One of the problems with life is that everyone's an expert. In everything. It just takes two or more, gathered together for a casual drink or lunch or dinner. Someone only has to say what their current worry or concern is and the rest will spare no time in giving of their thoughts and opinions.

In fact, I was at dinner a couple of days ago and the conversation turned to cars. The immediate reaction was a veritable torrent of advice on which car was the best, which garage gave the ideal service and what finace offers were currently out there. The fact that none of those present had any particular knowledge or expertise of cars, garages and financing made no difference. They had some specific practical experience since they all had cars, bought and serviced.

I'm sure no one was intent on damaging reputations or any kind of malice, but it would have been difficult to ignore everything and strike out alone. The moral of this brief story is to get your advice from the appropriate expert and allow your friends and co-workers to add their opinions only to refine your decisions.

A case in point is that last week I wanted some help with a financial problem, so I called my financial advisor ( a helpful professional I have known and dealt with for some years) to get his opinion. He explained the options as he saw them; I thanked him for his time; then I discussed all of this with my wife. The upshot was that I didn't change my choice of action, but I felt more confident in it. After all, financial decisions can have a significant effect on your life.

So it is with health. Making the wrong choice can be serious, even fatal. So it isn't something to put entirely in the hands of your friends especially if they have no health-based qualifications. I hope it is becoming clear that my aim of telling you this is to encourage you to seek out opinions from the people in the health professiona that you trust to give you reasonable and largely unbiased opinions. From their words and advice, you have to be the final arbiter of the path you choose.

You can choose whoever you wish to furnish their opinions and I have no wish to stop you. But,if you would like my advice, let me tell you that I have spent a great deal of my life working in the health profession as a pharmacist in both hospital and retail sectors and have advised many thousands of people. I hope that my advice is unbiased and accurate and the options I give are reasonable, based on many years experience.

Since leaving pharmacy to begin this work, I have amassed many tens of books and I access many health newsletters and sites in an attempt to get as wide and up-to-date view as possible. No one is infallible and I can't give you cast iron help that always works.

The down side of any professional opinion is that it is you, the customer or patient, who has to make the final decision. Most professionals give you the options and let you decide. My financial advisor left me with the words, "That's all I can say, I'm not allowed to make the choice. Only you can do that."

With my advice, too, I can only give you some options. And no one can do more than that. Then it's over to you to make that choice, for better or worse. At least you'll have improved your chance of making the right choice having got some professional help along the way.

The moral is to seek out a trusted professional, get the options and the downsides explained so you understand as much as you need. Then go for it ...You can do no more than that.

If you agree with what I say, you can get information on my site at http://www.healthexplored.co.uk , subscribe to my F r ee newsletter, reply to this blog or get hold of my books and publications digitally through the secure order form on the site or get further detail at [email protected] .

Should you have any health questions, please e-mail them to me and I shall do my best to help your decision making process.

Wishing you the very best of health.