Methods


How did I arrive at this plan? Basically, a lot of tooling around the internet, reading some good books, and experimenting. As I begin to write more posts, I find that I'm looking at human evolution and history as a way to discover what works best for human beings, but it's not my only source and I think that modern science has a great deal to contribute. It's also the best place to go for figuring out why things work the way they do. Understanding something about the mechanisms behind health makes me far more likely to follow the guidelines I set out for myself.

When it comes to research, I have generally trusted the more mainstream medical research, research coming out of universities, and articles in medical journals. Government recommendations from countries with robust public health systems, like the UK and Canada, are also good, as is the World Health Organization. Their guidelines that will work well for most people, most of the time, but they lack granular detail. I wanted to understand more about specific factors and mechanisms, and how risk factors for different diseases differ. The American Cancer Society has a set of guidelines for reducing cancer risk, the American Heart Association has one for preventing cardiovascular disease, and for Alzheimer's disease prevention, you can find guidelines at Alzheimer's Society, a UK-based group.

These recommendations are all broadly similar and/or compatible, with a couple of notable exceptions. For cancer prevention, the recommendation is to consume no alcohol at all, or very little, while for heart disease moderate consumption is recommended (1 drink/day for women, 2 for men). Maintaining a healthy weight is part of each of these plans, but cancer risk is lowest in the lower part of the "normal weight" range. 

Sometimes, though, these mainstream sites just didn't answer my questions, so I went further afield. The internet can be a wild and woolly world of wonder and disinformation, but there are some real gems out there. When I come across a new website, one of my first questions is: What are these people selling? If an entire website’s goal and purpose is to direct me to a product, I’m not going to take its conclusions seriously. If they present something interesting or intriguing I’ll look for backup references and more disinterested research. On a related note, if it appears that a scientific study is backed by a big corporation or an industry lobbying group, I’m going to be somewhat skeptical.

In some areas, like exercise and eating patterns, there is a much smaller and more limited amount of robust research and I will look at anecdotal information as well on those topics. In some topics, I’ve found work by specific researchers who appear to be the leading experts in their fields, and I will follow them closely. I’ll recommend their books at the end of each section. Finally, I rely on my own personal experience, when that’s applicable.

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