I'm so sick of 'studies'!!

Megan - posted on 07/06/2009

I try to follow the "most current" research plus a good dose of common sence. In fact if it doesnt make sence to me... I dont do it!

As far as all of these terrible foods... I would starve to death!

LOL! So when I was pregnant i ended up with gestational diabetes. So I couldnt have much for sugar or carbs (sweets, breads, pastas, sauces, juice, many dairies, starchy vegetables, fruits, condiments), I wasn't supposed to have hardly any fish (mercury), I was supposed to limit my fats and red meats... couldnt have honey and here is the awful one... i wasnt supposed to eat "diabetic or sugar-free" foods because of artificial sweetners (aspartame). So what could I eat? Slices of lean turkey meat (fresh from the deli because packaged may have listerosis) and sauerkraut... and they (the doctors) wanted me to take in at least 2000 calories of it! I couldnt even have peanuts or peanut butter or oil 'cause of the "peanut crisis". Well needless to say... I was good about the diabetes but D*** it I ate fatty meats and maybe a few too many tuna fish cans and even a bunch of diabetic foods yet my baby is healthy and happy and just fine.

Ya just gotta take everything with a grain of salt and know when to say "whatever, I do what I want" lol!

Joy - posted on 07/06/2009

"To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." Newton's Third Law of Motion. Applies to more than just physics. No matter what you say or how you feel, guarantee it that someone else says or feels the complete opposite.



It's like how when my 20 year old niece was a baby it was best to sleep her on her belly to prevent SIDS. Now it's "Back to Sleep". It's not all rubbish, but in my experience, things that are "scientific" are almost as subject to change as people's opinions. Until we know it all, everything we know will change...if that makes sense.



I say, studies schmudies. I have instincts (and so do you) for a reason. They have kept the human race alive for millions of years and we have not only evolved, we have thrived. My "instinct" said to stop torturing myself with a horrible breast feeding experience and to trust that "scientists" had made formula ok. My thriving, perfectly normal and beautiful almost 2 year old is my living proof that I made the right choice for him AND for me.



And I've gotta bump Jennifer and Traci :) Couldn't agree more....

Sarah - posted on 07/06/2009

*runs out to buy a water filter* :)

Cathy - posted on 07/06/2009

Quoting Sarah:

I'm just so sick of having studies and health advice thrown at me from all angles, i can't keep me and my family in a bubble for crying out loud!!
I'd just stay indoors and drink water but then.....most accidents happen in the home!!

Argggggghhhhhhhhhhhh! :)

If you only drink water you'll die.... don't you know about all the studies into the chemicals that they add to our water supplies! =P

Once again, everything in moderation and we'll all be just fine!

?? - posted on 07/03/2009

I'm like Jennifer, unless someone comes and does a study using my son as the 'test subject' I'm just not into it.



You can read any study and there will be some common sense based logic to it that they just run with - I like to eliminate the whole "run with" part and keep the logic part, use the common sense aspect to apply it to my life and if it doesn't fit, then I toss it too.



What bothers me is people will quote the world health organization about one thing and then the american acadamy of pediatrics about another thing and then you look up each thing on the other and they have different ideas of what is right and what is not. So how can you trust one organization about something but the other organization says something different?



I forget what the subject was on the main page but this one lady... she was shoving a study by WHO down this other ladies throat and then something else was brought up and she started spouting a study by another organization... so I looked up both subjects on each link... and they were like opposite ends of the spectrum and her "credability" went right down the tube!

Traci - posted on 07/03/2009

I agree. Any study you find with one outcome will have an equal and opposite outcome from another one. They don't know, and what they think they do know will change if you wait long enough.



I think all that is just put out by the media to keep us all in a frenzy, so that we look to others for our needs. People can control you if you live in a constant state of panic, you know? I mean, we're not going to live forever and so while I'm here, if I want dessert one day, I'm going to have it. Not every day, but in moderation. I'm not going to live in a bubble. That stuff bugs me, too. Like I've said before, "Don't believe the hype!" :)

Rachel - posted on 07/03/2009

i dont like most studies however there are a few accredited places that i would trust. Im not gonna put to much into alcoholforlife.com's studies however The American Academy of Pediatrics probley know what they are talking about.

Sarah - posted on 07/03/2009

I think you've put it just right Jennifer! :)

Glad i'm not the only one who gets annoyed with it!

It does make me laugh tho when someone puts a link to a study and it's decades old or something! Computers can a dangerous thing in the wrong hands sometimes!! lol! :)

Christa - posted on 07/03/2009

Commen sense goes a long way, and unfortunately I think many are lacking now days. :-)

~Jennifer - posted on 07/03/2009

Recent studies have shown that some people will believe anything they read as long as 2 other people believe it too.



Studies have also shown that most people will put into practice anything they see in print (probably because after that they have someone to blame if it goes wrong) and completely avoid common sense and intuition.

Until the 'studies' are done on a family EXACTLY like mine, they really don't mean much to me. A generalized 'study' cannot be tailored to the many differences between us all. How can someone offer irrefutable proof of what's best for, say, my son, unless they've done the study using my son as a test subject?

It goes back to 'what works for us may not work for you'

Not saying that all studies haven't provided some necessary information....just saying that when 'you' use *this* study to make a sweeping generalization of how things should work for EVERYONE, it just leads me to believe that 'you' aren't quite as smart as 'you' think you are.

Christa - posted on 07/03/2009

I agree, you have to consider the source of each study. Every study is paid for by someone and most have an agenda. As someone who also has worked in a research lab I know that results are repeated and repeated until the "correct" answer is shown. Very few studies are unbiased. But I do like reading them and taking the facts and then trying to make my own educated solution. I think it's important to be aware of the research but not take it as the Bible. :-)

JL - posted on 07/03/2009

I remember when I was pregnant with my daughter at the end of my pregnancy I was watching the News and they were talking about a study that said pregnant women should not eat french fries in large amounts because it may be linked to causing brain problems in babies. I was like OH CRAP my child is screwed because throughout my pregnancy I was craving french fries and tator tots and was eating them up. Well my child is just fine and I ate french fried during my second pregnancy as well and that kid is just fine and I have yet to hear anything completely concrete that assests that study. I listen and keep up with studies because I am also in a field where research is the basis of what we do, but I know from my field that you can come up with various studies that will suggest different things and new information is always being found. I do sometimes hate the whole studies suggest aspect because a lot of the times they report the stuff before a full anaylsis and long term research has been conducted which means they may be putting out info that is causing panic and too many people take things too far when in reality the issue is usually about moderation. For years it was lay the baby on their stomach so they don't choke, then it was lay them on thier side, and now it is lay them back to sleep...it is hard as a parent to keep up with all the new studies and ideas!

Alison - posted on 07/03/2009

LOL. I hear ya. I feel the same. You can devote your life to following what a study says, only for it to be dissproved by another study years later.

I'm also a bit sick of people on COMs telling everyone off because they dont back up their opinions with studies. By all means post a study if you wish, but I can't personally be bothered to do research to back up every opinion I express. Does that mean I should not be able to express a view? NO

Sara - posted on 07/03/2009

As someone who works in the field of research, let me tell you that rarely is research pure or unbiased. Sure, we take ethics very seriously, but often the design of the research itself is flawed in order to produce accurate results. I'm with you on the study thing, Sarah!

Emily - posted on 07/03/2009

I feel the same way. Studies are used as scare tactics when referenced by someone who thinks they "know" what they are talking about. I tend to be paranoid so these studies make me a crazy person. I do think the key is what you said, everything in moderation!



The quoting of studies kills me on COM they are used to make people feel like crap the reality is that studies can be quoted on all sides of an arguement but really who has the time? And who wants to make themselves crazy (at least I would do that)!

Sarah - posted on 07/03/2009

Lol Savannah! The milk thing winds me up to be honest, i don't think the one cup of milk my eldest has before bed each night is going to make her insides bleed to be honest!!

I guess it just annoys me when some people read these studies about milk for example, and go around telling people milk is 'poison' and everyone should stop drinking it.
Surely most things in moderation are ok!? I'd rather give my kids a glass of milk than fizzy pop or something!

I guess these studies can be useful, but really, do people have to take them SO literally?? As i've said i think moderation is the key to be honest!

Also, everyone is SO scared of this, that and the other and they should be out ENJOYING life!

Ooops! I'm ranting! Sorry! :)

Jenifer - posted on 07/03/2009

Maybe it is because I work in science research, but I do love reading studies.... however, I think a lot of people take them completely out of context and overuse them to the point of absurdity. A lot of the studies I see referenced on parenting sites like this one don't actually say what the original poster claims.

Savannah - posted on 07/03/2009

Oh, Btw, I don't raise my kids the way that I was raised. I was just making a point.

Savannah - posted on 07/03/2009

I know. I totally agree with you!

what's the big problem with milk these days? I mean, holy cow (haha) Most of us drank it growing up. My son LOVES chocolate milk. It is his special treat that he gets for being a good boy.

I get really tired of hearing about all the psycological "damage" that certain things are going to impose on our children. I was raised old school and I am not damaged.

I'm so sick of hearing about what we should and shouldn't eat I want to take a lesson from Ghandi!

Good grief this planet is scared of everything these days.