The Los Angeles Times  ”Healthy Skeptic” column reports that “NuAge Colon Cleanse and Oxy-Powder makers say their products rid the body of toxins and help people lose weight.”
According to the “NuAge website … the product contains ‘muciligenic fibers,’ but it doesn’t provide any other information about ingredients or directions for use,” while “Oxy-Powder, a supplement [...]

According to the experts at the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, Cobroxin and Nyloxin are new homeopathic products used for chronic pain. They come as an oral spray and topical gel.
The bad news is that these products contain a “5X homeopathic dilution” of cobra venom. This means that they contain a concentration of about 0.001% cobra [...]

First we learned that DVDs intended for babies are not only not helpful to children, but may harm them. Now comes a study showing no evidence of the so-called ‘Mozart Effect.’ The study, reviewing over 40 studies done of the topic, was performed by Austrian researchers.
HealthDay News has a report with the details: For years, [...]

The Los Angeles Times ”Booster Shots” blog reported that “there may be a link between drinking fewer sugar-sweetened beverages and lowering blood pressure,” according to a study published in the journal Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Researchers followed “810 men and women age 25 to 70 who were part of a lifestyle intervention study and [...]

The AP reports, “Ten minutes of brisk exercise triggers metabolic changes that last at least an hour,” with more fit exercisers reaping a greater number of benefits.
Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital came to that conclusion after measuring “biochemical changes in the blood of a variety of people: the healthy middle-aged, some who became short of [...]

People who regularly put in overtime and work 10 or 11-hour days increase their heart disease risk by nearly two-thirds, research suggests. The findings come from a study of 6,000 British civil servants, published online in the European Heart Journal.
The bottom line, according to the researchers is, “… the findings highlighted the importance of work-life balance.” [...]

Now that so many more people are taking vitamin D, some are asking how much vitamin D is too much. And, it’s important to note that vitamin D doses vary widely and toxicity is rare.
Here are some guidelines recommended to healthcare professionals from the evidence-based experts at The Prescriber’s Letter:
To prevent deficiency, recommend 1000 to [...]

Here’s news about a new guideline that will change something I do in practice.
The Los Angeles Times “Booster Shots” blog reported, “Older adults need up to twice the amount of vitamin D than is typically recommended, according to guidelines released Monday by the International Osteoporosis Foundation.”
The guidelines “urged adults, defined by this group as 65 [...]

The Los Angeles Times “Booster Shots” blog reported, “The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) … warned parents about the dangers of giving infants more than 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D.”
Indeed, “supplementation is recommended for some infants, especially those being breastfed, because a deficiency can lead to bone problems, such as thinning, soft and [...]

The AP reports that “children whose mothers lived close to a mobile phone tower while pregnant did not appear to be at any higher risk of cancer than children whose mothers lived farther away,” according to a study published in the British Medical Journal. Using a national birth registry, they identified 5,588 similar children without cancer.”
The [...]

The AP reports that “a major international study into the link between cell phone use and two types of brain cancer has proved inconclusive, according to a report due to be published” in the International Journal of Epidemiology. The data were “compiled by researchers in 13 countries including Britain, Canada, France, Germany, and Japan, but [...]

The more TV a toddler watches, the higher the likelihood they will do badly at school and have poor health at the age of 10, researchers warn. The study of 1,300 children by Michigan and Montreal universities found negative effects on older children rose with every hour of toddler TV. Performance at school was worse, while consumption [...]

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that nuts may help lower cholesterol levels.
HealthDay reported that investigators “pooled data on 583 men and women who had participated in 25 nut consumption trials.”
“Patients in the trials ate an average of 67 grams, or about 2.4 ounces, of [...]

Taking your vitamin D supplement with the largest meal of the day may boost its absorption substantially, according to a new study from researchers at the Cleveland Clinic.
Here are details from WebMD: The researchers  instructed 17 men and women, average age 64, whose blood levels of vitamin D were borderline insufficient despite taking supplements, to [...]

A glass of orange juice may not only help the vitamin pill go down. A new study suggests that fortified varieties can also help the body’s vitamin D levels go up – just as effectively as the supplement itself. The finding could bring a welcome addition to a very short list of sources for vitamin D, [...]

The headlines at MSNBC are no different that those carried by most news media this last month: “Children of lesbian parents do well.” These headlines are based on a study published in the journal Pediatrics. You can see a critique of the study here and a negative commentary on the study here.
But, you may be [...]

You’ve all seen the headlines by now: “Children of lesbian parents do well.” These headlines are based on a study published in the journal Pediatrics. Here’s a excellent critique of the study by Jennifer Roback Morse of the Ruth Institute,  a project of the National Organization for Marriage:
I actually read the study, which is my custom before [...]

Conservative researchers and bloggers are dealing with the sampling and reporting problems associated with a recent study purporting to show that the children of lesbians are doing just fine. Here’s a commentary on the study by Jennifer Roback Morse of the Ruth Institute, a project of the National Organization for Marriage:
The fact is, that the study claims [...]

A single 1000-mg dose of aspirin is an effective treatment of acute migraine headaches for more than half of people who take it, and the addition of 10 mg of metoclopramide (Reglan) may reduce nausea, according to the findings of a literature review published by the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
Here are the details from [...]

Many of you know that I served as a sports medicine physician much of my career, including a stint as a volunteer physician for the U.S. Olympic Committee. So, I was interested to hear that there’s a new study showing that ankle braces help prevent ankle injuries in female high school volleyball players.
Here are the [...]