Our clients regularly say, “It’s SO confusing! I just don’t know what to eat anymore.” It’s true. There is A LOT of conflicting health information out there. How do you decide who to believe and what to do, short of just throwing up your hands and exclaiming, “I have to die of something so who cares what I eat?!?!” (We heard that too.)

We’ve collected a few tips to help you decide who to believe and to educate yourself against the lies and money grabbing done at the expense of your health.

Tip One –
If the person or company making the health claim is selling food, a product, or supplement, dig deeper.

Tip Two – 
If the person or company making the health claim is using scare language, narrow your eyes and tilt your head. Scare language will make you fear that you are doing huge damage to your health by not having their product.

Tip Three –
If the person or company making the health claim shares science or an expert’s opinion that a food or product has health risks and then downplays those risks by saying, “Yeah, but…” or “moderation…” or anything else that makes you feel comfortable ignoring the health risks outlined in the science, sigh and walk away.

Tip Four – 
If the person or company making the health claim backs it with science that sounds too good to be true (i.e. bacon is good for you), purse your lips and shake your head.

Tip Five – 
If the person or company making the health claim intermingles scientific data with their opinion of that data without making it clear which is which, read it very carefully and interpret the data yourself.

Tip Six – 
If the person or company making the health claim wants to argue with you and prove they are right and you are wrong rather than share information and allow you to make your own choice, stop following them on social media.

Tip Seven –
If the person or company making the health claim is subsidized by tax dollars, assume any data they provide has been paid for and is biased.

Tip Eight – 
If the person or company making the health claim is aggressively sharing “common knowledge” and trying to make you look dumb, consider them a lost soul and wish them well.

Tip Nine –
If the person or company making the health claim calls something “healthy” when they mean it is healthier than something worse (butter vs olive oil for example), don’t take health advice from them.

Tip Ten – 
If the person or company making the health claim is only sharing information, providing their source and suggesting you draw your own conclusions, they may be trustworthy. Compare what they are sharing with the information you have gathered from other sources and go live your best life!