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Nutrition

Colon detoxification is full of…it

Listen to the radio for a few minutes. Or watch late night television for a bit. Through the commercials hawking insurance with talking geckos, promoting treatments for erectile dysfunction, and, exhibiting the coolest, fastest, most fuel efficient car, you will run across the reason for all that ails you: your improperly cleaned colon. The treatment is called colon cleansing, and sometimes, detoxifying. It’s one of those silly alternative medicine ideas that hangs around without one single bit of evidence supporting it.Read More »Colon detoxification is full of…it

Cancer prevention–supplements

Potential causes for cancer are numerous. Infections. Radon gas. Cigarette smoking. Sun exposure. Obesity. With over 200 types of cancer, each with a different pathophysiology, there may be an equal (and probably greater) number of causes. Although many causes can be easily eliminated, such as stopping smoking, testing your house for radon, getting an HPV vaccine to prevent human papillomavirus infections, and wearing sunblock to reduce the risk of melanomas, the sheer complexity and number of types of cancer means that there is probably not going to be any simple panacea to preventing (or even curing) cancer. In fact, some hereditary cancers, such as those individuals who carry genes that are implicated in breast and ovarian cancers, may not be preventable at all.Read More »Cancer prevention–supplements

MSG-fussing about nothing

In science, there is nothing more annoying than a pseudoscientific myth that is propagated to the point where everyone believes it’s a fact.  For some odd reason, foods are the center of the pseudoscience universe.  Eat organic.  Avoid GMO (genetically modified) crops.  High fructose corn syrup will kill you.  Keep salt off of your food.  Don’t eat this. Don’t eat that.  Drink this.  Don’t drink that.  Yet, where is the science?  Are organic foods really healthier for you?  Will GMO foods harm you? 

Of all the annoying myths, there’s one that is the most bothersome.  MSG, or monosodium glutamate, gets the most exposure as an evil additive to foods.  Yet, what is the evidence?  Does it really do anything?Read More »MSG-fussing about nothing

Antioxidant supplements–hype doesn’t match reality

I’ve never been a fan of vitamin supplements.  Aside from a very few supplements intended for a few specific clinical conditions, like vitamin C and scurvy, they have little use in preventing or treating diseases.  In fact, because mammalian physiology has evolved a homeostasis for these chemicals, any excess amount that can’t be stored is cleared by the kidneys and becomes part of your urine.  I’m willing to venture that the urine of many Americans is quite expensive, with all of the cleared vitamins and other micronutrients.  A balanced diet over several weeks is sufficient to provide the body with all of the nutrients and vitamins to be healthy and strong.  In fact, you are not even required to have all vitamins and nutrients every day, as storage of a few nutrients will be released as necessary, and clinical manifestations of nutrient deficiency may take weeks or months.  

Read More »Antioxidant supplements–hype doesn’t match reality