Health Shift: Your Personalized Guide to Making Strategic Health Decisions offers a clear, practical framework to cut through health misinformation and make confident, personalized decisions that help you heal faster and take lasting control of your well-being. Author Dr. Alice Burron talks to Book Glow about the book.

What inspired you to write Health Shift, and what gap in today’s health landscape were you aiming to fill?

I’ve been involved in the health and wellness field for decades, watching people make health decision after health decision. I became fascinated by how inconsistent or irrational those decisions were, and by the beliefs that underpinned them. I saw people spend hundreds, sometimes thousands, on unproven remedies to cure pain or lose weight. Then, almost instantly, they would abandon those ideas for something completely different. They left supplements, exercise equipment, and fitness classes untouched and unused. Some of these choices weren’t harmful in themselves, but the opportunity cost was enormous. What could have happened if they’d chosen something logical and actually effective? These are smart people making irrational health choices.

I understood the physiology. What I didn’t understand was the psychology behind the choices. That curiosity grew so strong that I pursued it while earning my doctorate, and the patterns I discovered eventually became solutions in this book.

As I studied health decision-making more deeply, I noticed two powerful forces at play. On one side, we’re up against cultural forces, marketing forces, the processed food industry, and a system that makes healthy choices harder. But on the other side—inside of us, between our ears—just as many forces are working against our health. That internal landscape became the most profound part of my learning journey. People have far more control over their health than they realize, but most have never been taught how to think through a health decision strategically. And because of that, we now have one of the worst health crises in history.

I realized there were no books teaching people how to coach themselves through their own health decisions. I didn’t want to write another rigid plan or prescriptive list. I wanted to create a guide that builds self-reflection, self-awareness, clarity, logic, curiosity, and confidence. That vision eventually became Health Shift: Your Personalized Guide to Making Strategic Health Decisions.

It’s a book that teaches people how to pause, evaluate, filter information, and make the best possible decision for themselves—no matter what health concern they’re facing. Health becomes far less overwhelming when you have the tools to navigate it. My hope is that readers come away with a sense of control, agency, and calm, and realize that their next health breakthrough may be just one thoughtful decision away.

You help readers cut through overwhelming and conflicting health information—what do you see as the biggest source of that confusion?

Two general categories create our confusion: the forces outside of us—our environment, culture, and circumstances—and the forces within us, between our ears. Many people are talking about forces outside of us and saying that our poor health isn’t our fault but a product of the environment we live in. While I don’t argue that we have a very unhealthy culture in general, it doesn’t act in silo. We must recognize that we have more control than we think we do. We are not strictly victims of health; we are the masters of our health destiny.

Health is deeply personal, and people navigate it in many different ways. But too many decisions are still driven by fear, false hope, or a lack of perspective. We need to recognize that there are countless ways to get healthier, yet not every option is meant for every person. Whatever it is the market is trying to sell us, we probably don’t need it, if we think about it.  This is why a personal filter based on self-awareness is essential. Once we understand what we truly need, we can pair that knowledge with logic and strategic thinking to improve our health.

The other challenge is the volume of health information. We’re exposed to more health information in a single week than previous generations encountered in an entire year. Much of it is misinformation—false, inaccurate, or misleading content that often comes from sources without credibility, though sometimes even credible sources unintentionally spread it. Influencers, media, marketing, and even well-intentioned family, friends, and healthcare professionals can offer advice that contradicts one another. No wonder people don’t know whom to trust and pick the easy button: a supplement and the like.

The real issue isn’t a lack of health information. The problem is a lack of information filters. We must learn to know what to believe and what not to believe. And even before that, we need to understand ourselves—what we need, what matters, and what is simply “nice but not necessary” for our best health. Self-knowledge comes first; filtering comes second. Health misinformation will continue to be a problem until we learn how to filter it consciously.

How does your strategic, personalized framework differ from typical one-size-fits-all health advice?

Most health advice starts with the intervention—what you should eat, what you should take, what you should avoid. Health Shift starts with you. Your biology, your preferences, your life history, your season of life, your tolerances, your mindset, your support, your values. These are the elements that make you who you are. One-size-fits-all health advice persists because we rarely stop to acknowledge how different we truly are from one another. We are not the same, so why would our health strategies be?

Instead of assuming the same intervention works for everyone, the Health Shift framework helps people evaluate options through their own health lens—what I call their “health philosophy.” It blends logic, decision-making style, readiness to change, and personal agency so readers understand themselves more clearly. When you know how you think and what you need, you can stop outsourcing your decisions to the latest trend and start confidently choosing your next step.

In a world overflowing with one-size-fits-all solutions, Health Shift teaches one-size-fits-you.

What are the most common barriers that keep people feeling stuck in their health journey?

Feeling stuck in a health journey is inevitable; we’ve all been there. The key is not to stay there. When we understand what’s getting in our way, we can finally move toward better health.

The three most challenging barriers are:

1. A lack of self-awareness. Most of us don’t take the time to truly explore our current health situation, our history, our status, and how we typically make health decisions. When we understand these pieces, we can shift our thinking based on reality—not just hope.

2. No health information filter. We need the ability to spot bad information a mile away. This is a learned skill, and since we have no class on health decision-making (though I believe we should), it’s no surprise that people struggle with it. Without a filter, everything looks convincing.

3. No system to choose what to do next. Emotions are powerful motivators, and most health decisions start—and end—there. But emotions alone can’t guide us. We need a system that blends logic and emotion, so our choices are thoughtful rather than reactive.

These barriers reveal something important: most of us assume we’re being logical. But we can’t be logical if we lack self-awareness, can’t discern good information from bad, and don’t have a system to guide us. That makes decision-making incredibly challenging—and it’s one reason people aren’t as healthy today as they were even ten years ago. Add a chaotic health landscape on top of it, and even highly motivated people feel stuck.

When you can’t discern good health information, you end up in trial-and-error mode—trying everything, and still not moving forward.

How does Health Shift help readers move beyond trial-and-error approaches to healing?

I began writing Health Shift with a health hero’s journey in mind. I pictured a health hero—someone who navigates their challenges strategically and ends up healthier because of it. In the book, you’ll see an image of the person I call Health Hero Girl, guiding the reader from start to finish with inspiration and insights.

From there, I built a system that anyone could follow, from the moment a health issue appears to the moment they decide what to do about it. At that decision point, they can feel confident they’ve made the best choice for them because they followed a clear, intentional process, what I call a HEALTHIER Journey.

Within that journey, readers learn to pause, observe, question, and align their next steps with their values, their season of life, the Core 4 (exercise, nutrition, hydration, and sleep), and their real-world constraints. It turns healing from a chaotic guessing game into a thoughtful, step-by-step approach.

When people learn how to “think before they act,” the trial-and-error cycle fades away. They begin to see that better health doesn’t happen randomly; it’s the result of clear thinking.

Your book blends medical, complementary, and lifestyle strategies—how can readers evaluate what’s right for them?

Health Shift presents medical, complementary, and lifestyle strategies as equal tools in the toolbelt. Each can help repair, restore, or rebalance health, depending on the situation. In the book, we explore how to evaluate these options through the lens of your values, preferences, and how you naturally like to approach your health. This is why knowing your health philosophy is critical; it helps you see when one intervention might be a better fit for you than another.

For example, some people prefer to avoid medical intervention when possible, yet still rely on medical testing to rule out serious concerns like broken bones, cancer, or other unknown conditions. In that case, their philosophy is holistic with medical insight. Others want to try lifestyle and complementary strategies first, saving medical interventions for true emergencies or last-case scenarios.

Health Shift explains what each intervention category brings to the table and how to leverage them all based on your preferences, needs, and circumstances. It’s never a one-size-fits-all approach. I encourage readers to consider the evidence and the risks—because ultimately, evaluating interventions is always a risk–benefit decision.

There are also countless lifestyle and complementary interventions available, many of which cost little or nothing. People often overlook these options because they seem too simple, too obvious, or not flashy enough to grab attention. But these are the quiet powerhouses of healing. From walking, breathing practices, sleep routines, stretching, and hydration to art, music, sunlight, cold exposure, meditation, sound therapy, community, energy therapy, and mindset work—the menu of possibilities is practically endless.

When people realize how many tools they already have at their fingertips, something shifts. They stop seeing healing as a scarce, expensive pursuit and start recognizing that their healing potential is, quite literally, unlimited.

What is one health misconception you wish more people understood?

A lack of health humility is one of the biggest misconceptions and a major stumbling block to better health. Many people believe they know more about health and intervention options than they actually do. Most of us simply aren’t curious enough. I wish people understood the power of curiosity and humility: ask questions, question everything, learn, try to understand, and be willing to admit that the option you’re excited about might not be the best choice. And truthfully, it’s hard to pick just one misconception, because so many of them are connected and fuel each other.

But if we’re talking about a misconception commonly circulating in the media, it’s one that I mentioned earlier in the interview. One of the biggest misconceptions is the belief that environmental factors, like the availability of ultra-processed foods and food additives, are solely to blame for our poor health. While these forces absolutely impact us, we also have far more control over our health than that. We have free will, we have options, and we are smart. We can overcome the environmental influence on us, one decision at a time.

For example, there is the fear around declining soil nutrients. Many people worry they can’t get enough vitamins and minerals from fruits and vegetables because the soil isn’t as nutrient-rich as it was decades ago. I understand the concern, and it is legitimate, but it doesn’t automatically mean we need to rely on manufactured supplements. For the average person—someone without a serious medical condition, not at the extremes of age, and not pregnant or nursing—a nutritious diet is still more than enough.

Yet supplement reliance is rampant. And it’s not improving our health. I wish more people would pause, question the madness, and remember that whole foods and foundational habits still work—and often work better than the expensive solutions we’re sold.

Can you share a memorable client or coaching experience that shaped the development of this book?

I’ve coached so many people, but I always return to the moments when I coached my own kids. Each of them has faced a health challenge at some point, and some of those challenges felt almost unnavigable. One of the most defining experiences happened when my son was about 14. He had severe abdominal pain that no doctor could diagnose. No one believed him or me that something was genuinely wrong. He was even denied school support because, according to the doctor, he just needed to “buck up and go to school.”

Out of sheer necessity, I created what I called a “fountain of options”—a list of possible next steps he could choose from. I picked a few, and he chose the rest. One option he selected was meditation. He refused pain medication and instead meditated through his illness. Picture my 14-year-old boy meditating; it’s hard to believe. He became a master at it. He recovered without any medical intervention. Today, he’s 23, still meditates regularly, and is one of the calmest, most centered people I know. He’s also completely healthy.

We still talk about those days, and he often says how grateful he was to have choices that matched his preferences and situation. He learned the Health Shift approach in real time, long before it had a name. That experience shaped me as a coach and became one of the foundations of this book. I began using that same approach with clients, and it hasn’t let me down. Many people have healed or overcome health challenges on their own terms, and even when healing isn’t possible, the right interventions help them stay at their best health.

For readers who feel overwhelmed, what’s the very first step you hope they take after finishing your book?

First, I hope they feel empowered—truly empowered—knowing they have far more control over their health outcomes than they think. But the very first step I hope they take is to pause before making their next health decision. Pause, get curious, and resist the urge to act impulsively. As Viktor Frankl famously said, “Between the stimulus and the response, there is a space.” In that space, we get to choose.

If we take the time to ask why we want to make a certain health decision, what’s driving us, whether we might be wrong, and whether we’ve considered all the angles, we will make a better choice. And think about it this way: if each of us makes just one better health decision a day, collectively, our nation becomes healthier. It really can start with each one of us making one thoughtful, better health decision at a time.

What’s next for you and for Strategic Action Health?

I’m literally feeling like I could burst with excitement for what lies ahead. More and more people are recognizing the impact of this method in Health Shift, and it really is a new way to think about health literacy. Under that directive, I founded Strategic Action Health, which is filling a significant gap in personal health literacy. In today’s world, individuals need help navigating this new era of health options, especially around the area of AI, and we’re stepping into that space with confidence that we can help people begin to see their health more clearly and purposefully.

Strategic Action Health now has both large and small organizational clients that will bring this work into worksites, where people make many of their day-to-day health decisions. But we’re also seeing growing interest from public health agencies, nonprofits, and even academic institutions. That tells me the timing is right, and the need is real.

We’re excited to bring Health Shift to life through Strategic Action Health in innovative ways, measure real outcomes, learn in real time, and continually refine our approach. The opportunities ahead are endless—and we’re just getting started, and it’s all grounded in what we call curious wonder. We practice humility, curiosity, and exploration as a company, too. We practice what we preach!

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