What counts? Sometimes, the simplest questions seem hard to answer. Can I tolerate a spoonful of cream sauce? If I eat one bite of gluten-filled pastry, will it damage my small intestine? Should I eat more fat to keep my blood sugar stable? Do I have to avoid all carbs? What exactly counts?
There are plenty of plate diagrams divided up in ways that should make it easy to answer some of these questions. But for every colorful chart, there is a TED Talk or expert somewhere with a conflicting point-of-view.
There are small studies that may be indicative of nothing cited as if they are gospel. There are large studies that negate earlier studies. Trying to follow the science to be your healthiest can easily become a full-time job.
Healthcare professionals are so overtaxed that they may not have time to read the newest research. That means dietary advice from a doctor can sometimes be outdated. This is one of my great frustrations!
Unfortunately, our general confusion regarding science, medical advice, and public health guidelines is playing out on Twitter in real-time now that we have a pandemic. And I’m hearing it in personal conversations as well.
So, what can you look for when determining what advice to follow?
- Look for peer-reviewed studies that are published in reputable journals or included in the US National Library of Medicine on the NIH website.
- Look for Randomized Control Trials if available. These have the most rigorous study design.
- Look for rigorous studies with the largest number of research participants you can find. Larger numbers in a well-designed study will yield more reliable results than smaller ones when extended across a population.
- Take note of who funded the study. If a drug trial is funded by a pharmaceutical company, you may want to look for additional studies funded by other sources to confirm the results.
- Look for researchers that are respected by a wide range of scholars, physicians, and researchers.
- Read the actual abstract of a study that’s cited in articles you read. I have found that headlines, and sometimes whole articles, often misstate the results of a study.
- Check the credentials of Ted Talk participants. Just because an idea goes against the norm, doesn’t mean it’s wrong. It also doesn’t guarantee it’s right. The more you know about a speaker’s background, the better equipped you’ll be to make a determination on reliability.
- Look for repeated results. If numerous studies of a particular topic find the same thing, the conclusions are more reliable than if they all have different findings.
- Read with an open mind. We all have biases. When we can set those aside, we create a better environment for learning.
- Trust yourself. If you see a glaring hole in a study, there may be a glaring hole in the study. Like any industry, researchers who are enmeshed in their work can have blind spots. Look for confirmation from other studies or ask an expert on Twitter.
Narrowing your research by using these criteria will help save time and give you the most reliable information available. It may still be difficult to determine what counts, but it will certainly give you a head start.