[ExI] nutrition - phthlates

[William Flynn Wallace]

On Fri, Apr 15, 2016 at 8:06 PM, Rafal Smigrodzki <
rafal.smigrodzki at gmail.com> wrote:

>
>
> On Fri, Apr 15, 2016 at 11:32 AM, William Flynn Wallace <
> foozler83 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Or maybe it's phthlates:
>>
>> In the past few years, researchers have linked phthalates to asthma
>> <http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/sep/17/health-asthma-plastic-pregnancy-children-home-phthalates>,
>> attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, breast cancer, obesity and type
>> II diabetes, low IQ
>> <http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/dec/10/phthalates-damage-childrens-iqs-womb-plastic-chemicals>,
>> neurodevelopmental issues, behavioral issues, autism spectrum disorders,
>> altered reproductive development and male fertility issues.
>> Here's the link to the whole article:
>>
>>
>> http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/feb/10/phthalates-plastics-chemicals-research-analysis
>>
>> So. to add to our list of possible culprits, Gov., science, Big Food, we
>> need to add Big Chem.  They fight every bill to restrict, test, get rid of
>> some chemicals we find in our diets without any FDA approval needed because
>> they are not foods (I am supposing this - I don't really know if this is
>> true).  They may leak into our foods from packaging, from the plastic tubes
>> used in dairies (in the article above).
>>
>
> ### I don't believe it.  There is not a single link to any trustworthy
> studies showing causation. It's all correlational garbage and
> hate-mongering against industry. I'll believe it when there are
> interventional studies showing a dose-response relationship between
> introduced phthalates and pre-specified outcomes, with plausible biological
> mechanism of action observed in humans.
>
> Rafał
>

​As discussed in this group before, it's very difficult to do true
experiments with humans, so we have to rely on correlations.  Sure, they
don't tell us cause and effect, but if there's a good correlation there's
cause and effect somewhere in there.

In any case, a good correlation can spur you to dig deeper and find those
causes.

As for making ad hominem charges against the researchers, that's done by
both sides.  How often has industry resisted regulation against things that
turned out to be really bad?  Industry data is suspect to begin with.

Bottom line:  we cannot trust any industry to regulate itself.  Most drug
studies are paid for by the drug companies, right?  Suspect any bias there?​

​  Way too much money involved.  This is an area that should lead us to
spend more money funding independent research institutes.

I recall some marijuana studies from way back:  every gov study showed ill
effects; every independent study showed none.  Maybe both were biased.

bill w​


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