We Can't Believe Every Research Study

I've just been browsing on a few of the medical sites from which I usually get my inspiration for these blogs.  After about a half-hour, I came to the conclusion that if lay people are looking for clear-cut answers to their health concerns, they're out of luck.  One article was about how vitamin E and selenium is thought to contribute to prostate cancer, another about how chondroitin sulfate is thought to help osteoarthritis (we talked about that one, before) and another includes the researcher's musings about which vitamin supplements may or may not help us avoid heart disease.  In addition to the fact that, as previously discussed in former blogs, all research contains a degree of bias, we have the problem of what sources of supplements are being used in all these research studies....those are seldom, if ever, identified.

Also, of significant consideration is the general health of those people participating in these studies.  In reading these studies, I cannot remember  the researchers including any identifiers of the subjects' health...especially in the above mentioned studies.  Sometimes, the medical profession can be just as swayed by the appearance of health as the general population and, in my opinion, that can truly bias some studies more than others.

My recommendation is to take the findings of any studies reported in the media with a block of salt.  Additionally, don't expect your health to be positively impacted simply by taking manufactured vitamin supplements.  The purpose of supplementation is just that, to supplement a balanced, healthy diet for optimal results.  I certainly wouldn't recommend an older male patient only take selenium and vitamin E for the purpose of trying to avoid prostate cancer...it's much more involved than that.  I also don't recommend getting advice on health from the internet...that should be individuated to the specific need/health/family history.  There are many qualified health practitioners whose services should be sought, at the very least, when developing a health regimen.

My advice is to relax, primarily eat the way I have reported in past blogs, enjoy an occasional "naughty" meal/dessert/fast food, take a couple of whole food supplements that we've discussed and enjoy yourself...life's too short to be tied up in knots by biased studies and "the-flavor-of-the-day" opinion.