16 Dec 2008
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First It’s Not Safe, and Then It Is! The FDA Position on Melamine May Give Us All a Case of Whiplash

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Melamine was first synthesized by a German chemist in 1834, and melamine resin is used in Formica for countertops and dry erase boards as well as flame retardants. A 1958 patent described the use of melamine as a non-protein nitrogen (NPN) for cattle. Melamine is sometimes illegally added to food products in order to increase the apparent protein content. Standard tests that estimate protein levels by measuring the nitrogen content can be misled by adding nitrogen-rich compounds such as melamine.

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16 Dec 2008
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Survey of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use among American Adults and Children

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The 2007 National Health Interview Study, an annual interview of more than 23,000 Americans on their health and illness-related experiences, was developed jointly by NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, or NCCAM, and the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. This year’s survey included questions about 38 different types of complementary and alternative […]

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09 Dec 2008
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The Science of Prevention

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A recent Wall Street Journal article told the story of a group of 600 volunteers at Emory University who underwent an exhaustive predictive health assessment in order to prescribe lifestyle changes. Emory plans to use the data to help identify areas for intervention, assigning half the participants to health coaches to determine their effectiveness. While […]

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