Monday, November 25, 2024

Hello from Dianna! - Two years in bed

I used to watch science videos from "Physics Girl".  Her life was devastated by Long COVID.  Sounds like she is improving, a little.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euCkKszuWDQ

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Nutrition Tier Lists: Nuts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8HuhaKObZs

I buy mixed nuts to put on my salads.  I'm going to start buying walnuts and almonds since they are so healthy.

Friday, October 11, 2024

The actual science of the "industrial seed oil" panic

In response to an anti-seed-oil message.  Canola Oil is frequently attacked despite numerous studies that have proven the contrary.  

I also quote a study claiming that long-term Canola Oil usage may negatively impact memory.

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: John Coffey <john2001plus@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Oct 11, 2024 at 12:04 PM
Subject: The actual science of the "industrial seed oil" panic


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efTBLsv4yYs

I rarely use canola oil, but I use olive oil instead.


Conclusion
After 15 years of continuing research on canola oil since the latest review by Dupont et al.,2 evidence shows a number of potential health benefits of canola oil consumption (Figure 2). Canola oil can now be regarded as one of the healthiest edible vegetable oils in terms of its biological functions and its ability to aid in reducing disease-related risk factors and improving health. Current research is expected to provide more complete evidence to support the health-promoting effects of canola oil when consumed at levels consistent with dietary guidelines.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3746113/

Conclusion
CO significantly improved different cardiometabolic risk factors compared to other edible oils. Further well-designed clinical trials are warranted to confirm the dose–response associations.
https://www.nmcd-journal.com/article/S0939-4753(20)30234-9/abstract


In conclusion, these studies support the safety of LBFLFK RBD oil as a source of EPA and DHA for human consumption.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691518308445


Conclusion
Compared to other edible oils, CO significantly improves TC, LDL-C, Apo B, TC/HDL, LDL/HDL, and Apo B/ Apo A-1. Replacing daily consumed oils with CO at ~15% of total energy intake led to the greatest reduction in TG, TC, LDL-C, Apo B, LDL/HDL, TC/HDL, and HDL-3. Further well-designed RCTs with rigorous methodology examining dose–response and clinical outcome markers as well as mechanisms are warranted.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0939475320302349




Sunday, October 6, 2024

Endocrine Disruptors - Common Chemicals That Severely Alter Your Hormones - Dr. Shanna Swan


It is important to be skeptical of claims.  This person could be correct, but her claims are not without controversy.  She doesn't offer evidence.  I'm not saying she has to in a YouTube video, but she needs to point us toward the evidence.

My concern is that you can have a causal link between two things but that is not proof of causality.  I'm concerned about "single-factor analysis" where only one factor is considered.  

I would like to see more research.  

Plastic is getting a bad reputation, and some of it seems justified.  We are exposed to chemicals from plastic.



"Fears over falling human sperm count may be overblown — Harvard Gazette

Richardson and her colleagues found that earlier research claimed causal links between declining sperm counts and declining fertility, as well as between exposures to certain environmental chemicals and lower sperm counts. The GenderSci Lab researchers found that neither of these assumptions are supported by scientific or geographic evidence."

Thursday, October 3, 2024

Fwd: Vaccine

FYI.

On Sun, Sep 29, 2024 at 11:28 PM  NN wrote:
I took two covid shots. I soon realize it was not a true vaccine. This was confirmed by the government forcing Wikipedia to change the definition of vaccine. This change migrated to written dictionaries as well. Then the government announced that the "vaccine" will not prevent you from catching COVID-19 and stating it will prevent the transmission of the disease. This proved be false. Then the government had mainstream media poo-poo the idea of taking ivermectin which has been shown to reduce the effects of COVID-19. Even today, the higher incidence of death among all age groups is inexplicable although we all know the common denominator is the COVID vaccine.  The mainstream media and social media has been trying to deemphasize any negative coverage of the COVID vaccine since 2020. The ill effects on young people who have died due to adverse effects of the COVID vaccine. I've noticed people who have kept up with the full 
vaccine regimen are not any healthier than those who didn't. Regarding you taking the vaccine, if you think it was good for you, then that is all that matters. However, trying to force everyone to take a non-vaccine because it made you feel good is a bad idea. Most Americans are getting rather touchy about being forced to do things "for their own good."

I am not trying to force you to take the vaccine just in case that is what you meant.  As I said before, it doesn't matter much whether you take the vaccine because herd immunity has kicked it.  The milder and more infectious Omnicron Variant acted as a natural and possibly more effective vaccine.

You can believe what you want, but everything you wrote about the vaccine is factually incorrect.  Confirmation bias is very strong and it is something that I look out for in myself.  So I try to back up what I believe with science.

In the last few days, you commented about my intelligence a couple of times for believing factually correct things.

How did the government force Wikipedia to change its definition of a vaccine?  Every anti-vaxer I have talked to is also a conspiracy theorist.

When my cousin was on her deathbed she wished that she had taken the vaccine so that she did not go through weeks of misery in the hospital and ultimately died.  The millions of unvaccinated who died from COVID weren't healthier than the vaccinated.

The following article is similar to one I sent out a couple of years ago showing the difference in overall death rate between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated (figure 1.)

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7206a3.htm

It is supported by this article (table 3):  

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9848037/

A couple of years ago I sent out a scientific study that claimed an excess death rate from the vaccine of 1 in a million, almost entirely people with comorbidities. That sounds bad.  However, in the United States, 1 out of 99 people who got COVID-19 died from it.  So it is a case of pick your poison.  I would rather take my chances with the vaccine.  I think that it is important to continue to take it as I get older.  I have a long history of getting sick from respiratory illnesses, so I want to be protected.

I also sent out a study showing that the vaccine reduced the spread of the disease.

There were things that we knew from the outset but people have taken them to mean that the vaccine was bad or didn't work:

1.  The vaccine was not going to provide perfect protection.  However, the evidence is that we are better off taking it.

2.  The vaccine would become less effective as the virus mutated.

If this had been a 1918 pandemic where one-third of the infected died, I don't think that there would have been so much resistance to the vaccine.  We will inevitably have another pandemic, so I wonder if people will still be opposed to vaccines.

BTW, I am very impressed by the movie Contagion (2011) because it accurately predicted everything that happened during COVID-19.

--
Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com


Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Bobby Kennedy Jr. and Food Safety

Trump brought RFK Jr. on board to help win the election, but I see Robert Kennedy Jr as a bit of a red hearing.  He claimed that he and Trump would improve the American diet and make America healthy in just four years.   He talked about banning seed oils and High Fructose Corn Syrup, the latter of which is chemically identical to sugar. 

If you don't want government coercion for your own good, I would not support Robert Kennedy.  He also tends to promote conspiracy theories:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2023/10/10/rfk-jr-launches-independent-2024-run-here-are-all-the-conspiracies-he-promotes-from-vaccines-to-mass-shootings/

Trump had to promise RFK Jr. something to get him on board.  We don't know what that is, but maybe Kennedy will be the head of the FDA.  I think that is what he wants.

As far as 1000 substances banned in Europe in American foods, I want to see research done. The trouble with the European Union standards is that they are a bit like California which takes regulations too far.  (For example, the California standard on heavy metal contamination is 500 times stricter than what the Federal Government regards as safe.  This became an issue about Dark Chocolate when Consumer Reports claimed that many brands were unsafe because they didn't meet California regulations.  I eat dark chocolate every day for its reported health benefits.  I'm not worried.)

Trump did say something about doing research.   That would be good.  I don't want bad substances in my food either, but I also don't want unnecessary government coercion.