, BSN, RN, CCRA; Nick Milazzo, MS(c); Katherine Pett, MS, RDN; Thomas Reichhart, MSc; Brandon Roberts PhD, MS, CSCS; Lucas Roldos Saibene, BSc, MSc(c); Jill Ryer-Powder, PhD; Lucas Tafur, PhD

Editors

Gregory Lopez, MA, PharmD

Reviewers

Stephan Guyenet, PhD & Adel Moussa, PhD

Copy Editor

Dmitri Barvinok

Infographics

Antonius Khengdro & Calla Lee