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Fourteen years ago, Michael Pollan offered us Food Rules. Today, researchers armed with machine learning and 50,000 grocery items are trying to turn Pollan’s “wisdom” into science. The findings suggest your shopping cart is less a Whole Foods utopia and more an ultra-processed dystopia.

Who could imagine a world without plasma TV screens? Or a blood test without measurements of key electrolytes, sodium, and potassium? Both technologies rely on the fields of radiometry and flame spectroscopy. But one scientist – a woman - who pioneered work in both areas is almost unknown.

USDA's Thrifty Food Plan aims to help low-income Americans eat well without breaking their modest budgets. It's an altruistic attempt to promote public health. But this bureaucratic project to promote nutrition lacks what so many other government programs do: the ability to incentivize healthy living at scale.

Avian flu is rampant in poultry farms and in wild birds in the U.S. Every mutation brings the virus one step closer to the brink of human-to-human transmission, but predicting whether a virus will cross that threshold remains an uncertain science.

By now, you have surely seen many images of planes dropping a red liquid on the Los Angeles fires. It's not just water. A chemical within the liquid suppresses burning by a series of simple reactions.

The First Amendment's guarantees are not absolute. A person cannot “shout 'fire!' in a crowded theater” and put the lives of others in imminent danger. As Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson wrote, “the Constitution is not a suicide pact.”

In fall 2024, Andrea Love, PhD, and Katie Suleta, DHSc, MPH, MS, wrote an op-ed on how the growth of the wellness industry is a double-edged sword, offering both benefits and risks for public health. Now, with President-elect Donald Trump nominating unconventional leaders for U.S. health agencies, Love and Suleta revisited the topic to discuss their concerns for health and wellness under the incoming administration.

History has a funny way of repeating itself. The latest concern by the Surgeon General regarding alcohol, framed as a health rather than a moral issue, readily reminds us of Prohibition. However, the sin tax on alcohol dates back further to 1794 to pay our national debt of $80 million: a move sparking outrage, insurrection, and the birth of new federal powers. Pour yourself a drink, and let’s delve into how whiskey helped shape America’s federal government while sealing the fate of one of its most ambitious Founding Fathers.

Sugar-sweetened beverages, the liquid delight promising a moment of joy and delivering a lifetime (?) of regret. Positioned as a public health disaster by some, how much blame can we pin on SSBs? With so many other lifestyle culprits in play, it’s worth asking: Are they the real villain or just the easiest scapegoat in our quest for better health?

California is ablaze — again. While the headlines scream about immediate threats, the real inferno lies in what's not being discussed: fast fires that outrun containment, and toxic smoke. And an insurance industry that may well be going up in smoke.

Tasked with protecting the environment and human health, the EPA is a perennial ping-pong ball for every incoming administration. With yet another leadership shuffle on the horizon, the question isn't "What will change?" but "How fast can we undo the last four years?" The issue du jour? The meaning of "unreasonable risk" under the Chemical Safety Act, which Congress thoughtfully left undefined. Why bother writing clear laws when you can leave it up to a revolving door of bureaucrats and lawsuits?

January is the month of fresh starts, diet promises, and a deluge of emails trying to convince you that this is your year to get organized. Meanwhile, the thought leaders of the world are firing on all cylinders, doling out insights. Let’s dive into what I’ve been reading, where Paul Krugman has traded his NYT perch for a blog, ancient alchemy gets a modern remix, and the Farm Bill remains a Rorschach test for anyone still clinging to the “Make America Healthy Again” dream.

Just what we don't need. Yet another study claiming that Advil plus Tylenol outperforms Vicodin. Lost in the sauce is that Vicodin was given in the lowest therapeutic dose while Advil and Tylenol were administered by steam shovel. Yawn.

In the "futuristic" dystopian sci-fi novel Brave New World, children were created ("bred") according to an intellectual caste system that dictated their futures. Most readers agreed this was a very bad idea. That future is here, and we are not fully cognizant of the disaster it portends, let alone be able to control it.

Dr. Vivek Murthy's advisory on alcohol wants us to consider the cancer risks hiding in our happy hours. With 20,000 cancer deaths linked to booze annually, is this the start of a new temperance movement? Or instead, another well-meaning government nudge destined to get drowned out by lobbying dollars and political wine tastings? Let’s uncork this debate.

Gatorade is selling "electrolyte-infused" alkaline water. Save your money ... and your groin. It's a stupid ripoff with implied health benefits. Please.

The U.S. Surgeon General has unveiled a plan to put cancer warning labels on alcoholic beverages. Does the science support this or is it just another hyped-up scare? And, even if the labels make perfect sense, will we ever see them?

Imagine a world without Oreos, Coke, Pepsi, Cool Whip, Honey Bunches of Oats, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Hebrew National, Yoplait, and Cheerios. If six plaintiffs law firms have their way, that's precisely where we are going.

Everyday choices — from lighting a cigarette to grabbing a quick snack — can, in our data-driven world, carry a measurable cost in minutes, shaved off or added to our health and lifespan. Are your daily small decisions adding or subtracting?

The “Food as Medicine” crowd can chant all they want for you to eat your greens. But with fruits and vegetables, the Food (in Food as Medicine) can often be as expensive as medications. It’s not a diabolical “Big Food” scheme — fresh produce’s short shelf life and long history of lopsided federal support for commodity crops mean fruits and veggies are expensive.

What happens when anti-vax ideology moves from the fringe to the halls of power? Will measles just be the opening act?

Frederick McKay didn’t head to Colorado Springs in the early 1900s to become a dental detective. Like many health-conscious hypochondriacs of his time, he was chasing the promise of Colorado’s “miracle” dry climate, hoping it might save him from the doom of tuberculosis. Instead of clear lungs, he found “Colorado Brown Stain,” the start of a decades-long mystery that would eventually prove science, persistence, and maybe a bit of luck could turn even the ugliest smiles into a public health triumph.

In this week’s reading, you’ll discover surprising historical links between farming and climate change, why crypto remains controversial, and how our bodies might be more attuned to daylight than we ever imagined.

If Kennedy and Oz are confirmed as heads of HHS and NIH, respectively) we are going to be seeing an explosion of 17th-century science coupled with 21st-century sleazy marketing. This provides an infinite collection of fraudulent garbage that needs to be called out. Let's start with the "foot detox." It does not remove feces through your feet.

We’ve all been there: your perfectly buttered toast hits the floor, and you’re left debating whether to risk it all for breakfast or let it go to the crumbs of history. Enter the “five-second rule,” a charming blend of culinary optimism and microbial roulette.