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Cellar Scribblings
CellarDweller:
Hiya BetterMost friends!!!!
It's the last week of the old year.
I'm posting here what I posted on my FB page today, because I feel it's appropriate.
Before I get into this post, I want to stress to you that I'm doing just fine, I promise, so don't try to read between the lines, there's no message there, I'm not that deep. LOL
I'm posting one last Christmas song, that I just happened to hear today, and I think it fits this Christmas season for a lot of people.
Truth be told, it's not a Christmas song, but has "Christmas" in the title, and the theme is about dealing with difficult times, which people are definitely having now. As this year draws to a close, let's all move forward to better times.
Dolly Parton - "Hard Candy Christmas"
For those of my friends who may be unfamiliar with the term "hard candy Christmas", here's an explanation. Hard candy encompasses a large array of inexpensive sweet treats like candy canes and lollipops. The phrase "hard candy Christmas" refers to a time when families who did not have much money could only afford to give hard candy or penny candy (bulk confectionery) to their children at Christmas. The hard candy metaphor suggests that life can simultaneously be hard and sweet.
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: Jeff Wrangler on December 27, 2020, 09:00:15 pm ---Maybe I should reconsider and try supplements again. I say "reconsider," because decades ago, when vitamin C to prevent colds was all the rage, over a couple of winters I did some experimentation (took extra vitamin C, took no extra vitamin C, and so forth). It seemed to make no difference whether I took vitamin C or not. What seemed to make the most difference as to whether I had a healthy winter or an unhealthy winter was ... the weather.
--- End quote ---
The trouble with supplements, as you probably know, is that they're usually made from readily available substances, so they can't be patented, so there's no incentive for companies to conduct expensive clinical trials needed to satisfy FDA requirements for effectiveness. Any company can sell them as long as they don't claim medical benefits.
Some years ago I wrote about a meta-analysis conducted about the links between lifestyle practices and Alzheimer's. Back then, the supplement ginkgo biloba was said to deter the disease.
The meta-study came up with almost no hard conclusions. There was some evidence that exercise might have a preventative effect. Crossword puzzles, Sudoku and those computer mind-exercising games were not proven effective -- they might improve your skills at crosswords, etc., but so far there's no evidence that they stave off dementia. The most solid conclusion was that ginkgo biloba has been shown not to prevent dementia.
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: serious crayons on December 28, 2020, 12:22:55 pm ---Some years ago I wrote about a meta-analysis conducted about the links between lifestyle practices and Alzheimer's. Back then, the supplement ginkgo biloba was said to deter the disease.
--- End quote ---
A story about ginkgo biloba.
Years ago my dad tried taking it to improve his memory. He told me this as we drove home from dinner at a local "family restaurant." He also mentioned that he wanted to stop to fill up the car's gas tank on our way home.
He forgot to stop for gas.
To be honest, I forgot it, too, but I remember I made some smart remark about the ginkgo biloba not doing much good.
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: serious crayons on December 28, 2020, 12:22:55 pm ---The trouble with supplements, as you probably know, is that they're usually made from readily available substances, so they can't be patented, so there's no incentive for companies to conduct expensive clinical trials needed to satisfy FDA requirements for effectiveness. Any company can sell them as long as they don't claim medical benefits.
--- End quote ---
Granted I haven't done research, but I have a memory of once hearing someplace that if you took too much of one supplement (vitamin C, maybe?). all you did was pee out the excess, so it was a waste of money to take too much.
Too much of some things can also be dangerous--but, again, I don't remember which substances. :(
serious crayons:
I realized later it's not that the benefits of supplements can't be researched at all, but I think the researchers would have to get grants from the government or schools. And even then, their studies might not meet FDA standards, so the products still couldn't be marketed as medicinal. But at least users would have sounder information to go on.
I think they do a lot more of that sort of thing in Europe.
And true, if they're not researching them for efficacy they're probably not researching them for safety, either. :-\
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