Reviews /oss/taxonomy/term/2777/all en Christmas Desserts Will Make You Live Longer, Says Satirical Study /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition-reviews/christmas-desserts-will-make-you-live-longer-says-satirical-study <p>Here is your permission to indulge in delicious Christmas treats this holiday season: a study shows鈥攏ay,聽<i>proves!</i>鈥攖hat yuletide desserts often use ingredients that have been scientifically demonstrated to lower your risk of disease and death. You will still die, as we all do eventually, but not quite as early if you devour a Christmas log.</p> <p>Before you start baking, though, I need to point out that this study should be taken with a grain of salt, as it was written with tongue firmly planted in cheek.</p> Fri, 20 Dec 2024 18:21:18 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 10207 at /oss Pick A Card, Any Card! /oss/article/history-general-science-reviews/pick-card-any-card <p>The curtain went up in 鈥淗eller鈥檚 Wonder Theatre鈥� on Broadway to reveal a blindfolded lady comfortably seated center stage. A volunteer from the audience was solicited to 鈥減ick a card, any card!鈥� She did so, thinking of course that it was a free choice. It wasn鈥檛. Robert Heller, the premier American magician of the mid 19th聽century, was highly skilled at 鈥渇orcing鈥� a card. There was nothing really novel about that, but his revelation of the selected card was truly innovative. Heller resorted to chemical magic!</p> Wed, 26 Jun 2024 22:59:16 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9988 at /oss Beware the Insidious Nonsense of Netflix鈥檚 Zac Efron Travelogue Show /oss/article/pseudoscience-reviews/beware-insidious-nonsense-netflixs-zac-efron-travelogue-show <p>If I say I just watched a Netflix mini-series about alternative health approaches hosted by a major celebrity, you may think I鈥檓 referring to<a href="/oss/article/health-reviews/goop-lab-experiments-viewers-credulity"> Gwyneth Paltrow鈥檚 The goop lab</a>, but no. I鈥檓 speaking of its recently released 鈥渄ude bro鈥� counterpart: <i>Down to Earth with Zac Efron</i>.</p> Thu, 16 Jul 2020 23:26:38 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8341 at /oss The Goop Lab Experiments With Viewers鈥� Credulity /oss/article/health-reviews/goop-lab-experiments-viewers-credulity <p>There is a lot of <em>schadenfreude</em> at the sight of Gwyneth Paltrow, high priestess of aspirational brand Goop, sadly eating a reconstituted soup that looks like it was partly digested and regurgitated by a mama bird. After years of Gwyneth encouraging women to torture their bodies in the name of the ever elusive (and delusional) detox, seeing her get a taste of her own pseudomedicine is joyful.</p> Fri, 24 Jan 2020 20:33:33 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8090 at /oss Will "The Game Changers" Change Your Game? /oss/article/health-nutrition/will-game-changers-change-your-game <p>The documentary <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSpglxHTJVM">鈥淭he Game Changers鈥�</a> has been picking up steam on Netflix. This is basically a two-hour promo for a vegan lifestyle focusing on a few athletes who attribute their high-level performance to a vegan diet. Before going further, let me say that I favour a diet that has lots of fruits, vegetables and nuts, but I think that some meat, mostly poultry and fish can be accommodated.</p> Wed, 11 Dec 2019 20:59:33 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8048 at /oss The Genetic Astrology of Naturopath Ben Lynch /oss/article/pseudoscience-reviews/genetic-astrology-naturopath-ben-lynch <p>Are you Hufflepuff or Gryffindor? Erudite or Dauntless? Or maybe you know your Myers-Briggs Type to be ESTP? Or how about plain old astrology? Are you a Capricorn?</p> <p>Belonging to a discreet category can be reassuring to many people. We鈥檙e told we have <i>these</i> traits but not <i>those</i> traits, and we get a cool label we can use to recognize other members of our in-group. It provides clarity and security. But while I have seen genes that cause cancer, I had never seen Cancer in genes鈥� until I read Ben Lynch鈥檚 book, <i>Dirty Genes</i>.</p> Tue, 26 Nov 2019 21:38:09 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8008 at /oss Book Review: Bad Blood - Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup /oss/article/health-technology-reviews/book-review-bad-blood-secrets-and-lies-silicon-valley-startup <hr /> <p class="note"><strong>Take-home message:</strong><br /> -Elizabeth Holmes鈥� company Theranos tried to create a machine that could do hundreds of medical tests on a single drop of blood<br /> -John Carreyrou鈥檚 book Bad Blood reports on the lies and secrecy that allowed so many people to believe the machine was real</p> Thu, 16 Aug 2018 16:09:38 +0000 Jonathan Jarry, MSc 7309 at /oss Book Review: Living in the Chemical Age /oss/article/book-review-living-chemical-age <p><span>I once</span> <a href="http://www.bodyofevidence.ca/blog/when-skeptic-goes-spa">attended a presentation</a> on the wonders of raw food and sous-vide cooking at a spa resort. What was fascinating was seeing the gradual reaction of my fellow attendees as the presenter piled on fear over risk over danger. Gluten irritates our colon; milk is acidifying; cooked meat is brimming with carcinogens. Oh, and aluminum foil kills our brain.</p> Thu, 31 May 2018 17:20:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 7116 at /oss Book Review: Pandora's Lab /oss/article/reviews/book-review-pandoras-lab <p>An idiot is dumber than an imbecile, who is dumber than a moron. The word 鈥渕oron鈥� was first derived from the Greek in 1910 to identify individuals with an IQ score between 51 and 70. It may sound funny today, but it heralded the eugenics movement, which was anything but hilarious.</p> Thu, 05 Oct 2017 03:16:03 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 3200 at /oss Review: "A User鈥檚 Guide to Cheating Death" /oss/article/health-reviews/review-users-guide-cheating-death <p>While Tim Caulfield is a fantastic author, you can鈥檛 read one of his books and see him perform 鈥淪exy Cat with a Twist鈥�. That鈥檚 where the television series聽<em><a href="http://www.visiontv.ca/cheating-death/">A User鈥檚 Guide to Cheating Death</a></em>聽comes to the rescue.</p> <p>The goal of the series is to explore the popular and controversial procedures which, we are told, will improve our health, reverse aging, and stave off death. Tim Caulfield serves as our guide, narrator, and guinea pig.</p> Thu, 14 Sep 2017 16:54:43 +0000 Jonathan Jarry, MSc 2627 at /oss