Category: Issue 481
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Special Issue of Biological Psychiatry Focuses on Food Addiction
The Society of Biological Psychiatry has dedicated the May 1, 2013, edition of its flagship journal, Biological Psychiatry, to the debate over whether “food is, or can be addictive.” According to its introduction, the special issue explores (i) whether food and drugs of abuse share common neurobiological mechanisms; (ii) whether the addiction model can “reasonably”…
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Researchers Claim Industry Policy Submissions Are Unreliable
British-based researchers who closely examined alcohol industry submissions to a 2008 Scottish government consultation on “Changing Scotland’s relationship with alcohol” have distilled the arguments presented and contend that they misrepresent the scientific evidence and should not be considered persuasive. Jim McCambridge, et al., “Industry Use of Evidence to Influence Alcohol Policy: A Case Study of…
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New Study Examines Role of Gut Bacteria in Link Between Lecithin and Cardiovascular Disease
A recent study investigating the link between dietary phosphatidylcholine (lecithin) and the production of trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), “a proatherosclerotic metabolite,” has concluded that “the production of TMAO from dietary phosphatidylcholine is dependent on metabolism by the intestinal microbiota.” W.H. Wilson Tang, et al., “Intestinal Microbial Metabolism of Phosphatidylcholine and Cardiovascular Risk,” The New England Journal of…
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Apples Top EWG List of Most Contaminated Produce
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has issued its 2013 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce, which “ranks pesticide contamination on 48 popular fruits and vegetables, based on an analysis of more than 28,000 samples tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA] and federal [Food and Drug Administration].” This year’s “Clean Fifteen™” list—fruits and vegetables…
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Hispanic Institute Criticizes Food and Beverage Industry in New Report
The Hispanic Institute has published a report advocating regulation of sugary drinks and processed foods to “help reduce alarmingly high rates of obesity among Hispanics.” Titled “Obesity: Hispanic America’s Big Challenge,” the report claims that 40.4 percent of Mexican Americans and 39.1 percent of Hispanics overall are obese, raising concerns about the rising health care…
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Avian Influenza (H7N9) Deemed “One of the Most Lethal” by WHO Leader
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently released the results of its preliminary investigation into a new strain of avian influenza A (H7N9), which WHO Assistant Director-General for Health Security Keiji Fukuda reportedly described as “one of the most lethal influenza viruses we have seen so far.” First identified in China and linked to live poultry…
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Pediatricians Issue Warning over “Cinnamon Challenge”
A recent Pediatrics “Perspectives” article warns physicians and parents about the increasing number of children and adolescents who have attempted the “Cinnamon Challenge,” an impossible prank made popular on the Internet that apparently entails “swallowing a tablespoon of ground cinnamon in 60 seconds without drinking fluids.” Amelia Grant-Alfieri, et al., “Ingesting and Aspirating Dry Cinnamon…
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Public Health Law Fellow Calls for BPA Ban to Encompass All Infant-Contact Products
Arguing that bisphenol A (BPA) exposure is particularly harmful for young children, infants and fetuses “because they lack mature systems of bodily detoxification,” a public health law and policy fellow at the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law has called for governmental entities at every level to prohibit the chemical in any…