Dealing with Information Overload

There is an abundance of information out there in cyberspace, especially health information. I know I am quick to “google” any questions I have about health but then it is often overwhelming to sort through the sheer volume of information I find once I do that. Plus the information is often conflicting. How do we know what to trust and use? How do we know what information is just bogus?

Since I am a researcher at heart I have come up with some ways to help filter through the health information I find to figure out what is a good direction to go. I want to share some of my principles with you and some of my favorite websites with practitioners I trust. 

Does this information conflict with accepted medical knowledge? Why?

For many years it has been presented that high cholesterol was a problem and you should avoid high fat foods and eggs because of this. So any searching for specifics in the past 50 years regarding cholesterol and high fat foods would have yielded advice to cut back on fats, cholesterol, eggs, and to take statin drugs if your cholesterol was above certain numbers.

Surprise!! Now the mainstream is coming around and the food pyramid has even been changed to reflect that healthy fats are essential to one’s diet and do not necessarily raise cholesterol. (Here is a summary of the guideline changes if you want to look it over.)  The traditional foodies have been saying for years that eggs and fats like lard, butter, and olive oil are good for you and not a problem. And they have said statin drugs are terrible for the human body.

There is a financial aspect to this for the pharmaceutical industry as they stand to benefit greatly (and have) from the sales of statin drugs. A good reason to question the advice that was given for years and is still given in part.

A personal story related to fats and cholesterol that I will share. My husband went on a low carb, high fat diet for his pre-diabetes. After 6 months of this new diet he had his lab work done. His cholesterol and triglycerides were the lowest they have ever been since we were married 22 years ago. 

The knowledge that healthy fats and eggs are good for you could be found on the internet before this guideline change, but you had to look past mainstream sites. And it was important to question what you read to try and figure out if there was a financial interest in presenting something other than the truth.

My Favorite Websites for Information

1. Dr. Mercola.
2. Dr. Axe, chiropractor.
3. Chris Kresser, MS.
4. Dr. Aviva Romm, MD, midwife, and herbalist.
5. Healthy Families for God, Sara Jo Poff, a health educator.
6. Nourishing Plot, Becky Plotner, a mom blogger who researches extensively.
7. Wellness Mama, Katie, a mom blogger, with a contributor blog.
8. The Healthy Home Economist, Sarah, mom blogger with a contributor blog.
9. Holistic Squid, Emily, mom blogger and acupuncturist, with a contributor blog.
10. Dr. Jockers, chiropractor and health educator.
11. Kitchen Stewardship, Katie, mom blogger who I have been following for years.
12. Homeopathy-Joette Calabrese
13. Herbs-Wishgarden Herbs for tinctures.

I have other places I will consider, but these are the places I start with first to find my information. Often these sites will lead me to other articles or books to read and consider.

Once I have looked at some of my favorite sites and compared to conventional knowledge on a given topic, then I must decide how to reconcile the information if they differ. If it is a large difference I will research more extensively before I accept the more unusual information.

Questions to ask

1.  Is this information new in the last 50 years?
2. What is traditional knowledge about this health issue from the past several hundred years?
3. Is there a financial interest in the information given?
4. What are the risks of following this advice?
5. What are the risks of not following this advice?
6. What do my favorite, trusted doctors say about this? (see first 4 doctors in the above list.)
7. What makes sense to me as a mom and nurse and health educator?

What are some of the issues you have have found very confusing? Do you have any favorite websites? If you found this article helpful, share on social media.