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Regarding links and research

The links I collect may include research studies that don’t seem to be directly about the point I made – sometimes research hasn’t been performed yet and I’m referring to background information in the article to which I linked or I’m drawing inferences from the research that the research authors did not include. Frequently research studies are focused on finding ways to make a medication or technique that can be patented. I am trying to figure out how normal and abnormal physiology may be affected by diet or lifestyle.

Read and live at your own risk. Medical doctors practice the provision of medicine – at least so I was informed by one medical doctor. My training was regarding diet for the lifespan in health and sickness, from perinatal/prenatal, through lactation and introduction of solid foods, to childhood and teen growth spurts through adulthood and into the typical changes in metabolism that occur with aging. Chronic disease is not a typical part of aging but a slowing down of metabolism and reduced need for total calories in combination with an increased need for protein and other trace nutrients is normal. Reduced appetite and thirst signals may also be normal so remembering to eat and drink enough can be a problem during aging.

I care a lot but there are only so many reading hours in a day.

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes. Thanks.

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Bias is a part of life that can be difficult to exclude or even to recognize

Words can mean different things to people of different backgrounds. Many words have a variety of meanings or have slightly different meanings depending on how the word is used in conversation. Research teams may seek feedback from a focus group of the target population before proceeding with a planned research study or survey.

The most traditional forms of social science try rigorously to weed out bias. But when studies are consistently designed by one population to use
on a very different population, all the conditions of research become biased. The very words chosen to question people may have quite different meanings to researchers and to people living in extreme poverty.

-Diane Farjour Skelton, p 80, Artisans for Overcoming Poverty [link]

The word bias is also a sewing term used to describe fabric sewn on the bias, or at an angle to the crisscrossing weave of the threads. Fabric sewn on the bias allows for a little more freedom of movement or natural stretch along the seam without the use of elastic. [1] A biased opinion has less freedom of movement, it is skewed by our personal history. Bias reflects our life long expectations of what life is like and it is based on our life experiences. Reading and experiencing a wider variety of things may help combat our tendency to expect everyone to think and react the same as ourselves.

Burlap fabric showing the criss crossing weave of the thread.
Burlap fabric showing the crisscrossing weave of the thread. A typical seam follows the lines of the thread, a seam sewn on the bias is sewn at an angle to the weave.

Disclaimer: This information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use.