Lean beef linked to atheism?

I really didn't know where to post this.  It is "News" after all, and reality, but OMG it would also fit perfectly on one of the Humor threads.

This is "research", lol!  Crazy world, crazy times!

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/popup/audio/player.html?autoPlay=true&clipIds=&mediaIds=2682054298&contentarea=radio&subsection1=radio1&subsection2=currentaffairs&subsection3=the_180&contenttype=audio&title=2016/01/17/1.3404751--lean-beef-linked-to-atheism?-nutrition-research-tool-draws-skepticism&contentid=1.3404751

Many nutritional studies use a tool called a "Food Frequency Questionnaire". Christie Aschwanden, lead science writer at FiveThirtyEight, says the questionnaire can lead to inaccurate data, and inaccurate conclusions. Those conclusions are then eaten up by a hungry media.

The problem here is the news cycle demands news. And there aren't medical breakthroughs every week. And there are headlines to fill... and so we could do a much better job of selecting which studies are covered to begin with.

    - Christie Aschwanden, lead science writer at FiveThirtyEight

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/the180/selling-naming-rights-to-bridges-putting-animals-on-trial-and-a-stain-on-vancouver-s-greenest-city-dream-1.3404608/lean-beef-linked-to-atheism-nutrition-research-tool-draws-skepticism-1.3404751

:laugh:

More proof it's all rigged to produce the desired outcome ...I trust very little in terms of "research"...then again I'm the original skeptic 

How utterly preposterous  :laugh:

"Eating Egg Rolls Leads to Dog Ownership, Study Finds"

"Table Salt Consumption Will Give You a Better Relationship with Your Internet Service Provider"

:laugh:

Yes, this is just one example of why I can't take any news headlines and/ or "medical research" too seriously. 

Sigh.

Sadly, this is more of the problem. It's not always research, it's usually media not explaining (or understanding) the difference between correlation and causation. Scientists aren't perfect beings, of course, and mistakes get made, but at least there are attempts to get things right over time.

The news media has a financial incentive to keep getting things wrong if they're attention grabbing.

Sorry, this was supposed to be in good fun wasn't it?

I'll crawl back under my bridge.

I would just like to add that the original article is pretty darn good.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/you-cant-trust-what-you-read-about-nutrition/

So we’re left with our original question: What is a healthy diet? We know the basics — we need sufficient calories and protein to keep our bodies alive. We need nutrients like vitamin C and iron. Beyond that, we may be overthinking it, said Archer, the Nutrition Obesity Research Center physiologist. “We have cultures that eschew fruits and vegetables that were perfectly healthy for thousands of years,” he said. Some populations today thrive on very few vegetables, while others subsist almost entirely on plant foods. The takeaway, Archer said, is that our bodies are adaptable and pretty good at telling us what we need, if we can learn to listen.

Even so, I doubt we’ll give up looking for secret health elixirs in our pantries and refrigerators. There’s a reason the media and the public gobble up these studies, and it’s the same reason that researchers spend billions of dollars doing them. We live in a world where scary diseases constantly strike people around us, sometimes out of the blue. The natural reaction when someone has a heart attack or is diagnosed with cancer is to look for a way to protect yourself from a similar fate. So we turn to food to regain a modicum of control. We can’t direct what’s going on inside our cells, but we can control what we put into our bodies. Science has yet to find a magic vitamin or nutrient that will allow us to stay healthy forever, but we seem determined to keep trying.

Hi, VEP, no, no please don't crawl back under your bridge!    Thanks for posting the link to the original article, I just realized I posted the wrong one.  Yes, I agree, it is excellent, isn't it? 

You know, this pretty much sums up my exact sentiments on not just this topic of research, but in fact most medical research, and why I'm just so very, very skeptical about any "new" discoveries flaunted about.  Now, I'm certainly no scientist, far from it, but to my lay mind and way of thinking, the human body and human *being* is just far, far too complex for even honest, well-meaning researchers to ever come anywhere close to understanding so many of these intangibles.

Oh, by the way, I don't know that this was necessarily meant to be entirely in good fun, lol ... But, hey, it's hard not to have a few laughs at the same time. 

The answer to so many of my problems seems to so often be that I'm overthinking it.

As far as science goes, there was another article I ended up reading as well, "Science Isn't Broken: It's Just a hell of a lot harder than we give it credit for" that goes more in depth into how we all might do better to keep a skeptical attitude to even the most reasonable scientific claims.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/science-isnt-broken/

The biggest danger I see is everyone disbelieving science and uncritically accepting alternative remedies simply because they say "natural" on the label.

Wait a minute....you're telling me I didn't see the original article    to be fair I'll say I listened to the audio link which really was ridiculous imo.

Since I primarily eat a plant based diet you'll get no argument from me about the ahem  original article which is in fact very good indeed...good catch Vegan! 

I overthink far too much myself   

The answer to so many of my problems seems to so often be that I'm overthinking it.

 

As far as science goes, there was another article I ended up reading as well, "Science Isn't Broken: It's Just a hell of a lot harder than we give it credit for" that goes more in depth into how we all might do better to keep a skeptical attitude to even the most reasonable scientific claims.

 

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/science-isnt-broken/

 

The biggest danger I see is everyone disbelieving science and uncritically accepting alternative remedies simply because they say "natural" on the label.

Just finished reading that article, VEP, thanks for sharing.  Very eye-opening, very disturbing, isn't it?    I was looking for a few excerpts to quote here, but there are just too many!  I'm glad to see it put out there, though, including this website:

"Open access to information about scientific corrections and retractions is part of our ethos."

http://retractionwatch.com/

Regarding the "Natural" label, I agree, I don't believe as yet there's an official FDA definition.  But that's a whole other topic for discussion, isn't it? 

Wait a minute....you're telling me I didn't see the original article    to be fair I'll say I listened to the audio link which really was ridiculous imo.

 

Since I primarily eat a plant based diet you'll get no argument from me about the ahem  original article which is in fact very good indeed...good catch Vegan! 

 

I overthink far too much myself   

 

 

Saga, the audio link's enough, it says it all really - Just a lighthearted glimpse into the behind the scenes reality.

Two vegans on this thread, huh!  Well, I guess neither of you should fear becoming atheists, right? 

Couldn't resist sharing -  Just for fun, some light entertainment if you will  - Thought it was a perfect fit for this thread. 

Just stumbled upon this "study" published in the journal, SAGE Open.  FYI, as per their website:  SAGE is a leading international publisher of journals, books, and electronic media for academic, educational, and professional markets.

Is left-handedness higher among those suffering from psychosis?

 

Left-Handedness Among a Community Sample of Psychiatric Outpatients Suffering From Mood and Psychotic Disorders

 

Researchers have long studied the connections between hand dominance and different aspects of the human brain. This study finds that among those with mental illnesses, left-handers are more likely to suffer from psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia than mood disorders. “Our results show a strikingly higher prevalence of left-handedness among patients presenting with psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, compared to patients presenting for mood symptoms such as depression or bipolar disorder,” wrote the authors.

 

http://connection.sagepub.com/blog/education-2/2013/10/30/is-left-handedness-higher-among-those-suffering-from-psychosis/

Oh, of note, just by the way ... "they examined 107 individuals from a public psychiatric clinic..." 

Enter the media, and a quick Google search shows headlines such as this at the time:

• Yale News:  "Left-handed people more likely to have psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia: Yale Study"
  
• Daily Mail UK:  "Left-handers 'more likely to be psychotic': Study finds they have 'strikingly higher' chance of suffering schizophrenia".

This is a very promising finding for the pharmaceutical companies, wouldn't you think?    Okay, come on all you lefties, fess up!!! 

I really didn't know where to post this.  It is "News" after all, and reality, but OMG it would also fit perfectly on one of the Humor threads.

This is "research", lol!  Crazy world, crazy times!

 

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/popup/audio/player.html?autoPlay=true&clipIds=&mediaIds=2682054298&contentarea=radio&subsection1=radio1&subsection2=currentaffairs&subsection3=the_180&contenttype=audio&title=2016/01/17/1.3404751--lean-beef-linked-to-atheism?-nutrition-research-tool-draws-skepticism&contentid=1.3404751

 

Many nutritional studies use a tool called a "Food Frequency Questionnaire". Christie Aschwanden, lead science writer at FiveThirtyEight, says the questionnaire can lead to inaccurate data, and inaccurate conclusions. Those conclusions are then eaten up by a hungry media.

 

The problem here is the news cycle demands news. And there aren't medical breakthroughs every week. And there are headlines to fill... and so we could do a much better job of selecting which studies are covered to begin with.

    - Christie Aschwanden, lead science writer at FiveThirtyEight

 

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/the180/selling-naming-rights-to-bridges-putting-animals-on-trial-and-a-stain-on-vancouver-s-greenest-city-dream-1.3404608/lean-beef-linked-to-atheism-nutrition-research-tool-draws-skepticism-1.3404751

 

:laugh:

Note, the audio link in the original post is no longer valid.  See below for working link: 

Lean beef linked to atheism?: Nutrition-research tool draws skepticism

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - The 180

January 15, 2016

Many nutritional science stories, like "blueberries can reduce impotism", start with research using a tool called a "food frequency questionnaire." Journalist Christie Aschwanden tells us how flawed the diaries can be, and what that means for research.

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2682054298