As someone with a pharmacy background and a love for learning, I spend a lot of time reading, watching or listening to videos or webinars, and generally trying to soak up as much information as I can. A lot of that information is related to health and wellness, and, like just about any subject, there is a lot of information out there. Not only is there a huge volume but it can also conflict. How do I know what is right? What data should I go by? What information will help me? What information will help you?
The simple answer: it depends. So frustrating to hear, but so true. Because a general theme that seems to apply to health and wellness is that there is no one size fits all. Everyone is different – even at this moment, the chemical make up in your body, including any food, medicine, hormones, minerals, vitamins, etc. is different from anyone else. Of course, there are some principles that seem to apply well to everyone – an example is that eating a variety of vegetables seems to be a good recommendation. But excluding those exceptions, any kind of interventions or treatments should be individualized, and I think a lot of people understand and desire that. What works for you may not work for me.
While individualized intervention can sound appealing, it can be frustrating too. I can think of diets or medications that are meant to be used on a wide population, but it won’t work for everyone. Sometimes individualized plans can come with a lot of trial and error, and that can be hard when you are trying to feel better, lose weight, etc. As with most things in life, there are pros and cons to a lot of what we do. In the end, however, I think in our journeys of health and wellness we need to encourage an individualized approach. This is a path that we continue to see, and I hope it results in more wellness for all.