Category: Public Health
Update on Low Calorie Sweeteners
An updated review of the science finds that artificial sweeteners are still a safe and effective option for weight management.
Air Dryers vs Paper Towels
Which hand drying method is the best, air or paper towel? The answer is more complicated than you might think – but do wash your hands.
A Nuanced View on Breast vs Formula
While there is strong evidence that breast is best, a new study suggests that the benefits have been overstated, and may be mostly due to non-specific factors such as better education and overall health care.
Bait and switch in Oregon: Substituting quackery for opioids for Medicaid patients
The Oregon Health Authority is on the verge of passing a radical policy that would require chronic pain patients receiving Medicaid to have their opioids tapered to zero while covering "nonpharmacologic treatments for pain" that include primarily acupuncture, chiropractic, massage therapy, and other "alternative" treatments. Not surprisingly, the Oregon Chronic Pain Task Force, which is responsible for this proposed infliction of quackery...
Smoking Cessation
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death. There are effective pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods to help people stop smoking.
J.B. Handley versus vaccine science. Again. Not surprisingly, J.B. loses.
Our old friend anti antivaccine activist J. B. Handley invokes the "vaccines didn't save us" gambit. It doesn't go well for him.
Are antivaxers “holding science hostage”?
Melinda Wenner Moyer published an article in The New York Times arguing that fear of how antivaxers will react to scientific findings is leading scientists to self-censor. I'm not convinced that this is the case.
Electromagnetic Fields at Work Show No Brain Tumor Risk
A new study finds no significant correlation between workplace exposure to radio frequency (RF) or intermediate frequency (IF) electromagnetic waves and the most common brain tumors. This is more reassuring evidence that non-ionizing EMFs are probably safe.
Vitamin D and the relationship to colon cancer
Colorectal cancer is common. A new study examines the relationship with vitamin D levels.
Anti-Vaccine Hotspots are Getting Hotter
More parents are seeking to avoid childhood vaccinations in states that allow nonmedical exemptions. These "hotspots" of decreasing vaccination rates, some of which include large urban cities, are likely locations for future outbreaks of preventable disease.