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Jun 9th, '10, 13:57
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Re: I'm a Newbie interested in Silver Needle for health reasons

by Rithmomachy » Jun 9th, '10, 13:57

One more thing. If you want to live longer and healthier, don't smoke, eat right and excercise. The overall effect of those three things can be measured in decades of lifespan for the average person. Avoiding toxins and pesticides, eating organic, etc. have nowhere near a comparable effect. Children and certain other people are likely to be more affected, but the average difference in lifespan is probably on the order of minutes, if that, with effects on quality of life being on a similar level.

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Jun 9th, '10, 18:02
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Re: I'm a Newbie interested in Silver Needle for health reasons

by teaisme » Jun 9th, '10, 18:02

Rithmoma... wrote:but the average difference in lifespan is probably on the order of minutes, if that, with effects on quality of life being on a similar level.
Hum...sounds like your guessing

pesticides/herbicides maybe, other toxins and chemicals the average american can be exposed to from other sources besides food...unlikely, not so much for lifespan, but when considering quality of life I would leave that more open for debate then to just say it's completely negligible

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Jun 10th, '10, 14:12
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Re: I'm a Newbie interested in Silver Needle for health reasons

by Rithmomachy » Jun 10th, '10, 14:12

It's an educated guess.

You have to understand how these things show up in populations. A carcinogen that in normal exposure increases the chance of a rare cancer by twentyfold, say from one in 200,000 to one in ten thousand, would be pretty powerful, but it would still only have a direct affect on less than 0.01% of the population. If you or a loved one is in that 0.01%, the effect is devastating, and depending on the cost involved in banning that chemical, a ban may be excellent public policy, but the average effect will still be quite small.

Of course these things are additive to some extent, and there are always cases of people who are subject to increased exposure (agricultural workers, for example) and people with unusual sensitivity, such as women in preganancy and small children.

But I was comparing these effects to lifestyle choices that can have enormous impact on individual health in almost every person in society, like smoking, diet and exercise, and to societal changes like the development of modern agriculture that have had literally incalculable effects on public health. Almost anything is going to be dwarfed by these sort of issues, just like your cholesterol level isn't too important when your house is on fire.

Finally, keep in mind that most developed nations have governmental standards regulating toxins in food and the environment. These are extremely difficult to craft and enforce effectively, but they do their best where there are easily detectable health effects at a population level - meaning a noticeable average impact. A substance with an unidentified toxic effect is one that almost by definition has a small average effect at the level of the whole population. If it were a large effect at that scale, it would be hard not to detect it (if someone is looking for it).

The differences in health between people who eat foods high in antioxidants and those who eat healthy diets with low antioxidant levels is small enough that it is still in dispute. We don't know that drinking tea is better for you than not drinking tea. We also don't know that eating organics is better for you than not eating organics. Both are probably true, but the difference is small enough to be hard to find, even when you're looking hard for it. Compare that to something like eating a healthy diet or even having enough food at all or access to clean drinking water. It's not just comparing apples and oranges, it's comparing apples and atom bombs!

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Jun 10th, '10, 20:48
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Re: I'm a Newbie interested in Silver Needle for health reasons

by britt » Jun 10th, '10, 20:48

There are many very good organic Japanese teas that are no more expensive than the non-organics (per 100 gram bag). The vendor Yuuki-cha comes to mind. I do find that I brew organic sencha differently; I tend to use more leaf. I find the overall quality and taste to be just as good as long as I don't rigidly stick to a predetermined brewing method used for non-organics. Technically, the fact that I use more leaf may actually make it more expensive in the long term but not enough to stop me from buying it.

Anyone can find a study to support their views; I think that overall studies are very biased.

As far as the health of the Japanese goes, for the last couple of years most of the food I've consumed is imported from Japan. I either ship direct from there or purchase some Japanese items from a local Asian market. Most of the rest is from the US plants of Japanese companies. Since I've been doing this most people think I've lost a significant amount of weight. The reality is I've actually gained 20 pounds but my clothes are still much looser than before. Maybe there's more real nutrition in Japanese food products? I personally believe the American food supply is unsafe, unhealthy, and overall a massive disgrace. High fructose corn sysrup, GMO corn, GMO soy, GMO beet sugar, fluoridated water, etc. FDA is a joke for allowing all of these things into the food supply while claiming they're protecting us. After several years of consuming Japanese food products my only complaint is how much sugar that put in everything! At least it's real sugar.

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Jun 10th, '10, 20:54
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Re: I'm a Newbie interested in Silver Needle for health reasons

by britt » Jun 10th, '10, 20:54

Rithmomachy wrote:One more thing. If you want to live longer and healthier, don't smoke, eat right and excercise. The overall effect of those three things can be measured in decades of lifespan for the average person.
Japan is supposed to be one the healthiest nations with one of the longest lifespans, yet smoking is very common over there. This makes me wonder what they put in our cigarettes in the US.

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Jun 10th, '10, 20:58
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Re: I'm a Newbie interested in Silver Needle for health reasons

by britt » Jun 10th, '10, 20:58

Mikael wrote:What is the industry doing to reduce this number further? While lowering the amount of pesticide applied, and developing tea varieties better suited to naturally ward off pests, tea growers have also been switching to pesticides with a low water solubility (an ability to dissolve in water).
Isn't this the same thing Monsanto claimed for their GMO crops i.e. developed plant varieties that were pest-resistant?

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