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Eating out is killing you? + Does nofap really increase men's testosterone levels?

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Eating out is killing you?
https://www.acsh.org/news/2021/03/29/eat...-you-15439

EXCERPTS: . . . Compared to those who dined out less than once a week, individuals dining out two or more times per day were 50% more likely to die. The risk was 18% greater for cardiovascular deaths and 67% greater for cancer-related deaths.

It is a large study, so the statistical analysis is adequately powered, no need to p-hack for a result. But several of the limitations question the validity of data. Specifically, the diet and dining out information is both self-reported and only known at the baseline. What the participants ate or how often they dined out over the next median eight years is unknown. I believe the researchers' data collection, I just have significant reservations of whether that data reflects eating habits throughout a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 15 years. Ask yourself, leaving 2020 aside, have your eating habits changed since 2000? Besides, as the authors point out, they have no information on the meals eaten outside the household other than they were consumed.

It is the underlying ambiguity of the empiric data they collected, based on their assumption that this was reflective over time, where I beg to differ. And with that link in the chain of association weakened or broken, how accurate can the description of a “significant association” be?

In the study’s discussion, the authors offer some possible underlying reasons for their findings. While they bolster their thoughts by referencing other studies, these are not empirical facts; they are opinions. Opinions are subject to all our human biases. Their thoughts are the story they tell, to themselves and us, to tie the information together. It may make perfect sense, but it is a story.

[...] The one that most caught my attention was this, “… a recent study found that people who dine out had higher levels of toxic chemicals, including phthalates, than those who ate home-cooked meals.

Right up front, let me say, I have no idea whether this is correct or not, don’t write to tell me I am either chemophobic or chemophilic. [...] By the way, much of the elevated levels were among the younger participants, where dining out meant the school cafeteria. So maybe Union Square Café is OK, but my local elementary school cafeteria is the problem. By the way, the most significant source of phthalates in the study, sandwiches, which evidently includes cheeseburgers...

Here is my take-away. There may be an association between dining out and mortality, but this study doesn’t strengthen or create any linkage. The scientific data is sound only if you accept the underlying assumption that your eating habits do not change over time. And without that, any conclusion is unjustified... (MORE - details)


Nofap: can giving up masturbation really boost men’s testosterone levels? An expert’s view
https://theconversation.com/nofap-can-gi...iew-157701

EXCERPTS: Nofap is a growing online movement devoted to giving up masturbation and even sex for extended periods – typically around 90 days. Starting as a spin-off from a 2011 thread on Reddit, the organisation NoFap.com describes itself as a community-centred sexual health platform, designed to help people overcome porn addiction and compulsive sexual behaviour.

The claimed benefits, however, have now extended the reach of nofap beyond the realms of porn addiction recovery and into mainstream health and lifestyle initiatives. Advocates of nofap are heralding an array of sexual, physical and mental improvements – including increased testosterone levels. But is there any evidence to back this up?

[...] masturbation as such doesn’t appear to have any negative effects on sexual and general health, and particularly in relation to testosterone levels in men. The problem may lie in excessive masturbation and attitudes towards self pleasure.

Personal perceptions of masturbation can cause psychological effects that impact testosterone levels. [...] This stress from prolonged guilt, anxiety and depression can cause decreases in testosterone levels and in these situations, abstinence may relieve such feelings and could then theoretically lead to a testosterone increase. Maybe, then, the argument shouldn’t be about changing the tendency or frequency of masturbation, but more about improving understanding and attitudes towards sexual behaviour.

That said, abstaining from masturbation could help people with destructive porn addictions. Taking a break from pornography, masturbation, or even sex altogether for an extended period of time could help break the cycle, or reboot from porn addiction. Beyond this, though, health benefits of nofap are anecdotal and evidence to show abstinence even alters testosterone at all is simply not there.

So for anyone embarking on a period of “fapstinence” as a health fad, there is no apparent harm in trying and there might even be perceived improvements in certain aspects of life. But bear in mind that there is no reason to believe that nofap will meaningfully boost your testosterone levels and you may be missing out on the many benefits of healthy masturbation... (MORE -details)
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