I know it is not possible to argue with everything and anything scientifically inaccurate that is happening on the net and especially on Facebook, but really... It IS difficult to let it go! Now I love social media, I love blogging, I love how all international communities come together, but with the amount of information that we are absorbing everyday, I think we are all guilty of forgetting to, once in a while, stop in our tracks and wonder 'Is it really true?'. Now, this article is certainly not a post about debugging some fact or another but about using my beloved Sexy blog to do just what its primary functions are supposed to be which are to 1. rant about something and 2. share information I deem useful/interesting/Sexy for my beloved Sexy readers! And now that I've finished 1. Let's get on with 2.:
The image that sparked this ranting is this one ==>I'm sure all of you have seen it and I know from the number of Sexy requests I get that the majority of us are concerned about chemicals, whatever anyone refers to when using this word.
Also, my Sexy followers are Sexy because they are concerned about adopting a healthy lifestyle.
And as a Sexy note, I would like to define Sexiness as the level of confidence one can exhube when feeling healthy through whatever mean one employs to reach one's desired healthy state.
As a community blogger, I would like to share with you a couple of blog articles I particularly enjoyed and found most interesting and relate to this picture:
On the subject of calories
Everyday, I receive updates from the ScienceBlog. It's a very interesting and efficient way to keep up to date with the latest news on diverse subjects and be sure these are scientifically treated and accurately reported. A few months ago, I came across a particularly intriguing post on the confusing science behind weight loss. The concepts explained challenge what we know or think about weight loss-inducing diet as well as the relation between exercise and weight loss. If we are all interested in improving our health by adopting a healthy lifestyle, we are not so very good at implementing common sense in our quest. This article is certainly food for thought But beware it is not for extreme senseless decision making such as 'no point exercising then'.
As always, all in good measure!!
On the subject of chemicals
I wrote many articles on chemicals, notably a mini-series on chemicals in our make up as well as a mini-series on chemicals in shampoos with a special focus on Parabens and SLS.
Time and time again, we are getting confused by the scary nature of the word itself 'Chemicals', but do we really need to make a hotch potch of it all? That is precisely what I'm worried about when I read all these articles and see these pictures on FB/Pinterest.
To make sense of it all, I call upon a fellow #scienceblogger but also a #nailblogger well recognized on the blogosphere who is Michelle aka Lab Muffin.
She wrote a well explained article on the very nature of the word 'Chemical' that should highlight a few concepts that unfortunately get lost among the vast information pool that is Internet.
Let me know your thoughts on all these pseudo Scientific facts that you can encounter and how do you do to make sense of it all? And of course, are you a calorie or a chemical counter?
See you Soon for more Sexy Science,
More Reading
The Confusing Science Behind Weight Loss
Chemicals vs Natural
Well for every chemical that is labelled 'dangerous' somewhere on the internet, there'll be another post somewhere else saying it's the best thing since sliced bread. I do look at labels but there is a lot of scare mongering. Case in point Parabens - hated by many in beauty and yet Parabens are added to prevent bacteria developing. Another example, Silicon, equally hated and yet it is actually a very effective skin protector. As for calories, I try not to count them but confess I do take a quick look at labels LOL! Tracey x
ReplyDeleteThank you for your Sexy comment, Tracey. I totally agree with you. In fact, I wrote an article on Parabens showing just That!! Keep Blogging :)
DeleteBeing a foodie I enjoy food I don't count calories I just try and eat healthy.
ReplyDeleteThanks Nayna. I also think when you are a foodie, you understand what's in food, therefore you can't put stuff in that you think might be against common sense!
DeleteI have to admit I do like my food, yet i'm not one of those people who stand in the aisles look in depth at the food info, I use my own judgement, I do try to eat as healthy as I possibly can.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sharon for your comment, I do the same as you :)
DeleteI don't know how to count calories and really don't want to but mention a chemical I know and my pharmacology degree wakes up and starts dancing till my chemistry lesson verifies it. I agree their is just too much "wrong" information out their on the wide web that correct info got mis-translated and lost it's value. Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed the rant and science Geek lol
ReplyDeleteThank you Miranda for your thoughtful comment.
DeleteI'm not really a big calorie counter, but believe in a balanced and healthy lifestyle. I love my food! I am conscious of what I put into my body though, especially chemical nasties.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment Celery and Cupcakes. What kind of nasties are you afraid of? Maybe I can look into it for you. Let me know
DeleteI believe the issue is not so much the counting of calories or chemicals but rather trying to fathom out what is right for you and even more confusingly your family. Take calorie counting, as an education and a form of 'kick start' it is a good lesson to have a week or two at say 1200 a day, to remind yourself what it feels like to be hungry and conversely to realise how much extra unnecessary food you have been consuming without thinking about it. It puts you back in tune with your actual needs again. Thus calorie counting is good as a short term 'lesson' in my view, leading to more permanent change. That is what I am hoping for anyway!! On the chemicals - I heartily agree with the Lab Muffin that it is absurd to see the noun 'chemical' used almost as a term of abuse . The point here again is - what chemicals do we actually need, and if we (as in the human race) are manufacturing / processing them then we have to also take on the responsibility for the outcome of these actions and what is done with those chemicals. Yes the 'natural' poison of the puffa fish is deadly but Nature does not fill the world with Puffa Fish either. I am more of a chemical counter than a calorie counter I think as I have seen some horrid effects of the wrong chemicals in terms of allergies and skin problems in family and friends.
ReplyDeleteHi Teresa, Thank you for your comment. I think the 1200 kcalories a day lesson wouldn't be suitable for everyone to BH with you. And I agree with you counting calories is not the solution but understanding what food brings what. Understanding that it is important to spread these "calories" throughout the day and in the form of carbohydrates, proteins, good fats and vitamins (eg 1 fast food cheese burger contains 1200 kcal). It's also about understanding and respecting your own metabolism, not everyone's body deals with food the same way (I suffer from non psychosomatic fainting spells if I don't eat every 2hours). Also, respecting your body as a whole ie if you eat healthily, never ingest too much sugar nor the wrong types of fats and your normal healthy size is a 12, so be it!
DeleteAs of chemicals, I don't think companies add chemicals for the sake of adding them. Maybe you'd be interested in previous posts I wrote about Regulation on Cosmetics, or about Parabens. Like calories, my understanding is that we react to products the same way but with variations (some more dramatically than others) depending on our environment, stress levels, immunity maturity, and million of other reasons- intrinsic to a person Eg. I used to have a sensitive skin to Johnson's products, weird because these are Babie's products! I am not sensitive to anything else neither food nor product! It's not Johnson's fault, nor mine, my skin protects me and tells me it doesn't like that one! Therefore I would say If anything, an allergic reaction would alert the person of his sensitivity to a product, not of the "nastiness" of a product to his skin.