Should we ban citing "sources" on the intenet?

Question

Some people seem totally unable to read and review internet sources correctly, and quote snippets just to try and make a point whereas all they are doing is showing themselves up as deluded inbalanced timewasters

whereas if they read the whole site they quoted they would realise that the person they cite is barking mad and shouldn't be trusted.

I mean, would you really cite someone as a valuable source of information regarding a Vegan diet if the same person was also in the market of selling "cat purr" and "EarthRain" Meditation CD"s

The list of crap is endless:
http://chetday.com/healthaids.html

Ignore the artical on Vegan diets, is so biased its laughable.

some people do like creating new Yahoo accounts , don't they ?

Oh no, let me think, perhaps they get thier accounts removed all the time because no--one wants them here. Yep, that'll be it.

Answer 1

Water
I think it's important to drink some pure water each day, though as of August 2002 I have begun to seriously question the oft-heard injunction in the natural health world to drink a minimum of eight 8-ounce glasses every day. Hallelujah Acres says to consume liquid from juices and downplays the idea of consuming much water. Although my suspicion is that the body does not treat water the same as it treats juice, my current thinking is that listening to our body's requests for liquid may be the most sensible approach

Who drinks distilled water?
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Salt
Although I abstained from all forms of salt for several years, I no longer believe it's healthy to avoid salt for long periods. I now use Celtic sea salt pretty regularly and now believe the human body makes good use of minimally processed sea salt for many bodily functions. Modern medicine, as it often does, seems to be coming full circle on the salt question, and fairly recent studies reveal that consumption of some salt may be necessary for long-term health. See "Dietary salt reduction in hypertension--what is the evidence and why is it still controversial?" in Prog Cardiovasc Dis 1999 Jul-Aug; 42(1):23-38.

I already use sea-salt,I'm sure any vegan who buys their own food uses it also
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Carrot Juice
Instead of drinking straight carrot juice, which is extremely high on the glycemic index and thus dangerous for diabetics, candida sufferers, and those with hypo or hyperglycemia, I prefer vegetable juices with no more than 1/4 carrot juice as the base

Carrot juice hurting them?Diabetics get more help from being vegan more than they get hurt from carrot juice
Eating a low-fat vegan diet may be better at managing type 2 diabetes than traditional diets, according to a new study.

Researchers found 43 percent of people with type 2 diabetes who followed a low-fat vegan diet for 22 weeks reduced their need to take medications to manage their disease compared with 26 percent of those who followed the diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

In addition, participants who followed the vegan diet experienced greater reductions in cholesterol levels and weight loss than those on the other diet.

A vegan diet is plant-based and consists of vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes and avoids animal products, such as meat and dairy. People who are on a vegan diet are at risk for vitamin B12 deficiency, and so B12 vitamins were given to the participants on that diet.

"The diet appears remarkably effective, and all the side effects are good ones -- especially weight loss and lower cholesterol," says researcher Neal D. Barnard, MD, adjunct associate professor of medicine at the George Washington University, in a news release. "I hope this study will rekindle interest in using diet changes first, rather than prescription drugs."

Barnard is also president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a nonprofit health organization that opposes animal research and advocates a vegan diet.


Vegan Vs. ADA Diet For Diabetes

In the study, published in the journal Diabetes Care, researchers compared the effects of following a low-fat vegan diet and the ADA diet on reducing the need for drugs to manage diabetes, kidney function, cholesterol levels, and weight loss in 99 adults with type 2 diabetes. Meals were not provided, but participants met a dietitian to come up with a diet plan and then met regularly each week for nutrition and cooking instruction.

Forty-nine of the participants followed a low-fat vegan diet consisting of about 10 percent of daily calories from fat, 15 percent protein, and 75 percent carbohydrates. They were asked to avoid animal products and added fats and instead favor foods like beans and green vegetables, but portion sizes and total daily calories or food intake were unrestricted.

The other 50 participants followed the dietary guidelines recommended by the ADA, including 15-20 percent protein, 60-70 percent carbohydrates and monosaturated fats (such as olive oil), and less than 7 percent saturated fats (such as animal fats and butter). Total cholesterol was also limited to 200 milligrams or less per day.

Overweight participants in the ADA diet group were also advised to reduce daily calorie intake by 500-1,000 calories per day.

The results showed that both diets improved diabetes management and reduced unhealthy cholesterol levels, but some improvements were greater with the low-fat vegan diet.

For example:


43 percent of those on the vegan diet reduced their need to take drugs to manage their diabetes compared with 26 percent of the ADA diet group.


Weight loss averaged more than 14 pounds in the vegan diet group vs. less than 7 pounds in the other group.


LDL "bad" cholesterol dropped by an average of 21 percent in the vegan group compared with 11 percent in the ADA diet group who did not change their cholesterol drug use.


Measures of blood sugar control also improved more significantly among those who followed the low-fat vegan diet than among those who followed the ADA diet and who did not change their diabetes drug use.

Researchers say the vegan diet represents a major change from current diabetes diets because there are no limits on calories, carbohydrates, and portions, which may make it easier for some people to follow. Talk to your doctor about what diet changes you might consider to help with diabetes or other medical conditions.

SOURCES:Barnard, N. Diabetes Care, August 2006; vol 29: pp 1777-1783. News release, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
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Animal Foods
I think it's important for most people, especially individuals like me who zealously followed strict vegan diets for several years, to eat some "clean" and minimally processed animal foods as their body needs point out to them.

I currently eat health food store butter and free-range eggs as well as deep sea salmon. I don't drink milk, though I will occasionally have some organic, raw milk cheese or yogurt made from cows that are pasture fed and not injected with antibiotics and hormones. I try to avoid all supermarket dairy products. In September of 2002, we added grass-fed, organic beef to our diets. I eat these animal foods when my body tells me I need them. I'll go for days (and sometimes weeks) without an egg, and suddenly I'll know by a strong craving that I need some eggs, so I'll eat them until that feeling goes away. Ditto for fish. Ditto for cheese. Ditto for beef and chicken.

The ovo-lacto vegetarian diet (plants and eggs and dairy) seems to me to be an excellent choice for those who wish to avoid eating animal flesh.

If they aren't comfort-food related and generated for psychological or stress-based reasons, food cravings often suggest your diet isn't working for you. Listen to your body. It knows what it's talking about. Even cravings for junk food may well be telling you that you're not getting enough concentrated foods, or some other needed factor, in your diet.

Before some pundit misinterprets or tries to twist what I'm suggesting, I do not urge you to run down to the local Dairy Queen when you suddenly crave ice cream. Instead, entertain the possibility that your body needs some animal fat to help utilize fat-soluble vitamins and other factors not present in strict vegan diets.

If you want a Big Mac, your body's probably telling you it needs some meat. But instead of eating the highly-processed fast food hamburger, seek out the best quality meat you can find at a health food store and then eat it and enjoy it. Guilt contributes nothing to human health.

Philosophically, I continue to believe that a predominantly plant-based and uncooked diet is the best thing for the long- term health of most people. Personally, I would estimate somewhere between 5% and 15% of my current diet (as of August, 2002) includes animal foods. Animal foods probably compose closer to 20% of the diet of my wife and sons, and they eat more cooked foods to meet their energy requirements. As a side note, I generally find that animal foods satisfy my appetite much more than vegan choices

Myth:Cravings are your body's way of telling you it needs something.
Probably not. To date, scientists have not been able to link cravings in humans to specific micronutrient deficiencies. In fact, an experimental psychologist conducted a study on people with constant chocolate cravings. In this experiment, one group was given a cocktail that mimicked the chemicals found in chocolate, and another group was given a fake chocolate bar which looked, smelled, and tasted like chocolate but contained no authentic chocolate-like compounds. Guess which bar satisfied the participants most? The fake chocolate! Even though it didn't chemically resemble chocolate, the look, smell and taste hit the spot and satisfied cravings.

That said, cravings are believed to be emotionally or psychologically driven. People also tend to crave foods they enjoy and associate with pleasurable times and places. For example, you may crave hamburgers because you downright love the taste and typically eat them in cozy pubs and at family barbecues — not because you’re deficient in the mineral iron. Hormonal changes can also be responsible for cravings. Ice cream and pickles anyone?
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B12 and Other Deficiencies

What vegan doesn't know about b-12?
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You can go on the internet and find anything you want.I could search "vegan diet is the most perfect diet in the world" or "vegan diet cures and prevents cancers" and something will come up.

Answer 2

The problem with not quoting sources is that those of us who are accustomed to doing thorough research (and who understand the principles behind it) aren't able to verify the information for ourselves. I've got a Master's Degree in English and a minor in Library Science. I'm very capable of reading an article and determining for myself whether or not the author is "barking mad."

I'm used to debates, and I have the researcher's gene -- the one that controls gullibility. If you're going to present something as a "fact" to me, you'd darned well better have as many sources to support your point as you possibly can. Otherwise, I'm going to be all over your argument like white on rice.

Banning sources wouldn't make much difference to some people, but there are those of us who reserve the right to read the material and form our own opinion.

Answer 3

The real issue isn't banning the use of citations; they are a well-established academic standard.

The issue is educating people to not believe everything they read online (or in the newspapers, manipulated as they are by interest groups and lobbyists) but instead to apply rational thought to examining who wrote an article, why, their background, previous works etc - in other words, what is their bias? How do they stand to gain by taking a specific view?

The sort of skills Information Scientists and historians are taught as standard, and journalists should be using every day.

Answer 4

Many common natural remedies are claimed to have blood sugar lowering properties that make them useful for people with or at high risk of diabetes. Learn here https://tr.im/KfVg2

A number of clinical studies have been carried out in recent years that show potential links between herbal therapies and improved blood glucose control, which has led to an increase in people with diabetes using these more 'natural' ingredients to help manage their condition.

Answer 5

Download your favourite tracks to work out to. If you’ve committed to a half hour session a day then a 30-minute soundtrack of the very upbeat, motivating tunes will keep you pumped up!

Answer 6

Ask for your entrée being served on a bed of greens rather than bed of pasta or mashed oranges.

Answer 7

Walk to a co-worker's desk to chat rather then instant messaging.

Answer 8

Intimate, loving, ahem…horizontal physical exercise with your current (legal) partner has been proven as one of the most effective ways to shift those calories. So get to it!

Answer 9

Sit on a yoga ball rather then a chair to work your current core.

Answer 10

The article in question is not a viable scientific journal it is an opinion

Answer 11

I don't think we should ban citing these "sources". They provide so much entertainment for me when it's slow at work. I deal with dumb people everyday, and reading people's "knowledge" and their "sources" just reinforces the fact that the world is full of dumb people.