What’s healthy and what’s not? That is one of the greatest questions of the Western world we live in today. Much information comes out of different sources and many of it seems conflicting. It started for me with the debate of the butter vs margarine, and it followed with almost any food: dairy, coffee, carbs, grains, meat, fruit juices, fats and soy to name just a few. But why are we receiving so much contradictory information? Who should we trust?
First, the adjective “healthy” is subjective. While I don’t know anybody that would affirm that a diet consisting in deep-fried and sugar loaded food is healthy, there’s many different point of view. As example, some people I know think that they eat healthy. For me, their diet is still loaded with crap. And others could consider my own diet unhealthy. For that, I prefer the term “healthier” than simply “healthy”. So many substances have health benefits AND health risks associated with them. Even the healthiest of the vitamins can become toxic when taken in super-high doses.
So, how do we get all this sorted out? By keeping ourselves informed, by checking our sources and getting the big picture. Groups who want to highlight some health benefits of the products they sell have paid many health studies. Those researches, while being accurate, often show only one side of the story. A product can have many health benefits while dramatically increase the risk of other diseases. Coffee and chocolate are among them.
Tips to evaluate health claims and making better choices
-Is it considered to be healthy, or not? Find out why!
-Check who’s making the claims? Is it the producer or a third party? Is it backed with scientific research?
-When science is involved, be sure to check who paid for it and how it has been conducted.
-Is there any other information on the subject? Gather all the information you can about something before making your choices.
-Are there any other ingredients of factors that could play a role? Ex. Fruit juices may be as healthy as fruits if we look at the vitamins and antioxidants, but they increase blood sugar levels higher because they have lost most of their fiber content.
-Stay informed. New information and new research in health are made everyday. In science, something is true as long as nothing comes to oppose a theory. New researches always bring new light!
My own rule of thumb is to eat plenty of all that everybody agrees to be healthy, like raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, and avoiding all that is obviously unhealthy, like deep-fried, heavily processed, artificial or high refined foods, along with trans fats and refined sugar. For everything else, moderation is the key. It’s neither all black nor all white!
Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by conflicting information on health? How do you know you’re making the right choices? What health questions you would like to see clearly answered?
What’s healthy and what’s not? That is one of the greatest questions of the Western world we live in today. Much information comes out of different sources and many of it seems conflicting. It started for me with the debate of the butter vs margarine, and it followed with almost any food: dairy, coffee, carbs, grains, meat, fruit juices, fats and soy to name just a few. But why are we receiving so much contradictory information? Who should we trust?
First, the adjective “healthy” is subjective. While I don’t know anybody that would affirm that a diet consisting in deep-fried and sugar loaded food is healthy, there’s many different point of view. As example, some people I know think that they eat healthy. For me, their diet is still loaded with crap. And others could consider my own diet unhealthy. For that, I prefer the term “healthier” than simply “healthy”. So many substances have health benefits AND health risks associated with them. Even the healthiest of the vitamins can become toxic when taken in super-high doses.
So, how do we get all this sorted out? By keeping ourselves informed, by checking our sources and getting the big picture. Groups who want to highlight some health benefits of the products they sell have paid many health studies. Those researches, while being accurate, often show only one side of the story. A product can have many health benefits while dramatically increase the risk of other diseases. Coffee and chocolate are among them.
Tips to evaluate health claims and making better choices
-Is it considered to be healthy, or not? Find out why!
-Check who’s making the claims? Is it the producer or a third party? Is it backed with scientific research?
-When science is involved, be sure to check who paid for it and how it has been conducted.
-Is there any other information on the subject? Gather all the information you can about something before making your choices.
-Are there any other ingredients of factors that could play a role? Ex. Fruit juices may be as healthy as fruits if we look at the vitamins and antioxidants, but they increase blood sugar levels higher because they have lost most of their fiber content.
-Stay informed. New information and new research in health are made everyday. In science, something is true as long as nothing comes to oppose a theory. New researches always bring new light!
My own rule of thumb is to eat plenty of all that everybody agrees to be healthy, like raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, and avoiding all that is obviously unhealthy, like deep-fried, heavily processed, artificial or high refined foods, along with trans fats and refined sugar. For everything else, moderation is the key. It’s neither all black nor all white!
Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by conflicting information on health? How do you know you’re making the right choices? What health questions you would like to see clearly answered?