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Health Effects of Loneliness
People have had to socially distance because of the pandemic, bringing more attention to the health effects of isolation and loneliness, and there is alarming news: According to the National Institute on Aging, the health risks of prolonged isolation are equivalent to smoking fifteen cigarettes a day (Kroll 2022). Social isolation and loneliness have even been …
This article is available for free to all.Antioxidants: The Hype and the Reality
Everyone is talking about antioxidants, but misconceptions abound. For example, I just received an email that described antioxidants as âthe ability to soak up toxins in the body.â One dictionary definition of an antioxidant is â(1) a substance that inhibits oxidation, especially one used to counteract the deterioration of stored food products [and] (2) a …
Understanding Gluten
Until a few years ago, few people had even heard of gluten. Now going on a gluten-free diet has become a popular fad. People diagnosed with celiac disease must avoid gluten to prevent symptoms, but others are avoiding gluten for questionable reasonsâor for no reason at all. I watched a TV program where the host …
An Explanation for Gulf War Illness
When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, a coalition of thirty-nine countries responded. A total of 382 American troops died. Those who survived deployments to the 1990â1991 Gulf War theater of operations and returned to the United States may have been safe from combat, but they were not âsafe and sound.â Thirty-seven percent of them were …
Medical Tests to Avoid
When I first started looking into chiropractic, I read about one of its continuing medical education (CME) offerings. CME for physicians is intended to update their knowledge so they can treat patients more effectively. This chiropractic CME course didnât try to inform chiropractors about new knowledge from recent studies (there isnât much new chiropractic research) …
This article is available for free to all.Misconceptions about Vitamins
In 1747, one of the first controlled clinical trials in the history of medical science involved vitamin C, though the researcher had no idea what a vitamin was; the vitamin wasnât discovered until 1912. Scurvy, a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency, was rampant in the British Royal Navy, disabling and killing more sailors than …
This article is available for free to all.The Prince of Alternative Medicine
Itâs common knowledge that Prince Charles is a persistent and outspoken champion of alternative medicine, but the full story has never been toldâuntil now. Edzard Ernst reveals all the shocking details in this unauthorized biography. The shocks come from Charlesâs own words, which Ernst quotes extensively. It is ironic that Charlesâs supporters were responsible for …
The Worldâs Most Deadly Animal
Animals can be hazardous to human health. When asked to name the most dangerous animal, many people will give the wrong answer. Sharks have captured the attention of the public, and other animals that kill people may come to mind, such as black widow spiders, rabid dogs, and venomous snakes. And donât forget the human …
The Science (and Pseudoscience) of Aging
Some animals (such as hydras and some jellyfish) can apparently live forever, but we humans are all going to die. Longevity is desirable, but agingâa slow process of deteriorationâis not. Hearing declines (half of those older than seventy-five have disabling hearing loss), as does visual acuity (by age eighty, 70 percent of white Americans have …
This article is available for free to all.Observational Studies and Experimental Studies
Medical research studies can be divided into two types: observational and experimental. Observational studies simply observe the effect of a variable in a population. They can assess the strength of a relationship, for instance between dietary factors and disease. Are vegetarians less likely to develop cancer? Are patients treated with a new diabetes drug less …