Nutrition Studies
By
April 18, 2016
Every week it seems like we hear about a new study telling us what we should or shouldn’t eat. And every other week we hear of another study that now says the opposite of the first study. Fat is good. No, now it’s bad. Well, the right kind of fat is good, if it’s the right amount, and if you exercise, but not if you drink, and so on and so forth. So how do we know what to make of these studies?
This article by Mark’s Daily Apple gives us 15 reasons why we shouldn’t trust these studies. He concludes:
This isn’t to suggest that nutritional studies are useless. I cite and refer to them all the time. They’re often the best, most objective angle on the situation available. Like democracy, it’s the worst except for all the others. But we have to recognize and consider their limitations.
Our health is our responsibility. I’m often skeptical of nutritional studies because there are so many variables at play in human health. There are also many variables at play in research studies such as who is sponsoring the study. In the history of nutrition science, we have been wrong as often as we have been right. So, how do we know what to believe? I think we have to use the "Common Sense Test" and I think we have to be willing to do some of our own experimentation.
Try making the change for a few weeks and see how you look, feel, and perform. If you’re really concerned you could even get blood work done to see what’s happening on the inside. And don't get caught in the weeds. If you still have some known holes in your nutrition strategy (sugar, processed carbs), start with those before diving into the more controversial areas.
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