As I sat down to start what I thought would be a post on the latest research regarding the Mediterranean diet, I quickly realized that I should first share with you my thoughts on nutrition research and the extent to which it can be trusted.

As a dietitian, I am always eager to read the latest and greatest on all things food science and human nutrition, but let me make one thing clear: this field of study most definitely has its limitations.

Nutrition research is murky business, to put it bluntly. Even if you set aside issues of personal and financial bias, you still have the simple fact that it is extremely difficult to study people and their eating habits. After all, eating does not happen in a void. A person is not merely what they eat, despite the old adage. Genetics, environment, upbringing, culture, access to food and food security, personal preferences, health status, physical activity, smoking history–the list could go on and on and still we would not have every piece of the puzzle that makes up a single individual’s health and eating behaviors. And yet, any of these various pieces could all but decide a person’s success or failure on a given diet. This is one very obvious reason why a diet that works beautifully for one person may be a total flop for another.

You can see, then, why studying nutrition is complicated, to say the least. Even if you perfectly measured and accounted for every single crumb that would pass your participants’ lips, you’d still have to contend with the biggest factor of them all–the human factor. And we’ve not even broached the subject of accurate and standardized testing, data collection, and analysis!!

So what then? Should we just throw in the towel? No. I think despite these challenges, nutrition is a worthy field of study and I have high hopes that as technology continues to advance, so will our ability to learn about nutrition. In the meantime, here are a few principles to guide you as you attempt to sort through the hype and the headlines:

• Don’t miss the forest for the trees. It can be easy to get swept up and overwhelmed by the various soundbites and talking points shared online and in the media. Try not to lose track of the bigger picture!
• If an exciting, new study pops up that seems to fly in the face of every other previous study on the matter, take it with a grain of salt. If the research is truly legit, the findings will be replicated in due time.
• Don’t ignore common sense. If you read a nutrition headline that seems like good ole’ fashioned nonsense, there’s a good chance that’s just what it is.
• Hold it loosely. As a dietitian, I do my best to make recommendations that are grounded in the most solid research possible. But you know what? As research methods improve, so does the data. Don’t be so rigid in your food beliefs that you’re willing to ignore better information.

Just know that if you ever feel totally confused about nutrition, you are not alone. Here at The Diet Oracle, my goal is to bring a little clarity to the table and I hope you’ll join the discussion! Thanks for reading!