/oss/taxonomy/term/337/all en /oss/article/medical-health-and-nutrition-did-you-know/acne-and-diet-ambiguous-association <p>You have probably heard that drinking milk and eating chocolate causes acne or, at the very least, that they make it worse. Diet is often blamed for a teenager’s pimply skin, but is there good evidence behind this accusation?</p> Fri, 22 Nov 2024 22:14:36 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 10174 at /oss /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition-pseudoscience/kennedys-coalition-quacks-wants-feed-america-diet-lies <p>When America sneezes, the world catches a cold. Donald Trump’s renewed tenancy in the White House, with anti-vaxxer-in-chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr whispering in his ear, promises more than just sneezes. It heralds the return of vaccine-preventable illnesses, which do not stop at the border.</p> Fri, 15 Nov 2024 06:40:39 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 10162 at /oss /oss/article/medical-health-and-nutrition-contributors/fecal-matter-deserves-better <p>It may be an indelicate subject to bring up at the dinner table, but colon cancer screening based on fecal matter merits discussion. The first-generation kit ColoGuard rolled out in August 2014, and now an advanced version, ColoGuard Plus, received FDA approval in October 2024. What’s new? </p> Mon, 18 Nov 2024 21:13:11 +0000 Nancy Liu-Sullivan, PhD 10167 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/linoleic-acid-neither-villain-nor-superhero <p>Are you familiar with linoleic acid? If you’ve heard about it from Dr.</p> Fri, 08 Nov 2024 16:23:16 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 10153 at /oss /oss/article/medical-student-contributors-health-and-nutrition/nutrafol-holy-grail-hair-loss-or-overpriced-supplement <p>Hair loss is a normal component of the natural hair growth cycle. Hair growth occurs in three stages: the growth phase where the hair grows for around 2-7 years, the transition phase where the follicle starts to shrink and hair growth slows for around 2-3 weeks, and the resting phase where the hair falls out at the end of this phase at around 3- 4 months. The falling out of the hair strand is necessary so that a new strand can take its place, and the cycle can begin again.</p> Fri, 08 Nov 2024 15:56:16 +0000 Daniela Padres 10152 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition-pseudoscience/are-fums-essential-oils-safe-inhale <p>“It’s like some… like a wooden cigarette that gives you flavours, but it’s not even a cigarette, you don’t even light it.”</p> Fri, 01 Nov 2024 06:09:08 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 10138 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-student-contributors-health-and-nutrition/instant-coffee-and-acrylamide-should-you-be-worried <p>Coffee is a staple beverage for millions of people worldwide, consumed in endless scenarios: catching up with a friend, powering through an intense study session, or simply kickstarting the day.</p> <p>From the classic drip coffee and trendy cold brew to the precision of the French press and the intensity of espresso, there are countless ways to make the perfect cup of joe. The key difference between each brewing method is how the water interacts with the coffee grounds and the time it takes to brew.</p> Fri, 25 Oct 2024 16:24:27 +0000 Hosna Akhgary 10126 at /oss /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/processing-information-about-processed-meat <p>The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an arm of the World Health Organization lists processed meats in its “Category 1,” reserved for substances known to cause cancer in humans. There is really nothing all that noteworthy here except for the official classification. Unofficial advice about minimizing processed meat has been dispensed by nutritional scientists for a long time. And for good reason.</p> Tue, 08 Oct 2024 22:06:53 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10104 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition-environment/we-are-exposed-thousands-and-thousands-chemicals <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/the-right-chemistry-we-are-exposed-to-thousands-and-thousands-of-chemicals">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> <hr /> <p>“Three thousand six hundred food packaging chemicals detected in human bodies: How reheating food is killing us.”</p> Fri, 04 Oct 2024 20:53:47 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10102 at /oss /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy-may-just-be-hot-air-many <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy-may-just-be-hot-air-for-many">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> Fri, 27 Sep 2024 23:03:19 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 10098 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-technology/genetic-engineering-has-been-applied-cheese-making-no-reason-be-cheesed <p>Cheese producers were cheesed off.  People were just not eating enough veal.  Slaughterhouses were running short of calf stomachs and the cheese industry was feeling the pinch.  There was not enough rennet to meet the demands of turophiles (that's "cheese lovers" from the Greek “turo” for cheese) around the world.</p> Tue, 24 Sep 2024 16:33:42 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10093 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-student-contributors-health-and-nutrition/real-gold-or-fools-gold-controversies-bee-pollen <p>The <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10045447/">earliest evidence</a> of human consumption of bee products can be traced back to a painting from between 8000-5000 B.C. in Spain. The Greeks considered pollen to be the food of kings. There is a reference to bee pollen in the Bible. Ancient philosophers such as Hippocrates, Pliny the Elder, and Pythagoras believed in the therapeutic potential of bee pollen. So, it seems only natural that we, in the present day, would take a fascination with bee pollen.</p> Thu, 19 Sep 2024 15:03:05 +0000 Daniela Padres 10083 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/what-does-health-canada-issued-natural-product-number-npn-supplement-mean <p>Prescription drug sales in Canada amount to roughly $50 billion a year. That’s a lot of money, but the $13 billion pulled in annually by the natural health products industry isn’t small potatoes either. The question is what consumers are getting for that money.</p> Wed, 18 Sep 2024 22:07:09 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10081 at /oss /oss/article/medical-health-and-nutrition/another-bullet-fired-highly-processed-food <p>Elie Metchnikoff drank sour milk every day. He believed that the lactic acid bacteria found in fermented foods like yogurt, especially the <i>Lactobacillus bulgaricus</i> strain, helped to promote longevity by preventing potentially disease-causing bacteria from proliferating in the intestines. He attributed the long life of Bulgarian peasants to their daily consumption of yogurt.</p> Wed, 11 Sep 2024 16:54:56 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10071 at /oss /oss/article/medical-health-and-nutrition-general-science/should-you-be-worried-about-eating-burned-toast <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/the-right-chemistry-should-you-be-worry-about-eating-burned-toast">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> Fri, 06 Sep 2024 21:30:09 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10065 at /oss