We all know that when our mother says, "This works for me," the debate ends there. No need for a systematic review or meta-analysis, because it's already decided: it works for mom, period .
But what if we leveraged this unwavering spirit to talk about something more serious? Let's understand how the hierarchy of scientific evidence works —that is, how strong the knowledge base is behind a health and fitness claim.
The Pyramid of Evidence (or How to Win Arguments Without Being Your Mother)
The image in this article is a joke with a very real background: not all evidence is created equal . And in science, there's a ranking—a sort of "champions league" of scientific validity. Let's go from bottom to top:
Case reports and expert opinion
It's the famous "I think...". It might come from someone very experienced, but it's still one person's opinion. It helps generate hypotheses, but it doesn't prove anything.
In vitro and animal studies
Important for testing new ideas, medicines or treatments, but... we are not lab mice .
Observational studies
Here we begin to look at what happens in the real world, but without controlling for variables. For example: people who eat more fruit live longer—but is that because of the fruit or because these people also sleep well, exercise, and don't smoke?
Clinical trials
The gold of science! Here, everything is controlled down to the last detail, and participants are randomly assigned to test the true impact of an intervention. Less opinion, more rigor.
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses
When we really want to be sure, we gather several good studies, analyze them together, and draw more solid conclusions. This is the scientific equivalent of saying, "I asked every scientist on the planet, and they agree."
So… where does your mother come in?
Well, if we go by the pyramid of evidence, "mother's opinion" would be at the bottom... but in real life, it's at the top. Because when mom says that lemon and ginger tea cures everything, no one dares to disagree. And you don't even need a controlled placebo!
Moral of the story:
Science is essential, especially when it comes to health, training, nutrition, or anything involving our bodies. But it's also important to remember that not everything that works for one person works for everyone. Personal (or maternal) experience may not be scientific evidence... but it can be a great starting point for curiosity, study, and, of course, conversation.
We all agree that mothers deserve to be at the top of our pyramid, don't we?