Calcium study - poorly conducted - yielding nothing but disinformation

USA Today recently published an article on the recently touted 'study' on Calcium supplementation for osteoporosus. While the TV reporting on this matter left the impression that Calcium supplementation for post-menepausal women was almost worthless, the USA Today article includes some details the TV news people left out.

If you read details provided in the USA Today article (but of course left out of the TV News headline readers) you find out that the 'study' was worthless due to extraordinarily bad execution of the study which makes drawing any conclusions from it impossible.


USA Today article

From the article (emphases all my own):



Uh, well let's see, in order to evaluate the efficacy of a substance it is a good idea to make sure the subjects in a study do take thAT substance in an effective and known amount, RIGHT? OTHERWISE YOU DON'T HAVE A REAL STUDY, DO YOU? In other words, you really can't draw ANY valid conclusions from your "study".


Now what about the conclusion: "but the supplements don't affect colorectal cancer risk, say the latest data from a landmark government-sponsored study."

from the same article(emphasis my own):


NOw, let me see, you let the CONTROL group (taking placebo) take Calcium and Vit D supplements Along with the placebo? Well, now this IS an interesting methodology. You are trying to see if Cacium and Vit D supplementation has any affect and you LET THE CONTROL GROUP TAKE THE VERY SUBSTANCES YOU ARE STUDYING?????? THis obviously is NOT a study, its a vaudeville show, a magic act where you use slight of hand to make it look like you are doing something that you are in fact NOT doing.

"Postmenopausal women, particularly those over age 60, should consider taking calcium and vitamin D supplements for bone health," she said. The only drawback: a 17% higher risk of kidney stones, or an extra six cases per 10,000 per year. (NOTE: No mention made if this was statistically significant or NOT.__JW)

And best of all, the last two paragraphs of the article:



... In other words, the quote in the first paragraph of the article: "but the supplements don't affect colorectal cancer risk, say the latest data from a landmark government-sponsored study." is not entirely supported by the study's authors nor by Dartmouth researcher and professor of medicine. The author of this slipshod article is Rita Rubin. While it points out important details left out of the worse than wortheless television reports, the article still leaves a lot to be desired. (do I sense some rewriting by an editor here? Perhaps Ms. Rubin deserves praise for keeping key information IN the article.)

There have been a number of interesting studies lately (with results that appear to contradict, in some cases, hundreds of previous studies over a number of years) which have recieved banner headline treatment on MSM news braodcasts which upon closer examination have been shown to have erroneous conclusions andor horrendous design and execution problems. But I think this study and especially the reporting of it by the MSM tops them all. At least USA Today put in some details to show the fraudulence of this exercise.

This was no study, it was joke. And the report on this study only helps contribute to the disinformation. On the MSM 'news' broadcasts they just repeated the fraudulent, invalid conclusions of a wortheless, phony study. When you allow the control group to consume the very substance you are studying and when you draw conclusions about a substance and you haven't even taken measures to ensure that the subject group IS IN FACT taking a known measured amount of the substance being studied - YOU HAVE NO STUDY. What you have is a side show, a bad comedy act which is a burlesque of real scientific enquiry.

And yet, it's the norm, not the exception.

So much science today is worse than junk. It's outright propaganda. :eyes:

Science needs to get back to basics...good old fashioned research with well thought out and executed studies.

tag lines would help.

Note that the USA Today article included enough information to see that this study was a joke. i don't know how the other national papers did with this though.

There are 'studies' being done that are not real science.. Since Exxon-Mobil showed what can be done with disinformation (they funded many pseudo reports and articles by conservative anti-think tanks which have done much to delay action on Global warming) others have sort of jumped on the disinformation bandwagon.. I think some people get a kindof 'kick' out of seeing the phony research they funded being so uncritically repeated by the Main stream "news" media. Basically, the Corporate Network News outlets are almost worthless if your objective is to find out what is really going on these days. that's why so many of us are flocking to the internet - to find real, reliable information.

nor will I be running to my doc because new study says HRT not as harmful as thought. I will stick to my vitamins, herbs, minerals, healthy diet, and natural progesterone cream.

http://search.lef.org/cgi-src-bin/MsmGo.exe?grab_id=0&page_id=5050&query=vitamin%20k%20bone%20density&hiword=BONEH%20BONEIS%20BONER%20BONES%20BONET%20DENSITIES%20DENSITYIS%20VITAM%20VITAMER%20VITAMERS%20VITAMI%20VITAMINA%20VITAMINAS%20VITAMINC%20VITAMIND%20VITAMINE%20VITAMINEN%20VITAMINES%20VITAMINIC%20VITAMINK%20VITAMINS%20bone%20density%20k%20vitamin%20


"Vitamin K, long known to be critical in the blood-clotting system, more recently has been been found to be important in bone and mineral metabolism. Vitamin K2 is active and more powerful than vitamin K1 in both decreasing bone loss through resorption and enhancing the bone-building process. K2 was recently recommended for consideration in helping to prevent or treat osteoporosis in patients whose underlying conditions put them at risk for the disease.67 Because vitamin K contributes to blood clotting, individuals who use warfarin should consult their physicians before taking vitamin K."


http://search.lef.org/cgi-src-bin/MsmGo.exe?grab_id=0&page_id=1961&query=vitamin%20k%20bone%20density&hiword=BONEH%20BONEIS%20BONER%20BONES%20BONET%20DENSITIES%20DENSITYIS%20VITAM%20VITAMER%20VITAMERS%20VITAMI%20VITAMINA%20VITAMINAS%20VITAMINC%20VITAMIND%20VITAMINE%20VITAMINEN%20VITAMINES%20VITAMINIC%20VITAMINK%20VITAMINS%20bone%20density%20k%20vitamin%20


" Vitamin K and bones

The flip side of hardened arteries is softened bone. At the same time arteries calcify with age, bone decalcifies. Bad bones, like bad arteries, are a big problem for healthcare. Between them, they soak up billions of dollars.

The drug approach to bone loss in women is estrogen drugs with serious, even life-threatening, side effects. The dairy industry approach to osteoporosis is cow's milk. Neither approach gets at the underlying cause of bone and artery deterioration.

Vitamin K regulates calcium

"Imagine a vitamin that could keep calcium in bones and out of arteries. In so doing, that vitamin could stop heart attack and osteoporosis at the same time. Sound incredible? Maybe, but research shows that vitamin K does exactly that. It works by regulating calcium. Bones need it, arteries can't stand it. Vitamin K accommodates both.

Vitamin K works through an amino acid called "Gla," which stands for gamma-carboxyglutamic acid. Gla is part of a certain kind of protein that controls calcium. Fifteen such proteins have been found so far; and researchers believe there are at least one hundred scattered throughout the body. Vitamin K makes them work and it's the only vitamin that does.

Vitamin K performs a feat on the proteins called "carboxylation." Carboxylation gives the proteins claws so they can hold onto calcium. Once the protein grabs onto calcium it can be moved around. Proteins that don't get enough vitamin K don't have the claws. They're "undercarboxylated" and can't control the mineral. Without a functioning protein to control it, calcium drifts out of bone and into arteries and other soft tissue."

I've never taken K -

their latest drugs to prevent osteoporosus. The ads lately seem to be overwhelmingly pushing whatever new drug that's come out since FOSMAX (which either is off patent or shortly to go off patent).

Since we know the Bushies pay for infomercials and we've all seen the ads of the Female Tennis Players all huddled around their cars talking about the drug they are taking to keep their bones healthy, along with the ad for the woman whose "skirt has suddenly gotten longer" ...we've gotta be just a little suspicious don't we. :eyes:

Big Pharma....pushing their latest NEW DRUG that we might find out in a year or two causes much worse for women than just osteoporosus. Think of all the athritis sufferers who were the last group of Big Pharma's efforts to advertise drugs that hadn't been tested long enough, or adverse side effects were witheld. Then you have Bush's FDA...who would trust them.

Maybe a multi-vitamin pill with extra calcium or four "Tums" a day might be an alternative if one isn't already grossly affected by osteoporosus and really need some super help.

It's sad that we all seem to be experimental mice these days and we are encouraged to keep thinking that only Pharma Drugs newest discoveries are the answer....

pharmaceutical industry 66% to Republicans in 2004

http://opensecrets.org/industries/indus.asp?Ind=H04