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Justin Moore, MD, has thoughts.

Do not insert.

Do not insert.

Links for September 15, 2017: male infertility "crisis," adrenal fatigue, the horror of goop, and water>artificial sweeteners

September 15, 2017

The male infertility "crisis" is in the eye of the beholder

Anyone who wants a baby should be able to have one, and I'm glad we have thoughtful, careful reproductive endocrinologists and urologists working on the problem. But I think as we rocket toward 10 billion people on planet Earth, calling it a crisis is probably premature. 

FWIW: adrenal fatigue isn't a real thing, no matter what GOOP says

Speaking of GOOP, Olga Khazan takes on its mysterious enduring popularity

What would possess a person to think that inserting jade eggs (those are actual egg-shaped pieces of stone, mind you) into her vagina would make her feel better? I have two theories: first, stories are more powerful than data. Local Wichita public health dynamo Becky Tuttle says that stories are "data with soul," but that's only part of the story. People like the illusion of certainty where there is only doubt. I think that's what quacks have always offered. 

See also: Nuts! the film about the Kansas doctor who implanted goat testicles, and No, women should not insert jade eggs into their vaginas

Until we have definitive evidence on artificial sweeteners, we should all drink water

Confession: medical school turned me into an heroic Diet Coke drinker in the late '90s. /at first it was just because I needed a reliable source of caffeine to keep me awake, but later it became more of a habit. It may even have had some religious undertones. Short story author Amy Parker once called it "the national beverage," and it was true for me. Every drink felt like a sip of America herself. But in February, after a bout of severe insomnia, I decided to give up caffeine altogether (it helped). It was only by coincidence that 1) data had started to accumulate that diet drinks were certainly not a panacea, and might even be bad for us, and 2) most other artificially sweetened beverages taste the way I imagine ground Smurf would taste. So I mostly gave them up, too. I've probably had 5-10 caffeine-free diet drinks since, and unless someone can produce evidence that they're not bad for me, I'm done forever. Mostly.

See also: Why one cardiologist has drunk his last diet soda

In links to health Tags infertility, fatigue, adrenal fatigue, goop, olga khazan, homeopathy, quackery, artificial sweeteners, testo, goat testicles, jade eggs
← Links for September 18, 2017: American sperm, movement is life, neighborhoods and vascular disease risk, and Taiwanese fruit ghostsIs it too early for a Halloween reading list? →

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