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because the USDA, operating on completely bullshit findings from the NIH, told us to eat a lot of carbs on purpose.

They told you to eat a diet based around complex carbs. They were right. They never told you to eat a lot.

Somehow "complex" was too complicated for the average American to comprehend (especially with agribusiness staticing up the channel), and some people (like you) heard "eat a lot", and loaded up on the starches and sugars rather than on whole grains and vegetables.

Linking to an article defending the quack Atkins diet would be merely funny if it weren't tragic. People on Atkins and similar diets put themselves at increased risk of many diseases, and do not lose any more weight than people on other diets of the same calorie level. They're about the worst diet possible - excepting only the aptly-named SAD, the Standard American Diet.

Aside from fads and misinterpretations, the basic message has been consistent and correct for decades: eat a varied and calorically-moderate diet based around vegetables and whole grains, rich in complex carbs and fiber, moderate in protein, and low in fat.

There is increasing understanding of the benefits of monounsaturated fats, but that doesn't mean you should drink fish or flaxseed oil by the cup. There's increased evidence of the benefits of traditional soy foods like miso or natto, but that doesn't mean you should eat a whole bunch of TSP or other processed soy foods.

They say that regular exercise greatly improves brain function, especially with growing old. As usual, studies on the trusty lab rats give some credit to this belief: http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20081119/exercise-the-brains-fountain-of-youth?src=RSS_PUBLIC

"... or get a degree in a medical profession"

The difference seemed so little:

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/psychology-vs-psychiatry-which-is-better

Because those are all procedures which have been done on people I know quite well, and which have been enormously effective in the end.

You do realize that we can find testimony from people who will say that homeopathy or Scientology or Lourdes water were "enormously effective" for "people they know quite well", right? The folks who got results from the placebo surgeries in these tests also found them to be enormously effective.

Let me introduce you to the concept of anecdotal evidence.

If someone's appendix is infected and about to burst and this is surgically removed, are you going to tell me that it's no better than a placebo surgery which leaves the infected appendix in the abdomen?

I'm telling you that, scientifically, the proposition is untested.

Yes, it's amazing to think that some portion of the response to cataract surgery or appendectomy might be a placebo effect. But it's no less amazing to think that a type of brain surgery is no better than a placebo. The placebo effect covers several different things that may be at play.

As for appendectomy, the last time this topic came up my Google-ing found this little gem, a fascinating look at the subject from a century ago. The author finds a mortality rate of 6.6% in the period before appendectomy was used, and of 7.8% in the first few decades of its use. Of course the mortality rate is much lower today; but if mortality rates actually climbed after appendectomy was first introduced, then clearly the situation is complex than "cut, baby, cut!" (When all you have is a scalpel, everybody looks like a surgical candidate.)

Which is not to say that, under the right circumstances, I'm going to refuse an appendectomy. The surgery is a pretty good gamble. But is a real procedure more effective than a sham one? We cannot say.

Leeches were used for ages too, and they not only don't work, they do harm.

It's funny how everything always comes back around...

Well, leeches are still used for medical treatments, in fact, they've been approved by the FDA. So, I'd say that analogy is shot....

I understand that some children don't need to be smacked. I also don't believe that is the majority. If you look back a few generations back...to mine even, you saw that most kids respected their parents, and authority figures (teachers at schools for instance). Most of us were all spanked. Once the 'rod was spared' in general, we started seeing a breakdown of all this. After that, you had generations of people having kids that had no idea what it was like to discipline kids at all, and so forth until present day.

It wasn't the baby boomers that did totally away with corporal punishment, it was their children's children I think in most cases. My parents (boomers) kept me in line with spanking when necessary. Somewhere along the line...maybe starting in my generation...they started stopping it, but, I think it was the next round X'ers or Y'ers...I get confused which is which....really said that is was not politically correct to hit your kids at all.

Are you seriously quoting Arthur Kellerman? I'll see your link to a partisan anti-gun website, and raise you four links that discredit his research. http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_gcdgaga.html http://home.comcast.net/~dsmjd/tux/dsmjd/rkba/kellerman.htm http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,7217,00.html Arthur Kellerman also thinks you shouldn't be allowed to have an automated defibrillator in your home. http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/news/20040806/lifesaving-machine-over-counter He doesn't give a rat's ass if you live or die, as long as you aren't allowed to take care of yourself. Have you ever noticed that these anti-gun groups are all about preventing gun violence, but they never cry about any other type of violence? I've decided that they really don't care if you get murdered or raped or mugged, as long as it's not done with a gun.

Of course there are other, more serious, reasons as well. Take a look around any hospital to gain more insight, of course the wider your knowledge base the more you will see the need for wider knowledge base in the sciences. Would think biophysics to be highly useful to sports surgeons and those involved in aids for those who lost mobility or limbs.

The broader the knowledge of doctor, the less likely that medical corporations can pull the wool over their eyes in the way pharmaceuticals often do these days, so would think the medical schools need to broaden their knowledge of chemistry while restricting pharmaceuticals involvement in that education. WSJ covering this should make everyone remember to "follow the money" on who is financing any such study.

Actually what you said is a load of crap. The last thing you want to do is sleep less There is a lot of information out there linking lack of sleep with obesity.
A quick Google turned this up:
http://sleepdisorders.about.com/od/obesity/a/sleepweight.htm
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20041116/sleep-more-to-fight-obesity

Low levels of vitamin D have been implicated in the susceptibility and severity of attack in patients who have auto-immune diseases. Multiple Sclerosis and Rheumatoid Arthritis are two of the diseases that seem to show a link. Coversely, patients suffering from Sarcoidosis ( another auto-immune disease ) where the body produces too much vitamin D, may benefit from staying out of the sun and cutting vitamin D out of their diet.

Eating breakfast is essentially a bunch of "free" calories. Since doing so ups your metabolism for the whole day. Or at least that's what I think the evidence suggests.

No matter how you slice it though, there's a huge positive correlation with eating breakfast and losing and maintaining a healthy weight.

See:
Skipping Cereal and Eggs, and Packing on Pounds
Lose Weight: Eat Breakfast

Morale of the story:

Listen to the Earth and all its children, and it may save
you and your children.

We are finding cures in nature that have baffled science
for many years.

http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20050105/curry-spice-may-fight-alzheimers-disease

http://diabetes.webmd.com/news/20031205/cinnamon-helps-type-2-diabetes

http://www.chimachine4u.com/AA.html

http://www.healingdaily.com/conditions/saliva-ph-test.htm

Morale of the story:

Listen to the Earth and all its children, and it may save
you and your children.

We are finding cures in nature that have baffled science
for many years.

http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20050105/curry-spice-may-fight-alzheimers-disease

http://diabetes.webmd.com/news/20031205/cinnamon-helps-type-2-diabetes

http://www.chimachine4u.com/AA.html

http://www.healingdaily.com/conditions/saliva-ph-test.htm

Here are some online references:

The second link states that 70% of suicide victims tell someone about their plans or give warning signs. This number is probably low since people who actually commit suicide are probably surrounded by people who don't want to admit that they saw the signs and did nothing about it. I would think it would be obvious to anyone that a person SERIOUSLY contemplating suicide will act in a noticeably different way from someone who wants to live as long as possible. I left out some of the recognized signs of a potential suicide but I think its clear that there are always signs.

Did any of your friends tell you that they had suicidal thoughts or show any of the signs? How many of your depressed friends or aquaintances actually committed suicide? Getting occasional thoughts of suicide or getting depressed occasionally is just part of life. It doesn't necessarily mean that they were close to committing suicide. It could just mean that they work in the IT field.

No one gets hurt if I roleplay rape or knifeplay with my consenting adult partner.

Right. So? WTF does that have to do with anything that we are talking about. Are you just making shit up? WhoTF mentioned anything about you and your "partner"?

And even if we do induldge in S&M, that's none of your business, and not what I consider "violent", but it will be caught by this law. The only "sick fucks" are people who have a perversion about locking people up for three years because they don't like what they get up to or fantasise about in private.

OK, you just showed that you have not been paying attention. We are talking about people watching videos of rapes. WTF does that have to do with what you do with whoever in your basement? No one is saying that you can't do S&M with your willing partner. We're saying you can't make a video of a rape (real or acted) and make it publicly available. If you want to do that in the privacy of your own home, have at it. So put the red ball back in your mouth and stick that strawman up your ass, leather boy.

So? Is murder wrong? Says who? What about stealing? How about fucking that 10-yr old girl down the street if she's willing? How about exposing yourself to children? Are these all not moral situations?

These are not issues of taste - these are issues of non-consensual harm towards others.

So if the 10-yr-old down the street consents, you're OK with it? How about if I take naked pictures of that 10-yr-old and post them on the MySpace page I made for her? Is that OK? No one is hurt, right? That is your determining factor if something should be illegal.

Evidence, please, not speculation. We're talking about locking people up here.

Sure. Unfortunately, I could find no studies done on people who watch rape videos. I guess even the most open minded research never thought that people would be so fucking sick as to want to watch rape videos, much less defend that behavior. Most of what I could find dealt with video games and movies but the premise is the same:
Here is one on video games.
Here is another.
Here is one that deals with violent videos. I believe even you will agree that rape is a violent act and we are talking about rape videos. I believe a rape video would qualify as a violent video by any definition.
Here is another.

However, since you are probably going to call foul because there are no actual RAPE stories here, I went ahead and found one. I had to wade thought a swamp of virus infecting sites to find it (literally! "You must download this .exe media player to watch this video...") Anyway, here is the link. Here is a quote:

I went to a porno bookstore, put a quarter in a slot, and saw this porn movie. It was just a guy coming up from behind a girl and attacking her and raping her. That's when I started having rape fantasies. When I saw that movie, it was like somebody lit a fuse from my childhood on up... I just went for it, went out and raped." Rapist interviewed by Beneke, 1982, pp. 73-74.

HERE is another.

Unfortunately, many of these sites lump violent films with porn. Now, there is nothing wrong with porn. I love my porn. Now sick fuckers like these are going to end up taking it away because they want to watch rape flicks and act it out on real people. It's really sad when people like you want to let them. I hope it's out of ignorance. I really hope you genuinely thought that watching rape videos would somehow h

For all that it's forefront in daily experience, Americans haven't really had it out with the problem of Race and Racism, and are pretty confused about it... especially, being blind to its ongoing influence and just how it works in many ways.

Your comment exemplifies this. First, I can't find anything like spewed racism in Wright's sermons, the ones I've seen online. They're strenuous complaints about the ongoing legacy of slavery and racism in the form of overt and covert white supremacy, not extolling the virtues of race doctrine. They might be argued to be inaccurate or possibly prejudiced, sure, but racist? Not unless he's in a position to become the dominant group under a doctrine of society organised by race. He's no black supremacist.

Second, that naming of "occasional casual racism" that his grandmother exhibited was used as reference to a kind of mindset that was generally imbued in a whole generation of mostly polite "white" americans. Since subtle prejudice is like halitosis--it's always everyone else's problem--americans of european extraction or appearance tend to deny its existence or significance.

That mindset revealed in the "typical white" comment points to a huge, semi-coordinated and largely unspoken/taboo structuring of society, into a complex set of hierarchies. It has real effects, and the 'cross the street' kneejerk response is merely a tip of an iceberg. Obama's point is valid and accurate, not prejudiced or racist... that attitude was typical, even mild, for her time. So what's everyone's problem with his comment? They doth protest too much, methinks.

That is why recent studies have shown that those casual comments are more antagonising than virulent racism, since they contain a threat that can't be spoken.

Dogs have similar effects on health.

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3035327 [americanheart.org]
http://www.naturalnews.com/021483.html [naturalnews.com]
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/33677.php [medicalnewstoday.com]
http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/features/health-benefits-of-pets [webmd.com]

Please stop using studies like these to reinforce your prejudices.

"Apparently having dogs doesn't have the same effect. "

It has been long established that dog ownership improves long term health outcomes.

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3035327
http://www.naturalnews.com/021483.html
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/33677.php
http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/features/health-benefits-of-pets

This has been a health concern for a while, especially with the possibility of drug interactions.

It's funny, I used to be among the camp of people that would say "just make yourself be happy". For me it was really that simple. Anytime I was in a bad mood I could just will myself out of it and simply could not understand other people that couldn't.

That was of course until I started taking steroids, no not the shoot 'em in your ass and get big kind, the prescription kind. Now a normal dose for this drug is 5-10mg usually given for skin problems and sometimes for asthma. The bottle specifically states that you should not suddenly stop taking this medication and there needs to be a weening period to help you get off of this drug. The dose I was given was 120mg that I was instructed to start on the first day of the month, take for 5 days and then stop altogether. The goal was to try to make my immune system recover from months of intensive chemotherapy. After the second day of taking this medication, my mood could only be described as extremely optimistic about everything and a view that I was, for the most part, wholly invincible. This feeling lasted until the sixth day at which point I had stopped taking the drug and started to feel like the world was literally crumbling around me. I would see a commercial on TV and start to cry when I realized that I do sometimes get that 'Not so fresh feeling'. It was ridiculous. At one point I got into an argument with an old friend who did not know what I had been going through, and for a moment considered jumping 3 stories to my death so she could see how much she hurt me.

It was at that moment that I realized what true depression was. I looked back on the moment a week later after the side effects had dithered and thought about how irrational those thoughts were. At the time when I was having them however, they seemed a perfectly logical solution. Now I realize this is an extreme case brought on by side effects of a powerful drug, but it does represent to me how an unbalancing of chemicals in the brain can greatly affect a persons mood and I will never again jump to the conclusion that a persons depression is not affected by a real problem with their physiology.

With regards to the placebo effects of anti-depressant drugs, I will say that at one point I was prescribed Lexipro by my doctor for what at the time was really situational depression. This drug was certainly no placebo. While it did not make me happier, it had the affect of making me extremely anxious and angry. I developed very violent tendencies over the 2 weeks I was on it. This drug was obviously mis-prescribed by a bad doctor, but it most certainly altered my brain chemistry. My cousin, who is more similar to me that our parents are to each other (sisters), was prescribed the same drug with very similar effects. So there may be some drugs out there prescribed for depression that don't work for a lot of people, and others that have unintended effects, but this may be due more to doctors not understanding the illness of their patients and not understanding the drugs intended uses.

And in the end, people who picked their poison, would end up paying for it, one way or another. Think what good a $1 tax on a Starbucks Latte would bring alone!

Except that Latte doesn't poison you, it can actually can help you. Studies are showing for instance that coffee helps "lower your risk of diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and colon cancer".

That is one of the things that so many people fail to understand. You cannot give a country democracy. When a critical mass of people in the country are free within their own minds then they will take steps to become free. Then we can jump in and help. If the people are not mentally/culturally ready for democracy then it won't work. They will just vote who they are told to vote for by their imam,priest,televangelist,newscaster,celebrity. We have a different level of the same problem here in the US, people vote based on their emotions and we end up making some really stupid national political decisions as well.

I read it. He's a jerk, but you're still wrong.

Smoking marijuana does not increase your risk of lung cancer.

It is pretty much impossible to overdose on marijuana.

You claim it is not safer than alcohol. There are roughly 50,000 cases of alcohol poisoning annually in the US, and 0 cases of THC poisoning. I think it's fair to say that cannabis is safer than alcohol.

you & the other Hummer drivers may, in fact, be suffering from SPS

What part do you "hate"? The "pretense" of wearing something nice? Why? Do you feel that, deep down, you don't merit it, or that you can't "pull it off"?

No, I "merit" it just fine. And I can "pull off" anything from skyclad to a tux to a sarong with aplomb. Having style is a very different thing than merely dressing in style.

But I disagee with your concept of what constitutes "nice" clothes. The "business suit" is an abomination, dervied from the clothing of fops who wanted to demostrate that they didn't have to work; the necktie is hazardous to your health.

More importantly, I disagree with judging people on superficialities. I don't want to "play office politics", as you put it. I want to treat people with respect and be treated the same way in return. Anyone who will treat me differently based on whether I wear a shirt off the rack or one that's custom tailored, is not someone I care to work with.

What do those "pissing contests" accomplish?

Yes, that's a valid point, but it matters not whether the pissers are in black tie or buck naked.

It wasn't designed as a "diet" but...

http://www.webmd.com/diet/ornish-diet-what-it-is?page=3/

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/399570/study_ornish_diet_weight_watchers_score.html?page=2/

How about using medical information instead?

Remember to check against MEDICAL resources people...Example: After hearing stories from a nurse friend, I found "digital stimulation" is nothing I want ANYTHING to do with...

...'cause in this case, it *doesn't* mean Aussie p0rn...

I can't think of a single reason why it should be a crime to grow & smoke.

A recent scientific study proved that it is not a so-called "gateway drug" that leads to e.g. heroin abuse.

George Washington grew it on his farm, what could be more American than that?

In the bible _kana_bith_ (cannabis) is mentioned as a component of the sacred incense that was burned in the temple. Shouldn't freedom of religion protect people's right to grow it?

"Regardless of what the little slashdot hippies think, this is a proven strategy to get rid of a complex drug like meth"

Um, no, all this does is slow down home grown meth labs (which convert OTC meds into meth/amphetamine), it does nothing to stop importing the same drugs from Mexico, or importing the raw materials to make methamphetamine or amphetamine by biker gangs who use real chemists.

"they did the same thing with something called "Quaids" (not actually sure how you spell it so that's a guess) back in the 80's, and those are simply not around anymore."

Are you talking about qualudes/ludes/blues? you're also wrong, these are now sold in pharmacutical grade often imported or just churned out by pill mills. I got some the other day (I have insomnia and these work quite well thank you, which is ironic because my doctor didn't want to prescribe them so i found them on the street instead).

"Meth is a horribly addictive drug, so anything they do to limit it is fine by me."

I agree meth is a horribly addictive drug, as a matter of fact look how many children are currently hooked on it..
http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/news/20050301/does-ritalin-increase-cancer-risk-in-children
"Ritalin is a stimulant widely prescribed for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), with roughly 10 million prescriptions filled each year in the United States."

"Sure, but that's the pharmacy, being forced by the gov't being dicks."

There fixed that for ya.

Whose Rights is not the proper question on this topic, as the right to expatriation, (old definition) is a natural Right Preexistent to the State, and therefore is possessed by all humans, as it was endowed to them at birth, by that which they perceive as the creative.

"This involves the great question as to the right of expatriation, upon which so much has been said in this cause. Perhaps it is not necessary it should be explicitly decided on this occasion; but I shall freely express my sentiments on the subject. That a man ought not to be a slave; that he should not be confined against his will to a particular spot, because he happened to draw his first breath upon it; that he should not be compelled to continue in a society to which he is accidentally attached, when he can better his situation elsewhere, much less when he must starve in one country, and may live comfortably in another: are positions which I hold as strongly as any man, and they are such as most nations in the world appear clearly to recognize."

Supreme Court Justice James Iredell, "Talbot v. Janson", 1795

Still I will answer whose rights I am defending:

"I do esteem individual liberty above everything. What is a nation for, but to secure the maximum of liberty to every individual? What do you think a nation is?--a big business concern?"

D.H. Lawrence

Ron Paul says he desires to end all taxation: politicians lied, politicians lie, politicians will lie. Why should others be forced to bear a higher burden in the interim policies, even if Paul's rectitude of intent is pure? How does Paul propose to pay down this massive debt without income tax? Does he intend to simply default on The Nation's promissory notes? Be honest now; this cannot be done in our lifetimes, so any tax breaks that Paul gives now to his special groups is a privileged class. I did not elaborate, but his schooling tax breaks are odious for another primary reason: many will be eligible for these tax breaks because they send their offspring off to parochial schools which many others, who are forced to shoulder the breeders' true societal costs, would consider to be personally heretical. Congress shall make no law... this is how quickly privileged classes become perceived in society. No matter how you slice it; it is also a payoff for Paul's most avid supporters. Think I am wrong? Listen to Mr. Paul himself from a file hosted by his own YouTube Account. Now tell me again about Paul's intents?

It is hard to believe that so many understand so little about cause and effects that they would believe that giving a fetus American Citizenship would be a positive action. Please resolve these troubling implications for me then:

• If a 12 year old girl conceived from being raped by her double-digit IQ Uncle, should she be forcedto carry the fetus to term? the answer would be yes the government coerces her, or they will charge her with murder.
• Ectopic Pregnancy (from WebMD):In about 2% of pregnancies, however, the fertilized egg attaches to an area outside of the uterus, which results in an ectopic pregnancy (also known as a tubal pregnancy or an extrauterine pregnancy).
  
  Nearly all ectopic pregnancies develop in a fallopian tube; the rest occur in an ovary, the cervix, or the abdomen. An ectopic pregnancy cannot support the life of a fetus for very long. If left untreated, a tubal ectopic pregnancy can cause fallopian tube damage and life-threatening blood loss. Therefore, unless the pregnancy is miscarrying on its own, medicine is used to stop the pregnancy from growing, or surgery is used to remove it.
  
  It is certainly not the fault of the fetus, where implantation occurred. if a fetus is an American citizen, it is mur

Great. The last thing we need are more plastics in our water supply http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/mixing-plastic-food-urban-legend?page=3

While it should be obvious that marijuana is no miracle of miracles, many argue that THC use for medical purposes may be beneficial after all.

The two ends of the spectrum: Legalize it simply because its pot, and keep it illegal simply because its pot.

That recent study was done on college students in Austin, Texas mostly majoring in psychology. I think if you were going to judge how verbose all men are you wouldn't pick future psychologists as a representative sample. http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/news/200707 06/men-dont-talk-less-than-women

people with periodontal disease are almost twice as likely to have coronary artery disease (also called heart disease). And one study found that the presence of common problems in the mouth, including gum disease (gingivitis), cavities, and missing teeth, were as good at predicting heart disease as cholesterol levels.

There are better ways to measure only the amount of fat in someone's body that resolves that problem, though they require more specialized equipment.

Per an article on WebMD

It's only in more recent times that the thumb has been asked to become more dexterous--With phone-texting, more and smaller buttons on game controllers, and so forth. Since thumbs were not made for precision, people blamed the trackball for bad ergonomics and faulty controls. Mice allowed for "pixel perfect" placement and gained dominance.

If soda pop leads to Parkinson's and cirrhosis, then smoking tobacco with your Sprite should ease the Parkinson's threat. Even better - switch from soft drinks to hard drinks - your liver is at risk either way, but now your Parkinson's risk is much lower.

Of course, if it's cancer risk you're concerned with, you might smoke pot instead. Those who smoke only pot have less lung cancer than those who never smoke anything (although not that much less), apparently because THC itself prevents cancer. Will genetic engineering give us a smoke in the future that's high in both THC and nicotine, while minimizing the cancer promoters in tobacco? Or would nicotine's blood-vessel-promoting nature, which helps cancers, overcome THC's protective effect and outweigh nicotine's many positive health effects?

In any case, isn't it nice to know that when people like something, there's a good, healthy reason for it - even if there can be unintended consequences. Our instincts, at root, are good. That's how we've gotten so far.

Which is why I said type 2 not type 1. Both of these conditions I was talking about insulin insensitive and not producing enough insulin which are both causes of type 2 diabetes http://diabetes.webmd.com/tc/Type-2-Diabetes-Cause

• get raped
• be a teenager on prom night.

It's very difficult for a teenager in love to resist the advances of an attractive person they have strong feelings for. This is why "Virginity Pledge' programs don't work so well, at least for reducing disease risk.

They have to recoupe their expenses for development and marketing before the patent runs out. -- emphasis mine

They also have to recoupe all that bribe money they give to the doctors. Comparatively little goes to actual developement. The vast majority is used to acquire most favored status.

in other words, yes, coca cola zero is a healthy alternative to regular coke

Is that your idea of healthy? If so, advertising has won. A better reality would involved an informed consumer having a more precise idea of what he was consuming, rather than just blithely accepting that Cola A is better than Cola B. I know that ingredients are listed on virtually everything that is sold to consumers in the US, and that we typically know what is "good" or "bad" for us, but many people don't take the time to investigate what they are eating. Is this a case for Big Brother to intervene? Intervention could be by defining what may be listed as "healthy", "organic" or "natural", or whatever is deemed most appropriate by a credible, authortative agency--not by the company seeking to increase their sales revenues.

Most states compel drivers to wear a seatbelt. Leaving off whether or not that is preferable, if they can compel compliance with seatbelts, why not a little more supply-side compliance with legitimate health claims?

I agree that people should take accountability for what they consume, but being that we are increasingly lazy (intellectually especially), most people just take what they are given without question. The thinking is that "the government watches stuff like this, right? So, it can't be too bad." Rinse and repeat. That's how we end up with poor public health.

The ill effects of Aspartame can be found at (obligatory wiki)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame_contro versy.

More information on Aspartame: http://www.webmd.com/search/search_results/default .aspx?query=aspartame

(Sperm lasts like 24 hours inside a woman, IIRC.)

How stupidly selfish do you have to be to not want more women to be vaccinated against HPV?

And if you don't do what the patient wants,... they sue you.

'Non-invasive' is probably being redundantly used to quickly describe an EEG - given that most people don't know what one is.

Medical Encyclopedia - EEG
Electroencephalogram (EEG)

An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a test that measures and records the electrical activity of your brain by using sensors attached to your head and connected by wires to a computer.

Statistically speaking, 1% is pretty small. Realistically speaking, 1% means the death of 1 out of every 100 embryos whose mothers undergo this procedure. Keep in mind, those are not "unwanted" embryos destined for abortion; the mothers are expecting to carry them to term and have a healthy baby at the end of their labors.

That said, there's some new research that suggests that the risk is more like 1 in 1,600. Even so, with about 4 million born in the U.S. alone annually, that's 2500 dead babies per year due to an elective procedure. And I assure you, if one of those 2500 was yours, you wouldn't be taking that statistic so lightly.