/oss/taxonomy/term/2415/all en /oss/article/medical-you-asked/should-you-wipe-back-front-or-front-back <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in</em> <a href="https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the-facts-and-fiction-of-physiological-phenomena-volume-ii/"><em>The Skeptical Inquirer.</em></a></p> Fri, 27 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9691 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-you-asked/does-peeing-after-sex-prevent-utis <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, 11 Aug 2023 06:17:37 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9597 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