It s well known that breastfeeding is beneficial for both mother and child in a variety of ways in addition to the transfer of natural antibodies, it is associated with lower risks of allergic diseases, lower respiratory infections and middle ear infections.
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It is an understatement to say that antibiotic resistance is a major problem facing our healthcare system. Every year 2 million Americans are infected with resistant bacteria, and at least 23,000 people die each year from these infections. Each year MRSA kills about as many people as HIV. Compounding this problem is the fact that companies (factory farms?) are actively contributing to this problem (
The latest CDC report on waterborne illnesses reveals an unexpected villain: Cryptosporidium is a parasite that seems to have been responsible for about one-half of the 90 outbreaks over the two years 2011-12. Simple precautionary measures will help avert illness.
A new study published in JAMA reports that the labels on most edible marijuana products either overstate or understate the amount of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC -- the active component in cannabis) that they contain.
Genius or Dangerous? We say the latter.
Mothers who are not able to breastfeed are now starting to accept breast milk donations from other mothers or paying for breast milk obtained from online services. These breast milk donations and purchases the method sounds eerily similar to E-bay are unregulated and may actually be very dangerous for the baby.
Most people believe that paid Conflict of Interest King Andrew Wakefield launched the anti-vaccination movement with his infamous Lancet article which described a purported relationship between vaccines and autism. However, the anti-vaccination movement is almost as old as vaccines themselves.
The Lancet, the same journal that brought the world Andrew Wakefield's vaccine-autism link, may have done the same thing for the people who think bees are dying. They have published a paper that makes some bold statements on the relatio
To a scientist, sugar is sugar.
To Whole Foods marketing experts, some sugars are superior to others (in the minds of their customers), so if they want to sell people "evaporated cane juice" in a cookie -- crystallized sugar from sugar cane, which is sugar -- well, they can.
In an op-ed in the NYTimes, a cardiologist bemoans the unintended consequences of state-mandated report cards designed to evaluate care by individual practitioners. He shows how these reports, created to enhance transparency, do the opposite and harm patients and doctors.
We ve been avidly following the progress of California s vaccine law, and we are pleased to note that it is slated to take effect in 2016.
Few industries evoke an emotional response greater than the pharmaceutical industry. This cannot be surprising, since drug companies are typically viewed by the public as either providing miraculous life-altering therapies, or greedy instruments of Satan. There is little middle ground.
So, it is rather surprising that a new law, called the 21st Century Cures Act, has been overwhelmingly approved by the House, 344-77 on July 10th.
The new law, also known as H.R. 6, gives more latitude to the FDA in tailoring its safety and efficacy requirements for the approval of breakthrough medicines. Such drugs (as well as breakthrough medical devices) that are given this designation will no
There is a perception out there that the technology and social media booms of the last decade have been detrimental to public health. In particular hookup apps are being blamed by many for having contributed to the increases in sexually transmitted diseases and infections (STD/STIs). This belief is not entirely unwarranted; earlier this year the state
One medical topic that is now widely debated is breast cancer screening especially when should women begin being screened, and how effective screening is in decreasing deaths from the disease.
Since 2006, there has been a slow and steady drumbeat against trans fats in foods. Decades ago, when Natural Resources Defense Council and various other food fallacy groups latched onto saturated fats, we cautioned that the studies were epidemiological correlation, not science, and that the alternative might be worse.
In a way, science achieved a win in the battle over GMO crops in Europe.
However, since it's Europe the result ends up being more of the same for this increasingly anti-science continent.
The EU faces a vote on a proposal to loosen restrictions on growing GE crops and as the vote looms, countries like Ireland are trying to determine whic
The disconnect on the issue of marijuana between the federal government and state governments is causing some unexpected problems for growers. In states where marijuana is legal, l
In a recent New York Times column, Jane Brody encourages pregnant women to get vaccinated, both for their own health and for the benefit of their newborn babies.
Although threats from Mexican drug cartels cannot be dismissed out of hand, apparently another Mexican import cilantro (also known as coriander or Chinese parsley) has sickened hundreds of Americans in the past couple of years.
Tonight is Jon Stewart's last night as host of The Daily Show. We here at the American Council on Science and Health will be hoping he uses this broadcast to apologize for putting the lives of millions of children in danger.
Perhaps the Huffington Post which is of questionable value even on a good day simply made a typo. Hard to say.
In just a few days, Diet Pepsi will no longer contain the artificial sweetener aspartame. PepsiCo is replacing aspartame in Diet Pepsi, Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi, and Wild
A non-scientist thinks he has discovered that GMOs contain formaldehyde.
Earlier this week, we discussed two novel drugs that could potentially revolutionize the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease. Both drugs are antibodies, and work by an entirely new mechanism by binding to, and inactivating a protein called PCSK9. PCSK9 plays a part in the regulation of circulating cholesterol (homeostasis).
It has been 13 years since the publication of the Women s Health Initiative (WHI) studies in 2002 that examined the role of menopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. It can be argued that never before or since has a medical study generated such controversy by the media and scientific community.
What s a person to do, when on the one hand it s clear that many Americans are being under-treated for a dangerous condition, while on the other, too many of us are getting way too much care. The lesson: especially when it comes to our health, too much is as bad as too little.
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