Does that work?

A typical course of medical treatment began on the morning of July 13, 1824. A French sergeant was stabbed in the chest while engaged in single combat. Within minutes, he fainted from blood loss. Upon arrival at the local hospital, he was immediately bled 20 ounces (570 ml) "to prevent swelling." During the night, he was bled another 24 ounces (680 ml). Early the next morning, the chief surgeon bled the patient another 10 ounces (285 ml); over the next 14 hours, he was bled five times more. The medical attendants thus intentionally removed more than half of the patient's normal blood supply, in addition to the initial blood loss that caused the sergeant to faint. The bleeding continued over the next few days. By July 29, the wound had become inflamed. The doctor applied 32 leeches to the most sensitive part of the wound. During the next three days, there was further bleeding and a total of 40 more leeches were applied. The sergeant recovered and was discharged on October 3. His physician wrote that "from the large quantity of blood lost, amounting to 170 ounces [almost eleven pints] (4.8 liters), besides what is obtained by the application of leeches [perhaps another two pints] (1.1 liters), the patient's life was preserved." By nineteenth-century standards, thirteen pints of blood taken in the space of a month was a large amount, but not exceptional. The medical literature of the period contains many similar accounts, some successful, some not. [27] Published in the Lancet, February 1825.

This practice, which sounds aberrant and even somewhat perverse, was carried out for centuries. It was considered very effective and practical in medical circles. Bloodletting. A method that was practiced 3,000 years ago. This is an example of how this treatment was administered. In fact, it is speculated that President George Washington died from complications of this procedure. Today, the practice has fallen out of favor and is not used except in extreme conditions in specific cases such as hemochromatosis, polycythemia vera, sickle cell disease, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease with hyperferritinemia. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4957680/ However, it was a very popular treatment for over a century. Why was something so inefficient and dangerous popular for so many years?

Simply put, it was the result of a dynamic interplay of social, economic, and intellectual pressures that continue to affect us today. In this blog post, we're going to give you a powerful tool to discern between something that truly has the potential to help you be better. We live in the information age, constantly bombarded with new and better ways of living. Now, you, as a consumer, how can you distinguish between something valuable, something indifferent, or something dangerous?

Today we'll talk about four filters we use to determine the validity of a product, service, or philosophy using a health and wellness framework. Without further ado, let's begin:

Filter 1

The first point is scientific evidence. In the field of scientific evidence and in the field of medicine, a ranking of merit and validity is used based on the type of study or research used to reach the conclusions. This ranking ranges from least to most valid, from expert opinions, to studies of individual subjects (N=1), randomized controlled trials (RCTs), to the most sophisticated, which are meta-analyses of multiple RCTs, where all high-merit studies are aggregated and broader conclusions are reached.

We'll use this method as our first filter. In our popular culture, this isn't the level of scrutiny we apply to information. So-called experts appear on TV and social media with any narrative that conflates causality with correlation, and we automatically fall into the cognitive trap of believing something that simply isn't true. The truth doesn't always align with our perceptions, which is why we use the scientific method to question our assumptions and arrive at the truth. Therefore, studies published in peer-reviewed literature are a good starting point. But that's not all.

Filter 2

Do you pass the Lindy Test? The Lindy Effect basically states that something non-perishable will last at least twice as long as it has already existed (quote). In other words, the older the idea, product, or service, the more likely it is to be valuable. The best examples of this are objects like a chair, a spoon, or a good classic book. Today, humans create more information in three years than all the information and content created from the beginning of humanity until the year 2000. However, there are books that defy the ravages of time. Classics from the Stoics, written thousands of years ago, the Bible, or more recent authors like Shakespeare pass the Lindy Test. Meanwhile, your last tweet or Instagram post is immediately forgotten (if not ignored). The older the idea or product, the more likely it is to be useful to you.

Filter 3

The other filter we will use is risk-benefit analysis. If the service or product has explicitly described and noticeable side effects, we will compare it with other methods that do not include risks. If we are unaware of the possible adverse effects, we will designate the method as dangerous because, in fact, it can be, and we will focus on what is already proven. This is a very important point. Sometimes, whether due to habit or misinformation, we can assume that something common is normal and acceptable, as was the case with therapeutic bleeding in the last century. Today, medications and surgeries fall into this category. Eight out of ten deaths in the United States are caused by chronic diseases that can be prevented by modifying lifestyle. However, these diseases are primarily treated with medications, in most cases ignoring the potential adverse effects that this strategy can generate (death by medication).

Filter 4

The final filter is practicality. How economical is the method? How compatible is it with your physiology? In our world of optimization, time and money are directly related. We will focus on methods that are as economical as possible in terms of both time and money. Drinking water is more convenient than an electrolyte solution for relieving dehydration. Exercising and eating healthily are more practical and economical ways to lose weight than bariatric surgery. Look for easy and affordable alternatives. Work on those before increasing expenses and complexity. As one of the winners of the Lindy Hop effect, Leonardo da Vinci, said, "Simplicity is the highest form of sophistication."

Conclusion

The best researcher in the world who can help you is you. If you're interested in improving your performance and making a greater impact on the world, experiment on yourself. At the end of the day, the most important thing is how it makes you feel. Genetic and environmental variables are almost impossible to fully control. Given this, you have to take risks. Use these four filters to sift through stories and reach your own conclusions. You have to test things to reach your own conclusions. Become a physionaut (I just made up that word). Explore the boundaries of your ability with courage and bravery. Integrate what works for you and get rid of what doesn't. Who knows, maybe you'll discover something new and groundbreaking, share it, and help us all.