3 ms·

Its hard to know what to make of these studies that show how a substance that is harmful/poison might be good in the long run. Like wine and heart disease: Shou

by des47 16y ago

Its hard to know what to make of these studies that show how a substance that is harmful/poison might be good in the long run. Like wine and heart disease: Should we all really add a glass of red wine to our daily diet?

chc 16y ago
Few substances are innately and incontrovertibly harmful or helpful. Even water can be deadly if you drink enough, to say nothing of what happens if you just hold your face in it for a few minutes — are you surprised by studies showing that 2 liters of water a day are good for you too? Iron is very poisonous too, but it's widely known as an essential nutrient. Ditto for some vitamins.
- thribbler 16y ago
  I agree. The problem with these kind of studies is that they aren't coming up with explanations and then trying to test them; they're simply looking for correlations, which advances knowledge not one jot. In the case of caffeine I suspect the main benefit is that drinkers of tea and coffee eat less food, and rich food damages the blood vessels of the brain (as it does to the heart).
  - metamemetics 16y ago
    In the case of alzheimer's, the benefit is most likely from the fact Caffeine is a stimulant that affects the acetylcholine system. In that sense it is similar to nicotine, and NON-smokers are 50% more likely to develop alzheimer's (controlling for increased mortality). One current alzheimer's medication is Galantamine ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galantamine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galantamine ), which also increases acetylcholine levels and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor activity specifically.
petercooper 16y ago
Should we all really add a glass of red wine to our daily diet? The problem with these questions is that their answers aren't absolute. It varies significantly depending on the person, their genetic makeup, and their lifestyle. Even doing seemingly healthy things can be bad depending on your makeup.. enough 20-30 year olds have died during moderate exercise to show us that. There are enough old smokers, heavy drinkers, drug takers, and what not, to demonstrate that these activities are not guaranteed to kill you. Studies merely attempt to show, statistically, the damage that "can" be caused or is "more likely" to be caused than by not consuming the item. Given that we're haven't worked out how to determine what substances are or aren't helpful to us on an individual basis, I consume whatever I like as long as it doesn't make me feel bad. I might die tomorrow, I might die when I'm 90, que sera sera.

by des47 16y ago

chc 16y ago

Few substances are innately and incontrovertibly harmful or helpful. Even water can be deadly if you drink enough, to say nothing of what happens if you just hold your face in it for a few minutes — are you surprised by studies showing that 2 liters of water a day are good for you too? Iron is very poisonous too, but it's widely known as an essential nutrient. Ditto for some vitamins.

thribbler 16y ago
I agree. The problem with these kind of studies is that they aren't coming up with explanations and then trying to test them; they're simply looking for correlations, which advances knowledge not one jot. In the case of caffeine I suspect the main benefit is that drinkers of tea and coffee eat less food, and rich food damages the blood vessels of the brain (as it does to the heart).
- metamemetics 16y ago
  In the case of alzheimer's, the benefit is most likely from the fact Caffeine is a stimulant that affects the acetylcholine system. In that sense it is similar to nicotine, and NON-smokers are 50% more likely to develop alzheimer's (controlling for increased mortality). One current alzheimer's medication is Galantamine ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galantamine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galantamine ), which also increases acetylcholine levels and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor activity specifically.

petercooper 16y ago

Should we all really add a glass of red wine to our daily diet? The problem with these questions is that their answers aren't absolute. It varies significantly depending on the person, their genetic makeup, and their lifestyle. Even doing seemingly healthy things can be bad depending on your makeup.. enough 20-30 year olds have died during moderate exercise to show us that. There are enough old smokers, heavy drinkers, drug takers, and what not, to demonstrate that these activities are not guaranteed to kill you. Studies merely attempt to show, statistically, the damage that "can" be caused or is "more likely" to be caused than by not consuming the item. Given that we're haven't worked out how to determine what substances are or aren't helpful to us on an individual basis, I consume whatever I like as long as it doesn't make me feel bad. I might die tomorrow, I might die when I'm 90, que sera sera.