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For years, Americans have been bombarded with dietary advice -- much of it conflicting -- that asserts that diet composition per se has a major impact on health. Claims that high-fiber diets protect against colon cancer haven't been supported by scientific research, for example. Nor have low-carbohydrate diets been shown to be better for weight loss than low-fat diets.

1. Focus your efforts on things that matter; inform yourself about possible risks.

The old faithful of alarmist "consumer" organizations, the Environmental Working Group, just issued another in a long string of frightening but baseless "studies." This one notes that there are 260 different chemicals in the water supplied to 230 million Americans from 40,000 water supplies.
Oh no, not again. The alarms keep on sounding, day in and day out. This one is so spectacularly ludicrous that it must be addressed.

Let's try picking the biggest "Whiny Whistleblower" for 2005: the person who most outrageously defied his or her employer, regardless of loyalty, science, or even common sense, by launching attacks from within. Recent battles over pharmaceuticals provide multiple candidates.

A December 20, 2005 article by Megan Scott quotes ACSH's Dr. Ruth Kava on crash dieting:
No more cake, cookies, or egg nog. We're not trying to be cruel. But if you watch what you eat, you have some room to indulge.
But don't starve yourself: Fasting until Christmas dinner is a no-no. Ruth Kava, director of nutrition for the American Council on Science and Health, suggests eating breakfast, lunch and even a snack. ''It's when you're starving that you really tend to go for it and overeat,'' she says.

Re the Dec. 1 article "Antipsychotic drugs raise wider concerns for elderly": The new report from researchers at Harvard Medical School showing that newer anti-psychotic drugs are no more dangerous for seniors than older ones -- and may actually be safer -- illustrates the complexities of assessing the risks of medications.

The fourth-quarter 2005 issue of Balance, the newsletter of the Civil Justice Association of California, described the controversy over Harvard's award to Erin Brockovich and quoted ACSH president Dr. Elizabeth Whelan:

The British technology news site The Register reports that the president of Canada's Lakehead University has restricted the creation of Wi-Fi networks (which allow people to access the Internet through the air without wires) on campus, out of concern that the networks' radio transmissions might cause leukemia and brain tumors.

A February 8, 2006 letter to the editor by Stephen Helfer of Cambridge, MA denounced the agitation in Utah for smoking bans, citing ACSH president Dr. Elizabeth Whelan:
The largest study done to date, peer-reviewed and published in the May 17, 2003, British Medical Journal, found no increased risk of lung cancer or heart disease associated with SHS exposure.

A Friday, February 24, 2006 article (available online to Chronicle of Higher Education subscribers) by Andrea L. Foster describes Lakehead University's fear of students getting cancer from Internet Wi-Fi signals -- but includes a note of caution from ACSH's Todd Seavey:
The university appears to be the first to cite health concerns in deciding against wireless networking.

A December 7, 2005 column by Becky Fenger in the Sonoran [AZ] News notes the article "EPA to Defend Itself from ACSH; NYC Defends Itself from Bedbugs" by ACSH's Todd Seavey:

This piece originally appeared March 16, 2006 in the Washington Times:
Judging from recent media coverage, soda is quickly gaining on cigarettes for the title of No. 1 Public Health Threat.

The journal Technology (Vol. 9, No.s 5-6) featured a review by Sorin R. Straja ACSH's book America's War on "Carcinogens", saying, in part:

An article by John Carney in the April 6-12, 2006 TimeOut New York explains that sellers of Vava and some other bottled waters claim the products have healing powers:

A May 3, 2006 article by Kara Sissell noted the ease with which activists can turn reports about chemicals into scares, one example of which was activists' reception...
...last year of a bio-monitoring study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; Atlanta), says Gilbert Ross, executive director/medical for the American Council [on] Science and Health (ACSH; [New York]), a group that receives some funding from industry...

This article appeared in the New York Sun.

The following piece appeared in the May 6, 2006 Washington Times:

A May 7, 2006 article on the website of the Pakistan News Service quotes ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross countering fears about smokers gaining weight when they quit:
Smokers who want to quit should not be deterred by this, said Dr. Gilbert L. Ross, medical director of the American Council on Science and Health in New York.

A May 29, 2006 item by Robyn Shelton on the blog of the Orlando Sentinel quotes ACSH's report on Health and Safety Tips for Your Summer Vacation:

An article on flu in the November issue of Fitness quoted ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross on one highly useful flu-fighting step:
DON'T SMOKE. "People who light up are much more susceptible to the flu," explains Gilbert Ross, M.D., executive and medical director of the American Council on Science and Health in New York City. That's because smoking impedes the body's ability to fight off infection.

This letter appeared on October 12, 2006 in the Wall Street Journal.

The Senate is currently considering legislation which would prohibit the FDA from including on FDA scientific advisory boards scientists "with industry ties" to drug manufacturers (the House already approved this legislation). Today, FDA's Dr. Scott Gottlieb emphatically opposed this proposed legislation, declaring that it would deprive FDA of advice from the best and brightest scientists in America.

In a meeting held June 28, 2006, ACSH selected a new, expanded Board of Trustees. "We are delighted to have such an illustrious group of scientists, physicians, attorneys, and policy makers assume the governance of ACSH," said ACSH founder and president -- and trustee -- Dr. Elizabeth Whelan.
New members of the Board of Trustees -- many of them longtime associates of or advisors to ACSH -- are in bold below.
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF
THE AMERICAN COUNCIL ON SCIENCE AND HEALTH
JULY 2006
FREDERICK ANDERSON, ESQ.
McKenna Long & Aldridge

Just in time for Thanksgiving, the blog Weird News BNI notes some sound wisdom about how unlikely you are to get cancer from chemicals in your food (a quote repeated in the November 23, 2006 Washington Post):
"We recommend that no one eat more than two tons of turkey -- that's what it would take to poison someone." -- Elizabeth Whelan, Amer. Council on Science and Health

A Novemeber 7, 2006 piece by Stephanie Beckett notes the position of ACSH and Dr. Elizabeth Whelan on trans fat: