For those who follow the list of dietary supplements that, upon clinical scrutiny, turn out to be useless, this should be no surprise. But for millions of Americans it will probably be just that. A large five-year trial examining the benefits of the supplement with regard to cardiovascular outcome came up with a very empty [...]
The post Fish oil study — another supplement to throw back appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
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If you’re in Washington, D.C., you may have seen ads on the city buses accusing the dairy industry of trying to “pollute our milk,” and “dose our children on the sly with ‘deadly’ aspartame.” Well, this is not really the case and not just because aspartame is perfectly safe and diet beverages will not cause [...]
The post What’s in your chocolate milk? appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
You may want to think about having a snack before you go grocery shopping. According to new research published in JAMA, going grocery shopping on an empty stomach may actually result in more high-calorie food purchases. Researchers at Cornell University conducted a two-part study. The first part, conducted in a lab, involved 68 participants who [...]
The post Think twice before shopping on an empty stomach appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
Local NYC news outlets are abuzz with the news that there has been an outbreak of measles among ultra-orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn this year. It’s thought that a family visiting from London that had not been vaccinated against the disease initiated the current outbreak. The infants and toddlers who acquired the disease in Brooklyn [...]
The post Seeing spots? They may be measles! appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
In their 2011 book, Vaccine Safety and Your Child: Separating Fact from Fiction, Dr. Paul A. Offit and Charlotte Moser explained how vaccines are made, how they are tested, and how they work—all while taking into consideration the fact that some parents may be hesitant to have their children vaccinated – although these hesitations are [...]
The post Shout-Out to Dr. Offit appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
Senate environment committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) is now saying she will seek to revise a bipartisan bill introduced by the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) to include provisions that Lautenberg precluded from the bill after industry criticized them. Apparently, Sen. Boxer — one of the most aggressively anti-chemical members of the Senate — [...]
The post “Give them an inch” department: Boxer Seeks To Amend TSCA reform bill appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
Mismatched numbers: What parents think, and what is actually true in 'study drugs' abuse among teens
Crunch time during final exams may tempt some teens nationwide to use a study drug, a prescription stimulant- to enhance academic performance. Shocking? Not to most.
In another example of “the sky is falling” news cycle, the predictions of massive radiation-induced illnesses, especially cancer, resulting from the devastating Fukushima nuclear plant damage in March of 2011 have been found to be grossly exaggerated, according to a new report issued last week by a U.N. panel. Naturally, no major media bothered to report [...]
The post Japanese “nuclear disaster” update: none sick, none dead appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
So we’ve come to another World No Tobacco Day, under the auspices of the WHO. The ostensible goal of this annual campaign is to reduce the consumption of tobacco products, thereby reducing the deadly toll of tobacco. Unfortunately, outside of the U.S., little progress against the ravages of tobacco have been detected; indeed, smoking rates [...]
The post World “No Tobacco” Day: Avoiding the real problem appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
It’s a message that we at ACSH have been touting for years. Yet, largely because of slick marketing, consumer ignorance and some terrible, self-serving legislation, the message is ignored. Perhaps it will now be heard. Vaccine champion and infectious disease expert (also ACSH trustee) Dr. Paul Offit, Chief of Infectious Diseases at the Children’s Hospital [...]
The post Vitamin S: For Suckers appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
Obviously, bariatric surgery can help the obese lose large amounts of weight, thus improving their health and often their self-image. New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and covered by USA Today indicates that when a woman undergoes such surgery and loses weight, children she has later may benefit as [...]
The post Mom’s surgery could help kids too appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
At first glance, a ‘major peer-reviewed study’ making waves in the mainstream media may sound intriguing, to say the least. The bold claim here: A genetically modified diet fed to pigs caused digestive system problems. But ACSH experts say that in this case, as is in the case with other grossly deficient studies, researchers skewed [...]
The post Friday Funnies: GMOs and pigs study– More junk science, oink oink appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
ACSH’s Dr. Gilbert Ross was interviewed yesterday on the local New York CBS TV station, WCBS-TV, on the apparent epidemic of teen suicide. As we reported earlier this week, young teens who had a schoolmate who committed suicide were anywhere from twice to five-fold more likely to take their own life, or attempt to. Dr. [...]
The post ACSH’s Dr. Ross on WCBS-TV News: Teen suicide epidemic appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
ACSH is a co-signer of the Culture of Alarmism letter sponsored by the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF). The IWF project is an effort intended to counter the “Mind the Store” campaign that seeks to pressure retailers into removing thousands of products from shelves for fear of the “hazardous” chemicals contained in the products. In signing [...]
The post Culture of Alarmism letter appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
“Suicide contagion” refers to the idea that if an individual is exposed to suicide, he or she may be influenced to think about, attempt or even commit suicide. This is thought to be especially true of young adolescents. A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal supports this idea, finding that students ages 12 [...]
The post Suicides by schoolmates influence suicidal thoughts in teens appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
Routine injuries have been a health risk for athletes in high impact sports such as football and boxing. However, concerns for player safety also extend to all other contact sports, such as hockey, soccer and lacrosse. The biggest concern being blows to the players’ heads which are very common in the competitive world of sports. [...]
The post New technology helps detect head injuries in sports appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
Last month Indian generic drug giant Ranbaxy Inc. was hit with a $500 million fine—the largest penalty ever against any generic company— after reaching an agreement with the Department of Justice. The penalty resulted from the sale of several common drugs which Ranbaxy knew were of substandard quality. As part of the agreement, the company [...]
The post Not pretty: Derek Lowe’s interview on the Ranbaxy generic drug scandal appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
Today’s New York Times had a pair of letters which contained some of the most brazen misinformation bordering on plain deception that we here at ACSH have ever witnessed. The first one came from a John S. Shaw, the Executive Director and Chief Executive of the Natural Products Association, writing from D.C. In an attempt [...]
The post Deceptive letter day at the New York Times appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
According to the CDC, all pregnant women should be taking iron supplements (30 mg/day) throughout their pregnancies to prevent iron deficiency anemia, which is the most common cause of anemia during pregnancy. However, research has not been done looking at the potential benefits of prenatal iron supplementation on birth outcomes, until now. Researchers from the [...]
The post Iron supplementation during pregnancy beneficial for baby appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
At last, as the song goes, the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) — charged with regulating cigarettes, loose tobacco, “snuff,” and chewing tobacco by the new law in 2009 — has actually done something. Or has it? Because of the byzantine nature of the “Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act,” the FDA was [...]
The post FDA’s “historic” baby step towards tobacco regulation appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
The Boston School Committee is set to vote tonight on a controversial health policy that would make condoms available in high schools in the district. The policy, which aims to counteract the spread of H.I.V./AIDS and other STIs, prevent unwanted pregnancy and encourage healthier sexual activity, proposes that students be counseled by trained staff members [...]
The post Boston school board to vote on condom policy appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
Researchers have found a test that could be a useful indicator of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal cancer — a cancer that affects the back portion of the throat near the tonsils. Scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), in collaboration with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), found that when antibodies against one [...]
The post Antibodies could be useful in detecting HPV-related oral cancer appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.
Most sexually active people are aware that using a condom is a good idea. They protect against sexually-transmitted infections (STI s), including HIV/A.I.D.S., as well as reduce the risk of unwanted pregnancy. They come in many different varieties, including almost any flavor you could think of, ranging from banana split, to island punch or bubble gum. Condoms are found in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors. They have even been made available in some public schools recently, such as those in Boston. However, only 5 percent of men worldwide use condoms, and this no doubt contributes mightily to the 2.5 million new H.I.V. infections each year.
In a predictable yet still tragic outcome, a key committee of the EU Parliament yesterday voted to effectively ban electronic cigarettes containing more than a minimum level of nicotine.
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