It is all so unpredictably zany…
Today in the News
Millions wasting their time trying to get fit, says study
Apparently exercise is a complete waste of time for about 20% of the population. Of course, that means for 80% of New Zealanders it is every bit as good for you as doctors have been making out. However, [...]

I would imagine that there is nothing scarier for a teacher than to be confronted by a child having a full-blown allergic reaction to something. It is pretty stressful for emergency-trained doctors and nurses so it must be doubly so for a non-medical person. Schools have the dilemma of wishing to reduce the risk of [...]

At first glance the proposal by the World Health organization to ban all junk food advertising to children seems a reasonable thing to do. After all, we know that the ban on advertising tobacco has been shown to decrease the prevalence of smoking significantly. It would seem logical that banning junk food ads aimed at [...]

New research on folic acid has largely dismissed the cancer concerns that led to the Government’s going cold on plans for its mandatory addition to bread.
Ah yes, these would be the cancer concerns that every doctor and scientist (as opposed to journalist, baker  and blogger) said were blown out of all proportion and were a [...]

I read with some horror that a Herald on Sunday investigation has found an energy drink with 3333mg caffeine per litre in it. The Demon Energy Shot, which contains this horrendous amount of caffeine, gets around the Food Standard Authority regulations (which restricts caffeine to a level of 320mg per litre) by calling itself a [...]

Otago university has just presented a study suggesting that healthy food is subsidized for the poor.
Discount cards or vouchers for cut-price, healthy food have been proposed for the poor and chronically ill.
Research by an Otago University health economist proposes a food-discount system similar to the food stamps distributed to the poor in the United States.
At [...]

In an interesting turn about, Professor Michael McMahon of Nuffield Health claims that overweight celebrities are seen as role models, which may help to make being overweight acceptable.
Professor McMahon, a expert on keyhole surgery, said: “The increasing profile of larger celebrities, for example James Corden, Eamonn Holmes, Ruth Jones and Beth Ditto, means that being [...]

And here is yet another study on bottled water that contributes absolutely nothing to the debate on which is better. The actual study can be found here in PDF format. The study itself is really as worthless as the article, although it does point out that the (mind-bogglingly obvious) reason that bottled water is so [...]

Katherine Rich gives her considered opinion in the Herald today on the subject of the supplementation of folate in bread. Ms. Rich at least addresses other issues than “Nanny state” concerns, citing the possible link between folate and prostate cancer and the unknowns involved in over-supplementing children.
Folate fortification has been going on for a decade in [...]

Shaun Holt of Natural Remedies That Work fame has been at it again. He has just published a study detailing the type of advice from health shop attendants given to a “client” who was pretending to have severe, untreated blood pressure. Only one of 26 attendants suggested seeing a doctor. Most suggested a garlic-containing compound of some [...]