Month: July 2014

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that “Utah hospitals are telling” physicians “to consider marijuana-laced candy from Colorado as a possible culprit when patients — particularly children — show up for emergency treatment.” (more…)

The Los Angeles Times “Science Now” blog reports that according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics, middle-school students who send or receive text messages are “significantly more likely than their non-sexting peers to be sexually active.” (more…)

On its front page, the New York Times reports in a nearly 1,500-word article that while New York state has legalized medical marijuana for specific conditions, “no rigorous scientific evidence that marijuana effectively treats the symptoms of many of the illnesses for which states have authorized its use.” (more…)

Elements Behavioral Health CEO and addiction psychiatrist David Sack, MD, writes in a Los Angeles Times op-ed that “disquieting new trends and statistics” regarding marijuana “are proving its unique dangers for” youngsters. (more…)

USA Today reports that according to an analysis published online in Pediatrics, “serious complications related to vaccines are very rare, and there is no evidence that immunizations cause autism.” Researchers arrived at those conclusions after having analyzed data from 67 separate studies. (more…)

The AP reports that the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended the FluMist nasal spray vaccine over injections for children aged two through eight. (more…)

News that the FDA approved an inhalable diabetes medication, Afrezza. was covered by major US newspapers, news agencies, and by at least one television network. (more…)

Studies have shown that your doctors can carry dangerous germs on their stethascopes, the sleeves of their white lab coats, and even on the end of the ties. Now, their hands may be equally guilty. (more…)

USA Today reports that a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that excessive drinking was the cause of one in 10 deaths among working-age adults between 2006 and 2010. (more…)

Reuters reported the FDA has issued a warning not to use lidocaine solution as a painkiller for teething babies. (more…)

USA Today reports that a study conducted by the Natural Resources Defense Council found that one in 10 beaches failed to meet the new EPA water safety standard. (more…)

The Houston Chronicle reports that research published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology suggests that “hundreds of thousands of women with abnormal mammograms annually undergo surgical breast biopsies when they should be having simple needle biopsies.” (more…)

NPR reports in its “Shots” blog that a recent survey of 2,500 obstetricians revealed that physicians often fail to warn expectant mothers about the dangers of environmental toxins during their pregnancy. (more…)

Reuters reported the FDA has been urged by a consumer advocacy group to order safety warnings on energy drinks in the wake of deaths of 17 people since October 2012. (more…)

It can be a bitter pill to swallow when science proves your mother was right. And that seems to be happening again and again when it comes to brassica. (more…)

The American College of Physicians (ACP) is “now recommending no annual pelvic exams for the average woman. This is for women who are average risk for cancer or other pelvic diseases who are not pregnant and having no symptoms.” (more…)

USA Today reports that research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association suggests that watching too much TV is linked to a higher risk of early death. The researchers concluded, “Television viewing was directly associated with all‐cause mortality.” (more…)

Bloomberg News reports that research presented at the American Diabetes Association meeting indicates that “diet and exercise remain the best bet for staving off diabetes in patients at risk for the disease.” (more…)

The New York Times reports that in a policy announcement, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that physicians tell “parents to read aloud to their infants from birth.” The AAP “is asking its members to become powerful advocates for reading aloud, every time a baby visits the doctor.” The pediatricians’ group “hopes that by encouraging parents to read often and early, they may help reduce academic disparities between wealthier and low-income children as well as between racial groups.” The AP reports that reading aloud “can enhance child development and prepare young minds for early language and reading ability.” Reading, as well as talking and singing, is viewed as important in increasing the number of words that children hear in the earliest years of their lives. Nearly two decades ago, an…

The Washington Post reports that the incidence of measles cases has reached its highest point since 2000. The main reason is vaccine refusals. (more…)

What do you think of when you see the word “natural” on a food package? No matter what you’re answer, you’re probably wrong. (more…)

CNN reports on the importance of a healthy gut to general health. Essentially, the gut is your body's gatekeeper, letting in helpful compounds and evicting harmful ones. It's home to 70 to 80% of our immune cells. When the gut is in good shape, our systems run efficiently. (more…)

On its front page, the Wall Street Journal reports on the popularity of gluten-free foods. A decade ago, few Americans had heard of gluten. Today, one survey says, almost a third are trying to avoid the element found in grain. (more…)

TIME reported online that a new US study found that people who eat more fried foods are at a higher risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. (more…)

NBC Nightly News reported that “while we’ve known for some time that caffeine raises blood pressure and lowers heart rate, a study in the journal Pediatrics reveals how it affects boys and girls differently after puberty.” (more…)

TIME reports on its website that research published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute suggests that individuals “who spend more hours of the day sitting have up to a 66% higher risk of developing certain types of cancer than those who aren’t as sedentary.” (more…)

The Los Angeles Times reported that coconut oil, which was once assailed for its heavy fat content, is now being touted as a health and beauty aid. But is it? (more…)

The CBS Evening News reported that the state of California confirmed a pertussis epidemic. In a recent two weeks, there were 800 reported cases. So far this year, there have been over 3,400 cases. (more…)

The number of measles cases in 2014 through May 23, the highest year-to-date total since 1994, has the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) worried that the virus may become endemic again on US soil as it spreads from overseas travelers to pockets of vaccine refusers. (more…)

USA Today reports that research published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that individuals “with type 1 diabetes who used a ‘bionic’ pancreas were better able to control their blood sugar levels than those who monitored their levels manually.” (more…)