Which Way To Real Health?
Posted on March 17, 2016
Which Way to Health?
I have caught myself several times recently wanting to pass along information received “as truth” without looking further into the original sources or searching for the bigger context. It might be that I read a new Facebook post or received an email from an expert that sounded like what I wanted to hear or endorsed a belief I held, and I was just about to pass it along to others, for their benefit.
But then, there was a caution. I hadn’t verified the information myself. I could be equally “guilty” of misrepresenting the truth. I didn’t (and don’t) want to do that. It could affect me, and it probably would affect other people…and their vital health decisions.
Who’s Your Teacher?
So, where am I going with all of this? Well, let me make 2 distinct points.
1. Things are often not black and white, cut and dried, good or bad, right or wrong. Yes, I do believe in absolute truth, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. This applies to those gray areas of health, and other things, as well.
2. When I read a new piece of information that is all the rage, how do I respond? Do I accept it as truth, or do I weigh it, judge it, find research about it, flesh it out? What do you do?
Cholesterol: The Good Guy or the Bad Villain?
Let me give you a practical example. I do not mean to offend anyone with this. I am not even taking any side on this information I received…just using it as a current example of the process that I’m trying to describe.
I’m going to take a leap here and say that if you see this video on Youtube about Doctors Taking A New Stance on Cholesterol, please do your due diligence and read the corresponding American Heart Associations report to get your own interpretation of what the organization is saying and is implying.
I would LOVE to post this video to Facebook and say that the American Heart Association is all for cholesterol now, but I am not sure that’s what they’re saying in the end. One commentator of this video summarized the AHA report as saying basically this: There is not enough evidence to quantify a dose-response relationship between dietary cholesterol consumption and deleterious health effects. They maintain in it’s association with saturated fat that cholesterol IS a nutrient of concern.
If this is the case, does this alter your interpretation of the AHA’s stance? May yes, maybe no. But you should know what you believe and why…and what you’re basing your health decisions on. Right?
Now, understand me. I have not embraced the “cholesterol is bad or my enemy” belief for a number of years now. We need it to make our hormones, for one thing! But I also view cholesterol as the band-aid that comes to the rescue for inflamed and damaged tissues, such as in the arteries, let’s say. Again, not “bad,” but maybe a warning sign that we should at least acknowledge and respect. Don’t shoot the messenger for the message it delivers, right? But do look deeper for the real cause of the problem.
So, in this case, it’s not so cut and dried to me. Cholesterol is not “bad,” but its presence is not to be ignored either. Don’t you wish life was simple and making healthy choices was easy. I do! But it’s not necessarily, and your health is such an individual thing. Please don’t relegate it to someone else, if you know what I mean. Of course, you can find people you trust and learn from them. I do this a lot. But don’t follow blindly some “truth” that you haven’t really investigated yourself.
The bottom line from my perspective is this: Do your homework before accepting what you see and hear; this can allow you to draw your best conclusions and make your own informed health choices.
Wishing you great joy, health, and wisdom!