In today’s busy, technology-loving world, the internet is utterly saturated with conflicting advice for losing weight, getting fit and being healthy. For anyone trying to stay on top of their own health, the number of options is more of a hindrance than a help. How are you supposed to decide between the paleo and vegan diets when they each condemn the other as being essentially poisonous? Whose voice should you trust and why? Sometimes all this confusion can lead you to giving up entirely and resorting to the ‘I hope this works’ approach, which can feel unsettling when it comes to something as precious as your health. There is too much opinion and not enough fact out there to help make a truly informed decision without taking into account the biases of the person doling out the advice. It’s up to you to take your health into your own hands and do what’s best for you.

One: You Are Unique

The first thing to remember when embarking on a journey of self-improvement and better health is that you and your body are unique. There are biological quirks in your system that will play a part in how you digest certain foods and react to different medication. It’s nearly impossible to make accurate guesses about how your body behaves as each separate element impacts not only its own functions but those of other body parts too. For example, your tongue and brain might despise a particular vegetable, but your gut might love it. Striking a balance is vital. Otherwise, any diet you choose could end with you sinking back into bad habits after becoming disenchanted with the idea of healthy eating. Therefore, you need to take the time to learn what makes you feel energized and what makes you lethargic. Not everyone is the same, and you must find appropriately tailored methods of losing weight and becoming healthier that match your unique body type.

Two: You Are Human

On the flip side, your body is also human. Thousands of years of trial and error have led to a point in civilization where medicine and biological knowledge is at its current peak. The human diet is always changing based on new discoveries linked to health and technological capabilities, especially regarding the creation of lab-grown meat and the advancement of sustainable agriculture. This is why you should also pay attention to how the healthiest people around the world live and eat as this will give you a solid basis upon which to build your own healthy habits. Of course, it’s important to tailor these findings around your lifestyle and preferences otherwise you’ll find it hard to maintain, but by studying up on how the healthiest people live you’ll learn more about the secret to health and longevity.

Three: No Answers Are Simple

As mentioned earlier, it can sometimes feel nearly impossible to find relevant, useful information when there are so many conflicting ‘facts’ out there. In a way, many of them have their own elements of truth since the people backing them up have usually found them to work – forgetting that they are an individual whose body responds differently to everyone else’s. Nothing is a quick fix or an easy answer, which is why a quest for better health comes with a lot of research and patience. Take the time to discover what works for you and try not to take every piece of information as inherently truthful. There are surprising biases behind seemingly altruistic health organizations such as sponsors who have too much sway on the information fed to the trusting public. Maintain a critical eye and find your own answers.

Four: Stick to the Basics

Despite the effort and confusion of poring over all the available information on health, diets, and exercise, there is still hope for those wishing to attain a happy, healthy lifestyle. The world is a complicated place, but that doesn’t mean your life has to be. If all else fails, strip back to the basics that have sustained humans for centuries. The one thing all diets can agree on is that to maintain a healthy weight; you must feed your body as many calories as it will use during the day. Water is essential to a healthy life, improving everything from your complexion to your cravings, and, of course, exercise keeps your body younger for longer as it only stays fit when it needs to be. No matter what diet you try or which new exercise fad comes along, these basic principles will always remain true.