Agnostic.com

12 8

I do healthcare research. Here is a perfect example of why we consumers need to be careful when reading the news about the next study that comes out and tells us how we should change our lifestyle. Just keep being the skeptics we already are. Ask yourself, who did the research, how large is the sample size, is the study design biased, etc.

[healthline.com]

Ubergooroo 5 Aug 28
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

12 comments

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

2

I read an article many years ago written by a Doctor who maintained that the human body doesn't really process milk properly after the age of 6 or so - that it is totally unnecessary to consume and that there are a lot of other ways to get your daily calcium requirements. Add to that the fact that breakfast cereals (tasty as they may be) are one of the worst things you can consume and you don't have to think too hard to figure out why such a high percentage of our population is unhealthy.

0

I've tried telling my parents about this but they don't seem to want to listen. They both take this wonder pill that is supposed to make the immune system invincible like. It cracks me up when they get sick and I'm thinking, "Gee, if there was only a pill that you could take to prevent you from ever getting sick, oh right, your taking it. The placebo effect is strong with these two." They believe everything that is on television. I've tried, but they don't want to listen.

1

I just generally avoid fluff articles and had a hard time staying focused on the given one. If I want a better chance of useful information, I do a scholarly Google.

As a diabetic I know proteins good, carbohydrates bad. That's the easy part. Having developed diabetes late in life, I spent my life eating cereal, like most people in America. Still do on occasion. Changing a diet, that's the hard part.

Hmmm....interesting take. I didn't see it as fluff at all. It was a direct and well written critique of a position promoted by the dairy industry. Guess beauty of the words is in the eye of the beholder, eh? 🙂

1

One more thing to be aware of is, if large numbers of people made the recommended changes, purchased the products endorsed, and convinced more to do likewise, who would profit?

JimG Level 8 Aug 28, 2018
1

One of my favourite memes, must have been all that time spent working towards my BSc.

2

JUst the USA and New Zealand are allowed to have pharma commercials on television. We are the nation that wants whiter teeth and spend a fortune of them, we are a nation that wants to prevent death and take any risk to maintain vanity. The adds run because we in general buy them . The Europeans laugh at how we all walk around with brilliant white teeth and think it looks natural. The Europeans believe the aging of teeth is fine and not a big issue. We in the USA support this type of nonsense. So it anyone reading this who spent a lot of money whitening your teeth, you bought into the vanity as you were supposed to do.

EMC2 Level 8 Aug 28, 2018

I like white teeth. Is it vanity? It is aesthetics? Is it simply personal preference?

Not too white -- that looks ridiculous (to me).

I also learned recently, about grey or yellowing teeth. I mistakenly always thought that was due to a lack of care or an underlying medical condition. I was wrong. As we age (and yes, I realize many already knew this), the enamel erodes and the underlying materials of the teeth are naturally greyish or yellowish. I like learning new things and that was interesting to me.

2

What do studies prove? You have to look at how the study was done and why, who funded it, etc. I'm amazed that doctors get a new med from the drug salesman and they believe all that he says about it, then prescribe that drug to patients they think might need it. This is worse when your doctor presumes to know all about you and sees you for 20 minutes every six months.

1

I doubt everything, Descartes taught me that...

3

So sad. My ex was a type one diabetic and milk and cereal was always one of the very worst things in terms of dramatic spikes in blood sugar. I wonder how many people did themselves harm.

Even legit work by well meaning scientists seems to get twisted in the way it is communicated and understood. People love the flashy title that says whatever berry of the week fights cancer, so those articles get a ton of clicks and the corn syrup smoothie industry gets rich making berry smoothies. Some new research is really fascinating and encouraging. Then the public gets a hold of it and people want encourage forgoing chemo by smoking weed because it fits their agenda. We need to take the time to read the information and see what the research actually says instead of just what advertisers share in order to sell products or opinions.

MsAl Level 8 Aug 28, 2018
2

It's safe to assume that an industry investigating itself is going to lie. It's been on the news for decades that humans do NOT need to drink milk, that it actually leaches calcium from our bones.

12 Reasons to Stop Drinking Cow’s Milk [peta.org]

@CrazyQuilter Apparently not very well, in most cases. Also, bribes can close eyes.

1

We need to take every new health report with a great deal of scepticism and caution. As you point out and is outlined in the linked article, if the study has been funded by an interest group or manufacturer, we have to be extremely cautious about its conclusions, if not downright dismissive.

2

Protein is not The problem. Sugar is
The article seems kind of measleading

Intentionally exceedingly misleading .

Which is misleading -- the article posted or the "study" that the article is critiquing? Maybe my reading comprehension is off, but I read the article as saying exactly THAT. That protein is good and carbohydrates are bad when it comes to diabetes. Did we read the same article?

@BlueWave diabetes is a little too complicated. We can't say protein is merely good and carbohydrates are bad. There is still a ratio

Write Comment
You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:165562
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.