Written For the News Journal
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Have you ever noticed that for every malady that plagues our bodies, there seems to be a “flavor of the day” approach to treating it?
For a while, it was thought that using zinc lozenges helped the common cold. Then Echinacea was touted as a supplement to moderate and/or prevent cold symptoms (since proven to not be effective). Then……etcetera, etcetera.
I think you know what I mean. How many diet cookbooks are on your shelves? Low/no carb, high protein? Paleo? Vegan? One study on the effectiveness of a particular diet seems to contradict the prior one.
And don’t even get me started on medication!
Do you ever feel that in your attempt to learn more about how to take care of your body, you get even more confused? How are you supposed to make good decisions about what to eat/not eat or how many hours of sleep should you get? Should you be doing yoga, Pilates, spinning? Should I use Arnica or Capsaicin topical rubs for my muscle aches/pains?
Do you feel like screaming?
I get this feedback from patients almost every day. I am not sure if there are enough days left in my life to answer all of their questions. But, I do feel their pain.
Even as a healthcare provider, I get easily frustrated with the amount of data that is in front of us regarding what we “should” be doing to fix a certain health problem, make an improvement in fitness, address an injury and so on.
This is particularly challenging for me when I provide counsel and advice to a patient, and they give me articles and information from the web that seem to contradict my recommendations.
