Quote:
Originally Posted by LLV
Yes, exactly. They can't honestly believe that has anything to do with it. I'm not saying it doesn't, but this is my point - all of this stuff is so mind-boggling that I rarely pay attention to it anymore.
But what I said after that is that they tried to find out if milk WAS the cause by doing experiments in which they varied whether or not people had milk with their tea and then compared the results, in both people and rats. The findings supported the causal claim -- that adding milk to tea is a contributing factor to heart disease. It may not be the only factor, but it's good evidence pointing to the causal connection.
That's why I like the article, it doesn't just rely on correlational data. I'm not saying it's perfect or has answered all the questions -- no single research study can do that. But it's a lot better than so much of the research I read, in which correlational findings are presented with causal explanations.
One final thought: You're right that your mother's milk and tea habit may not harm her. The research can only talk about tendencies. So it makes sense to do what you believe best, as there are no absolutes. But taking the risks into account may not be a bad idea. It may be the kind of situation where if heart disease ran in your family AND you liked tea AND could drink it without milk that you would be the most likely to consider it.
OR, if you're like me and see this kind of research, it may make you think that if you like your tea straight, it may not be bad to keep drinking it that way. That's how I took it, not as a mandate, but as another piece of information.