Evidence-Based Information Just Makes More Sense

Evidence-Based Information Just Makes More Sense

Holy Cow!! I just saw a unicorn standing on a BOSU ball in front of a weight machine!

Have you ever seen a unicorn in the weight room?

No?

Weird. Because they exist and I just saw one yesterday… trust me, they exist. I even posted a picture of it on my social media and sent it to the news for a story on channel 5 at 9. Stay Tuned…

If you actually thought I saw one… joke isn’t just on you. It’s on our whole society for being so gullible and for believing things without sufficient evidence. There was no evidence of the unicorn other than the statement I just wrote…

Let me repeat that… It is not an April Fool’s Joke. There was no real visible or tangible evidence other than the statement that unicorns exist. I just made that up. They don’t really exist… at least… yet.

I thought it would be fun to make something up and share it, without any evidence. And… did it get you thinking about something new? Probably. See what is really cool is that our brains are highly adaptable to change and/or suggestion if we allow them to be. We can change our thoughts consciously or unconsciously, we can change our lives, we can change our health, and most importantly we can change our health with evidence based factual information, or not. We have become a society that can try to make changes or force changes without evidence and that’s when controversy or problems can arise or big changes can occur.

Evidence can be from successful scientific findings or from people making false claims, and from everything in between. Humans are amazing! We have an ability to reason, justify, and be convinced of things whether true or not. We can do things based on actual evidence of facts and events or we can be gullible and believe in ridiculousness.

Let’s apply an evidence-based analysis to some things that are health related:

Diet is necessary to human life. Does your fad diet have evidence behind it and not just a celebrity endorsing a brand?
Does your workout have evidence behind it? Is there actual science to show that your workout is good for your body type? Will your workout improve your fitness?
Is there scientific evidence that the needle you just stuck in your arm prevents disease and disability?
What about your supplements? This is a huge one. Do your supplements have evidence behind them to justify their need?

I could go on and on and apply evidence-based practices to politics, policies, law, and cultural norms. I will avoid those topics and stick to health here.

My point to this whole article is this: If you ever… and I mean ever… hear something about health, ask questions like: “Is what I am hearing evidence-based, and what is the evidence?” Then after you determine whether you want to believe the evidence or not, ask is the evidence peer-reviewed or is it funded by big business trying to influence you. For example, Americans spend over 45 billion dollars a year on dietary supplements¹ and many of these supplements are not regulated by anyone other than the business and industry itself. Dietary supplements do not need government approval in the US and very few go through third party testing to determine efficacy.² From the evidence you gather, you will be better able to assess whether what you are reading or seeing is actually true.

Ultimately, our culture in America has gotten so busy that we listen to what people say instead of looking into the evidence-based information being presented. We can benefit as a society if we stop, look, and listen, then take the time to learn what is actually evidence-based as opposed to just hearsay or effective marketing. As a master of science nerd, I love Google Scholar to fact check health information. I can quickly look at the numbers in studies and the conclusions in the studies to determine if there is some merit. The more you practice and exercise a more critical analysis you can find credible evidence too.

After you assess the evidence and flip your mindset to look at facts, you can flip your mind to wade through the fake news and read the real data more efficiently and effectively. You will be able to share what the real news is based on evidence-based practices. You can be part of the solution to make our world a better place, you can determine credibility through evidence, while determining if you want to subscribe to real news or fake news. The power is within you! You can take the extra time to learn, engage, ask questions, and get involved with the evidence being presented to you.

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