An excellent point, and we are only human

I think a crucial part of trusting our authority figures is how they must earn it. If a person can demonstrate that they have delved into the matter, and explain how and why and the path to their conclusions, we can follow along and see if it makes sense to us.

Marty Kendall (Data Driven Nutrition) and Konstantin Monastyrsky (Fiber Menace) are examples of people who have credentials in one field, and have transferred their research and analytical skills to this one. It might even be the same way with medical doctors: two favorites are Dr. William Davis (Wheatbelly) and Dr. Jack Kruse (Epi-Paleo nutrition) who are not in the endocrine field but explain how they got improvement in their patients through their take on diet.

This can be highly individual, of course. These are four people who I have taken ideas from and gotten great success. By looking at my own -- rather complicated -- situation using the different angles they use. For a subject as complicated as fixing decades of dangerous eating habits, and hopefully healing some of the damage we've suffered as a result, it might not be a one-and-done thing. When I was twenty, just dropping the carbs they were pushing on me might have worked, or not... but right now, I need to constantly wrestle with my conclusions and keep trying new things and researching possibilities.

One question I ask myself during this journey is:

If someone confuses us, are they not a good communicator? Or are they not a good communicator... on purpose? Because it's a classic sign of a con artist to mix in some truth with the lies. The truth lures us in, then the lies can take hold.

Dr. Lam of Adrenal Fatigue notoriety sounds good at first: medical doctor, big website, and yes, he sells stuff. But that alone is not a reason to mistrust anyone. Konstantin Monastyrsky has a fine explanation of how and why he sells stuff on his site -- he tells people they can do it himself, or they can follow his plan to make things easier. Most people are willing to pay a reasonable amount to make things easier! Especially if they don't feel well.

Dr. Lam is not reasonable, and he hints strongly that he's the ONLY one to trust. And the first thing that made me suspicious was that he would have articles on his site that talked in circles. Then the desperate, confused, and hopeful victim will just pay the money to get at all the tantalizing information Dr. Lam was holding out of reach.

What made me abandon Dr. Mercola was not only his relentless selling, it was also how he structured it. Now, I don't mind buying access to content. This is how books and purchased lessons on video and online courses work. If we get value for our money, that is more than worth it. But how the seller offers their wares is vitally important when it comes to deciding if we will find their stuff worth buying.

As an example, after being laid off in the Pandemic -- being considered unemployable between my age, most recent skills, and a glut of such workers in tourism -- I have been working hard on my small business. I build on the time and money my husband and I have already invested. While it started out free, I have gradually added avenues where people can purchase my unique cat advice.

And still, even at this point, there's LOTS of good and FREE stuff there! This is how people are supposed to see how well my advice works for them and their cats. Half of my website is free; cat care, choosing the right cat for you, and my mythbusting and advice columns are all available. This is plenty of well-presented, actual information I still give away. My cat training, multiple cat, and affection techniques can be purchased in different ways.

This is how it is supposed to work. And isn't this the way we find, appreciate, and then support the nutrition people we know and trust? Enough to buy their books, join their courses, and otherwise gain benefit and support their work?

Yes. That's how.