Eggs are good! Eggs are bad! How do you know what's true when it comes to nutrition?

I'm often asked: "How do I know what's good to eat? Everyone says something different!"

I know that it can be a challenge sorting through all of the information and mis-information outlets available, which is one reason I love being a nutritionist and wading through those sources for you. However, self-empowerment is amazing so I'd like to offer a bit of that to you today.

1. Pop-news articles on nutrition and health can be misleading and contradictory, as their authors may cite a research article but not actually read it - just report on it and even then do so inadequately.

Go find the research article itself.

2. Wellness websites provide a vast array of individuals interested in instructing you in health and nutrition. These vary from incredibly educated and experienced individuals to those with no credentials and rather little understanding of how food actually functions in the body.

Know who you're reading.

3. Check out the actual research!

PubMed is a database of scientific research articles, many of which you can obtain for free: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed. Of course, research has its own limitations as we live in an imperfect world, but going to the source of the study and seeing which subjects were used, how they were tested, and with which results can provide a much more solid base of nutritional education.

Nerd it up.

4. Always remember, your body's biochemistry is unique to YOU and evolves over time as well. So, while your neighbor may need to eat more spinach to get

those leafy green micronutrients, you may have a reaction to the proteins in spinach, causing an inflammatory reaction to the same "healthy" food. You are very much "one-of-a-kind"!

Celebrate!