(sorry if you opened an email sent yesterday that inadvertently published too soon)
Ever feel confused about what to eat to maintain health? Who hasn’t?
Ever wonder where some recommendations come from and who you should trust? I know, even as a lifetimes healthcare provider and proverbial health nut, sometimes I, myself have been confused.
The thing is, there are standard and straightforward answer for much of this stuff. The way to understand is to figure out (1) who is paying for the information. Hint: if it comes from most governmental entities or disease non-profits (American Heart Association, AHA, for example), millions of dollars have been donated to most of the entities in question by the food industry and the drug industry. Maybe that’s why the AHA’s website, for example, has over 30 pages of animal products listed on their “approved food list”! (maybe there’s a conflict there?) (2) Related: who will profit from what’s being recommended? (3) Is there science that backs up what’s being said and does that science represent the majority of the data? You can find studies that say almost anything; I can show you real studies that say cigarettes don’t cause cancer but that isn’t what the vast majority of studies say. However, when you look at both clinical trials and observational studies about diet you find some basic commonalities like the fact that those people who live the longest & healthiest eat mostly fruits, veggies, beans and grains. And people with good bio-markers (eg. low cholesterol) that they got by taking drugs or even supplements (not by changing their diet) are just as likely, in the long run, to experience disease and disability as those who have unhealthy blood levels and take no medication! These are just some things we’ll tease apart in my upcoming Food Over Medicine program. Learn how to understand the studies. Learn how to interpret conflicting info. Learn which medical tests have good solid backing & which may cause you more harm than good. Hope to see you there.
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