Search results

For the first time, the official federal health panel has recommended aspirin to protect against colorectal cancer, as well as heart attack and stroke. But the guidance is far from clear-cut, with age restrictions and numerous caveats.

American kids are getting 12 percent of their calories everyday from fast food, and one third of them eat fast food offerings each day, according to recent news stories. This may sound troubling from a public-health perspective, but upon closer inspection, these data aren't all that concerning.

Vitamin D is essential for normal bone growth and development in children, and in adults it's needed for maintenance of bone strength all because it allows the absorption of calcium from the diet. But now it is also being touted by some as a sort of miracle vitamin, which it isn't.

It was supposedly a "big" health story. We were told by CNN.com that there's now an established link between the development of childhood cancers, primarily leukemia and lymphoma, and the use of pesticides. Sure sounds scary, but the science supporting this study's claim is suspect at best.

A new study suggests that incorporating additional extra virgin olive oil into the Mediterranean diet seems to reduce the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women.

If recent headlines are to be believed, the plague is making a comeback as cases have popped up in Colorado and Michigan. However, these sensationalized reports are obscuring the truth, as the plague is actually more common in the U.S. than you may think. So everyone, relax.

The Dr. Oz Show averaged 3.8 million viewers in 2012, but viewership plummeted to 1.8 million for the season that ended in May. We're halfway there, people. Only 1.8 million to go!

Academics, like everyone in every job, want a six-figure income and they want no criticism and they want to idolized by their customers. Well, good luck getting that.

The supplement industry has been protected by three senators who for the past 40 years have worked tirelessly to prevent government regulation of their products. Which one will lead in the Anti-Science Hall of Fame?

In the past five years, alcohol poisoning of children has skyrocketed by 400 percent. Most of this is from kids, believe it or not, drinking hand sanitizer. Fortunately, this is a solvable problem -- and it's not even that hard. Send in the chemists.

Mark Bittman, formerly a food writer and vegan advocate for The New York Times, recently decided to show the world he's more than just talk, by joining a food start-up. We wish him well in his new career, mainly because once there his views on food will likely be heard by far fewer consumers.

It's rare to see an alternative medicine proponent leave and join the science community but it happens. Britt Hermes, a homeopath and alternative medicine proponent, did just that. She even has a blog where she discuss the horrors of her former industry.

The good news is, well, there really isn t any. That is, if you are an executive at Chipotle. The company hopped on the anti-GMO scam-wagon too little, too late, and managed to screw it up royally.

A new study suggests that many people who drink diet soda to lose weight might sabotage these efforts by consuming more calories from other sources.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is seeking to mandate that all healthcare workers receive flu vaccinations. Many healthcare workers, especially nurses, believe this is a violation of personal rights. But the science on the safety of the jab is clear and the policy could potentially benefit thousands of people.

It's a little too soon to celebrate, but scientists in the U.K. may have come up with a new method -- a simple blood test -- that could radically revolutionize the early detection of cancer.

It's too rare that we find a government official actually standing up for science, so we felt that we must point to a recent example. Kudos to Senator Durbin of Illinois for his science-friendly stance on GMO labeling.

"Harm reduction" is a health-promoting policy, in which self-destructive behaviors are abetted but through measures to reduce abusers harms to their health. Yet our public health establishment stands fiercely opposed to reduced harm products for smokers. Why is that?

A British study suggests that there may be an infectious component to Alzheimer's. Examining brains of people who died from Creutzfeldt Jakob disease, which is caused by mysterious infectious proteins called prions, revealed a striking resemblance to the brains of Alzheimer's patients. This is intriguing, but speculative.

One year ago, a giant on the public health outreach scene passed away.

In a recent column, internist Dr. Peter Lipson, called for doctors who fail to adhere to the recommended vaccination schedule to lose their licenses. Responding with a bold complaint was Dr. Bob Sears, whose arguments against that proposal were exposed as blatant sophistry and quackery.

With a new law passed Wednesday, New York City has become the first jurisdiction in the country to require salt labeling on chain restaurant foods that exceed 2,300 milligrams. However, don't expect it to improve public health, and the science suggests that the measure might actually harm consumers.

Jon Entine, the founder of Genetic Literacy Project and a Senior Fellow at UC-Davis is perhaps the most prolific writer on GM technology. Entine addressed the National Press Club in Australia. You should listen to what he has to say.

As more children and teens become susceptible to whooping cough (pertussis), it becomes more important to protect newborns and infants from contagion transmitted by those age groups. With siblings now transmitting the virus more often than moms, pregnant women need to be vaccinated to insure protection.

Surely one of the most hotly contested foods in the world is golden rice. Unfortunately, a study that supports its use, to prevent blindness and death from vitamin-A deficiency, has been retracted due to an ethical breach by its researchers. It should be noted the science itself was not questioned.