News Archive for December, 2020

We started this new decade “pretty sure” about stories that would grab headlines this year. But we also said we should be “ready for surprises.” That was probably our most accurate prediction. Little did we know then, a new coronavirus was already at work. Thus it turned out that, more than anything, a pandemic made […]

As we struggle with this pandemic, cheap answers have great appeal. Some are absurd, like bleach for purposes other than cleaning. Others present a puzzle with many dimensions to resolve. Such is the case of vitamin D. This week three authoritative health groups in England sorted through all the evidence on vitamin D and COVID-19. […]

Metformin is one of those drugs that is older than dirt and still quite useful. It has helpful effects in obesity. It’s a mainstay of drug therapy for type 2 diabetes. But metformin presents a bit of a puzzle in patients with diabetes who become infected with COVID-19. Some signs point to a benefit for […]

What’s been on your mind this year? One way to answer that question is to look at what grabbed your attention here on ConscienHealth. It’s been a year of keen interest in what we’re writing about. Almost half a million of you have taken time to read what we’ve written so far this year – […]

A furious debate rages on. Are we meant to get half of our food energy from carbs? So naturally, this was a key theme of debates about dietary guidelines due soon from the USDA and HHS. But a quieter debate persists in the background. This is an ongoing discussion about the merits of the carbohydrate […]

Right now, if you search Google for COVID vaccine obesity, the top result will be a story from Nature that says the vaccine might not work well for people with obesity. But the truth is quite different. Because yesterday, FDA released data on the Moderna vaccine, and it works quite well, even in people with […]

It’s been a busy week of new statistics on obesity from CDC. The Centers released new data on childhood obesity trends for the U.S. Of course, the overall trend is up. Almost one in five youth (19 percent) ages 2-12 have a BMI in the range of obesity.  But it’s worth digging a bit deeper […]

New stats on overweight, obesity, and severe obesity are out from the CDC. We already knew the topline numbers for obesity. On that score, the U.S. reached a record high of 42.3 percent in 2018. But this new release paints a more complete picture. Overall, it suggests we might maxing out on the combined prevalence […]

“Any belief worth embracing will stand up to the litmus test of scrutiny. If we have to qualify, rationalize, make exceptions for, or turn a blind eye to maintain a belief, then it may well be time to release that belief.” Laurie Buchanan, PhD. This year has been a exploration of the capacity of humans […]

Sometimes an idea firmly plants itself in the popular imagination. Once there, it takes root and persists like a weed. It simply will not die. So it is with the idea that exercise is an excellent tool for weight loss. This is a lie that won’t die. A Nice Little Study Gretchen Reynolds at the […]