/oss/taxonomy/term/1453/all en /oss/article/videos-quackery/medical-medium-practicing-medicine-cs25 <p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-1up01-x29x8" width="640" height="390" title="Is the Medical Medium Practicing Medicine? (CS25)" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/1uP01-X29X8?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-1up01-x29x8&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="Is the Medical Medium Practicing Medicine? (CS25)" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>Video of Is the Medical Medium Practicing Medicine? (CS25)</iframe> </div> </p> Fri, 18 Jan 2019 17:50:52 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 7543 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/cranberry-ups-and-downs <p>It used to be that when you mentioned “cranberries,” people thought of turkeys and their taste buds.  Today, they are as likely to think of their bladders because just about everyone has heard stories about how cranberry juice is supposed to prevent, or even treat, urinary tract infections.  Does it?  How would one find out?  Well, researchers at Yale University designed a pretty clever experiment.  They collected urine from three volunteers and then gave them 4 ounces of cranberry juice to drink.  Four to six hours later they again collected urine, after which they repeated the experiment </p> Fri, 24 Nov 2017 20:50:07 +0000 Joe Schwarcz, PhD 6831 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-health/cranberry-juice-utis <p>Despite the common belief that cranberry juice or pills can prevent, or even cure, a urinary tract infection, science has determined that it actually had no effect. Some people believe that cranberries can make the urine more acidic, killing the e. coli bacteria that cause UTI’s, and while cranberries do lower the urine’s pH, they don’t do so greatly enough, nor for long enough, for bacteria to die.</p> Tue, 23 May 2017 16:39:33 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 2475 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-nutrition/orange-juice-follies <p>The orange juice market is huge.  Unfortunately some processors try to cut corners by extending the juice with sugar, pulpwash and water.  But the ruse can be detected by some clever science.  Oxygen in nature occurs as two possible isotopes, O-16 and O-18, which differ slightly in mass.  The natural abundance of O-18 is only about 0.2%, but it is more abundant in water in growing plants because the heavier isotope is less likely to evaporate.</p> Thu, 11 May 2017 01:02:41 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2434 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-food-health-news/orange-juice-producer-being-squeezed <p>We all have habits.  One of mine is to start every day with a glass of orange juice.  Freshly squeezed would be ideal, but frankly, too much of a bother.  So I go for the one that says “100% pure and natural, nothing added, nothing taken away, just oranges.”  My preference has nothing to do with the “pure” or “natural,” it has to do with taste.  But I certainly took note when I came across a report that a class action lawsuit had been launched in the U.S. against my favorite juice, Tropicana.  What horrific toxin had been uncovered, I wondered?  Actually, none.</p> Fri, 24 Jan 2014 23:26:18 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2078 at /oss /oss/article/food-health-you-asked/it-true-cherry-juice-has-health-benefits <p>When I was young, the first official day of summer for me was not June 21st. It didn’t matter what the weather was, summer did not really begin until the day my mother made cold sour cherry soup from the first freshly picked tart cherries of the season. What a delight that was! I wolfed down bowlfuls because it tasted so good. I didn’t even dream that it might actually be good for me!</p> Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:51:53 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1746 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/welchs-grape-juice <p>Woodrow Wilson’s secretary of state, William Jennings Bryan, was ridiculed in 1913 for serving Welch’s grape juice instead of wine at a dinner honoring the British ambassador. This proved to be quite helpful for Welch’s. The publicity helped them become a household name. (“100% juice!”)</p> Tue, 21 Feb 2017 04:39:34 +0000 Emily Shore, B.A, Dipl. PR Management 1501 at /oss /oss/article/health/grapefruit-growers-dont-know-whether-laugh-or-cry <p>As you might expect, the situation is more complicated than it first seems.</p> Wed, 15 Feb 2017 20:27:08 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1454 at /oss