Posted by Jay on January 26, 2001 at 14:57:17:
In Reply to: Re: BE QUIET! posted by Slates on January 26, 2001 at 06:11:47:
Your logic is flawed, Slates.
I generally avoid things that are bad for me, but you're right, you can't avoid everything without living irrationally in fear. So what to do? Spend most of your efforts avoiding the things that are the worst for you.
Unless you live in one of the most polluted cities in the country, you will get far more toxins and carcinogens from smoking a pack a day than from breathing the air. If air quality is especially horrible where you live, it is probably wise to use an air filter or an ionizer.
Water filters are also readily available, bust most of the treatment processes applied to city drinking water have no negative drawbacks except for chlorine. However, unless you're also drinking your pool water on a regular basis, the small amounts of chlorine in drinking water should have a negligible effect on your health or likelihood of developing some sort of cancer.
Chicken is not difficult to cook thoroughly, and it's certainly a good idea to cook it and not just take your "aw, fuck it" approach to protecting your health.
Red meat can be bad for you, raising your cholesterol and blood pressure, but my diet which includes eating hamburgers several times a week, but also includes eating healthier things, has given me an extremely low blood pressure, and a cholesterol level that is similarly low.
Surely I am exposing myself to health risks, but I would like them to be as little as reasonably possible.