(Guide to a Healthy Lifestyle)

The Progression of Knowledge (Yesterday's Truth is Today's Error)

Commonly accepted beliefs remain accepted until new evidence proves them wrong. This is the natural progression of knowledge which has been taking place since the creation of man.

These beliefs apply to all areas of knowledge - nutrition, technology, medicine, and others.

The areas of health, exercise, and nutrition have many examples. For instance, it was commonly believed until fairly recently that extreme endurance exercise like marathon running was conducive to good health.

It has now been proved that marathoners suffer an alarmingly higher rate of sudden cardiac death than any other athlete. Also, cardiovascular exercise isn't the best way to burn excess calories and thereby effect unwanted body fat.

Instead, studies have shown that short, intense bursts of exercise is clearly superior. This technique goes by various names - high intensity interval training (HIIT), interval training, PACE (progressively accelerating cardiopulmonary exertion; developed by Dr. Al Sears.)

Another fallacy, nutritional in nature, was the rise and cause of heart disease. In the 1940s and 1950s, United States overall deaths rates were decreasing but deaths due to heart disease were on the rise.

In a paper entitled Atherosclerosis, a Problem in Newer Public Health published in 1953, Dr. Ancel Keys, PhD put the blame on America's large saturated fat intake.

The government championed Dr. Keys conclusions, and consequently saturated fat was vilified by the medical community. The remedy was the introduction of hydrogenated foods such as margarine and vegetable oils.

It is now known that hydrogenated products contributed to an increase in heart attacks. They also fueled a global overweight epidemic.

Science has proved that it wasn't saturated fat that was to blame, but trans fatty acids.

As knowledge progresses, and what in the past is proven to be wrong, we in the health and nutritional community must progress too. We must be ready, willing, and able to embrace what clinical trials shows to be true.

Bodybuilders have long known, much of it anecdotal I must add, that increased protein consumption is necessary for larger muscles. Conventional science on the other hand was telling the masses that too much protein damages the kidneys, and causes calcium to leech from the bones.

The anecdotal evidence of bodybuilders was right and conventional science was wrong. Honest nutritionists and health professionals have to change with proven science.

Such change has always been and will continue to be found on Living A Healthy Lifestyle.com.

What is unacceptable is when clinical studies and science is not accepted, and pet beliefs are held onto. This often happens because hidden agendas are in place.

More often than not, these hidden agendas have market share and profit at their core. This is no more obviously true than in the cancer industry where conventional treatments (chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery) are the standards against more effective alternative cures.

But you do not have to be at the mercy of those who refuse to progress in knowledge and application. You have the worldwide web at your disposal. Search for truth on my and many other progressive (alternative) health and nutrition sites.

Your health and that of your family demands it!

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