If we weren t infuriated before reading Dr. Marc Siegel s latest column arguing against making the flu vaccine mandatory for health care workers, we certainly are now. (Dr. Siegel is an associate professor of medicine and medical director of Doctor Radio at NYU Langone Medical Center).

Although this year soda has received much criticism for its high sugar content and suspected adverse health effects, diet soda has been a target of flawed criticism as well. Last year, for instance, a flawed study tied the consumption of diet soda to diabetes. Unfortunately, the study authors neglected to control for the weight of the subjects. Once this factor was considered, the correlation disappeared.

Approximately one in eight teenagers have had, at some time in their lives, persistent suicidal thoughts or ideation, and about a third of them had made an attempt at suicide, the first nationwide study found.

Binge drinking defined as consuming four or more alcoholic drinks at one time is a dangerous activity that can take a toll on anyone s health. And, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed in a new report, it is an activity that almost 14 million American women indulge in about three times a month.

Everyone is trying to find an answer as to why first world countries, and America in particular, have had such a growing obesity problem over the past two decades. Could our exploding waistlines be caused by the sweetener known as high-fructose corn syrup?

Medicare, the federal insurance program for seniors, spent about $1 billion in 2006- 07 to pay for breast cancer screening, according to a new study. This number was almost as much as Medicare spent to actually treat the disease.

Contrary to what most activist groups would have us think, both incidence and death rates from cancer continue to drop for American men and women from most racial and ethnic groups, according to the "Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer," appearing online today in the Journal of the National

The next time you go for your routine check-up, you may be asked a new question: How many minutes per week are you active or getting exercise?

Speaking of which, a new unanticipated benefit of fizzy soft drinks seems to have been discovered. What could this be, you ask? Treating, non-surgically, a phytobezoar, an uncommon but potentially dangerous condition.
A phytobezoar occurs when undigested plant matter such as seeds or fibers gets trapped in the stomach or intestines, sometimes causing bowel blockage. And it turns out there's an odd, but tasty treatment for this: Coca-Coca.

Yesterday, we described how British activist Mark Lynas apologized for how he assisted in demonizing an important technological option which can be used to benefit the environment. Of course, he was referring to genetic engineering technology and genetically modified foods.