Exercise has many virtues but, contrary to popular belief, it is not an efficient way to lose weight. So what is? “The idea that our obesity epidemic is caused by sedentary lifestyles has spread widely over the past few decades, spurring a multibillion-dollar industry that pitches gadgets and gimmicks promising to walk, run and kickbox … Continue reading
Tag Archives: food
Read: The Food Babe’s Friends… and Critics
If you listen to my podcast, Within Reason, you know my thoughts on Vani Hari’s crusade against ingredients whose names she can’t pronounce. On her blog, FoodBabe.com, she regularly commits logical fallacies in her attempt to “educate” the public on what constitutes healthy food. Kathleen Purvis of the Charlotte Observer recently wrote a fairly lengthy article addressing the … Continue reading
Seeing Without Glasses or How Nonsense Looks Credible from a Distance
My boss sits me down in this comfortable optometrist chair and asks me to remove my glasses and find the lowest line I can read on the eye chart. He then hands me a pair of pinhole glasses and asks me to repeat the exercise. Lo and behold, I can read smaller print. A certified … Continue reading
Watch: Dr. Joe Schwarcz on MSG and Chinese Restaurant Syndrome
It used to be I would be glad to see the sign “NO MSG” when looking at the menu of my favourite East Asian stir-fry restaurant. Why? Well, as everybody knows, MSG is bad for you. MSG stands for monosodium glutamate, which causes all kinds of health problems. I heard my hairdresser’s sister got asthma … Continue reading
Cracked Science 