/oss/taxonomy/term/4195/all en /oss/article/environment-general-science/niagara-falls-and-nebulous-positive-effects-negative-ions <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/the-right-chemistry-niagara-falls-and-the-nebulous-positive-effects-of-negative-ions">The Montreal Gazette</a>.</em></p> Fri, 19 Apr 2024 19:19:33 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9920 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/sour-hype-about-apple-cider-vinegar <p>It was a bestseller in 1615! “The English Huswife,” by Gervase Markham, was one of the first compilations of culinary and medical recipes ever published. Wildly popular despite the fact that at the time only about ten percent of women were literate, it offered medical advice for conditions such as “red saucy face,” “griefs in the stomach” and “pissing in bed.” The sketchy recommendations ranged from “curatives” such as simple parsley to the more exotic dried stag’s pizzle. If you are wondering, that was the Middle English word for the male appendage.</p> Thu, 24 Aug 2023 19:46:15 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9607 at /oss /oss/article/health-nutrition/whats-deal-apple-cider-vinegar <p>There are plenty of books, pamphlets and ads promoting apple cider vinegar as a “nutritional power house” that fights cancer, curbs arthritis, reduces blood pressure, dissolves fat, cleans out “bad” cholesterol, reduces fatigue, treats ulcers and even improves memory. Sometimes, though, regulatory authorities get fed up with the unsubstantiated blather.</p> Fri, 29 Nov 2019 16:40:46 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8011 at /oss