Last time we talked about an article that was very easy for me to know was incorrect.
But it got me thinking about how we all are exposed to so much information…
… and it gets difficult to know what’s true, especially when there are totally opposing viewpoints.
So I wanted to take a look at how you can discern for you what is right when coming across health info.
The first step is knowing what your health paradigm is.
Health viewpoints range from the body is too dumb, we have to slice and dice and stuff it full of toxins…
… to the other end of this spectrum of the body is intelligent, is self healing, we just have to nourish and remove deterrents.
And then there is a lot of room between these two sides of this health paradigm spectrum.
It’s important for you to know where you land on this, how you view health, because that alone will help you suss out what’s right for you.
For example, if I come across an article that says cancer can only be handled with surgery, chemo, and radiation, that’s a no for me.
But also, if I come across an article that says you only need to sip a special tea and wear an amulet to handle that same cancer, I’m still not buying it.
Of course our health is far more nuanced than this!
The next step is looking at what the source of the information is.
If it’s a study, consider who are the authors, who funded it…
Studies technically have a section that tells you if there is conflict of interest, but that’s not always super accurate.
The third step is asking yourself questions about whether the material makes sense.
This part sometimes does mean digging into the subject matter further.
For example, a patient showed me an article that talked about CBD being bad and that it can interfere with medications.
So ask yourself:
⁃ What is CBD?
⁃ Where does it come from?
⁃ What role does it play in the body?
CBDs are cannabinoids, which come from plants and are also produced by the body.
That’s right, we have an endocannabidiol system (the system that produces CBD).
Ok, there are things I don’t recommend supplementing because we want the body to do the work…
… but if we dive deep enough, we find that taking CBD can actually balance your system.
So to me, CBD (from a good brand of course, they are not all created equal) can be healing and supportive.
And again, to me, if there is a medication that doesn’t do well with CBD, I have doubts about how healthy that medication can be since the body naturally has CBD.
I’ve also seen many articles about sun exposure being soooo bad for us.
Now, of course everything needs to be within reason, but let’s think about this:
⁃ we need sunlight for life to be able to exist
⁃ we have receptors in our eyes and skin that need sunlight stimulation to regulate hormones and rhythms
⁃ we need sunlight to produce vitamin D
⁃ sunshine is part of nature
Beyond this, some interesting facts:
⁃ during the 1920s Spanish Flu, the patients who were brought outside had better healing/survival rates
⁃ studies show that those who get more sunlight are healthier – even if they had skin cancer at some point
Let’s not forget I said within reason!
Sun exposure in the morning, solar noon, and afternoons are great.
I don’t mean frying yourself all the time and getting sunburned.
So when you come across health information, start asking yourself questions about it.
And definitely know what your health paradigm is.
