Most Americans believe strongly that our “free” and “independent” media is one of our nation’s greatest strengths. We’re also proud of the tremendous importance our society places upon individual [...]
Category: Daily Dispatch
The deadliest drug in history
I’ve told you how the Institute of Medicine (IOM) is calling for better post-market surveillance for approved drugs. If the FDA actually heeds the IOM’s advice, it may save countless lives. [...]
Observe and report
And you thought a drug was safe just because the FDA says so? Unfortunately, all too often, the most dangerous side effects emerge AFTER the FDA gives its stamp of approval to a drug and it’s in [...]
“Eggsistential” angst
Speaking of healthy breakfasts (as we did in Dispatch “Breakfast of champions?”), let’s set the record straight—once and for all—about eggs. I’ve sometimes wondered whether the so-called [...]
Breakfast of champions?
In Monday’s Dispatch (“How to eat like an Olympian—without gaining weight”), I pointed out some of the meals the Olympic Athletes eat to replenish the tremendous amount of calories they burn. But [...]
What kind of doctor do you want?
My father was the first-born son of a (legal) immigrant who came to work in the U.S. exactly 100 years ago. My grandfather soon became a proud member and then organizer of the United Mine Workers [...]
Fresh off the Banana Boat
You may have seen it on the news back in June. A Massachusetts man applied aerosol sunscreen, and then was set on fire while tending barbecue coals. It was big news for a few days. Yet no one has [...]
How to eat like an Olympian—without gaining weight
The athletes competing in the London Olympics right now are facing a problem many of us would love to have. Getting enough calories to keep from losing critical body weight. You see, an Olympic [...]
The Politics of CAM
The other day I was reading a publication by some “Critical Medical Anthropologists” (“critical” is an academic code word for “Marxist,” by the way). In it, they attempted to argue that [...]
Your Crazy Uncle in the Waiting Room
Until relatively recently, we had simple fee-for-service medicine, like most everything else. The advantage to this simple, time-tested system is that you paid your doctor. And you were his [...]