Steven sits down to a plate of pancakes with blueberries and maple syrup. Delicious! He has eaten them ever since he read an article saying they were the perfect breakfast.

But then he opens his newspaper and reads a headline: "Health risk from pancakes with blueberries and maple syrup!"

Steven feels very confused. Every day, experts seem to come out with different advice on what we should eat and drink. They also tell us how much exercise we need to take.

Two American experts have written an article saying that much of the advice we are given cannot be trusted.¹ They believe it is based on inaccurate research. 

Anupam Jena and Christopher Worsham give moderate drinking as an example. For years experts said that people who drank a reasonable amount of alcohol lived longer than those who did not drink at all.

But a new review points out that people who drink moderately are likely to live longer for many other reasons.

They tend to be wealthyHaving a lot of money or assets., to eat healthily and to take plenty of exercise. People who do not drink at all tend to be poorer and to eat badly.

Jena and Worsham are very interested in whether artificialMade or produced by human beings rather than occurring naturally, especially as a copy of something natural. sweeteners are bad for you. Many studies have relied on "randomisation". This means choosing people at random and asking them to take sweeteners instead of sugar with their meals.

But the trials often just involve a small number of people for a short time. That makes it hard to know about the long-term effects.

Other trials follow people for a longer time. The scientists note how they use the sweeteners and whether they get illnesses like diabetesA medical condition causing there to be too much sugar in the blood. . The problem is that the diabetes might not be caused by the sweeteners: it could be caused by something completely different.

Research, Jena and Worsham say, needs "a credibilityThe quality of being believable or dependable. revolution". Health is our most valuable resource, but it is also the only thing we cannot buy.

Yes: The people who give it are constantly arguing amongst themselves, and do not even have any faith in their own conclusions. The research they use to make their recommendations is not carried out in a truly scientific way.

No: Experts may sometime get things wrong, but on balance it is best to trust them. Everyone accepts that smoking or staying in the sun for too long without protection can lead to cancer.

Or... We should follow the motto of the ancient Greeks: "Nothing in excess". As a general rule, if you partake in anything to a sensible degree you do not have much to be afraid of.

Wealthy - Having a lot of money or assets.

Artificial - Made or produced by human beings rather than occurring naturally, especially as a copy of something natural.

Diabetes - A medical condition causing there to be too much sugar in the blood.

Credibility - The quality of being believable or dependable.