A blog to help you optimize your full-body and life performance

As the second chapter of our three-part National Heart Health Month series, we're talking about a topic that can sometimes confuse even the best of us: the difference between fat in our diets and fat in our bodies (and the implications of both on our health).

February is National Heart Health Month. So, we thought we'd do our part in spreading awareness by bringing you a three-part heart health blog series. First up? The ever-ominous "total cholesterol."

As one of the most ordered lab tests, total cholesterol can provide a high level glance at how your body is handling lipids, or fats. According to the CDC, roughly nine percent of all doctor’s visits include a cholesterol test.¹ So, how should you interpret your total cholesterol value? Is the whole greater than the sum of its parts?

The word metabolism is thrown around quite a bit. But if we asked you to explain what it is and how it relates to your overall health, could you?

If not, don’t worry; you're not alone. That's why we're sharing the details you need to know about all things metabolism. And with some of our newest recommendations, InsideTracker can help you understand what the word really means, how it ties into your overall wellbeing, and how to optimize it.

Keeping our focus on nutrition this month, we decided to take a look at some of our most popular recommendations. One that stuck out? Increasing your intake of nuts – it’s right up there with oatmeal. Based on the nutrition questionnaire each of our customers must complete, nuts may be your ticket to improvements in many biomarkers.

As you may know, we link each of our recommendations to the scientific literature that supports it. But, we’ve gone one step farther… we can now see how our recommendations are actually affecting InsideTracker users! Here, we compare the typical intakes of nuts for our users with their biomarker levels. The results speak for themselves – it’s time to go nuts!

One of the most common new fitness trends is eating a mysterious blue-green algae called “spirulina.” Trendy fitness magazines and celebrities hail it as a top-secret “superfood” you take as a supplement or powder. However, are any of these claims actually based on real, scientific evidence? Or is spirulina as dubious as a health product shamelessly advertised by the Kardashians on Instagram? Below we sort out the fact and fiction by delving into the high-quality that shows how spirulina might impact your body and your health.

Executive Summary:  Coconut products are growing in popularity and we see a vast amount of food and beverage options touting the power of this tropical drupe (stone fruit). Paleo enthusiasts and fitness buffs are touting the benefits, but does the research support the claims? Looking at the science can be perplexing, due to the mixed results of coconut fat in the research. Coconut fats, in the form of cream, oil, and milk are very unique and may interact with one’s body differently depending on an array of factors. We have done some investigation for you and report key findings from scientific literature below- but the only way to be sure if coconut fats are a healthy choice for you is to monitor your biomarkers using InsideTracker.

Our team of nutritionists is always investigating the latest research on the overlooked health benefits of food products. Recently, we stumbled upon research documenting the therapeutic value of a common, versatile kitchen staple: vinegar. Read below to learn how five common types of vinegars can help you control your levels of lipids and blood sugar and quick tips on how you can incorporate them into your diet.

If you could tap into >40,000 calories of your fat fuel during endurance exercise instead of relying on your maximum 2,000 calorie storage of carbohydrate fuel, would you do it?

What if it meant no more liquid gels, sugar-containing sports drinks or bananas to give you that energy boost when you're on the verge of exhaustion? If LeBron James did it. Was it really a wise choice based on current science?

Fish oil has become increasingly popular in the last couple of years, as more people have started to understand the importance of omega-3 fatty acids in growth and development. Thanks to extensive amounts of scientific research and reporting by the media, fish oil is one of the most popular and widely-accepted supplements in the country. Americans spend nearly $1 billion per year on over-the-counter fish oil supplements.  Should fish oil become a part of your nutrition regimen?

Whether hunching over a computer screen, spending hours behind the wheel of your car, or plopping down on the couch for an evening of television, we all do it. What do all of those things have in common? Sitting! The bad news is that we are more sedentary than any previous generation. In fact, most adults spend over nine hours a day doing sedentary activities. Research shows that long periods of sitting down, even for people who are otherwise physically active, take a toll on your health.