Test Everything

Evidence Magazine, an online health and fitness magazine, posts an article titled “36 Timeless Lessons for Obsessive Health and Fitness Nuts,” written by Armi Legge (who claims to be one of those nuts) and who admits:

*“I’ve spent too much money on supplements.”

*“I’ve wasted hours of precious time and effort on ideas that never had any evidence behind them.”

*“I’ve obsessed about everything that I thought would make me healthier, fitter, more productive, and happier—which made me less healthy, fit, and productive, and unhappy.”

Here are some of the more cogent lessons of the 36 mentioned in the article. These lessons are intended to “help you avoid the same blunders” that the author has made:

“...don’t identify yourself with how you exercise, (or) what you eat,...”

“We’ve figured out probably 99% of what we need to do to be healthy. The real challenge is getting people to adopt these behaviors in a sustainable way.”

“Anything that claims to be ‘groundbreaking,’ ‘revolutionary,’ or ‘never before seen,’ almost never has any supporting evidence and probably doesn’t work.”

“Science is often about explaining something that seems like common sense, rather than uncovering something completely new.”

“You should question yourself—and others—constantly.”

“Despite what people say, you can’t find a study to prove every idea. You can always find someone who thinks they’ve found a study to support their ideas.”

“90% of supplements don’t work. 9% do work, but the effects are too small to matter. 0.9% work well, but are usually more expensive than other simple interventions like diet and exercise. Maybe 0.1% are actually worth taking.”

“If you’re getting overwhelmed with health information, spend less time on the internet and more time outside with friends.” 

And Scripture reminds us to:

“Test everything. Hold on to the good.” 

1 Thessalonians 5:21