Comments on Cranky Fitness: UnScientific American

There is so much crap in studies. I've been readi...

2009-12-27T10:11:16.282-05:00

There is so much crap in studies. I've been reading for years about how you should limit the amount of eggs you eat. Now they are saying you can eat as many as you want. I like eggs though so I'm not complaining

Great work! keep the stories coming. Looking forwa...

2009-12-23T03:13:04.443-05:00

Great work! keep the stories coming. Looking forward to it.

Good post. God gave us a brain for a reason -- we'...

2008-01-16T14:08:44.221-05:00

Good post. God gave us a brain for a reason -- we're supposed to use it! :) I'm thankful for those who spend the time and money to study some of this stuff but I can't put my brain in neutral just because somebody with "Ph.D." following their name or "Dr." before their name says I should do this, that, or the other.

Bob

OOH! OOH! Can I audition for a part in the music...

2008-01-16T07:23:08.734-05:00

OOH! OOH! Can I audition for a part in the musical?!?!?! Please!PLEASE!!!

I just saw Michael Pollan give a speech on TV and I think I need just about um, two minutes of investigation and he may be my new hero! He had some really sensible things to say.

"Cranky Fitness, The Muscial" which will no doubt...

2008-01-16T01:29:37.349-05:00

"Cranky Fitness, The Muscial" which will no doubt take Broadway by storm someday.

LOL!!
Great Post. I always have a healthy dose of skepticism when I read any new studies. But I agree with Cara, It's way more fun to learn about them through the Cranky "filter."

(and I loved jaime's comment!)

Maybe you should start writing and conducting the ...

2008-01-15T22:13:28.790-05:00

Maybe you should start writing and conducting the studies, Crabby! (or even just making them up would be fine with me) I'd rather take my advice from you. :)

Another good half-a**ed post. I love looking for ...

2008-01-15T21:55:06.449-05:00

Another good half-a**ed post. I love looking for health related resources, but sometimes there should be a limit.

I'm like you. I pretty much tune out the study res...

2008-01-15T21:09:54.237-05:00

I'm like you. I pretty much tune out the study results now because there is just too much conflicting info. I like Jack LaLane's philosophy which has helped him be healthy and almost 100, "If man made it, I don't eat it." So simple huh!

Yeah. I know what you mean. I remember watching a ...

2008-01-15T19:53:39.066-05:00

Yeah. I know what you mean. I remember watching a Graham Kerr episode in the 90s. He was fixing a low fat meal and was talking about how trends changed. He then showed a clip from the late 80s where he had created a menu full of red meat and/or cream based dishes. He ended the show by saying "And here we have a wonderfully healthy meal with nary a piece of bread to make you gain weight".

BTW - Thanks for the support

Thanks everyone--extremely amusing comments today....

2008-01-15T19:00:04.638-05:00

Thanks everyone--extremely amusing comments today. And I'm glad I'm not the only one who's confused and frustrated about all this stuff.

And I love that we have a whole theater/science geek camp at cranky fitness--this will come in handy for staging "Cranky Fitness, The Muscial" which will no doubt take Broadway by storm someday.

And crap, I hadn't heard that about the cholesterol lowering drugs! I know so many people who are on those--hope in another two days some studiy comes out with the opposite result.

In only read studies that promote drinking wine. ...

2008-01-15T17:45:12.548-05:00

In only read studies that promote drinking wine. So there.

This is another excellent post, and so timely give...

2008-01-15T17:15:08.090-05:00

This is another excellent post, and so timely given today's news that two of the big cholestorol lowering drugs may be ineffective and even harmful. Apparently they lower cholestorol, but increase the plaque in the blood. I'd be so frustrated if I were someone who takes one of those. I'll leave it to Crabby, Mary, and their brilliant readers to let me know whether to worry about this latest news.

Just want to add my thanks for a great post! Very ...

2008-01-15T15:56:23.862-05:00

Just want to add my thanks for a great post! Very well-written, and my feelings exactly. Especially the list about when you change... :)

Where is the study that says two flavors of Tasti D-Lite daily is part of a balanced diet?

My mother tells me that when she was my age, commo...

2008-01-15T15:53:07.825-05:00

My mother tells me that when she was my age, common knowledge was that olive oil was bad for you because of the fats in it. They didn't realize it had good fats. Now it's fairly standardly recognized that it's healthy and good fat (has anyone else besides me heard that it's actually bad to heat olive oil?).

I was raised with the gospel that coconut was really bad for you, but now the tide's turning on that too. So who knows how things'll change. I'm all for the "common sense" method.

Great post and wonderful list of your own dos and ...

2008-01-15T14:43:23.735-05:00

Great post and wonderful list of your own dos and don'ts. I feel bad for anyone starting out in motherhood these days - trying to keep up with all of the new scientific trends.

Breastfeed.. for how long. Place the baby on its back for sleeping.. in my kidlets' time it was the belly... etc.

There's "new" advice everywhere. The best advice I've ever followed was to "trust your instincts."

Hi Crabby,I think that studies are okay if you tak...

2008-01-15T14:18:36.175-05:00

Hi Crabby,

I think that studies are okay if you take them with a grain of salt. (Unless a study requires you to be sodium free.)

I've been through too many medical issues and health issues. Take this. Don't take it. It's good for you. It's bad for you. Ultimately you have to decide for yourself.

Nice post. Terrie

amen, sister! as a scientist, i think you pegged ...

2008-01-15T14:04:27.432-05:00

amen, sister! as a scientist, i think you pegged it! :)

Yay for a scientist/theatre nerd. That's like my ...

2008-01-15T13:52:44.754-05:00

Yay for a scientist/theatre nerd. That's like my alter-ego. Sort of.

From a scientist and theatre nerd, I find it easie...

2008-01-15T13:19:27.410-05:00

From a scientist and theatre nerd, I find it easier to just be healthy and do what is good for you...Each study has factors that they don't tell us about, and while it is good to keep abreast of the information, no one can tell you how to live your life...

Now...Anyone up for a musical or a lecture??

Great post Crabby! Your body sleeps in 90 minute c...

2008-01-15T12:54:43.461-05:00

Great post Crabby! Your body sleeps in 90 minute cycles though so it is either 6, 7.5 or 9 hours that you need and it depends on you. You can nap for 20 minutes, but if it is longer than that 90 minutes or three hours will let you wake without feeling groggy.
That is one study I read, tried and it works.

Jaime, I hear ya! It was only when I was working ...

2008-01-15T12:33:10.691-05:00

Jaime, I hear ya! It was only when I was working on my masters in theater (yes, I went there,lol!) and met my scientist brother-in-law that I realized i should have paid more attention in high school!

I'm still waiting for the study that says cheeseburgers and twinkies are health food.

It drives me crazy that there are still people who...

2008-01-15T12:31:13.968-05:00

It drives me crazy that there are still people who don't wear seatbelts. :\

The studies are insane, too - it seems like it's possible to find a study in support of ANYTHING you want these days. I'm trying to take Michael Pollan's "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." to heart, and paying less attention to the studies that are YAY!this and then BOO!that.

Amen! This is why I think it's so important (and ...

2008-01-15T12:20:36.533-05:00

Amen! This is why I think it's so important (and helpful! and interesting! and if you're a total dork like me, fun!) to be well-versed in science. It helps you understand more science. And that's what all of this is.

I just read Good Calories, Bad Calories, which got me thinking about a lot of things, and was very interesting and informative, but it was heavy on the science! That was a lot of furrowed-brow reading on the subway. And I was able to follow it all because I have a strong lay-person's background in science. And I was able to catch when some shady scientific logic was being employed, and to pay attention when what was being discussed was solidly researched and trustable.

Once you have a background in basic biology, and have worked the science-understanding muscles of your brain, you can start to parse things yourself - you can detect good science (big, double-blind studies) versus bad science (confusing correlation and causation), and not be fearmongered or brainwashed (or just jerked around) by every news report on every study that comes along.

And this is why high school is important. Even if you grow up to work in theatre (hi!), you *do* need science. Still no practical daily use for trigonometry, though.

excellent post-it's definitely good to be reminded...

2008-01-15T12:20:32.163-05:00

excellent post-it's definitely good to be reminded every once in a while that those studies are not the be all end all of health knowledge that we sometimes take them as.

I read everything, and then mostly ignore it. except the whole dairy makes you lose more weight. because I've tried that and it really works!

:)

I don't like the list of things you should and sho...

2008-01-15T11:32:10.426-05:00

I don't like the list of things you should and shouldn't do (although I know it's true.) There just aren't enough things for me to check off that I'm doing right : )