You may have heard talk of the benefits of intermittent fasting through alternative health sources across the internet during the last several years. It's been all the rage. Essentially, intermittent fasting is when you voluntarily eat less, or nothing at all, for a period of time.
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The biology of coffee, the world’s most popular drink
You’re reading this with a cup of coffee in your hand, aren’t you? Coffee is the most popular drink in the world. Americans drink more coffee than soda, juice and tea — combined.
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New Year’s anxiety hangover? Here’s what’s happening in your brain
Have you ever woken up in the morning (or afternoon) in a cloud of worry after having a few drinks the night before?
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How junk food shapes the developing teenage brain
Obesity is increasing worldwide, especially among children and teenagers. More than 150 million children in the world are obese in 2019. These children have increased risk of heart disease, cancers and Type 2 diabetes.
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In search of safe replacements for harmful chemicals used in cookware, carpets, clothing, cosmetics and more
When Donald Taves discovered two kinds of fluoride in his blood in the late 1960s, he immediately knew something was wrong. Everyone assumed that blood contained just one type of fluoride, a naturally occurring form that health officials added to drinking water to prevent cavities. But levels in people’s blood didn’t seem to relate to those found in their water…
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Most Americans drink fluoridated water. Is that a good thing?
If you’re like many Americans, you drink fluoridated water without questioning its safety or efficacy. For decades municipalities have been adding fluoride to water supplies to reduce the incidence of tooth decay at the advice of numerous highly credentialed entities, including the World Health Organization, the U.S. Public Health Service, the American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
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Which diet makes best use of farmland? You might be surprised.
Vegetarian? Omnivore? Vegan? What should we eat if we want to feed a growing population while minimizing the need to farm more land? We know that meat-based meals require more farmland than plant-based ones. But which diet is the best fit for the mix of croplands and grazing land that supports agriculture today? That’s a different question with a potentially…
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The developing world is awash in pesticides. Does it have to be?
In today’s globalized world, it is not inconceivable that one might drink coffee from Colombia in the morning, munch cashews from Vietnam for lunch and gobble grains from Ethiopia for dinner. That we can enjoy these products is thanks, in large part, to expanded pesticide use across the developing world.
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What’s in those new plastic pipes delivering drinking water?
The calls and e-mails arrive as often as several times a week from people with concerns about drinking water. Some of the callers — who include homeowners, architects and builders — want to know why their water smells like gasoline. Others want to know which kinds of pipes to install to minimize risks of exposure to hazardous chemicals.
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Who’s keeping organic food honest?
If you live in the U.S., chances are you are among the 84 percent of American consumers who purchase organic food. Whether you buy it at the grocery store or the farmers market, you trust that food marketed as organic has been raised without toxic chemicals, using farming methods that are environmentally sustainable. At a minimum, you expect organic farmers…
