5 Interesting Links for 05-22-2015

Diet (Health)

Further proof in the “everything in moderation” camp, a study found reduced fat diets in the older population is linked to cognitive decline while a Mediterranean diet with olive oil and nuts improves cognitive abilities.
http://www.livescience.com/50792-mediterranean-diet-cognitive-function.html

Packaging (Marketing)

There are a lot of examples of marketing gone wrong. This article shows some successful and creative packaging. (Via Facebook)
http://twentytwowords.com/ingeniously-creative-packaging-designs-that-practically-sell-themselves/

Glasswork (Technology)

A short film contrasting the artistry of glassworkers with automated bottle making plants set to jazz and demonstrating an amazing variety of techniques. My only issue is they really needed a good music teacher. Their techniques made my cheeks hurt.
http://aeon.co/video/culture/glas-a-vintage-classic-film-on-glass-blowing-and-jazz/

Titles (Writing)

Choosing a title for your book can be difficult. This article is focused on non-fiction, but some of the techniques apply regardless.
http://blog.bookbaby.com/2015/04/how-to-choose-the-perfect-book-title/

Iridescence (Zoology)

Beautiful animal and insect photos along with a theory about defensive coloration.
http://www.livescience.com/50604-photos-iridescent-animals.html

War Child: A Fantasy Short Story

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5 Responses to 5 Interesting Links for 05-22-2015

  1. sprinkink says:

    The diet study was actually very poorly done. There were too many variables. They needed to choose one thing to test and have the people eat the same diet except that one thing. They were pretty specific about what the people eating the Mediterranean diet should eat, plus they added the olive oil and nut requirement. But, except for reducing the amount of fat, the article didn’t give any guidelines for the low fat dieters.

    Plus, all they had to go on for their data is that the people said they ate what they were supposed to eat. Unless you put them in a lab so they can’t cheat, you don’t know what they really ate. People lie because they don’t want to look bad to the researchers.

    I’d never use this study as a basis for choosing my diet, if I were a normally healthy person looking for a healthy diet. There are other, better designed, studies that show the Mediterranean diet is beneficial to health, but there are many other, equally well-designed studies that show other diets are beneficial to health. The main thing they all seem to have in common is that whatever you eat, it’s some combination of whole food. The big food companies keep trying to figure out a way to convince us that their food is “healthy”, but about the only thing every study agrees on is that it’s not. 🙂

    • Margaret McGaffey Fisk says:

      Well, that is why I labeled it further proof :). I would not be too sure the study didn’t have much more complexity than described either because Live Science attempts to get to the heart of the information for the non-scientist crowd so simplifies things. On the other hand, your contentions are spot on assuming this is all they did. I would never change my diet based on a single study either. However, I do make note when further research indicates something stated flatly with no conditions (such as all fat is bad) is short-sighted. I’m all for looking at all sides of the issue, whatever it is, before forming a judgment.

      • sprinkink says:

        I completely agree with you.

        The biggest problem with dietary studies is that whatever they conclude, they assume it’s right for everyone. But it’s not. It’s only right for people whose overall health and general lifestyle habits match those of the people they studied. If they don’t include people with chronic diseases, true allergies, medicines that react with various foods, and so on, their conclusions will not necessarily be effective for those people.

        But then, one of my pet peeves is that the Holy Grail of nutrition appears to be to find the one true perfect diet that is right for every person on the planet. And I don’t think that diet exists. People with various health problems; or even people who are in overall good health, but who are different ages, will have different needs. I’ve seen some health researchers starting to admit that and agree that diet needs to be individualized if everyone is to be as healthy as possible.

        • Margaret McGaffey Fisk says:

          Exactly. Science should not be about the one size fits all. Look at how well that worked in clothing :p. However, they did limit this study to seniors, and I see the pressure around me all the time to prevent any additional padding as we age. The upsurge in dementia and mental difficulties among seniors makes it seem worth the try. Again though, everything in moderation. I can see someone thinking if one tsp of olive oil a day makes my brain work better, how about a bottle a day :).

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