[Villages PL]

Just a reminder: This is the "Medical and Health Discussion" board.

I thought you might find this interesting. Every once in a while Rush talks about health and the following story is a story that he has told more than a couple of times:

Rush said that he knew a man who wanted to be healthy, and this man heard that blueberries are healthy. He was eating blueberries all the time. But, eventually, the man got cancer and died. (End of story.)

From my understanding of it, the moral of the story is that you just never know....you can't plan to be healthy with any certainty as to what the outcome will be.

But what I wonder is this: Why was there so little information given about this man? Here are some questions that come to mind:

1) How old was the man?

2) What risk factors did the man have? Was he a smoker or ex-smoker? Was he a heavy drinker or recovering alcoholic? Was he overweight and suffering from diabetes? Did he already have cancer once before? Was he in remission?

3) What type of cancer did he get after starting his blueberry regimen?

4) It was said that he ate "a lot" of blueberries. How much is "a lot"? One cup per day? 2 cups per day? More than 2 cups?

5) What did the rest of his diet consist of? Did he combine blueberries with processed desserts?

6) Was he a veteran who was exposed to Agent Orange, or other harsh chemicals?

7) Had he been exposed to asbestos at some time in his life?

8) The CDC says that a small percentage of cancers are genetic. Perhaps about 3 to 5%. Was this man's cancer genetic?

How are we expected to form a conclusion about blueberries (or healthy living in general) with the small amount of anecdotal evidence that was provided in Rush's story?

[Villages PL]

Originally Posted by pooh

It was sarcasm.

I started listening before he had his TV show so I'm very familiar with him and I didn't detect any sarcasm.

[Carl in Tampa]

Originally Posted by Xavier

First mistake - Who in their right mind would listen to Rush and would believe a single word that comes out of his mouth. Just askin'...?

Well, it didn't take long for the "Medical and Health Discussion" forum to turn political.

----------------------------------------

Back to the OP: "Rush Limbaugh on health
Just a reminder: This is the "Medical and Health Discussion" board.

I thought you might find this interesting. Every once in a while Rush talks about health and the following story is a story that he has told more than a couple of times:

Rush said that he knew a man who wanted to be healthy, and this man heard that blueberries are healthy. He was eating blueberries all the time. But, eventually, the man got cancer and died. (End of story.)

From my understanding of it, the moral of the story is that you just never know....you can't plan to be healthy with any certainty as to what the outcome will be."

-----------------------------------------------

I think you got the moral of the story. The other questions you list are relevant but make no difference to the moral, which stated another way might be that you can't rely on ONLY ONE health factor to achieve health.

The other factors you mention can overwhelm the attempt to achieve health using only one method.

[rubicon]

My view of Rush Limbaugh's story is he simply wanted to point out that experts are not well always experts. His story had nothing to do with health. He could have made the same point if he were talking about the weatherman, a stock broker, a lawyer....sage advice is not always sage advice

I believe he was making a bigger point that we are not doing enough thinking on our own.

[justjim]

Rush Limbaugh is first and foremost an Entertainer. As such, he get paid very well. Do you actually believe that Rush believes half of what comes out of his mouth?

[Doctommft]

Originally Posted by Villages PL

Just a reminder: This is the "Medical and Health Discussion" board.

I thought you might find this interesting. Every once in a while Rush talks about health and the following story is a story that he has told more than a couple of times:

Rush said that he knew a man who wanted to be healthy, and this man heard that blueberries are healthy. He was eating blueberries all the time. But, eventually, the man got cancer and died. (End of story.)

From my understanding of it, the moral of the story is that you just never know....you can't plan to be healthy with any certainty as to what the outcome will be.

But what I wonder is this: Why was there so little information given about this man? Here are some questions that come to mind:

1) How old was the man?

2) What risk factors did the man have? Was he a smoker or ex-smoker? Was he a heavy drinker or recovering alcoholic? Was he overweight and suffering from diabetes? Did he already have cancer once before? Was he in remission?

3) What type of cancer did he get after starting his blueberry regimen?

4) It was said that he ate "a lot" of blueberries. How much is "a lot"? One cup per day? 2 cups per day? More than 2 cups?

5) What did the rest of his diet consist of? Did he combine blueberries with processed desserts?

6) Was he a veteran who was exposed to Agent Orange, or other harsh chemicals?

7) Had he been exposed to asbestos at some time in his life?

8) The CDC says that a small percentage of cancers are genetic. Perhaps about 3 to 5%. Was this man's cancer genetic?

How are we expected to form a conclusion about blueberries (or healthy living in general) with the small amount of anecdotal evidence that was provided in Rush's story?

I heard Rush tell a story about carrots several times. It goes like this. All men who died of cancer ate carrots sometime during their lifetime. Perhaps Rush substituted blueberries for carrots.

[Microcodeboy]

Wow! Point is to think for yourself. Life has no guarantees. Has little to do with blueberries or carrots.

Rush is an entertainer for profit. No more, no less. I love him and listen often.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Villages PL

Just a reminder: This is the "Medical and Health Discussion" board.

I thought you might find this interesting. Every once in a while Rush talks about health and the following story is a story that he has told more than a couple of times:

Rush said that he knew a man who wanted to be healthy, and this man heard that blueberries are healthy. He was eating blueberries all the time. But, eventually, the man got cancer and died. (End of story.)

From my understanding of it, the moral of the story is that you just never know....you can't plan to be healthy with any certainty as to what the outcome will be.

But what I wonder is this: Why was there so little information given about this man? Here are some questions that come to mind:

1) How old was the man?

2) What risk factors did the man have? Was he a smoker or ex-smoker? Was he a heavy drinker or recovering alcoholic? Was he overweight and suffering from diabetes? Did he already have cancer once before? Was he in remission?

3) What type of cancer did he get after starting his blueberry regimen?

4) It was said that he ate "a lot" of blueberries. How much is "a lot"? One cup per day? 2 cups per day? More than 2 cups?

5) What did the rest of his diet consist of? Did he combine blueberries with processed desserts?

6) Was he a veteran who was exposed to Agent Orange, or other harsh chemicals?

7) Had he been exposed to asbestos at some time in his life?

8) The CDC says that a small percentage of cancers are genetic. Perhaps about 3 to 5%. Was this man's cancer genetic?

How are we expected to form a conclusion about blueberries (or healthy living in general) with the small amount of anecdotal evidence that was provided in Rush's story?

The cancer genetic factor and information about it are constantly changing.


Read this. I think that much more cancer will be found to be strongly influenced by a persons heredity.


Hereditary Cancer & Genetics: Inherited Risk for Colorectal Cancer | Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

[Carl in Tampa]

Rush might have been providing an example of the logical argument that "Correlation does not imply causation."

People often make the mistake of believing that a statistical relationship necessarily implies that two events occurring together have a cause and effect relationship.

Doctommft has the example: All men who died of cancer ate carrots sometime during their lifetime. It would be a lapse of logic to believe that eating carrots causes death by cancer.

Rush can be more profound than given credit for by those on the other side of the political fence from him. I don't think he was talking about health, but about syllogisms, a form of deductive reasoning.

(Remember folks, this is not a political discussion.)

[createquilts]

He probably has a medical degree and reviewed all the latest research and scientific evidence on health and nutrition. What? He doesn't? Maybe I'll listen to people who have devoted their lives to helping people achieve better health through research and practice.

[mrdarcy]

Originally Posted by createquilts

He probably has a medical degree and reviewed all the latest research and scientific evidence on health and nutrition. What? He doesn't? Maybe I'll listen to people who have devoted their lives to helping people achieve better health through research and practice.

Sarcasm
Sarc--flesh
Chasm--tearing
Sarcasm--tearing of the flesh