Chemicals, Regulation and Health

bunchesonothing

I completely get that people here want to be as healthy as possible and that's awesome!

However, sometimes, I think, things get sensationalized, because it's easy to do so. We're almost taught to see our industrialized world as super scary and that there are huge health related dangers at every turn. And, it's good to watch out for many of these dangers, true, but it gets to the point where quackery gets taken for fact. Most of the people here, not being scientists, see a study, believe all studies are of equal range or don't know what statements can actually and with scientific integrity come from a study.

I ask you all, instead of freaking out, just to be on the safe side, really think it through. Think like scientists. TRY TO break holes in the study and, as many as possible. If the holes make it fall apart, it doesn't have scientific integrity. If it stands, then maybe there is something to it.

Everything in nature has a chemical name and many things have a common name. EVERYTHING can be considered a chemical, even water in its purest form. The common names are often scary sounding. The chemical names often sound horrific: dihydrogen monoxide(water), 6-(hydroxymethyl)oxane-2,3,4,5-tetrol(glucose, etc, sugar), sodium chloride(salt). Don't be fooled by complicated sounding names. And you don't necessarily need to be freaked out by their byproducts. Metabolically, byproducts often have a way of being broken down further. Our body is smart like that.

Further, if you are afraid of carcinogens and the nasty side effects of chemicals so much, and you are really trying to rid them from your life, be prepared to live in the middle of nowhere(with no pollution), grow your own food, trash your cell phone, get water from an untouched stream or unscathed aquifer, use no cleaning chemicals, make your own clothes, don't drink alcohol or use electricity or cars. Stay away from plastics. Don't use hormonal birth control and it's best to stay away from all presciption drugs... just to be safe.

I'm not trying to be a jerk here. All of these things have been linked to cancers of some sort or another.

If you want to see a very simple way that science is warped for sensationalism, please check out:
http://www.dhmo.org/

Keep in mind, the site is talking about water... and they don't lie about anything, even once.

EDIT: Also, on regulation, so many people don't trust our government to do this job, and many don't know a lick about science themselves. I'm in a company who manufacturers chemicals and cleaners. With the way they're on our butts, checking up on us, creating new regulations all of the time, I assure you, they're doing what they can.

waterjogger

:noway: I'm going to go drink my diet coke, while trolling MFP with my bb, at the pool filled with sodium chloride, in the middle of my smog filled neighborhood. Check ya' later!!! :laugh:

anthony438

Logic and common-sense?!?!

GAHHHHHH, that has no place here!!!!

Out!!!!

HappyathomeMN

I love this!

Organic, to me, has a whole different meaning than to most of the population. Organic makes me think of long chain bonding, monomer cure sites and several other things (double bonds, naming protocols, aromatic molecules, benzene rings . . . . . I could go on). What is "organic" via chemisty, isn't "organic" in society. Makes me giggle.