“The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.” – President Obama, Inauguration (2009)
No, no about climate change this time. No, it’s not about food and what the government keeps telling us what’s good for us and what’s not (butter bad…no good….fats bad….fats good….carbs good….carbs bad….sheesh). But now it is flipping on the stuff they said we were supposed to do IF we were eating good or bad (reformatted, emphasis mine):
It’s one of the most universal recommendations in all of public health: Floss daily to prevent gum disease and cavities. Except there’s little proof that flossing works. The federal government has recommended flossing since 1979, first in a surgeon general’s report and later in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans issued every five years. The guidelines must be based on scientific evidence, under the law.
Scientific evidence, the hidey-hole of Progressives that maintain their ideology IS settled science..but!
Last year, the Associated Press asked the Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture for their evidence, and followed up with written requests under the Freedom of Information Act.When the federal government issued its latest dietary guidelines this year, the flossing recommendation had been removed, without notice. In a letter to the AP, the government acknowledged the effectiveness of flossing had never been researched, as required.
The AP looked at the most rigorous research conducted over the past decade, focusing on 25 studies that generally compared the use of a toothbrush with the combination of toothbrushes and floss. The findings? The evidence for flossing is “weak, very unreliable,” of “very low” quality, and carries “a moderate to large potential for bias.”
“The majority of available studies fail to demonstrate that flossing is generally effective in plaque removal,” said one review conducted last year. Another 2015 review cites “inconsistent/weak evidence” for flossing and a “lack of efficacy.” One study review in 2011 did credit floss with a slight reduction in gum inflammation — which can sometimes develop over time into full-fledged gum disease. However, the reviewers ranked the evidence as “very unreliable.” A commentary in a dental magazine stated that any benefit would be so minute, it might not be noticed by users.
So what was, isn’t. Again.
You know, teeth and gums are small potatoes with only a few variables compared to an entire planet’s climate change forecasted out hundred or so years into the future…draw your own conclusions.
(H/T: NY Post)
