Comments on: Salt fraudulently linked to higher blood pressure in kids http://www.bloggernews.net/110185 High-quality English language analysis and editorial writing on the news. Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:47:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: The Stiletto http://www.bloggernews.net/110185#comment-88702 The Stiletto Sat, 15 Sep 2007 12:19:30 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/110185#comment-88702 I never read epi studies. None of the hypotheses on which the studies were based ever made logical sense to me, plus the study population was never diverse enough. Even when you break it down to black, Hispanic and White - are you talking Carribs or US Southern black; German or Greek white - the diets and lifetstyles even among racial groups much less between them is huge. Finally, most of the data is "self reported" by the study participant via a questionnaire. By now most people know how the food police wants them to answer so they say "Yes, I eat spinach" or some such. These kids were still innocent and unsophisticated so they told the truth. For these reasons, epi study results are nearly always proven wrong over time. For instance, the food police has been trying to link coffee consumption to one serious health problem or another for 30 years. Each time, they found that coffee either had no effect or was protective against the very thing their biased hypothesis claimed it caused. I drink 4-6 cups a day, am in perfect health and will look forward to continued good health as I age because of all the things coffee seems to protect against (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, etc.). Bottom line: Your tax dollars at work keeping researchers employed in cushy labs with a fiefdom of assistants. I never read epi studies. None of the hypotheses on which the studies were based ever made logical sense to me, plus the study population was never diverse enough. Even when you break it down to black, Hispanic and White - are you talking Carribs or US Southern black; German or Greek white - the diets and lifetstyles even among racial groups much less between them is huge. Finally, most of the data is “self reported” by the study participant via a questionnaire. By now most people know how the food police wants them to answer so they say “Yes, I eat spinach” or some such. These kids were still innocent and unsophisticated so they told the truth.

For these reasons, epi study results are nearly always proven wrong over time. For instance, the food police has been trying to link coffee consumption to one serious health problem or another for 30 years. Each time, they found that coffee either had no effect or was protective against the very thing their biased hypothesis claimed it caused. I drink 4-6 cups a day, am in perfect health and will look forward to continued good health as I age because of all the things coffee seems to protect against (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, etc.).

Bottom line: Your tax dollars at work keeping researchers employed in cushy labs with a fiefdom of assistants.

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