Great President? Maybe. Gifted speaker? Without a doubt. In fact, the press nicknamed Ronald Reagan "The Great Communicator" for his uncanny ability to get his point across so well and so simply.

Take, for example, how he handled the growing concern during the 1984 Presidential election campaign that at age 73 he was simply too old to serve the country for four more years. When asked about this in a debate, Reagan focused not on his advancing age, but that his opponent, former Vice President Walter Mondale, was 56.He said: "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience."Beside him on stage, Mondale laughed at Reagan's response. Later in a 2012 television interview with Jim Lehrer, Mondale claimed the clever quip actually changed the course of the election.If only I could change the course of the country's collective poor health with a few clever quips in a few clever columns.I can't, of course, but I hope to help a person or two here and there. And to attempt that this week, you will read about conflicting research and how it is related to a concern I have about myself.It's a concern you should share if your goal is authentic living and optimal health.Two weeks ago, you read about ways to avoid unwanted weight gain during the holidays. One tip was to consume foods high in protein because they make you feel fuller sooner than those consisting of mostly carbs and fat.A partial explanation for this: one of the building blocks of protein, the amino acid phenylalanine, gets produced in the stomach during the digestion of foods high in protein and sends messages of satiety to the brain.In other words, the production of phenylalanine makes you feel full.So you'd think that getting phenylalanine from your diet would be a good thing, right?Not according to research performed at Massachusetts General Hospital on aspartame, a non-caloric sweetener used in lieu of sugar, that contains - you guessed it - phenylalanine.The research determined that aspartame counteracts an enzyme in the stomach called intestinal alkaline phosphatase that has been shown to aid against metabolic syndrome which leads to diabetes and obesity. So, irony or ironies, the sugar substitute may very well allow you to ingest fewer calories but not permit the obvious goal of that: to maintain a healthy body weight.At this point, the column could get technical and provide all the science as to how and why this happens, but you're probably better served if the column gets personal. How do you feel about this so-called scientific result?What's your gut feeling about what goes on in your gut?Do you really believe that avoiding added sugar - what's viewed as the worst thing to consume if you're trying to keep your weight in check - and replacing it with something that has no calories could lead to obesity and diabetes?If you think that I'm foolish for asking such a question since research proved it, think again. Think about whether you are like me and at times are guilty of confirmation bias.A Stanford study done in 1979 found that facts don't always change a person's mind. In fact, the subjects in this study not only disregarded facts that contradicted an original belief they held, but the subjects also dug in their heels and became even more convinced that their original view was correct.A study done at Emory University in 2004 confirmed that bias existed. This time, researchers found that when subjects were given weak evidence that supported their belief and strong evidence that disavowed it, the majority of subjects gave more credence to the weaker evidence simply because it supported their original belief.After college, I became fanatical about avoiding dietary fat, and my body fat percentage quickly dropped to between seven and eight percent. Later, when studies supported a moderate use of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats for overall health, I scoffed at them because I had fallen prey to confirmation bias.Eventually, I realized that you could be quite healthy using a moderate or even a liberal amount of these two fats - while still recognizing that eschewing both was best if you wanted to maintain the extremely low body fat percentage required for bodybuilding or elite performance in a sport like gymnastics.So what am I suggesting you do when you read research that is seemingly at odds with your experience? What President Reagan said the U.S. would do when he was negotiating with Russian President Gorbachev to reduce the number of nuclear missiles we both possessed.And irony of ironies, it just happens to be an old Russian proverb: "Doveryai, no proveryai." Trust, but verify.So trust your gut, your health and fitness beliefs, but verify both through ongoing personal experimentation.