Editing 1853: Once Per Day

{{comic
| number    = 1853
| date      = June 21, 2017
| title     = Once Per Day
| image     = once_per_day.png
| titletext = I'm not totally locked into my routine—twice a year, I take a break to change the batteries in my smoke detectors.
}}

==Explanation==
Many news reports on health recommend the "best" way to perform the processes, such as eating, drinking, exercising, or sleeping, that are required to live healthy. These reports tend to give such factors as a type of food to consume regularly, the amount of a nutrient to consume, or how long to exercise, in terms of what or how much to do daily. A simple example of this is the proverb, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Perhaps this kind of advice is [[1592|overthinking]] things, but [[Cueball]] decides to follow it strictly as explained in the caption.

So when [[Megan]] asks Cueball what his plans are, he just lists his routine consisting only of things that the news has told him exactly how often to do. 

His list includes the following, which he has to do once per day:
*Eat an [//www.care2.com/greenliving/10-reasons-to-eat-an-apple-a-day.html apple] - This references the common old wives tale of "an apple a day keeps the doctor away"
*Eat an [//www.nhs.uk/news/2016/11November/Pages/Eating-one-egg-a-day-may-lower-risk-of-stroke.aspx egg] - One egg would provide protein. This could also be a stand in for "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" 
*Take one [//www.webmd.com/men/features/aspirin-day-not aspirin] - {{w|Aspirin}} can reduce heart issues. Baby aspirin would contain a lower dose and be safer. 
*Eat a piece of [//www.everydayhealth.com/diet-and-nutrition-pictures/delicious-reasons-to-eat-dark-chocolate.aspx dark chocolate] (see also {{w|John_Bohannon#Intentionally_misleading_chocolate_study|John Bohannon's chocolate study}} for an example of how bad science can wind up as such "you should do ... daily" suggestions in the media) - Dark chocolate would contain more antioxidants and less sugar. 
*Drink [//www.lifescript.com/diet-fitness/tips/y/your_weight-loss_solution_drink_6_glasses_of_water_a_day.aspx six glasses of water] - There is a common, long standing myth that you're supposed to [[1708:_Dehydration|drink X amount of water per day]]. Some say 6 or 8 cups. A liter or two. etc. etc.
*Drink [//www.health.com/health/article/0,,20410287,00.html one glass of red wine] - Always used as a "health can be fun" example. Wine is reputed to contain significant antioxidants, and one glass a day has been advanced as a "safe" amount to drink.
*Drink [//www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/17/coffee-health-benefits_n_4102133.html a cup of coffee] - Coffee is one of those health items that has a new health benefit or loss every week, depending on which media outlet you follow.
*Drink [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/11/reasons-to-drink-tea_n_6276862.html a cup of tea] - Tea's health benefits are a very common subject. There is much media talk about the benefits of different types of teas, usually focused around Green Tea.
*Get [http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20120824/30-minutes-daily-exercise-shed-pounds 30 minutes of exercise] - Different media outlets give different amounts of exercise to do. Usually, they tend towards 15-30 minutes a day to sound easy and low commitment.
*Get [http://archive.jsonline.com/news/health/studies-say-7-8-hours-of-sleep-is-needed-for-best-health-b9936714z1-212691521.html/ 8 hours of sleep] - An average adult needs 6-8 hours of sleep daily, but this varies per person, and by age. 

Several obvious problems arise with these "you should do ... daily" tips. They are often based on population studies, but they may be harmful in the case of some individual persons. This health-related advice would be beneficial in, say, 60 or 70% of the population, but may be ineffective in other 20% of the people, and deleterious in 10%. This especially relates to the suggested daily intake of aspirin.

The second problem is the shaky scientific foundation of this advice. Some of this advice (such as eating and apple a day and drinking six glasses of water) is based on old sayings without any clear scientific backing. Other pieces (such as a daily aspirin, or a glass of red wine), were based on preliminary studies, and subsequent conflicting data has thrown them into serious doubt (the benefits may be smaller or non-existent, and may be outweighed by the negative effects). It is unfortunately common for news outlets to excitedly report on individual studies that show intriguing results, giving the public the impression of scientific consensus, while actually scientists are still cautioning that there's not enough evidence to make clear recommendations.

Moreover, Cueball implies that he ''only'' does these things every day. It's not clear whether following all of these pieces of advice take up all of his time, or whether he considers each day to be complete when he's finished his daily tasks (other than sleeping and exercising, the other things on the list shouldn't take up much time).  In any case, doing nothing other than those specific routines would be harmful in a variety of other ways. 

In the title text Cueball explains that his daily routine is not completely fixed. It is broken twice a year, since he also follows public information campaigns suggesting the replacement {{w|Smoke_detector#Batteries|smoke detector batteries}} twice a year. While the US {{w|National Fire Protection Association}} recommends a replacement at least once per year others suggest every time when the clock changes according to {{w|daylight saving time}}, i.e. twice a year. (All such recommendations will likely become irrelevant as citizens of the United States, starting in California, are encouraged to replace their existing smoke detectors with new models containing irremovable ten-year batteries.) This is just another example for official overdone recommendations nobody follows, in this case since smoke detectors make annoying beeps when their batteries run low and thus rarely need routine replacements before then.

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball are standing together, facing each other.]
:Megan: Got any plans for the day?
:Cueball: I'm going to eat an apple, an egg, one baby aspirin, and a piece of dark chocolate, drink six glasses of water, one glass of red wine, a cup of coffee, and a cup of tea, then do 30 minutes of exercise. 
:Cueball: Then back to sleep for another 8 hours!

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I only do things that news stories have specifically told me to do once per day.

==Trivia==
*Fire alarms were also the subject at [[1794: Fire]].
*Drinking six glasses of water per day has been the subject in [[1708: Dehydration]], and earlier, when it was more common to say eight glasses per day, in [[715: Numbers]].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Food]]