MEDICAL RESEARCH

The Free Radical Theory of Aging

mitochondrial-health-free-radical

Another “Bad Guy” joins the ranks of useful cellular processes.

This dates from the 50s. The idea is that free radicals, normal byproducts of metabolism, are dangerous and responsible for aging and disease. This led to a huge supplement industry item: the anti-oxidant. Big problem: the theory’s wrong.

Do-It-Yourself China Study

do-it-yourself-china-study-scientist“The China Study,” by T. Colin Campbell, is the bible of veganism. It is a huge book which covers a lot of ground and makes many valuable points. The name of the book comes from a series of observational studies done in 69 counties in China called the China-Oxford-Cornell Project. Dr. Campbell himself led two of these studies, and from this project, he concludes that “plant-based foods are beneficial, and animal-based foods are not.” This conclusion has been disputed. See, for instance, Minger here, or Masterjohn here. OR see for yourself.

Number Needed to Treat – Does Your Drug Work?

Number Needed to Treat, or NNT is the number of people that have to take a drug in order for a single person to have a benefit.NNT

The concept of Number Needed to Treat or NNT may surprise you. If 500 people have to take a drug in order that 1 is spared a heart attack, isn’t that the same as saying: The drug is useless for 499 of 500 people that take it. Useless. Well, that’s only if the drug does no harm, but few drugs are this benevolent.