Writ of Mainprize

With the multitude of health supplements out there, it’s difficult to figure out which ones work and which ones do not. Ideally, we’d follow the results of good scientific studies that have been corroborated by other studies. Unfortunately, wading through the results is extremely difficult. There is a good attempt and collating some of the results and categorizing the benefits by the reliability of the evidence. The people at Information is Beautiful have made a very nice bubble visualization of a whole host of supplements …

Well, flu season is upon us and this year all the worry is on the H1N1 virus that is poised to become a pandemic. There’s lots of information and disinformation out there that makes it quite confusing. If you have questions, read on. Hopefully I can help point you in the right direction.
There is an excellent Flu Shot FAQ on the background for the flu and flu vaccines at Mental Floss, that seems quite sensible and informative. Another excellent but extremely long article helps dispel some of …

The cordyceps fungus is about as freaky as mother nature gets. Imagine a parasite that, when it gets inside you, begins to alter your behaviour. It essentially begins controlling your mind. In the case of a cordyceps-infected ant, it forces the ant to climb to a high point, perhaps high atop a lonely branch. There, the ant dies and the fungus bursts from its body, spreading spores in the wind. Soon more insects are infected and forced into the macabre dance of the cordyceps.

O.k. I’ve always looked at personal health care products (soaps, shampoos, cremes, cosmetics, etc) with a jaundiced eye. Often it industry comes across as unregulated and they make unverified claims of efficacy. From a Reddit , there was a link to a really good site describing the action of the ingredients in a typical shampoo:

Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate
The detergents that clean your hair
Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Sodium Benzoate
Preservatives to stop the shampoo from becoming contaminated! Ew!
Disodium EDTA, Citric Acid, and Sodium Citrate
PH balance to help cleaning and stability
Dimethicone …

Homeopathy is a waste of time, effort and money. It kills. Even the World Health Organization has issued a statement regarding the utter lack of evidence. A BBC piece summarizes their stand. Unfortunately, in an effort to maintain “balance” they also get statements from Paula Ross the chief executive of the Society of Homeopaths who ladles out a crock of shit regarding the “evidence” of homeopathy helping childhood diarrhea. See “Analysis of homeopathic treatment of childhood diarrhea. “ (critique of article appearing in ‘Pediatrics,’ …