No two bodies are alike, so why would the same health advice work for everyone? Learn how to listen to your body to discover what’s right for you.
Join Sina McCullough, PhD in nutrition, on her quest to uncover truths about food and health. A scientist by training and journalist by nature, Sina offers facts and insights about how to live healthy, happy, and free.
Frustrated with feeling like generic health advice doesn’t work for you? Maybe it’s because science speaks to the average person—and you’re anything but average.
No study or guideline can tell you exactly what’s best for your body. It’s time to embrace your individuality, tune into your body, and take the first steps toward becoming your own expert.
The Limits of Science in Personal Health
As a scientist with a doctorate in nutrition and years of lab research under my belt, I value data, rigor, and evidence-based conclusions. But I’ve also learned the limits of science, particularly when it comes to the intricacies of personal health.
When designing a study, scientists control for variables, or differences among people, to draw conclusions that can be applied to the average person in that specific study population. This means scientists create inclusion criteria to select certain types of people while excluding outliers: people who don’t fit the mold.
If you break down caffeine in an unusually slow or fast way, or if you have anxiety, which can affect how your body responds to stress or medications, guess what? You might be excluded from a study’s results or never invited to participate in the first place. And if you aren’t represented in the study, then its conclusions might not apply to you.
Even among participants who do fit the study criteria, individual responses can vary widely.
Nearly 20 years ago, I attended a conference in Boston titled “Living Well to 100.” Among the many presentations, one scientist’s findings stood out to me. He hypothesized that consuming omega-3 fatty acids would lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels. But the results were far from one-size-fits-all.
