Context Matters

Especially when it comes to your health

I was interviewing on Drew Manning’s Fit2Fat2Fit Podcast the other day and we went on a brief side tangent discussing how so often in the nutrition space we desire generalized cut-and-dry statements about diet. We want to know if carbs are good or bad, if keto is good for all women or no women, or if intermittent fasting causes eating disorders or not. The answer to all of these questions is it depends and it depends on context.

The truth is there are few generalizations that can be made when it comes to nutrition. It’s crucial to consider context. The answer to whether or not carbs are bad is dependent on whether or not you are insulin sensitive. Keto can be good or bad for women dependent on their current health, how they are going to follow the diet, their menstrual cycle, and numerous other factors. Intermittent fasting might not be a good idea for someone who has a history of disordered eating but it can be great for the person with a healthier relationship with food who is looking to get into a deeper state of ketosis.

Many times people go to my Instagram page and assume that I am a keto zealot who believes that keto is for everyone all the time. Even though I am “theketologist” I know that whether or not keto is beneficial to someone is dependent on a lot of context. Any health information provider who doesn’t take context into consideration likely is a zealot.

The problem with not taking context into consideration is that it leaves people confused. Why does this information conflict with that information? Why am I not seeing the results that I was told I would if I followed this advice? Why did that work for her but it's not working for me?

We can’t make any definitive statements about health and nutrition without context (except for red meat…..red meat is good for everyone). Nutrition should be personalized based on someone’s goals, current state of health, health history, and numerous other factors. This is the path to optimal health. It will require digging in and learning about yourself, testing different strategies out, and being mindful of how successful those strategies are for you. Doing all of this isn’t easy and will be a lot more frustrating than just taking that social media influencer’s generalized advice. But it’s better than the alternative!

Thanks for reading,

Chris Irvin

P.S. I have been posting a lot of content about cortisol lately. I just sent my Base at-home test in this week and am excited to get my results back. To be honest, I’m not a big fan of going to the doctor and prefer to interpret my own results so I have really been digging at-home test kits lately. Base has many other options besides just cortisol too! Use my code THEKETOLOGIST to save 20% on your first order!