Hot Off The Press # 3
Why You Need This Newsletter!
Greetings StrongHealth Crew,
Do you understand that there is a concerted online effort to deprive you of natural health information? Google's monopolistic control over internet searches and related advertising extends into all searches for health information and advertising of health products.
Although Google is not primarily a health entity, it’s the largest provider of online health information to the public, and through its search algorithms and advertising policies, it controls much of the content of the health information viewed by internet users. Advertisers (including many medical/pharmaceutical) pay Google $146.9 billion per year to secure placement of their advertisements on Google’s search results pages. Thus, advertising for health products on Google’s search results pages will be more, or less, visible to users on the basis of the size of sponsor payments. This is why medical information often shows up first in Google search results.
As the largest online public health information provider, Google’s control over internet searches and related advertising extends into every nook and cranny, dramatically affecting what you look for. You are only one of a staggering 1 billion health-related searches per day, or one of 70,000 searches per minute.
Google controls health information in multiple ways, including the search results order and which search results appear on the first page, with the highest visibility. So it’s pretty easy to speculate that Google’s control over internet search and advertising, has significant implications for natural health information. The company basically positions medical sites as credible “natural” alternatives to whole food health.
This is why you are reading my newsletter today. Medicine cannot rival natural health. My goal is to distinguish what is true from false and to expose the real "health disinformation" that is offered to consumers.
What Is Good Health?
In 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO) defined health with a phrase that modern authorities still apply.
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
This means that health is a resource to support an individual’s function in wider society, rather than an end in itself. A healthful lifestyle provides the means to lead a full life with meaning and purpose.
In 2009, researchers publishing in The Lancet also defined health as the ability of a body to adapt to new threats and infirmities. I believe that means we can also adapt to the COVID virus if we’re healthy, though medical authorities currently seem to think it is nearly impossible without a vaccine shot. I disagree strongly with their stance.
Natural health focuses on preventing disease and promoting overall health, rather than just treating symptoms. It’s superior to medicines because it means we’ve taken good care of this vehicle we call our body. Those who fail in this mission largely rely on medicinal intervention.
Again, Google specializes in turning you towards medical intervention, but natural health remedies (such as herbals, nutritional powders, organics, etc) are often far less expensive and have fewer side effects than prescription drugs or surgery.
Cardio Myths
I often get asked, “Is cardio essential for fat loss or weight maintenance?”
We've all seen those people that spend so much time on ellipticals and exercise bikes that they might as well get their mail forwarded to the local gym. They probably think that if they give up on the cardio they will gain fat like crazy.
So they do all this cardio because they believe they're eating so much, but they're eating so much because of all the cardio. It’s a cardio trap!
I still recommend cardio, but just a short burst between some exercises and certainly not as a method for weight control. If you need to shed some extra body fat, just cut back on food intake and use any extra calories burned as a bonus.
That brings me to the latest fads….
Fitness marketing is all fireworks and excitement, masking what’s essentially mundane, common, and old hat. Very little out there has any special properties or abilities to get you in shape - no equipment, no foods, no supplements, no programs, no gizmos or gadgets. Chances are pretty good that the latest and greatest is just something that’s been around for decades with a new paint job and a fancy tagline.
People need to stop asking about the latest fitness products or diets and focus on the actual effort - the hard work mentally and physically - of turning things around. Once you do that, the floodgates open and the possibilities are endless!
Have a great weekend!