A March 7 article by Sameh Fahmy notes the mixed opinions on the value of antioxidants, and ACSH's Dr. Ruth Kava weighs in:
Ruth Kava, director of nutrition at the nonprofit American Council on Science and Health, agrees that large doses of antioxidant-rich foods aren't likely to be harmful. But benefits are unclear as well.
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Asthma is a chronic condition in which a person s airways occasionally become inflamed, which causes swelling that obstructs airflow to the lungs.
MORNING DISPATCH 10/10/08: Tobacco, Infections, HIV, and Rights for Plants
New York, NY -- August 27, 2008. Nuclear energy is the cleanest source of electrical power available today, according to an analysis by scientists associated with the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH). Their main points are summarized in the brochure Nuclear Energy and Health: What's the Story?
MORNING DISPATCH 11/19/08: Dour Docs, Cancer Causes, Dire Diabetes, Smoke Scams, and Dementia Dissension
MORNING DISPATCH 7/25/08: Rep. Barton, Dr. Miller, Tomatoes, HIV, Meat, and Candy
Killer hot dogs, the air conditioning in your car, cellphones, you will never leave the house if fear merchants like Natural Resources Defense Council have their way with your science education - and your wallet.
Fortunately, John Tierney at the New York Times is here to help and he asked American Council on Science and Health for help in itemizing the things that $200 million behemoths like NRDC want you to be worried about - but needn't be.
Aiming to combat the obesity epidemic in New York, Gov. David Paterson has recommended an 18% tax on sugar-sweetened soft drinks and a few other sweetened beverages. Unfortunately, the proposed tax is inconsistent with the facts about what causes obesity. It also sets an alarming precedent for taxing foods deemed "bad" by government officials -- further increasing the cost of living in the state -- particularly for the least affluent citizens.
This press release from ABC News's John Stossel announced his scheduled one-hour show for Friday, March 8, 2009 -- with the final paragraph mentioning his interview of ACSH's Dr. Ruth Kava:
This Friday at 10 p.m. ET, I have another "20/20" special, "You Can't Even Talk About It." We tackle touchy taboos, like:
The ACSH staff would like to offer a seat at the breakfast table to Peggy Northrop, editor in chief of Reader s Digest, for her refreshing interview with Dr. Manny Alvarez on yesterday s edition of Fox s Health Talk.
ACSH staffers are generally disinclined to dignify frivolous Internet gossip with recognition, but in the case of a natural cosmetics peddler s recent blog post attacking synthetic chemicals in cosmetics, which has been getting some undeserved attention, we figured we d point a few things out before it gets out of hand. This shouldn t be too surprising. She s a salesperson for natural cosmetics, so she has to spread rumors to sell her products, says ACSH s Jeff Stier.
The Endocrine Society is calling for the reduced use of bisphenol-A, a chemical used to harden plastics that is frequently and erroneously accused of disrupting hormones. ACSH staffers agree with rigorous FDA studies that BPA poses no risk to humans in low doses.
In this case the endocrine society is completely wrong, says ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross. They re making a scientifically illegitimate statement, and it s profoundly disappointing. This is a poorly disguised restatement of the low-dose phenomenon, which has been repeatedly discredited as a threat to humans.
ACSH staffers are doubly impressed with the FDA today. Regulators have advised parents to continue medicating their children for ADHD despite the risk of sudden death suggested by a study that used questionable methods.
This is a legitimate benefit-risk analysis by the FDA, says ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross. The study [to which they are reacting] used dubious methods and argued from inconclusive data. The FDA should be applauded for saying that this is not a cause and effect study and parents should not change their children s drug regimen.
Be afraid, be very afraid, if you love to eat prunes or dried pears -- at least if you believe the hype about naturally occurring acrylamide in foods being a real risk to human health. Swiss scientists reported at a symposium held by the American Chemical Society that acrylamide can be found in some dried fruits. Since 2002, when Swedish scientists discovered that acrylamide is formed in carbohydrate-containing food cooked at high temperatures, there has been a concerted effort to scare consumers about foods such as French fries and potato chips.
This piece first appeared in the New York Post.
Get your plastic grocery bags while you can. By Earth Day, that is, Tuesday, the national chain Whole Foods Market will no longer offer shoppers plastic bags -- leaving consumers who don't want reusable canvas bags one choice: paper.
Unfortunately, paper has its own drawbacks, such as: it's preferred by cockroaches -- like those contributing to New York City's asthma epidemic.
A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggests that moderate alcohol consumption, defined as one or two glasses of wine a day or the equivalent amounts of beer or other alcoholic beverages, significantly reduces the risk of death from any cause in those who already suffered from circulatory problems such as angina, heart attack, or stroke.
Jeff Stier's New York Post piece "9/11 Junk Science" inspired negative letters and a critical response from U.S.
Research published online today in the journal Health Affairs indicates that low taxes on soda have no effect on consumption, though high taxes probably would.
This should not be a surprise, says Stier. However, a soda tax that is high enough to reduce consumption would not be politically viable.
New guidelines from the American Academy of Neurology seek to help family members of dementia patients gauge when their loved one is no longer capable of driving.
A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco identifies what could be indicators as to whether a patient’s ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS, a non-invasive breast cancer lesion) will progress to invasive breast cancer.
New York, NY -- September 10, 2009. In late July, a study commissioned by the United Kingdom s Food Standards Authority found that there was no nutritional difference between organic and conventional food. This is consistent with prior studies, but the organic food industry has convinced many people that their products are more nutritious because they contain a little more vitamin C (about 10% on average), a lot less nitrate, and varying percentages of higher antioxidant concentrations.
ACSH staffers offer a seat at the ACSH Dispatch table to journalist Lawrence Meyers for speaking out against the alarmist cosmetic scares spread by Siobhan O Connor and Alexandra Sprunt, authors of the book No More Dirty Looks: The Truth About Your Beauty Products and the Ultimate
Some House Democrats this week proposed giving the FDA new powers to inspect overseas drug plants, following the deaths of dozens in 2008 from the contaminated blood-thinner heparin produced in China by Baxter International.
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