I’ve often wanted to write a weekly “did they seriously publish this?!” column, with a round-up of (what I consider to be) useless “research”… but I’m afraid that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with it due to my erratic blogging. Still, consider this post #1 of “please tell me time and resources were not wasted on this”:

MDLinx Health News: Eat more fruits, veggies:
Replacing high fat desserts and snacks with fruit and vegetables can help control weight, lower blood pressure and cholesterol along with adding antioxidants to your diet. Maintaining a healthy weight for adults and children may also help prevent many medical diseases such as hypertension, sleep apnea, pre-diabetes and heart disease….

(grey’s comment: No, you don’t say! Fruit and vegetables are good for you? Epiphany.)

The Irish Times: Mental illness linked to genes, says expert:
“‘There is a strong genetic component to most psychiatric disorders, with evidence coming from studies of twins and families,’ said Prof Peter McGuffin from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College in London”

“Behaviour can also be in part down to genes, he added. “There’s a lot of evidence from good old-fashioned twin and adoption studies that criminal behaviour is influenced by genes,” he said.”

“In addition to genes and the environment adding up together there’s something called gene-environment interaction, which means that some people are more susceptible to stresses than others. He cited alcoholism as an example: “Suppose you have an inherited predisposition to alcoholism – your parents might also have alcohol problems and you grew up in an environment where you were exposed to alcohol.

(grey’s comment: *cough* biopsychiatry *cough*)

That’s it for now — more later (for sure).