tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84259133584064119412024-03-07T03:33:40.865+00:00TesseraTesserae are the small pieces that make up a mosaic.TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.comBlogger196125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-59050200892005746922021-01-10T14:42:00.000+00:002021-01-10T14:42:20.730+00:00Vaccines are Genocide leaflet<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEtf3eeJSJ72ZHdmQW00u-9-xV_ze38QMTcvgF_A9P98hEgVKs32QkGM5cZGDb6bhfR-D32gnEV0y9ihBm2lxNTEzmes5KwoZMbbDjfYttYj2BvRIzwYB6IzN3Pt0q4tgyKZzYuKmYHRLa/s225/charlie+w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEtf3eeJSJ72ZHdmQW00u-9-xV_ze38QMTcvgF_A9P98hEgVKs32QkGM5cZGDb6bhfR-D32gnEV0y9ihBm2lxNTEzmes5KwoZMbbDjfYttYj2BvRIzwYB6IzN3Pt0q4tgyKZzYuKmYHRLa/s0/charlie+w.jpg" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A glossy leaflet has appeared in my block called VACCINES ARE GENOCIDE by <a href="https://drcharlieward.com/">Dr Charlie Ward</a>. That's him in the photo with his lovely wife.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It starts:</span></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dear friend. This document contains valuable alternative resources regarding the monumental lies and deceptions that have been told to us by the Government and the (controlled) Mainstream Media over the COVID-19 "Pandemic" (which actually isn't one)... to further justify ever more extreme restrictions on our human rights.</span></i></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">That's a bit scary. Tell us more, Dr Charlie. I like my human rights.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Apparently</span></p><div><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">The World Economic Forum appeared to be waiting for this exact event to impose a one-world centralised government.</span></i></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The WEF has been criticised for many things including forming a wealthy global elite, being undemocratic and lack of financial transparency. So they're an easy target. But g</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">iven that the Tories have spent the last four years shafting this country up the arse to get us out of Europe, how likely would they be to spread propaganda for a one-world government? Sovereignty and blue passports and the fishing industry and all that. God bless her Maj.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The leaflet then claims</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">Did you know that the "Coronavirus test" returned a positive result for samples from goats and paw-paw fruits?</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Well yes, there were some faulty test kits in Tanzania that did this. Possibly. We don't know that this is true given that the President said he was sending a plane to Madagascar for a herbal cure and may have some other agenda behind questioning the efficacy of the tests. He refuses to say where they came from. He has also told the people to pray the virus away.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Also, sheeple,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Did you know that Bill Gates, the public face of the vaccination push, is NOT medically qualified? He is NOT a doctor.</i><br style="background-color: #e1ebf2;" /></span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So only doctors should be allowed to comment on the scientific accuracy of COVID and vaccine facts? Should we listen only to experts? In which case, mate, what is your area of expertise? What's your doctorate in?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">His website says he has worked in the hotel industry for 30 years and now 'moves physical currency for many high-net worth individuals and governments worldwide'.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Far be it from me to be cynical but that's not any kind of scientific training I'm aware of. Moving physical currency sounds like a load of tenners hidden in the back of a van. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Anyway, back to The Science. He continues</span></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">Did you know that a challenge was issued to Boris Johnson on 22nd June 2020 to prove that the "COVID-19 coronavirus" actually exists by fulfilling the Kochs Postulate method of isolating and purifying a disease?</span></i></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ooh, now that sounds like proper science. The Kochs Postulate is a real thing. It was written in 1890 about bacteria. Not viruses. They hadn't even been discovered then. What's more, viruses, unlike bacteria, need host cells to replicate in so they can't be isolated in the Koch way. It's a bit like saying Boris should order someone to wave a divining rod over samples of the alleged virus to see if it moves.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">More on this from the excellent <a href="https://fullfact.org/health/Covid-isolated-virus/">Full Fact</a> website.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">What gives so-called Doctor Charlie the right to print this leaflet? He says:</span></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">I Stand Under Article 61 of Magna Carta 1215</span></i></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Of course you do, mate. Magna Carta is probably the most misquoted and abused historical document ever produced.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Article 61 applied to 25 barons, not the general population. It was never incorporated into statutory law and was not included in later versions of Magna Carta, including the 1225 version, parts of which formed the basis of common law today. It does not grant the right to lawful dissent and rebellion that Doctor Charlie and others like him claim. You can read all of <a href=" https://fullfact.org/online/did-she-die-in-vain/">Article 61 here</a>. The police must love it when anti-lockdown protestors quote it at them.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">However, well done Dr C for calling it Magna Carta not The Magna Carta, a very common mistake. </span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So much for history. There's nothing in the leaflet that explains why vaccines are genocide, which races or groups are being killed. There's a bit of ranting about face masks and quarantine but nothing at all about vaccines. Maybe he's saving that for the next leaflet. Breath is bated.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">In case Dr Charlie's word isn't good enough for you Doubting Thomases, he cites two unassailable experts, Rachel Elnaugh of Dragon's Den and Denise Welch of Loose Women. Both of whom are, I believe, virology and public health experts of long standing.<br style="background-color: #e1ebf2;" /><br style="background-color: #e1ebf2; color: #333333; font-size: 13px;" /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">His site also promotes 5G and EMF protection and a Detox Toxins and Metals liquid. Because when conspiracy theories come, they come not single spies, but in battalions, to misquote Claudius (Hamlet).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Also, for some reason, you can watch his wedding video on the website (I didn't, sorry, the spirit of scientific enquiry goes only so far). </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">And yes, he does have a book out.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">On one level this incoherent pick and mix rant is funny. It didn't take me more than five minutes to check up on the goats and Koch and Article 61.The online world is full of guff like this. But if only a few people pick up the leaflet and it casts doubt on vaccines, social distancing, lockdown and other hygiene regulations, then it has done its job. Infection and hospitalisation rates have gone through the roof in the last couple of weeks where I live.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">It doesn't help that this government has handled the pandemic spectacularly badly, that people are scared and confused about the ever-changing rules, and losing trust. Dr C and his like are opportunistic, exploiting this weakness. Almost like a virus.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br style="background-color: #e1ebf2; color: #333333; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: #e1ebf2; color: #333333; font-size: 13px;" />The leaflet ends <b>Do You Understand</b>?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Yes I do, Dr C, I understand very well, thank you for asking.</span></div>TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-50183078176838892172019-12-20T14:18:00.000+00:002019-12-22T16:38:25.168+00:00Nonsense on Stilts 2019<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaipl5m6wNUW4YZcykT15m4Az1o2eO_e2J72MfAUF3B-_vfOwlRXjlNpgjK1JRDgnw4vTc6VhvRoCFOESeIfiW4mO3Lz8vvFN-yAV_RBUTjDGoJUOo62sC1dHBhe0mlFFZzYhBnlDtIrck/s1600/bird+snail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="614" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaipl5m6wNUW4YZcykT15m4Az1o2eO_e2J72MfAUF3B-_vfOwlRXjlNpgjK1JRDgnw4vTc6VhvRoCFOESeIfiW4mO3Lz8vvFN-yAV_RBUTjDGoJUOo62sC1dHBhe0mlFFZzYhBnlDtIrck/s320/bird+snail.jpg" width="122" /></a></div>
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Blimey, it’s been a bugger of a year, hasn’t it? Here we are
again with a roundup of the mad, the bad and the dangerous in health, diet, the
supernatural and the plain daft.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3001541/?_escaped_fragment_=po=51.6667"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3001541/?_escaped_fragment_=po=51.6667">To whet your appetite, here’s a clever and funny illustration</a> of how 'improper correlation or extrapolation of data can result
in dangerously flawed conclusions'. In other words, how to lie with numbers.
Sound familiar? This data fandango is called <i>Cigarette smoking: an underused
tool in high-performance endurance training</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>HEALTH & DIET<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Let’s ease in with a quick one. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/pink-himalayan-sea-salt-an-update/">Pink Himalayan sea salt</a> ‘is a triumph of marketing over
science and common sense… In fact, its vaunted “84 trace minerals and elements”
include several poisons and many radioactive elements’. But it is pretty, like
Barbie salt.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Back in the <a href="http://tessera2009.blogspot.com/2017/12/nonsense-on-stilts-2017.html">2017 round-up</a> we looked at <b>Miracle Mineral
Solution</b> (MMS) claims to be a cure for autism among other things. And here
it is back again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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A British man who was part of the Global Healing Christian
Mission was charged for carrying out <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jul/30/british-man-charged-with-distributing-bleach-cure-to-ugandans?CMP=share_btn_tw">illegal medical trials </a>and touting industrial
bleach as an MMS cure for HIV, malaria and cancer in Uganda. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/apr/19/church-group-to-hold-washington-event-despite-fda-warnings-against-miracle-cure"> in America</a>, Genesis II Church of Health and Healing
promotes a miracle cure for 95% of all diseases. Yes, it’s our old friend
industrial bleach, a chemical that cannot be sold for human consumption in the
US. The Church is charging $450 or $800 per couple for membership and packages of
sacraments. Which are packages of bleach. Very sacred.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The World Health Orginisation has <a href="https://www.cnet.com/au/news/world-health-organization-declares-anti-vax-movement-global-health-threat-in-2019/?fbclid=IwAR2vM9DwSsx564MAY0Y3TwBQHApEzWq5W23ALOV1X5q3PIjZgU-nUjADfvk">added <b>anti-vaxxers</b></a> to
global health threats along with air pollution and Ebola. Measles cases spiked
in 2018 due to a ‘gaps in vaccination coverage’ according to the WHO, and
diphtheria is making a comeback.At the end of 2019 the WHO reports serious outbreaks in <a href="https://www.who.int/csr/don/26-november-2019-measles-global_situation/en/">33countries</a> worldwide while low trust in vaccines is <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-48512923">a global crisis</a>. Samoa has declared a<a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12286228"> state of emergency</a> it’s that bad.</div>
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Meanwhile, middle class parents in the UK who think they
know the meaning of ‘evidence’ are still not vaccinating their kids. If they
eat enough kale, they’ll be fine.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As if not vaccinating children wasn’t enough, now the
anti-vax dementia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/apr/06/sentencing-their-dog-to-death-how-the-anti-vax-movement-spread-to-pets?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter">has spread to pets</a>. “They are sentencing their dog to death
from one of the most shocking, horrible viruses you can imagine,” says vet Sam
Kovac. “If a disease as contagious, as horrific and with a high mortality rate
as parvovirus existed for humans, this conversation would be so different.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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There is no such thing as autism in dogs. No such thing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Is the third Monday in January the most depressing day of
the year? No. <b><a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/blue-monday-when-january-most-depressing-day-of-year-uk-a4041956.html">Blue Monday</a></b> is a MADE UP THING. This says it all: 'it's the result of a (...) formula thought up by a psychologist'. Thought up is a polite way of saying HE MADE IT ALL UP. Mental health charity Mind commented: 'We think [it] is dangerously misleading'.</div>
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There’s always someone trying to sell us something to shove
up our ladygardens. Now the <b>Goddess Vaginal Detox Pearl</b> will <a href="https://www.patheos.com/blogs/withoutacrystalball/2019/01/detox-pearl-ex-boyfriend/?fbclid=IwAR3sj-H7SN8DnSp3X1zq0PbrvqnCACSrSDG1Ixv18gxCYt3SsogXmMBPl5Q">cleanse our wombs of our past sexual partners</a>. Just shove the pearl made of herbs and
supplements up your vagina and pray away the ex’s bad energy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, all you men, there is bad energy coming
out of your manhood. You’re meant to leave it in for 24 hours. Can we all say
Toxic Shock Syndrome?<o:p></o:p></div>
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It occurred to me that there is no equivalent male product
to cleanse them of the vibes of evil ex-girlfriends. Then it occurred to me
that there is. It's called beer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Is your vagina a vegetable? No? Is it a lovely treacle
pudding? No? Then don’t steam it. <b>Vaginal steaming</b> involves sitting over
a hot water and herb mix to ‘cleanse’ it. Steaming and other treatments,
including vulva facials, are now available at some salons and spas. And yes,
Gwyneth Paltrow does recommend them. Dr Vanessa Mackay, a consultant and spokeswoman
for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (aka someone who
actually knows what she’s talking about), says it is a myth that the vagina
requires extensive cleaning or treatment. What’s more, steaming has caused serious
burns.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I was reluctant to Google <b>vulva facials</b> but on your
behalf <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/beauty-skin-care/vagina-facials#expert-weighin">I boldly went</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Not surprisingly, “I do not recommend vajacials,” advises
Dr. Millheiser, OB-GYN, professor at Stanford University Medical Center. “They
are not medically necessary and women should not feel like they need to get
them done… Most estheticians who perform vajacials are not trained in vulvar
skin… Vajacials always leave you prone to infection, including STIs”.<br />
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Never let the truth get in the way of a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-49278279">good scare headline</a>.
A study of 300,000 adolescents and parents in the UK and USA shows that only
0.4% of wellbeing in adolescents is associated with technology use.
Comparatively, eating potatoes has nearly as negative an effect, and wearing
glasses has a more negative effect on adolescent mental health than <b>screen
use</b>. And yet this story refuses to die, like a zombie of wrongness. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Is too much <b>screen time</b> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/07/too-much-screen-time-hurts-kids-where-is-evidence">bad for children</a> generally,
though? Shouldn’t they be outside bouncing a ball or skipping or throwing
stones at squirrels or whatever children did in the olden days? Endless media
reports say yes, the evidence says – ‘some research suggests that young people
who report higher social media use show slightly lower levels of wellbeing,
most of these findings are unreliable and their conclusions might amount to
little more than statistical noise … results indicated that <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2019-01-15-technology-use-explains-most-04-adolescent-wellbeing">99.6% of the variability</a> in adolescent girls’ satisfaction with life had nothing to do with
how much they used social media’. So yes, it’s just another moral panic and the
squirrels are safe. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>BUT THE INTERNET IS
EATING CHILDREN’S BRAINS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shh, now. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Of course, technology can very seriously damage your health
if you spend your time on alt med sites. An <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/14/my-patient-swapped-chemotherapy-for-essential-oils-arguing-is-a-fools-errand?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Facebook&fbclid=IwAR3AA8JhLU3KpjCPm5sDO-6qUI6QxaXXhPqa_wlv0kjTYta3W3M09DvyPS8">oncologist’s experience</a> of dealing
with patients who ditch treatment for ‘alternative’ medicine: <o:p></o:p></div>
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‘But what I have learnt in the last few years is that <b>cancer
patients in search of alternative cures</b> are more deeply entrenched than
ever in their beliefs. Thanks to the rise of social media, the ability to
filter out conflicting viewpoints and a bevy of supporters for every outrageous
idea, these people arrive convinced about their theories. Arguing with them is
a fool’s errand…. This is despite the fact that patients who solely choose
alternative therapies have a greater than twofold risk of mortality, and those
with early-stage cancers such as those of the breast and bowel face a four to
sixfold increase in mortality compared with those who have standard therapy.’<o:p></o:p></div>
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Do <b>dietary supplements and vitamins</b> boost brain
health? No they do not.</div>
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According to figures from the US, sales of so-called ‘memory
supplements’ doubled between 2006 and 2015 to $643m. More than a quarter of
adults over 50 in the US regularly take supplements in an attempt to keep their
brain in good health.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jun/29/save-your-money-no-evidence-brain-health-supplements-work-say-experts?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter">global panel of experts says</a> there is little evidence
that these supplements help healthy older people, and that they could even pose
a risk to health. “The big problem is that these things are being marketed to
people as if they have evidence,” said Linda Clare, professor of clinical
psychology of ageing and dementia at the University of Exeter.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Never mind, just skin up and chill out. <b>Cannabis</b> is
turning out to have real medicinal benefits – but also a great potential for
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/01/cannabis-medical-cannabidiol-cbd-uk-consumers?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter">exploiting the gullible</a>. Sellers in the UK are careful not to claim any
specific medical benefits for their products because of a lack of clinical
evidence. Products range from CBD water (sold in clear bottles that mean the
sensitive compound swiftly degrades), to cooking or massage oils, pills,
chewing gum, transdermal patches, pessaries (oh great, something else to shove
up there), gin, beer and lube (I hate to think…). Lab tests analysed
high-street offerings and found that more than half of the most popular CBD
oils sold do not contain the level of CBD promised on the label.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A wellness company has withdrawn a £250 IV <b>fertility drip</b>
after experts said it could "exploit vulnerable women". Get A Drip
offers therapies including the slim drip, anti-ageing drip and mood-boost drip
at places like Westfield shopping centre in London. The British Pregnancy
Advisory Service (BPAS) said there was "no evidence" its treatment
could improve fertility.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Products start at £75 for ‘basic hydration’ - using a
solution of salt, bicarbonate, potassium and calcium - and rise to £3,000 for a
three-stage skin brightening therapy, which adds the antioxidant glutathione
and a high dose of vitamin C. Katherine O'Brien, associate director of
communications and campaigns at BPAS, said the fertility drip offered an
unproven "<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48839108">quick fix at an extortionate cost</a>".<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even the<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7619805/NHS-chief-blasts-homeopathy-dangerous-blames-industry-fuelling-antivaxx-myths.html"> Daily Mail</a>
has finally got on board with both <b>vaccine promotion</b> and the <b>anti-homeopathy</b>
campaign. They quote NHS Chief Simon Stevens who ‘accuses practitioners of
spreading toxic 'misinformation' about jabs, which poses 'a significant danger
to human health'. He also wants the medical watchdog to de-list the Society of
Homeopaths from its official register of professional organisations, saying the
body's inclusion sends a message to patients that homeopathic remedies are as
safe and effective as clinically-tested medicines. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that is very probably the only time the DM
will feature in one of these round-ups in a positive light.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The latest miracle cure-all is <b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/celery-juice-will-not-work-miracles-no-matter-what-you-read-on-goop/2019/02/22/a4ddac18-348f-11e9-af5b-b51b7ff322e9_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.d3c433e56012">celery juice</a></b>. For this
we can thank the Medical Medium aka Anthony William who claims he communicates
with the Spirit of Compassion to get ‘extraordinarily accurate health
information that’s often far ahead of its time.’<o:p></o:p></div>
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He claims that celery juice reverses inflammation by
starving pathogenic bacteria and viruses, and that it provides relief from
cancer and diabetes. Also, (randomly) raspberries remove viral debris from the
bloodstream.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And yes, La Paltrow’s
website Goop is promoting him. This is not just some<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-49763144"> minor passing fad</a>. He has
more than 2 million Instagram followers and another 3.4 million on Facebook.
Although his site claims to ‘reveal truth about chronic illnesses you won't
hear anywhere else’ it also says none of the information he provides should be
considered ‘a promise of benefits, a claim of cures, a legal warranty or a
guarantee of results to be achieved.’ The Spirit of Compassion clearly has a
good spirit lawyer making sure it never says anything it could get sued for.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you’re bored with your current diet, try the <b><a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/more-lifestyle/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-werewolf-diet-loved-by-madonna-demi-moore/story-NpHvQvwjEmQRq4pjtwJmPK.html">werewolf diet</a></b>. Famous people do it so it must be good. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<b>ETA: A late entrant in the skeptic Parade of Shame. </b>The steaming pile of dangerous bollix and supplement ads preying on the vulnerable and desperate that is the magazine What Doctors Don't Tell You has rebranded as Get Well. Its current front page is touting a <b>cure for autism</b> involving dietary change, a mercury detox and cranosacral therapy to balance the bones of the head. More red flags there than a communist rally. The National Autistic Society has commented that the claims are 'deeply irresponsible'.<br />
<br />
The magazine is on sale in many supermarkets. If it's in yours, let them know how much harm it does - preferably on Twitter as they hate being publicly shamed. If they say it's 'customer choice' ask when they'll start stocking guns.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg32ieKQ5PolpQy8NXWLdXGLS7F1mOAqLnEjkrkX0oQlrCktwrysmOJOwthd8TvcZpaWId7fe-Q0nz5wdx8NDg8A5s_j4C6r-NtHFCTV-RRQv8jjbNoC5vVz-kVN1An9D4Z0j6W7Mcfa_rd/s1600/fox+geese.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="700" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg32ieKQ5PolpQy8NXWLdXGLS7F1mOAqLnEjkrkX0oQlrCktwrysmOJOwthd8TvcZpaWId7fe-Q0nz5wdx8NDg8A5s_j4C6r-NtHFCTV-RRQv8jjbNoC5vVz-kVN1An9D4Z0j6W7Mcfa_rd/s320/fox+geese.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>GENERAL NONSENSE<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Uri Geller</b> said he would <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/22/uri-geller-promises-to-stop-brexit-using-telepathy?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other&fbclid=IwAR1-JK3y9aZ6j5jObFQ5M1vSDZjeQxLtVPnmhWOwfYVKzw3pWBqa5jDa-xo">stop Brexit</a> using the power
of his mind over Theresa May. I wrote this first in March and now here we are
in December and still no result. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But he has <a href="https://www.thenational.scot/news/18104809.tv-psychic-uri-geller-claims-responsibility-general-election-result/">now claimed</a> that he gave Boris a magic spoon that
helped him win the election so it would seem he has switched sides on Brexit.
Just when I was about to start taking him seriously …<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
In April he claimed on Twitter that he caused the <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/illusionist-uri-geller-claims-responsibility-for-telepathically-bursting-commons-pipes-a4109821.html">burst pipes in the House of Commons</a> that closed it down for the day: ‘Yes I did it
@HouseofCommons! I bent the pipes, and I won't apologise, you all deserve it!’.
So he’s confessing to vandalism and criminal damage, then?<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://bit.ly/2UIjFJ8">Some research ‘finds’</a> that <b>psychopaths</b> like black
coffee and other bitter tastes. What is this fascination with telling people
they may be a psychopath? Or with telling everyone that you are? It could be
quite a handy way for signposting if someone you’ve just met is a twat though.
The police are hardly going to be rubbing their hands at this brilliant new way
of solving crimes. Forcing suspects to drink black coffee or eat a radish isn’t
going to make it into the training manuals any time soon.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Can regular <b>oral sex help prevent miscarriage</b> by <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8783211/women-oral-sex-may-lower-risk-miscarriage-experts/">boosting the immune system</a>? According to research, ‘questionnaire results
showed that the women who hadn't lost any pregnancies were performing more oral
sex on their partners than average’. Correlation, as all good little skeptics
know, does not equal causation. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The media of course love stories about sex, especially when
they can use pictures of women on their knees servicing a man.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyone who has had a miscarriage can do without this cruel nonsense and all
women can do without being told that their health and happiness depend on cocks.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s an excellent and thorough<a href="https://www.wrisk.org/uncategorized/does-oral-sex-prevent-miscarriage/"> takedown of the ‘research’</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you speak Italian, why not pop over to Rome and learn how
to <a href="https://www.christianpost.com/news/rome-opens-up-exorcism-course-to-all-major-christian-faiths-to-fight-rising-demonic-forces-231113">become an exorcist</a>? The Catholic Church has opened its <b>exorcism course</b>
up to all denominations. “Many young people display a certain attraction and
interest toward themes tied to esotericism, magic, the occult, Satanism,
witchcraft, vampirism and contact with a presumed supernatural world”
apparently. Although if it’s just a ‘presumed’ supernatural world rather than a
‘real’ one, what’s the fuss about? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Does practice make perfect? Malcolm Gladwell became a
cheerleader for the idea that it takes <b>10,000 hours </b>of practice to
become brilliant at something but <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/10-000-hours-theory-debunked-practice-doesnt-make-perfect-after-all-qwqsh6bgg?shareToken=687f38df7da54d57397ef89e7c687a48">research has now proved this wrong</a> because
researchers ‘used unusual methods that inflated their chances of finding
results deemed statistically significant’.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
‘The deliberate practice view and the 10,000-hours rule fall
prey to the single-cause fallacy: trying to explain complex human behaviour
with a single source. Human skill is complex, and a number of factors, both
environmental and genetic, and their interactions, contribute to explaining
differences across individuals.’<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are two morals to this story, Firstly, that Gladwell
got it wrong. Secondly, the man who came up with the 10,000 hour idea in the
first place explained why Gladwell had got the wrong end of the stick back in
2012. From which we learn that so-called revolutionary, breakthrough research
may not be. People have short memories. At best, this <a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20121114-gladwells-10000-hour-rule-myth">new research confirms</a> and
adds to what we already knew.<span class="MsoHyperlink"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A hidden door sealed shut behind a fake wall in <b>Nottingham's
most haunted building</b> was opened to reveal a<a href="https://www.nottinghampost.com/whats-on/whats-on-news/nottinghams-most-haunted-building-finally-3219014?fbclid=IwAR2SzJVBtKlxJxWXek8swFrM1-6sVc05sl5ZEWFIiYgRg6GtjlsxjEuYWEs"> five-pointed pentagram star</a> made from charcoal, a grubby old teddy bear and a collection of white candles
burnt to their stubs. "Since we've opened it, a few people have complained
of having headaches. My daughter, who never gets headaches, got a really bad
pressure behind her eyes," says Marie, who isn't bothered by skeptics or
non-believers, according to the article. Good for her. Hail Satan.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For an excellent skeptical look at popular myths about
history, you can’t get better than the <b>Going Mediaeval </b>blog. Lazy
journos and others get taken to task with wit, swearing and great accuracy.
So-called <a href="https://going-medieval.com/2017/07/25/on-the-concept-of-the-renaissance-and-outkasts-hey-ya/">Renaissance art</a>?There’s no such thing as the <a href="https://going-medieval.com/?s=dark+ages">Dark Ages</a>? <a href="https://going-medieval.com/2017/08/18/emergency-pubcast-fuck-yeah-genghis-khan/">Ghengis Khan</a>? Plus lots of sex. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In other<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-50002085"> news from the Middle Ages</a>, <b>Cardinal Newman</b>
has been made a saint. His two miracles were: ‘In 2000, Jack Sullivan, from
Boston, Massachusetts, had just completed the second year of a four-year course
to become a deacon when he was struck by crippling back pain. "I certainly
needed a divine favour at that moment, so I prayed: 'Please Cardinal Newman help
me to walk so that I can return to classes and be ordained'," said Mr
Sullivan. When he woke the next morning, the pain had gone, allowing him to
complete his third year of classes before the pain returned, on the final day
of the academic year.’<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
…and <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
‘In May 2013, expectant mother Melissa Villalobos was
suffering from unstoppable internal bleeding that threatened the life of her
child in the womb, according to the Birmingham Oratory. "In prayer she
directly and explicitly invoked Newman's intercession to stop the
bleeding," it said. "The miraculous healing was immediate, complete,
and permanent."<br />
<br />
I thought the Vatican was more cautious about declaring medical miracles now
that it’s so easy to debunk the claims, especially anything relating to back pain.
Who hasn’t had a bad back that clicked in for a while and then starting hurting
again? But then, God does move in mysterious ways which apparently include just
suspending pain rather than curing it – which seems a bit mean.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Further proof that <b>psychics</b> are bad for your health.
A paranormal psychic blogger from Doncaster has been <a href="https://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/news/crime/paranormal-psychic-fined-after-hosting-online-sessions-while-driving-1341291">fined for careless driving</a>
after he was caught hosting online sessions while driving.
Maybe his spirit guide had both hands on the wheel.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s a <b>ghost</b> that <a href="https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/incredibly-rare-ghost-slug-found-3656103">turned up in Exeter</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
For a monthly vaccination against nonsense,<a href="http://london.skepticsinthepub.org/"> London Skeptics in the Pub</a> has been running for twenty years. The original and the best. Join
us.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-36129096161504583002019-12-05T11:01:00.000+00:002019-12-05T13:04:11.546+00:00Context Is Everything<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXjke6fMP6K_ocRt3c1c_JFdwAWq4fr9o4lGY_nVI_XakgLQYdsXOUn6iPxZ_QoMYuI5KUwOkRT12yc64zC7kN79poXQCbhdpkj-9kNB1QPf6ms1RFZCmBdBei35VDZyo-utuh1AWs0NeZ/s1600/road+death+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="956" data-original-width="1300" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXjke6fMP6K_ocRt3c1c_JFdwAWq4fr9o4lGY_nVI_XakgLQYdsXOUn6iPxZ_QoMYuI5KUwOkRT12yc64zC7kN79poXQCbhdpkj-9kNB1QPf6ms1RFZCmBdBei35VDZyo-utuh1AWs0NeZ/s320/road+death+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was one of those <i>Hang on a minute</i> moments.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Action for Safety sounds like a good idea, using celebrities
to promote safer driving. The poster campaign features slogans about not
driving while tired, looking out for pedestrians and so on. Celebrities include
sports people and minor European royals.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The posters all state prominently that 3,500 people will die
on the roads today. That’s 1,277,500 a year.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That seemed like a lot so I looked it up. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to the<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reported-road-casualties-in-great-britain-provisional-estimates-year-ending-june-2018"> latest government figures</a> for the year
ending June 2018, around 1770 people died on UK roads, about 4.85 a day. That’s
quite a lot fewer. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who is behind this campaign?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The organisation behind it is FIA (Fédération Internationale
de l'Automobile), whose mission is ‘to bring coherent governance and safety to
motor sport’. They also aim to ‘ensure that safe, affordable and clean systems
of transport are available to all. The promotion of safe and sustainable forms
of mobility has in turn led the FIA to commit to global sustainability
initiatives and also to found its own major response to road safety concerns,
FIA Action for Road Safety. This worldwide campaign, in support of the UN’s
Decade of Action for Road Safety, aims to reduce fatalities on the roads by
five million before 2020.’<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All very honourable aims. But where do the stats come from?
According to <a href="https://www.fia.com/files/rsfactsheetengpdf">their fact sheet </a>‘Road crashes kill 1.3 million people every year’.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The source of this statistic is the World Health
Organisation. <a href="https://www.who.int/gho/road_safety/mortality/en/">Their site says</a> that 1.25 million are estimated to have died in
2013 globally in road deaths.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
So the FIA stats are not that far off. But the posters are
very misleading, nowhere on them does it says these are global figures. They
may be going for shock tactics to make people drive more carefully but is this
a legitimate tactic? Is it ethical to be so misleading? It’s certainly
unprofessional and amateurish.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If that was the UK figure it would be truly shocking but on
a global scale is that significant? How does it compare with other causes of
death?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to the WHO, road injuries came eighth on the <a href="https://www.who.int/gho/mortality_burden_disease/en/#:~:targetText=Mortality%20and%20global%20health%20estimates,increasing%20numbers%20of%20deaths%20worldwide.">list of global killers</a> in 2016, lagging a long way behind heart disease and stroke. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Three quarters of victims were men and boys, which would
explain the prevalence of footballers and racing drivers on the posters as
these are traditionally assumed to be male heroes and role models (but doesn’t
explain why a princess of Monaco features…).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate">distribution of deaths</a> isn’t even globally either; some
countries have much higher per capita rates than others. The worse death rates
are in several African countries and Thailand. The UK has one of the lowest
rates (and falling) while Monaco has the lowest of all (which might explain the
princess on the poster).<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
That still makes them a pretty serious cause of death and a
worthy campaign subject. But making the stats relevant for each country would
make the campaign more relevant. Nearly five people a day every day is still too many.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The last part of the stated mission is 'This worldwide campaign, in support of the UN’s Decade of Action for Road Safety, aims to reduce fatalities on the roads by five million before 2020'. That's half a million out of 1.3 million a year for the decade of the campaign. Is that realistic in any way?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Although this is just a small example, it’s a useful skeptical
reminder that without context statistics are meaningless. If even the good guys
are misusing stats then it’s even harder to know who to trust, who to take seriously
and who to dismiss. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So yes, drive carefully and soberly and wide awake but keep
the same attitude towards any stats you encounter along the way.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv_eAFfg1wbj9rHoNLojdWybFQDLYIIgg157xqHpn7kphM0TR3Fpq-Gbmr87JlwAyp_sJFhqUvxBPmEvyTgRKW9fq7JvhQRS181O1MJIiDC58WKeBR6TyrqOnhnHmkkO-mocK1kxcAJ5pH/s1600/road+death+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv_eAFfg1wbj9rHoNLojdWybFQDLYIIgg157xqHpn7kphM0TR3Fpq-Gbmr87JlwAyp_sJFhqUvxBPmEvyTgRKW9fq7JvhQRS181O1MJIiDC58WKeBR6TyrqOnhnHmkkO-mocK1kxcAJ5pH/s320/road+death+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-56778393400522753292019-11-13T12:26:00.000+00:002019-11-14T12:45:14.481+00:00Modest Fashion - Don’t judge me in your Sister Wife dress.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQ_4NSqMDWCXjzZRdTGttyKNu7VqSM_pq3lKUv8aFhUN6bz4LjrEa8Scjz_f1ZUTl9hAMSF5gv3ncoVEoItg0arsHE_CR2xA8JXhwc3Tw2rCWXWHTFhW1VBelDiinudwypzIW2px9scML/s1600/modesty+fashion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="936" data-original-width="624" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQ_4NSqMDWCXjzZRdTGttyKNu7VqSM_pq3lKUv8aFhUN6bz4LjrEa8Scjz_f1ZUTl9hAMSF5gv3ncoVEoItg0arsHE_CR2xA8JXhwc3Tw2rCWXWHTFhW1VBelDiinudwypzIW2px9scML/s320/modesty+fashion.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First off, women should be able to wear whatever they want
without male input or consequences.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-50067975">So-called ‘modest fashion’</a> is not just a trend.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s a style that’s been around a little while that went
viral over the summer with the Zara dress pictured above. My first thought when
I saw it was that it looked pretty Amish but that’s just me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One influencer says ‘"I feel like women are now
dressing not to be sexy for men”. She’s being very optimistic/naive and also
talking as if there is no history of women’s fashion.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What man would say this?: "I feel confident and most
importantly comfortable. I know no matter how much I eat you'll never be able
to see my food baby." Why would you want to hide a full belly? Who are you
hiding it from? Men? – but women aren’t dressing for men now, I thought. Other
women? Yay sisterhood. Not.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back to the fashion history thing. A woman who runs a
fashion agency dedicated to modest fashion says: "If we go back to Britain
in about the 1950s modest fashion was the norm. Everyone had longer hem lines
and long sleeves”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nope. Fashion in the 1950s was about post-war austerity and
came from a long tradition of women wearing longer skirts. It didn’t come out
of nowhere. Mediaeval women were not prancing around in mini skirts and I don’t
recall any Victorian boob tubes. The word ‘modest’ was not part of clothing vocabulary
and fashion had strong elements of class and status signalling. There were
plenty of sleeveless evening or summer dresses in the 1950s. Don’t just show
someone wearing autumn/winter styles and extrapolate from that. Remember the
iconic photo of Marilyn Monroe’s white dress blowing up over an air vent? That’s
from 1955. Which is in the 50s.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
What’s more, 50s underwear was uncomfortable and
constricting, designed (by men) to create an hourglass figure (for men). See Marilyn,
Jane Russell etc.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>A quick debunk sidebar:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Hemline Index suggests that when times are stable,
hemlines get shorter (for example the 1960s) and when times are uncertain, they
get longer (for example the 1970s) and there are more ‘comfort’ clothes. These
are pretty uncertain times so it would follow that hemlines get longer – wouldn’t
it? This may have been true in the past but fashion changes so fast now and is much
more varied and accessible than it used to be so it’s much less of a reliable
indicator. There is no one Look of the season. But it is true that when times
are hard, we like to be comfortable and comforted. Sometimes. And other times
we want to go out partying in something shiny and skimpy. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s not as if ‘non-modest’ clothes are uncomfortable and hard to move in, we’re
not wearing corsets and crinolines. This is not some 1920s clothing revolution
where women cast off the shackles of foundation garment hell. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s no mention of these larger clothes being better for
larger women, that it’s a recognition of their needs. Nope. It’s skinny girls
looking like they’re wearing big granny’s frocks.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is an element of the <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/the-multibillion-dollar-modest-fashion-industry-thats-gone-global">fashion industry finally recognising</a> that Muslim women have money and mainstreaming styles to cash in
(the media is of course calling them Generation M). ASOS, H&M and M&S among others now sell ‘modest’ ranges.
John Lewis says sales of midi dresses went up by 152% this year.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fine, Muslim women who want to cover up now find it easier
to shop and other women can get excited on social media about a new fashion
trend without boring people like me raising the spectre of Cultural Appropriation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the language of ‘modesty’ and ‘hiding’ being parroted by
non-Muslim women raises red flags of body shaming, fear of the male gaze and
the implication that anyone not dressing like this is immodest and will face
consequences. Yes, once again it’s women’s responsibility to cover themselves because
men can’t be expected to control their urges and shouldn’t be distracted from doing
important man things. While wearing whatever the hell they like. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The woman who said that women are no longer dressing to be
sexy for men should remember that fashions come and go really quickly. Muslim
women may continue to dress in a more covered way but the fashion world will
count the money and move on - and the charity shops will be full of big shapeless
clothes that no one wants any more. Women will still feel bad about their
bodies and struggle with men’s behaviour. Freedom and comfort come from equal rights and equal treatment in a fair society. What's the dress to wear to get that?<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Oh no, she’s gone all feminist-socialist over a bit of
fashion. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_nmPt5EGSQ">Here’s something</a> from the modest 1950s to take the taste away.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<br />TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-71637460179666218762019-10-02T16:28:00.000+01:002019-10-02T16:36:10.529+01:00Don't Do That, Old Man<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1MXuXah0YJ6wjYc4cHZYztxNsS1GTP-5bBkEn62-z-MNC-A18ovVhH4_J2bn6yGAucmpOJLyH1vWgEokyCEDW57FY1lNh7StitODQ7lElWxTfxKzXmmVdN7I9h1u-qHgcGN24nJtjGwUX/s1600/grenfell+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1MXuXah0YJ6wjYc4cHZYztxNsS1GTP-5bBkEn62-z-MNC-A18ovVhH4_J2bn6yGAucmpOJLyH1vWgEokyCEDW57FY1lNh7StitODQ7lElWxTfxKzXmmVdN7I9h1u-qHgcGN24nJtjGwUX/s1600/grenfell+2.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is what happened to me this afternoon:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Old Man in supermarket: You're a big girl. Tall girl.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Me: Don't be rude. Fuck off. Don't do that. Would you say
that to a man?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Old Man: No because he'd knock me down.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Me: Then why say it to a woman?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Old Man: You're a bitch woman. A bitch and a slag.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(I walk away as it is - for some reason - unacceptable to
punch old men.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s the third time in a week an old man has accosted a
woman about her appearance that I’ve experienced. The first time was an old man
in a hospital outpatients department. She was a nurse, her job is to care for people
so she had to put up with "You’re an attractive women. You’re a very attractive
woman" and on and on.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The other time, a young woman came out of the Tube as I was
walking by, stopped for just a moment to sort out her phone and an old man appeared
as if out of nowhere “Are you a model? You look like a model” and so on (she
didn’t, she was way too short). Was he lurking, waiting for a woman, any woman, or did he just see her and jump in?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Is it supposed to be cute that old men do this? Is it
supposed to be a sign that there’s life in the old dog yet? Should we be
flattered that someone old enough to be our dad or grandad wants to fuck us –
because, let’s face it – that’s what men accosting women in the street really
mean even if they’re too old to remember the last time and they have not one
single viable sperm left.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Often when I get comments I just ignore them. Yes, I am very
tall but I still wouldn’t feel safe challenging a man unless there were plenty
of people around me, unless I thought I could run faster than him or unless he
was really old and feeble. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just because
women don’t say anything doesn’t mean we like it, it just means we know it’s
safer to walk away.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Do really old men suddenly get it in their heads to start
talking to women about their bodies or have they been doing it all their lives –
or at least wanting to and now think they can get away with it? This kind of
male privilege and intrusive, abusive behaviour doesn’t come in the post with
the pension book and bus pass.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I tweeted about the woman outside the Tube and some man replied
that it was ‘just biology’ as if humans in general and men in particular are
just a bundle of instincts that we can’t be expected to control, as if we have
no choice at all. A bunch of women then piled on and he soon
shut up. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, these were three very small incidents but they happened
in quick succession, they happen all the time. In some ways it’s no easier
seeing it happen to someone else because you know your turn is coming.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So. Don’t. Just don’t. Not even if you're young. Not at any age. Do not talk about my body even if you
think height is a neutral, non-sexual thing to talk about. It isn’t. Show some
respect and listen to what we tell you. And what we tell you is: don’t.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-62637344360026814592018-12-17T14:18:00.000+00:002018-12-18T14:55:28.960+00:00NONSENSE ON STILTS 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD-ljN5LicfRBkjEJqhmkniU8yMHMCC1oERQR45WpswZhN-rHC7mkjSpjZyir4VNjhTedZ-hFot5Y56dnk9r2BlWOOmpxKsWQZ0G5aqcii8dIu9BY-KW38ey97tjatddYsh158xYisVYfB/s1600/dragon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="1329" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD-ljN5LicfRBkjEJqhmkniU8yMHMCC1oERQR45WpswZhN-rHC7mkjSpjZyir4VNjhTedZ-hFot5Y56dnk9r2BlWOOmpxKsWQZ0G5aqcii8dIu9BY-KW38ey97tjatddYsh158xYisVYfB/s320/dragon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here we go again, then. The annual round-up of the good, the
bad and the ugly in healthcare, nutrition and general daftness.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let’s start with some good news: this is a <a href="https://twitter.com/SLSingh/status/1027563331652149248">great thread by Simon Singh</a> on Skeptic successes in the past few years. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>HEALTH</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Following a consultation, the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/763303/CAM_Outcome_report.pdf">Charity Commission has decided</a>
that charities must support their alternative medicine claims with good
scientific evidence.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
In other good news, <a href="http://www.nationalhealthexecutive.com/Health-Care-News/homeopathy-no-longer-available-in-nhs-as-last-ccg-ends-funding">homeopathy is no longer</a> publicly funded
on the NHS – and about bloody time too - but of course they won’t go down without a fight: homeopaths
are going to <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/homeopaths-take-nhs-to-court-over-ban-on-treatments-qsfx3qfzg?shareToken=aece423eae30731e7d671a313ba68334">take the NHS to court</a>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/homeopathic-vet-march-royal-college-veterinary-surgeons-london-641596#B55KDcawhQkjLqcR.99">Homeopathic vets</a> also had a hissy fit because the RCVS
demands its members use evidence-based treatments. Because science doesn’t know
everything, right? Even though vets are scientists. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cancer patients using alt med rather than conventional
treatments have <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2017/alternative-medicine-cancer-survival">a worse survival rate</a>. And it’s not just people self-treating; <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/homeopathy-more-likely-to-be-used-by-bad-doctors-2z8ngk5lt">research finds that</a> ‘Doctors who are attracted to homeopathy
despite a lack of evidence may be generally less good at keeping up to date on
treatment guidelines and safety alerts or be less willing to work with
colleagues to improve. Doctors who offer it to patients tend to do worst on scores
for effective use of conventional medicines.'</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/jan/24/mixing-herbal-remedies-and-conventional-drugs-could-be-harmful?CMP=twt_a-science_b-gdnscience">Mixing alt med with real meds</a> is like running an
unsupervised and potentially deadly experiment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Natural does not equal better. Or safe. Look at what happened to that
great self-doser Dr Jekyll.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Twenty years on, the legacy of the MMR vaccine and autism scare lies
continues to take its toll across Europe. Cases of measles have<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-45246049"> hit a record high</a>, according to the
World Health Organization. Experts blame the surge in infections on a drop in
the number of people being vaccinated. Although, inevitably, it’s a <a href="https://theconversation.com/anti-vaxxer-effect-on-vaccination-rates-is-exaggerated-92630?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=twitterbutton">bit morecomplicated than tha</a>t.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There has been <a href="https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/anti-vaccine-sentiment-associated-with-belief-in-conspiracy-theories/">some interesting research</a> on how anti-vax
attitudes correlate with belief in conspiracy theories and how this may affect
pro-vax campaigns. It’s not surprising that there would be cross-overs as the
same mindset is transferrable from one false belief to another. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7Lego8LnrlFbWWlTnrYB2z6mlbxoqnyvQrWOpbmFcFiISJ3HPAKw4yS6yaXBna_TXFXLwkdB1WBvmfFTmE2uRhpJsUdJNzcfipk_xZvLVC3M5UnDthmq45BjM3lfY5r7QS6Jb3mcWC16/s1600/bees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="736" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7Lego8LnrlFbWWlTnrYB2z6mlbxoqnyvQrWOpbmFcFiISJ3HPAKw4yS6yaXBna_TXFXLwkdB1WBvmfFTmE2uRhpJsUdJNzcfipk_xZvLVC3M5UnDthmq45BjM3lfY5r7QS6Jb3mcWC16/s320/bees.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It wouldn’t be a Skeptic Round-up without some mention of La
Paltrow. Don’t put <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/09/gwyneth-paltrow-goop-coffee-enema-colonic-irrigation">coffee up your bum</a> even if she tells you to. And don’t use <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/woman-dies-acupuncture-therapy-live-bee-stings-needles-spain-investigation-jiaci-stress-a8264886.html?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter">live bee stings</a> either, even if she says ‘I’m open to anything. I’ve been stung by
bees. It’s actually pretty incredible if you research it.’ Probably not so
incredible for the bees, though.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/entertainment-arts-45794662/gwyneth-paltrow-on-goop-we-disagree-with-pseudoscience-claims">Paltrow says</a> anyone who challenges the healing powers of her
'wellness' products is against the empowerment of women. As if that passive
aggressive act would shut down all debate. Lucky for us, her main challenger is
a woman. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wonderful Dr Jen Gunter attended the GOOP conference and
<a href="https://drjengunter.wordpress.com/2018/10/13/i-reviewed-all-161-of-goops-wellness-products-for-pseudoscience-heres-what-i-found/">reported from the frontline</a> of 'wellness' where she found that the Goop store is “90%
quackatorium, and there was no evidence supporting Gwyneth Paltrow’s claim that
Goop does not engage in pseudoscience as a commercial venture."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/sep/05/gwyneth-paltrow-goop-to-pay-out-over-unproven-health-benefits-of-vaginal-eggs">There is some good news</a>. Goop has agreed to pay a
substantial settlement over unproven claims about the health benefits of its infamous
vaginal eggs. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘Under the settlement Goop
is banned from making any claims regarding the efficacy of its products without
reliable scientific evidence.’<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Enough about her.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Plain packaging doesn’t decrease the number of smokers –
<a href="http://the-tma.org.uk/2018/05/14/plain-packaging-failing-one-year-after-full-introduction/">quite the opposite</a>. It’s also failed in France and Australia. It certainly
wouldn’t have deterred me when I smoked. The intention may be to deter new smokers (children) but it's impossible to determine accurately whether any one factor has an influence on either current or potential smokers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/homeopathy-fan-thinks-rabid-dog-saliva-can-cure-boys-bad-behaviour-2018-4?r=US&IR=T">A naturopath treated a child</a> with rabid dog saliva to cure
behavioural problems, claiming he was in a ‘dog state’. She claimed that
"The dog that bit him may have recently been vaccinated with the rabies
vaccine or the dog bite in and of itself may have affected the boy with the
rabies miasm … Either is possible and the phenomenon is well-known in
homeopathy. A bite from an animal, with or without rabies vaccination has the
potential to imprint an altered state in the person who was bitten, in some
ways similar to a rabies infection."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A miasm is a homeopathic term for ‘the ghost of the disease
state still rampant in the energy system.’ <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The non-homeopathic definition of the word is
‘noxious exhalations from putrescent organic matter; poisonous effluvia or
germs polluting the atmosphere’. Pretty much sums it up. Just as well it wasn’t
a werewolf that bit him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another naturopath is <a href="https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/for-peats-sake-naturopath-promotes-peat-bras-and-tampons/">promoting peat tampons</a>. Just don’t go
there. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxnkFLg-d0JePUzrAxQsVn4i0GGDbbYBIvEkBw5TBRdySjgXWG7bx0iyhvH2Pzup-LSxDi1GKzAaPa0AmL8wt-g06gNaDkpOaKdjEC9vsmRKA4xBuoO3211TXtFTfWUgMu1MmoGZS9qi3P/s1600/quack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="768" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxnkFLg-d0JePUzrAxQsVn4i0GGDbbYBIvEkBw5TBRdySjgXWG7bx0iyhvH2Pzup-LSxDi1GKzAaPa0AmL8wt-g06gNaDkpOaKdjEC9vsmRKA4xBuoO3211TXtFTfWUgMu1MmoGZS9qi3P/s320/quack.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>DIET</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/weight-management-bracelet-1">Weight loss magnets</a> – at last, what we’ve all been waiting
for! Oh, wait a minute … <a href="https://tessera2009.blogspot.com/2009/09/magic-magnets.html">This is why</a> magnets don’t work like that.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Taking fish oil supplements for a healthy heart is nonsense
says <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-44845879">a Cochrane report</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Is <a href="http://behavioralscientist.org/no-sugar-isnt-new-heroin/">sugar the new heroin</a>? Normally everything ‘bad’ is
compared with smoking these days. And ‘bad’ has become shorthand for ‘I
disapprove of…’ Sugar is not addictive. Repeat. Sugar is not addictive.
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/sugar-addiction_uk_5a293b10e4b006a26fb3d09f">Sugar is not addictive</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The truth about Public Health England’s <a href="https://velvetgloveironfist.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/sugar-reduction-year-one.html">sugar reduction scheme</a>: ‘The idea is to reduce sugar content in most foods by 20 per
cent by 2020. The first target was a five per cent reduction by 2017 but this
has not happened. It was never likely to happen. Instead, there has been a two
per cent reduction across the eight categories that PHE is most interested in… Food
companies need little incentive to shrink their products while keeping the
price the same (Nestlé and Mars were frantically shrinking their products
before the sugar reduction plan officially began - and before Brexit). But the
government is now encouraging them to do it. Indeed, it is effectively
compelling them to do it because that is the only realistic way of cutting
sugar content in chocolate, confectionery and biscuits, which are the main
sources of sugar.’</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In some cases, the sugar content has gone down but overall
calories have gone up. If you take the sugar out you have
to put something in so that the product doesn’t taste like cardboard smeared in
brown fat.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And <a href="https://velvetgloveironfist.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/we-were-unable-to-find-evidence-that.html">other research states</a> "We were unable to find
evidence that any sugar tax actually implemented anywhere in the world has led
to improvements in health." Sorry, Jamie Oliver. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Water has become a big fad this year. There has been a new
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/29/dining/raw-water-unfiltered.html?_r=0">raw water craze</a>. Mmm yummy poo and germs and bits of twig and insects and
insect poo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Need a mental boost? Try <a href="https://rosemarywater.com/">rosemary water</a>. Only £4 a bottle.
Check out the science section: ‘The herb features in Greek mythology, the New
Testament, and Shakespearean drama’. Yes, it did say science. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Or there’s <a href="http://thealkalinewaterco.com/products/alkaline88/">alkaline water</a> that has been treated to have a
higher pH level than the usual 6.5-7.5. The makers say it provides “better
hydration” and is “designed to obtain optimum body balance” because it “uses specialized
electronic cells coated with a variety of rare earth minerals to produce
scientifically engineered water”. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/oct/29/alkaline-water-cure-bs-science-beyonce-tom-brady?CMP=twt_a-science_b-gdnscience">Science says:</a> “Your body regulates its [blood] pH in a very
narrow range because all our enzymes are designed to work at pH 7.4. If our pH
varied too much we wouldn’t survive… you’re literally just flushing money down
the drain”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0uqAyQcdgvYaZeKeiQ8ysdtSkPYWVzE3vUQS0AWKl0TXaokiw-lhmi7vD8zbpacU8Z_Ol-e0aRpHlC0z7LGZQcJS3gi793Yw6PEWvEJwcXD1nf2TLZFXKf-Vz93iDtpR6bZVfFI1k4Yw-/s1600/exorcism3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="529" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0uqAyQcdgvYaZeKeiQ8ysdtSkPYWVzE3vUQS0AWKl0TXaokiw-lhmi7vD8zbpacU8Z_Ol-e0aRpHlC0z7LGZQcJS3gi793Yw6PEWvEJwcXD1nf2TLZFXKf-Vz93iDtpR6bZVfFI1k4Yw-/s320/exorcism3.png" width="289" /></a></div>
<div>
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<b>GENERAL NONSENSE</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A sceptical look at the long history of <a href="https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/meet-yourself">Personality Testing</a>
– including the bunk that is Myers-Briggs which is basically corporate
astrology. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Exorcism is on the rise. These truly are the Dark Ages.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/11/exorcist-priest-catholic-church-vexation">A Mexican priest claims</a>: ‘The vast majority of people who
see him have normal problems or mental illnesses, and he says he has sent
people to seek psychiatric help. But he says 2-3% show signs of demonic
“vexation” … His subjects, he says, have problems that cannot be explained in
normal medical terms. One, who he believes may have been cursed by her
mother-in-law, feels an almost constant sensation of daggers entering her legs,
knitting needles in her arms, and a clenched hand at her chin. Another was so
obsessed by self-gratification that he masturbated 40 times a day. “Normally
speaking it is humanly impossible … so that is a satanic thing”.’<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I do like the term ‘vexation’ and will attempt to use it in
general conversation. How does the woman know what daggers entering her legs
actually feel like, or knitting needles in her arms? As a knitter, I can say
that it would be bloody hard to stab with a knitting needle,
they’re just not sharp enough. I’d use an embroidery needle.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s not just Mexico where exorcism is on the rise. A top
Irish exorcist<a href="https://www.irishcatholic.com/combat-surge-evil-top-exorcist/"> called for more exorcists </a>because ‘there has been increasing
evidence of the malicious activity of the evil one’. Pope Francis gave formal
recognition to the International Association of Exorcists in 2014. According to
Fr Collins, ‘it’s only in recent years that the demand has risen exponentially’
and he blames ‘a growing apostasy within the Church’. Scare tactics, then. Come back to Church or the Evil One will get you.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The ‘malicious activities of the evil one’ has a great ring
to it. I shall be using it to refer to anyone I don’t like in future.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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According to vets, the government is being very economical
with the truth about the efficacy of badger culling: “<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46150548">Badger culling has not worked</a>. They are issuing barefaced lies in this matter." The former head
of DEFRA’s wildlife epidemiology unit who advised the department on its TB
strategy for more than 40 years says: "Defra has been cherry-picking the
science since they started culling. The fact that they are rolling it out on
such a vast scale is a travesty of the available science." <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/23/indian-education-minister-dismisses-theory-of-evolution-satyapal-singh?CMP=twt_a-science_b-gdnscience"> Indian education minister says</a> evolution is
‘scientifically wrong’ because no one has ever seen an ape turn into a man. He
seems to be confusing science with shape-shifting. I have however seen a man
turn into an ape on several occasions. Generally after the application of
alcohol. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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This debunks the myth that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/14/why-do-women-talk-so-much-google-autocomplete?CMP=twt_a-science_b-gdnscience">women talk more than men</a>. Men of
course have much more important things to say. At great length. Even when we’re
the expert in the subject and they just read an article by Jordan Peterson and
shut up or I’ll send you death threats on social media for daring to mention
this. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The ‘psychology’ of the <a href="https://amp.theguardian.com/science/head-quarters/2018/may/01/sajid-javid-and-the-strange-science-behind-power-poses">power stance</a> has also been debunked.
Politicians should keep on doing it. So much of what comes out of their mouths
is inane/terrifying/depressing that they might as well give us a laugh.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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So-called ‘healing crystals’ often come from ethically and
environmentally<a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/148190/know-healing-crystals-come-from"> dubious sources</a>. So they’re not just pretty shiny things.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/register/koko-the-signing-gorilla-is-just-california-dreaming-0lzc0kg0s">Koko the gorilla’s</a> language skills were not at all as we’d
been lead to believe, more a mixture of wishful thinking and ignorance about
how language actually works. Damn it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Who doesn’t love a chatty gorilla with a pet kitten?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/theres-no-evidence-that-tech-is-as-addictive-as-cocaine-2018-7?r=US&IR=T"> no evidence that tech</a> is as ‘addictive as cocaine’. Nor are cupcakes, ice cream, power, carbs, World of Warcraft,
sugar <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/tomphillips/cocaine-heroin-and-high-fructose-corn-syrup?utm_term=.yf7Zb9beW#.ntBD8w8lk">etc etc</a>. Claims are often based on a misunderstanding of what
addiction is and an oversimplified description of what the brain chemical
dopamine does, according to clinical psychologist Vaughan Bell.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hunt’s screen time limits for kids is yet more <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/head-quarters/2018/apr/23/why-hunts-screen-time-limits-for-kids-are-scientific-nonsense?CMP=twt_a-science_b-gdnscience">evidence free policy</a>, yet another moral panic: ‘the recognition of so-called gaming disorder
by the World Health Organisation is premature.’.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/jun/21/screen-time-harm-to-children-is-unproven-say-experts?CMP=twt_a-science_b-gdnscience">Andy Przybylski</a>, associate professor and director of
research at the Oxford Internet Institute <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/head-quarters/2018/aug/09/three-problems-with-the-debate-around-screen-time?CMP=twt_a-science_b-gdnscience">said</a>: “The thing that is very, very
important to understand about this is that these correlations are extremely
small,” he said. “And 99% of a child’s wellbeing has nothing measurable to do
with screens, no matter how you measure them.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It turns out it’s a myth that Victorian doctors treated
hysterical <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2018/09/victorian-vibrators-orgasms-doctors/569446/">women with vibrators</a>. Damn,
that’s another fun one out the window then.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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There are times when I so wish magic was real. A coven of
New York witches <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-45928212">put a hex on</a> US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and,
just to make the story even more fun, a Catholic priest and exorcist in
California countered the spell by saying prayers for the justice at Mass,
saying "This is a conjuring of evil - not about free speech."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They claim that similar hexes on Trump have been successful "We
feel the rituals were a success as they sought to expose Trump for what he is,
and that has happened on many levels; from the Russia probe to the exposé on
his finances to Stormy Daniels."<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is of course impossible to tell without an unhexed
control Trump whether they worked or not.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A real treat to end with– <a href="http://www.openculture.com/2018/02/a-big-archive-of-occult-recordings.html">an archive of occult recordings</a>.
Everything from the voice of Alistair Crowley to voices beyond the grave to all
manner of spooky shit. Enjoy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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For vaccination against nonsense, dangerous or otherwise,
join us at <a href="http://london.skepticsinthepub.org/">London Skeptics in the Pub</a> or <a href="https://www.skepticsinthepub.org/">find your local</a> Skeptics group. London is the original SitP and 2019 sees the twentieth anniversary
of our founding. There will be celebrations and they will not be carb-free.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-2354590217474120282018-09-08T11:06:00.000+01:002018-09-08T13:32:40.023+01:00How Old Is Your Heart?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVvn9OqHA7Jxsx32-_Bl_GV7gA0K5QFt2iGEgj_pWhjqA_hTMtprklGbhq9iQn42oxzQiwScEO7iqFxKE-ui86qWwHaqDiEdaupwbaVn7toqQMNq4JXDlN9D_5wmZAE3-8V3pVVTSI4K55/s1600/heart+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="600" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVvn9OqHA7Jxsx32-_Bl_GV7gA0K5QFt2iGEgj_pWhjqA_hTMtprklGbhq9iQn42oxzQiwScEO7iqFxKE-ui86qWwHaqDiEdaupwbaVn7toqQMNq4JXDlN9D_5wmZAE3-8V3pVVTSI4K55/s320/heart+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Public Health England (PHE) in collaboration with the
British Heart Foundation (BHF) has launched <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/be-healthier/check-your-health/heart-age-test/">a heart check-up</a> to identify ‘your
heart age compared to your real age’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is
it a valuable public health intervention or a waste of time and money?<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It begins by asking age, gender, ethnicity and postcode. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Then: Do you have cardiovascular disease? No.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Do you smoke? No. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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But I did. <a href="https://tessera2009.blogspot.com/2016/06/quit-it.html">I quit two years, three months and thirteen days ago</a>. Not that I’m still counting. But this does make a big difference. My heart
is ‘older’ than it would be if I’d never smoked, I know that. It can take up to
ten years for risk levels to return to those of a non-smoker.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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Next it asks for height, weight and a few questions on medical
history. Pretty standard.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Then it asks what your cholesterol level and blood pressure are. How many people know that?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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And that’s it, end of test. It tells me that my heart age is
four years older than my real age and says this:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Your risk of having a heart attack or stroke within the next 10 years
is 5.8%<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Your heart age is an
estimate because you don't know all your numbers. We've based your result on
the national average.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If you have high
cholesterol and blood pressure, your heart age could be as high as 69.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Make an appointment
with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist to get your blood pressure and
cholesterol tested</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are no questions about alcohol and drug consumption,
diet and exercise, all things which the NHS and PHE normally tell us make a big
difference to heart health. I’ve lived in central London all my adult life and we
keep being told how damaging pollution is to health and longevity so it might
be a good idea to include a question on that.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The NHS is already struggling, does it really need a few
million people making appointments to get their BP and cholesterol checked? Or do
they expect people to rush out and buy self-testing kits? And then going to the
GP when they get a high result. GPs have not surprisingly<a href="http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/hot-topics/war-on-workload/phes-new-heart-age-calculator-will-drive-influx-of-patients-gps-warn/20037421.article"> expressed concern</a>
about this test adding to their already extreme workload.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Is it good public health policy to frighten people with an unrealistic
heart age? Who is the mythical ‘average’ person the figures are based on? I’m
considerably taller, lighter and fitter than the average woman, for example
(and an ex-smoker, yes, I know) so they can't use her to scare me like some sort of Baba Yaga.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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There’s also the question of efficacy. <a href="https://www.nice.org.uk/">NICE</a> has <a href="http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/clinical/clinical-specialties/cardiovascular/public-health-chiefs-to-trial-lifetime-risk-score-rejected-by-nice/20006204.article">already rejected</a> the use of lifetime risk scores because of a lack of evidence, which means
they will scare people, overload GPs - and not have any effect. It’s not even a
case of the end justifying the means. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The people behind the project are defending it in various
parts of the media by saying it will raise awareness and start a conversation. As
an awareness raiser it fails because all it will do is frighten people into
going to the GP, or frighten them and then they’ll carry on as normal, or make them
think about making some changes and then give up after a few weeks because that’s
how we operate. No imminent threat, no motivation. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will there be any follow-up to see if people
have taken action? Doubtful.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If it’s a way of collecting information about the
population, then the holes in it make that information of very limited value –
unless all PHE wants to know is how many of us don’t know our BP and
cholesterol. This is not a compulsory test. The people doing it are
self-selecting, opting in, and the reasons they do this could skew the results.
Is it idle curiosity, concern, fear or some other reason? Is it mostly the
group known as the ‘worried well’? People on very low incomes and many old
people will be excluded because of lack of online access.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Heart disease is a serious and growing problem that takes
long-term investment and lifestyle management to tackle. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to the<a href="https://www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/our-research/heart-statistics"> British Heart Foundation</a>:<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Heart and circulatory
diseases cause more than a quarter (26%) of all deaths in the UK - over 150,000
deaths each year, an average of 420 people each day or one death every three
minutes.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But hang on a minute… it also says:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Since the BHF was
established the annual number of deaths from heart and circulatory diseases in
the UK has fallen by more than half.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In 1961, more than
half of all deaths in the UK were attributed to CVD (320,000 deaths).<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Since 1961 the UK
death rate from heart and circulatory diseases has declined by more than three
quarters. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Would it not perhaps be worth looking at why rates have
fallen, what else people are dying of, what interventions have worked in the
past, where limited resources could be most usefully targeted? For example, obesity
has risen since 1961, smoking rates have fallen and life expectancy has risen
so people are more likely to have multiple comorbidities that accumulate with
age – more than one potentially life-limiting condition at once. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As it happens, I did have my BP checked this week as part of
an ongoing treatment for something not heart-related. I didn’t put it in the test because I wanted to see what results came up. The nursing assistant who checked it
said he’d tried to take the test but it didn’t work because he was too
young. He agreed with me about the flaws in the design. (My BP is great, thanks
for asking).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you do want to know about the state of your heart and its
future, you’d be better off doing this:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAlgcop7iIxdXG2XfSC26MKUqN8MnXpcNUn4GiA3-ft777AlkU8hon4UKb-JwwsNUvROp3Woh8xSUWDN9lfm3AFxBLLexrpqKHpG5XfqbTRLEXHqOu5Pn2VU7U3ZAOhH29yq8JEK8GNqht/s1600/crystal+ball.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="340" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAlgcop7iIxdXG2XfSC26MKUqN8MnXpcNUn4GiA3-ft777AlkU8hon4UKb-JwwsNUvROp3Woh8xSUWDN9lfm3AFxBLLexrpqKHpG5XfqbTRLEXHqOu5Pn2VU7U3ZAOhH29yq8JEK8GNqht/s320/crystal+ball.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-89649524985597022972018-02-16T18:07:00.000+00:002018-02-16T18:07:17.072+00:00Modern Life Is Toxic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu-EVvaYQS673QD3Bjjs65j8tdfBnrbpHJKpo6SbvytkD5pimu8rTNyyZgmTJ69hnBfPCSrHc006ULBbZyXudOw23rsKjtQrukZck6pVZQJESlc8br1x2P1nptLYz7TZovVhFK5gZWpeNA/s1600/gas+masks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="500" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu-EVvaYQS673QD3Bjjs65j8tdfBnrbpHJKpo6SbvytkD5pimu8rTNyyZgmTJ69hnBfPCSrHc006ULBbZyXudOw23rsKjtQrukZck6pVZQJESlc8br1x2P1nptLYz7TZovVhFK5gZWpeNA/s320/gas+masks.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
There are two narratives we’re being fed at the moment,
scare stories that are essentially about how modern life is killing us.
Everything we breathe, everything we eat, can either kill us or make us fat or
damage our children. There’s an underlying message of nostalgia for ye olden
days when food was safe and chemicals were safely confined to the periodic chart
on the classroom wall. The days before Brexit and Trump and Facebook and everything
going to hell in a hand cart.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/cleaning-chemicals-likely-cause-substantial-damage-to-lungs-study-finds_uk_5a858f0be4b0774f31d2aa62">study has found</a> that the chemicals in cleaning products
can cause serious lung function decline in women.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It says that ‘According to new research, women who work as
cleaners or regularly use cleaning products at home experience a greater
decline in lung function over time than women who do not clean.’<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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And of course the effect is being compared with smoking,
because everything is these days, including sugar.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The phrasing is odd: ‘The effect of occupational cleaning
was thus comparable to smoking somewhat less than 20 pack-years’. ‘Somewhat
less’ is meaningless. Does it mean a bit less or a lot less? The effect of
smelling a lovely flower is somewhat less than smoking.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The hydra of chemical versus natural is rearing its ugly
heads again. In this vision of the world, natural (ie unprocessed) is always
better even though cancer, ricin, deadly nightshade, botulism and many more things
are natural. And a chemical is a chemical whether it comes from a lab or from a
plant. The cleanest mountain air or spring water are made of chemicals.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The point is not whether these chemicals are harming us, it’s
that the reporting is gleefully playing on our fears. At a time of national and
global insecurity, people are more vulnerable to scare stories, we’re
hyper-alert to yet more things that are threatening Life As We Know It.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Evil Chemicals narrative ties in with the Ultra-processed
Food narrative, the other monster that is crawling out of the night to stalk us.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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The report <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/health-43064290">the media has picked up on</a> says that ‘a 10%
increase in the proportion of ultra-processed foods in the diet was associated
with significant increases of 12% in the risk of overall cancer and 11% in the
risk of breast cancer’. <o:p></o:p></div>
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However, Professor Linda Bauld, Cancer Research UK's
prevention expert, said: 'It's already known that eating a lot of these
foods can lead to weight gain, and being overweight or obese can also increase
your risk of cancer, so it's hard to disentangle the effects of diet and
weight.'<o:p></o:p></div>
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Dr Ian Johnson, from the Quadram Institute in Norwich, said
the study had ‘identified some rather weak associations. The problem is that
the definition of ultra-processed foods they have used is so broad and poorly
defined that it is impossible to decide exactly what, if any, causal
connections have been observed.’<o:p></o:p></div>
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And Professor Tom Sanders at King's College London said that
mass-produced bread would be classed as ultra-processed, but a home-made loaf
or bread from a posh local bakery would not. 'This classification seems arbitrary and based on the
premise that food produced industrially has a different nutritional and
chemical composition from that produced in the home or by artisans. This is not
the case.'</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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This <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28793996">study is highly critical</a> of the classifications used
for ultra-processed food too.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There's a significant point in Professor Sanders’ comment
about bread; there's a lot of food snobbery and smuggery going on, with the
foods that are identified as being mostly eaten by lower income people being
demonised whereas middle class food is more 'wholesome' and 'virtuous'. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The moral high ground food police probably don't count craft
ale or artisan gin as highly processed and don’t seem to have noticed that even
porridge made with soya milk and honey counts as 'ultra-processed'.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The smugness is about doing things more simply or more
traditionally, buying food that doesn’t come in packaging. Yes, plastics are
destroying the environment but food packaging extends the shelf life of products,
causing less wastage and less environmental harm from producing (even) more
than we need. It’s also a great boon to people too busy to shop for fresh
produce and ingredients every day. It’s a complex problem not solved by
ill-informed moralising or nostalgia.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Toxins (aka chemicals) have taken the place of diphtheria, polio
and smallpox as the Invisible Evil (and plague if you go back further). But
never fear, you can buy a detox from a wellness guru because your fear is their
marketing opportunity.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It's not like things were any better in ye olden days when
people breathed in coal or wood smoke or smog, and lots more people smoked. Sitting
around in the cave or wooden houses before chimneys were invented during the
long winters didn’t just make people smell like kippers, it caused serious lung
damage.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Employment was much more lung-unfriendly too - mining,
dyeing and tanning, the cloth industry or industrial scale laundries just to
name a few. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Has there ever been a time in human history when our lungs
were pink and flawless since we first learnt to make fire? It’s not modern life
that’s killing us, being alive has always been dangerous. We just have more
media to scare us about it now.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In ye olden days food was full of germs and poo and
parasites as well as adulterants – for example alum, plaster of Paris and ash
in bread. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In 1872, <a href="http://www.victorianweb.org/science/health/health1.html">adulterants in food were found to include</a> ‘strychnine,
cocculus inculus (both hallucinogens) and copperas in rum and beer; sulphate of
copper in pickles, bottled fruit, wine, and preserves; lead chromate in mustard
and snuff; sulphate of iron in tea and beer; ferric ferrocynanide, lime
sulphate, and turmeric in chinese tea; copper carbonate, lead sulphate,
bisulphate of mercury, and Venetian lead in sugar confectionery and chocolate;
lead in wine and cider; all were extensively used and were accumulative in
effect, resulting, over a long period, in chronic gastritis, and, indeed, often
fatal food poisoning. Red lead gave Gloucester cheese its 'healthy' red hue.’ Ice
cream was found to contain ‘cocci, bacilli, torulae, cotton fiber, lice, bed
bugs, bug's legs, fleas, straw, human hair, and cat and dog hair’.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yum. So much for hipster nostalgia. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course we need to
avoid harm where we can but we need to separate real harm from hysteria,
conspiracy theories and marketing opportunities. <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/londons-air-as-bad-as-smoking-6959600.html">Headlines about city air </a>being
as bad as smoking don’t help. We’re never going to live some bucolic idyll in the Shires like hobbits.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Fear and guilt make for good headlines and clickbait but things
are not getting worse. They’ve always been bad. The history of humanity is
about processing, ingesting and inhaling stuff that's bad for us. Sometimes for
fun.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-19447119618898173252017-12-13T13:50:00.000+00:002017-12-13T13:50:12.635+00:00Nonsense on Stilts 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg182_P9Kdlirw8ZRztESWEDskdhJss_TzsEHNiDI35_HRTxKy-1zAujgkOSS5YGuqDteFkPog5v3R_n5-cQZ_9CPO8hAahDVxPgiYSUFI-upYOGLGKCQA8cRh9Tm72u6D21MjxjrQhdJNy/s1600/Nonsense-on-Stilts-cover-detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="548" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg182_P9Kdlirw8ZRztESWEDskdhJss_TzsEHNiDI35_HRTxKy-1zAujgkOSS5YGuqDteFkPog5v3R_n5-cQZ_9CPO8hAahDVxPgiYSUFI-upYOGLGKCQA8cRh9Tm72u6D21MjxjrQhdJNy/s320/Nonsense-on-Stilts-cover-detail.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another year, another round-up of the dangerous and the
daft. There was so much to choose from this year so this is just the tip of the
iceberg of nonsense on stilts. As ever, it’s divided into health, diet and
general craziness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">HEALTH<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Queen of Quacks, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop business has
spewed out some terrible old cobblers this year, some of which is potentially
very harmful. Here is her nonsense about <a href="https://drjengunter.wordpress.com/2017/01/19/gwyneth-paltrows-toxic-tampon-advice/">toxic tampons debunked</a> by the
excellent Dr Jen Gunter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Advice given at her ‘health’ conference <a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache%3AAVQHasm5fdgJ%3Awww.independent.co.uk%2Flife-style%2Fhealth-and-families%2Fgwyneth-paltrow-goop-health-event-dangerous-unethical-advice-doctors-los-angeles-a7787276.html+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk">can be fatal</a> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">and just in case you thought it couldn’t get any more
insane, she is now selling <a href="https://drjengunter.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/gwyneth-paltrow-and-goop-are-empowering-women-with-psychic-vampire-repellent/">psychic vampire repellent</a>. Yes, really. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUH8iXQ6K83DrYilb8zrsNyoQRCVr3T-2iruK1iSNPTXV0AP7wV5bv4YFwbf0cwnezCihMzWSWVN4xlvIbC46QCnJuz0mFmWl2Pwb-OXlg0kEbW1TetNTWZbK7SmvoPe4g8IEJN9yzCMoY/s1600/psychic+vampire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUH8iXQ6K83DrYilb8zrsNyoQRCVr3T-2iruK1iSNPTXV0AP7wV5bv4YFwbf0cwnezCihMzWSWVN4xlvIbC46QCnJuz0mFmWl2Pwb-OXlg0kEbW1TetNTWZbK7SmvoPe4g8IEJN9yzCMoY/s320/psychic+vampire.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Also in America, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/02/17/the-evidence-for-vaccine-safety-is-abundant-that-will-be-100000-please/?utm_term=.2a2903a77c5b">anti-vaxxers offered $100,000</a> for proof
that vaccines work. Oh dear. The fact that they’re alive to perpetrate such
arrant nonsense is proof enough, isn’t it? One word, anti-vaxxers: polio. Ever been in an iron lung? No. Why is that?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If further proof were needed, the tedious and notorious anti-vaxxer
Wakefield managed to cause a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/anti-vaccine-activists-spark-a-states-worst-measles-outbreak-in-decades/2017/05/04/a1fac952-2f39-11e7-9dec-764dc781686f_story.html?tid=ss_fb&utm_term=.b57b5e86f045">measles epidemic in the US</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Earlier in the year it looked like homeopathy would escape
an NHS prescribing ban despite cutbacks and despite the<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/03/28/homeopathic-medicines-escape-nhs-prescribing-ban/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter"> Chief Medical Officersaying it’s ‘rubbish’</a>. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">But reason and science have for once prevailed. NHS England has
called for homeopathy to be blacklisted as a useless waste of money. Very well
done to the Good Thinking Society for their <a href="https://goodthinkingsociety.org/nhs-england-calls-for-homeopathy-to-be-blacklisted-enfield-ccg-ends-homeopathy-funding/">campaigning work</a> on this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jul/08/why-we-are-calling-for-a-ban-on-vets-offering-homeopathic-remedies">Vets also joined</a> the campaign against homeopathy </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">and then later in the year the Royal College of Veterinary
Surgeons issued<a href="https://www.vetsurgeon.org/news/b/veterinary-news/archive/2017/11/03/veterinary-regulator-blacklists-homeopathy-in-animals.aspx"> a new position statement</a> on the veterinary use of complementary
and alternative medicines, homeopathy in particular, saying that vets must
offer treatments that "are underpinned by a recognised evidence base or
sound scientific principles." The new position statement makes it very
clear that homeopathy falls below this benchmark: "Homeopathy exists
without a recognised body of evidence for its use. Furthermore, it is not based
on sound scientific principles."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the newer health fads is turmeric. Eat it, drink it,
medicate with it. Harmless nonsense for people with more money than sense? Not
when a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brittmariehermes/2017/03/27/naturopathic-doctors-look-bad-after-california-woman-dies-from-turmeric-injection/#615357cd3edf">naturopath kills a woman</a> with a turmeric injection or when claims are
made for it curing cancer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I had an awkward conversation not so long ago with a woman
who swears by turmeric lattes every day and demanded to know how I dare
challenge ‘all the thousands of research papers’ that show it works. To her I
say: show me this evidence. <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/turmeric-may-taste-good-its-not-cure-all-180961786/">It could be a long wait</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinW8Yj-1WACH8GT7wMusKaqeeJMMy7t98_VOIFT4PjKOnVaukO1vL6-QRrrNTHGThHBFX21VltgG_GMxGNYpDT6LQ5tyk1fiFClJIecVpB8PHoAoo-mKfTbBZDsERww9z_gZdA1m6Scrb1/s1600/benefits-of-turmeric.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="620" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinW8Yj-1WACH8GT7wMusKaqeeJMMy7t98_VOIFT4PjKOnVaukO1vL6-QRrrNTHGThHBFX21VltgG_GMxGNYpDT6LQ5tyk1fiFClJIecVpB8PHoAoo-mKfTbBZDsERww9z_gZdA1m6Scrb1/s320/benefits-of-turmeric.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And while we’re on spices, <a href="https://medium.com/@gidmk/cinnamon-wont-make-you-lose-weight-3c5f906559e7">cinnamon</a> won’t help you magically
lose weight either. Sorry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The long-enduring myth that women synchronise periods <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/apr/10/do-womens-periods-synchronise-when-they-spend-time-together?CMP=twt_a-science_b-gdnscience">was debunked</a>. There is no ‘dominant super uterus in a group of women that makes
everyone adjust their cycles’. So Super Uterus won’t be making an appearance in
the next DC movie, damn it. She’d be so much more interesting than Superman,
the most boring of all the supers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As if UKIP wasn’t bad enough, one of their ‘politicians’ now
sells<a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/tomchivers/a-ukip-politician-is-selling-a-health-product-called?utm_term=.gcKon0XqA#.ajlam3jXZ"> industrial strength bleach as a medical cure</a> at £22 for 60ml. David
Colquhoun, professor of pharmacology at University College London, said “You
don’t absorb oxygen through your stomach. There’s not the slightest reason to
think it works for anything.” Assemble your own joke using the words UKIP,
toxic, liars and why is Farage constantly on the news when they have zero seats
in Parliament?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A wealthy autism charity is <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/tomchivers/caudwell-autism?utm_term=.gxg5KEpaa#.re6rzk411">risking children’s lives</a>, offering
to pay for them to attend clinics offering pseudoscientific treatments and
bogus diets, and it appears to endorse links between vaccines and autism. One
of the treatments promoted is MMS, which the National Autism Society describes
as a “bleach banned for human consumption”. There are claims it has been linked
to at least one death. The Food Standards Agency has warned about its use,
calling it an “industrial-strength bleach”. Yes, we’re looking at you, Mr UKIP.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There is yet more evidence that <a href="https://health.spectator.co.uk/the-evidence-shows-that-chiropractors-do-more-harm-than-good/">chiropractic is harmful</a> and
potentially deadly, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">and now chiropractors trying to<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39266383"> scare women about our clothes</a>, saying skinny jeans, handbags and big fluffy hoods are wrecking our
backs. Dr Mary O'Keeffe, a back pain expert at the University of Limerick, says
their research is "complete scaremongering and there is no scientific
evidence to support any of it".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Earlier this year, a quack claiming to <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4902582/Quack-healer-claimed-cure-cancer-faces-jail.html">cure cancer by Skype</a>
(for money, of course) was found guilty under the Cancer Act and is now facing
jail.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The spread of <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/fake-news-health-facebook-cruel-damaging-social-media-mike-adams-natural-health-ranger-conspiracy-a7498201.html">fake health ‘news’ is putting lives at risk</a>.
Some of the claims may contravene the <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/2-3/13/section/4">Cancer Act 1939</a>: you can report any
claims that break the law to <a href="https://www.asa.org.uk/make-a-complaint.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8P3Eg6X61wIV7ZTtCh2pcguQEAAYASAAEgL7evD_BwE">Advertising Standards</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">DIET<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’m happy to report that<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jan/23/bad-fad-ruby-tandoh-on-how-clean-eating-turned-toxic"> the backlash </a>against the vile,
smug, judgemental and dangerous clean eating movement is gaining momentum. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">But nature abhors a vacuum so as soon as one diet
fad dies, another rises to take its place. But calling them diets is so last
year. Now it’s all about Wellness. There are endless books, videos and
evangelists promoting their own brands of ‘better living’ which are really just
diets wrapped up in very expensive merchandising and ingredients. Because
wellness means thinness. There are no overweight Wellness gurus.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Celebrity-endorsed fad diets (sorry, Wellness programmes) are
nothing new. Lord Byron’s apple cider vinegar diet was taken up by his many
fans in the early nineteenth century and <a href="http://mentalfloss.com/article/78761/lord-byrons-obsession-dieting">now it’s back</a>. But without the poetry. Which is a blessing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCE-QGAjp5a008zwhOrd2rbCHznOnBIe5ILSuc6f4GlZEELUZG-x-0qtrIyYR93euKR9UEfVCXKjMooSCRIqTf5eTwKUW_Q0qPd1FDCboXOHVrLd2jzPCQ5iUq4wB2C2Ac61tUcvVM0wuB/s1600/byron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="648" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCE-QGAjp5a008zwhOrd2rbCHznOnBIe5ILSuc6f4GlZEELUZG-x-0qtrIyYR93euKR9UEfVCXKjMooSCRIqTf5eTwKUW_Q0qPd1FDCboXOHVrLd2jzPCQ5iUq4wB2C2Ac61tUcvVM0wuB/s400/byron.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The low fat versus low carb battle
rages on with both sides claiming the other will kill you. Some of the research
is very flawed and the screaming headlines don’t help. There is more and more <a href="https://www.foodnavigator-asia.com/Article/2016/09/19/Sugar-review-Rewriting-history-to-expose-a-non-existent-conspiracy#">conspiracy talk about Big Sugar</a>. <span style="color: #222222; line-height: 107%;"> The
sugar lobby is undeniably powerful but conspiracy theorists have </span>attributed
it god-like powers<span style="color: #222222; line-height: 107%;"> to
ensure that we poor fools think saturated fat is the devil. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 107%;">As</span> Anthony Warner, <a href="http://angry-chef.com/blog">aka the Angry Chef,</a> <span style="color: #222222; line-height: 107%;">says,
this would require ‘paying off the medical establishment, the World Health
Organisation, numerous charities, public health bodies and nutrition
researchers around the world, and keep producing systematic reviews that show
links between consumption of saturated fats and increased risk of heart
disease.’ </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The amount of rage generated by daring to question the low
carbers should set off the alarm bells that this is not just about food – as Dr
Margaret McCartney found out to her cost on Twitter when she dared to write <a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/358/bmj.j4226">this reasonable piece</a> about the lack of evidence. </span><a href="http://tessera2009.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/dont-put-that-in-your-mouth.html" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This is my piece</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> on the cult-like ferocity of the
low-carbers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What no one has pointed out is that if we care about the
planet, we should be eating fewer animal products, not more. High protein/high
fat means more eggs, fish/seafood, meat and dairy when we should be aiming for
a more plant-based diet. And shouldn’t we give at least a moment’s thought to
the fact that there are still more <a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)32129-3/fulltext">underweight 5-19 year olds</a> in the world than
obese ones?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There’s a myth doing the rounds that sugar and other carbs
‘feed’ cancer. <a href="http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2017/05/15/sugar-and-cancer-what-you-need-to-know/?utm_source=twitter_cr_uk&utm_medium=cruksocialmedia&utm_campaign=owntwitter_tweet">They don’t.</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Do artificial sweeteners cause dementia and strokes?
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/apr/21/link-dementia-stroke-diet-drinks-artificial-sweeteners-study?CMP=twt_a-science_b-gdnscience">No</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Does sugar cause or worsen Alzheimer’s? According to the
tabloids, yes it does. According to the <a href="http://bit.ly/2Asx8Ib">Alzheimer’s Society</a> “What we don’t know
is whether changes in brain glucose metabolism play a role in causing or
worsening Alzheimer’s disease or whether the changes are just a by-product of
damage already occurring to brain cells.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another potentially dangerous diet fad is the Ketogenic
diet, which claims to cure everything from cancer to Alzheimer’s to pretty much
anything you can name. Here’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzHLAqyO7PQ">a good video </a>explaining what it is and why it is
not a miracle (yes, he is a vegan but everything he says about keto stands up).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yet another bit of dangerous garbage is the idea that
everything bad that happens can be cured with <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38650739">an alkaline diet</a>. And while we’re
at it, you can’t cure cancer with ‘alkaline’ baking soda either.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Back to the Angry Chef who this time gets quite rightly
angry about PETA claiming <a href="http://angry-chef.com/blog/cutting-off-tall-people-s-feet">dairy products cause autism</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKVA3ahGlyKsakKf5dQaHDpUTmWfJZ8xbS_d3nkQF0SoM0ClZSc5MdAyeEG8MmsqnI3PbKnuC-khXbogt4w6dvhvuCPtoesNCAm1vd6-EWNbzLEEifPSzjcT6cd3g7jJ6xg5V5i5AET6U8/s1600/swallow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="209" data-original-width="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKVA3ahGlyKsakKf5dQaHDpUTmWfJZ8xbS_d3nkQF0SoM0ClZSc5MdAyeEG8MmsqnI3PbKnuC-khXbogt4w6dvhvuCPtoesNCAm1vd6-EWNbzLEEifPSzjcT6cd3g7jJ6xg5V5i5AET6U8/s1600/swallow.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Pioppi diet has gained popularity this year. As the
British Dietetic Association <a href="https://www.bda.uk.com/news/view?id=195&x[0]=news/list">commented: </a>“the authors may well be the only
people in the history of the planet who have been to Italy and come back with a
diet named after an Italian village that excludes pasta, rice and bread – but
includes coconuts”. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Here’s </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHFXG3r_0B8&list=RDJHFXG3r_0B8&t=29" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">conclusive proof</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> that coconuts have never been part
of a traditional European diet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Do we need more protein in our diets? Only if you want to
make<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/dec/26/protein-hype-shoppers-flushing-money-down-the-toilet-say-experts?CMP=twt_a-science_b-gdnscience"> very expensive wee wee</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">RANDOM NONSENSE<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A Church says <a href="http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/08/14/british-church-tells-man-he-can-be-cured-of-homosexuality-if-he-starves-himself/">starve for three days</a> to cure homosexuality
and that people are just claiming to be gay to get attention because they see
celebrities doing it. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This really doesn’t help when nearly half of lesbian, gay,
bi and trans young people are <a href="http://www.stonewall.org.uk/get-involved/education/secondary-schools">bullied for being LGBT</a> at school </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">and when homophobic attacks in the UK <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/oct/08/homophobic-attacks-double-after-brexit-vote">rose by 147%</a> in three
months after the Brexit vote.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On a more cheery note there’s the daftness of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/feb/03/dopamine-dressing-can-you-dress-yourself-happy">dopamine dressing</a> – dress yourself happy with bright colours. Unless you’re me and hate them.
It’s yet another case of if you believe something you make it true, like
wearing lucky pants can make you feel more confident and so perform better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For a change, a bit of<a href="https://everydayorientalism.wordpress.com/2017/02/06/ancient-history-in-the-age-of-trump-time-for-the-media-to-update-their-classics/"> abuse of history</a> instead of science:
why lazy journos comparing Trump with Roman emperors are wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Slimming pants!<b> </b>This
is hilarious. There is no way that any of<a href="https://omgtrue.com/products/s-line-tone-slimming-kit"> these claims </a>stand up – detox, lose
cellulite, lose weight, all the usual suspects. Plus, you look like a twat. No
wonder they're on offer.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp_T8n98pOvdwpPwwPIOw75nLiaNNK1WfQmMYM2yEkdu-BC5QSVb4b6wA9T9oAaaPMWAiz_U4kJpbqY-RM7CTXKbpeyGQeTJrxBNsidCQ-qEY7cvJ6QOwdhqLgsRPghfKeizFdyg7sq9M_/s1600/detox+pants.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp_T8n98pOvdwpPwwPIOw75nLiaNNK1WfQmMYM2yEkdu-BC5QSVb4b6wA9T9oAaaPMWAiz_U4kJpbqY-RM7CTXKbpeyGQeTJrxBNsidCQ-qEY7cvJ6QOwdhqLgsRPghfKeizFdyg7sq9M_/s320/detox+pants.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Men are better at understanding projection and therefore
physics because they have to learn to pee standing up, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2017/09/15/boys-better-physics-learn-projection-whilegoing-toilet-researchers/">according to three 'scientists'</a>. </span><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Playful urination practices – from seeing how
high you can pee to games such as Peeball (where men compete using their urine
to destroy a ball placed in a urinal) – may give boys an advantage over girls
when it comes to physics,” the academics wrote. They said this is significant,
since the physics curriculum often uses projectile motion as the starting point
for more sophisticated mechanics concepts such as force, energy and momentum.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If only the average man's aim was that good. And I’m not
sure about the phrase ‘playful urination practices’. Oh, and correlation,
causation, yadda yadda.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Not so funny is this: the United Nations pulled staff out of
two districts in southern Malawi where <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/09/un-moves-malawi-staff-vampire-scare">a vampire scare</a> triggered mob violence
in which at least five people were killed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">No werewolf sightings this year but <a href="https://today.yougov.com/news/2017/10/10/belief-ghosts-rise/">belief in ghosts</a> is on
the increase in America. Add your own Trump-based joke.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://medium.com/@sallylepage/in-2017-uk-water-companies-still-rely-on-magic-6eb62e036b02">Eight out of ten UK water companies</a> still use dowsing rods
to 'find' water. Yes, really. I often consult the spirits of the dead for
cooking tips. Who doesn’t? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A lot of the media and some skeptics have dismissed dowsing
as mediaeval. Here’s<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/nov/22/dowsing-is-a-modern-practice-not-a-medieval-one?CMP=twt_a-science_b-gdnscience"> a good explanation</a> of why that’s a lazy assumption. Have
they looked at a cathedral or an illuminated manuscript lately? Mediaeval
people were not morons, they just had less access to information than we do –
although some of us still choose to ignore it. What’s more, ‘records of dowsing
do not begin until the 16th century, and its popularity does not appear to have
peaked until the 19th and 20th centuries’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">DNA sampling reveals that nine yeti specimens were in fact <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/nov/29/dna-sampling-exposes-nine-yeti-specimens-as-eight-bears-and-a-dog?CMP=twt_a-science_b-gdnscience">eight bears and a dog</a>. Damn. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Finally, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/08/ancient-fairy-curse-causing-dips-road-claims-irish-mp/">an ancient fairy curse</a> causes dips in the road in
Ireland, according to an Irish MP. I love this one and really wish it were
true. He said “if someone told me to go out and knock a fairy fort or touch it,
I would starve first.” The council’s road department said the dip was due to an
“underlying subsoil/geotechnical problem.” They’ll be sorry when their socks go
missing and their cows’ milk dries up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDmWW9WLzYpxzl3kCdogW8v7_Qi4LDAmUKQi461No7G87GPh98J65blhkRoKkHwvCr9syqNxDPQb0mE8UFe_GAcCq7aDtKNzopIa4ABolkQchlDY1qnXNUd4pqzRj9UuhHQJA4XWPIKH6Q/s1600/fairy+road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="324" data-original-width="500" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDmWW9WLzYpxzl3kCdogW8v7_Qi4LDAmUKQi461No7G87GPh98J65blhkRoKkHwvCr9syqNxDPQb0mE8UFe_GAcCq7aDtKNzopIa4ABolkQchlDY1qnXNUd4pqzRj9UuhHQJA4XWPIKH6Q/s320/fairy+road.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That’s it for another year. To help inoculate yourself
against nonsense, this is <a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2016/05/09/how-to-read-and-understand-a-scientific-paper-a-guide-for-non-scientists/">a very good primer </a>on how to read and understand a
scientific paper<span style="color: #0563c1;"><u> </u></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">and this is a handy <a href="http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/04/02/a-rough-guide-to-spotting-bad-science/?utm_content=buffer1d6ee&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer">12 point guide </a>to spotting bad science.
Happy hunting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Join us at<a href="http://london.skepticsinthepub.org/"> London Skeptics in the Pub</a> for a monthly dose of
sanity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-21820414254590409452017-10-15T13:47:00.000+01:002017-10-15T15:27:10.981+01:00Don't Put That In Your Mouth!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5u2ezR5OWflcLVIKGmS5hjdRejIphM6WpY8TiJJj1AQ6Rug32Zn5w2GzvhbX3zKnan4nrKNDL-kIeK_-yKDqh8yj5o9qZnEdB1JQbwYciiW59WTUZwDMoiAteGB9mDa3HFbdGceTB8-lX/s1600/tape+worms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="594" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5u2ezR5OWflcLVIKGmS5hjdRejIphM6WpY8TiJJj1AQ6Rug32Zn5w2GzvhbX3zKnan4nrKNDL-kIeK_-yKDqh8yj5o9qZnEdB1JQbwYciiW59WTUZwDMoiAteGB9mDa3HFbdGceTB8-lX/s320/tape+worms.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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There have always been fad diets and people making money out
of them, like Atkins or the grapefruit diet or swallowing tapeworm eggs. It’s
getting harder to know who to trust as the diet messiahs compete for our money,
harder to hack through the jungle of lies, empty promises and dangerous
bullshit to find the truth. And lately the diet world has been getting vicious.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Weight loss means that using more calories than you consume.
As simple as that. Cutting out a whole food group restricts calories, weight
loss happens, but as soon as you go back to eating a healthy balanced diet or
back to your unhealthy one, the weight comes back. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Nature abhors a vacuum so as soon as one fad loses its shine,
another is spawned to take its place, along with all the expensive accessories
– courgette rice, gluten free everything, spiralisers. That’s the marketplace
in action.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The current crop includes paleo, LCHF (low carb-high fat, sometimes
called low carb-high protein), ketogenic, clean eating. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Some messiahs are alert to public weariness with diet books
and have rebranded their Gospel as ‘wellness’. Every single Wellness lifestyle
is really a diet in disguise. All the Wellness messiahs are skinny and glossy
and young.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Why are these diets a
problem? </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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If dieting worked, there would only need to be one diet,
everyone would do it and no one would put the weight back on. But that doesn’t
happen. We have a short attention span. We want a quick fix, we all want to
feel shiny and special. When one diet doesn’t work, we move on to the next one
that promises us salvation. Life as a diet messiah is short. There’s always
another one waiting in the wings so you have to make big claims to get
attention and excommunicate the competition as heretics.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The problems start
when essential nutrients or dietary elements are being missed – vitamins,
minerals, fibre – or an excess of fat/protein raises risks of conditions like
kidney stones, osteoporosis, heart disease, liver disease and so on.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Fibre is the orphan child of many current diets. Without
fibre it is very hard to poo. Pooing should not be under-rated as long-term
constipation can have serious consequences. It’s also a natural detox, along
with peeing. So regular trips to the loo will save you buying all those detox
products and laxatives (but not prunes as the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1486/epdf">European Food Safety Authorityruled</a> that they do not have a laxative effect). <o:p></o:p></div>
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And of course carbs are cheap. Baked beans on wholemeal
toast is a balanced, poo-friendly meal but it has no swank factor. Your
Instagram followers will not be impressed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>How to tell crap from
Christmas?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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There’s a link between fad diets and fake news – they look
plausible, they use science words, they fit with what you would like to be true
and it takes an effort to research if they are genuine. It’s getting harder to
tell crap from Christmas.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Once you’ve invested in something financially and
emotionally, you’re likely to defend it whatever the evidence. Cognitive bias
means you’ll ignore the evidence against your beliefs and cling onto anything
that appears to confirm them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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You’re part of a tribe. You read the book, buy the products,
join the online forums, identify with skinny glossy, hench celebs doing the same
diet, Instagram your meals and get thousands of Likes, worship at the church of
your chosen messiah. And your tribe hates all the other tribes, especially the
Science Tribe who will insist on pissing on your chips (which are made of lard
if you’re on the low carb diet). <o:p></o:p></div>
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Do not dare to question the Chosen One or we will smite you
with the wrath of social media. It’s all gone a bit Old Testament.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve been harangued by women for daring to question their
proselytising of paleo and of <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/turmeric-may-taste-good-its-not-cure-all-180961786/">turmeric </a>as a miracle ingredient in everything.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Margaret McCartney, who is a real medical doctor (unlike me),
had the temerity to point out that fad diets like LCHF <a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/358/bmj.j4226">are not a miracle fix</a>
and received<a href="https://twitter.com/mgtmccartney/status/917334767095504897"> a shitstorm of hatred</a> on Twitter.</div>
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<b>Where’s the harm?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/asunta-simoloka/here-are-the-downsides-to-a-lchf-diet-that-you-have-to-consider_a_21642272/">risks of the LCHF diet </a>are not hard to find despite the
fact that its advocates can get pretty vicious. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Clean eating advocates are particularly vocal with their
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jan/23/bad-fad-ruby-tandoh-on-how-clean-eating-turned-toxic">loathsome conflation of moral value and food</a> which, in some cases leads to
orthorexia and other eating disorders. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Sometimes dietary claims get even nastier, like the claims
that <a href="http://angry-chef.com/blog/cutting-off-tall-people-s-feet">dairy products cause autism</a> and anyone feeding their child dairy is
risking their lives. </div>
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Then they get nastier still, like the claim that the
<a href="https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/ketogenic-diet-weakens-cancer-cells/">ketogenic diet can cure cancer</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/ketogenic-diets-for-cancer-hype-versus-science/">It can’t.</a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Who can we trust?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Just as with other forms of fake news, it can be hard to
know who to trust. The Pioppi diet is best <a href="https://health.spectator.co.uk/the-pioppi-diet-is-a-superficial-lifestyle-guide-based-on-distorted-evidence/">described as</a> ‘a superficial
lifestyle guide based on distorted evidence’ even if one the authors of the
diet book is a cardiologist. Most people would think it’s safe to believe a
cardiologist. But as the author of this article points out: ‘Pasta is as
central to the Italian diet as potatoes are to Britain’s. So too is bread. This
is the elephant in the room for anyone trying to pretend that Italians eat a
low carb diet’. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/aug/08/a-danger-to-public-health-uproar-as-scientist-urges-us-to-eat-more-salt">another cardiology scientist </a>recommending eating a
lot of salt against all expert advice. Trust me, I’m a doctor? Maybe not. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Sometimes the boundary between saints and sinners is
blurred. For example<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzHLAqyO7PQ">, in this video, </a>a vegan looks at the evidence for the
dangers of the keto diet. One of the experts he cites is called Paleo Mom. They
both have an agenda but the science is right – keto can be very dangerous,
especially for children. Because it’s not just middle class adults wasting
their money and messing with their bodies.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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Other fake news tactics the diet messiahs use include taking
evidence and distorting it, making the false link between correlation and
causation, cherry-picking data, using facts out of context, ignoring
confounding factors that don’t suit them, picking an arbitrary period in
evolution for which the evidence is obscure and declaring that is our most
‘natural’ diet.</div>
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<b>It gets crazier<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The next step is the conspiracy theory. The sugar lobby is undeniably
powerful but conspiracy theorists have <a href="https://www.foodnavigator-asia.com/Article/2016/09/19/Sugar-review-Rewriting-history-to-expose-a-non-existent-conspiracy#.WdeO3KwxTRE.twitter">attributed it god-like powers</a> to ensure
that we poor fools think saturated fat is the devil. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As <a href="http://angry-chef.com/blog">Antony Warner, the Angry Chef, </a>says, this would require
‘paying off the medical establishment, the World Health Organisation, numerous
charities, public health bodies and nutrition researchers around the world, and
keep producing systematic reviews that show links between consumption of
saturated fats and increased risk of heart disease.’<o:p></o:p></div>
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Once a conspiracy theory gets going, any evidence against it
is taken as part of the conspiracy. The believers think that they and they
alone know the truth. They feel powerful and clever and smug. And presumably
constipated.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yes, the parallels with religion are all there, the In Group
and the Out Group, the access to privileged information, the righteousness, the
smiting of enemies, feeling persecuted, the Gospels (the lucrative book deal is
the Holy Grail of the Messiahs), the Way, the Truth and the Life. There’s no
point being Saved unless others are Damned. Preferably on Twitter.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZGpoQZAz0_U-OyXoZgmBh_smWa2Ckt9-hgBzadptA_lWh8V1MmZZyQC8h3GhyAIRMIsiuGbliwTMQCUk5ptv38qLw_PMsOdyxxOv9P_k9EY9rqDi8u5wWSQrP2ugObnf01sRuohYwmr65/s1600/life+of+brian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="630" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZGpoQZAz0_U-OyXoZgmBh_smWa2Ckt9-hgBzadptA_lWh8V1MmZZyQC8h3GhyAIRMIsiuGbliwTMQCUk5ptv38qLw_PMsOdyxxOv9P_k9EY9rqDi8u5wWSQrP2ugObnf01sRuohYwmr65/s320/life+of+brian.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>What’s the answer?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How are people to know what is a healthy diet and what
isn’t? It’s so much easier to join a tribe and buy the book/watch the videos/follow
a messiah on social media than to go and see a clinical dietitian. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Basically, if a diet involves eating less saturated fat,
cutting out processed carbs but keeping whole grains, fruit and veg, reducing
salt and sugar, reducing portion size and getting some exercise, it’s a good
one. Basically, it’s just common sense. Which doesn’t make anyone any money. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Most people aren’t stupid but society puts pressure on us
all to be thin and healthy. Desperation can lead us to make bad choices. The
Internet should make it easier to get access to good information but the proliferation
of messiahs makes it so much harder. They are all false prophets of diet salvation. We need to become diet
atheists.<o:p></o:p></div>
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TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-47495973333159469012017-06-22T13:05:00.000+01:002017-06-22T15:03:47.895+01:00Is it sex that’s keeping Granny going?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQWe_2UEG9OoQExCDtWG6xc1MP-LmY9d7wNwGzJnY9I85empKO91BwD__LxlN_f1pPS8scA9sUEw-XuZ_13ay8IJd4dbvSDKnKsAfTSk5vyahrdR45zcIJNdBC4aDf5P-S40Y1gf2GKQYf/s1600/old+lesbians.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="634" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQWe_2UEG9OoQExCDtWG6xc1MP-LmY9d7wNwGzJnY9I85empKO91BwD__LxlN_f1pPS8scA9sUEw-XuZ_13ay8IJd4dbvSDKnKsAfTSk5vyahrdR45zcIJNdBC4aDf5P-S40Y1gf2GKQYf/s320/old+lesbians.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Is regular sex good for your brain as you get older?<o:p></o:p></div>
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The journal Age and Ageing published some research in 2016
on the effects of sex on the brains of older people called<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4776624/"> Sex on the brain! Associations between sexual activity and cognitivefunction in older age</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The Journal of Gerontology has just published <a href="https://academic.oup.com/psychsocgerontology/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/geronb/gbx065">Frequent Sexual Activity Predicts Specific Cognitive Abilities in Older Adults</a>, which says it ‘replicates and extends the
findings’ of the first study.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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Any article purporting to be about the science of sex makes
for good headlines, but is the science any good? (Spoiler: No).<o:p></o:p></div>
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First, the Sex on the Brain research. Let’s set aside the
dreadful title. Has anyone done research into the tendency of academic studies
to make themselves sound like tabloid articles?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background: white;">For the purposes
of this study, ‘sexual activity could include intercourse, masturbation,
petting or fondling</span>’. I’m not sure what counts as petting and fondling
except that there used to be signs at swimming pools saying: ‘No petting’. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The aim of the study is to explore ‘the relationship between
cognition and sexual activity in healthy older adults’ (aged 50-89). The tests
used were <span style="background: white;">number sequencing and word
recall. The findings were that ‘there were significant associations between
sexual activity and number sequencing and recall in men</span>. However, in
women there was a significant association between sexual activity and recall,
but not number sequencing’.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background: white;">The word to keep
in mind here is ‘association’. We’ll come to that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;">People in the
study were asked about sexual activity in the last 12 months. The findings were
that ‘sexually active men and women to have significantly higher scores on the
number sequencing and recall tests than sexually inactive men and women (all<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><em><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">P</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"> <
0.001)’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;">This is where the
alarm bells start to go off. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;">As all good
skeptics know, correlation does not imply causation – or ‘association’ as the
study calls it. That’s at the core of the problem with this research. Both
studies admit this: ‘we can only speculate as to a causal relationship at this
time’ and ‘we cannot infer a causal relationship between SA and cognitive
function’. So all the studies are really saying is that people who say they have
more sex when they are older do better on certain tests.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;">It’s important to
have a control group when researching: people who did not receive the treatment
or got a placebo or who didn’t do something to others did, for example. You
need something to compare your results with.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;">The control group
here is people not having regular sex. This might work if there were no other
variables and confounding factors. But that’s not the case. It would be a much
better indicator if the people who did score higher had no sex for 12 months
and were then retested. Did their abilities change? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;">Another problem
is that the average age of people having sex was 64.4 years and those not having
sex was 72.9 years. That’s quite a big difference in terms of ageing; changes
to the body over those 8.5 years are not considered. Women at the lower end of
the age range were not asked if they had been through menopause, which can
affect sexual activity and interest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;">There was no
indication of whether the participants were straight or LGBT, trans or cis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;">The sample size
is good, 3,060 men and 3,773 women</span>, enough to produce significant
results. But there were 2349 men who were having regular sex and only 711 who
weren’t, which could skew the results.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background: white;">A further problem
with the research is that ‘sexually active men and women were more likely to
have a higher level of education, be younger, wealthier, more physically
active, not depressed, less lonely and have a better quality of life</span>’. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background: white;">This is where
another klaxon goes off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;">People with more
money and a better education scored higher. They were also more likely to be
living with a partner and so have easier access to sex. The study could just as
well be called ‘Educated, wealthy old couples have more sex!’ (Not quite so
catchy as titles go)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;">It could also
have been called ‘People with depression, illness and loneliness have less sex!’
These conditions don’t just affect older people but everyone and can reduce
sexual desire or activity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;">Masturbation was
included as sexual activity but not split into solo or mutual groups. So it
could be that DIY is just as effective as sex with someone else – there’s no
way of knowing from this study.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;">Both studies
speculate that the cause could be the ‘potential cognitive enhancing effects of
dopamine</span>’ and ‘enhanced oxytocin release’. These two have been
shown to improve cognitive functioning but levels were not measured in
participants.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;">There’s also the
problem of self-reporting. How honest were the answers?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;">The participants
were not asked if they were having good quality sex or how their sexual
activity had changed over time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;">The second study replicated
the findings of the first and tested for a wider range of cognitive functions.
But there were only 73 participants (aged 50-83), not enough to be statistically
significant. One of the tests was to list as many words beginning with F as
possible. Don’t tempt me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;">How are the media
reporting these findings? One guess.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><a href="http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/819651/sex-boost-brain-power-older-people-better-speech-visual.">The Express</a> says ‘University
boffins have discovered older people can boost their brain power - by having
more sex’ and thoughtfully includes a badly-drawn diagram on a sex position for
people with arthritis. Props for using the word ‘boffins’ though, that always
makes me laugh, especially in an article about sex. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><a href="http://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/having-more-sex-boosts-brain-function-in-over50s-study-finds-a3570441.html">The Evening Standard</a>
goes with ‘Over-50s can boost their brain power by having more sex, new
research has found’. That’s an interesting but not unexpected use of ‘found’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4625736/Want-stay-sharp-old-age-sex.html">The Daily Mail</a>
says ‘Sex is the key to staying sharp in old age!’ What are we to infer from
the exclamation mark? That it’s a surprise? That old people are having sex? Or
just that it’s about SEX!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;">So yes, the expected
uncritical response because it’s SEX. And we all like to read about SEX. Or
SEX! to be more accurate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;">What do we take
away from this research?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;">That some people
do better on some cognitive tests than others and that they are likely to be
better educated, wealthier and healthier. They also have more sex.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;">There’s no
consideration for people who either can’t have sex or don’t want to and how
articles like this might make them feel. The research is carefully neutral but
the media coverage implies that people <i>should
</i>be having sex to preserve cognitive faculties. It’s up to you, shag or go
senile. No pressure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white;">As a positive
takeaway, if you’re not having sex, your brain is not doomed to shrivel up.
Dopamine levels can be increased through exercise, getting enough sleep,
achieving goals (even small ones) and eating bananas. Oxytocin levels can be
increased by holding hands, stroking pets, laughing, exercise and even looking
at pictures of cute things. So go eat a
banana and look at some kittens. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="background: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background: white;">Appendage: The picture at the top is only vaguely linked to the subject but all the words I could think of to put into an image search would have taken me somewhere I may not have wanted to go.</span></div>
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TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-76388694132056093142017-05-24T08:45:00.000+01:002018-05-07T09:33:57.597+01:00Quit It - Part Three<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixEB8FsdSfchMTvaJdPTLNKcF5gyw-uAQJwFN-xGos1VRD180ihSQC3ITAuP_kv6YmKPGR4Kq_pYJnOJu-39CdwwmHMUAy4UDEZEIZ0gRIF2yF5cx5uyd3kf_-LFLEPtszgWBxVJjNokEj/s1600/monkey+birthday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="900" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixEB8FsdSfchMTvaJdPTLNKcF5gyw-uAQJwFN-xGos1VRD180ihSQC3ITAuP_kv6YmKPGR4Kq_pYJnOJu-39CdwwmHMUAy4UDEZEIZ0gRIF2yF5cx5uyd3kf_-LFLEPtszgWBxVJjNokEj/s320/monkey+birthday.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Part Three of<b> </b>dispatches
from the front line after ONE YEAR without smoking<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://tessera2009.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/quit-it.html">(Part One</a>, <a href="http://tessera2009.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/quit-it-part-2.html">Part Two</a>)<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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Have I smoked in the last year? No. Not one. Do I still want
to? Yes. Will I give in? The hell I will.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The addict part of my brain will always be there but it’s
become a puny, mewling thing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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One of the strongest triggers now is leaving a cinema; my
first thought is still to light up. Last week I dreamed I was smoking and
really enjoying it; for the next couple of days I really wanted one. An
ex-smoker I know said this still happens to her occasionally, even after years.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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People keep saying that I must feel so much better. In
theory, my immune system should now have recalibrated, the cilia and cells in
my airways regrown. <a href="http://whyquit.com/whyquit/A_Benefits_Time_Table.html">My risk</a> of coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke
has dropped to less than half that of a smoker. But it’s only in the last
couple of weeks that I’ve actually started feeling well after being almost
constantly ill for more than eight months - not just with post-smoking coughs
and colds but with non-respiratory viruses.
The GP tells me this is normal. Bloody marvellous.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve just got back to my pre-quitting weight. Maintaining it
is hard and means not even looking at lovely, lovely sugar more than once a week.
I’m eating less overall than I was too, which is a real challenge.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My knees have adjusted to the extra cardio and my bum
muscles are a bit firmer than they were.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve saved myself a couple of thousand pounds (my brand,
Silk Cut Silver, now sells for £10.45 in my local supermarket, of which <a href="http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/shopping/2017/03/budget-2017-alcohol-and-tobacco-duty-changes">£5.19 is tax</a>). Am I saving the NHS money? I may not need it for smoking-related
diseases but if I live longer, I will need it for other things.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since I quit, standardized cigarette packaging has been
introduced and the ten pack is no longer available. The idea is that the drab
boxes with big ugly health warnings will make more people quit and put children
off starting. The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/sifting-the-evidence/2017/apr/27/standardised-cigarette-packaging-is-on-its-way-but-will-it-reduce-smoking?CMP=twt_a-science_b-gdnscience">evidence for quitting </a>is very slim but there is some evidence
that the boxes are less attractive to teenagers. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most of the legislation, constant price increases and public
health strategies are aimed at preventing young people from starting. They
won’t put off the addicts – and certainly wouldn’t have made me stop. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You can see why vaping is becoming more popular with its
pretty colours and no health warnings or gruesome images. So far. <a href="https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/concerns-explode-over-new-health-risks-vaping">Evidence is growing </a>of the dangers of vaping if it is not used as a short-term quitting aid. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some tobacco companies have started selling tins to avoid
the new packaging rules and keep their branding visible. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/19/marlboro-tins-plain-packaging-tobacco-firm-philip-morris-cigarettes">One expert said </a>“The
fact that these tins appeared almost immediately prior to the branding and size
restrictions coming into force is suspicious.” It’s not suspicious, it’s
predictable. They are not going to go down without a fight for a global
industry currently <a href="http://www.bat.com/group/sites/UK__9D9KCY.nsf/vwPagesWebLive/DO9DCKFM">worth $770 billion</a> a year.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve learnt a lot about quitting in the last year, some of
it scientific, some of it personal. The main messages are:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Quitting is bloody awful but if it was easy everyone would
do it. I am super special sparkly</li>
<li>There is no good time to stop. This last year has been a
bugger for many reasons</li>
<li>It’s different for everyone</li>
<li>Think before you open your mouth around a quitter</li>
<li>There will be consequences. Quitting is damage limitation,
not resetting to zero</li>
<li>There are both genetic and cultural components to addiction</li>
<li>Public health information and support is very inadequate</li>
<li>It’s really important to get support from anyone who will
listen to you constantly whining</li>
<li>Punching people won’t make you want to smoke any less</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
So that’s my year of quitting. Now give me that damn cake.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>UPDATE APRIL 2018</b><br />
<br />
Nearly two years in and I am now a much greater <a href="https://iea.org.uk/publications/smoking-and-the-public-purse/">drain on the public purse</a> than when I smoked. Sorry about that.<br />
<br />
<b>UPDATE MAY 2018</b><br />
<br />
I keep dreaming I'm smoking again, possibly because it's coming up to two years since I quit and it's on my mind. Sometimes you just have to wake up and say Fuck off, brain.<br /><br />We had an interesting talk at London Skeptics (which I run) about harmful behaviour. The speaker, Dr James Erskine, <a href="https://www.sgul.ac.uk/images/podcasts/thesciencebehindcraving.mp3">has done research</a> that shows not thinking about something isn't the answer. That just increases the cravings and the likelihood of giving in. And when you do give in, you'll do way more than you used to as a kind of rebound effect (the return of the repressed). The trick is to acknowledge and observe the thought, which helps 'decouple it' (his words) from acting on it.<br />
<br /></div>
TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-78938141881485910102017-04-09T11:03:00.000+01:002017-04-09T11:03:00.298+01:00Beyond Belief<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQCXCYyBBfqdHjCX1VkfPQ9fFTO5Ovq7mt9Uh2y9lXhcC1-Azx1zKXzCts2tzX0ONMp2p_8zbxN7O-U4jJs7ciC21je2-a1a9LQVcV9twXdJFNd-YpjUEDBBZ_6LvB8XKfEOWBcH_dF-E/s1600/crucified+bunny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQCXCYyBBfqdHjCX1VkfPQ9fFTO5Ovq7mt9Uh2y9lXhcC1-Azx1zKXzCts2tzX0ONMp2p_8zbxN7O-U4jJs7ciC21je2-a1a9LQVcV9twXdJFNd-YpjUEDBBZ_6LvB8XKfEOWBcH_dF-E/s320/crucified+bunny.jpg" width="248" /></a></div>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
A <a href="http://www.comresglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/BBC-Religion-and-Ethics-Survey-Data-Tables-1.pdf">Comres survey</a> commissioned by the BBC for Palm Sunday**
does not look good for the Church of England despite a predictable effort to
spin the findings.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
In the survey, 51% of people surveyed identified as
Christian. Half of the people surveyed said they didn’t believe in the
resurrection, while only 31% of people identifying as Christian said they did.
Only 17% of people thought the Bible version was literally true while 26%
believed but thought the Bible shouldn’t be taken literally.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Although Christmas is now far more celebrated, the
resurrection is the core tenet of Christianity and Easter is its most important
festival. No resurrection, no Christianity. To quote the Bible: <i>Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that
believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.</i> (John 11:25) And
yet more than two thirds of Christians don’t believe that.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Sidebar:</b> I wrote
about how <a href="http://tessera2009.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/easter-remix.html">Jesus is not the only one claiming to be resurrected here</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Belief and church attendance have been falling for quite
some time. The figures for belief in this survey are slightly better than those
in a <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/news/2016/03/26/o-we-of-little-faith/">YouGov survey </a>from last year which found that only 46% of people identify
as Christian. This was a much bigger survey and so is more likely to represent
the population as a whole (nearly 12,000 as opposed to around 2,000 people).
The YouGov survey also found that more people believe in ghosts than in a
Creator.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
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According to the current survey, 37% of people identifying
as Christian never go to Church. Another <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/media/3331683/2015statisticsformission.pdf">survey by the Church of England </a>itself
found that only 2% of the population go to the Church of England at Easter. The
flock really has strayed far from the Good Shepherd (probably because they know
he’s going to herd them off to the slaughterhouse so we can all eat our traditional
Easter roast lamb and rosemary). <o:p></o:p></div>
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The survey also looked at belief in life after death. It
found that only 46% of people said they believed in it and the same number said
they didn’t. If you don’t believe in an afterlife then the Church’s carrot and
stick tactics are not going to work on you. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Sidebar:</b> of those
who do believe in an afterlife, 56% were women and 36% were men. I looked at
why women may believe more than men in many kinds of supernatural phenomena (and
non-evidence based medicines)<a href="http://tessera2009.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/whats-your-star-sign.html"> here</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Church is fighting a rearguard action and trying to spin
the findings that 20% of the non-religious believe in some sort of life after
death and that 9% of non-believers do believe that the resurrection happened. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Bishop of Manchester, the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-39153121">Right Reverend David Walker,said</a>: "This important and welcome survey proves that many British people,
despite not being regular churchgoers, hold core Christian beliefs”. He
describes the results as “surprisingly high levels of religious belief among
those who follow no specific religion, often erroneously referred to as secularists
or atheists”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let’s unpack this a bit. Firstly, the Church doesn’t have a
monopoly in life after death belief. About a third of the people (32%) who believed
in some sort of life after death believe in reincarnation, hardly a Christian
doctrine. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Secondly, 9% believing in the resurrection is not a ‘surprisingly
high level’ when you look more closely and see that these are people who ‘do
not belong to a religious group’ according to the survey. They are not identified
as non-believers or claiming to be atheist or secular, he’s just grasping at
straws because any kind of belief, however small or tenuous is better than
nothing. He does deserve credit for his top
skills at ignoring all the stats that don’t reflect well on the Church though.
That’s quite an impressive mental contortionist act.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thirdly, he is conflating atheists and secularists. Atheism
means no belief in God whereas secularism is a political belief in the need for
separation of Church and State. You can be religious and secular, as many
people are. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Like a lot of Easter eggs, the Bishop’s claims are hollow
and crack under the slightest pressure.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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There is also dissension in the Christian ranks. Reverend Dr
Lorraine Cavenagh is the acting general secretary for Modern Church, which
promotes liberal Christian theology. She said "Science, but also intellectual
and philosophical thought has progressed. It has a trickle-down effect on just
about everybody's lives.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"So to ask an adult to believe in the resurrection the
way they did when they were at Sunday school simply won't do and that's true of
much of the key elements of the Christian faith."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A cynical person might say that the Church wants us all to believe
like children at Sunday School do. Many of these children also believe in Santa.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Would it be mean to point out that <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1403106/One-third-of-clergy-do-not-believe-in-the-Resurrection.html">in 2002 a survey</a> found
that a third of Church of England clergy don’t believe in the physical resurrection?
That’s a bit of an own goal. It’s also unfair to people who do believe if they’re
being led by people who don’t. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These findings follow the Cadbury Easter egg fiasco where self-proclaimed
vicar’s daughter Theresa May and Archbishop Sentamu got very hot under the dog
collar about Cadbury’s and the National Trust dropping the word Easter from
their eggs and egg hunt. <a href="http://tessera2009.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/the-e-word.html">I wrote about that here</a> (short version – it’s not
true). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Does any of this really matter to most of us who are more
interested in hot cross buns, chocolate eggs and maybe some roast lamb next
Sunday? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Bishop of Manchester also said: "This demonstrates
how important beliefs remain across our society and hence the importance both
of religious literacy and of religion having a prominent place in public
discourse."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is the crux of the matter. The Church will not give up
its power and influence. It will not give up unelected bishops in the House of
Lords or its tax-free benefits or state-funded Church schools and hospital
chaplains or its general right to meddle in people’s lives. It wants the right
to cherry-pick who gets to go to its schools, to mislead children in sex
education classes and to discriminate against women and non-hetero cis men.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Church leaders are deluding themselves about the relevance
of their beliefs and their jobs in a multi-cultural society. Yes, this country
has a Christian heritage, religion has shaped society and history but it is not
the sole influence. Societies evolve and the Church is looking increasingly
like a dinosaur just before the meteors hit. Or, to add another simile, the Church
is like a ferret that will not let go once its jaws have locked on.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p>However, this survey is no reason for celebration. Politicians
won’t do anything to secularise the country because they’re afraid of losing
votes. Anglicans (Church of England) are <a href="http://www.brin.ac.uk/2014/the-british-election-study-2015-religious-affiliation-and-attitudes/">more likely to vote Tory,</a> for a start.
This government is very good at ignoring research it doesn’t like in any area
and at dismissing ‘experts’ as irrelevant. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So the Church of England has the last laugh. Whatever
surveys show, there is no prospect of change any time soon. It’s much easier to
hold onto power than to gain it. Inertia, cowardice and the status quo prevail.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Happy Easter.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
** Palm Sunday is the one before Easter where the Bible says
Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey and people waved palm leaves at him.<o:p></o:p></div>
TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-84761130554597414982017-04-04T12:00:00.001+01:002021-03-31T15:23:00.841+01:00The E Word<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirlDw9JrUO9X_oxi3K-0C-nn2j5T8I14Ha4ZLpYTHA_sftPK4vHLKeY3gTSuvdSivWn2CcNf1O3l8aNtYq1W3qjPTn5vp-1bOo5xgMrx82waG_wri8VshnrLAlKEUSaax54AqUZ1d8vrG4/s1600/cadbury+easter.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirlDw9JrUO9X_oxi3K-0C-nn2j5T8I14Ha4ZLpYTHA_sftPK4vHLKeY3gTSuvdSivWn2CcNf1O3l8aNtYq1W3qjPTn5vp-1bOo5xgMrx82waG_wri8VshnrLAlKEUSaax54AqUZ1d8vrG4/s320/cadbury+easter.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As if Theresa May didn’t have enough to deceive the British public
about at the moment, now she decides to wade into the Great Easter Egg Debate. This
is basically the Winterval, ’they’re cancelling Christmas’ non-story with added
chocolate</span>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cadbury’s and the National Trust have been running a joint
egg hunt for 10 years. This year they’re calling it the Cadbury's Great British
Egg Hunt instead of the Easter Egg Trail.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39487307">According to May,</a> dropping the Easter is ‘ridiculous’.
According to Archbishop Sentamu, this is ‘spitting on the grave’ of the company
founder, John Cadbury, who was a Quaker.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
May said: "I think the stance they have taken is
absolutely ridiculous. I don't know what they are thinking about frankly.
Easter's very important... It's a very important festival for the Christian
faith for millions across the world." She also reminds us that she’s a
vicar’s daughter.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Firstly</b>, Cadbury is not dropping Easter from its promotions.
As a spokesman point out: "A casual glance at our website will see dozens
of references to Easter throughout." A ten second look at their <a href="https://easter.cadbury.co.uk/">website</a>
shows ‘Enjoy Easter fun at the National Trust’. Yes, the E Word is right there.
They
also have a section called <a href="https://easter.cadbury.co.uk/easter-products">Easter Products</a> that says ‘Our eggstensive range is packed with perfect treats for the Easter
season!’. Yes, it’s a terrible pun, but, again, the E Word is right there.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/join-the-cadbury-egg-hunts-this-easter">National Trust website</a> says Join the Cadbury Egg Hunts this Easter. In fact, the page mentions the E Word
five times.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Secondly,</b> dear Archbishop, stop being a drama queen for one
minute and you may remember that Quakers <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/subdivisions/quakers_1.shtml">don’t even celebrate Easter</a> because
they believe every day is holy. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Thirdly</b>, both the Archbishop and the vicar’s daughter seem
to have forgotten that there is nothing in Christian doctrine about the mass
consumption of poor quality chocolate at Easter, whether it is shaped like an
egg or a rabbit. These are wholly pagan relics.<a href="http://tessera2009.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/easter-remix.html"> I wrote about the pagan originsof Easter here </a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Fourthly,</b> calling it the Great British Egg Hunt should make
all the Brexiteers happy. We’ll have none of that Middle Eastern religion that
was imposed on traditional British beliefs around 1500 years ago. Keep Britain’s
Spring Festival British.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Fifthly,</b> if Easter is as important as the two of them are
trying to make out, how come only about 2% of people bother going to Church to
celebrate what is the fundamental basis of Christianity? And that’s according the <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/media/3331683/2015statisticsformission.pdf">Church of England’s own statistics.</a> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All of those armchair Christians really should stop their
advance towards diabetes for an hour and go to their nearest church – if they
even know where it is. They may be able
to sing some carols but how many Easter hymns do they know? How many gave
something up for Lent? It’s not as if Cadbury and the National Trust are
barricading church doors to keep people out.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Sixthly</b>, the real story here is that Brexit could mean more
expensive or smaller chocolate bars. Cadbury’s have already reduced a pack of six
Creme Eggs to five with only a slight decrease in the price. A <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/24/cadbury-warns-chocolate-could-get-smaller-after-brexit">spokesman for thecompany has said</a> that it may well have to pass on higher costs to customers by
raising prices or selling smaller products for the same price. And it’s not
even a British company any more, it’s owned by US company Mondelēz
International. I suspect the ghost of Mr Cadbury would be far more bothered
about that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cadbury’s are probably far less worried about what Theresa May
thinks than about the fact that <a href="http://www.thedrum.com/news/2015/11/05/maltesers-takes-top-spot-cadburys-dairy-milk-become-britains-favourite-chocolate">six out of ten </a>of our favourite chocolate
products are made by their rival Mars, including the top slot, which is taken
by Maltesers. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Finally</b>, a vicar’s daughter and an Archbishop really should
know that it’s a sin to tell a lie. They won’t be getting any eggs this year
because the Easter Bunny knows if you’ve been naughty or nice. Santa sold the
Bunny his list – customer data sharing gets everywhere.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI3QhoiXwviOcjYRRBlgSehho35er1Wn5Aq__mhXbjKSkPW46hpxFB-8via9TL1DVj1Apj15Mg_1sD-dD5Swb5A7Sy_vUzQSjrBEDBDZtclkIzNfBntio5Flc1sddtyDL4WTE5YVDe23MO/s1600/war_on_easter-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="177" data-original-width="284" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI3QhoiXwviOcjYRRBlgSehho35er1Wn5Aq__mhXbjKSkPW46hpxFB-8via9TL1DVj1Apj15Mg_1sD-dD5Swb5A7Sy_vUzQSjrBEDBDZtclkIzNfBntio5Flc1sddtyDL4WTE5YVDe23MO/s320/war_on_easter-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>2018 UPDATE</b><br />
<br />
It looks like Cadbury's and The National Trust are avoiding the wrath of May and the Archbish this year by plastering the word Easter all over their joint<a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/join-the-cadbury-easter-egg-hunts"> egg hunt site</a>.<br />
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But this isn't enough for some people. Yes, the War on Easter brigade are back. <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/5893124/shops-erase-easter-packaging-chocolate-eggs/">The Sun</a> has come up with the shock horror headline that nine in ten eggs won't have the word 'Easter' on them. One of the people they spoke to said '<span style="background-color: rgba(166, 68, 112, 0.2); font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px;">Eggs signify Jesus is risen and help tell the story. Why not put Easter on the front of eggs?' Kind of missing the point there. Eggs, as we know, predate Christianity as part of Spring celebrations across many cultures.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(166, 68, 112, 0.2); font-size: 16px;">If they don't like the eggs, perhaps they'd be happier with this:</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(166, 68, 112, 0.2); font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px;">It's so much easier to whine about eggs than to deal with the fact that so few people go to Church on Easter Sunday even though it is the core festival of this religion - not Christmas. Only 1.3 million attended in 2015 according to the <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/news/2015-attendance-statistics-published">Church of England's own data</a>. That's only 2.3% of the population (of England - the Churches of Wales and Scotland have separate data). Too busy stuffing themselves with chocolate, probably.</span><br />
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I'm sticking to hot cross buns. After all, the best part of any religion is its carbs.<br />
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<b>2021 Update: </b>Here we go again. As if getting through the pandemic wasn't hard enough. The <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1417088/easter-egg-chocolate-easter-news-political-correctness-allyson-stewart-allen">Express is braying</a>: <b>Political correctness gone mad! Words 'Easter, egg' dropped from seasonal chocolate treats</b>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">It's not about spurning Jesus but, according to Allyson Stewart-Allen, chief exec of International Marketing Partners for Galaxy, "<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: times;">In the multi-cultural society that the UK now is it may be that the majority of target customers do not celebrate Easter and therefore being able to offer that product as a gift for non-Christians is a domestic opportunity for the manufacturers".</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Nothing to do with political correctness and everything to do with money. Cadbury's are still using the E word on their packaging.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I'm disappointed the Express didn't talk about Cancel Culture although 'multi-cultural' probably had a fair few of its readership frothing at the mouth.<br /><br />I'm thinking about having a Terry's Dark Chocolate Orange for a change this year because I'm that much of a rebel.</div><h1 itemprop="headline" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #292221; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 40px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 46px; margin: 0px 0px 22px; padding: 0px; transform: none;"><br /></h1>
TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-33433512703700075452016-12-14T13:20:00.000+00:002016-12-26T11:02:17.923+00:002016 – Another year of nonsense on stilts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR4SC-O7VJzNhkWacktfxhICPozGCEhQe8t-CiN4P5u67lZI5sWfNCrX0jLTjy_VVyd7nZkAgSm_zh_6_I4BGYOEpjCir0_y41qIRNWj5D69t8XIrc0KzQqU6IMoGPQc-gyv3QAn9JoaMW/s1600/ghostbusters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR4SC-O7VJzNhkWacktfxhICPozGCEhQe8t-CiN4P5u67lZI5sWfNCrX0jLTjy_VVyd7nZkAgSm_zh_6_I4BGYOEpjCir0_y41qIRNWj5D69t8XIrc0KzQqU6IMoGPQc-gyv3QAn9JoaMW/s320/ghostbusters.jpg" width="320" height="160" /></a></div>As part of running London Skeptics in the Pub, I like to collect stories for our members. These are some from this year that caught my attention. They cover three main areas: health, diet and random nonsense.<br />
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Let’s start with the health-related stories.<br />
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<b>HEALTH</b><br />
<b>Antibacterial soaps</b> are often sold with scare tactics – buy this or your children will be eaten by bacteria and you will be a Bad Parent. But <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/sep/02/antibacterial-soaps-banned-us-fda?CMP=twt_a-science_b-gdnscience">there is mounting evidence</a> that they are no more effective than regular soap and water and they may be driving antibiotic resistance. <br />
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<b>Glucosamine</b> has become a popular remedy for joint pain but it looks like it’s <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-37429050">no better than placebo</a>. This means that it may work – because placebos work, especially in pain management – but it’s not cheap and you might well be better off using exercise. I <a href="http://tessera2009.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/pain-relief-placebo-and-profit.html">wrote about glucosamine</a> six years ago and back in 2001 <a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/322/7300/1439.extract">the BMJ found</a> that it doesn’t work, yet it’s still a huge money-spinner.<br />
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Staying with pain management, we’ve all used <b>paracetamol </b>but again <a href="http://www.evidentlycochrane.net/paracetamol-widely-used-ineffective/">there is mounting evidence</a> that it’s no better than placebo.<br />
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So-called alternative medicine has had a fair few stories in the news this year as well, some more worrying than others.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWVMEc9xCTXtwOK5EMtWHSXMACjLvnTUNRKgQfyADEPCHOEhssxezLIHAKJpig8U-73GaRYpOF6OlqwUIHeyuZPAjOaDd-mPnDuI-hp5wNLpX09GDDk4RUlZ_j-iPmIh8d31s4IZuG-Lqy/s1600/cupping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWVMEc9xCTXtwOK5EMtWHSXMACjLvnTUNRKgQfyADEPCHOEhssxezLIHAKJpig8U-73GaRYpOF6OlqwUIHeyuZPAjOaDd-mPnDuI-hp5wNLpX09GDDk4RUlZ_j-iPmIh8d31s4IZuG-Lqy/s320/cupping.jpg" width="241" height="320" /></a></div><br />
<b>Cupping</b> was popular with some athletes at the Olympics. It’s done by setting fire to a flammable liquid in a glass cup. The flame burns away the oxygen, creating a vacuum. Once the flame goes out, the vacuum creates suction that sticks the cup to the body.<br />
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Along with the drop in temperature, this sucks the skin up and draws blood to the surface. There is also a version that doesn’t involve fire but it’s much less dramatic and so lacks the theatricality that witchdoctors and quacks often use to convince their ‘patients’ they’re actually doing something other than fleecing them.<br />
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The red spots last a few days and are caused by ruptured capillaries beneath the skin. It’s claimed to cure muscle problems and pain, arthritis, insomnia, fertility issues, and cellulite. Needless to say, there is <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-37009240">absolutely no evidence</a> for any of these claims and it will make you look like a twat. Stalwart skeptic Dr <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBnZdxCUXbk&feature=youtu.be">David Colquhoon was on TV</a> explaining why it doesn’t work.<br />
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On the upside, <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/homeopathy-therapeutic-dead-end-systematic-review-no-evidence-it-works-a6884356.html">yet more trials </a>find <b>homeopathy</b> doesn’t work and<a href="http://goodthinkingsociety.org/nhs-wirral-ccg-ends-funding-for-homeopathy/"> NHS Wirral has stopped funding it.</a><br />
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The <a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/brian-boyd-goodbye-and-good-riddance-to-the-nonsense-of-homeopathy-1.2879149#.WDdPG1YMXAB.twitter">US government has ruled</a> that homeopathy treatments will now be held to the same advertising standards as other products claiming health benefits. This means that all homeopathic products will have to include the statements ‘There is no scientific evidence backing homeopathic health claims’ and ‘Homeopathic claims are based only on theories from the 1700s that are not accepted by modern medical experts’ if they are to be stocked in chemist shops. So that’s at least one good thing America has done this year.<br />
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Many <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3679998/Homeopathy-pet-s-barking-warn-vets-2-500-use-letter-demand-alternative-medicine-blacklisted.html">vets are calling</a> for homeopathy to be banned, too. Of course, some people will see this as a victory for Big Pharma and carry on buying it. Because there’s no cure for stupidity.<br />
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Vets have increasingly been offering a range of ‘alternative treatments’ including <b>chiropractic and acupuncture</b>; the cost of them has <a href="http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-3824762/Cost-pet-insurance-shoots-9-cover-posh-therapies.html">pushed up pet insurance</a> by 9% according to the Association of British Insurers. Of the 370 policies on the market, 96% include alternative therapies. It’s hard to tell whether vets are offering these treatments because people want them or whether people want them because vets are pushing them. Either way, this cat looks really pissed off its owner is so dumb.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzDJio6Z_ADAxuQJkAMCe8seiLxBOXu1fy81JMjkWmJTbvtzIREq8wVDVtvH6XbhgpaZqiOhvuBVsjsLk0yC_AHp94qH6L0tf39yQkYH0_L4stMWAdND0GdugiIhAmg3CNmC3cZwDm287/s1600/Cat-Acupuncture.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzDJio6Z_ADAxuQJkAMCe8seiLxBOXu1fy81JMjkWmJTbvtzIREq8wVDVtvH6XbhgpaZqiOhvuBVsjsLk0yC_AHp94qH6L0tf39yQkYH0_L4stMWAdND0GdugiIhAmg3CNmC3cZwDm287/s320/Cat-Acupuncture.png" width="320" height="214" /></a></div><br />
Back to humans and <a href="http://blogs.plos.org/absolutely-maybe/2016/07/25/the-resilience-of-brain-training-hype-active-trial-redux/">there is no evidence</a> that <b>brain training</b> helps prevent dementia. As the population ages, the various forms of dementia are on the increase and the race is on to find a treatment, especially as the NHS may not be around much longer.<br />
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Staying with the brain, the term <b>‘brain plasticity’</b> (or neuro-plasticity) gets bandied about a lot but <a href="https://mindhacks.com/2010/06/07/neuroplasticity-is-a-dirty-word/">means pretty much nothing</a>. It’s one of those terms that people who don’t know much about science use to make it sound like they do.<br />
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It could be argued that it’s up to adults what they do to themselves but it’s different when they force children to take alt med. In October this year, a four year old boy nearly died after being given <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-37572771">supplements from a <b>naturopath</b></a> to treat autism.<br />
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<b>DIET FADS<br />
</b>This year has seen the usual crop of diet fads. Our appetite for them is equalled only by our appetite for fat and sugar (well, my appetite for sugar, certainly). <br />
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<b>Superfoods</b> are claimed to have all sorts of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/aug/29/truth-about-superfoods-seaweed-avocado-goji-berries-the-evidence?CMP=twt_a-science_b-gdnscience">miracle powers.</a> There is no good evidence that pomegranates have any particular benefits, goji berries are no better than any other fruit, there is little evidence for chia seeds, beetroot juice does seem to lower blood pressure slightly but if you have high pressure, get to the doctor, change your diet and do some exercise rather than looking for a quick fix. Eating too much seaweed can be bad for you and kale has no magic powers. It doesn’t seem to matter how often the antioxidant myth is debunked, people keep buying into it.<br />
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The idea that you need to drink <b>eight glasses of water</b> a day just won’t die despite the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/25/upshot/no-you-do-not-have-to-drink-8-glasses-of-water-a-day.html?_r=1">total lack of evidence.</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3pKE1gIZSP5b-iUizS6LYNE5FuWbTom5pSx4WoZIsrKWNnQZ5qN-P_5xe8nKbgRjlc-NWhrshZEltoOHKE8G3QGB2zzuGeAkb_z7xAnb4puYrTS9BV6eUrFOj533VAgYzEkYqka7BCvyS/s1600/clean+eating.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3pKE1gIZSP5b-iUizS6LYNE5FuWbTom5pSx4WoZIsrKWNnQZ5qN-P_5xe8nKbgRjlc-NWhrshZEltoOHKE8G3QGB2zzuGeAkb_z7xAnb4puYrTS9BV6eUrFOj533VAgYzEkYqka7BCvyS/s320/clean+eating.jpg" width="320" height="314" /></a></div><br />
Another <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07r1hnj/clean-eatings-dirty-secrets">thriving fad </a>is <b>clean eating.</b> Spiralised vegetables, kale and pomegranate (again) and NO EVIL CARBS. Bread and pasta are evil and ‘full of chemicals’. Apparently fruit and veg contain no chemicals at all. That’s because they are made from fairies’ breath. The supermarkets are increasingly stocking cauliflower ‘rice’ and butternut squash or courgette ‘noodles’. And of course they are not cheap.<br />
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There’s a serious demonizing of sugar but a lot of the ‘clean’ recipes that claim to avoid sugar are still sweetened with honey, dates, coconut sugar, agave syrup and so on. I’m sorry to tell you that these are all still sugars. Paying a lot more for something with virtuous-looking packaging won’t change that.<br />
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Yes, it’s mostly another dumb middle class fad but it has repercussions for people with eating disorders, assigning some foods to the ‘dirty’ category, making food a moral choice and piling on the body shaming if you stray from the straight and narrow. Don’t you want to Get The Glow? Like a lot of cult members, clean eating converts really don’t like it when <a href="https://www.the-pool.com/food-home/food-honestly/2016/42/bee-wilson-on-clean-eating">confronted with evidence.</a><br />
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Another dumb idea from this year was that <b>activity icons on food packaging</b> would help combat obesity by showing how long it would take to exercise off the calories. <a href="http://tessera2009.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/for-i-have-sinned.html">They won’t.</a> As ever, the truth is boring: eat a balanced diet and get some exercise.<br />
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Finally, <a href="http://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/eating-more-chocolate-might-make-you-smarter-new-study-suggests.html?cid=cp01002quartz">this story </a>suggests that eating <b>chocolate</b> can make you smarter. I don’t care if it’s good science or not, I just want it to be true.<br />
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<b>December 26. A late entry</b> is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/dec/26/protein-hype-shoppers-flushing-money-down-the-toilet-say-experts?CMP=twt_a-science_b-gdnscience">the protein supplement.</a> Even most athletes don't need extra protein. According to Tom Sanders, professor emeritus of nutrition and dietetics at King’s College London,“There’s been a lot of hype in gyms pushing high-protein shakes, there’s also a need to get rid of a waste product from the dairy industry, which is whey protein,” he said. “It’s a lot of crap, a way of selling a cheap product at a high price.” Excess protein is excreted through urine so you're basically paying for expensive pee pee.<br />
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<b>RANDOM NONSENSE</b> <br />
OK, we’ve done the serious stuff, now here’s the fun.<br />
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During the run-up to the Brexit referendum, there was much talk about an <b></b>EU cabbage regulation that runs to 26,911 words. This myth has been around since the 1940s in <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35962999">one guise or another.</a> There are some lengthy British guidelines but EU regulation contains precisely none that are specific to cabbages. <br />
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The idea that it takes <b>10,000 hours </b>to get really good at something has been endlessly repeated. Malcolm Gladwell conveniently or willfully misunderstood <a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/04/10/malcolm_gladwell_got_us_wrong_our_research_was_key_to_the_10000_hour_rule_but_heres_what_got_oversimplified/?utm_content=buffer610b0&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer">the research his claim is based</a> on and made a lot of money from it. But it’s nice and sound-bitey so expect to see more of it.<br />
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If you’re tempted to get your <b>DNA checked</b> to find out who your ancestors were, you may well be paying for what scientist <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/tomchivers/this-dna-ancestry-company-is-telling-its-customers-mostly-to?utm_term=.tnmb68gXa#.oo2R26gZA">Dr Adam Rutherford has described </a>as ‘mostly total bollocks’. What’s more, a general misunderstanding of how genes work has led to some people thinking their ancestors give them some sort of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/08/judge-people-on-merits-not-genes?CMP=twt_a-science_b-gdnscience">‘pedigree’ or explain their behaviour</a>. One of my great-grandfathers was a convicted bigamist. What does that say about me? Absolutely bugger all.<br />
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This year there was a story that went on <a href="http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/truth-behind-those-sightings-of-hull-s-beast-of-barmston-drain-werewolf-1-8193524">far longer </a>than it should have about an <a href="http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/670358/Hull-South-Yorkshire-werewolf-Old-Stinker-full-moon-Barmston-Drain"><b>eight foot werewolf </b></a>terrorizing people in Yorkshire. According to one ‘expert’ it’s our <a href="http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/hull-werewolf-sightings-caused-by-collective-guilt-expert-says/story-29837064-detail/story.html">‘collective guilt’</a> about exterminating wolves that keeps these myths going. So not horror movies, alcohol and attention-seeking, then?<br />
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Oh, and apparently <a href="http://www.urigeller.com/uri-predicted-theresa-may-next-pm-2014/"><b>Uri Geller </b>predicted </a>that Theresa May would become Prime Minister. Of course he did.<br />
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There are three main threads running through all these stories. Firstly, desperately ill people will try anything – and who can blame them? They are often vulnerable to exploitation. There is always money to be made from intractable pain and incurable conditions.<br />
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Secondly, many of us want a quick fix to lose weight. With the increasing incidence of obesity, diabetes and other health consequences, the market is ripe for exploitation and there is no money to be made from common sense.<br />
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Finally, some people will believe any old nonsense if it makes a good story, suits their prejudices or requires a bit of effort to check out.<br />
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Come and join us at <a href="http://london.skepticsinthepub.org/">London Skeptics </a>and watch us sort crap from Christmas for another year. You can find the stories I collect on our Facebook page and on Twitter @LondonSkeptics. Thanks to my right hand woman Carmen, to all our speakers, our audiences and <a href="http://monarchbar.com/">the Monarch </a>for hosting us.<br />
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The truth is out there. Keep ‘em peeled.<br />
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TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-67727242791692763062016-10-04T13:10:00.000+01:002016-10-04T13:10:35.263+01:00Pulling the wool over your eyes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoNG4w_Ng8SKFnmtH8UTrSAx2PHC40BmyTW_IlBRjbGhYb5dFqheDSA4NaAIzkXwvJyn7rIgK_QxDVFSA3EsAq3Gpqmu_BYMhlyIhkrJ3gula3kJ2JTYUNOZ7jisWE7wPkoecCWQhSDvGH/s1600/knitted+Rubik.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoNG4w_Ng8SKFnmtH8UTrSAx2PHC40BmyTW_IlBRjbGhYb5dFqheDSA4NaAIzkXwvJyn7rIgK_QxDVFSA3EsAq3Gpqmu_BYMhlyIhkrJ3gula3kJ2JTYUNOZ7jisWE7wPkoecCWQhSDvGH/s320/knitted+Rubik.jpg" width="320" height="268" /></a></div><br />
<a href="http://www.woollythoughts.com/">Pat Ashforth and Steve Plummer</a> have been knitting and crocheting mathematical images and objects for over twenty years. They’ve given demonstrations at science festivals, schools and craft exhibitions to ‘teach maths in an unconventional way’.<br />
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Some of the pieces have taken many thousands of hours to create and some have been bought by the Science Museum. Anything that engages young people with maths or science is laudable but is this anything new or interesting or artistic, worthy of a place in the Science Museum? Why is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/alexs-adventures-in-numberland/2016/oct/03/meet-the-mathekniticians-and-their-amazing-woolly-maths-creations?CMP=twt_a-science_b-gdnscience">the Guardian </a>getting so excited about them?<br />
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Firstly, does making these pieces out of yarn add anything to them? I spoke to <a href="http://www.elsiejones.co.uk/">Elaine Jones,</a> a professional crafter, who said:<br />
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<i>Most of their blanket designs would be equally interesting (and maybe clearer) as designs on paper. The craft aspect adds nothing, whereas hyperbolic crochet, for example, is a really good way of creating 3D shapes that are not easily made in other ways.</i><br />
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Hyperbolic crochet is something I did and <a href="http://tessera2009.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/hyperbolic-crochet.html">wrote about here </a>quite some time ago.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwdW5vIIy49dzuBedlAR3JXmlc9UqGhDhrF0LIOInFuwih0HxY9S1ALt17_jWYu2fsVskHb9tm4ftvydCZGSBN2zF_mA6XzzzfECVYiTT1fSbO7OXy6iTGPnSQ8qJtmNpqNqZQC5zfvDRw/s1600/hyperbolic+crochet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwdW5vIIy49dzuBedlAR3JXmlc9UqGhDhrF0LIOInFuwih0HxY9S1ALt17_jWYu2fsVskHb9tm4ftvydCZGSBN2zF_mA6XzzzfECVYiTT1fSbO7OXy6iTGPnSQ8qJtmNpqNqZQC5zfvDRw/s320/hyperbolic+crochet.jpg" width="320" height="240" /></a></div><br />
It started as a teaching aid and has developed from there. There has been a travelling exhibition of <a href="http://crochetcoralreef.org/about/">coral reefs made from hyperbolic crochet.</a> They are both beautiful and have a scientific purpose – two, in fact. One is solving a problem of three-dimensional mathematical representation, the other is ecological. This is something that would be very hard to do in any other media.<br />
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For many craftspeople, maths is a tool, not an end in itself. Elaine continues:<br />
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<i>It also made me consider how much maths/geometry there is in traditional pattern design anyway. The article totally overlooks this, making it sound as though using mathematical sequences to create patterns is 'amazing', instead of being something that craftspeople have always done. The difference is that craftspeople are concerned about aesthetics, whereas these people are not (as evidenced by some of their minging colour choices!) </i><br />
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This really is not special at all:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtywbjuGJb8nFMnx0iyYlOZy3BIbWy140hAVjo-RJkMHsQkWzOtRD2stLnYWbswQ1HaZ6jHVgAkcWe6113Cjd-0qLjWNm7pyHH2Mu-u8jDgP0LMgCuYT8iQg88hYno1fddVzo9vmPRINiD/s1600/cushion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtywbjuGJb8nFMnx0iyYlOZy3BIbWy140hAVjo-RJkMHsQkWzOtRD2stLnYWbswQ1HaZ6jHVgAkcWe6113Cjd-0qLjWNm7pyHH2Mu-u8jDgP0LMgCuYT8iQg88hYno1fddVzo9vmPRINiD/s320/cushion.jpg" width="320" height="256" /></a></div><br />
Elaine then says<br />
<i>I have a bit of a bee in my bonnet about science in art/craft. Some of it is great, but some of it is not. Despite that, if someone creates work based on something 'scientific' it immediately attracts more kudos than purely aesthetic work, regardless of its merit. It's an interesting idea, but to be really good, the execution and visual appeal should be good too. Otherwise, it's just mathematicians knitting stuff.</i><br />
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She is absolutely right. Part of the problem for me is that people who don't craft are impressed by any old bit of hand-made crap (which works in your favour if it's a birthday gift). Etsy is full of lumpy ugly stuff that people are charging money for. The fact these pieces are hand-made doesn’t make them ipso facto special. People have been making complex carpets and wall hangings for over a thousand years by instinctively using maths – and many of them were innumerate.<br />
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Anyone who has designed a crocheted blanket has spent time thinking about proportion, the relation of one section to another, fractions, how shapes intersect and so on. One of Ashforth and Plummer’s pieces is basically just a bunch of knitted mitred squares with a mathematical gloss. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7p-TTtIOytrc0_-ldVUmobQvwDrZlA-ArYu3YxVj7i3Y5oihcLzxc8UM9qUq91MKvFIxfofRiGwfPMKe4w0fxE8LDKGKebib8T2QjxkSsFngIqYmiHYQq2Uay18vw7bmmA4tChWy2G0b/s1600/mitred+square.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7p-TTtIOytrc0_-ldVUmobQvwDrZlA-ArYu3YxVj7i3Y5oihcLzxc8UM9qUq91MKvFIxfofRiGwfPMKe4w0fxE8LDKGKebib8T2QjxkSsFngIqYmiHYQq2Uay18vw7bmmA4tChWy2G0b/s200/mitred+square.jpg" width="200" height="160" /></a></div>I did a cushion using the same technique without even realising I was doing maths.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt3x4j8PpbmeyBi8Yxkh7IZx0worUxHvR4KlCaFnAX6QW1byFvuiVHU939iQpsnD15-vZdHcwS5R4yLzyoq5HMbm_okKdtfKrQ63ilPtoGpzUoQPC8IkvVXiE5yhA9UpRpfe0MRE25BNRB/s1600/P1010014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt3x4j8PpbmeyBi8Yxkh7IZx0worUxHvR4KlCaFnAX6QW1byFvuiVHU939iQpsnD15-vZdHcwS5R4yLzyoq5HMbm_okKdtfKrQ63ilPtoGpzUoQPC8IkvVXiE5yhA9UpRpfe0MRE25BNRB/s200/P1010014.JPG" width="200" height="196" /></a></div>Lots of people make Fibonacci scarves. Craft web site <a href="www.ravelry.com">Ravelry </a>has over a hundred designs using the Fibonacci sequence, from scarves to stuffed animals. They also have hyperbolic crochet, pseudospheres, algebraic socks and <a href="http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk/files/2988096/2004r03.pdf">a Lorenz manifold,</a> which is pretty damn cool.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJyNPUgcaOf7qgxdBYlZvENxYAvDMoOqbSID3PI1b0qUhqofxEIkK6W-qldoJh3udneQjGlN8mG6wSjGnfV3fShpttmIAYnMZFvioKS8OeYaRpjRgWZ-YStfguHM-pxf-k4AOn_ZolgyfK/s1600/lorenz+manifold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJyNPUgcaOf7qgxdBYlZvENxYAvDMoOqbSID3PI1b0qUhqofxEIkK6W-qldoJh3udneQjGlN8mG6wSjGnfV3fShpttmIAYnMZFvioKS8OeYaRpjRgWZ-YStfguHM-pxf-k4AOn_ZolgyfK/s320/lorenz+manifold.jpg" width="265" height="320" /></a></div><br />
Many quilters use geometry in their designs. The <a href="http://www.libselliott.com/">Canadian quilter Libs Elliott </a>goes further and uses coding to generate random formations of geometric quilts.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjat3T5bDZ_jxX6mf8GWNz5DZiWsJydu8wgrxe2-dAOxFpnFbPkUZTmswEf2MkbRlHhzToX_Py0Qrzb9VfW_8bem9II24ihGVT8esE6uQbwqTgARtENmgOdalQQLRmaRJ0V16AQ3Ffs7UE9/s1600/quilt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjat3T5bDZ_jxX6mf8GWNz5DZiWsJydu8wgrxe2-dAOxFpnFbPkUZTmswEf2MkbRlHhzToX_Py0Qrzb9VfW_8bem9II24ihGVT8esE6uQbwqTgARtENmgOdalQQLRmaRJ0V16AQ3Ffs7UE9/s320/quilt.jpg" width="320" height="320" /></a></div><br />
And of course, in the Arab world, geometric patterns have been used for around a thousand years in carpets, tiles and hangings.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWdHOdK7ewmEFD_meLseTQJEJldXMfthlyOJ3yrE9YESGlvwb2yCwvXOBeTlJY8zSo1uJc1IoM39xx7bzVfWX0K6bLThWMVhxsV65xpd-SLwTlye_vUzQEro7l2Xpv40rXeeJKHi3PLFvA/s1600/arabic+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWdHOdK7ewmEFD_meLseTQJEJldXMfthlyOJ3yrE9YESGlvwb2yCwvXOBeTlJY8zSo1uJc1IoM39xx7bzVfWX0K6bLThWMVhxsV65xpd-SLwTlye_vUzQEro7l2Xpv40rXeeJKHi3PLFvA/s320/arabic+2.jpg" width="320" height="320" /></a></div><br />
Fractals are another maths thing widely used in art and craft, like this fractal necklace by Marc Newson.<br />
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I could go on but you get the picture. Or the quilt. Or the scarf.<br />
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How interested are kids in something crafted anyway? Does a six year old really care about afghan technique or how many hours went into making it? <br />
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The couple run school workshops teaching kids to knit just enough to collaborate on their own craft project for a wall hanging in the school, with a bit of added maths. This is the core of their teaching work and, judging by their website, seems to be successful in helping kids to work together and learn social skills. Making something yourself is always satisfying, especially for children. But there’s no metric for gauging how much maths the children learn or whether the workshops benefit them in their studies. Judging from this <a href="http://www.woollythoughts.com/schools/tynedale.html">teacher’s report,</a> they learnt far more about knitting and teamwork than maths.<br />
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The pieces the couple produce themselves are nothing special as craft or as mathematically produced objects. They sell patterns for many of their pieces and also other things like knitted toilet roll covers, dolls and puppets which are, frankly, the kind of thing that’s left over after a village hall bazaar.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM4cn6TTW13J3sbCXuFaNxdQtZG8P63uadMuxiSsb3s6RLpZbdbfu8LqSC5X57htU3HbwC9MKzoMvK1RPUSnD6hB84wTaqJIsjG-L0RvHX2ORzk2X0FB242EcQMiwKNo7gtEF0AkwQjpbH/s1600/toilet+roll+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM4cn6TTW13J3sbCXuFaNxdQtZG8P63uadMuxiSsb3s6RLpZbdbfu8LqSC5X57htU3HbwC9MKzoMvK1RPUSnD6hB84wTaqJIsjG-L0RvHX2ORzk2X0FB242EcQMiwKNo7gtEF0AkwQjpbH/s320/toilet+roll+cover.jpg" width="320" height="320" /></a></div><br />
They are not some amazing novelty act, they are a very small part of a long and varied tradition of using maths to create a wide range of arts and crafts. Treating them as something special ignores this tradition and the people, amateur and professional, who do it every day, as well as the work of professional maths communicators.<br />
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So, to Cast Off, putting a maths or science gloss on a piece of craft does not make it unique or wonderful. If you can find a simpler way to make maths accessible, don’t spend thousands of hours on it. Crafters have been using maths for generations. There are far better teaching aids and examples of maths-based crafts available. The Science Museum is surprisingly easy to impress. It's all a bit Emperor's New Clothes.<br />
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TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-28844114674639895752016-08-24T08:57:00.000+01:002017-02-23T12:50:20.356+00:00Quit It Part 2<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ9C9wQclahATTjj1FMkNm8n-v9ERc7aaZjfio45hjAJDA8W6u3Pa7y47vNxmEQwHimORQmyFJTUvcu5aHu0Gz6x00bekrT-6e9LNxBIRUQ8m9P4q-2s59DTFOm80aNoYKS7v6B6mvoB8M/s1600/mandrill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ9C9wQclahATTjj1FMkNm8n-v9ERc7aaZjfio45hjAJDA8W6u3Pa7y47vNxmEQwHimORQmyFJTUvcu5aHu0Gz6x00bekrT-6e9LNxBIRUQ8m9P4q-2s59DTFOm80aNoYKS7v6B6mvoB8M/s320/mandrill.jpg" width="254" /></a></div>
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<b>The continuing saga of My Adventures in The Land Without Fags </b>**<br />
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(<a href="http://tessera2009.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/quit-it.html">Part 1 is here)</a><br />
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<b>TWO MONTHS</b><br />
The monkey on my back is no longer a mandrill, more of a vervet.<br />
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I still want to smoke, sometimes A LOT, but it’s slowly becoming more an emotional and mental need, a kind of nostalgia. I miss it like Wendy missing Neverland. <br />
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For the first time, smoke smells bad to me. A friend was smoking Rothmans, admittedly one of the stinkiest fags, and I didn’t like it. Up until now, I’ve stood next to friends while they smoked and even followed people in the street a couple of times (yes, I know).<br />
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The IBS has mostly calmed down. For the first month, my digestion was seriously messed up and sometimes I looked five months pregnant, not because of the stress of quitting but because of physical withdrawal from chemicals that have controlled appetite and digestion for over 30 years. It takes a while for that to normalise (and it pisses me off when people assume IBS is caused solely by stress and, by implication, that I’m a feeble, neurotic woman).<br />
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The weight gain is holding steady at around 3kg. I’m exercising like buggery to get rid of it but so far, no dice. I haven’t noticed any difference at the gym with the weights but I can go harder on the cardio and being really out of breath at the end feels good, an endorphin rush I haven’t had for years. My knees aren’t so keen though.<br />
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I spoke to my dentist about whether the inhalator is having an effect on my oral health and he said that as long as my mouth isn’t permanently dry, it should be OK long term. On the upside, circulation to my gums is greatly improved already. On the downside, the fast recovery means they are much more sensitive so a session with the hygienist was nasty even with painkilling gel.<br />
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I’ve discovered that when someone kisses you, they can’t taste the nicotine from the inhalator, so that’s a bonus.<br />
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I’ve noticed that inhalators are sold in the pharmacy section of my supermarket whereas vaping equipment is sold with smoking products.<br />
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The rage has mostly gone although there are still moments. I haven’t done anyone actual harm but I’ve come very close a couple of times. They deserved it. I can now see the appeal of being a vigilante superhero – judge, jury and executioner. I may have to work on that. Or buy a cape and mask.<br />
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<b>Things not to say 1: </b>If I say I want to smoke, don’t say ‘No you don’t’ and think you’re being helpful because I really do. Acknowledge the craving and help me deal with it by distracting me – make me laugh, do a little dance, whatever.<br />
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<b>Things not to say 2: </b>‘What, still?’ Yes, still. Just because smoking doesn’t cause extreme and obvious behavioural changes like some drugs and alcohol can doesn’t make it any less powerful an addiction. I’m bored with it too, with how much attention it takes up - even when I’m thinking about something else at the same time. I want it to be over and done with. So kindly take your short attention span elsewhere.<br />
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<b>Things not to say (or think) 3: </b>Stop making a fuss and get on with it, you shouldn’t have been smoking in the first place. There’s a moral judgement attached to some people’s response to addiction, even if they don’t admit it. It’s based on ignorance about genetics, personality, environment, whether the people you most closely identified with did it, changing social acceptance, legality, and smugness. A lot of smugness. No one factor makes anyone a victim destined to be an addict but it’s a complex, multi-factorial thing and judging from your moral high ground really doesn’t help.<br />
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<b>THREE MONTHS</b><br />
The vervet has shrunk to a pygmy marmoset. I’ve decided to give her a name – Sparky. ***<br />
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Do I still want to smoke? Yes, every day, mostly in the evenings. But not for as long or as intensely as before, and it’s not making me miserable that I can’t.<br />
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I’m having regular dreams where I light up, then realise what I’ve done and wake up really angry with myself, so it looks like my unconscious is rooting for me too. Shame it can’t have a word with my metabolism.<br />
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From a 3kg peak, weight gain is now 1.5kg. I’m eating a bit less than I was before I quit but there really wasn’t much I could trim off my diet and now I’m hungry a lot of the time, which is miserable. The Nicotine Replacement Therapy is supposed to help with metabolism, hunger and weight gain. Maybe I’d have gained a lot more without it, there’s no way of knowing.<br />
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Public health and other advice websites assume that all smokers are fat bone-idle slugs so their weight gain advice is mostly just to be more active and avoid snacking, which is no use to me at all.<br />
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I’m trying HIIT as part of my regular workout (High Intensity Interval Training – basically doing sprints). There are many variations and I’m doing a 2:1 ratio: 20 second sprints then 10 seconds slower on the bike, repeated for four minutes, at the end of every workout (two weights, two cardio per week) plus an extra cardio session with HIIT, plus a lot of walking. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2991639/">Research shows </a>HIIT is better for weight loss than longer periods of less intense cardio. I don’t know if I’ll be able to go back to my normal gym routine once I’ve lost the weight or if I’ll have to keep up this level of intensity forever to keep it off. I bloody hope not. I’ve had knee problems since I was a kid and compartment syndrome in both legs about six years ago so I don’t want to push my luck. My knees hate me right now.<br />
<br />
<b>Things I have learned 1:</b> Nicotine is the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/the-5-most-addictive-drugs-in-the-world-a6924746.html">third most addictive substance known</a>, after heroine and cocaine, then alcohol and barbiturates. There is also an individual factor that makes some people more susceptible to some substances than others - I’ve used four out of those five and only become addicted to one.<br />
<br />
<b>Things I have learned 2:</b> Smokers tend to have <a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/87/4/801.full">more visceral fat</a> – the one that sits round the organs and causes serious health problems. It’s a stealth fat that even people who don’t look overweight can have. Because of chemical changes in the body, weight-gain after quitting is more likely to be subcutaneous fat (under the skin), which is less harmful, especially short-term. And it will be short term, if it kills me. <br />
<br />
<b>Things I have learned 3:</b> Nicotine is not all bad. This shouldn’t be a surprise as poisonous plants like deadly nightshade have medical uses.<br />
<br />
It has been found to protect against Parkinson’s disease. <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/will-a-nicotine-patch-make-you-smarter-excerpt/?&WT.mc_id=SA_WR_20140212">A small study</a> has found that it may also protect against the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. <br />
<br />
There isn’t even much of a problem with addiction in its therapeutic use because, according to an <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/will-a-nicotine-patch-make-you-smarter-excerpt/?&WT.mc_id=SA_WR_20140212">article in Scientific American</a>, <i>other ingredients in tobacco smoke are necessary to amp up nicotine’s addictiveness. Those other chemical ingredients—things like acetaldehyde, anabasine, nornicotine, anatabine, cotinine, and myosmine—help to keep people hooked on tobacco. On its own, nicotine isn’t enough.</i><br />
<br />
Another benefit is as a cognitive enhancer. According to Jennifer Rusted, professor of experimental psychology at Sussex University: <i>“To my knowledge, nicotine is the most reliable cognitive enhancer that we currently have, bizarrely.”</i> Many other studies back her up.<br />
<br />
According to <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-nicotine-all-bad/">another article in Scientific American</a>: <i>Psychologists and tobacco-addiction specialists think it's now time to distinguish clearly between nicotine and smoking; the evidence shows smoking is the killer, not nicotine.<br />
<br />
"We need to de-demonize nicotine," said Ann McNeill, professor of tobacco addiction at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Things I have learned 4: </b>There’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jul/24/is-addiction-really-a-disease?CMP=twt_a-science_b-gdnscience">a lot of disagreement</a> over whether addiction is a disease or a learned pattern of behaviour, whether addicts are helpless victims and should be treated as such or whether this view disempowers people and makes them less likely to try to take control and change. The term ‘brain plasticity’ gets bandied about a lot in terms of learning or unlearning behaviour, including addictive behaviour, but it’s pretty much empty of meaning and should be <a href="https://mindhacks.com/2010/06/07/neuroplasticity-is-a-dirty-word/">regarded with skeptical caution</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>What next?</b> <br />
This is the point where I should think about stopping the NRT according to some guidance but I’m in no rush. One Everest at a time. And according to the research I’ve mentioned, it’s not doing me any lasting harm and may even have some benefits.<br />
<br />
For the first time since I was a teenager I will have to deal with life’s vicissitudes without the comfort blanket of nicotine, which could be interesting. But Sparky and I will keep plodding down the long and winding road. Maybe I can train her to wear a little hat and bang cymbals. <br />
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** That's English fags, not American fags, obviously.<br />
*** Monkey notes: the mandrill is the largest monkey, the pygmy marmoset the smallest and the vervet (not surprisingly) somewhere in between.<br />
<br />
<b>SIX MONTH UPDATE</b><br />
<br />
Still not smoking. Still wanting to smoke or at least wanting the comfort of it. Still using the inhalator. Still haven’t lost all the weight.<br />
<br />
For the last two months I’ve been constantly ill with colds, laryngitis, three day flu (despite having the jab), more colds. There are endless forums where quitters talk about how many times they’ve been ill since stopping. None of the public health advice sites warn you that the immune system can take a long time to recalibrate itself and, while it does, you’re vulnerable to every passing invader. Also, nerve cells in the respiratory tract are beginning to work normally again, which means you’ll feel pain and irritation that smoking damped down, and the cilia take time to regrow to help repel the invaders.<br />
<br />
It really does feel like a kind of penance. I would very much appreciate it if everyone would just stop breathing on me.<br />
<br />
<b>SEVEN MONTHS</b><br />
<br />
I seem to have emerged from the tunnel of germs. My knees no longer hate me and have adjusted to the extra cardio, and I've lost two of the three kilos I gained. <br />
<br />
I've had some very difficult personal stuff to deal with, including a funeral and my first response was to reach for a cigarette. An actual physical reach for a pack that wasn't there. Someone said that it would be understandable and not a failure if I just had one, if that helped me cope. I explained that I can't just have one. Ever.<br />
<br />
2016 was probably not the best year to quit, given what's been happening in my world. But then, there never is a best year. If not now - when?<br />
<br />
<b>NINE MONTHS</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
More colds and viruses. I may not live any longer now but it sure as hell will feel like it. I need a way to surround myself with a cloud of smoke to keep the germs at bay without doing myself harm. Basically, I need to become a dragon.<br />
<br />
Still haven't lost the extra weight, damn it.<br />
<br />
And yes, I do still have nostalgia pangs for smoking, especially the lighting up part. But not nearly as often and the smugness helps keep them to a minimum, especially as the cost of a pack has now gone up to over £10.<br />
<br />
One of my younger relatives told me that of the ten people on his course, he's the only one who doesn't vape. Not one of them were previously smokers. That's a worrying trend even if they never move onto cigarettes as there is increasing <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2016/7/27/12299784/electronic-cigarettes-e-cigs-chemicals-cancer-fda">evidence of harm</a>. Tobacco companies are aiming to <a href="http://www.lse.co.uk/ukMoneyNews.asp?code=3debmajb&headline=UPDATE_3BAT_looks_to_double_its_vaping_markets">double their vaping sales</a> as fewer and fewer adults smoke. Profit has to come from somewhere and young people are a prime target because they think they'll live forever whatever they do.<br />
<br />
Some smokers I know are starting to get defensive around me, which can be difficult. "I know I should give up, but ...". I'm not making you feel bad, that's all on you. I know you'd feel better if I started again but I won't. Sorry about that.<br />
<br />
On the upside, I’ve been keeping my hands busy.<br />
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<br />TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-66992376978590282102016-06-16T12:16:00.001+01:002018-09-08T09:47:51.711+01:00Quit it<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There’s a lot of advice about how to give up smoking but, as with many public health initiatives, much of it is one-size-fits-all and so not very helpful to anyone who isn’t a mythical average.<br />
<br />
This is my experience after 23 days of not smoking. None of what follows is setting myself up to fail, it’s being realistic about the task ahead and preparing myself for it. As the Boy Scouts say: Be Prepared. As far as I can see, thinking it will be easy is the best way to fail. Forewarned is forearmed.<br />
<br />
<b>What they don’t tell you</b><br />
It will be fucking awful. No one tells you quite how awful it will be because all the health advice givers want you to stop.<br />
<br />
Mood swings. I expected to be a bit grumpy. I didn’t expect to want to punch people, to burst into tears and to be bouncing around like Tigger all in the same day. Things and people that would normally mildly irritate you will make you go postal. It’s a bit like the worst PMS - for weeks on end.<br />
<br />
If you live in a city and/or use public transport getting your sense of smell back is not a bonus. London and Londoners do not smell good.<br />
<br />
You may never stop wanting to smoke. People have told me that even 30 years on they would go back to it if it was safe.<br />
<br />
Cravings feel like a monster has taken over your body. Advice says that they get weaker and less frequent after about 14 days. They should last just a few minutes and then pass. Not so far. I still want to smoke just as much and just as often. My cravings can last up to half an hour. <br />
<br />
Most people fail. <a href="http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/89/8/572.long">Some research</a> shows that around a third of smokers try to quit each year and that ‘fewer than one in eight former smokers who had abstained for a month or less at baseline were continuously abstinent over the next 2 years’. Other research has varying percentages for cold turkey and assisted quitting but in all cases, the percentage who succeed is very small.<br />
<br />
<b>What not to say</b><br />
Do not say ‘I decided to give up and just did it. It was easy’. I will slap you. Hard.<br />
<br />
Do not say ‘It doesn’t matter if you put on a bit of weight’. It clearly does matter or it wouldn’t have been mentioned. Stick to making sympathetic noises.<br />
<br />
Do not say ‘Think of all the money you’re saving’. If that was a reason for giving up, no one would smoke. See also comments about not smelling like an ash-tray, not dying etc etc. I gave up because I just wasn’t enjoying it any more. I didn’t want to smoke. As simple as that. This doesn’t mean I don’t want a cigarette. Because I’m an addict.<br />
<br />
<b>ETA: </b>Do not say 'Try to avoid triggers'. For me these are: waking up, going to the gym, eating, drinking and, it turns out, being with one of my closest friends (a non-smoker).<br />
<br />
Do not talk about being a chocoholic or being really grumpy before you have your morning coffee. If you haven’t been a smoker, you won’t get it. <br />
<br />
This may sound harsh and ungrateful but I reserve the right to be Oscar the Grouch verging on She Hulk for the next few months. <br />
<br />
<b>Nicotine Replacement Therapy</b><br />
NRT covers products like patches, nicotine gum, inhalators and e-cigarettes. In theory it helps break the habit of smoking (as opposed to the addiction) while still getting some nicotine to lessen the cravings, and it doubles the chances of success.<br />
<br />
The problem is that it’s aimed at a theoretical average smoker of 20 full-strength cigarettes a day who would get about 15mg of nicotine. I was smoking 10-12 of what used to be called ultra-low cigarettes which meant that I was getting about 1mg of nicotine a day. So I would have to use about 6% of a nicotine patch – not exactly practical. There are products with less nicotine for phased quitting but even these would give me a lot more than I was previously getting.<br />
<br />
You’d think this would mean quitting was easier, but no. I know this because I tried to give up about 20 years ago when I was smoking 20 full-strength a day. <br />
<br />
I opted for an inhalator and worked out from the information given that about 15 seconds of sucking on it would give me about the same nicotine as a cigarette. But there is no precise information about how nicotine absorption from cessation products compares with smoking other than the fact that it’s slower and less effective. Advice tells you to suck until you feel satisfied but as it takes longer to feel the effect you can end up getting a lot more nicotine than you actually want or need. So I’m very probably getting more than I was - although in a safer form.<br />
<b>ETA</b> Day 32: I've done <a href="http://www.tobacco.ucsf.edu/sites/tobacco.ucsf.edu/files/u9/NicoretteMonoINHALER.pdf">a bit more research</a> and concluded that I was possibly under-dosing with the inhalator, which is why the first few weeks were so rough. I wasn't quite going cold turkey but certainly lukewarm turkey.<br />
<br />
Some people I know used vaping and e-cigs as a way to give up and it worked for them. But if you go into vaping shops and talk to staff (as I did), it’s clear that vaping is becoming a hobby in itself with accessories, flavourings and associated products. I did consider it but I didn’t want to look like Puff the Magic Dragon billowing out clouds of vapour. Most of the flavourings smell disgusting to me. Many places don’t allow it indoors now so I’d have to go outside to do it and I want to break that association. It’s a lot more involved than lighting a cigarette (flavoured liquids, replacing coils at regular intervals, charging batteries and so on) and I just wanted to get the nicotine into me in the simplest and least twattish way.<br />
<br />
<b>Weight gain</b><br />
This is a big one for me. When I gave up about 20 years ago I put on about 30lbs/13.5kg. I couldn’t lose it after a year and got so miserable that I went back to smoking. At the moment, my weight is about 4.5lb/2kg above where it should be and it’s a battle royal to stop it going any higher. Nicotine is an appetite suppressant and metabolism stimulant, which is why you gain weight when you stop smoking. If you’re using NRT this shouldn’t happen. But it has.<br />
<br />
Your digestion will get messed up and your metabolism may well slow down so even if you resist the urge to snack you’ll gain weight. It also kicked off my Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Oh joy.<br />
<br />
The advice web sites say to exercise more. I already go to the gym four times a week and walk a lot. I’m trying to walk more but it’s killing my knees. Being atypical sucks.<br />
<br />
<b>Getting help</b><br />
One big difference between giving up now and my failed attempt 20+ years ago is social media. It didn’t exist then. Telling everyone on Twitter and Facebook that I’d given up meant that backing down was a lot harder but, more importantly for me, it means that I can get support and encouragement, especially if I'm having a bad day.<br />
<br />
The downside is that giving up takes months and months and people will lose interest in daily updates. I don’t blame them, I would too. So I’ve picked a couple of close friends for long-term support, people who won’t get sympathy fatigue. Lucky them.<br />
<br />
<b>The next step</b><br />
The advice is to use NRT for at least 12 weeks as in theory this is how long it takes to break the habit or at least the psychological addiction. Again, this is a one-size-fits-all guestimate. <a href="http://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-how-long-it-takes-to-break-a-habit-according-to-science">Some people take a lot longer.</a> I’m not expecting to get over 30 years of smoking in a couple of months. And I am not a patient person. This is the long, slow, tedious bloody haul.<br />
<br />
Nicotine itself isn’t that bad for you so getting off the NRT isn’t such a pressure. It’s generally considered <a href="http://www.tobaccoharmreduction.org/faq/nicotine.htm">no worse than caffeine</a> – not totally without negative effects but way safer than smoking. So I may still be using it this time next year. We’ll see. <br />
<br />
I haven’t fallen off the wagon yet. The important thing is to take responsibility for quitting. I’ve decided that if I do have a smoke, I won’t blame anyone or anything else. I am not a victim, I have had a lapse of willpower. It happens. Get back on the wagon.<br />
<br />
After smoking for so long I accept that there may be some damage that will never be reversed.<br />
<br />
Someone asked me if I now see myself as a non-smoker. I see myself as someone who is not smoking right now. That’s not giving myself an escape route, that’s focussing on the present because it’s in the present that I want to smoke. <br />
<br />
So that’s where I am now. It’s early days. Watch this space.<br />
<br />
<b>PART TWO</b> <a href="http://tessera2009.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/quit-it-part-2.html">IS HERE</a> <br />
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<b>PART THREE</b> <a href="https://tessera2009.blogspot.com/2017/05/quit-it-part-three.html">IS HERE</a>TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-25814426768404658802016-04-07T19:53:00.000+01:002016-04-25T09:54:29.966+01:00…. For I Have Sinned<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF2OQ359meF3EQeSHNrz4wUMs8OXTEWX24fQZ_IdLbf2uqzRfV-WsEp0QvfNaONsDVeHpN9JYOkdMYRd7jE97w1g2rIJZlfRj_X7hNX0yCXvARBdGFyOSUgfWEQWiqJoNvMA0dhNGXyEQD/s1600/self-flagellation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF2OQ359meF3EQeSHNrz4wUMs8OXTEWX24fQZ_IdLbf2uqzRfV-WsEp0QvfNaONsDVeHpN9JYOkdMYRd7jE97w1g2rIJZlfRj_X7hNX0yCXvARBdGFyOSUgfWEQWiqJoNvMA0dhNGXyEQD/s320/self-flagellation.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<b>Why exercise is not an act of contrition</b><br />
<br />
Shirley Cramer, chief executive of the Royal Society for Public Health thinks activity icons on food packaging will help combat obesity. The idea is to use stick people to show how long it would take to run or walk off the calories you’re about to eat. <br />
<br />
The RSPH think that people are suffering from information overload in food packaging and that this will help – by giving them even more information as there is no proposal to replace the current labelling. <a href="https://www.rsph.org.uk/en/about-us/latest-news/press-releases/press-release1.cfm/pid/6B099814-E5FE-4862-81F6724658F94AB4">Their research</a> has found that 63% of people would support its introduction, with 53% saying it would cause them to make positive behaviour changes such as choosing healthier products, eating smaller portions or doing more physical exercise. <br />
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<br />
There are several problems with this approach. Firstly, who are the times based on? Everyone has a different metabolism and burns calories at a different rate depending on gender, height, age, build, lifestyle and so on.<br />
<br />
The recommended calorie intake is 2500 a day for men and 2000 for women, based on some mythical average human. Averages can be useful as guidelines but it should be made clear that pretty much no one is ‘average’. I’m certainly not and nor is anyone I know. <br />
<br />
Judging by the comments on the BBC article about this initiative, people don’t even understand what calories do. Someone commented on how long they’d have to run to work off 2500 a day, for example. We need calories to survive, they are not the enemy. It makes a big difference what constitutes those calories though – fats, sugars and so on. Eating 2000 a day is not going to keep you healthy if they’re made up of pizza and chocolate no matter how much you exercise. <br />
<br />
You don’t just burn off calories while exercising. People who exercise regularly have a higher resting metabolic rate, which means that they burn off more even when they’re doing nothing just to sustain the extra muscle. What’s more, exercise is not just for calorie or weight control. There are many other health benefits, both physical and psychological.<br />
<br />
The RSPH press release says that ‘it is hoped that ‘activity equivalent’ calorie labelling would help promote and normalise physical activity’. This is my biggest problem with the proposal – the intention may be to get people to be more active but it very strongly promotes the idea of exercise as punishment or penance rather than ‘normalising’ activity.<br />
<br />
It’s like a Catholic approach to health – commit the sin and then do penance. Exercise is not an act of contrition and framing it as such helps no one. If guilt is your motivation and you hate every minute of your workout, you’re much less likely to keep up the exercise. Or, if you think you can exercise away the muffin, you have no reason to stop eating them in a cycle of sin and do penance, sin and do penance. As one woman told me, this approach is ‘reinforcing the notions that food has a moral value based on its calorific content, and that exercise is some kind of punishment for making arbitrarily-determined ‘poor’ nutritional choices’. Exercise does not wash away your sin and restore your moral balance.<br />
<br />
A woman at my gym once said to me ‘When I’m as thin as you I can stop coming’. She wasn’t happy when I pointed out that the only reason I stay fit is that I keep coming. Forever. And ever. Amen.<br />
<br />
There’s another worrying aspect to this proposed initiative. As a friend has pointed out, ‘This promotes an inherently disordered framing of what food and exercise are ‘for’. The whole idea of exercising simply to compensate for the food you've eaten is so triggering to people in eating disorder recovery who need to unlearn this bullshit in order to have a healthy and moderate relationship with food. This is so harmful, in the sense that it might actually trigger restriction and a return to disordered eating behaviours’.<br />
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This proposal comes from a good intention to help empower consumers to make healthier choices and to tackle the obesity crisis. But we already know that some foods are healthier than others. People over-eat for many different and complex reasons. If you buy crisps or chocolate, you know they are not health food. Who looks at how many calories are in a bar of chocolate and then puts it back? No one. <br />
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Making people feel guilty about their choices is not going to solve underlying psychological problems, nor is promoting exercise just to balance the scales. It’s not going to change anyone’s relationship with what they put in their mouth or with their bodies. When it comes to obesity, no one-size-fits-all approach is going to work.<br />
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As to the 63% who support the introduction of the activity icons – the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Also, the road to gyms making a profit is paved with people who join and then stop going after a couple of months. People often answer health questions based on how they would like to see themselves, how they would like to be, rather than on a realistic self-appraisal.<br />
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There is also the issue of practicality. Legislation on the mandatory labelling of food and drink is currently decided at the European level. Even if the political will existed and the food and drink industry was on board, it could take several years to happen. The industry is generally not so keen on ideas that discourage people from eating their products – unless they can sell us other products to counteract their effect. Maybe they should start investing in gyms.<br />
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Finally, why is it that articles like this so often have a food porn image at the top? Does the BBC (for example) think that we’ll read anything if there’s a picture of a heap of chocolate at the top? And, as all chocolate-lovers know, there is no such thing as a standard chocolate bar.<br />
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Pray for us sinners.<br />
TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-36440774673105645002016-04-06T12:56:00.000+01:002016-04-06T12:56:10.684+01:00Cultural Copyright<br />
The debate about cultural appropriation keep flaring up, much like the recently active Popacatapetl, and it does seem to be generating more heat than light. I’m surprised and disappointed that any of this still needs saying, but from what I hear and read on a regular basis, it seems it does. <br />
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Is cultural appropriation a useful or even correct term?<br />
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Ethnicities are not monocultures. Cultures are not monocultures. Typifying Indian culture (for example) by Southern Indian Hindu cuisine and then saying that cooking this food at home is cultural appropriation is in itself a kind of ignorant colonialism – they’re all the same over there. That’s like saying that all white people are Goths. If you’re going to talk about a particular culture, you need to define exactly what it is you’re talking about.<br />
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No culture is historically ‘pure’ even if some people like to think theirs is. It’s impossible to eradicate all elements of the Other. There is always cross-pollination. All cultures are an amalgamation of historical influxes and absorption. Even isolated jungle tribes have contact with each other and adopt elements of each others’ culture that suit them, while maintaining a sense of their own. The zero was adopted in the West because it made maths and trade easier. Better kinds of agriculture, metal working and medicine were acquired without asking permission. Not all of what could be called cultural appropriation is bad.<br />
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Historically, some markers of cultural identity were visible – clothes, food, music, for example. Others were less so – stories, private rituals, language. A shibboleth is defined as ‘a custom, principle, or belief distinguishing a particular class or group of people’. It comes from the Hebrew word shibbólet and its pronunciation was used to distinguish Ephraimites, whose dialect lacked a /ʃ/ phoneme (as in shoe), from the people of Gilead whose dialect did have it. In Mediaeval France, people separated themselves into <a href="http://www.medieval-spell.com/Langue-d-Oc.html">Langue D’Oc and Langue D’Oil.</a> It was a geographical separation that became a marker of custom, community and allegiance based on different ways of pronouncing the word for Yes. <br />
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Markers like this are rarely appropriated, mainly because they have no commercial or aesthetic value.<br />
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Nations and individuals have no problem selling aspects of their culture to outsiders. This can be to tourists in their own country or it can be by moving abroad and selling it to the natives – for example, by running a restaurant, selling carpets or holding classes in yoga or martial arts. That’s the foundation of export, after all. The people selling the culture decide which aspects of it to sell and may modify it for foreign tastes. They are in control of the dissemination and profitability of their own culture.<br />
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Claiming appropriation in this context denies individuals and cultures any agency of their own. They’re not capable of deciding what to do with their culture and can’t protect it so white, middle class Westerners have to do it for them. Then they can feel all virtuous by getting outraged on someone else’s behalf without actually stopping to ask that someone else if they’re offended.<br />
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Is it only appropriation if your culture has a history of exploiting or abusing the culture you’re accessorising? Is it appropriation if, for example, a Jamaican wears a bindi? Or is it not because it’s much harder for white Westerners to decide which group to side with?<br />
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There’s also an element of cultural protection. We don’t like to surrender aspects of our culture that make us different from Others. No one likes to see markers of their In group go mainstream. A degree of this is inevitable in an increasingly global culture but it’s not a new thing. In the distant past when groups were more isolated, each developed its own identity like speciation in isolated locations. As people began to mix more, often through trade or war, it became more important to be able to distinguish Us and Them, especially if one group was exploited or threatened. We’re an Us and Them kind of species, no different from many others. When resources are limited, it’s important to know who to share them with and who you’re competing with. <br />
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Refugees or immigrants often try to maintain their cultural identity as a distinct entity. It’s not a refusal to ‘assimilate’, it’s a survival instinct. It can bind them together in a difficult time and may give them a sense of comfort, strength and value. It gives them history, context and identity even though they benefit from and contribute to the culture they find themselves in. Don’t forget who you are, where you came from or what you have suffered. <br />
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What this all boils down to is power. Who is in control of the cultural copyright and who is benefiting from it? Are value, history and meaning lost or is it a fair exchange? <br />
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But any time a dominant culture discriminates against or exploits a minority or tries to impose their culture as the only valid one, establishing a cultural hierarchy while cherry-picking and commercialising the bits that are ‘acceptable’, that’s not cultural appropriation. Racism is the problem, not shopping. And that’s much harder to admit to or tackle than pointing the finger at a white woman in a cheongsam.<br />
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TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-70248678506778067502016-03-03T13:17:00.000+00:002016-03-03T13:17:36.262+00:00Dangerous Curves Ahead<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJsXKqZUXz4vlCNGB3SyJ_lntKFepoTBlBgzcfg4NjE71mSuvIsd30Tv8dUZhZ4wi1ylHwGFEVScVYqpXV_kEyg5wmbBYfb0a1BWok_I7iLXZyBtPv5VU4infp2uiAMM4ZutQmvqICV922/s1600/Barbie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJsXKqZUXz4vlCNGB3SyJ_lntKFepoTBlBgzcfg4NjE71mSuvIsd30Tv8dUZhZ4wi1ylHwGFEVScVYqpXV_kEyg5wmbBYfb0a1BWok_I7iLXZyBtPv5VU4infp2uiAMM4ZutQmvqICV922/s320/Barbie.jpg" /></a></div>Barbie now comes in three different shapes: tall, petite and curvy – and her new incarnations have sparked some debate. There have been complaints that curvy Barbie is still thinner than the average woman in the UK and the US. But is this a bad thing?<br />
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Scaled up, curvy Barbie would be 167.6cm or 5’6” (slightly taller than average) with a waist measurement of 63cm (24.8in) and hips 91.2cm (35.9in) whereas the average British woman measures 79.5cm (31.3in) and 105cm (41.3in) according to the <a href="http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB13218/HSE2012-Ch10-Adult-BMI.pdf"></a>2012 Health Survey of England. <br />
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In that year, 67% of men and 57% of women were overweight or obese. Overweight and obesity are defined as ‘abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health’. Being overweight/obese is associated with an increased risk for some common causes of disease and death including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.noo.org.uk/uploads/doc/vid_8575_Burdenofobesity151110MG.pdf ">cost to the NHS </a>of obesity and obesity-related disease was £2.3 billion in 2007 and is projected to be £7.1 billion by 2050 (assuming we still have an NHS by then). Costs attributed to overweight and obesity taken together are £4.2bn in 2007, projected to be £9.7bn in 2050. This compares with the current <a href="http://ash.org.uk/information/facts-and-stats/fact-sheets
">cost of smoking</a>-related disease at approximately £2bn (and smokers are heavily taxed).<br />
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For some time, Body Mass Index (BMI) has been used as an indicator of obesity but it’s a pretty blunt instrument as it doesn’t distinguish between fat and muscle or take account of how the fat is distributed (fat in the core area or around the organs is worse for health than fat lower down the body, for example). Waist to hip ratio or waist measurement are now considered more accurate with a waist measurement over 102cm (40.2in) in men and 88cm (34.6in) in women taken as the threshold for health concerns. This metric still works best for people of average height and Western ethnicity though.<br />
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By these measurements, Curvy Barbie is clearly thinner than the average UK woman. This may not be a bad thing.<br />
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Original skinny Barbie has taken a lot of flak over the years for causing girls and young women to be unhappy with their body shape. For example, research done in 2006 found that girls aged between 5.5 years and 7.5 years old were less satisfied with their own body shape after reading a book with pictures of original Barbie. The research was done by Helga Dittmar of Sussex University who <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35670446">found that</a> "The girls said they wanted a thinner body shape than they had. They had lower body-esteems after seeing pictures of Barbie. If we show an effect with a single exposure study it stands to reason that the impact increases as time moves on." <br />
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The media is full of images of very thin people that cause a lot of pressure, misery and body dysmorphia in women (and of course, men too). Diet books and products are huge earners. Barbie is just a tiny contributor but even with falling sales, she is a presence in the lives of many young people.<br />
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Fat shaming is hateful behaviour. There was <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/dec/01/fat-shaming-cards-tube-overweight-haters-ltd-police
">a recent case</a> of people handing cards to overweight women on the Tube in London to humiliate them, reducing women (yet again) to just a body to be judged. <br />
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Women are of course used to being judged by their appearance – and found wanting both by companies trying to sell products and by society in general. But should Barbie reflect the average woman? If she had a scaled-down version of the average waist and hip size would this make young women feel better about themselves or would it normalise obesity? Even while acknowledging the flaws of BMI, the Health Survey of England found that ‘there was a significant discrepancy between participants’ own assessment and their BMI category, which was greater among men than women. This lends support to the idea that a high prevalence of overweight and obesity in the population has led to a greater bodyweight/size becoming the norm’.<br />
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There’s a fine line to be walked here. While it is in no way acceptable to judge anyone by their size, promoting healthy body shape through a balanced diet and exercise can only be a good thing. The message is too complex for some: obesity is not good for health but if fat is bad, it’s too easy to jump to the assumption that fat people are bad/weak/stupid. It’s important that children understand the distinction. There’s also a class/income element to obesity as people in lower income groups are more prevalent in overweight groups.<br />
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Children have little or no control over what they eat so education is essential to ensure that, as soon as they have a choice, they make it a healthy one. The recent proposal to tax sugary drinks has its heart in the right place but even if campaigners succeed in getting it done, it won’t work without education and healthy bodies as role models.<br />
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Prevention is easier than cure. It’s hard to lose weight and exercise regularly. Evolution has geared us to seek out fats and sugars as they were once in short supply. Now they’re everywhere. The time of food scarcity when a fat baby was thought to be a healthy baby is long gone.<br />
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Children don’t know what dress size Curvy Barbie takes, they don’t know that it’s less than the average, they just see that she’s not skinny as a stick. Yes, she is just a doll and is only a tiny part of the way children are influenced. But if Curvy Barbie helps just a little bit to stop children feeling as bad about themselves while at the same time it normalises a healthier shape, that could be a step in the right direction.<br />
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Perhaps toy maker Mattel is being more realistic about the shape we’re in or perhaps this is an attempt to boost profits, which are <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jan/26/mattel-fires-boss-plummeting-profits-barbie">reported</a> to have fallen by 59% with a 14% drop in sales of Barbie. <br />
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It seems unlikely that Mattel is being altruistic. The tall and petite versions only look different heights compared with standard Barbie. In isolation, they just look like any other doll – and are still unnaturally thin. Tall Barbie would be 180cm (5ft 11in tall) with a waist measurement of 56.4cm (22.2in) and 78cm (30.7in) hips. Just for comparison with Lanky Barbie, I am 185cm (73in) with a waist of 76cm (30”) and hips 99cm (39”). I weigh 66.5kg (146lb) with more muscle than average. If I were any thinner, I’d be ill.<br />
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TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-75707357816388386182015-11-08T16:39:00.000+00:002015-11-08T16:39:18.055+00:00Are You Smarter Than A Chimp?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFn8a_FYzDEc5oE1Z5Sa4MvrP8M8LKx8MPNjnL20ietNlkQ7_N4uACcpHEBpujH7yic9dAO302_8d2WCE1i-263HRpsPqZ0U4qCC0VtntM-4b3noGyn7IThLoAF9rF4VjN6ag34Y5lF7q3/s1600/child+and+chimp+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFn8a_FYzDEc5oE1Z5Sa4MvrP8M8LKx8MPNjnL20ietNlkQ7_N4uACcpHEBpujH7yic9dAO302_8d2WCE1i-263HRpsPqZ0U4qCC0VtntM-4b3noGyn7IThLoAF9rF4VjN6ag34Y5lF7q3/s320/child+and+chimp+2.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Yet more articles have appeared about how animals perform compared with humans; <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/nov/08/are-you-smarter-than-a-chimpanzee?CMP=twt_a-science_b-gdnscience">this time it’s chimps</a>.<br />
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Experimenters at Kyoto University have found that one chimp can be trained to do a numerical short-term memory test faster than the average human can do it. The media love <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/sep/29/chimp-intelligence-aymu-matsuzawa-kyoto">stories like this</a>. There has been <a href="http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/crows-officially-smarter-than-children/">repeated coverage</a> of the fact that crows are better at solving certain problems than children younger than seven – without being trained at all. There are also media favourites Alex the parrot and Koko the gorilla or the <a href="http://www.tropical-rainforest-animals.com/orangutans-intelligence.html">orang utans</a> who have learnt to imitate human behaviour, for example hammering nails into wood or starting a fire.<br />
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Does this mean they are as smart as us or that they are natural imitators and problem-solvers, evolved cognitive skills that equips them to survive in their ecological niche? Hammering in nails is not a life skill that orangs need and demanding a nut is not one that Alex would need if he wasn’t kept in a lab. <br />
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Corvids in general and New Caledonian crows in particular are different from chimps in that they use innate abilities to problem-solve rather than being trained. But comparisons with humans are still false. The average corvid lifespan is around 20 years and they begin to reproduce from around three years old. They don’t have the luxury of a long childhood to acquire skills, they have to hit the ground running or they don’t survive.<br />
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Humans have solved the evolutionary problem of head size versus pelvis size by having young that are born in a relatively undeveloped state. Human lifespan and a long protected infancy mean that we have time to learn and develop before being set loose on the world. So comparing a crow with a child tells us nothing about either in terms of how ‘smart’ both species are.<br />
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There is a tendency to equate intelligence with consciousness and self-awareness. Humans have the ability to recognise ourselves in a mirror, an indicator of self-awareness. A few other animals have also shown this ability, as opposed to thinking the reflection is another animal, which indicates that they too have a degree of self-awareness. Again, the temptation is to add ‘just like us’. But these are all social animals. In social groups, the ability to tell the difference between yourself and another is a lot more useful than it is for solitary species. So this ability is an indicator of what is needed to survive in social groups, not of ‘elevated’ consciousness or intelligence.<br />
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One of the most successful species on earth is grass. It can live pretty much anywhere except the poles. All kinds of parasites have solved evolutionary problems in cunning ways, for example the <a href="http://towers.wpi.edu/read/4279/microbiology-zombie-ants-with-dicrocoelium-dendriticum ">lancet liver fluke</a> <i>Dicrocoelium dendriticum</i>. These are most definitely not conscious species and yet they thrive. So is intelligence over-rated? Is it something we value only because, by our own definition, we have it? Who are we trying to impress?<br />
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There have been attempts to teach other animals to communicate with humans for a very long time. Some primates, for example, can learn to make signs or point to symbols to communicate with us. Alex the parrot could construct basic sentences. The fact that they can’t communicate in a complex human way doesn’t mean they are less ‘smart’, it means they don’t need to. Our more complex vocal communications are necessary in our more complex societies. The intricacy and (to us) the beauty of bird song has been summed up as ‘Fuck me or fuck off’ (attracting mates or warning off rivals). That’s all it needs to do.<br />
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If chimps needed human-type language, they would have evolved it. In evolutionary terms, cross-species communication is pointless. There are some monkeys that have learnt to recognise the alarm calls of other monkey species that share the same habitat and will respond appropriately to, for example, a snake alarm or a raptor alarm. But they are not communicating with each other. Apes only communicate with humans because they have been trained to do it for rewards in an artificial environment. This shows that they can adapt their innate skills to new tasks. It says nothing about their relative intelligence. <br />
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Most of the response to human-like abilities in other animals comes, not surprisingly, from headlines or TV programmes. But some academics don’t help. Researcher Tetsuro Matsuzawa, Director of the Kyoto Primate Research Institute says "Some humans are uncomfortable with the idea that beasts are cleverer than us, because we are supposed to be their intellectual superiors."<br />
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But the research doesn’t show that they are cleverer than us. It shows that they can use their innate abilities to learn tasks that have significance only to humans in return for rewards. You could say that chimps really like fruit and will do anything to get it.<br />
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It’s true that many of us still like to see ourselves as the superior species, which is mostly a Judeo-Christian hang-over from the Creation myth where God gives humans dominion over the animals. Some people don’t like it when other animals display skills we see as solely human (and therefore superior), maybe because it hurts our egos, maybe because the more ‘like us’ they appear, the harder it is to justify treating them in unethical ways (very inconvenient). <br />
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The claims that many human behaviours are unique has slowly been eroded. Tool use, warfare, problem-solving, social skills like empathy and even farming have been observed in many species (ants farm aphids and fungus). There is pretty much nothing we do that animals don’t, except possibly art. It’s a continuum, with humans displaying more complex forms of certain behaviours than other animals. But only because we need to in order to survive. It could be said that evolving our skills is a price we’ve had to pay to survive, not a crowning achievement.<br />
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Put a two year old human in the jungle and it wouldn’t last long. Most adult humans wouldn’t either but they are more than capable of crossing a busy road. Two year olds are rubbish at pretty much everything. But they do have the ability to make adults look after them. We have the skills and the ‘smarts’ that we need.<br />
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There are TV shows with titles like ‘Are you as smart as a seven year old?’ These should really be called ‘Can you remember the stuff you were taught 40 years ago that you haven’t needed to know since then?’ It’s the same mentality shown by articles comparing humans and other animals and the same basic error of not comparing like with like. Animals in the wild don’t learn skills that serve no purpose. Not learning how to hammer in nails but focussing on how to build a good tree nest is a better use of mental resources and smarter in terms of survival. It takes a lot of energy to run a brain and it makes no sense to waste energy on unnecessary behaviours.<br />
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The chimp at Kyoto outperforms other chimps in the same research programme, which tells us that some animals within the same species are better at certain things than others, not that this chimp is ‘smarter’ than us. The point is that every species is as ‘smart’ as it needs to be. That’s how evolution works. Other animals are experts at surviving in their niches just as we are. When their environment changes or new challenges present themselves, they adapt or die out. So do we. <br />
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Intelligence is a human concept, a trait we have defined in narrow terms to suit – and flatter - ourselves. But it’s not a competition. Chimps and crows don’t give a toss how many A Levels you have.<br />
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The answer to the question is – you’re asking the wrong question.<br />
TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-32263356294503367572015-07-17T13:26:00.001+01:002018-07-18T09:18:09.038+01:00A sweet solution?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2a0dPBvKGOiLfLkaw-v3LkGHYMyikDWTwK_HomGBE-fP-k5uy_k0NgBwLRKKIxQqfpYpgKeTILfJqkZDfZYuKKMusXD0ljhgsAwusmASW9WYHr6i1uT8gg4kOqF8Nrm_3hRa0R2oZqzi3/s1600/sugar+drinks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2a0dPBvKGOiLfLkaw-v3LkGHYMyikDWTwK_HomGBE-fP-k5uy_k0NgBwLRKKIxQqfpYpgKeTILfJqkZDfZYuKKMusXD0ljhgsAwusmASW9WYHr6i1uT8gg4kOqF8Nrm_3hRa0R2oZqzi3/s320/sugar+drinks.jpg" /></a></div>
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The British Medical Association is calling for <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-33479118">a 20% tax on drinks with added sugar</a> in an attempt to stem the increase in obesity, Type 2 diabetes and tooth decay. <br />
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Obesity <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/phe-urges-parents-to-cut-sugary-drinks-from-childrens-diets">costs the NHS</a> more than £5 billion every year and treating Type 2 diabetes costs £8.8 billion a year, almost 9% of its budget (smoking-related disease<a href="http://bma.org.uk/working-for-change/improving-and-protecting-health/tobacco/smoking-statistics"> costs around £2.7bn</a>) <br />
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However, the BMA proposal may not be the simple fix it appears to be.<br />
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The BMA cites evidence from other countries that increasing the cost of these drinks leads to a reduction in obesity in the population. A <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3840583/">meta-analysis</a> of the link between a sugary drink tax and obesity levels finds that there is some correlation in America, France, Mexico and Brazil where an increase in price was associated with a decrease in the demand for what the analysis calls sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs). <br />
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The BMA cites Mexico as an example of a country where a tax has worked in reducing obesity but doesn’t consider if other measures were taking place at the same time – for example, health awareness campaigns and reduction of sugar in other products. In other words, as we so often find, correlation does not equal causation.<br />
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In some countries, people drink SSBs because they have little or no access to clean drinking water – in some parts of Mexico and Brazil, for example. This may have influenced the amount of SSBs people were drinking and their choice of alternatives – which makes them less convincing as arguments for a tax on SSBs in the UK. In other words, the BMA is not comparing like with like.<br />
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Ironically, in one part of Mexico, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/world/americas/mexico-coca-cola-diabetes.html">local Coca Cola making plant takes all the fresh water</a>, forcing locals to drink Coke. Diabetes rates are what you'd expect.<br />
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The meta-analysis found that, rather than choosing diet versions of SSBs, people switched to juice and milk. One study found that the impact of a tax may be minimal because of this and that the fats and calories in these drinks could reduce the effect of SSB price increases. There are vitamins and calcium in these alternatives but if weight loss is the aim, this is not a good argument.<br />
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There are also culture-specific factors that need to be considered in the UK.<br />
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Focussing on sugar sidelines the problem of fat consumption. Saturated fats are still a major health problem in the UK even if the current fashion is to demonise sugar and blame it for all our ills. Sat fats often come as part of the sugary package – for example in biscuits and chocolate. The UK is the <a href="http://www.confectionerynews.com/Markets/Interactive-Map-Top-20-chocolate-consuming-nations-of-2012">third largest consumer of chocolate </a> in the world and the <a href="http://blog.euromonitor.com/2014/11/yildiz-holding-becomes-worlds-third-largest-biscuit-manufacturer-following-united-biscuits-acquisiti.html">second biggest biscuit eater</a>. <br />
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<a href="http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/goodfood/pages/top-sources-of-added-sugar-in-our-diet.aspx">According to the NHS,</a> sweet drinks are not the biggest contributor to adult sugar intake. Up to 27% of it comes from table sugar, jams, chocolate and sweets and 20% from cakes, pastries and biscuits. Only 25% of added sugar comes from soft drinks and fruit juice. Note that this includes supposedly healthy fruit juice.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/britons-lead-europe-on-crisp-consumption/100438.article?redirCanon=1">British also eat more crisps</a> than the rest of Europe put together and <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/news/2013/03/27/13-children-eat-crisps-daily/">a third of UK children eat crisps every day</a>. In addition to the fat content, there is all the salt, too.<br />
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So while cutting back on SSBs may help, the fact that a tax may have worked in other countries doesn’t mean it will necessarily work here. The BMA needs stronger evidence tailored to British eating habits and culture to make a convincing argument.<br />
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Another objection is that a tax would hit the poorest the hardest. The counter-argument is that lower-income groups have seen the greatest rise in obesity. Several US states introduced a tax on SSBs to raise revenue but are now claiming this is part of their anti-obesity policy, so any comparison of the UK with the US should factor in political capital to be gained from any tax as well as financial interests – and political cowardice. <br />
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The <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/report-sugar-lobby-threatens-organizations-buries-science-health-effects-256529">sugar lobby in America</a> is very powerful, influencing governments and being highly duplicitous about the effects of sugar and the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/12/observer-editorial-campaign-against-sugar">situation in the UK</a> is not much better.<br />
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It is very much easier for governments to penalise the public than the producer.<br />
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If the tax raised is spent on providing subsidies for healthier drinks and foods or health awareness campaigns, there could be some justification for it; so far there is no indication that this would be done. But this too would let the sugar producers off the hook.<br />
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The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition is <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/446188/SACN_Carbohydrates_Press_Release_July_2015.PDF">releasing a report</a> this week that says sugar should take up no more than 5% of daily intake, down from 10%. <br />
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Figures from the national diet and nutrition survey, referenced in the SACN report, found sugary drinks to be the highest contributor of sugars to the diet of 4 to 10 year olds. While reducing children’s sugar intake is undeniably a good idea to prevent disease in the future, it doesn’t tackle current problems and, again, ignores fat intake. Current <a href="https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph25/evidence/ph25-prevention-of-cardiovascular-disease-expert-papers-9-trans-fats2">adult saturated fat intake</a>, at 13.3% of food energy, far exceeds the 11% maximum recommended intakes and this 2.3% is enough to have a significant health impact. <br />
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The Government has delayed the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jul/13/government-delays-publication-of-plans-for-reduction-in-uks-sugar-intake">release of a detailed assessment</a> by Public Health England of the likely success of a range of measures to reduce our addiction to sugar. If it ever is released, it will make interesting reading. <br />
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It’s clear that something has to be done to curb our sweet tooth but it’s a much more complicated issue that the BMA appears to think it is. There needs to be a different approach for adults and children. Other sources of sugar need to be tackled alongside drinks for there to be any hope of success. Political and financial considerations need to be factored in. Fats must be targeted as much as sugars.<br />
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It could be argued that the BMA’s proposal is a step in the right direction. But it’s a false step based on insufficient evidence and a failure to address the bigger picture. It’s like putting a sticking plaster on a gaping wound.<br />
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<b>UPDATE 1.3.2018</b><br />
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A <a href="https://velvetgloveironfist.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/we-were-unable-to-find-evidence-that.html">thorough new report</a> found that "We were unable to find evidence that any sugar tax actually implemented anywhere in the world has led to improvements in health."<br />
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<b>UPDATE 13.3.2018</b><br />
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Another <a href="https://iea.org.uk/sugar-taxes-have-never-worked-anywhere/">strong argument </a>against sugar tax.<br />
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Sometimes it's good to be vindicated.<br />
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<br />TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-12071044308422697892015-02-13T20:37:00.000+00:002015-07-12T12:07:16.040+01:00Sisters are doing it for themselves<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDoCQL7mlceyW_N72k-RRM3sLLk6oG8N2ehl1efe1zcshqHg6BrW-D8-IkLPHAyOMiQFnREGPaxxLI_36sRVcsbIomaRHxFJG6fefRRgb3nKsTMnZLVtcftNNrINtOpUncQKnXs6IzJAlE/s1600/weightlifting1909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDoCQL7mlceyW_N72k-RRM3sLLk6oG8N2ehl1efe1zcshqHg6BrW-D8-IkLPHAyOMiQFnREGPaxxLI_36sRVcsbIomaRHxFJG6fefRRgb3nKsTMnZLVtcftNNrINtOpUncQKnXs6IzJAlE/s320/weightlifting1909.jpg" /></a></div>When I started going to the gym in the late eighties, weightlifting for women was fashionable. It fell out of fashion in favour of aerobics, spin classes and countless other fads. Now increasing numbers of younger women are lifting weights again and not just little tone-up weights. Serious heavy weights.<br />
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The gym I go to is mostly used by students and, in the last year or two, I've seen many more young women lifting a lot of weight. This is good to see. They're strong, fit, dedicated and smart. They don't use steroids or pose in competitions in bikinis. They're just naturally strong (naturally meaning they've worked bloody hard for it).<br />
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But, perhaps inevitably, the media has picked up on this and sees it slightly differently. There are countless articles ostensibly praising women who lift, some even trying (failing) to be inspirational. But many of them carry the message that Strong Is Sexy. These are just a few examples I found in about ten minutes. There are many, many more. <br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc5zgvD15-M">This video</a> features powerful women. They have clearly worked very hard for a long time. Does the title respect their hard work, laud their achievements and encourage them? Does it hell. The title is Strong Is Sexy. The captions says 'What happens to women when they lift big weights? They get sexy as hell! The long-awaited 3rd female-only California Strength weightlifting video, the weights keep getting bigger, the action is more intense, and the girls are hotter than ever!' <br />
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They're not girls, they're women. Sexist, patronising and infantilising women - that's the hat trick, well done you. <a href="http://instagram.com/p/yiRgSiq0YG/">This is a <b>girl</b> lifting weights</a> (bless her). See the difference?<br />
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There's no mention of how much they're lifting, as there would be with male lifters.<br />
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There is another 'inspirational' video here, called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEru6QoFUl0">'Strong is the new sexy'</a>. No. Strong is the new strong.<br />
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The Huffington Post had an article called <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/02/05/bodybuilding-women_n_6621684.html">Bodybuilding Women Prove That Fit Is Sexy</a> with photo captions like Those Shoulders Would Definitely Look Hot In A Strapless Dress. Or under a comfy warm jumper in the winter.<br />
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In December the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2873487/Women-lift-weights-seen-attractive-men-fitness-fanatics-Cameron-Diaz-Millie-Mackintosh-leading-athletic-trend.html">Daily Mail</a> ran the article 'Women who lift weights now seen as 'attractive' by men'. According to them, 63% of men would rather date a girl that weightlifts and 74% say watching a girl use the bench is their favourite spectator exercise. <br />
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Yes, this is the Mail and they don't even say who ran the survey the stats came from. But the message clearly reflects common currency that women should get strong for men's pleasure. Gyms have mirrors so that you can check your technique and posture but when women look in them, it's the male gaze they see reflected back according to the media. And why have they put 'attractive' in quote marks? Do they disagree?<br />
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Of course we all want to be attractive to whoever we find attractive but this is about more than that. It's about reframing women's strength in a way that's acceptable to men. We can't just be strong. We have to be sexy too. And wear cute little gym outfits. Our strength is for men to perve over. Otherwise the poor little things might be threatened by us, emasculated by our biceps, quads and general awesomeness.<br />
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Building muscle is bloody hard work. For women, building upper body muscle is harder than for men. It takes a long time. You don't just have to go to the gym many times a week, every week, you have to eat right, sleep plenty, give up other things, learn about how to do it properly. There's a lot of sweating, grunting, swearing (just me?) and farting. Yes, when you squat, everything inside gets compressed and something's gotta give. Better out than in.<br />
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Most of the men at my gym who are serious lifters are great, very supportive of the women. But then, they know exactly what it takes to get strong. They're not scared of a woman who knows how to deadlift. How many of the Mail's 74% who want to wank over women bench pressing ever been anywhere near a gym themselves?<br />
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Health and fitness are something everyone should invest in if they can but for women, an extra layer is added, the pressure to be sexy and feminine. This is more likely to put women off than encourage them. <br />
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There are also lots of articles on line addressing women's alleged concerns that lifting weights will make them too big and 'masculine', explaining how to keep your muscles small and feminine. <br />
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Mixed messages. Big is sexy, but not too big, but here are some really big strong women who are sexy. Huh? Make your minds up.<br />
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To be clear: women don't have enough testosterone to get bulky and 'masculine' naturally. That takes serious steroid abuse. <a href="http://www.strengthsensei.com/female-training-hard-and-the-too-massive-myth/">Here's a more detailed explanation</a>.<br />
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Yes, this is just yet another example of sexism, of men trying to control women's bodies. But sometimes you just have to heave a sigh and call it like it is rather than letting it go. <br />
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Women work hard to get strong, they shouldn't have to hand that strength over to men, they should be able to own it.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drGx7JkFSp4">For my gym buddy, the mighty Syasi, and powerhouse Carmen - you rock</a>!<br />
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<b>26 February:</b> I just found <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na6yl8yIZUI">this brilliant video</a> about a woman bodybuilder in her seventies. That's what I want to be like when I grow up.<br />
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<b>12 July:</b> After winning Wimbledon for the sixth time, and her 21st Grand Slam, Serena Williams is accused of looking like a man. She has that rare combination of good genes, talent and hard work that make a champion but she still needs to be put in her place by men. This is what she looked like when she left Wimbledon. Not like a man, like a heroine to many girls and young women.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOnwqEOd12aT-CiPNlgy5DGI5jNzPEeb5UILsJgbyz83X39UwrKrPDcj8n8YtpBVsMuAMuHtac_xM2oYnhRH7zJv21WAKxmXCrcEqeldR03he7gcs_BTJ2TnAXAuq6qkytS1nKi0J63GP5/s1600/serena-williams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOnwqEOd12aT-CiPNlgy5DGI5jNzPEeb5UILsJgbyz83X39UwrKrPDcj8n8YtpBVsMuAMuHtac_xM2oYnhRH7zJv21WAKxmXCrcEqeldR03he7gcs_BTJ2TnAXAuq6qkytS1nKi0J63GP5/s320/serena-williams.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-91986078415568956332014-08-22T17:01:00.000+01:002014-08-22T17:01:15.897+01:00Mother’s Little Helper <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiumk-Ty4Ukkgi1er_-LhVopgGiuYjmxvDGqRbGn8q0TuoZ03tFeY8V8nheJG_GZaByhnYzyaHke5J07pKIgg3zyW3KSBLGz8FDMDUIA_owMRphup90lTNaaMnqYQwS4o7iPThs2GTi2qNx/s1600/stepford-wives.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiumk-Ty4Ukkgi1er_-LhVopgGiuYjmxvDGqRbGn8q0TuoZ03tFeY8V8nheJG_GZaByhnYzyaHke5J07pKIgg3zyW3KSBLGz8FDMDUIA_owMRphup90lTNaaMnqYQwS4o7iPThs2GTi2qNx/s320/stepford-wives.jpg" /></a></div><b>How Boots is trying to turn us all into Stepford Wives</b><br />
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Boots is selling a product called <a href="http://www.boots.com/en/Kira-Low-Mood-St-Johns-Wort-Extract-Tablets-30-x-450-mg_1258503/">Kira Low Mood Relief</a> which, it says, ‘helps relieve the symptoms of slightly low mood and mild anxiety’. The product is targeted at women – the advert says it is ‘inspired by women and their lives’ (more specifically, middle class, first world women). <br />
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It is part of the Kira range of lady products and costs £15.99 for 30 day’s supply. There is no male equivalent of the Kira range. It is presumably not named after Major Kira in Deep Space Nine. <br />
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<b>What’s in Kira Low Mood Relief?</b> <br />
The active ingredient is St John’s Wort. There is some evidence that this is effective for mild depression although, as the <a href="http://www.nhs.uk/news/2008/10October/Pages/StJohn'swortanddepression.aspx">NHS site points out</a>, it has ‘potentially serious interactions that can occur with other commonly used medications’, for example the contraceptive pill, HRT, all depression medicines, blood thinning treatments, epilepsy treatments, HIV treatments and immunosuppressants. The active amount contained varies from product to product so research findings may not be relevant to any particular one. <br />
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There’s nothing strictly illegal here, Boots isn’t selling empty promises as it is with its collagen products (also for women) – <a href="http://tessera2009.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/collagen-con.html">as I wrote here</a>. <br />
But the contents are beside the point. <br />
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<b>What is Low Mood?</b><br />
The <a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/Pages/low-mood-and-depression.aspx">NHS web site describes low mood</a> as including ‘sadness, an anxious feeling, worry, tiredness, low self-esteem, frustration and anger’. But Kira Low Mood Relief is aimed at <i>slightly</i> low mood. In other words feeling a little bit glum, grumpy or not quite as perky as you did when you were twenty.<br />
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In the olden days, it would have been described as a touch of anomie, ennui, melancholia, black bile, feeling lugubrious or phlegmatic.<br />
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As the NHS points out ‘Most people experience ups and downs in their life, and can feel unhappy, depressed, stressed or anxious during difficult times. This is a normal part of life. However, a low mood will tend to improve after a short time’.<br />
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Some people are naturally more Pollyanna than others. What’s more, sometimes the only sane response to adult life is to howl at the moon.<br />
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<b>The Pursuit of Happiness</b><br />
This is the crux of the matter. No one feels happy all the time. No one wakes up every day feeling like Julie Andrews singing The Hills Are Alive.<br />
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Boots is trying to medicalise being alive, being human. Or more specifically, being female. It’s telling you it’s your right and duty to feel happy as Larry all the time. If you don’t there’s something wrong with you and, for £15.99 a month, the magic pills can fix you. <br />
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The marketing makes Kira Low Mood Relief sound like soma, the State-produced comfort drug in Brave New World. Kira LMR is the pill for every ill that doesn’t really exist. It’s Boots’ way of trying to turn women into Stepford Wives, smiling vacantly as they buy their polenta. Because it really is for middle class women who want something that sounds ‘natural’. Thank god for Boots giving a name to that vague feeling that life should be better that I get now and then. It’s not just me, it’s a real thing with science words and I can take a pill for it. It’s not an existential crisis after all.<br />
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There is no automatic right to be happy all the time. Dis-ease is not a disease.<br />
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There’s even <a href="http://www.wired.com/2010/10/feeling-sad-makes-us-more-creative/">some evidence</a> that feeling low sometimes can be useful. <br />
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Marketing works on creating discontentment or fear and providing the solution. This is just one product but there is an increasingly pervasive sense that it is our duty to ourselves to be happy, productive little workers, parents, lovers and shoppers. Unrealistic expectations lead to disappointment. If that disappointment can be given a name and a product to fix it, the shareholders are happy.<br />
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<b>I really am feeling glum, what can I do?</b><br />
Get over yourself. The NHS is more humane than me and offers some sensible solutions that include exercise, healthy diet, sleep, less alcohol and talking through problems.<br />
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In other words, do all the boring, sensible things you know you should be doing. And, if the symptoms are more serious or persistent, see the doctor. But there’s no money to be made in common sense advice. A cup of tea and a chat with your mates might help, so might a glass of wine, but Boots doesn’t have tea shops or a license to sell booze. Major Kira would most definitely not approve.TKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.com2