/oss/taxonomy/term/4377/all en /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/health-and-nutrition-pseudoscience/here-be-homeopathic-chameleons <p>In the fight against pseudoscience, the idea that simply providing more information works every time has been questioned these last decades. The thinking used to be simplistic: when non-experts disagree with scientists, it must be because they lack the correct information. But as we have seen in the growing struggle against the anti-vaccination movement, feelings don’t care about facts. When your identity is shaped by pseudoscientific beliefs, you have made your brain more or less impervious to facts.</p> Sat, 27 Nov 2021 09:00:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8933 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/health-pseudoscience/product-will-not-cure-your-cancer-consumer-watchdog-raises-alarm-illegal-claims-made-natural-health <p>The Canadian market is awash with claims that some natural health products (NHPs) can treat or cure cancer even though these claims are illegal, a <a href="https://badsciencewatch.ca/natural-health-product-retailers-sell-cancer-cures/">new study</a> from the consumer protection organization Bad Science Watch reveals. Twenty percent of the NHPs surveyed by the group made direct claims (such as “anti-cancerous” or “important in the treatment of breast and colon cancer”), while 30% of the products evaluated made similar but indirect claims (e.g.</p> Thu, 27 Feb 2020 17:06:50 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8158 at /oss