American Council on Science and Health, 2011: Week 47

The presence of linked articles here are merely a way of showing what is going on, whether I agree or disagree with the positions presented. Rich Kozlovich

AIDS

Fewer people dying from HIV, more people living with it
Treatment for HIV-infected patients is more effective than ever before, the United Nations AIDS program (UNAIDS) has just reported.

ALL NATURAL

Unregulated, ineffective...and maybe dangerous
Taking herbal supplements, we've often observed, is rarely a great idea.

Whistle blown on milk thistle supplement
A study just presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases has found that, despite its popularity, milk thistle extract provides no benefit for hepatitis C patients.

DIET

Americans being peppered with more confusing salt info
Flying in the face of the USDA's extremely stringent recommendations for population-wide sodium consumption, a recent study reports that low sodium consumption may actually increase a person's cardiovascular risk.

Soy silly: From the department of nutritional trivia
In other nonsense news, a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds that people who eat a lot of unfermented soy products, such as tofu or soy milk, have a 23 percent lower risk of lung cancer than those who eat the least amount.

Up-close and personal, as well as online, can help counter obesity
Two studies on obesity just published in the New England Journal of Medicine both found that primary care physicians (PCPs) can deliver safe and effective weight-loss interventions.

PHARMA

Statins outperform expectations — even after you stop
A recent study published in The Lancet finds that taking a statin to lower levels of cholesterol - especially the "bad" type, LDL - provides long-term benefits with low levels of risk.

No Rx for ailing drug industry
The pharmaceutical industry has been struggling. How bad is it? A report on Monday from Deloitte and Thompson Reuters reveals that investment returns from the research and development (R&D) of new drugs have fallen nearly 30 percent in the last year alone.

Dr. Bloom's Blog
After 300,000 job losses in the pharmaceutical industry in the past decade, some Novartis employees in Switzerland finally took a stand, writes ACSH's Dr. Josh Bloom in his latest blog post for Medical Progress Today.

The Avastin decision: Science, emotion, and politics collide
After an FDA advisory panel unanimously voted in June to revoke the approval of the drug Avastin as a treatment for advanced breast cancer, FDA commissioner Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg announced last week that the agency will support the committee's recommendation and rescind approval.

SCARES AND CONSEQUENCES

Toying with science once again
In what has become an annual tradition, the activist organization Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) has released a list of so-called dangerous toys that parents should avoid buying this holiday season.

Harvard wants “no soup (cans) for you!”
A new study from the Harvard School of Public Health reports that eating canned soup significantly raises the concentration of the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) in urine.

Some trash talk about cleaning products
Yet another previously unknown anti-chemical "environmental" group has issued a scare screed alleging that hidden toxic chemicals in various household cleaning products may be poisoning us without our knowledge.

TOBACCO

No loopholes in tobacco health risks
New York City's roll-your-own (RYO) cigarette shops are getting attention due to the city's attempt to end what they deem illicit tax avoidance by the RYO makers.

If there is a health scare today, the American Council on Science and Health will most likely have the answer by tomorrow; and for members it will appear in your e-mail. No effort on your part, except to read the answer. All that the ACSH is interested in are the facts and they are prepared to follow them wherever they lead. Who can ask for more?  Please Donate Now!

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