Some time ago, Mike Myles down at 90 Miles from Tyranny posted this meme in one of his many collections.
Ignoring "who's CT?", the rest of it seems like real truth to me. The first obvious one to me is our weight being determined entirely by Calories In vs. Calories Out or CICO (pronounce that “psycho;” or “sicko” – whichever you prefer), often stated as the way to lose weight is “eat less and move more.” I don't think it's an overstatement to say many millions of people have tried that and found that our bodies are too adaptive, too much "learning systems" for a simple approach like that. A very common scenario is for someone to try caloric reduction, have some quick success losing weight, only to find they gain weight back to close to their starting point. Then the after effect is that once the system learns it can turn down the amount of calories it needs, it can leave that so that to drop weight requires continually reducing intake.
His emphasis, though, seems to sound more like the crowd that seems to be afraid of chemical names and no familiarity with how chemistry works. If instead of telling them you were giving them water but said it was di-hydrogen monoxide (H2O), they'd run in fear.
Another one of Mike Myles' posts that stuck out to me is the essence of being afraid of chemical names.
The statement that the source of the Fluoride ion in our water supplies (and
toothpaste, dental treatments and ... whatever) is hydrofluorosilicic acid
(also known as hexafluorosilicic acid - H
2SiF
6) is true, but it's irrelevant. The nature of chemical reagents is that they
get used up so there is none of that hydrofluorosilicic acid left in the water supply. The
fluoride ions are removed from the acid and attach to
sodium ions resulting in sodium fluoride, NaF, a salt like table salt, sodium
chloride.
Since there's no hexafluorosilicic acid remaining in the water we drink, testing it for safety doesn't make much sense. Whether or not Fluoride itself is toxic or "safe" in our water doesn't appear to be anything the makers of this poster care about.
Well, just some rambling. Weekends tend to be the slowest news days, so I picked up some memes I've been meaning to write about. I'm open to suggestions about other things to write about.
But there are serious issues with fluoridated water and fluoride in toothpaste. Since the rise of fluorine usage, issues with hypothyroidism have correspondingly increased.
ReplyDeleteWhy?
Well, when one has an overactive thyroid, hyperthyroidism, a series of fluoride treatments is used to slow the thyroid down, as fluoride is a poison to the thyroid.
So, well, unproven fluoride treatment to stop tooth cavities (totally unproven, the tests were borked by the control cities going with fluoride) and the rise in hypothyroidism. But we're told they aren't connected by government scientists (the same ones that tell us COVID wasn't treatable by HCL and Ivermectin.)
I'm not tin-foil hat conspiracyism here. But the timeline fits, and merits more fair and impartial investigation.
Remember, DDT was said to cause a silent spring by messing up eggshell production in birds. Except the studies that 'proved' it were majorly borked and the whole "Silent Spring" book is about as factual as Erhlick's 'we're going to run out of food and water and space' bullscattery.
"Yes, but," ... The issue I had with the meme was about hydrofluorosilicic acid, not the fluoride in basically everything associated with dentistry. To borrow the last sentence in the second to last paragraph, "Whether or not Fluoride itself is toxic or "safe" in our water doesn't appear to be anything the makers of this poster care about. "
Delete"I'm not tin-foil hat conspiracyism here. But the timeline fits, and merits more fair and impartial investigation."
I agree entirely. I see bad results scattered around virtually everything published in the medical field, and I'll put dentistry under that umbrella. The one that pops into my mind the fastest is cholesterol. That's all due to Ancel Keyes "Seven countries study" in the late '50s. He had the same data on 23 countries but only 7 fit what he wanted to say, so her cherry-picked the 7. If I had to prove to the FAA that some flight critical piece of electronics we were selling to put on a commercial airliner worked as intended and I did what he did, I'd be in jail.
Using some form of correlation to prove causation is how medical papers work. Did you know that for old farts like me, higher LDL actually correlates with living longer? When papers like that show up, they're buried.
Thanks, Beans.
ReplyDeleteI recall the health-nut advice to "never put anything you can't pronounce into your body". Makes me wonder what a full chemical ingredient list would look like for, e.g. a carrot. But then I I also wonder why water isn't hydrogen hydroxide.
ReplyDeleteFor weight loss, I dropped a lot of weight when I got engaged. Maybe that was a signal, as I later ended the engagement. But otherwise, only a sustained increase in physical activity has had a lasting effect. I read something about how "any" exercise raises metabolic rate, but I haven't found that to be true.
- jed
Beans,
ReplyDeleteit would be a cold day in July here in SW Florida that I'd disagree with you, but ...
fluoride is highly effective in reducing caries, converting hydroxy-apatite to fluoro-apatite which is far more resistant to the acids of bacteria (and there are valid studies which meet the criteria of even my evil eye), but to be effective, the fluoride must be "applied" as the hydroxyapatite is forming, IOW: in utero.
To add to "dentistry" I'm a HUGE believer in (proper) cleansing of the teeth and the gingiva on a daily basis (please: do not get me started on "tongue-brushing"); the OL said I came very close to having a stroke when her cousin told my grandson "and don't forget to brush your tongue." Where these people get this illness, I've no idea.
I wouldn't disagree with the idea of continuous testing of my tap water, this is Floorida, after all.
I've never done (secondary) research into hypothyroidism/fluoride ion; I can understand the chemistry and wonder if the same might not be true for higher than "normal" sodium intake (or bromide).
BTW SG, a couple (say ~7) years ago, I decided I was carrying around just too much; I just cut the intake ("shrunk my stomach) and slowly went from 215 to 170; no more exercise (which is minimal) than usual. OTOH, having to use a walker (rollator) gives one impetus.
Which other medicine is dosed as 'drink all you want'? If the medicine is only appropriate for pregnant women during months x-y when teeth are forming, why is it given to everyone? Scraping my tongue reduces bad breath, and I don't think bacteria sitting on my tongue avoid moving to my gums.
Delete@ Anonymous
Deleteplease cite one study (clinically valid) that demonstrates that scraping the tongue reduces bad breath, I haven't been able to find one valid study, even though my wife's family have thrown many at me, particularly from women's health magazines.
If you wish to reduce "bad breath", please examine your diet, go to a gastroenterologist, and even consider utilizing dilute hydrogen peroxide as a mouthwash. I've found (again, I'm a dentist, retired: not a physician) that bad breath is indicative of diet or a problem that should be examined medically; a tongue coating shouldn't be scraped/brushed off, particularly if you eruct or have heartburn frequently.
I also did not say "...the medicine is only appropriate for pregnant women..."; please re-read. I'm uncertain whether or not the presence of fluoride in drinking water will reduce the incidence/progress of caries in the average adult; will the carious lesion, once formed, remain smaller due to the presence of the fluoride ion - I don't know.
> please cite one study (clinically valid) that demonstrates that scraping the tongue reduces bad breath, I haven't been able to find one valid study, even though my wife's family have thrown many at me, particularly from women's health magazines.
DeleteI have observed personally that scraping my tongue reduces my personal bad breath. Why would I need a study in order to believe my first-person observation? What was the Groucho Marx line about, 'who are you going to believe, me, or your lying eyes?'
> I also did not say "...the medicine is only appropriate for pregnant women..."
You said the studies say "the fluoride must be 'applied' as the hydroxyapatite is forming, [In Other Words]: in utero.". In which situation does this not mean "pregnant women"?
Weight has been a thing on and off in my larger family. It is true that our bodies can be pretty adaptive (both ways, or course). Weight training, for example, can give a "read" that one's BMI is Obese, whereas the fitness level is potentially much higher than someone that is within the profile.
ReplyDeleteI am not as good as I need to be - we are reaching the point where bad health decisions really just stay with you - but paying attention to what I eat (largely less sugar and generally unprocessed food) will go a long way towards helping my own struggles.
Okay, when is Bezos launching his giant private-part today?
ReplyDeleteOh, I guess it already did.
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew what I know now when I was 18.
ReplyDelete