Digesting The Latest Research

We have more information coming at us than ever before. Paper news sources, electronic news sources, magazines, journals, and then everything that comes at us through social media. And it comes at us 24 hours a day.

Even if we are sensible about controlling our access to information bombardment, there is still the output from deliberate, self-initiated searches to deal with. Choosing to look up a topic can result in a mountain of usually conflicting information.

Within the realm of diet and nutrition, things get really confusing. Eating healthily doesn't seem like a simple activity anymore, and we see this evidenced by the growing field of nutrition research. Experts explore the science of food to find out how we process food, the relationships between nutrients and disease, and what the optimal diet is for the average human being. The implications of this research are far-reaching, and journalists, food and supplement companies, and the medical establishment lie in wait to receive and process the latest result for public consumption.

Does this help us make good decisions?

Raise your hand if you've ever read the latest nutrition headline and made changes to your diet based on the journalist's summation of new findings.

Initially, most people might say that they read food articles skeptically. Most people have some kind of understanding that reporting, whether in magazines or newspapers, is designed to make money first and foremost. Boring headlines don't sell.

But scary ideas do.

Nobody wants cancer or diabetes. Any food research that can be spun into the greatest new thing to fight a major disease, or alternatively, the greatest cause of a major disease, will be milked for all it's worth. And it is eaten up, sometimes literally.

You don't have to be scared to be sold on an idea. Nutrition reporters and food and supplement companies can also hook you by playing on your deepest desires or major weak spots. Who doesn't want to lose weight or build muscle to look good for summer? Who doesn't want thick, shiny hair? Perfect skin? More energy? Sexual stamina?

Again, all it takes is a whiff of a link between food research findings and an effect on those things we wish so dearly to improve or hold on to. You've got a story worth reporting on, and an avid following.

The human body and how it is affected by food is extremely difficult to study. Why? One important aspect of good, scientifically sound, controlled studies is that you are able to control many of the variables you are studying. Think of a bacterium in a petri dish in a lab. Highly controlled environment monitored by the scientist.

When you study humans, you have very little control over their behaviour, their lifestyle, their stress levels, their relationships, how their bodies work, and a whole host of other things that make up human functioning. You might be able to have some control over what they put in their bodies and can select people based on some demographic variables like age, sex, and general level of health, but that's about it.

The less you can control the variables that affect the outcome, and the greater the number of uncontrolled variables you have, the less able you are to draw conclusions about what you have studied. In this way, results from nutrition studies are rather limited in their predictive and conclusive power.

It would be irresponsible to make a grand pronouncement about a food to the public based on a few limited nutrition studies.

Be sensible about your diet. Nutrition articles are fun to read, and it can be irresistible to jump on the band wagon when a new great 'super food' is discovered. But keep in mind that the headlines based on one study will likely change in some way after the next study is done.

Our bodies like consistency and they like balance. The best thing you can do for yourself is eat a variety of fresh foods, get enough healthy calories for your activity level and bodily needs.

Leave the articles for entertainment purposes only.