Anyone who has lived on an institutional campus is familiar with the term “mystery meat.” It refers to a slab of flesh-based protein of uncertain origin and added ingredients. A recent study in the British journal BMC Medicine invites the application of the adjective “mysterious” to the composition of some herbal supplements. “Many herbal supplements….
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No Progress on Preventing Food-Borne Illness
Spinach. Cantaloupe. Peanut Butter. All delicious things to eat, and all in the news recently because they were associated with widespread cases of food poisoning. And it’s not just media coverage-according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, food-borne illnesses are increasing in the U.S. The CDC reports says cases of food poisoning have….
Continue ReadingMonster Energy Has a Monster Problem With Adverse Events
There’s been a lot of news lately about energy drinks, and none of it’s good. We recently wrote about how little is known about their contents, and their link to heart disease and high blood pressure. Now, as reported in the New York Times, five people died in the last three years after drinking Monster….
Continue ReadingFeds Get Sued Over Sloth in Enforcing Food Safety Laws
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 3,000 deaths every year are caused by food-borne illnesses and about 48 million people-1 in 6 Americans-gets sick from food contamination. A couple of nonprofit consumer advocacy organizations don’t believe the federal government is moving fast enough to address the problem, and last month….
Continue ReadingGrapefruit and Drugs: The Good, the Bad, the Unknown
A couple of recent news reports support the notion that the more we know medicine, the less we know about health. The latest yes/no/maybe answer to a health question concerns grapefruit, a fruit long known to affect how our bodies process drugs. As reported by U.S. News & World Report, patients with incurable cancer who….
Continue ReadingFDA Fires a Warning to Aeroshot
A few weeks ago we wrote about the unknowable contents of energy drinks, particularly caffeine, and their potential to cause problems. Now, the feds are homing in on Aeroshot Breathable Energy, a dietary supplement that promotes its “unique blend of caffeine and B vitamins in a fine powder that dissolves quickly in your mouth.” The….
Continue ReadingEnergy Drinks: Their Contents Are a Mystery
Red Bull. Rockstar. Monster. They could be the names of ultimate fighters or black diamond ski runs, but as any American not living off the grid knows, they are the names of energy drinks, a food category that exploded into consumer consciousness in the late 1990s. Basically, whether marketed as food or dietary supplements, they….
Continue ReadingFDA Curbs Use of Antibiotics in Animals
Given our propensity to pop an antibiotic at the first sign of a sniffle-and much of the medical establishment’s willingness to gratify this often unwise habit-it’s hard to believe that the use of antibiotics to fight infection has been common practice for only a couple of generations. Like all medications, they come with risks of….
Continue ReadingFDA Must Improve Monitoring of Food Safety
According to a report by the Department of Health and Human Services, every year 128,000 Americans are hospitalized and 3,000 die from food poisoning. The FDA is responsible for safeguarding the food supply and for inspecting food facilities. A recent study addressed concerns about the rigor of these inspections. As reported on the FDA Law….
Continue ReadingHow to Protect Against Listeria
At the end of last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 15 people had died and 84 were ill from eating listeria-contaminated cantaloupes. It’s the deadliest food-borne outbreak in 13 years. Listeria is a bacteria that causes listeriosis, a kind of food poisoning. Every year, according to WebMd, approximately 2,500 people….
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