On Skepticism and Physical Fitness
How Do We Know What to Believe about Health?
Recently, I had an article published in the journal “Ultraphysical.” In that article, I made the claim that even with all of the scientific progress made in recent decades, there is still much that we don’t know about the human body.
Notably, I did not say that we know nothing, nor that we haven’t made progress in answering some of serious questions about human biology. I meant that we still have much to learn. Any biomedical scientist would agree with that statement. If all the questions had been answered, scientists and researchers would be out of a job, because there would be nothing left to research.
Today, I’d like to expand on that claim, and show how it applies to individuals concerned about their own health. Every individual can follow a skeptical, scientific approach,1 even individuals without scientific degrees. Such an approach can help those who are confused by all the conflicting health advice and don’t know what to think.
Fraught Questions:
Every year it seems, new studies purport to disprove earlier studies, sometimes studies conducted earlier that year. We are told one food (or exercise, or behavior) is good for us, despite having been told previously that it was bad for us. The cutting-edge advice on nutrition and physical activity changes seemingly from year to year. And within narrow topics (ex. low carb vs. high carb) there are vicious debates with highly credentialed scientists on either side.
For a while, fat was bad. Then it was carbohydrates.2 First, skipping meals was deemed unhealthy. Then snacking was unhealthy and fasting was the ideal.