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The Wall Street Journal reports that the cost of eggs increased by about 60% in 2022, more than any other grocery store item on the shelf. Every day breakfast has become a source of anxiety as families look for affordable, healthy alternatives. And what to do about Easter Eggs for the children? The high price of eggs may be causing many families to rethink their eating habits.

“Artificial sweeteners have been widely introduced into the food chain … ” While perhaps helpful in reducing weight, could they unintentionally promote poorer cardiovascular outcomes? A new Cleveland Clinic study suggests yes. But that yes comes with a great deal of uncertainty.

Many herbal dietary supplements are complex, highly variable, impure, and unsafe. They need better oversight.

"Medical scribes" transcribe information during clinical visits in real time into electronic health records (EHRs) under physician supervision. That frees physicians to focus on the patient. 

The ability of masks, especially high-quality ones, to prevent the transmission of respiratory infections, including COVID-19, is incontrovertible, but some commentators have come unglued on the subject.

Peer-review is supposed to keep sloppy and fraudulent research out of academic journals. Sadly, the process fails all too frequently. What can we do to prevent further corruption of our science publications? Consumers often avoid supposedly harmful chemicals to reduce their cancer risk—then they drink alcohol, a well-known carcinogen, without a second thought. Why?

High-tech medicine and dentistry can be miraculous but are often hugely expensive. We also need to pursue – and fund – research on ingenious, low-tech, less expensive approaches to improving health and increasing longevity.

News coverage of the East Palestine train derailment has ranged from hysteria to hysteria. One would think that one of the most dangerous chemicals in the world is being discharged from the train. Has anyone bothered to actually examine how toxic vinyl chloride is? You may be surprised.

Vinyl chloride is a dangerous chemical, so the recent derailment and fire of a train carrying a large quantity of it is bad news. Long-time ACSH friend Dr. Joe Schwarcz gives us a lesson on the history and toxicity of the chemical.

There are plenty of reasons for skepticism about medical studies. Some are poorly designed or performed, and some conclusions are totally implausible. In addition, some interpretations of them are intentionally misleading, and some studies need not have been done at all.

The world's biggest consumer hoax is organic agriculture, which pretends to be what it isn't. And very successfully.

Many people are being misled by false claims that induce them to pay inflated prices for products that are “free from” various things that are actually beneficial, or for worthless remedies. Misinformation can jeopardize both their health and finances.

When government, politicians, and law enforcement take control of the practice of medicine this is what we get: Cruelty and incompetence. The next time you're given Tylenol for a broken leg or post-surgical pain you'll understand. Drs. Jeffrey Singer and Josh Bloom in USA Today.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has drawn fire for issuing new recommendations designed to reduce childhood obesity. The AAP's critics are deeply confused.

There's a new, proven treatment for COVID-19 called pegylated interferon lambda, but FDA won't approve it, even under Emergency Use Authorization. It's inexcusable.

America is facing a critical shortage of many medically important drugs. The good news? There's a simple solution if we're willing to implement it. The Biden Administration is poised to invest billions of dollars in America's "bioeconomy." Will this really boost the US biotech sector, or just waste valuable resources that should be spent elsewhere?

Flawed regulatory policies and decisions have inflicted tremendous damage on the biotech industry and on American consumers.

The traditional view of air pollution is that of bad stuff in the air produced by someone else, the ubiquitous “them.” Recent concerns about indoor air quality may have broadened that view to realize that some “others” may be us. A recent article in the journal Nature proclaimed, “Local and national governments must ensure that good indoor air quality is delivered….” posing the question, delivered by whom? Amazon pristine?

Sy Syms was right "An educated consumer is our best customer."
Growing Old
Tainted Money

A very different take on AI
What movie has been the most profitable?
Just like razor blades, ink for printers is a bit of a scam.
What do grades really tell us?

A recent study looked at excess deaths among physicians during the time of COVID. While there were more deaths than anticipated, physicians fared better than the general population despite being on the front lines. What might that mean?

Can we agree that whatever of the multifactorial causes of obesity you emphasize, obesity results in other health-related problems? Can we also agree that many of those multifactorial causes are present in childhood? Then doesn’t screening for obesity and early intervention make sense; that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?

The Pew Organization wanted to see who the American public trusted, so they asked a sample of citizens. Having rounded up the usual suspects, there may be no surprises, but as always, our views can be conflicted.

Thinking about – let alone making plans for – end-of-life provokes anxiety. When we cannot speak on our behalf, our surrogates and loved ones must be called upon to do so. A new study reports that the surrogate’s role on our behalf may be lost in the translation between thought and deed.

Is it really asking too much to have a few weeks of microbiological peace? Apparently, it is. Just as we are finally chucking the masks, upchucking is waiting in the wings. There are some signs of a bad norovirus ("stomach flu") season. Lovely.