Every week we read that something we believe is bad for us actually has beneficial health effects. One week it's coffee, the next is pizza - and every other day it's red wine. But can these stories really be true? That depends how you interpret the facts. To demonstrate, Ian Sample "scientifically proves" the benefits of a few risky pastimes.
Three weeks ago, I was happy in the knowledge that two staples of my diet, namely caffeine and pizzas, were inherently bad for me. Now that's all been overturned. Italian scientists, it seems, have discovered that pizzas act to protect us from all manner of cancers. And they should know.
Then it was the turn of the Australians. After a bunch of tests on athletes, scientists at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra have concluded that caffeine is not only going to make me more powerful and exercise longer, but it's likely to make me lose weight faster too. If I'd been feeling guilty about what I was consuming, it would all have been for nought.
So what's going on? And more importantly, who am I supposed to believe? Evidently, I'm not alone in my confusion.
"You can't expect the public to know the real risks of doing something and make a rational judgement. We don't do it, and why should we?" says risk expert Sir Colin Berry. "Mr Spock might be able to do it, but what a bizarre person he turns out to be."
Could it be that scientific studies will tell you whatever you want to hear if you look hard enough?
Having unprotected sex
It's never easy getting scientists to harp on about the benefits of having unprotected sex, but a few have stuck their necks out. Gordon Gallup at the State University of New York asked nearly a thousand women about their sex lives and used standard psychological tests to assess how happy they were.
He found that women whose partners didn't wear condoms consistently came out as happier than those whose partners did. Having ruled out other factors, Gallup says he is convinced semen is the reason.
"It suggests there's something in semen that can alter mood," he says. "If you could isolate what it is in semen that appears to be doing this, you might be able to use it as an alternative way of treating depression."
Gallup's latest results pander less to those smelling a male conspiracy: he found that women who don't use condoms tend to be more gutted when their relationships break down, yet get into new sexual relationships more quickly than those that do.
"They experience rebound more. It's as if they find semen addictive," says Gallup.
He isn't the only one to endorse the virtues of semen. Scientists at the University of Adelaide have found evidence that exposure to semen makes for a less problematic pregnancy. The team suspect that the semen conditions the woman's immune system, so it is less likely to attack the growing foetus. Male conspiracy theorists take note: the scientists found the positive effects of semen to be strongest if swallowed. Gulp.
Three weeks ago, I was happy in the knowledge that two staples of my diet, namely caffeine and pizzas, were inherently bad for me. Now that's all been overturned. Italian scientists, it seems, have discovered that pizzas act to protect us from all manner of cancers. And they should know.
Then it was the turn of the Australians. After a bunch of tests on athletes, scientists at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra have concluded that caffeine is not only going to make me more powerful and exercise longer, but it's likely to make me lose weight faster too. If I'd been feeling guilty about what I was consuming, it would all have been for nought.
So what's going on? And more importantly, who am I supposed to believe? Evidently, I'm not alone in my confusion.
"You can't expect the public to know the real risks of doing something and make a rational judgement. We don't do it, and why should we?" says risk expert Sir Colin Berry. "Mr Spock might be able to do it, but what a bizarre person he turns out to be."
Could it be that scientific studies will tell you whatever you want to hear if you look hard enough?
Having unprotected sex
It's never easy getting scientists to harp on about the benefits of having unprotected sex, but a few have stuck their necks out. Gordon Gallup at the State University of New York asked nearly a thousand women about their sex lives and used standard psychological tests to assess how happy they were.
He found that women whose partners didn't wear condoms consistently came out as happier than those whose partners did. Having ruled out other factors, Gallup says he is convinced semen is the reason.
"It suggests there's something in semen that can alter mood," he says. "If you could isolate what it is in semen that appears to be doing this, you might be able to use it as an alternative way of treating depression."
Gallup's latest results pander less to those smelling a male conspiracy: he found that women who don't use condoms tend to be more gutted when their relationships break down, yet get into new sexual relationships more quickly than those that do.
"They experience rebound more. It's as if they find semen addictive," says Gallup.
He isn't the only one to endorse the virtues of semen. Scientists at the University of Adelaide have found evidence that exposure to semen makes for a less problematic pregnancy. The team suspect that the semen conditions the woman's immune system, so it is less likely to attack the growing foetus. Male conspiracy theorists take note: the scientists found the positive effects of semen to be strongest if swallowed. Gulp.
