h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hello all, this is your inexcusably late official notification to let you all know that the Debating Society page is being linked to from the front page all of this week. Congratulations.

And only three years since it had any real activity, too.

Three years is just considered pause for thought, that's all.

...

Actually - there doesn't seem to be many of us left.....

Hi folks, just found the link on the front page and Wow thought that I had at last found an interesting corner to nuzzle into but hay! what is happening? it appears to be quieter than the reading rooms at the local library.
What about this one for a kick off “ the news that the government is planning to introduce folic acid into bread and scones, mass medication and all that, we had it with water and the fluoride that was pumped in, what do you say about medicated bread. Have heard of “Hash brownies” but this is a bit off!

Governments love to introduce things that will cost them nothing and can be shown off as 'good for the populace'

I grow up in an area that was both the first smokeless zone in England, and the first area to add flouride to water.

What do we have.

Tasteless water and they've closed the pit.

No-one has done a study to determine what 40+ years of ingesting chemicals will do, however certainly in terms of tooth decay there seems to be little evidence to support the claims of less childhood fillings. Other dental hygene measures have far greater effect.

Obviously banning garden fires, and controlling what is burnt in hearths has vastly improved the quality of the air we breathe and done wonders for the forests of Scnadinavia.

One is a negative action -banning something - the other is a positive action - altering something.

Folic acid in bread ?

It's been suggested this could reduce thrombosis in the elderly, and is already recommended for breast feeding mothers, however too much folic acid affects the way we utilise vitamin B12, and that causes degenerative nerve disease.

Who knows what the cumulative effect of 40 years is ?

I believe that in 1996 the US Food and Drug Administration published regulations requiring the addition of Folic Acid to bread and cereal product.
It has been written that “Although folic acid does reduce the risk of birth defects, it is only one part of the picture and should not be considered a cure. Even women taking daily folic acid supplements have been known to have children with neural tube defects.” The very defect that the introduction of folic acid was supposed help.

There is also talk that this supplement may be useful in the treatment of coronary heart disease. The NORVIT trial suggests that folic acid supplementation may do more harm than good.

Could this just be another case of following “big brother” across the pond?