Monday, March 12, 2012

Numeracy

Those who know numeracy, know where this comes from when I speak of it.  Hey, it's not a curse word, ok?

So, England's Department of Health has stated that 1 out of 10 early deaths can now be linked to eating red meat.

"The Department of Health was last night urged to review its guidance on red meat after a study found that eating almost half the daily recommended amount can significantly increase the risk of dying early from cancer and heart disease...These results indicate that replacement of red meat with alternative healthy dietary components may lower the mortality risk...Scientists added that people who eat a diet high in red meat were also likely to be generally unhealthier because they were more likely to smoke, be overweight and not exercise.

In an accompanying editorial Dr Dean Ornish, of the University of California, San Francisco, said that eating less red meat could also help tackle climate change...He said: 'In addition to their health benefits, the food choices we make each day affect other important areas as well. What is personally sustainable is globally sustainable. What is good for you is good for our planet.'"

Ah, yes, might as well throw in climate change, whatever the topic.  Cow farts and the such.

So, red meat kills 1 in 10! The horror!

Let's look at this another way...the way the article did not.

Out of all the ways to die early, red meat can cause cancer or heart disease (because red meat doesn't kill you) 10% of the time.

Yup, the horrors of red meat only have a 10% chance of killing you...early.  There are other things which add up to 90% which have a chance of killing you...early.  If you die early, there is a 90% chance that it was NOT red meat.  If you die early (and what is considered early?), the chances of red meat being the cause are the same as the chances of being killed in a road accident.

So, by the UK's Department of Health guidance, you should completely stay away from cars and roads.  They have a 1 in 10 chance of killing you too.

Good luck with that.

As for me, I'm off to eat a greasy, fat, big ol' piece of red meat while driving my motorcycle weaving in and out of traffic with lots of cars on big roads, heavily distracted (I'm talented).  If I don't blog again tomorrow, there's a 10% chance that I died early due to the heart disease caused by the meat.

There's a 90% chance that I don't blog because I didn't feel like it.  Or something else.


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