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Energy drinks are popular — especially among younger consumers. Their high caffeine content can certainly give one an energy boost. But apparently that's not all they can do, and people with cardiac conditions or a family history of such would be well advised to limit their intake of these beverages.

Since activity trackers first came on the market nearly a decade ago, marketers and scientists alike continue to be perplexed. They ask: Why haven't these devices — which have the potential to keep us healthy and informed — become more of a mainstream product? Because, in a nutshell, it's just another chore.

So another know-nothing celebrity is promoting her own take on infant feeding — Kristin Cavallari is pushing her goat's milk formula. But accepted experts in the field, like those at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, advise against following her weird lead. As do we.

Have you ever heard someone (OK, your mom) say, "Don't sit too close to the TV, you'll hurt your eyes!" or "Don't read in the dark, you'll strain your eyes!" and "Eating carrots will improve your vision!" Are any of these true?

With the defeat of a federal law designed to prevent 50 individual states from penning their own GMO labeling laws, General Mills has decided to switch rather than fight. It's going to label all their foods that contain GMOs, everywhere — because it's too cumbersome to label, or not label its products, on a state-by-state basis.

Credit: Belle News

Robert De Niro forced to pretend to accept science

1. California declares water unsafe, and hands bottled water companies a giant subsidy. What do you do about water? While water is essentially safer than it's ever been, it's still in the news. Flint, Michigan made national headlines for lead-contaminated water even though it's at least 16X more safe than it was when all of the politicians in Michigan blaming each other grew up there.

Questions were raised about Hillary Clinton's health after a recent public dizzying episode. Her doctor released a "summary update" on the presidential candidate's health, "since the release of [her] previous medical statement in July 2015." What does this letter mean?  Not everything and not nothing. 

Chinese researchers tested the combined effects of acupuncture and electrical stimulation on individuals suffering from chronic constipation. And they did find some differences compared to controls. But we think they could have contributed more to science's understanding of acupuncture.

To kick off our new interview series Making the Rounds, we invited surgical oncologist Dr. Ogori Kalu to our New York office for a Facebook Live video streaming session to help educate the public on breast cancer prevention. Take a few minutes to learn about the discredited myths, and to watch the interesting round-table discussion with this Stanford-educated doctor.

Ever wonder how the green forest gets its vibrant red and yellow colors when the seasons change? Science has some answers.
 
Foliage Reports: http://www.foliagenetwork.com/
 

It used to be that Type 2 diabetes was typically seen in people over 40. But with the obesity epidemic, the age of onset is often lower. A recent study found that bariatric surgery was more effective for both weight loss and remission of the disease in those whose disease had an earlier onset. It provides a good reason not to delay surgery.

Northern California is home to a number of questionable lawsuits against various manufacturers, based mostly on activists trying to scare people to improve their own bottom lines. But there are places to find reliable health and wellness information, and the Council is one of them.

French philosopher Joseph de Maistre is credited with saying, "Every country has the government it deserves." That may serve as a stinging rebuke to those of us who dwell in 21st Century America, where partisan gridlock, mutual distrust, and general nastiness have culminated in an election that has made history for all the wrong reasons. 

And, so it begins. With The Daily Mail's story of Anthony Weiner’s reported entry into a rehab facility for sex addiction treatment, the media headlines have ignited. They blare: "Is Anthony Weiner a Sex Addict?" But that's not the right question we all should be asking. Here's what is.

Richard A. "Red" Lawhern, Ph.D. is an advocate for pain patients and has given a report card on our healthcare system. It is not good. 

Vivek Murthy recently announced that e-cigarettes pose a "major public health concern," adding that "the use of nicotine-containing products by youth, including e-cigarettes, is unsafe." But that's not what the science says. It'd be far better for the Surgeon General to say that those who don't currently vape shouldn't do it, bit, but that e-cigarettes are likely to prove much safer than regular cigarettes. 

Largely overshadowed by the NFL, the National Hockey League, working in conjunction with its Player's Association, deserves credit for implementing a smart concussion prevention and management plan. It shows considerable promise, and one that demonstrates a joint commitment to making pro hockey safer.
 
 
 
 

Woe be unto the males who make this grave mistake. New research in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B reveals that males who choose to sit out during such scuffles may be subjected later to domestic abuse.

In the mid-1600s, the remains of a small child from a family of nobility, were placed in a crypt in Lithuania. Now we are learning, according to a recent report in the journal Current Biology, that this small body is revealing secrets about the origins and spread of smallpox, one of the deadliest scourges to ever plague mankind.
 

A new study published in JAMA details the U.S. county-level trends in mortality rates for major causes of death. While a bit flawed, it's a step in the right direction as regional health disparity is often way more vital to informing policy than national tendencies.

The U.S. Supreme Court decided not to revisit a challenge to the NFL's class-action lawsuit brought by former players. The high court's refusal, which ends a landmark case that began in July 2011, allows for payments approaching $1 billion to start being made this spring to more than 20,000 former players.

My work day last spring had been frustrating; the writing had gone slowly (and not too well). In my desire to write an acceptable paper had I forgotten how my neighbors eat today; I was using too many academic studies with their stark numbers and not enough of today’s eating realities. A reality check of the real world was in order. 

As if there aren't enough nuts out there ranting about crystals or Ouija boards, it's time to welcome The Alternative Daily. The guys writing for this website make Joe Mercola sound smart, which is roughly equivalent to climbing Mt. Everest with a Steinway grand piano on your back. 

The World Marathon Challenge of 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days is about to get underway. Are such extreme endurance sports healthy? Worth the risks?