BEAUTY & ENT.
Stop worrying and love the science
Health law and policy professor Timothy Caulfield takes readers through an average day to show how evidence can allay our fears and inform our decisions.
says U of A misinformation expert in new book BY GEOFF MCMASTER Timothy Caulfield suggests trying the following thought experiment. It’s far-fetched to be sure, but to test the “stranger danger” hypothesis—known to cause considerable anxiety among today’s parents—imagine placing your child alone on the street as bait for some shady character in a white van. How long would it take for that child to be abducted? According to one statistical analysis, 200,000 years. In other words, the odds of abduction are “so fantastically remote that, in terms of daily risks, it can be categorized as ‘simply not going to happen,’” writes the University of Alberta expert on misinformation, Canada Research Chair in Health Law and 54
APR / MAY 2021 News With A Desi View
Policy, and host of the Netflix series, A User’s Guide to Cheating Death. Driving kids to school is just one of perhaps hundreds of decisions we make every day about our health and well-being— many lacking solid evidence to back them up, said Caulfield. In his new book, Relax Dammit!: A User’s Guide to the Age of Anxiety , he takes the reader through an average hypothetical day, laying down what the science says about daily calculations we often take for granted— from when to get up in the morning and what to eat for breakfast, through a busy day of incessantly checking our phones, commuting, attending meetings, ranting on social media, chugging coffee, exercising
and binge-watching television.
Debunking the daily grind
True to form, Caulfield debunks popular but largely baseless wellness fads, such as gluten-free diets for those who don’t have celiac disease, raw milk products and even flossing. (Who knew the jury is still out on that one?) On vitamin supplements? Little evidence they’re effective. Standing desks? Not the solution many assume for sedentary office environments. Coffee? Probably good for you so go for it, even multiple cups per day. The daily decision provoking the most www.desitoday.ca
