/oss/taxonomy/term/2343/all en /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-you-asked/no-need-avoid-dairy-when-youre-sick <hr /> <p> <em>This article was first published in</em> <a href="https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the-fact-and-fiction-of-physiological-phenomena-volume-i/" target="_blank" title="‌"><em>The Skeptical Inquirer.</em></a></p> Fri, 18 Aug 2023 16:00:52 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9601 at /oss /oss/article/environment-you-asked/does-weather-really-cause-headaches <p>When the weather forecast foretells a coming storm, some get out not only their umbrella and wellies but also the Advil. The weather has been blamed for ailments from arthritis flare-ups to coughs, but is it culpable when it comes to headaches?</p> Fri, 04 Aug 2023 16:59:27 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9595 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-environment/look-dont-lick <p>We are used to getting warnings. The bisphenol A in canned foods will do you in. So will artificial sweeteners. Sugar too. Those yoga pants you wear? They may be rubbing those nasty perfluoroalkyl substances into your skin. And as if we didn’t have enough to worry about, the National Park Service in the U.S. warns us to refrain from licking the Sonoran desert toad, also known as the Colorado River toad. I think if I met one of these half-foot long warty creatures in the desert, I could overcome the temptation to pick it up and lick it.</p> Wed, 07 Dec 2022 17:00:00 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9314 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health/i-felt-sick-after-getting-vaccine-why <p>Many years ago, I received the flu shot for the very first time and, later that day, I began to feel sick. Fatigue, body temperature on the rise and a general unease made me think I actually had the flu. “Why get a flu shot if it’s going to give you the flu?” I thought at the time and skipped that shot for a few years before being convinced to get it again.</p> Fri, 09 Apr 2021 19:15:21 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8693 at /oss /oss/article/health/we-still-prescribe-too-many-antibiotics <p> </p> <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in</em><span> </span><a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-we-still-prescribe-too-many-antibiotics">The Montreal Gazette<span>.</span></a></p> Wed, 26 Feb 2020 20:59:48 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 8154 at /oss /oss/article/health/cancer-and-weight-loss <p>The cause of the weight loss is complex. It’s partly due to loss of appetite resulting from the disease itself or the nausea and vomiting that can accompany chemotherapy.</p> <p>However, loss of appetite alone cannot explain the weight loss. Complex metabolic changes occur when patients suffer from cachexia and to some extent they are irreversible. Patients suffering from malnutrition can reverse their weight loss but not those suffering from cachexia.</p> Thu, 09 Jan 2020 21:15:32 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 8075 at /oss /oss/article/health-nutrition-videos/right-chemistry-elderberry-extract-may-help-colds-or-flu <p></p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"></div> Fri, 15 Nov 2019 20:27:12 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7998 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/h3n2-influenza-why-it-called-h3n2 <p>It may seem as if flu viruses get chosen based on a sluggish and never-ending game of bingo.</p> <p>H1N1? … Does anyone have H1N1?</p> <p>The next number is… H7N9. Please check your cards, the number is H7N9….</p> <p>H5N1… do we have a bingo? Please bring your card in to be validated. The prizes tonight include congestion, fever, and sore throat.</p> <p>The majority of flu cases this season are said to be “A(H3N2)”. Who comes up with these designations and what do they mean? As is often (but not always) the case in science, there is a method to this apparent madness.</p> Tue, 09 Jan 2018 23:49:20 +0000 Jonathan Jarry, MSc 6876 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-health/plane-air-doesnt-make-you-sick <p>It’s time to put to rest the idea that plane air will make you sick. While the thought makes sense, as the air on a plane is indeed recycled, and the many passengers are spreading their germs into it, this misconception forgets one major part of plane’s ventilation system- HEPA filters. These filters are the same ones trusted to keep hospital surgical units clean, and plane air is re-circulated, and therefore re-filtered 20-30 times per hour. It’s also important to remember that only about 50% of air on a plane is recycled.</p> Thu, 11 May 2017 21:44:47 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 2440 at /oss /oss/article/news/time-flu-shot <p>Influenza is a nasty illness. It isn’t just a bad cold. This viral infection kills up to half a million people in the world every year. And that’s in a good year. In a bad year, like 1968, the Hong Kong flu killed a million people and back in 1918-20 the Spanish Flu sickened about 500 million and resulted in over 20 million deaths. So it seems that if there is an effective way to reduce the risk of catching and spreading this nasty bug we should take advantage of it. And there is. The annual flu vaccine. Does it work 100 percent of the time? No. No medication does.</p> Thu, 22 Nov 2012 21:05:03 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1829 at /oss