We’re living in a time where more people than ever speak publicly about health – yet the conversation has never been more confusing. Why?
Here’s what I see:
1) People without formal training speak with absolute certainty
2) Audiences rarely ask where the information comes from
3) Extreme messages get the most traction – because they appeal to our black-and-white thinking
But the human body isn’t binary. Health isn’t ideological.
We're stuck between two poles:
One end rejects anything holistic as “woo”
The other sells oversimplified biohacks and miracle cures without evidence
Both extremes lack humility. Both ignore complexity.
As a clinical nutritionist with 20+ years in diagnostics and high-performance health, I’ve seen how vital it is to:
Respect system biology
Recognize what we don’t yet know
Adapt health advice to the individual sitting in front of us
We each have different vulnerabilities. If you have a history of disordered eating, for example, you likely need a different kind of health messaging than someone recovering from chronic illness.
It’s not about making the world responsible for your trauma. It’s about knowing yourself well enough to choose what and who you listen to.
And most importantly: Too many practitioners see a protocol – not a person.
We also forget that people absorb information in very different ways. Some are data-driven. Others are guided by intuition or systems-thinking. And that’s not wrong – it’s human.
Do YOU even know how you take in information yourself?
MBTI-personality type testing is a very helpful tool to understand self and others (free testing available online i.e. here: https://www.16personalities.com/) - and acknowledge different personality-types right to exist, even if their processing style doesn't match our own (I know: crazy right - that people can be different than us and still have a right to exist on this earth...*cough cough*).
Much of the tension on social media stems from people being unaware of their own cognitive style – and expecting the world to reflect it.
Let’s respect difference instead of policing it.
The real health war isn't between mainstream and alternative. It’s between rigid silo thinking and adaptive, structured insight.
Let’s move beyond discrediting each other based on communication style or personality type – and instead focus on clinical competence, humility, and meaningful patient outcomes. Respecting different educational backgrounds and staying within our professional scope isn’t a limitation. It’s a responsibility.