In a perfect world, reliable information and advice on how to stay healthy and prevent disease would be all around us.
No matter what health agency or practitioner you consulted, their advice would be truthful and centered on safety and effectiveness, with no influence or bias in any way.
Hopefully, you realize we don’t live in a perfect world. Much of the health information we are exposed to is incomplete, misleading or influenced by outside interests.
And in many cases, one of the determining factors in what gets recommended versus what gets vilified is the almighty dollar.
While the question should be, “What is the safest and most effective way to address this health concern?” too often another consideration enters the picture: “What will make the most money?”
With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to look at some common health beliefs we’ve been taught over the years.
Take this quiz and see how well you know your health facts:
1. You should always use sunscreen when going outside in the sun or else you’ll get skin cancer
False.
Sun exposure isn’t the simplistic villain it’s often made out to be. Your body uses UVB exposure from sunlight to produce vitamin D, an important nutrient that plays a role in immune function, bone health and many other processes throughout the body.
While sunscreen can reduce UVB exposure and therefore has the potential to interfere with vitamin D production, the effect in real-world use varies. It’s also important to remember that some forms of melanoma can develop in areas of the body that receive little or no sun exposure.
The goal should be sensible sun exposure without allowing your skin to burn—not being afraid to ever let sunlight touch your skin.
How much sun exposure you need varies depending on factors like your skin tone, location, season and time of day.
If you are going to be in the sun for an extended period of time and want to use sunscreen, choose a broad-spectrum (UVA and UVB), mineral-based variety, like Badger.
2. Blood pressure can only be reduced with medication
False.
Getting regular exercise, having a healthy diet including lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, avoiding ultraprocessed foods and vegetable/seed oils, and limiting alcohol consumption can all go a long way in reducing blood pressure naturally.
Omega-3 essential fatty acids have also been shown to help lower blood pressure. In addition to incorporating fatty fish (like salmon) into your diet, a fish oil formula like VitalMega-3 can help ensure your body has health-supporting levels of these crucial fats.
3. Sugar-free options are always healthier
It depends.
If something is sugar-free because the sugar has simply been replaced with artificial sweeteners, don’t assume you’ve made a healthier choice.
If sugar is a concern for you and you want to use a low-calorie sweetener, opt for stevia—it’s plant-derived rather than a lab-created artificial sweetener and has a long track record of use.
And remember to stick to real foods like fresh fruits and vegetables that are naturally sweet and tasty.
4. A clean bill of health after a check-up means everything is OK
False.
A “clean bill of health” only means your doc didn’t detect any problems during your check-up. That doesn’t necessarily mean something isn’t brewing beneath the surface.
Routine check-ups also don’t typically include comprehensive nutrient testing or examination of the gut microbiome—two areas that can provide important information about overall health.
5. The best indicator of how healthy (or sickly) you will be is your family history
False.
While you may have genetic predispositions to certain diseases, your gut health, environment and lifestyle habits can strongly influence whether those predispositions ever translate into disease.
Your genes are important—but they aren’t necessarily your destiny.
6. You can “slide” on your diet if you take a multivitamin
False.
The best multivitamin in the world cannot undo the effects of a poor diet.
Multivitamins are meant to supplement or enhance a healthy diet, not be a replacement for one.
7. Everyone should have at least one BM every day
False—or at least, not necessarily.
There is a range of what can be considered normal when it comes to bowel movement frequency, and some perfectly healthy people don’t have a BM every single day.
What’s especially important is knowing what’s normal for you.
If someone has been an every-other-day pooper all their life and has no other symptoms, that may be perfectly fine.
But if your BMs used to be more frequent and suddenly you’re having days without them, especially along with discomfort or other symptoms, constipation or another GI issue may be worth investigating.
8. It’s normal to gain weight as you age
False.
It may be common, but it’s not inevitable.
And here’s something interesting: Although we’ve long been told that our metabolism steadily slows throughout adulthood, research suggests metabolic expenditure actually remains surprisingly stable through much of our adult lives before declining later in life.
Changes in activity, muscle mass, diet, hormones and other lifestyle factors can all contribute to those creeping pounds as the years go by.
Having healthy diet and exercise habits throughout your adult life can go a long way toward helping you control your weight well into your golden years.
9. There is no one “right diet” for everyone
True.
There are tens of thousands of diets in existence, and many have claimed to be “the best.”
Generally speaking, a healthy diet should be centered on wholesome real foods, provide adequate energy and a broad variety of nutrients, and avoid unnecessary restriction.
That being said, in certain circumstances (such as celiac disease, food allergies or intolerances), avoidance of offending foods is certainly warranted.
10. Flu shots are your best protection against the flu
Not necessarily.
Flu vaccines are formulated each year to protect against the influenza strains that have been anticipated to circulate during the upcoming season. How well that match performs can vary from year to year.
It’s also important to remember that many different viruses can cause flu-like respiratory illnesses.
That’s why I believe supporting your body’s own immune defenses should be an important part of your strategy during cold and flu season.
Vitamin D plays an important role in normal immune function, and research has suggested that maintaining healthy vitamin D levels may help support the body’s defenses against respiratory infections.
Our Optimum DK Formula with Fruitex-B is an excellent way to help maintain health-supporting vitamin D levels year-round.
11. Your cholesterol level is highly influenced by how many eggs and other high-cholesterol foods you eat
False.
The relationship between the cholesterol you eat and the cholesterol circulating in your blood is much more complex than we were once led to believe.
Your body produces much of its own cholesterol, primarily in the liver, and your overall cholesterol picture can also be influenced by genetics, liver and metabolic health, insulin sensitivity, inflammation, diet quality and other factors.
So simply counting the cholesterol in foods like eggs doesn’t tell the whole story.
Omega-3 fats are also well known for supporting cardiovascular health, including helping maintain healthy triglyceride levels. A high-quality fish oil formula like VitalMega-3 can be a helpful way to ensure you’re getting adequate amounts of these important fats.
12. If you have an autoimmune condition, chances are you will develop another
True.
Unfortunately, autoimmune conditions stem from dysregulation of the immune system. The immune system mistakenly identifies normal cells or tissues as a threat and launches an inflammatory attack against them.
Having one autoimmune disease can increase the likelihood of developing certain others, although that risk varies depending on the individual and the specific condition.
Vitamin D also plays an important role in healthy immune regulation, making adequate vitamin D status especially worth paying attention to.
Our Optimum DK Formula can help ensure your body has health-supporting levels of this crucial nutrient.
13. Low-fat options are always healthier
Not necessarily.
If something is naturally low in fat (like fresh fruits and vegetables), then it can certainly be a healthy choice.
But if you’re talking about a processed food and it contains unhealthy vegetable and seed oils, or the naturally occurring fat in the food has simply been replaced by added sugar and other processed ingredients, that “low-fat” label may not be doing you any favors.
Again, you can’t go wrong if you stick to wholesome real foods.
14. Which of these are effective ways to reduce stress?
a. Exercise
b. Prayer
c. Adopting a pet
d. Acupuncture
e. Automatically reaching for medication as your only stress-management strategy
f. Meditation
g. Alcohol
Hopefully, you answered a, b, c, d and f.
Medications can certainly have an appropriate role in treating anxiety disorders when needed, but simply relying on medication as your only way of coping with everyday stress doesn’t address the lifestyle factors that may be contributing to it.
And if you didn’t get the rest of them, please reread the hundreds of blogs I have written about stress. 😊
15. Calories are all that matters when trying to lose weight
False.
Calories certainly matter, but losing weight isn’t just about calories.
It’s also important to ensure you are eating nutritious real foods, getting regular exercise and addressing external factors—such as sleep, stress, certain medications and health conditions—that can impact your weight-loss success.
To your health,
Sherry Brescia
