For several years, ACSH has been warning consumers that "natural" products such as herbal supplements are neither well regulated nor intrinsically safe. In our publication on potential supplement-drug interactions as well as on this site, we have noted actual and potential problems with such products.

Dear CBS News,
Imagine our surprise: in the same CBS Health Watch website section as an article that scares parents away from having their children vaccinated against preventable diseases, CBS also posted an Associated Press article urging the exact opposite course of action. What's a parent to do?

A large-scale study published this month in the journal Clinical and Experimental Allergy warns us about the dangers of a product sold in stores throughout the country. The U.S.-based trade association promoting the sale of this significant food allergen even has an entire section on their webpage promoting its health benefits.
Most frightening, they seem to be promoting their product to children!

A reaction to Dr. Elizabeth Whelan's piece on importing drugs from Canada (to add your own comments on this or other pieces, sign up at right):
Dr. Whelan:
An excellent and persuasive op-ed!

ACSH congratulates the New York Times (and health columnist Jane E. Brody) for putting the health risks faced by children in perspective.

You may recall hearing recently that the scare about French fries and cancer was nothing to worry about after all. This March 11 article explains why we shouldn't worry about the low levels of acrylamide we consume in foods. Not bad, given that ACSH's peer-reviewed report saying the same came out in February 2002.

Celebrity-worship and deference to authority sometimes overcome people's ability to think scientifically and rationally. ACSH's Jeff Stier has written about how celebrities influence research funding, for instance. Celebrity and authority can also be used to sell ideas the public wouldn't otherwise accept.

Center for Science in the Public Interest, which does not disclose its political donors and let's any number of corporations launder money through foundations, ironically chose to criticize the American Council on Science and Health for being transparent about disclosing corporate donors.

In response to the the latest press release from the advocacy group called the Center for Science in the Public Interest, below are some facts about the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH):
· ACSH is a not for profit organization led by a voluntary board of more than 350 leading physicians and scientists from prominent hospitals and universities.

CBS 2's Cindy Hsu reports many dentists are now selling a retainer that helps people eat less and quotes ACSH's Dr. Ruth Kava:
"This device, if it slows people down, makes them take smaller bites. It could help," says Dr. Ruth Kava from the American Council on Science and Health.
But Dr. Kava says you don't need to spend big bucks on wiring your mouth shut.