Alexandra, thanks for your kind comments. I wish, wish, wish people possessed the basic common sense to do that research, but they don't. For example, just yesterday I received a request from a 75 yo man asking me for recommendations for hip exercises. DUDE! I'm not a PT, nor am I a doctor, nor do I have any right to make ANY kinds of recommendations - I said first, see your doc or your PT and have them assess you. THEN get THEIR recommendations. For my part, hiking and stair running work but that does not mean that what I do will work for you.

While I wouldn't have those disclaimers on any productivity posts, because food is medicine, and people can be incredibly foolish, the difference is that when we are recommending what to ingest- and everyone wants the magic bullet or quick fix, that's one of the few times I would indeed include a disclaimer. For a productivity hack, well, most of them anyway might not maim or kill. Some foods could.

I'm well informed because I'm an athlete, a prize winning journalist, and I blog on fitness. So you bet- I do know, because it's my business to know. But because there is a chance that someone might want to do what I do to get my results (and people do that), as in 8% body fat at 67, for example, I really need to demonstrate a higher level of responsibility when I write. Most people can't do what I do, and they won't put in the work but they want the results (don't get me started). Your words, my words have impact. That said, and this is just what I think so take it with a grain of salt, when you and I put in a single sentence that encourages the reader to Know Thyself (whether or not they do isn't our problem) that really takes care of it. What this does: 1) protects you, the writer; 2) places the onus on the reader to see a nutritionist for a full workup. That demonstrates a level of respect for your readers, and it also makes sure that if anyone does something stupid and comes looking for someone to blame (well she told me to eat X, and I did and I got sick, so now I'm a-gonna SUE), you can point to that disclaimer.

I've learned- and this is awful- that people don't do the work. They want easy answers to lifelong, challenging questions, as in how can I best eat for this body, this age, this time of life, etc. I figure just one sentence at the beginning or end fixes it. You most assuredly don't have to, it's just a suggestion. But here's the biggest payoff for you: it demonstrates a very high level of respect for Dear Reader, and that you both understand and take into account that there are billions of different metabolisms in the world.

That doesn't make me right. It's just my take.