![\"decision\"](\"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/c2tblog-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/At_a_crossroads_-_Decisions_concept-655x450.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nDetermining whether or not to buy\nor buy into something has some commonalities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- It ain\u2019t easy! <\/li>
- It\u2019s time consuming! <\/li>
- It probably won\u2019t be fun. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
I say this, not to discourage\nyou, but to prepare you for a task that is less than desirable but still\nimportant to your health, well-being, and quality of life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those of us who are avoiding\ngluten may be tuned into health messaging and labels more than most making us especially\nvulnerable to the constant bombardment of fear-based messaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s make things easier by starting\nwith a few things you can stop worrying about:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gluten in shampoo or cosmetics<\/strong> \u2013 The gluten molecule is too large to be absorbed<\/a> through your skin. (If you have an allergy to wheat, rye, barley, or malt as opposed to an intolerance, this may still be of concern.) Also, don\u2019t eat the cosmetics. Ingested gluten is still a problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Longstanding childhood\nvaccines <\/strong>\u2013 These are safe, effective, and have all but eliminated suffering\nfrom smallpox, polio, and tetanus. With any medicine, there is the potential\nfor an adverse reaction in a small number of people. That\u2019s true of\nantibiotics, birth control pills, and over-the-counter pain relievers. Check\ningredient list for allergens & look for recalls. Barring those, get\nvaccinated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MRNA vaccines<\/strong> \u2013 They do\nnot change your genetic makeup. They do not contain microchips. They do not\nproduce severe adverse reactions in most people. This type of vaccine is easy\nto adapt to a variety of viruses. That means we will most likely see more and\nmore of these. Adopt with the level of caution you approach any medication, but\nthere\u2019s no reason to dismiss these out of hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking nutritional supplements<\/strong> \u2013 If you are healthy and eat a well-balanced diet, there\u2019s no real benefit<\/a> to taking supplements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eating eggs<\/strong> \u2013 While eggs contain cholesterol, they don\u2019t seem to raise blood cholesterol and are a near-perfect food. They may also help with nutrient absorption<\/a> when eaten in raw salads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With those out of the way, how\ncan we determine what to embrace or leave behind?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Develop a list of reliable\nsources <\/strong>\u2013 Twitter has been a great tool for this. You could follow experts\nin any field to get their take on infinite topics. Now it\u2019s a bit more dicey\nbut look for doctors and researchers who are well respected by other\nscientists. Look for news sources that feel balanced. Watch for bias. Don\u2019t\ngive too much credence to the most visible faces on TV or those who speak for\npoliticians. Look at track records. Get several opinions about any product or\nissue. Do some background research to see which of those opinions align with rigid,\nwell-controlled studies; reflect verifiable facts; and are not reactionary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Learn the difference between fact and opinion<\/strong> \u2013 It\u2019s common to see someone online ask a \u201cwhat if\u201d question that leads to a whole narrative based on nothing but flight of fancy that\u2019s treated as fact. And news networks often have \u201cexperts\u201d offer lots of opinions based on zero facts. You can tell the difference<\/a>, but you must listen carefully. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beware of magical thinking<\/strong>\n\u2013 As humans, we\u2019re always tempted to take the easy way out. We want immediate\nresults and miracle cures. But just because we want something to be a quick fix\ndoesn\u2019t mean it is. Or it could mean we\u2019ll only see short-term positive results.\nIf you find yourself leaning into something because it sounds easier or faster\nthan something you know will work long-term, question yourself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today\u2019s example would be using a\ndiabetes prevention drug strictly for weight loss. It\u2019s all the rage! But we\nalso know that once you stop using one of these drugs, the weight comes back.\nThat means a temporary \u201ccure\u201d at best. And we don\u2019t know the long-term health effects\nof using these drugs. That\u2019s a risk you\u2019re blindly assuming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Never assume you need anything\njust because an ad says so <\/strong>\u2013 Advertising isn\u2019t about education. It\u2019s not\nabout public service. It\u2019s about getting you to buy a product or service. It\nmay do a public service or educate at the same time, but that\u2019s not its primary\npurpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If fear or shame is involved,\nbeware<\/strong> \u2013 It\u2019s unfortunate that companies or professions use emotional\nmanipulation to accomplish their goals. If you feel yourself compelled to buy\nor buy into something because you\u2019re afraid or feel ashamed, take a minute.\nYour emotions may be undermining your best judgement. Wait for the feelings to\npass, then reevaluate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ask questions<\/strong> \u2013 Someone in\na particular field will have a depth of knowledge you do not. Feel free to ask\nquestions. Most are happy to share their expertise. If you hear them say, \u201cthat\u2019s\nnot how this works,\u201d believe them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most important thing is to allow\nyourself to learn and shift<\/em><\/strong>. Sometimes new information will challenge a\nlong-held belief. If this NEVER happens, there\u2019s a problem. It\u2019s statistically\nunlikely that you will be absolutely 100% correct all the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even if you\u2019ve carefully\nresearched your opinion, science will advance; policies will result in\nunintended consequences that are not acceptable; drugs will be recalled; new\nfacts will be revealed. All of these require adjustment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes this means you should\nno longer buy something that was reasonable yesterday. This can be true in the\nuniversal sense. It can also be true on a personal level because we change, our\nsituations change, and our health changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There can\u2019t be an absolute answer to the question, should you buy it. And sometimes, we\u2019ll make decisions we regret later. But if we\u2019ve gathered the most reliable information we can find, reflected on potential consequences based on that information, and made a decision that we are willing to reevaluate if necessary, we\u2019ve done all we can do. It\u2019s okay to lean into a plan and feel good about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/c2tblog-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/STC_ad_22_OL-8.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When companies and news organizations peddle fear, should you buy it? As we\u2019re bombarded by information that may be less than reliable, it can be hard to discern which messages to trust. Unfortunately, the medical community also peddles fear. So how do you determine whether you should buy the product or message? If a spouse\/partner … Continue reading “Should You Buy It?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[792,9],"tags":[3415,3414,1928,3247],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5177"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5177"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5193,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5177\/revisions\/5193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}