Medical Flip-Flops Frustrate Readers

Q. I am fed up with all the conflicting advice about how to stay healthy. One day vitamin D is great; the next, experts say it doesn’t work for bones. On the following day vitamin D is saving lives.
I have also seen flip-flops about eggs, salt, calcium, fluoride and hormone replacement therapy. Such reversals undermine faith in the FDA, drug companies, doctors and researchers. How do they expect us to trust anything they say?
A. We understand your frustration. Americans have been told for decades to cut back on eggs even though recent research shows they do not raise cholesterol. There is a raging controversy about the wisdom of widespread salt restriction (American Journal of Hypertension, Jan., 2012).
Risks associated with calcium supplements (Heart, June, 2012) and hormone replacement therapy (Annals of Internal Medicine, online, May 28, 2012) just add to the confusion. You can’t go wrong with Grandma’s wisdom: exercise, vegetables and a good night’s sleep. You can find lots more about these time-honored approaches at PeoplesPharmacy.com, or consider signing up for our free electronic newsletter. Just enter your email address in the box provided.