Katz

There is an intrinsic problem with measuring the quality of a system by how well it conforms to what you already believe. Such a system gets bonus points for agreeing with you -- even when you are wrong.

The National Consumers League, claiming to represent consumers' interests, issued a press release this week announcing they had submitted a complaint to the FDA, asking the agency to banish NuVal from the nation's supermarkets.

When it comes to nutrition and the monumental influence it has on our health, the rubber hits the road wherever people and food come together. Kitchens and cafeterias. Schools and workplaces. Supermarkets and restaurants.

If we are prepared to acknowledge the widespread bullying to which both science and sense are subject at the hands of the almighty dollar, we might commit ourselves to the systematic effort of distinguishing the two.

Tirades are, by their very nature, apt to gain a lot of attention and "go viral." They are dramatic. They are extreme, provocative, and full of intrigue. Hype sells. Unfortunately, much of the time -- it is wrong.

What makes the K-E diet truly appalling is that it transforms a medical therapy into the indulgence of a short-term, short-sighted, vanity-driven whim. It opens up a whole new world of shockingly bad ideas.

Unlike genes, over which we do not have true mastery and are unlikely to any time soon, memes are of our own devising. We have the means to make them do what we want.

With a nod to my many colleagues who are genuinely expert in weight management counseling, and have long addressed it well -- and especially to those who taught me to do so -- I must acknowledge that the track record for the large majority of our clan is not pretty.

Based on a small, brief, but nonetheless profound and compelling study in the current issue of the highly regarded scientific journal, Cell Metabolism, I intend to start taking resveratrol.

This is not about Food Day. This is about the other 364 days this year; the 365 days last year; and the 365 days next year. Why aren't THEY Food Day?

A committee commissioned by the Institute of Medicine just released its report on front-of-pack nutrition guidance. The recommendations are good in that they may help prevent the food industry from doing bad. The recommendations are bad if they forestall the implementation of superior approaches. And the recommendations are downright ugly if...

Please stop asking whether or not men have prostate cancer by using this test, in other words, because it is tantamount to asking for trouble.

We have yet to see the full toll of 9/11 among first responders, even 10 years out. All relevant resources should be made available to address the burden of illness shouldered by these brave souls who rushed toward the very thing most of us with just average courage would flee.

Many doctors, particularly young doctors, come to view test results as if handed down direct from the heavens -- and forget that context greatly alters their implications. It shouldn't be your burden to defend against this -- but alas, it is.

My lab has completed two studies of walnuts -- our first study showed that adding walnuts to the daily diet of adults with Type 2 diabetes for two months significantly improved blood vessel health.

The First Lady is human, and to my knowledge, has never claimed to be otherwise. Maybe she was just having one of "those days," and needed lunch therapy.

Adults are criminally liable if they give cigarettes, or alcohol, or illicit drugs to a child. But our society does not view giving a child a donut, or fries, or soda as abusive -- even if it occurs day after day.

So while I suppose I am indulging in some self-defense, I am far more concerned with defending science. Because the self-proclaimed guardians of science are denigrating it, every day.

Some day, ideally, we will convert the world we live in to a place where eating well and being active are the norm for us all.

Knowledge is not power. Where there's a will, there may or may not be a way. And fitness must be made to fit. Some truths are, indeed, self-evident -- others require a bit of cultivation.