/oss/taxonomy/term/1733/all en /oss/article/aging-controversial-science-food-health-news-supplements/souvenaid <p>I suspect we will soon be hearing a lot about "Souvenaid," a dietary supplement that is supposed to be of some help in the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease. It was developed by Dr. Richard Wurtman of MIT, a very reputable researcher and the formulation of Souvenaid is based on legitimate science, but unfortunately the evidence for its effectiveness is virtually negligible.</p> Sun, 06 Jul 2014 00:59:57 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2164 at /oss /oss/article/aging-health-news-supplements/pills-brain <p>Pop this pill and improve your memory. Swallow that one and reduce your cognitive decline. We see ads for such products all the time and I suspect they will increase as the baby boomers reach senior citizenhood. The most popular brain boosting supplements are fish oil pills and they are also probably the best studied ones. The results are not encouraging. When all the studies are pooled, we are left with the possibility of a barely significant improvement in recalling lists of words soon after they have been learned, but the effect does not last.</p> Thu, 15 Jan 2015 16:18:08 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2230 at /oss /oss/article/health-news/question-evidence <p>When we take a medication, we trust there is evidence that it will work. When we apply a cosmetic, we trust there is evidence that it is safe. When we put on a sunscreen, we trust there is evidence that it filters ultraviolet light. But evidence is not white or black; it runs the gamut from anecdotal to incontrovertible.</p> Sat, 26 Sep 2015 10:15:28 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2285 at /oss