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An investigative report that appeared over the weekend in The New York Times reveals how the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been funding a marketing agency designed to get Americans to eat more cheese while simultaneously urging people to eat less saturated fat.

Kansas State University nutrition professor Marc Haub’s infamous “Twinkie” diet challenges the notion of “junk” food — he lost twenty-seven pounds and lowered his BMI by four points in two months by eating Hostess, Little Debbie, and other convenience store snacks for meals.

Advocacy group Food & Water Watch argues that consumers need more food labeling so they can know what poisonous ingredients may be in their food — specifically, their chicken. On Tuesday, advocates in Maryland rallied against the use of chicken feed and medicines containing arsenic, which the poultry industry defends as a safe and effective means of stimulating growth, promoting chicken health, and producing the pinker meat consumers prefer.

Following a probe last week by the Tampa Tribune that found some reusable grocery bags manufactured in China contained “concerning” levels of lead, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is requesting further federal investigation of the bag’s lead content.

The excessive and improper use of antibiotics has contributed to the evolution of drug-resistant bacteria, yet doctors are still prescribing antibiotics for ear infections when pressured by parents — which is not only unnecessary but expensive.

Dr. Whelan took to the airwaves last night to discuss fluoride on the international Manchester Radio Online.
“Manchester Radio Online is aired all over the world,” says Dr. Whelan, “so the show has a lot of exposure. I offered a sound defense of water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and also to reduce the risk of osteoporosis. Water fluoridation is not only safe, it is probably one of the top three public health measures of the last century. Still, you should have seen some of the hateful emails that came in response to this discussion.”

Raising the specter of “endocrine disruption” is always a good way to promote anxiety and concern, as the National Workgroup for Safe Markets must know very well.

The British Medical Journal reports that people who do not practice good dental hygiene are at increased risk for heart disease. Gum infections seem to add to the inflammatory burden on individuals, increasing cardiovascular risk, the researchers say, Webmd reports.
This BMJ study is now part of a growing body of evidence linking poor dental hygiene with increased risk of systemic disease, says Dr. Whelan.

The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee is revamping the government’s popular food pyramid, with new recommendations emphasizing plant-based diets with plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, low-fat milk products and a reduction in daily sodium intake. The committee now recommends consuming no more than 1,500 mg of sodium; the current standard is 2,300 mg.

A study published Friday in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine found a link between teenagers' use of acetaminophen such as Tylenol and asthma and allergies.

BPA has long been blamed by environmental activists for supposedly mimicking the hormone estrogen (although scientists say its estrogenic effects are akin to eating tofu). Now researchers are trying to argue the chemical raises testosterone. A study of 715 Italian men and women aged 20 to 74 published in Environmental Health Perspectives found that men with the highest levels of BPA in their urine also had an increase in their blood testosterone concentrations although all the hormone levels still remained within normal range.

A new 20-year study finds that those who abstain from alcohol are outlived by both moderate (1-3 drinks per day) and heavy drinkers. A number of previous studies have shown abstainers have a higher mortality rate than moderate drinkers, but it had been hypothesized that many of these non-drinkers were actually former alcoholics suffering from chronic alcohol-related diseases.

Just days ago we reported on a study led by ACSH advisor Dr. John Morgan showing that cancer rates in the town of Hinkley, California were — rather than being elevated — actually a tad below the expected rate. This contradicts the claims of presshound Erin Brockovich. Ms. Brockovich gained wealth and fame from a lawsuit she initiated based on the idea that the town’s residents had been poisoned by trace levels of chromium (VI) (hexavalent chromium), a chemical that was leaked there by Pacific Gas & Electric. Dr.

Last week brought news that Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) was holding a press conference about the perils of “toxic” chemicals. As cameras rolled and hot lights shone down, Markey displayed a letter addressed to the FDA asking for an expedited review of triclosan, an antibacterial chemical found in thousands of hand sanitizers, soaps and toothpastes sold in the U.S.

The Huffington Post decided not to sugarcoat the issue of artificial sweeteners when they ran Dr. Joseph Mercola s heated post on the marketing tactics of Ajinomotos AminoSweet, a rebranded version of aspartame. Dr. Mercola goes on to allege that aspartame is a toxic substance that wreaks havoc on your health.

In his Sunday column in the Montreal Gazette, McGill University chemistry professor Dr. Joseph Schwarcz wrote a commonsense article that effectively debunked the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) myth that the sunscreen additive retinyl palmitate causes cancer.

Yesterday marked the inception of a two-day meeting of scientific advisors to the FDA who were delegated the task of assessing the safety of Avandia, a diabetes drug linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular problems.

As the New York City Health Department updates its new addition to last year s Pouring on the Pounds campaign with posters and advertisements that graphically display the amount of sugar that goes into a king-sized soda new research indicates that New Yorkers are already curbing their liquid sugar cravings.

Denise Grady reports in today’s New York Times that girls today are increasingly likely to develop breasts as young as age 7 or 8. While obesity is thought to play a major role in early-onset puberty, Grady reports that some researchers suspect environmental chemicals with estrogen-like properties are a factor. “That idea is unproved,” Grady adds.

The California Legislature has approved a bill that prohibits children’s jewelry from containing more than three-hundredths of a percent of cadmium, worrying that higher levels of exposure would cause long-term poisoning in kids. The Fashion Jewelry and Accessories Trade Association argues that instead of limiting the total amount of cadmium in jewelry, the new legislation should address how much of the metal can leach out of jewelry.

ACSH s Jeff Stier came across this video, which appeared on last night s Daily Show with John Stewart. The ad featured a Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) fast food commercial aimed at converting consumers to vegetarianism.

Former U.S. Surgeon General and longtime ACSH friend Dr. C. Everett Koop (known as “Chick”) is warning that the public’s “irrational fear” of AIDS has given way to a “a growing sense of complacency” that’s just as dangerous. The 95-year-old retired pediatric surgeon spoke at the National Press Club on Wednesday from a wheelchair while in Washington to attend a national summit on HIV.

A new treatment for the retinal disease age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is making progress in clinical trials. Macular degeneration is a disease that can cause blindness, leading to the loss of central vision as a result of damage to nerve cells in the region of the retina known as the macula. It is the most common cause of blindness in adults, except perhaps for cataracts. The new treatment — called VEGF Trap-Eye — was developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.

A harmonious symbiosis between Big Pharma and academia will hopefully lead to the speedier development of better medications for the treatment of a spectrum of psychiatric disorders. Nine pharmaceutical companies have teamed up with a group of academic institutions to create a large database that will share results from previous clinical trials on drugs that have already gained market approval.

The fact that generic vicodin has topped the list of most commonly prescribed drugs reflects a growing national drug abuse problem. As an administration spokesman pointed out opiate drug overdose has surpassed motor vehicle accidents as the most common cause of injury-related death in 17 states. To combat this worrisome public health trend, President Obama has proposed an “unprecedented” initiative, instituting a government-wide approach to counter prescription drug abuse.