Toulouse Lautrec.... Le Toilette

Bias Is Found in Food Studies With Financing From Industry

New York Times
January 9, 2007

"Bias Is Found in Food Studies With Financing From Industry"

By MARIAN BURROS

Research studies financed by the food industry are much more likely to produce favorable results than independently financed research, a report to be published today said.

The report, in the peer-reviewed journal PLoS Medicine, is the first systematic study of bias in nutrition research.

Of 24 studies of soft drinks, milk and juices financed by the industry, 21 had results favorable or neutral to the industry, and 3 were unfavorable, according to the research led by Dr. David S. Ludwig, director of the Optimal Weight for Life Program at Children’s Hospital Boston and an associate professor at the Harvard Medical School.

Of 52 studies with no industry financing, 32 were favorable or neutral to the industry and 20 were unfavorable. The biases are similar to findings for pharmaceuticals.

Bias in nutrition studies, Dr. Ludwig said, may be more damaging than bias in drug studies because food affects everyone.

“These conflicts could produce a very large bias in the scientific literature, influence the government’s dietary guidelines which are science based,” he said in an interview. “They also influence the advice health care providers give their patients and F.D.A. regulations of food claims. That’s a top-order threat to public health.”

The American Beverage Association, which sponsored at least one study in the article, said the authors had their own biases.

“This is yet another attack on the industry by activists who demonstrate their own biases in their review by looking only at the funding sources and not judging the research on its merits,” the president of the trade group, Susan K. Neely, said in a statement.

The new study looked at research published in scientific journals from 1999 to 2003. Studies of milk, juice and soft drinks were chosen, Dr. Ludwig said, because they deal with a controversial area that involves children and highly profitable products.

Of 206 articles, 111 reported their sponsors. Two investigators with no knowledge of the sponsors, who wrote or published the articles or even the articles’ titles classified their conclusions as favorable, neutral or unfavorable to the industry.

Another investigator, with no knowledge of the articles’ conclusions, determined the financing sources and whether or not the sponsors stood to gain or lose from favorable conclusions.

A study of carbonated beverages in 2003 published in The International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition and financed by the American Beverage Association when it was known as the National Soft Drink Association found that boys with high weights did not consume more regular soft drinks than boys who were not overweight but did consume more diet soft drinks.

The soft drink industry has cited the study to bolster its position that soft drinks are not related to obesity.

“My co-authors and I rely heavily on scientific method in order to make sure we do not have bias in our studies,” said Richard A. Forshee, the lead author of that study and deputy director at the Center for Food, Nutrition and Agriculture Policy at the University of Maryland.

Also in 2003, a study of soft drinks in The Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine found a direct relationship between the number of soft drinks consumed and obesity. Foundations sponsored that study.

“For people who think science is completely objective, these results might come as a big shock,” said Prof. Marion Nestle of the Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health Department at New York University.

photo by: cdgabinete, Ferney Voltaire, August 2005

In love with... Mysteries

Heard this song 2 or 3 days ago through the movie "les Poupees Russes"... everything about it is beautiful... A "must have" song!

"God knows how I adore life
When the wind turns on the shores lies another day
I cannot ask for more

When the time bell blows my heart
And I have scored a better day
Well nobody made this war of mine

And the moments that I enjoy
A place of love and mystery
I'll be there anytime

Oh mysteries of love
Where war is no more
I'll be there anytime

When the time bell blows my heart
And I have scored a better day
Well nobody made this war of mine

And the moments that I enjoy
A place of love and mystery
I'll be there anytime

Mysteries of love
Where war is no more
I'll be there anytime"
Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man - Mysteries lyrics

photo by: cdgabinete, Nice, Julho 2005

Whatever happened to Xmas...

photo by: cdgabinete; Dec 2006

"Whatever happened to christmas? its gone and left no traces,
Whatever happened to the faces or the glow,
Whatever happened to christmas, to christmas way of living?
Whatever happened to the giving, the magic in the snow?
Remember the sight and the smell and the sound,
And remember hearing the call,
Remember how love was all around, whatever happened to it all?
Whatever happened to christmas, bells in the streets were ringing,
Whatever happened to the singing, the songs we used to know.
Whatever happened to this christmas, and when did it disappeared from view,
Where was i, and whatever happened to you?
Whatever happened to christmas and you?"

Song from the album "One more drifter in the snow" by Aimee Mann (a cover from the original one by Frank Sinatra)

No phone, no phone....

"No phone No phone
I just want to be alone today
No phone no phone
Ringing stinging
Jerking like a nervous bird
Rattling up against his cage
Calls to me thoughout the day
See the feathers fly
No phone No phone I just want to be alone today
No phone No phone
No phone no phone I just want to be alone today
Rhyming chiming got me working all the time
Gives me such a worried mind
Now I don't want to seem unkind
But god (it's such a crime)
No phone No phone I just want to be alone today
No phone no phone
No phone
No phone
I just want to be alone today
No phone
no phone
Shaking quaking
Waking me when I'm asleep
Never lets me go too deep
Summons me with just one beep
The price we pay is steep
I've been on fire
And yet I've still stayed frozen
So deep in the night
My smooth contemplations will always be broken
My deepest concerns will stay buried and unspoken
No I don't have any change but here's a few subway tokens
No phone No phone I just want to be alone today
No phone No phone
No phone no phone I just want to be alone today
No phone no phone
No phone No phone I just want to be alone today
No phone No phone"

Song by "CAKE"

The witch that lives in my hill

"There are witches in the hills calling my name
saying come join us sister, come kiss the flame
Come dance in the moonbeams, ride the night wind
make love to the darkness and laugh at man's sins
I shiver with delight, I shiver with fear
my heart wants to go but my soul's filled with fear
So I turn to my lover and ask what do I do
do I answer their call or stay here with you
But under spell of deep sleep he moans and turns away
taking his protection and my desire to stay
So I rise to the hill tops, I ride the night winds
I make love to the darkness and laugh at man's sins"

Cowboy Junkies, "Witches" lyrics

Paris is the ultimate paradise for….

CHOCOLATE!!!

Just been in a colleague's office tasting Parisian chocolate… this experience, combined with my recent passage by the "Maison du chocolat" and my other chocolate tasting experiences in Paris… allowed me to conclude that, for chocolate - Paris is definitely better than Switzerland (the whole country yes!)!!!

New masters' year resolutions!

Because the new study year is about to re-start, my study colleague from Malaysia, came up with these brilliant resolutions!!

We all subscribed them!

"(Together now, repeat after me)

We, the class of 2005/2006 (Geneva/Torino chapter) , solemnly resolve to drastically reduce our stress levels in second year by:

1. Starting to study earlier
2. Take study leave at least 3 months in advance
3. To login into the Webboard system at least once a week
4. To remember to answer all exam questions in SEPARATE booklets
5. To memorize our candidate number by heart and to write it on our exam booklet each and every time (or better still, on every page)
6. To never stop lobbying for the removal and banning of APWCIP* from the course who are just making the rest of us look slack!

*APWCIP = Annoying Parents With Child In Photo"

Let the new year begin!!! (and see what am I going to fail this time!!)

Mary...

"I love the tone that's in your laugh
Gasping for an extra breath
Waiting for the time to pass
I believe in days ahead
Don't spend another night alone
Cross and wishing you were dead.

Mary, you shouldn't let them make you mad
You hold the best you can
And Mary, after all the pain is gone
I'm always gonna live to be your man.

I've had it easy now you see
When I'm down you're always there
Standing by to comfort me
Someday we'll go round the world
I'll make the journey so sublime
I know you're not a travelin' girl.

Mary, you shouldn't let 'em make you mad
You hold the best you can
And Mary, after all the pain is gone
I'm always gonna live to be your man.

Cause I'd give everything I have
Forget all the things that bring me joy
If you could have one day
Pure and simple happiness
Until that moment comes
I'll be here where I've always been
I'm gonna be your friend
Until the day I die.

Mary, you shouldn't let 'em make you mad
You hold the best you can
And Mary, after all the pain is gone
I'm always gonna live to be your man.

(hold on....)"

From the 1st CD of the "scissors sisters". Great song... great band!

Crestfallen

sculpture: Rodin, The Kiss, 1886

"Who am I to need you when I'm down
Where are you when I need you around
Your life is not your own

And all I ask you
Is for another chance
Another way around you
To live by circumstance, once again

Who am I to need you now
To ask you why to tell you no
To deserve your love and sympathy
You were never meant to belong to me

And you may go, but I know you wont leave
Too many years built into memories
Your life is not your own

Who am I to need you now
To ask you why to tell you no
To deserve your love and sympathy
You were never meant to belong to me

Who am I to you?
Along the way
I lost my faith

And as you were, you'll be again
To mold like clay, to break like dirt
To tear me in your sympathy

You were never meant to belong to me
You were never meant to belong to me
You were never meant to belong to me

Who am I?"

Another one from the the CD "Adore" - Smashing Pumpkins... To me, this is one of their best CDs

Please bleed

"Make me feel like a beggar
Make me feel like a thief
Make me feel like a battle, that cannot end in peace
Make me feel like running, as if Ive lost my nerve
Make me feel like crying, tears I dont deserve

Please bleed
So I know that you are real
So I know that you can feel
The damage that youve done
Who have I become
To myself I am numb, I am numb, I am numb

Is this really living? sometimes its hard to tell
Or is this a kind of gentler hell?
Turn out the lights
And let me stare into your soul
I was born and bled for you to hold

Please bleed
So I know that you are real
So I know that you can feel
The damage that youve done
Who have I become
To myself I am numb, I am numb, I am numb

Never said thank you
Never said please
Never gave reason to believe
So as it stands
I remain on my knees
Good lovers make great enemies

Please bleed
So I know that you are real
So I know that you can feel
The damage that youve done
Who have I become
To myself I am numb, I am numb, I am numb"

from CD: Live from Mars, Ben Harper

Time has told me

photo by CDGABINETE: Sculpure of Eros & Psiche, Louvre Museum, August 2006

"TIME HAS TOLD ME
YOU ‘RE A RARE RARE FIND
A TROUBLED CURE
FOR A SENTIMENTAL MIND

AND TIME HAS TOLD ME
NOT TO ASK FOR MORE
SOMEDAY OUR OCEAN
WILL FIND ITS SHORE

SO I’LL LEAVE THE WAYS THAT ARE MAKING ME BE
WHAT I REALLY DON’T WANT TO BE
LEAVE THE WAYS THAT ARE MAKING ME LOVE
WHAT I REALLY DON’T WANT TO LOVE

TIME HAS TOLD ME
YOU CAME WITH THE DAWN
A SOUL WITH NO FOOTPRINT
A ROSE WITH NO THORN

YOUR TEARS WILL TELL ME
THERE’S REALLY NO WAY
OF ENDING YOUR TROUBLES
WITH THINGS YOU CAN SAY

AND TIME WILL TELL YOU
TO STAY BY MY SIDE
TO KEEP ON TRYING
TILL THERE’S NO MORE TO HIDE

SO LEAVE THE WAYS THAT ARE MAKING YOU TO BE
WHAT YOU REALLY DON’T WANT TO BE
LEAVE THE WAYS THAT ARE MAKING YOU LOVE
WHAT YOU REALLY DON’T WANT TO LOVE

TIME HAS TOLD ME
YOU ‘RE A RARE RARE FIND
A TROUBLED CURE
FOR A COMPLEX MIND

AND TIME HAS TOLD ME
NOT TO ASK FOR MORE
SOMEDAY OUR OCEAN
WILL FIND ITS SHORE

AND TO FEEL DRUNK IN A VERY LOVELY WAY
FOR JUST MAKING LOVE ALL TROUGH THE DAY"

from the CD: 5 leaves left by Nick Drake

Overweight 'top world's hungry'

Overweight 'top world's hungry'
BBC NEWSTuesday,
15 August 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4793455.stm

"The number of people overweight has topped 1bn across the worldThere are now more overweight people across the world than hungry ones, according to experts.US professor Barry Popkin said all countries - both rich and poor - had failed to address the obesity boom.He told the International Association of Agricultural Economists the number of overweight people had topped 1bn, compared with 800m undernourished.Speaking at an Australian conference, he said changing diets and people doing less physical exercise was the cause.

Professor Popkin, from the University of North Carolina, said that the change had happened quickly as obesity was rapidly spreading, while hunger was slowly declining among the world's 6.5bn population.The biggest increases are being seen in parts of Asia with certain populations more susceptible than others.

Professor Tony Barnett, of Birmingham UniversityHe told the conference at the Gold Coast convention centre near Brisbane: "Obesity is the norm globally and under nutrition, while still important in a few countries and in targeted populations in many others, is no longer the dominant disease."

He said the "burden of obesity", with its related illnesses, was also shifting from the rich to the poor, not only in urban but in rural areas around the world.China typified the changes, with a major shift in diet from cereals to animal products and vegetable oils accompanied by a decline in physical work, more motorised transport and more television viewing, he added.And he urged governments to begin to develop better strategies to combat the problem. He said food prices could be used to manipulate people's diets and tilt them towards healthier options."For instance, if we charge money for every calorie of soft drink and fruit drink that was consumed, people would consume less of it.

"If we subsidise fruit and vegetable production, people would consume more of it and we would have a healthier diet."

And University of Minnesota's Professor Benjamin Senauer, who has compared lifestyles in the US, which has high obesity rates with Japan, which has low rates, agreed."The average Japanese household spends almost a quarter of its income on food compared to under 14% in the US."

'Cheap food'

While a direct tax on food in the US to reduce obesity would not be politically acceptable, agricultural subsidies which resulted in cheap food could be reduced, he added.But he said other factors, such as exercise, also played an important role."

Japanese cities are based on efficient public transport and walking. The average American commutes to work, drives to the supermarket and does as little walking as possible."

Professor Tony Barnett, head of the diabetes and obesity group at Birmingham University, said: "It is becoming increasingly clear that the number of overweight outnumbers the malnourished."

What is also clear is that this is not just happening in developed countries, the developing world also has serious problems."The biggest increases are being seen in parts of Asia with certain populations more susceptible than others. If we do not get to grips with this, problems associated with obesity, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, are going to increase rapidly.""

photo by: Prokino

"Waiting for you"

This song is one of my favorites in Ben Harper's new album "Both sides of the gun". To know that I've heard it live in a perfect summer night... Just gives it the final brain atmosphere to make it even more powerful... More memorable, more rich...

"I' ve been waiting for you
I' ve been waiting for you
Never found enything else to do
But waiting for you

I' ve been calling your name
I' ve been calling your name
Never found anything else to say
Nothing to say

You can kill a lot of time if you really want put your mind do it
Leave it all behind if you never wanna go through it

I keep hearing your name
I keep hearing your name
Nothing else sounds the same
As hearing your name

You can kill a lot of time if you really put your mind to it
Or leave it all behind and never ever go through it

I' ve been hoping for you
Keep hoping for you
What else can I do
But keep hoping for you?

You can kill a lot of time if you really put your mind to it
Or leave it all behind and never ever go through it

We can kill a lot and never really have to go through it

What else can I do
But keep hoping for you?"

from teh CD: Both Sides of the gun, By: Ben Harper



photo from the link: http://www.theoryandpractice.org/Members/cranmer/Photography/BenHarper/Paleo-Festival-1.jpg

Pleasure and pain

"I'm leaving here on the morning train
and I will never see this world again
I've felt pleasure
and I have felt pain
and I know now
that I can never be the same

How I wonder why the world can be so cold
and if only good die young
then left with me cruel here to grow old
and I felt pleasure
an I felt pain
and I know now
I can never be the same

And if someday I find my peace of mind
I will share my wealth with all of human kind
I've felt pleasure
and I have felt pain
and I know now
that I can never be the same

So if the sun does shine or rain does fall
I give thanks I've had my sight to see through it all
and I've felt pleasure
and I have felt pain
and I know now
that I can never be the same"

Lyrics of the song "Pleasure and pain", from the album: Live from mars, Ben Harper

If you're looking for happiness ... come to Switzerland

Isn't Switzerland the land of CHOCOLATE????? this alone explains A LOT!!!!!!!

Looking for happiness?
July 27, 2006
The Independent

If you're looking for happiness, go and live in Denmark.

It is the happiest country in the world while Burundi in Africa is the most unhappy, according to a report by a British scientist released on Friday.

Adrian White, an analytical social psychologist at the University of Leicester in central England, based his study on data from 178 countries and 100 global studies from the likes of the United Nations and the World Health Organisation.

"We're looking much more at whether you are satisfied with your life in general," White told Reuters. "Whether you are satisfied with your situation and environment."

The main factors that affected happiness were health provision, wealth and education, according to White who said his research had produced the "first world map of happiness".

Following behind Denmark came Switzerland, Austria, Iceland and the Bahamas.

At the bottom came the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe and Burundi. The United States came in at 23rd, Britain was in 41st place, Germany 35th and France 62nd.

Countries involved in conflicts, such as Iraq, were not included.

"Smaller countries tend to be a little happier because there is a stronger sense of collectivism and then you also have the aesthetic qualities of a country," White said.

"We were surprised to see countries in Asia scoring so low, with China 82nd, Japan 90th, and India 125th. These are countries that are thought as having a strong sense of collective identity which other researchers have associated with well-being."

He admitted collecting data based on well-being was not an exact science, but said the measures used were very reliable in predicting health and welfare outcomes.

Regular studies by academics across the globe using the same tests would allow researchers to better understand what factors affected happiness and White said he hoped every country in the future would carry out bi-annual checks.