/oss/taxonomy/term/516/all en /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/how-do-scientists-study-effects-diets <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/the-right-chemistry-how-do-scientists-study-the-effects-of-diets">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> Fri, 19 Jul 2024 17:13:17 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10006 at /oss /oss/article/medical-health-and-nutrition-history/story-linking-nutrition-and-health-has-unexpected-twists <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/the-right-chemistry-nutrition-heart-health-history-tips">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> Fri, 28 Jun 2024 17:28:05 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9991 at /oss /oss/article/medical/calcium-deposits-arteries-not-always-worry <hr /> <p><em>This article was originally posted in the</em> <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-calcium-deposits-in-the-arteries-not-always-a-worry"><em>Montreal Gazette.</em></a></p> <hr /> <p>Read enough radiology reports and eventually you will find one that mentions calcifications in the heart or the aorta. When it appears in black and white, it sounds worrisome and can generate an emergency referral. But both patients and referring physicians are usually surprised to learn that the finding is not quite as dangerous as it sounds.</p> Fri, 02 Jun 2023 10:00:00 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 9526 at /oss /oss/article/medical/we-can-mostly-stop-worrying-about-triglycerides <hr /> <p><em>This article was originally posted in the <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-we-can-mostly-stop-worrying-about-triglycerides">Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> Fri, 13 Jan 2023 11:00:00 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 9357 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/yes-having-high-cholesterol-does-matter <hr /> <p><em>This article was originally posted in the <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-yes-having-high-cholesterol-does-matter">Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> Fri, 16 Dec 2022 11:00:00 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 9326 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/assessing-reports-linking-espresso-and-cholesterol <hr /> <p><em>This article was originally posted in the <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-assessing-reports-linking-espresso-and-cholesterol">Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> <hr /> <p>A friend of mine recently sent me an article titled <a href="https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/973819">Espresso Associated with Increased Total Cholestero</a>l. I was told I needed to contextualize this thing quickly, ideally before dinner, after which, my friend noted, good Italians drink their espresso.</p> Wed, 18 May 2022 18:57:27 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 9113 at /oss /oss/article/health/statins-have-proven-track-record <p> </p> <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in</em><span> </span><a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-statins-have-a-proven-track-record">The Montreal Gazette<span>.</span></a></p> Wed, 25 Nov 2020 18:41:09 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 8493 at /oss /oss/article/health-nutrition/can-avocados-lower-my-cholesterol <p>There aren’t many well-done nutrition studies. Many studies are observational and rely on questionnaires to figure out what people eat. There are very few randomized trials because these are hard to carry out. They take time, cost a lot of money, and the logistical demands are enormous. Even major studies can have problems, as we discovered in the 2013 PREDIMED study, which (apparently) demonstrated a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease in people who followed a Mediterranean diet.</p> Wed, 12 Feb 2020 18:09:04 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 8105 at /oss /oss/article/health/what-polypill <p>The idea of a <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/42567/WHO_MPN_CVD_2002.01.pdf">polypill</a> was first proposed nearly 20 years ago and the idea was a simple one. Make one pill that contained a baby aspirin, a cholesterol medication, and blood pressure pills. Rather than take four different medications, people could take a single pill once a day. The advantages in terms of convenience are obvious and patients are less likely to forget to take a single pill.</p> Wed, 25 Sep 2019 23:33:19 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 7939 at /oss /oss/article/health-videos/right-chemistry-are-eggs-good-or-bad-you <p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-c7xcps4vaa" width="640" height="390" title="Dr. Joe Schwarcz: Are eggs good or bad for you?" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/-C7XcPs4VAA?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-c7xcps4vaa&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="Dr. Joe Schwarcz: Are eggs good or bad for you?" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>Video of Dr. Joe Schwarcz: Are eggs good or bad for you?</iframe> </div> </p> Fri, 05 Apr 2019 16:10:35 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7696 at /oss /oss/article/health/cholesterol-cosmetics <p>Many cosmetics, ranging from lipstick to moisturizing creams, contain ingredients referred to as emollients whose main purpose is to keep the skin hydrated and prevent moisture in the skin from evaporating. This loss of water is responsible for reducing the suppleness and smoothness of skin leaving a dry, scaly texture. Emollients are chemicals that coat the skin and prevent moisture from passing through. Oils are very effective emollients but their slippery feel is undesirable.</p> Wed, 13 Mar 2019 14:00:00 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7645 at /oss /oss/article/health-videos/right-chemistry-egg-cholesterol-panic-wasnt-warranted <p></p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-2"></div> Thu, 02 Aug 2018 20:24:36 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7204 at /oss /oss/article/health-nutrition/great-cholesterol-debate <p>Before we can talk about cholesterol and how to measure it we need to get some things straight. Cholesterol is absolutely tied to heart disease even though convincing people of that fact has been surprisingly difficult. The cholesterol hypothesis for heart disease dates back to the early 1900’s when Russian physician <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolay_Anichkov#cite_note-1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nikolay Anichkov</a><span> demonstrated that feeding rabbits a high cholesterol diet led to the fatty deposits in coronary arteries that cause heart disease.</span></p> Thu, 05 Jul 2018 19:00:00 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 7157 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/low-carb-lessons-undertaker <p><span>When William Banting could no longer walk upstairs without panting or bend down to tie his shoelaces, he decided that something had to be done. Swimming, walking, Turkish baths and near-starvation diets didn’t do the trick. Desperate, Banting consulted his physician and was advised to give up bread, butter, milk, sugar, beer and potatoes. Amazingly, the pounds began to melt away! The low-carbohydrate diet had worked its magic!</span></p> Tue, 16 Jan 2018 18:12:35 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 6886 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-quackery/how-make-healthiest-cup-tea <p>I grew up with British grandparents who probably averaged 5-7 cups of tea a day- a routine I picked up sometime around the age of 10. I never considered though that tea could be good for me! <a href="/oss/search/local/tea">We’ve written quite extensively on tea and it’s many proposed benefits</a>, but despite all the pseudoscience about tea curing cancer or keeping you young, it is worth it to note the compounds that are found in teas, that are truly helpful to humans.</p> Mon, 28 Aug 2017 14:52:26 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 2607 at /oss