/oss/taxonomy/term/228/all en /oss/article/videos/mercola-know-risks <p></p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-y3n9lpiibu4" width="640" height="390" title="Mercola: Know the Risks" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/y3N9LpiibU4?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-y3n9lpiibu4&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="Mercola: Know the Risks" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="">Video of Mercola: Know the Risks</iframe> </div> Mon, 07 Oct 2024 21:34:44 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 10103 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-history/can-vitamin-c-cure-common-cold-hold <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/the-right-chemistry-can-vitamin-c-cure-the-common-cold-hold-on">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> <hr /> <p>There is no question that Linus Pauling was an eminent chemist, given that “eminence” is defined as fame or recognized superiority within a particular sphere or profession. In this case, chemistry.</p> Fri, 22 Mar 2024 17:35:10 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9879 at /oss /oss/article/medical-history/nothing-memorable-about-memory-supplements <hr /> <p>This article was first published in the <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/the-right-chemistry-nothing-memorable-about-memory-supplements">Montreal Gazette.</a></p> Fri, 16 Feb 2024 19:27:08 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9835 at /oss /oss/article/medical-health-and-nutrition-you-asked/vitamin-d-puzzle <p>Walk into any pharmacy or health food store and you will see shelves filled with vitamin D supplements. Then stroll over to a bookstore and you will find all sort of books touting the wonders of the vitamin. Next, search PubMed for articles about vitamin D. There will be thousands, with different conclusions about what constitutes adequate blood levels and how these are to be achieved. Where will that leave you? Confused, I suspect. </p> Wed, 24 Jan 2024 19:27:07 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9815 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/wasabi-more-just-sushi-condiment <p>Wasabi, or “Japanese horseradish,” is a plant in the same family as broccoli, cabbage, mustard, Brussels sprouts, kale, cauliflower and regular horseradish. The common feature here is that these “brassica” plants all contain compounds called glucosinolates and an enzyme, myrosinase that do not come into contact with each other until the plants or their roots are crushed. The chemical reaction that then ensues results in the formation of isothiocyanates, a group of compounds that, at least in the laboratory, have some interesting anti-cancer effects.</p> Thu, 14 Dec 2023 19:49:59 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9758 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/false-reassurance-dietary-supplement-regulation <p>If you are Canadian, you may have seen the letters “NPN” followed by a series of numbers on the packaging of a health product you picked up at the pharmacy, things like vitamin supplements, echinacea, and probiotics. You may even know that this number is given by our regulatory agency, Health Canada, and you may feel relief that these products are being licensed only after their safety and effectiveness have been evaluated.</p> <p>If you are American, you may prefer the borderline unrestricted market you have, where dietary supplements are barely regulated at all.</p> Fri, 06 Oct 2023 16:37:06 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9681 at /oss /oss/article/medical-health-and-nutrition/when-it-comes-taking-medicine-its-not-only-matter-what-also-how <p>Serendipitous discoveries are legendary in science. Fleming’s discovery of penicillin, Perkin’s of mauve, Silver’s of post-it notes, Roentgen’s of x-rays, Fahlberg’s of saccharin, Plunkett’s of Teflon, Spencer’s of microwave cooking, Becquerel’s of radioactivity, Goodyear’s of vulcanized rubber, de Mestral’s of Velcro, Benedictus’ of safety glass, and Pfizer’s discovery of Viagra all were accidental findings in the sense that they were not the result of a search for a particular goal. To their credit, all these scientists were able to capitalize on their chance observation. Dr.</p> Wed, 27 Sep 2023 10:00:00 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9655 at /oss /oss/article/medical-health-and-nutrition/who-needs-guts <p>Imagine not being able to eat a meal with family or friends. That is the case for people who have a condition known as short bowel syndrome (SBS). When large segments of the intestines are missing, often due to surgery for disease or trauma, patients can be left with insufficient bowel to absorb dietary nutrients and fluids, also called intestinal failure. These processes normally take place in the small intestine (i.e., absorption of ingested carbohydrate, fat, protein and vitamins) and large intestine (i.e., water absorption).</p> Fri, 08 Sep 2023 10:00:00 +0000 Patricia Brubaker, Ph.D., F.R.S.C. 9623 at /oss /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking/berberine-dont-swallow-hype-or-pill <p>Are you kidding me? “Nature’s Ozempic"? Really? That message is spreading like wildfire on TikTok about berberine, a compound found in plants such as barberry, golden seal and meadow rue that have a long history of use in Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Why the comparison with Ozempic, Novo Nordisk’s brand name for its anti-diabetes drug, semaglutide? Because semaglutide has turned out to have an unanticipated side effect. Weight loss!</p> Thu, 22 Jun 2023 18:13:42 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9554 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition-history/different-twist-dose-makes-poison <p>Mithridates VI ruled the ancient Asian kingdom of Pontus in the first century. The king was terrified of being poisoned—not an unreasonable worry, given that assassins at the time were adept at using plant and animal toxins to dispatch enemies. But Mithridates was determined not to be done in by poison hemlock, henbane, snake venom or any other such poison. He had an idea: Why not try to protect himself by taking small amounts of poisons to develop a tolerance to larger doses? Today we know that it is possible to develop immunity to substances; after all, that’s how allergy shots work.</p> Wed, 08 Mar 2023 16:00:38 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9428 at /oss /oss/article/medical-health-and-nutrition/take-biotin-most-better-save-your-money <hr /> <p><em>This article was originally posted in the <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-take-biotin-for-most-better-to-save-your-money">Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> Fri, 24 Feb 2023 11:00:00 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 9415 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition-pseudoscience/oh-my-there-cyanide-b12-supplements-really <p>There are many things in life to worry about but cyanide in vitamin B12 supplements is not one of them. Why do I bring this up? Because of a video that has been circulating about “the toxic ingredient in your child’s vitamins.” In the video, a man drones on about how he finds it “hard to believe that we are allowed to make vitamins out of hydrogen cyanide in this country, but we are.” That man turns out to be Gary Brecka, who labels himself a “human biologist,”  whatever that may mean, on the basis of having a BS in Human Biology from National College of Chiropractic. Not exactly Harvard.</p> Fri, 19 Aug 2022 10:00:00 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9203 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-history/no-silver-lining-colloidal-silver <p>As early as the ancient dynasties of Egypt, silver coins were placed in the drinking vessels of the nobility to protect them from harm.  Of course, this was not the result of any scientific investigation, the practice probably originated from some superstitious belief about the magical properties of precious metals.  Over the years it became apparent that the silver coins really did have an effect, they kept water from becoming slimy.  Storage of water in silver vessels was an obvious extension of this observation, affording the well-to-do some protection from water-borne diseases that were</p> Wed, 13 Oct 2021 16:35:44 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8896 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health/does-vitamin-d-protect-against-covid-seems-not <hr /> <p>This article was originally published in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-does-vitamin-d-protect-against-covid-seems-not">the Montreal Gazette</a></p> <hr /> <p>One of the major arguments used by people who want to downplay the seriousness of this pandemic or the importance of vaccines is to raise the issue of Vitamin D.</p> Fri, 25 Jun 2021 23:38:18 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 8771 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health-pseudoscience/upside-down-doctor <p>Dr. Joe Mercola, an osteopathic physician who has made an impressive fortune selling supplements through his online store, has a new book out about the COVID-19 pandemic, a book which he co-authored with Ronnie Cummins, an organic food crusader. This book, as well as Mercola’s decades of peddling health misinformation on the Internet, exemplifies the dangerous blind spot of the wellness movement.</p> Fri, 04 Jun 2021 20:40:54 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8757 at /oss