tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8031250711791165868.post9069787051422015243..comments2024-03-20T02:41:53.002-07:00Comments on Glenn Cardwell: Popeye didn't eat spinach for ironGlenn Cardwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04646356030768251216noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8031250711791165868.post-17544131395701543682014-08-04T10:22:15.233-07:002014-08-04T10:22:15.233-07:00Hello, Glen,
I arrived to your blog after reading...Hello, Glen,<br /><br />I arrived to your blog after reading a paper that actually cited Dr Sutton on the "SPIDES" affair:<br /><br />http://m.sss.sagepub.com/content/44/4/638.full<br /><br />I was looking up for some evidence about Popeye eating spinach for vitamin A, and in a google search this article's name got my attention.<br /><br />I just wanted to point out that, despite this article remarking on the "decimal point fallacy", the figures presented actually have a decimal point error:<br /><br />http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/3214?qlookup=11457&max=25&man=&lfacet=&new=1<br /><br />According to the source above, half a cup of spinach in fact contains 0.4mg of iron, not 4.<br /><br />Kind regards,<br /><br />Kadu Vidokvhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01149167099828091643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8031250711791165868.post-116025630192351262010-11-08T02:29:13.694-08:002010-11-08T02:29:13.694-08:00Hi Glenn
I am particularly interested in how and ...Hi Glenn<br /><br />I am particularly interested in how and why certain myths may be more powerful than others. The SPIDES seems to be a particularly powerful myth. It drew me in also at first because I referred to it as though it were accurate 'authority' in a paper I presented at a conference. <br /><br />Regarding the proposed paper, that's excellent. I'll email you today and we can work out how to best collaborate on the joint enterprise.<br /><br />MikeDysologyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03470745701780667870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8031250711791165868.post-13050052062581696522010-11-07T19:19:40.844-08:002010-11-07T19:19:40.844-08:00Thanks Mike. Sorry about delayed response. Yes, th...Thanks Mike. Sorry about delayed response. Yes, the SPIDES sucked a lot in, including me. Love to be involved. GlennGlenn Cardwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04646356030768251216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8031250711791165868.post-26757800104734741442010-11-07T05:05:45.678-08:002010-11-07T05:05:45.678-08:00Hi Glen
I enjoyed reading your blog. Thank you fo...Hi Glen<br /><br />I enjoyed reading your blog. Thank you for your kind words. What follows is in the spirit of healthy scepticism and informal academic debate, to take our knowledge about the impact of myths forward. <br /><br />I read your (2005) paper published in the Skeptic, entitled “Spinach is a Good Source of What? Cartoon characters are not necessarily a good source of nutritional advice."<br /><br />I wonder whether, in that paper, were you to some extent misled by the Spinach Popeye Iron Decimal Error Story (SPIDES) - as so many orthodox experts were? <br /><br />As you found by - quite rightly checking the original sources for yourself rather than taking my word for it - Popeye was actually quite good at giving nutritional advice. As you write: spinach is an excellent source of pro vitamin A. That said, the latest research suggests it is harder to absorb even pro vitamin A from spinach than was thought earlier.<br /><br />I think that some of the impact of the SPIDES on academic research in this area might possibly be revealed by the fact that Videlier and Piras (1990) in their paper “Health in strip cartoons” cover Popeye in just four words - simply to say that he smoked a pipe. <br /><br />Perhaps another paper in the Skeptic is called for. By the way I have continued my research in the area and can demonstrate that there almost certainly was no decimal error. I’ve been reading turn of the century German and US papers on nutrition. Also the original SPIDES was started by another orthodox expert on nutrition earlier than Hamblin’s BMJ paper.<br /><br />Would you be interested in writing a joint paper with me for the Skeptic Glenn. It would be the first time this latest research has been published. <br /><br />Best wishes<br /><br />Mike SuttonDysologyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03470745701780667870noreply@blogger.com