Category: Commentary

A colorful assortment of fresh vegetables, including carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, broccoli, radishes, garlic, green beans, lettuce, kale, and spinach, arranged on a wooden surface outdoors.

MAHA Ruins Everything – Apeel Edition

About 30-40% of all food produced is wasted and not consumed. That is a stunning figure – a third of produce goes to waste. That amount of food is grown on land area the equivalent of China, uses 45 trillion gallons of water, and produces about 3% of greenhouse gas emissions. An average American household of four spends about $3 thousand a...

/ May 20, 2026
A table titled "Domain 1: Foundational Nutrition Knowledge" lists competencies with descriptions and assigned hours, such as nutrient content, absorption, deficiencies, and dietary requirements, with hours ranging from 1.5 to 3.

Can Medical Schools Really Teach 71 Nutrition ‘Competencies’?  Should They?

In recent years, nutrition has become the focus of renewed attention in medical education. Advocates argue that physicians receive too little formal training about diet and that more comprehensive nutrition education is needed to address chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers. A greater focus on the “root causes of chronic diseases” is a mantra of the Make...

/ May 12, 2026
The front view of the United States Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., featuring tall columns, statues, steps leading to the entrance, and a clear blue sky overhead.

SCOTUS conversion therapy decision “opens a dangerous can of worms”

“We are on a slippery slope now: For the first time, the Supreme Court has interpreted the First Amendment to bless a risk of therapeutic harm to children by limiting the State’s ability to regulate medical providers who treat patients with speech.” Justice Jackson, dissenting

/ April 21, 2026
A close-up of the back of a person wearing a vest labeled "POLICE ICE," indicating they are part of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The background is blurred.

The ICEmen Cometh

The potential effects of the current ICE actions on public health

/ February 10, 2026
A syringe drawing liquid from a vial is shown in front of a blurred FDA logo on a blue background.

The FDA’s Proposed “Black Box” Warning for COVID-19 Vaccines

The real hazard is not the vaccines, but the warning itself

/ December 23, 2025
CDC campus

So Long 2025

This will be my last post of the year and as usual I like to look back at how SBM is doing. We have now completed 17 years as a blog, which I think is something in itself. As always I have to thank David Gorski and all of the regular contributors here for their tireless work without any compensation except fulfilling...

/ December 17, 2025
3D illustration of a coronavirus particle, highlighting its spike proteins and a cross-section revealing genetic material inside—often studied in gain of function research. Several similar particles float in the background.

“Gain of Function” Research Is Misunderstood – And That Is A Problem

Misplaced concerns or opposition could lead to overregulation or even banning

/ December 4, 2025

Rejecting The Null Hypothesis

In various contexts, for practical, philosophical, and logical reasons, there is a default assumption. In the criminal justice system, for example, someone is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Therefore we must act “as if” someone is innocent until the burden of proof is met that they are indeed guilty of the specific crime of which they are accused. In medicine, if someone...

/ October 29, 2025

Opposing Chiropractic Vertebral Subluxation Theory

There is no credible evidence to support use of spinal manipulation to correct vertebral subluxations as a treatment for non-musculoskeletal disorders

/ October 23, 2025