From cancer to heart disease and many things in between, the health effects of smoking tobacco are well known. But a new report from the United Nation’s World Health Organization tries to show how all this smoke has affected the environment. [More]
health
CDC Politely Reminds You: Please Don’t Go In The Pool If You’ve Had Diarrhea
By 5.19.17
With public pools opening up for the summer season, the time has come once again for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue its yearly plea: Please, if you have diarrhea or aren’t feeling well, don’t go swimming. [More]
Raw Dairy Products Cause 840 Times More Illnesses Than Pasteurized
By 5.10.17
Unpasteurized cow’s milk — and the cheeses made from it — have a small but growing number of fans who prefer it to the pasteurized products that make up the overwhelming majority of what’s available. However, those “raw” milk products are responsible for nearly every case of dairy-related foodborne ailments in the U.S. [More]
Customers Urged To Return 16.9-Ounce Bottles Of Pepsi Over Metallic Flecks
By 5.9.17
After more than a dozen consumers in Michigan reported tasting something more in their bottles of Pepsi than they bargained for, the state’s health department issued a warning that customers should return certain 16-ounce bottle of the soda that may contain flakes of metal. [More]
Antique Shaving Brushes Could Come With Free Vintage Anthrax
By 5.2.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
We know you can’t wait to rush home from the flea market to bust out that newly acquired antique shaving brush, and put it to use getting rid of your wintry fur. But before you lather up with your historically accurate brush, be aware that there’s a chance it may be carrying some era-appropriate anthrax. [More]
Panera & Chipotle Are Totally In A Fight Right Now
By 3.29.17
Don’t think fast food companies are taking consumers’ preference for “clean” food seriously? Just look at the war of words that has erupted this week between Chipotle and Panera Bread. [More]
Raw Oysters Linked To Norovirus Outbreak In Seattle
By 3.29.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
There could be something extra lurking in shellfish folks have been eating in Seattle, and it’s not a tasty mignonette: Health officials say they’re investigating a possible norovirus outbreak after multiple reports of people falling ill after eating raw oysters. [More]
Olive Garden Is Betting On Healthier Fare To Bring Back Customers
By 3.29.17
When you think of Olive Garden, you likely imagine heaps upon heaps of pasta(often covered in a cream sauce) and a neverending march of cheese-dusted breadsticks — essentially, the opposite of health food. But the chain is betting one of its newly revamped lower-calorie pasta dishes will help turn around slumping sales. [More]
FDA Links 9 Deaths, Rare Form Of Cancer, To Breast Implants
By 3.22.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
When you introduce a medical device into your body, there’s always the chance that things could go awry: For example, a breast implant could shift, leak, or otherwise interfere with your health. Now, after years of studying the issue, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says there appears to be a connection between breast implants and a rare form of cancer that has claimed at least nine lives. [More]
State Says “Drinkable Sunscreen” Is “Flat-Out Dangerous”
By 3.17.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Instead of slathering yourself with messy sunscreen, wouldn’t it be a lot easier if you could just drink a magic potion that would protect you from harmful UV rays? One product says it can do just that, but the state of Iowa alleges that such claims are not only unproven, but dangerous. [More]
Why Do So Many Men Get Vasectomies During March Madness?
By 3.16.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Maybe you’re watching the NCAA men’s basketball tournament on a small window on your work computer, or on your strategically placed smartphone at your desk. There’s also a higher than usual chance that you’re enjoying March Madness while recovering from your very recent vasectomy. [More]
Senators Pitch Last-Minute Attempt To Exempt Pizza Places From New Menu Labeling Law
By 2.23.17
On May 5, 2017, new federal regulations finalized three years ago will go into effect that require chain restaurants with 20 or more outlets to post calorie counts on their menus, as well as on food items sold in vending machines and snack bars. Before that happens, lawmakers in the Senate have introduced a bill to make a few revisions. What would those revisions mean for consumers faced with making mealtime decisions? [More]
NYC Investigating After Rare Disease Transmitted Through Rat Urine Kills Victim
By 2.15.17
New York City officials have a mystery on their hands: There have been three recent cases of humans falling ill — including one fatality — with a rare disease that’s transmitted through rat urine, all in the same neighborhood of the Bronx. [More]
Sodium Warnings Will Stay On The Menu In NYC After Court Ruling
By 2.10.17
Nine months after a New York court denied a request from a restaurant trade group to stop New York City’s rule requiring warning labels on foods high in sodium from going into effect. The eateries took their gripe to an appeals court, which today ruled that these warnings aren’t going anywhere. [More]
A Supplement Company Sued Over Research It Didn’t Like… And Lost
By 2.8.17
Unlike FDA-approved medications, makers of dietary supplements are not required to demonstrate that their products are safe or effective. That shouldn’t stop independent researchers from doing their own tests to find out if a product works or is dangerous, but when one Harvard professor tried to do just that, supplement makers tried to shut him up.. [More]
Study: Baseball Teams More Likely To Have A Bad Game Due To Jet Lag When Flying East
By 1.23.17
Playing at least 81 games on the road, sometimes thousands of miles from home and in a different time zone, will eventually have an effect on even the most fit professional baseball player, but is there a correlation between distance (and direction) traveled and performance? [More]
Unhappy Guests Claim Bahamas Resort Infested With Bed Bugs
By 1.19.17
Regardless of how much time you spend outside in the sun, sand, and surf when you’re on vacation, you still want to be able to end your day in a bed that is nice and clean. Yet some guests at a popular Bahamas resort say they were attacked by a colony of bed bugs living in their hotel room. [More]
What Is Making American Airlines Flight Attendants Sick?
By 1.18.17
For months, American Airlines flight attendants have claimed their new uniforms are causing itchy rashes and hives, while the airline and the maker of the uniform have denied any problem with the apparel. Which raises the question: If it’s not the uniforms, then what is making the flight attendants sick? [More]
