The many questions-not-worth-their-own-thread question thread XXI

[Flying Pig]

Apparently a chap called Pierro Saruffi

 

[_random_]

Thank you!

 

[Quackers]

What are the negative health consequences of eating too much saturated fat?

 

[Birdjaguar]

Heart attacks from blocked arteries

 

[Borachio]

Hey. This is one of those medical questions where the answer keeps changing!

I was listening to a chap on the radio the other day extolling the virtues of lard.

(I went out and bought a load. It's quite cheap. And yummy.)

 

[Birdjaguar]

"Some" and "too much" are not the same thing.

 

[Borachio]

Yes. I can see that. On a good day, I can see it, at any rate.

 

[Quackers]

Heart attacks from blocked arteries

Is that the only reason? How does that work?

Plus - how much is it safe to eat per day? I imagine you could get away with eating a small amount which will flow through the arteries without blocking anything - if thats true - what is the tipping point?

 

[Flying Pig]

A heart attack, by definition, is caused by a blocked artery. Cholesterol doesn't actually block the arteries; what it does is coat the insides, effectively making them smaller. Heart attacks come about when blood clots block your arteries - obviously, the thinner your arteries are, the smaller a blood clot has to be to trigger a heart attack, and therefore the more likely you are to experience one.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Your genes and lifestyle are important parts of the equation. My suggestion is figure out how much you would like to eat of highly saturated products and then cut it in half. If you eat a stick of butter a week, cut it half a stick. If you eat beef 4 times a week, cut it to two. If you drink whole milk, switch to 2% or skim. Then eat more fruit.

 

[Borachio]

I think a good rule of thumb is to eat more bread than lard. This has served me well. So far.

 

[PlutonianEmpire]

It probably won't make much difference, since when you fall asleep you will probably judt roll back to your natural sleeping position.

My natural sleeping position IS my side, so it does make a difference which side, and I think it has something to do with the orientatioin of the stomach or something.

 

[Borachio]

Yes. I believe the left side is considered the more comfortable for the stomach. I think it's something to do with the asymmetrical position of the liver.

 

[ELITEOFWARMAN8]

Anyone likes Cashews and Milk?

 

[Borachio]

I do. But cashews are very expensive. Especially if you eat the whole packet at once. Something almost impossible not to do.

And how much milk do you drink a day, Mr E? How's your acid reflux? Do you think milk and acid reflux might be connected?

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Is anybody here good at making models (specifically ragdolls) for the Source engine? I'm looking for something specific and it is not to be found, and I cannot figure out how to make anything more than a shapeless blob in any 3D animation thing.

 

[Farm Boy]

Crap. For about .25 seconds I thought my model rocketry skillz were going to be useful.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Sorry

 

[MagisterCultuum]

Honey naturally has anti bacterial properties, and it seems like all of it(that's real) is always darned expensive. It's pretty amazing stuff. Honey compresses were used up through WWI because of the antibacterial properties. The only two things the pediatrician specifically said not to give kids under a year old was well water and honey. I think the honey might clear out too much of their healthy gut bacteria or at least that's the concern.

That is not generally the reason for the recommendation.

Honey is quite good at killing bacteria in some phases of their life cycles, but it is not so good at killing dormant spores. It often contains spores of dangerous bacteria such as Clostridium botulinum. There are rarely enough of these spores to pose any health risk to an adult or older child, but an infant's immune system is typically not able to destroy the spores before they grow and release their toxin. Botulism can be fatal, so doctors tend to recommend strongly against giving honey to infants despite the risk of getting it being fairly low. (Just how low varies a lot geographically. Honey from California is far riskier than honey from the UK.)

Gamma radiation is apparently very effective at killing the spores without reducing any of the health benefits or antibiotic properties of honey. I believe that sort of processing is fairly expensive though, so it is not used in the kind of honey you can buy in most grocery stores. Medical grade honey shouldn't be a problem for infants.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

See, when I was a young man it was a universally-accepted fact of life that any man worth the name would sacrifice comfort to gain autonomy - he would rather live independantly and simply than in comfort with his parents. It's a little worrying that this trend seems to have reversed recently.

It should be noted that your experience was one of those abnormalities of the 20th century, of the wealthiest generations in human history.

Continuing to live with one's parents right up until the point when one gets married (and sometimes longer) is much more common historically and worldwide.

A lot of the old norms that the older generations prefer are actually fairly recent innovations.