the random thought thread

**desert** · 03-31-2009, 23:50

Oh, and did I mention that getting cold and wet, sitting on cold cement or metal, or catching a draft is not at all harmful?? It has nothing to do with us getting sick.

Being cold weakens the immune system, so getting exposed to a disease while cold can make it more likely for symptoms to arise.

Vitamin supplements are useful, it's just that they don't come in all the hundreds of different forms that one finds in nature.

**Hooahguy** · 04-01-2009, 00:21

why are meatballs so... not meat-like...

**Aemilius Paulus** · 04-01-2009, 00:24

Originally Posted by desert

Being cold weakens the immune system, so getting exposed to a disease while cold can make it more likely for symptoms to arise.

No, you are mistaken. That is what I used to think long time ago, but it is not true. There is absolutely NO link whatsoever between cold temperatures and sickness. If anything, being exposed to cold actually strengthens you, as studies show. How the heck do you think soldiers in WWII and I went wet for days in trenches in freezing temperatures? Especially on the Eastern Front during autumn and spring. it was not resistance, believe me. The soldiers were common conscripts.

Even my biology teacher knows this, and she has a doctorate. It is common knowledge for anyone fairly educated she says, which is quite startling considering the incidence of this misconception. And heck, she is the most intelligent person I have met in my life. She is also my academic team (QuizBowl) coach, and it seems as if there is nothing that she does not know. Her previous academic teams had won at the US nationals twice and placed second thrice (!!). Not bad for such a relatively small town as Pensacola, FL (54,000 people).

Originally Posted by desert

Vitamin supplements are useful, it's just that they don't come in all the hundreds of different forms that one finds in nature.

It is not so much about the forms as it is the compounds the vitamins are found alongside in nature. Just as Vitamin D facilitates the absorption of Calcium, same happens with other vitamins and more complex organic compounds that act akin in a manner similar to enzymes (although the way they facilitate the absorption of vitamins could not be more different from enzymes)

**Hooahguy** · 04-01-2009, 00:31

guys, take your discussion of vitamins other places. not here.

**Strike For The South** · 04-01-2009, 00:56

Originally Posted by Aemilius Paulus

No, you are mistaken. That is what I used to think long time ago, but it is not true. There is absolutely NO link whatsoever between cold temperatures and sickness. If anything, being exposed to cold actually strengthens you, as studies show. How the heck do you think soldiers in WWII and I went wet for days in trenches in freezing temperatures? Especially on the Eastern Front during autumn and spring. it was not resistance, believe me. The soldiers were common conscripts.

Even my biology teacher knows this, and she has a doctorate. It is common knowledge for anyone fairly educated she says, which is quite startling considering the incidence of this misconception. And heck, she is the most intelligent person I have met in my life. She is also my academic team (QuizBowl) coach, and it seems as if there is nothing that she does not know. Her previous academic teams had won at the US nationals twice and placed second thrice (!!). Not bad for such a relatively small town as Pensacola, FL (54,000 people).

It is not so much about the forms as it is the compounds the vitamins are found alongside in nature. Just as Vitamin D facilitates the absorption of Calcium, same happens with other vitamins and more complex organic compounds that act akin in a manner similar to enzymes (although the way they facilitate the absorption of vitamins could not be more different from enzymes)

Links?

**desert** · 04-01-2009, 01:15

Well my mom is a doctor too, so nyaa! :P

And about the trenches quote: it looked like you were saying that you YOURSELF have been in trenches (I get that you mean I as in 1, but it still looks funny; you should have said WWI and II, or the World Wars). Anyway, disease was a pretty huge problem in the trenches, although when you have so many other factors such as lice and rats, contaminated food and water, extreme crowding, and so on, it's probably pointless to talk about cold at all in that context.

**A Very Super Market** · 04-01-2009, 01:35

Crowding is the main cause for disease spreading. We go inside when it is cold, thus being in closer proximity to others, and causing more sickness

**Aemilius Paulus** · 04-01-2009, 02:29

Originally Posted by A Very Super Market

Crowding is the main cause for disease spreading. We go inside when it is cold, thus being in closer proximity to others, and causing more sickness

Sorry to say, but that is absurd. I suppose you meant it to be that way however.

@desert: Your mother is wrong. What kind of doctor is she. I am not fabricating anything here. It has long been accented cold weather has nothing to do with sickness in higher academic and medical research circles. Might as well talk of foul vapours or alignment of planets... As for the trenches and foxholes example, first of all, I was referring more to WWII. Secondly, the disease that spread in trenches was anything but cold. Dysentery, diphtheria, pneumonia, Spanish flu, etc were definitely not rhinovirus.