More pseudo-science about food: "Eating your greens will do more than please your mother: new evidence shows five servings of fruit and vegetables a day can slash your risk of having a stroke by 26 per cent. A review of previous studies, conducted by British and Australian experts, found that even eating between three to five 80g servings a day cut strokes by 11per cent, compared with people who ate fewer than three servings a day. The authors said that while a reduction in stroke from fruit and vegetable consumption was already known, this was the first time researchers had been able to quantify the benefit. The findings suggested that heeding recommendations on fruit and vegetable intake could save lives and prevent thousands of strokes a year.... Their review, published yesterday in The Lancet, looked at the results of eight previous studies that together involved more than 250,000 people who were followed up for an average of 13 years.... The study authors conceded their results might be affected by observational bias. People who ate a lot of fruit and vegetables were probably likely to share other characteristics known to reduce stroke risk - being less likely to smoke or be overweight, and more likely to exercise and to have lower intakes of salt and saturated fat.


Yuk!: "Over the last two years, three women with strange skin conditions have sought help from Dr. Michael A. C. Kane, a plastic surgeon in New York City. One had bumps the size of capers bulging from her lips. One's forehead was red with inflammation. And a third had ridges that looked to Dr. Kane like worms nestled below her eye sockets. All of these problems had been caused by injections of liquid silicone, one of the most controversial substances in cosmetic medicine. Long used without official sanction and then banned by the Food and Drug Administration, liquid silicone was finally approved for medical use in 1997: to hold detached retinas in place. And it has been gradually regaining popularity, as doctors use it off-label to fill wrinkles, furrows and acne scars or add volume to lips and cheeks".


FDA: You're eating crushed bug juice: That ice cream you're eating or the lipstick you're wearing just might contain extract from crushed bugs. On purpose. And the government thinks you should know. The Food and Drug Administration proposed Friday requiring food and cosmetic labels to list cochineal extract or carmine if a product's ingredients include either of the two red colorings that have been extracted from the ground bodies of an insect known since the time of the Aztecs.