There's just too much conflicting health information online

Whether its Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, blogs, and emails, there is a ton of health information floating around online. While some of it is useful and practical, a lot of it lacks context and nuance. After coming across enough of it, you start to realize that there is also a ton of conflicting advice, making it challenging to know what to do. I felt this way myself when I first started diving deep into my health journey back in 2016.

At one point, I religiously followed the carnivore tribe, convinced that carbs were bad and eating mostly meat was optimal. While I felt great on a carnivore diet, my curiosity led me to dig deeper and question whether this was truly the best long-term diet for me. It felt strange to demonize fruits, vegetables, honey, and homemade bread, all of which I loved. After all, many people ate these foods and had great health. Something didn't add up.

In addition to the carnivore diet, I also followed the anti-oxalate crowd, who advocated for removing all oxalate-rich foods from your diet. I was convinced that I needed to eliminate all of these foods as well. By the end, I was basically eating only meat and dairy, and nothing else. But as I continued to research and learn, I realized that this extreme approach wasn't necessary or sustainable.

At first, I felt amazing. I had tons of energy and staying lean was a breeze without even trying. But eventually, I started feeling more and more lethargic, with a lack of vitality. My workouts suffered, and my sleep wasn't as restful as it used to be. On top of that, my hormonal health took a hit.

I began to suspect that something wasn't right. So, I delved deeper into nutrition and explored different perspectives. That's when I stumbled upon Ray Pete's work and the many health influencers who were heavily influenced by him. Reading his stuff required me to do a complete 180 on everything I thought I knew about female health. I learned about the importance of carbs for female fertility and overall well-being. I started to see health from a metabolism standpoint and realized that optimizing our metabolic health is the first step to improving hormonal health. I discovered that thyroid health is at the center of everything because the thyroid is essential for producing progesterone, which is the master hormone for female fertility (not estrogen). And the list goes on.

Implementing Ray Pete's philosophy into my diet brought about a lot of positive changes. However, I've noticed that many influencers are now parroting his advice and turning it into a religion. They cherry-pick certain things and take them out of context, missing the bigger picture of what Ray Pete was suggesting in the first place.

Most people just want a prescriptive diet to follow, rather than putting in the work to truly understand their body and see what works for them. They want to be told what to do, without doing any critical thinking. This approach will only leave you uninformed and disappointed, especially now that it's so easy for anyone to get online and share information. If you truly want to decipher all the information online and figure out the truth, you have to:

1. Read from original sources to deeply understand the statements or claims being made and why.
2. Experiment on your own body to see what works (and what doesn't). Everyone is different, so what works for one person may not work for another due to factors like genetics and lifestyle. To determine if a particular food or diet is "good" or "bad" for you, try adding it to your diet for three months and see how you feel physically and emotionally. Also, keep an eye on any changes in your blood work. Be curious, like a detective.
3. Recognize that many things have grey areas. For example, I agree with many of Ray Pete's ideas, but I also disagree with some. This doesn't mean his entire philosophy is invalid, but rather that he, like all of us, was human and prone to errors in his thinking. To avoid being dogmatic about a particular diet or philosophy, we must be open to different perspectives and recognize their usefulness in various contexts.

Thanks for reading my ramble :)

See you next week!

Preethi