The World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) recently concluded that the popular artificial sweetener aspartame, widely used in foods and diet drinks, is “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” an alarming conclusion because aspartame is used in thousands of low-calorie products. However, another WHO organization, the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), concluded that it is safe to consume aspartame. Can we make sense of the conflicting conclusions?
WHO
If or when the economy collapses -- and especially if the virus keeps spreading anyway -- public sentiment will change quickly and drastically. Americans' trust in the medical establishment may be shaken. Like ventilators, the national supply of goodwill isn't unlimited.
The tenure of the World Health Organization's Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has been marred by incompetence and deference to dictators. The coronavirus pandemic is far too serious to allow Dr. Ghebreyesus to continue in his post. The WHO should be led by someone else.
The World Health Organization does a tremendous job advancing the cause of global public health. But two recent, major screw-ups show that the institution is far from perfect. In one instance, a group of UK scientists accused the WHO of spreading "blatant misinformation."
Digital health is coming, and many services are already coming to a smartphone near you. As the first guidelines from the World Health Organization indicate, the obstacles aren't technological. They're regulatory.
With some fanfare, The Lancet announced it will hold governments accountable for promises they have made to the World Health Organization about reducing non-communicable diseases. But the reporting makes it seem a bigger crisis than it is. We're afraid that these commitments are, as Mary Poppins said, pie crust promises. Easily made, easily broken.
It's time doctors and patients take charge of what goes on in the exam room or at the hospital bedside. Inane, tedious tasks that co-opt such visits are out of touch with real world medical practice.
When ideology not medical reasoning guides infant feeding policy, nobody wins.
Before media outlets start scaring you about another infectious disease, learn some important facts.
When not one country in the world meets the “breastfeeding standards” set forth by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), it might be time to question their value. Are they attainable — more importantly, should they be?
Carrie Fisher’s tragic death after last week’s inflight medical emergency is sadly an all too familiar occurrence. Learn how to improve your travel health and safety whenever possible.
The famous singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, as per his manager Robert B. Kory’s statement, “died during his sleep following a fall in the middle of the night on November 7th." Ironically, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just released their estimates of the top 5 causes of preventable deaths.