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▼ DECEMBER

▼ NOVEMBER

FDA "dosing" melamine for infants
How much of melamine can you take and keep on whistling? In the May last year, the FDA said 0.63mg per kg of body weight, per day. This so called tolerable daily intake (TDI) was based on taking 1/100 of the lowest dose causing adverse health effects in a 13-week long rat study... »MORE

Statins, CRP and cardiovascular inflammation
In the aftermath of the controversial JUPITER study, its potential consequences with respect to expanded use of statin drugs for prevention from cardiovascular disease demand clarifying two cardinal points: (1) the role of inflammation in the development of cardiovascular disease, and (2) mechanism of action through which statins in general exert their anti-inflammatory action... »MORE

JUPITER statin study: another BP's snow job?
In case you were wondering why is this medical study named JUPITER (Justification for the Use of Statins in the Prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin), the reason is probably that it has something in common with Jupiter, the planet. They both revolve around something big... »MORE

▼ OCTOBER

Nutrients on the official hold
Any self-respecting nutritionist will admit that Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) set by the Food and Nutrition Board are generally conservative in their assessment of our nutritional needs. Their antiquated "method" based on average nutrient levels in "healthy" individuals defies logic and the obvious, ignores scientific evidence, and effectively elevates nutritionally inferior Western diet to a level of nutritional standard... »MORE

Ready to meet your DNA in person?
Ever been curious as to how good your genes actually are? That mysterious DNA code hidden deep in your cells that determines what do you look like, how efficient are your basic body functions, and how smart you are?... »MORE

Keep the kids warm, or else...
Cold season is coming, and the FDA just can't decide to ban, or ask manufacturers for a voluntary recall of over-the-counter cough and cold medications for children under 6...» MORE

▼ SEPTEMBER

Who's the psycho?
Suited talk aside, a real-life consensus of practicing medical professionals in the U.S. is that American children need two to three times more psychotropic (affecting brain) drugs than kids in Netherlands or Germany...» MORE

MMR shots and autism
"Study Dispels Link Between Autism and Measles Vaccine" and similar headlines are all over the Net. There is no reason anymore to doubt the safety of MMR (Mumps/Measles/Rubella) vaccine safety. The proof?...» MORE
 

Breastfeeding and vitamin D deficiency
One cannot think of more perfect food than mothers milk for the baby. Yet, it may not be good enough. A fairly well known, but little publicized fact is that breastfeeding can leave your baby vitamin D deficient...» MORE

▼ AUGUST

Hot dogs and cancer
We all know that hot dogs are not the most healthful food out there, but cancer? You may have seen a recent TV ad, run by the The Cancer Project group, showing a boy eating hot dog and lamenting of just being diagnosed with colon cancer. Reaction from those that can be considered partial to the industry (The National Hot Dog & Sausage Council) is sort of intriguing... » MORE

More irradiated foods from the FDA
Before the end of this month, irradiated spinach and iceberg lettuce will join the list of irradiated foods allowed by the FDA to be marketed to the general population. Is it good or bad?...» MORE

Diabetes-arsenic link
It's been known that high exposure to arsenic from drinking water contributes to development of diabetes. For years, this fact was overshadowed by the arsenic cancer risk, which prompted new lowered standard for allowable level of arsenic in drinking water in 2001. But the story of arsenic toxicity doesn't seem to be ending yet...» MORE

Run for life
We all have heard that regular running is good for health. If done properly, without overexertion, backed by good nutrition and healthy lifestyle, it should strengthen your body, your spirit and your overall wellbeing. But how much? Is there a measure against which one can say is it - or is not - worth its weight in sweat?...» MORE

▼ JULY

Bisphenol A health risk
You may have never heard of bisphenol A before, even if it has caused quite a bit of commotion in the last few years. It belongs to the ever growing army of mainly anonymous xenobiotic chemicals inhabiting your body, and bodies of about every human living in a modern Western society. Where does it come from, and what can it do to your health? More importantly, can it hurt your little one?...» MORE

Cholesterol kids
Most everyone knows what led to the creation of "cholesterol kids" generation: mainly over-consumption of junk food combined with physical inactivity. The question is, are we going to help these kids, or let greedy pharmaceutical companies, assisted by corrupted or incompetent doctors, happily proclaim it is the reality we live in...» MORE

Cholesterol kids (cont'd)
It could be said that results of these several small short-term studies indicate that statins have similar effects on young patients, as they do on adults. But what these effects actually are, and do they support American Academy of Pediatricians' move to hand "solving" the children cholesterol problem over to pharmaceutical companies...» MORE

Is "good" cholesterol good for memory?
  So called "good" cholesterol is cholesterol transported by high-density lipoproteins (HDL, consisting of lipids attached to a protein carrier, hence the name) to the liver, to be disposed of. In a recent study on 3700 British men and women (Singh-Manoux et al.) the researches established that there is a possible link between low level of "good" cholesterol levels and increased chances of memory decline by the age of 60...» MORE

▼  JUNE

CAT scan cancer risk
It was January 2001 when Time's article cited the experts saying that parents shouldn't "panic" over then recent news reports of computerized axial tomography (CAT, or CT) putting their children at the increased risk of falling pray to cancer...» MORE

Vitamin D health significance growing
It's been known for quite a while that we need vitamin D to maintain optimum health. What hasn't been known is exactly how much of a difference your vitamin D levels can make. And the more it is researched, the more evidence emerges that it is more important than previously thought...» MORE

Do artificial food colors cause hyperactivity?
It all started back in the mid 1960s, when then little known San Francisco allergist, doctor Ben Feingold, through his practice, became aware of the link between food additives - particularly artificial food coloring agents - and so called hyperkinetic behavior, or hyperactivity, often associated with irritability, and difficulty to concentrate...» MORE

▼   MAY

Mandatory vaccinations
Is a mandatory vaccine a good thing? How about 40 - or more - mandatory vaccines? While the mainstream media doesn't pay much attention to it, there is quite a bit of commotion about the proposed new law in New York state (formally, Assembly Bill 10942) which would make all CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommended vaccines for schoolchildren, infants and toddlers mandatory...» MORE

Obesity and the brain
Obesity's bad reputation of causing or aggravating diseases has recently been expanded to include a significantly higher risk for developing dementia and Alzheimer's. Obesity and brain? Yes, you read it right. And it seems to be making a lot of sense...» MORE

Medication use at the all-time high
"Who in their right mind would use those TV advertised medications with all those nasty side effects that can hurt you more than what you are taking them for?" asked someone at work one day. Well, looks like great many would. The latest data shows that use of medications in the U.S. is at all-time high: now more than half Americans regularly use prescription drugs...» MORE

▼ APRIL

Smog, health, and politics
Just about a century ago, in 1905, a new word - smog - was coined from "smoky fog", describing the phenomenon characteristic of big cities in Britain, particularly London. Back then, little was known about the relation between smog and health...» MORE

Drug companies, doctors vs. Congress
Are we about to see first cracks in the iron-firm grip of pharmaceutical companies on how the medicine is practiced in this country? A bill has been introduced in US Congress to require drug companies to disclose anything of value - consulting fees, gifts, travel expenses and packages, etc. - that they advance to physicians...» MORE

Smoking genes
Most everyone knows that smoking forms addiction. But it is not equally addictive for all, and the bio-mechanism through which it actually makes you addicted depends on - what else - your genes. It is your genetics that also decide how vulnerable you are to developing lung cancer as a result. Scientist are beginning to tackle the question: just how your genes determine your body's response to nicotine...» MORE

▼   MARCH

Montelukast sodium side effects
If you find a name like montelucast sodium - a.k.a. Singulair, an asthma and allergy drug manufactured by Merck - slightly esoteric, it is much less of a problem than be left guessing what is it that it can actually do to you...» MORE

Drugs in your drinking water
Is there a connection between prescription drugs, water you drink, and you? You bet. Recent investigation by the Associated Press added more details to what is already known - that unmetabolized drugs, both non-prescription and prescription, flashed down the toilets arrive at waste water management plants and, from there, find their way into your drinking water...» MORE

Trasylol
What is Trasylol? You probably haven't heard of this Bayer's blood clothing drug for most of the 14 years it's been on the market. But, recently, it has become a big story - and not a happy one. Trasylol's deadly side effects seem not to be bothering neither Bayer, nor the FDA...» MORE

▼ FEBRUARY

Diabetes two study
Someone please tell doctors to take it easy with diabetes drugs - and all prescription drugs, period!? If there is one good thing about recent disaster of a diabetes study, expected with great confidence to glorify the efficiency of drugs, it is that it should have reminded all those involved in the business of treating diseases with drugs of these two simple facts...» MORE

Diabetes drugs, side effects
Drugs used in diabetes two treatment, just like all other prescription drugs, have possible adverse side effects. Those used in the ACCORD study were insulin, older diabetes drug Glucophage, as well as new diabetes drugs, Avandia and Actos. Here is the summary of what was known about the risks assocoated with them...» MORE

Hypertension and cholesterol drugs, side effects
In addition to diabetes two medications, ACCORD study participants were given both, hypertension and cholesterol drugs. Those in the intense arm of the study were receiving significantly higher than standard doses - as much as needed to push blood pressure and cholesterol levels down to their normal range. Little is known...» MORE

ACCORD diabetes two study: conclusion
These are only the highlights, but it is already a handful. Who would, in their straight mind throw all these drugs with known and suspected adverse health effects at seriously ill people, sometimes in multiples of their standard doses, and expect it would benefit them...» MORE

▼ JANUARY

Smoking meds: The Chantix story
Considering medications to quit smoking? Many are trying to find their way out of the hard-to-brake habit with the help of drugs supposedly fighting nicotine addiction. As usual, benefits - if any - do come with a price tag in the form of side effects...» MORE

Chantix safety
In all, how does it changes the picture of Chantix users' safety - or risks - when all these adverse health effects hidden in its "Full Prescription Information sheet", as published by Pfizer, are included?...» MORE

Chantix efficacy: studies and the real world
The FDA took Chantix' efficacy at face value from the manufacturer trial studies, showing that Chantix significantly improves the chances for nicotine addicts to quit smoking, compared to both, other smoking-cessation therapies ("nicotine replacement therapy" - nicotine patches, gums, etc. - and prescription drug Zyban), and quitting without drug therapy. But how relevant are these figures for the actual user environment?...» MORE

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