/oss/taxonomy/term/831/all en /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/you-probably-dont-need-green-ag1-smoothie <p>It has sponsored major YouTube channels and podcasts, like Joe Rogan’s and Lex Fridman’s. One of the top science podcasters, Andrew Huberman, is even an official partner of the product. It was also the sponsor of the 2023 Association of Pickleball Players Tour. Seemingly everyone is drinking it and saying they just “feel better.”</p> <p>AG1 and its marketing campaign cannot be avoided.</p> Thu, 21 Mar 2024 17:19:54 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9878 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/human-lab-rats-injecting-themselves-peptides <p>When the Liver King fell from grace, the leaked list of the drugs he was on raised many eyebrows. The Liver King, <i>né</i> Brian Johnson, is a buff social media influencer who pressed his followers to adopt an <a href="/oss/article/health-and-nutrition-pseudoscience/liver-king-wants-you-dominate-your-health-caveman">“ancestral lifestyle”</a> and stay away from chemicals, Wi-Fi signals, and modern bedding.</p> Fri, 03 Nov 2023 20:53:11 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9711 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-pseudoscience/magnesium-supplements-sleep-may-not-work-dream <p>Everywhere I turn these days, an influencer is trying to sell me magnesium supplements. Apparently, all of us who find it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep all night are missing the boat. The answer is a simple mineral available as a dietary supplement: the all-mighty magnesium.</p> Fri, 22 Sep 2023 13:09:25 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9649 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/scam-or-not <p>Is this product a scam? I often get emails that start off with that query. The reference is usually to some dietary supplement the questioner encountered on the Internet that promises to miraculously solve some health problem. This week the question was about EMMA, “the first and only Doctor Endorsed Formula that targets bacterial overgrowth, parasites and pathogens while strengthening the microbiome.”</p> Fri, 08 Sep 2023 15:09:00 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9633 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/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/why-did-denmark-ban-ashwagandha <p>Over the past couple of years, there’s been a lot of buzz about ashwagandha. This herb, estimated to have an annual market value of $42 million USD is available in health food stores and on Amazon, can be added to your smoothie, and is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/03/10/what-to-know-about-ashwagandha-the-herbal-supplement-blows-up-on-tiktok-without-much-medical-research-support/?sh=71c71d4638ad">trending on TikTok</a>.</p> Fri, 02 Jun 2023 10:00:00 +0000 Maya McKeown, B.Sc. 9531 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/andrew-huberman-has-bad-case-supplement-brain <p>Combining the calm delivery and pared-down wardrobe of a Sam Harris with the more imposing physique of a Joe Rogan, Andrew Huberman wants to give you science-based tips on how to optimize your biology. Neuroscientist at Stanford by day and podcaster by night, Huberman is the host of The Huberman Lab podcast. The video version of <a href="https://youtu.be/H-XfCl-HpRM">its first episode</a> published two years ago has garnered 1 million views on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@hubermanlab/featured">a YouTube channel that counts over 3 million subscribers</a>.</p> Fri, 07 Apr 2023 10:00:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9466 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/food-thought-literally <p>What exactly should we eat? You would think that after literally thousands and thousands of studies that have been published on every aspect of nutrition, we would have an answer to that question. Actually, we do. Maybe not “exactly,” given that there is such a diversity of nutritional studies, some of which can be classified as good, some as bad, and most as mediocre. Nevertheless, with a bit of scientific sleuthing the chaff can be separated from the wheat.</p> Wed, 02 Mar 2022 22:39:30 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9041 at /oss /oss/article/health-nutrition/emerald-chlorophyll-oz-0 <p>Just like the omnipotence of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz was a mere illusion, so is the almightiness of chlorophyll water. From a distance, the emerald drink looks like an all-natural cure-all to clear up the skin, prevent cancer, and neutralize foul odours, but behind the curtain, we find a plant pigment whose might has grown in the telling. And while the wellness concoction does, appropriately enough, have<a href="https://www.recapo.com/dr-oz/dr-oz-advice/dr-oz-vitamin-d-chlorophyll-cocktail-super-energy-smoothie-recipe/"> ties to Dr.</a></p> Sat, 31 Jul 2021 01:21:05 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8794 at /oss /oss/article/health-general-science/can-biosil-really-help-thicken-my-hair-and-nails <p>The ads for BioSil look and sound like every other supplement ad. There are bold claims like “promotes unbreakable nails” (I’m pretty sure that’s impossible); references to science like “molecular biologists have pinpointed the key structural protein…” and “your own DNA fingerprint”; and a blond celebrity (Christie Brinkley) smiling while talking about how this product, in particular, has changed her life.</p> Fri, 08 Mar 2019 18:08:26 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7640 at /oss /oss/article/health/prevagen-mental-clarity <p>Wouldn’t we all like to have healthy brain function, a sharper mind and clearer thinking? Of course w,e would. And a dietary supplement called Prevagen promises to deliver the goods, at least according to the ads that are featured in magazines and on CNN ad nauseum. The supposed “active” ingredient is a protein called “apoaequorin” that according to the marketer “was originally plucked from a variety of jellyfish.” That bit of info is meant to conjure up an image of safety, catering to the notoriously false belief that natural substances are somehow inherently safer than synthetic ones.</p> Mon, 14 Jan 2019 16:15:40 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7534 at /oss /oss/article/health-nutrition-quackery/sun-potions-or-privilege-paying-75-get-ants-your-smoothie <hr /> <p class="note"><strong>Take-home message:</strong><br /> -Sun Potion is a brand of plants and mushrooms (and sometimes ants) in powder form that you can add to your food.<br /> -The health claims the company makes are not based on rigorous science</p> <p>There are days when the turbid waters of pseudoscience rise up, seemingly sentient, into a tsunami. You think you’ve seen the tallest wave there could be, but you catch yourself staring at a massive swell of unpalatable water of simply astonishing height.</p> Wed, 12 Sep 2018 13:23:55 +0000 Jonathan Jarry, MSc 7346 at /oss /oss/article/videos/right-chemistry-what-liquid-oxygen <p></p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-rdldz-zuvbu" width="640" height="390" title="Dr. Joe Schwarcz discusses 'Liquid Oxygen'" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/RDLDz-zUVbU?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-rdldz-zuvbu&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="Dr. Joe Schwarcz discusses 'Liquid Oxygen'" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="">Video of Dr. Joe Schwarcz discusses 'Liquid Oxygen'</iframe> </div> Thu, 02 Aug 2018 20:33:31 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7208 at /oss /oss/article/health-quackery/can-you-prevent-your-next-hangover-using-thrive <p><strong>Update:</strong> The product is now called <a href="https://cheershealth.com">Cheers</a>. The company behind it is offering podcast sponsorship deals, so you may hear about it quite a bit.</p> Thu, 28 Jun 2018 16:34:53 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 7153 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-drugs-health-supplements-you-asked/you-asked-instaflex-joint-pain <p>I had a question about Instaflex, a widely advertised supplement for arthritic joints that contains a variety of ingredients each of which has potential antinflammatory properties. Although this product has been around for a while, interest was stirred recently because of a discussion on "The Doctors," a CBS TV show. Reference was made to a clinical trial that showed efficacy. Indeed a properly controlled double-blind randomized trial at Appalachian State University showed that those taking Instaflex reported a 37 percent reduction in joint pain.</p> Sun, 25 May 2014 13:28:48 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2148 at /oss