“Health is precious. It is the only thing to the pursuit of which it is truly worth devoting not only our time but our sweat, toil, goods and life itself.” Health has always been controversial. There has always been a difficult balance between the particular and universal, between folk remedies and expert opinion. Over time, the medical profession has become so good that average lifespans have expanded by leaps.
But the controversy remains and much of that is due to the difference between what works for the person and what works broadly. It returns to the question of the singular versus the aggregate, that taking evidence-based action over large numbers has an impact, but individual results may vary. Everyone has particularly quirks in their physical makeup and luck plays a part in health. And so individuals often extrapolate what works for them to everyone. We’ve all heard of people who smoke everyday and die at 90. But in the population at large, it’s an unmistakably stupid thing to do.
We need to allow space for people to do what they wish with their personal health unless it involves something like vaccinations that affect the herd. We also should let them say whatever they wish about what works for them and educate people to understand why anecdotes are meaningless and dangerous when it comes to public health.