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Two, two, two unfounded claims in one!

tracer

Graduate Poster
T
Joined
Jul 4, 2003
Messages
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I just got a newsletter from "Vitamin Research Products." (I know. Shut up.)

On the back cover, there's an article that makes the following claim:
Reearchers in Turkey have found that Ginkgo Biloba can prevent the free radical damage that occurs in the brains of rats after exposure to electromagnetic radiation from cell phones.
Click to expand...
:rolleyes:

The researchers had two groups of rats: one exposed to 900 MHz radio waves that received Ginkgo Biloba, and one exposed to 900 MHz radio waves that didn't receive Ginkgo Biloba. Funny, they seem to have missed the need for a group of rats that wasn't exposed to radio waves so that they could see if it made any difference. (They also didn't mention what antioxidants, if any, were fed to the rats other than Ginkgo Biloba. The rats in the no-Ginkgo-Biloba group may have just been suffering from scurvy or something.)
 
Couldn't they have made little tinfoil hats for a control group of rats.
The guy we arrested wearing a construction helmet lined with the stuff swore by it.
 
Reearchers in Turkey have found that Ginkgo Biloba can prevent the free radical damage that occurs in the brains of rats after exposure to electromagnetic radiation from cell phones.
Click to expand...
What's a "free radical"?
 
Yahweh said:

What's a "free radical"?
Click to expand...



As of when I post this the wikipedia article is correct

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_radical

A simple way of thinking about it is an uncharged molicule/atom with a spare eletron (this is wrong in quite a few respects but a better description would get complicated). They tend to be rather reactive.
 
Yeah. What geni said.

Free radicals are the trendy molecular villain in the anti-aging community these days. They cause cell damage which can accumulate over the years. It is known that antioxidant compounds (such as vitamin C and vitamin E) reduce the incidence of free radicals at the cellular level. However, what the vitamin peddlers usually don't tell you is that beyond a certain level, taking extra antioxidants won't help.

Apparently, Ginkgo Biloba has some antioxidant properties. But I'll bet you can get the same effect by consuming the U.S. RDA of vitamin C and E.
 
Many experts believe that molecules called free radicals, produced when the body fights infection, inflict damage on the body's tissues.

Drugs have been developed to mop up these excess amounts of the molecules, and thus prevent damage and disease.

But research by University College London, published in Nature,
suggests the theory may be incorrect.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3485508.stm
Click to expand...
 
I have to pay for mine.
I also pay for the free radical scavengers, but at least they taste nice if the right vintage is selected.
 
Frankly, I don't see why rats would want to use mobile phones anyway. It's all just "squeak, squeak, squeak".
 
Bikewer said:
Couldn't they have made little tinfoil hats for a control group of rats.
The guy we arrested wearing a construction helmet lined with the stuff swore by it.
Click to expand...

I saw a news item once where a guy had wallpapered the inside of his house entirely in tinfoil, to protect himself from mobile phone radiation, and was actively encouraging the rest of his village to do the same. Some other villagers had been won over.

Oh well, it probably helps in the winter months to keep the heating bill down...
 
Years ago, a local car dealer "Signal Dodge" used big searchlights as an advertising promo. A little old lady who was somewhat demented lived nearby, and was convinced these were laser beams that were burning her legs.
One of our (to remain nameless forever) gendarmes convinced her that tinfoil would be an effective remedy, and she dutifully wrapped her calves daily.....
 
Pantastic said:


I saw a news item once where a guy had wallpapered the inside of his house entirely in tinfoil, to protect himself from mobile phone radiation, and was actively encouraging the rest of his village to do the same. Some other villagers had been won over.

Oh well, it probably helps in the winter months to keep the heating bill down...
Click to expand...

Wouldn't being in a big faraday cage keep all the EMR from his utilities trapped inside the house and instead of going through the walls, keep bouncing around the room with him?
 
Bottle or the Gun said:


Wouldn't being in a big faraday cage keep all the EMR from his utilities trapped inside the house and instead of going through the walls, keep bouncing around the room with him?
Click to expand...

Good point - though I think it unlikely that his grasp of physics was particularly strong.
Or for that matter, his grasp of reality...
 
tracer said:
Yeah. What geni said.

Free radicals are the trendy molecular villain in the anti-aging community these days. They cause cell damage which can accumulate over the years. It is known that antioxidant compounds (such as vitamin C and vitamin E) reduce the incidence of free radicals at the cellular level. However, what the vitamin peddlers usually don't tell you is that beyond a certain level, taking extra antioxidants won't help.
Click to expand...

We also know that free radicals are essential to, or an inevitable byproduct of, some biochemical reactions. Furthermore, cellular machinery exists to repair damage caused by free radicals, although it is not perfect.
 
There aren't many free radicals in the US anymore. Most are either in jail or have traded their tiedye'd T-Shirts for positions as stock brokers and are now driving Cadillac escolades ( cue Rock n Roll by Led Zepplin)...........
 
TillEulenspiegel said:
There aren't many free radicals in the US anymore. Most are either in jail or have traded their tiedye'd T-Shirts for positions as stock brokers and are now driving Cadillac escolades ( cue Rock n Roll by Led Zepplin)...........
Click to expand...

OR

...saw a DeadHead sticker on a Cadillac...
 
tracer said:
I just got a newsletter from "Vitamin Research Products." (I know. Shut up.)

On the back cover, there's an article that makes the following claim:

:rolleyes:

The researchers had two groups of rats: one exposed to 900 MHz radio waves that received Ginkgo Biloba, and one exposed to 900 MHz radio waves that didn't receive Ginkgo Biloba.
Click to expand...

Another thing to keep in mind...

In the U.S., cell phones don't run at the 900MHz frequency. The frequency used can be under 900Mhz or well over 1000MHz, depending on the technology used. (Some European cell phones do use the 900MHz frequency, but that's not the only one used.)

Even if there were a problem with cell phones (which there isn't), their tests would be ignoring most of the cell phones out there.


See:
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/radio-spectrum1.htm
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cell-phone9.htm
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cell-phone13.htm
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cell-phone14.htm
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cell-phone16.htm
 
Some other claims made by the May 2004 issue of Vitamin Research News:

"Quercetin, Bromelain and [Vitamin] C: Allergy-Fighters and More!"

"Indole-3-Carbinol appears to be an effective weapon against breast, cervical and skin cancer, respiratory papillomas and other estrogen-related conditions."

"Collagen Type II Shown to Reverse Skin and Joint Aging"

"Soy is reported to aid in reducing menopause symptoms, reduce heart disease risk factors and help maintain bone density. [ ... ] Those in the pro-soyu camp point to research showing soy can reduce cholesterol, alleviate menopausal symptoms and lower blood pressure."

"Hypoallergenic, Cholesterol-Lowering, Anti-Diabetic Protein Powder"

"Rice bran and rice bran oil have both exhibited anti-cancer actions."

"BHT -- An FDA-approved preservative for food, oils and fats, this powerful antioxidant is mentioned in books such as Pearson & SHaw's Life Extension and Mann & Fowkes' Wipe Out Herpes with BHT."

(And just think -- ten years ago, BHT was being hounded as a carcinogenic toxic evil food additive by the Health Food Police.)


But their real colors show in Dr. Ward Dean's letter-answering column. Ms P. writes to tell him that she has Celiac Disease and always feels fatigued, but thanks to taking "Armor® Thyroid" and "GluControl", she now feels a "huge difference." Dr. Dean's response:

"Congratulations. Tou are taking charge of your own health. Don't worry about whether your physician 'approves' of what you're doing. She is not the one who is sick and suffering -- you are. You have discovered a solution that your physician did not. She was treating your blood test -- not you. Thyroid function blood tests are, in most cases, a waste of blood."
 
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