Should Most People be on a Gluten-Free Diet?
Short Answer – Yes but there are good vs. bad gluten-free diets and foods.
Learn more now about why gluten-free can be great and how to avoid the bad diets.
Background
Gluten-free diets have really become popular but most people only have partial information, therefore, marketers and food manufacturers exploit this lack of knowledge so that you will purchase foods from them which you think are healthy and may provide temporary benefit but actually keep prolonging your health problems, destroy healthy gut bacteria (microbiota) and cause you to keep your excess weight. Additionally, websites promoting gluten-free recipes often are more interested in the number of ‘clicks’ they get which translates to income rather than purity of healthy recipes presented. They acquire more income if the recipes are deliciously loaded with sugar and fat (gluten-free donut holes for example) but unfortunately these don’t improve your health even though they are ‘gluten-free’. You need to switch from quick fixes and fads to honest science in order to truly become healthy.
Honest Science Basics
Gluten actually consists of a group of proteins found in several types of cereal grains like wheat (whether they are organic or not), rye, barley and triticale (which is made by crossing wheat and rye). The type of gluten in oats are not a problem for 99% of people (but if you have been diagnosed with celiac disease, please double-check this with your doctor). Gluten acts like a glue to give the dough its shape. People with celiac disease test positive for antibodies to gluten but you can have gluten intolerance even without testing positive for gluten antibodies. This is called Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS) which is quite common but researchers aren’t sure how many people are actually affected by it. It may be as high as 30 – 50% of people. Additionally, there are other components in grains besides gluten which cause people to react with many symptoms and researchers are trying to narrow these components and other questions down.
What Foods Contain Gluten?
Unfortunately, because of food processing techniques, gluten is found in lots of foods besides grains that you’d never dream contain them, for example, salad dressings, sauces, soups, malt, beer, Brewer’s Yeast, milk shakes, and more.
What Does Gluten Do to People Who are Intolerant?
It increases inflammation in the digestive tract causing gut leaking of contents into the surrounding tissues and blood stream. Once these inflammatory molecules enter the blood stream, they can cause symptoms and health problems all over the body including the brain.
What Are Signs and Symptoms of Gluten Intolerance?
There are numerous symptoms both inside and outside the digestive tract. I’ll provide the signs and symptoms for both:
Digestive Tract Symptoms – Abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea or constipation, foul-smelling stools, excessive bowel gas, and more.
Outside Digestive Tract Symptoms – Chronic fatigue, joint pain, muscle pain, fibromyalgia, ‘foggy mind’, headaches, skin rashes, depression, anemia, numbness and other nervous system disorders, difficulty with weight loss, anxiety, unexplained infertility, and more.
Honest Science Solution
As noted above, when you search the internet for gluten free diets and foods, there are lots of marketers who can’t wait to draw you in with delicious foods which may be strictly gluten-free but they are also harmful to the gut flora/microbiota which will just continue your gut leakage and inflammation for another reason. You’re simply trading one problem for another. This is why most people get stuck with their health problems and excess weight and can’t lose that weight and are constantly tired. They hop from one partial information fad to another but really aren’t truly benefiting their health. Please stop quick fixes and get the real complete information that will finally set you on the pathway to optimal health. That’s why I had to create the i60 Day Challenge. There is nothing out there like it. I provide real information it takes time but I also walk you through it simply every day for 60 days. This may be the most important 60 days of your and your family’s life and health. If you are tired of chronic pain, tiredness and feel stuck then I strongly encourage you to begin this journey with me today!
Supplementation Regimen May Support Immune Function
The following list is provided from a significant number of published clinical studies analyzing which nutrient levels maximized their subject’s immune system function. Consuming the ingredients on this list does not assure that illness will be prevented for you but rather follows clinical guidelines so you can support and assist your immune system to operate well. We do not offer any of these ingredients in supplement form so this list is purely for your educational benefit and has not been reviewed by the FDA or any other governmental agency. For a PDF to keep for your records, click here.
(These suggestions are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.) Brand names are not provided so we encourage you to find supplements which contain these amounts. We do not recommend exceeding these nutrient amounts because over-supplementation may weaken immune function. We do recommend that you clear all these recommendations with your doctor before taking.
Our Suggested List for before and during a viral infection is:
Vitamin C - 100-200mg/d does saturate white blood cells but intracellular vitamin C does go down with infections and thus larger doses should be considered, such as, 200mg/day.
Vitamin D - 1200IU for kids/2000-5000IU for adults
Vitamin A - 100% DV 900mcg RAE (retinol activity equivalents) or 5000IU
Zinc - 10-15mg have been shown to be effective with gluconate being most common supplemental form. For an extra boost for a short time (one week) when desired, up to 50 mg of zinc can be taken daily. If you also want to include quercetin (see below), then best to take zinc in divided doses twice daily with the quercetin. A published scientific review article concludes there is “clinical evidence examining zinc as a direct antiviral, as well as a stimulant of antiviral immunity.”¹
Selenium - 55mcg/d for maintenance and 200mcg/d for active infection w/high-selenium yeast being the best form
Elderberry - it usually comes in a liquid which has the best data taking 10-15ml four times daily. This functions as a carrier (ionophore) of zinc allowing it to get into cells for increased efficiency.
Quercetin - 500mg twice daily. This also functions as an efficient zinc carrier (ionophore) but uses a different mechanism that elderberry.
N-acetylcysteine - 600mg once per day. May take up to 3 tabs per day but should discuss with your doctor. It increases T cell response, provides a healthy inflammatory response especially with viral infections.
¹Ref. - Adv Nutr. 2019 Jul; 10(4): 696–710.
Covid-19 - New CDC Statistics Confirm We Were Accurate and 'Experts' Were Wrong
First, we'd like to express our condolences to everyone who has lost loved one due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Any loss of life is tragic and we don't mean to speak lightly about this issue in any way. There are some incredibly important principles, however, which we can all take note for the future. The need for a reliable, trusted scientific source is great and is critical for making informed health decisions.
From the attached CDC Death Chart by week and age group of the Covid-19 pandemic, you can see that on March 12th, when we wrote our blog on Covid-19, only 51 deaths had occurred at that point in the U.S. and even though some 'experts' were reporting a 14% death rate, we explained from our analysis of all available reliable scientific data at the time that the death rate was much closer to 0.25%. The CDC just released statistics this week as explained on Dr. Duke Johnson's Facebook Page (@drdukejohnsonmd) stating that the CDC now believes the overall case fatality rate (among people with symptoms) is 0.4% and among all infected individuals (including those without symptoms) it is 0.26%. The CDC's updated figure of 0.26% infection fatality rate is remarkably similar to the infection fatality rate of 0.25% we predicted back on March 12 at a time when many sources were providing conflicting information. We were able to provide accurate information by sorting through the misinformation to identify trustworthy scientific data, and at Makkarios, our commitment is to continue providing excellent scientifically based information to equip individuals to make wise health decisions and have assurance in knowing where to look for trustworthy information.
Misinformation can be dangerous, and even harmful to our health. In addition to the gross overestimation of fatality rate mentioned above, other so-called 'experts' predicted that the infection would not impact the U.S. much and, early in the pandemic, the World Health Organization reported that it didn't appear that Covid-19 could even be spread from human-to-human meaning there was little risk. These 'experts' were horribly wrong which has caused thousands of unnecessary deaths.
At Makkarios, we don't believe there are "Scientific Experts' nor any educated verification of the terms 'Science Says' or 'Experts Agree' or 'The Science is Settled'. In reality, there are two types of scientists: (1) honest scientists who delve deeply into all available sources of scientific literature, critique how studies are structured, analyze data independently of the research conclusions, compare each study to the vast body of research, continually keep up-to-date on the latest research and then draw conclusions from the scrutinize data, and (2) biased scientists who are either poorly trained or begin with an agenda and look for science that supports their preconceived positions. True science is never settled. True experts never perfectly agree. And, 'science' is not a person or an elevated person that speaks. Science is performed by ordinary people and it is only as good as the character and integrity of the scientist. Though published scientific studies tend to be slightly better than nonpublished studies, there are many examples of horrible published literature. Therefore, all information, including scientific information has to be assessed and verified rather than believed at face value.
Oftentimes, when honest scientists purely approach a the scientific studies noted above, they come to conclusions which differ from the currently accepted opinions. Initially, honest scientists are often met with resistance and disdain from the general community and even the rest of the scientific community but after the innovative ideas are entertained more seriously and shown to stand the test of further research, they are eventually widely accepted. When Makkarios Co-Founder, Dr. Duke Johnson M.D. wrote The Optimal Health Revolution concluding that chronic excessive inflammation underlies essentially all chronic disease, he initially was met with resistance but now this belief is considered the norm and is taught in most medical schools. Pioneers and innovators by nature aren't affected or held back by criticism or lack of mass appeal because their motivation is to find the truth. Makkarios Founders are equipped with both extensive scientific training as well as that pioneer spirit. Similar to the early identification of the Covid-19 fatality rate and also the early identification of the impact of chronic inflammation, the i60 Challenge program goes completely against the fads and popular programs of today, but time will show the i60 Challenge is based upon verified science which meets our incredibly high standards. Our early prediction for Covid-10 fatality rate and early identification of inflammation's role in chronic disease hopefully helps you see that we are committed to sorting through opinion and identifying reliable information through in-depth analysis of the data.
If you are in need of honest, reliable science, we desire to be that source for you.
Best Overall Exercise - Activities of Daily Living
Ask any health professional and they will tell you that in order to be healthy and lose weight, you need to include 'diet and exercise' as a regular part of any health program. Theoretically and scientifically, this is a true statement. However, the hard reality is that very few people exercise on a regular basis. There are numerous reasons given for not exercising and I understand and can even relate to the excuses - too busy, gym memberships too expensive, etc. Unfortunately, when people don't adequately exercise, many health professionals somehow feel relieved of their duties by concluding, "Well, I told them to exercise and they aren't so it's their fault that they have diabetes and other health problems." I was trained differently. I've always looked at noncompliance among my patients as my fault because I communicated in a way that was inadequate for them. It's up to me to find a better way to communicate the benefits of behaviors that enhance health.
Sometimes, if a health professional recommends anything less than a grueling, Olympic exercise regimen participated by the extreme few, some would question if the professional is adequately trained. I understand and it is an appropriate question to ask. I have a Master's Degree in Kinesiology and have published research on the biochemistry of exercised muscle, helped create wellness programs which included exercise in several wellness centers around the world and was Medical Advisor to the professional soccer (football) team, AC Milan, which contained world-famous athletes at the time. I'm also quite familiar with published scientific literature on exercise as well as the recommendations of the American College of Sports Medicine. In my opinion, however, the healthcare industry shouldn't be emphasizing how much we know about exercise but rather in helping get greater numbers of people participating in some.
Exercise of Daily Living - Whenever we move our bodies, there is some degree of exercise involved. Exercise doesn't always occur in a gym or with sports attire. There is substantial published scientific literature which reveals that any form of exercise is better than none. People who garden live longer than people who don't. Taking walks, occasional flights of stairs, vacuuming, mowing, walking pets, etc. all involve exercise. What I have found is that if exercise is made simpler, compliance increases and there are lots of creative, fun ways to exercise. Playing Frisbee or catch with your significant other or kids is exercise. Walking around a mall or taking some stairs at work instead of always taking the elevator is exercise. I love to mow because of how the lawn looks afterward. Our family is also very active outdoors so we participate in skiing, backpacking, etc. Having fun activities like these with those you love are not only exercise, they create beautiful, long-lasting memories which have benefits which far exceed that of exercise. Therefore, all benefits included, 'activities of daily living' may be the best form of exercise of all. So, let's all go out and have some fun and make memories moving our bodies today!
What are the 7 health benefits of ‘ignite’ and where else can I buy it?
Makkarios has exclusive rights to market ‘ignite’ with its patented ingredients.
It can't be purchased anywhere else in the world.
‘Ignite’ has been shown in clinical human and in animal published research to provide the following seven benefits:
Doubles the weight loss and fat loss effects over diet and exercise alone (with those ingesting ‘ignite’ losing over 20 lbs. of weight and fat in just 60 days vs. 10 lbs. in the placebo group). - This well-controlled clinical human trial conducted at a major university in the US controlled both diet and exercise making the results even more impressive as those ingesting ‘ignite’ lost an extra 1.3 lbs. of bodyfat and bodyweight per week compared to the placebo group that was on the same diet and exercise regimen. These results were confirmed by DEXA scan which is the most accurate way to measure body fat.
Doubles the amount of a critical hormone called adiponectin – Adiponectin is an anti-inflammatory hormone produced by fat cells which also activates a longevity enzyme called AMPK. Adiponectin subsequently stimulates or “ignites” fat burning which is partially where we derived the supplement’s name. Adiponectin has been shown to help repair blood vessels, help balance glucose metabolism and more. ‘Ignite’ is worth taking just for the published clinical research which shows that it doubles adiponectin. See Day #41 video during the Challenge.
Doubles the amount of healthy microbiota measured in the digestive tract. - As we explain during many of the Challenge videos, our gut organisms are incredibly important to our overall health and if we eat foods which promote the growth of harmful gut microbiota, then our health suffers accordingly. We have focused on benefiting the microbiome throughout the creation of the i60 Day Challenge so much so that we named the dietary portion the Makkarios Mediterranean Microbiota Nutritional Plan or M2 Diet for short. ‘Ignite’ has been shown to double healthy microbiota during published studies.
Provides twice the healthy inflammatory response of diet and exercise alone – In Dr. Duke Johnson’s book, The Optimal Health Revolution, he explains how chronic excessive inflammation is the root cause of essentially all chronic diseases. There are many factors in our daily lifestyle which can negatively or positively impact how our body’s immune systems respond. ‘Ignite’ has been shown in published research to double the healthy inflammatory response to those various factors.
Doubles what maybe THE key anti-aging enzyme called AMPK which we will talk about on Day # 42 of the course – AMPK is an enzyme which is associated with longevity in scientific research. It has been shown to block inflammatory molecule formation, suppress the harmful components released from the bad microbiota organisms, stimulate fat metabolism (which is where ‘ignite’ derives its name), block fat storage, stimulates autophagy which is how cells remove bad components, stimulates mitochondrial production for increased energy and more. ‘Ignite’ is certainly worth taking just for this benefit alone!
Benefits glucose health –- Glucose metabolism is fundamental to our overall health and ‘ignite’ has been shown in published research to help balance glucose metabolism.
Reduces leaky gut 50%! - Leaky gut allows harmful contents in our digestive tracts to cross the digestive tract wall (leak) and enter into our blood steam. Once in the blood stream, these harmful contents circulate throughout our bodies and can even cross the blood:brain barrier subsequently effecting our brain. This is why the term gut:brain axis was created. ‘Ignite’ was shown in published research to reduce this leakage by 50%! This is explained on Day 18 of the 60 Day Challenge.
Makkarios was so impressed with the published research associated with ‘ignite’ that we desired to capture the worldwide marketing rights to the product and have done so. It can’t be purchased anywhere and is our flagship product. It represents well the exclusive, best-in-class products backed by published research that are and will be distinctive to Makkarios. With our founder’s global experience and combined 60 years in natural products and preventive medicine that has allowed them the opportunity to personally know some of the top researchers in phytonutrient and nutrigenetic research. The founders of Makkarios are developing more products of this quality now to roll out in the near future.
We are pleased to have ‘ignite’ be the first of a long line of cutting-edge exclusive products to help you achieve optimal health.
Coronavirus – Keep Calm and Carry On to Scientific Facts
For whatever reason, the media has reported on the Covid-19 pandemic in a form that has caused mass anxiety and fear which exceeds the lethality of the disease. Is Covid-19 lethal? Yes, but the important questions here are: “What is the degree of lethality of Covid-19?” and “Who are the people at greatest risk?” From its earliest stages, published scientific studies on Covid-19 have revealed that those at the highest risk for severe COVID-19 are the same individuals who are at higher risk for other respiratory infections, namely, the elderly and those with chronic health problems or compromised immune systems. In light of that, it is quite possible to take reasonable precautions to protect those at higher risk of severe disease, while avoiding unwarranted mass panic.
Before going into the details of Covid-19, it is essential to your good health to understand why and how calm plays a fundamental role. The human brain, nervous system and immune system intercommunicate in a very complex exchange referred to as the psychoneuroimmune triad. Our psychological, neurological, and immune systems impact each other in such a way that if one system is unhealthy or overwhelmed, it can impact the functioning of the other two systems. For example, multiple solid published scientific studies have revealed that stress and fear reduce our immune system’s ability to fight infection. The greater our stress, the more susceptible we become to infections. We have all come across the common scenario in which we experienced significant stress, such as taking an exam or facing unexpected burdens and then almost immediately became sick. Therefore, in order to be at our healthiest, a rational approach to this Covid-19 pandemic based upon solid science is fundamental to your health and wellness. Conversely, uncontrolled panic can be dangerous to our health and even lethal. Recently, mass fear has caused some unfortunate people to take proposed remedies which resulted in their death. One media outlet reported that there was a belief in Iran recently that the toxic chemical used for making formaldehyde and other solvents called methanol would protect them from Covid-19. Unfortunately, hundreds of people died from the methanol and scores of people needed hospitalization. Fear needs to be controlled. This is an extreme example but it goes to show that controlling our fears is foundational to our good health.
Here Are Some Helpful Facts to Put Everything in Perspective – These statistics are changing daily but the overall ratios of risk appear to remain constant and are even improving.
Much of the early fear surrounding Covid-19 comes from a British scientist, named Neil Ferguson, who published a report from the Imperial College Covid-19 Response Team where he predicted 2.2 million Americans and 0.5 million British would die from Covid-19. This caused grave concern globally. However, on March 26th, Ferguson significantly downgraded his original death forecasts now estimating that 20,000 British will die instead and perhaps half of those would have died by natural causes without Covid-19. This is a 96 - 98% reduction in his previous dire predictions.
Neil Ferguson’s original large predictions were carried by a website called COVID Act Now which were referenced by many state and government officials globally as their basis for closing businesses resulting is a downturn of the worldwide economy. Throughout this pandemic, the lethality seemingly hasn’t matched the level of fear produced and definitely points to the need for our society to have reliable and trusted sources of verifiable scientific information.
Coronaviruses are a large group of viruses that commonly cause 20 -30% of all upper respiratory diseases in humans.
The SARS pandemic of 2002-2003 lasted 9 months and affected 8,000 people and had a lethality rate of 10% which is much higher than Covid-19 for all but the most elderly (over 80) who also have multiple health problems which increase susceptibility to severe disease.
For perspective, the H1N1 flu pandemic of 2009-2010 had a lethality rate of 18-20% for those over 50 years old which significantly exceeds the lethality of Covid-19.
The earliest published studies on Covid-19 subjects who died reported that the risk was greatest for those who were over 65 and 63% of those older people also had additional health problems.
A Lancet study on Covid-19 observing those who died of Covid-19 initially concluded: “Our results suggest that 2019-nCoV is more likely to infect older adult males with chronic comorbidities (diseases) as a result of the weaker immune function of these patients.”
The above-mentioned Lancet study corresponds to what we have seen so far in the U.S. Studies or analysis of those who have died so far in the U.S. are hard to find for reasons unknown. However, at one point when there were approximately 1,100 confirmed cases in the U.S., there were close to 20 deaths and 12 of those twenty (60%) occurred in one nursing home in Seattle. When the number of cases reached 177,452 in the U.S, the deaths were 3,440 which is still close to the 1-2% death rate range. All deaths are tragic but to help reduce our stress collectively, we need to realize these rates are quite constant and predictable.
Those people who contract Covid-19 over 80 years of age (especially if they have other health problems) have approximately a 14% lethality rate but below 80 years of age, the death rate decreases to between 1 and 4% according to the most recent statistics.
In other words, if you are below 80 years of age and don’t have an immunodeficiency disease or other severe health problems, your chances of recovering from the disease even if you do get it are between 96 and 99%. Therefore, we should place our focus on protecting those elderly with the greatest risk and know that the rest of us have less concern.
The designation of a pandemic does not indicate the severity and is a geographical designation rather than a designation of lethality. Pandemic basically means it now is confirmed in many countries despite efforts to control it. The risk of death did not increase with the designation.
Most countries where Covid-19 was most severe originally, such as China and South Korea, are now reporting fewer new cases.
South Korea, which initially did more testing than any other country, including drive-through tests, is reporting an overall mortality rate today of closer to 0.3 % which is much closer to the annual flu mortality risk. Obviously, these numbers are still unfolding but at this point, the overall mortality trend with proper precautions is improving. (Please know that in some countries, where conditions have been bad, proper precautions were not implemented or were implemented too late.) Despite unscientific media claims, the U.S. under the outstanding direction of Dr. Fauci has been proactive and protective.
A new CDC report states that they believe the death rate is “…probably should consider a broad range of 0.25%–3.0% for COVID-19 case-fatality risk estimates. The higher values could be more appropriate in resource-poor settings..”. The US death rate is estimated to be closer to the lower end if people take appropriate steps as already recommended.
As a physician who has traveled and personally visited hospitals and medical clinics all over the world, I can assure you we have medical care in the U. S. which equals or exceeds other countries for situations like this and the government has responded faster than the previous pandemics noted above. Even if you acquire a severe form of Covid-19, you are in good hands.
More cases will be reported and more deaths will occur but unless the virus mutates, the death risks mentioned above will not worsen to any significant degree and, for a variety of reasons, will most likely decrease. Some evidence indicated that the original virus may have already mutated to a less powerful form before coming to the U.S. but this is still under investigation.
Precautions – What you need to do now.
First, eat a well-balanced diet loaded with a wide variety of phytonutrients, fiber, vitamins, and minerals which will provide your immune system with all the cofactors and nutrients it needs to operate at maximum efficiency. Cofactors are critical components that enhance or even allow the appropriate functioning of the immune system and which the immune system uses up and needs a continuous supply. If you need help with how to do this, we can assist you.
Secondly, unless you have particular medical reasons for food restrictions, this is not the time to be on extreme diets for weight loss. Keto, paleo and some gluten-free diets do not provide the phytonutrients and cofactors your immune system needs and are, in fact, inflammatory. I explain this in greater detail in our Challenge.
Thirdly, this is not the time to megadose on vitamins. As former Medical Director of the largest supplement manufacturer in the world, I am well-versed on this topic. Taking a reasonable multivitamin is good to help assure a balanced intake. However, many megadosing practices involve the consumption of huge amounts of antioxidants which is actually detrimental to immune health. Some oxidation is good but, your immune system uses oxidation to kill germs its after. If you megadose especially with antioxidants, you will neutralize your immune system’s ability to kill germs.
Fourthly, calm down so that you aren’t negatively impacting your immune system as noted above. Our immune systems operate most effectively with reduced stress. If you are having trouble calming down because of the continuous barrage of negative thrown at you, then maybe you should get assistance. If you have a religious faith, now would be the perfect time to actively pursue your faith to get the assistance you need. If not, perhaps you can seek professional counseling. Stress/panic reduction is beneficial.
Follow CDC guidelines on how to protect yourself. Guidelines can be found at this link.
And finally, Keep calm and Carry on. Though this pandemic will be associated with some more hospitalizations and death, the vast majority of us will be fine if we follow the guidelines. Panic never helps. Calm and peace do.
(Updated April 7, 2020)
What is microbiota and how do most popular diets harm it?
Microbiota are the bacteria and organisms which line our digestive tract. A group of global scientists formed the Human Microbiome Consortium to study different aspects of the gut bacteria. They estimate that there are 10¹² bacteria in our digestive tract which is roughly 10 bacteria for every cell of our body. There is more of them than there are of us! There are at least 1000 different species. They are bacteria that line our digestive tract from our mouth clear to the end. They have a DNA diversity that is 150 times larger than ours.
Furthermore, there are good and bad microbiota. The good ones produce amino acids, vitamins and anti-inflammatory molecules which are necessary for our health and well-being. The bad microbiota increase inflammation. We begin colonizing bacteria into our gut as soon as we are born and many factors influence the kinds of bacteria we have there.
The healthiest microbiome is one where the numbers of species is very high and diverse. Restricted diets, like most keto, high fat, paleo and gluten free limit the diversity tremendously resulting in short term gains with long term negative consequences. Diets with low fiber (which are food for the microbiome) reduce variety. High animal protein diets result in the microbiome even breaking down the protein into harmful byproducts. Yogurts can help add microbiota but I don't recommend sugar sweetened yogurts because the sugar enhances the growth of bad bacteria. Instead of focusing on yogurts to help you, it's better to focus on a high fiber diverse modified diet, such as the Makkarios M2 Diet, as we are providing for you.
Who Should I Listen To?
It all begins with an idea.
Why is there so much confusion when it comes to health and why are ‘experts’ teaching contradictory information? There appear to be three primary reasons for the confusion.
First, there are many professionals who may be very sincere and smart but haven’t been in the wellness for enough years to have a complete understanding of all the scientific literature available. For example, a particular topic may have 100 published scientific articles but the results are contradictory with 80 papers pointing in one direction and 20 in the opposite direction. If a scientist is knowledgeable, he chooses the direction of the 80 papers but you need to know all hundred exist. If a scientist isn’t fully informed, he/she may choose among the 20 and even be passionate about it because they have “scientific proof”. Best to listen to someone who has been in this industry for a long time and knows all 100 articles.
Secondly, some ‘experts’ choose the wrong definition of healthy. If they find a diet that can temporarily help people quickly lose weight or decrease glucose, they assume that it’s healthy for everyone and translate the temporary benefit and extrapolate it inappropriately into an unverified long-term benefit. That’s why a thorough understanding of longevity studies is most important because those studies often reveal that temporary benefits don’t necessarily translate into longevity or long-term health.
Thirdly, unfortunately, there are professionals whose sole focus is money and they use their degrees and status for monetary gain. Sadly, there are many professionals who are like this and unless you really know the science, you can’t differentiate the greedy from the sincere.
Additionally, the last people you want to listen to about your health are movie stars and celebrities. Just because they are beautiful or thin doesn’t mean they arrived there in a healthy way. Celebrities and movie stars, on the average, aren’t the longest living people on the plant so that should provide some insight for you.
You have to find someone to listen to and hopefully, with our years of unique global experience, you will entrust us with leading you down the path to optimal health.