Category: Nutrition
No Health Benefits from Organic Food
A recent review of 240 studies has concluded that: The published literature lacks strong evidence that organic foods are significantly more nutritious than conventional foods. Consumption of organic foods may reduce exposure to pesticide residues and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Organic produce has become increasingly popular in recent years. There are several reasons that consumers might prefer organic produce, including the belief that organic...
Dr. Gorski pontificates about the Gerson Therapy on Uprising Radio
Every so often I get requests to be interviewed on the radio about skeptical topics. Now, why anyone would ever want to interview me, who knows? But they do, and when I can manage to accommodate reporters or interviewers, I do. Last week, I was interviewed on Uprising Radio, in which I discussed alternative medicine (particularly the Gerson therapy for cancer). My...
Eggs and Atherosclerosis
The headline of a recent Los Angeles Times article is, “No yolk: eating the whole egg as dangerous as smoking?” The question mark is meant to convey uncertainty or surprise, or perhaps both. The article represents much of what is wrong with science and health reporting by mainstream media. The news report is based upon an article published in Atherosclerosis – Egg...
POM: Not So Wonderful
“POM Wonderful” is a brand of pomegranate juice. It is manufactured by a company owned by Linda and Stewart Resnick, California billionaires who pretty much single-handedly created a multi-million dollar market for pomegranate juice where none existed before. Or, as LA Times columnist Michael Hilzik wrote, It has long been clear that the most wonderful thing about Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice is...
Spring Update on Prior Posts
Although I write the definitive entries on topics in this blog, new information trickles in after publication. The new studies are often not worth an entire entry, recapitulating prior essays, but the new information is still worth a mention. What follows are updates on topics covered in prior SBM posts. Raw Milk In Oregon we are having a small outbreak of infections...
CAM as a Dumping Ground
I know a woman who is a survivor of colorectal cancer. At one point, doctors had given up hope and put her in hospice, but she failed to die as predicted and was eventually discharged. She continues to suffer intractable symptoms of pain with alternating diarrhea and constipation. I don’t have access to her medical records, but she tells me her doctors...
Is gluten the new Candida?
Celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity are very different things. The former has a large, visible, well-understood scientific foundation that is lacking in the latter.
Killer Tomatoes and Poisonous Potatoes?
Remember the movie “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes”? That was fiction, but some alarmists would have us believe that the tomatoes and potatoes on our plates are really out to get us. I recently got an e-mail inquiry from an MD who said he had read that solanine in tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants could be responsible for essential hypertension and a number...
Applied Kinesiology by Any Other Name…
Arm wrestling is not a good way to confirm a diagnosis. But it is a great way to elicit confirmation bias.
Inflammation: Both Friend and Foe
A number of buzz-words appear repeatedly in health claims, such as natural, antioxidants, organic, and inflammation. Inflammation has been implicated in a number of chronic diseases, including diabetes, Parkinson’s, rheumatoid arthritis, allergies, atherosclerosis, and even cancer. Inflammation has been demonized, and is usually thought of as a bad thing. But it is not all bad. In a study in Nature Medicine in September...