It Took Only 54 Years for the FDA to Ban This Food Additive
Plus: Nagging Back Pain? Walk it Off
It Took Only 54 Years for the FDA to Ban This Food Additive
The list of ingredients on foods sold in American grocery stores and restaurants are often much longer than the same foods sold in Europe. The reason is simple: The FDA allows many food additives that are banned in Europe and other countries. Take brominated vegetable oil (BVO), for example:
The UK banned BVO in 1970, India in 1990, the EU in 2008 and Japan in 2010. Research showed that consuming large amounts could lead to kidney damage. Other studies found negative effects on the thyroid with bromine.
—Dr. Julian Barkan
Nagging Back Pain? Walk it Off
It might seem counterintuitive, but walking is among the best treatments for many cases of chronic back pain. New research confirms the value of this helpful remedy by measuring how back pain was alleviated, and kept at bay, among people who took up daily walking compared to a control group.
"It not only improved people's quality of life," said Natasha Pocovi, PhD, a health sciences research at Macquarie University, and lead author, "but it reduced their need both to seek health care support and the amount of time taken off work by approximately half."
—Annie Foley
How to Take Care of Future You
No matter how old you are now, what you eat today could determine your health and well-being years and even decades from now. A healthy way of eating leans into fruits, vegetables, beans and seeds, and leans away from red meat, sugar and highly processed food that’s barely food. You’ve probably heard all that before. So what else is new?
Well, three brand new studies are what’s new, each with preliminary but intriguing findings that offer much to chew on for anyone who wants to stay on this good Earth for a while and hopes to be capable and coherent to the end.
—Robert Roy Britt
Why You Shouldn't Mix These Medications With Alcohol
Alcohol can be dangerous when mixed with medications for pain, diabetes, cholesterol, mental health conditions and even the common cold. The medical community fails to fully warn patients, contends this writer, a former nurse and recovering alcoholic. Here, she shoots straight about the risks.
Public education is sorely lacking about the interactions between alcohol and medications used for common physical and mental health issues. There are a lot of serious health risks associated with these interactions, and if you take any of these medications and drink regularly, you may want to consider cutting back or quitting alcohol altogether.
—Gillian May
Raw Milk Health Risks Grow
Despite an ongoing outbreak of bird flu in dairy cows, the popularity of raw milk has only risen. Advocates claim raw milk has superior health benefits over pasteurized milk. There is little evidence to support these claims, however, and the risk of serious illness is much greater.
Raw milk has been associated with hundreds of foodborne disease outbreaks. Between 1998 and 2018, 202 outbreaks resulted in 2,645 illnesses and 228 hospitalizations. More recently, from 2022 to 2023, there were 18 outbreaks and recalls associated with raw milk. A number of outbreaks and recalls associated with pathogens in raw milk have already occurred in 2024. In all cases, pathogens in the raw milk that cause human diseases were directly responsible for these illnesses.
— Juan Silva, Joel Komakech and Mandy Conrad