One Size Doesn’t Fit All

I periodically come across product reviews, social media posts, etc. in which someone proclaims a particular health care product, diet, exercise regimen, etc. is the only thing that works for whatever health goal it’s being recommended for.

While this is sometimes simply marketing hype, in many cases, the opinion expressed is actually a heartfelt belief. This is sometimes illustrated when the person espousing this belief meets resistance from people who disagree and reacts with frustration or even anger that anyone could not see the inherent truth of their claims.

What the “only thing that works” folks tend to overlook is that people are different and because of considerable individual variability due to genetics, lifestyle, and other health interventions that might be in use, it’s highly unlikely that their “one thing” will work the same for everyone. The thing that seems like a miracle for one may be disappointingly ineffective for another, and may even produce negative effects for yet another.

Our bodies are extremely complex systems in which a multitude of chemical, cellular, mechanical, and neurological processes interact with each other to keep us alive and functioning. One seemingly minor shift in one thing can have major effects, good or bad, in many bodily functions. For example, I have recently discussed the importance of having adequate magnesium intake in order for the body to utilize vitamin D effectively.

Unfortunately, what is going to provide beneficial effects for a given health issue for a specific individual is largely a process of trial and error. Yes, there are “high percentage shots” that work most of the time, such as chiropractic treatment for musculoskeletal pain or taking medication to reduce blood pressure, but there’s always a few individuals who don’t respond to the go-to treatment like most do.

There have been attempts to sell customized programs for one thing or another. For example, the Blood Type Diet proposed, as the name suggests, that you could determine your ideal diet based on your blood type. And some people got great results with it, despite the fact that there’s absolutely no scientific evidence that blood type can be used to predict the most-appropriate diet for anyone.

People felt better and lost weight most likely because they changed to a healthier diet than they had been on for them as individuals, not because of the predictive nature of their blood type. After all, there’s 4 blood types, so you have at least a 25% chance of the diet prescribed for each type being successful. With over 7 million copies of the book sold, that’s likely going to result in a pretty good number of happy customers just by chance.

I’ve seen advertisements for customized nutrition supplements that are supposedly based on genetic testing. At some point, genetics and nutrition science may reach a point where this is legitimately possible, the current knowledge on how genetics interacts with nutrition is still extremely limited to a few particular nutrients.

For instance, some people have a gene mutation (MTHFR) that interferes with the body’s ability to transform folic acid to its active form, methylfolate, so it’s recommended for those people to supplement directly with methylfolate. But that’s a far cry from being able to formulate a multivitamin and mineral supplement that is ideal for the genetics of a given individual.

Probably the most important factor for any health intervention to be effective is whether or not it’s something the individual will do on a consistent enough basis. It doesn’t matter if Brussels sprouts are a “super food” if you hate them and can’t make yourself eat them. It doesn’t matter if a particular form of exercise is declared to be superior if you despise it or can’t do it due to a chronic injury or physical limitation.

So, my suggestion is to focus on whatever you find works for you – both in terms of effectiveness and in what you are willing and able to do. Anything that moves the needle in the direction of a healthier and happier life is worth doing even if it’s not the ideal, or not the “only thing that works” according to someone else.

Until next time…

George F. Best, D.C.