Regulators Begin Actions on Drugs as Foods Lazy Cakes, a brownie filled with now 7.8 mg of melatonin, unknown amounts of valerian root and other “herbal” drugs, was banned last week by the Arkansas Department of Health. It also facing a ban in Fall River and New Bedford, Massachusetts. When I wrote about Lazy Cakes […]
Is it a food or a drug? (5/3/11)
The Differences Between Food and Medicine Can foods be drugs and drugs foods? A popular definition of food might include these elements: Nourishment Taste Fuel Energy Materials Appetite Similarly, a popular definition of drug might include issues of: Medical Treatment Decreasing Symptoms Changing Risk Factors of Illness These different arenas sound pretty separable – yet […]
Let your pilot sleep (4/4/11)
Trouble in the Air Holes blow through the tops of airplanes. Cracks appear in the fuselages. Air traffic controllers nod off while the planes are flying – at the main airport for Congress. It’s not been a good time for air travel. And there’s more trouble – pilots involuntarily are falling asleep in the air. […]
When your air traffic controller falls asleep (3/30/11)
Sleep and Security Pilots fall asleep flying. Drivers fall asleep driving. Nuclear plant operators fall asleep manipulating spent fuel rods. Air traffic controllers fall asleep while planes keep flying… Last week the air traffic controller for Ronald Reagen, formerly National Airport, fell asleep. He was controlling traffic at the Washington D.C. airport that is a […]
Booze disrupts sleep – and you’re surprised? (2/16/11)
A Different Kind of Nightcap A study on alcohol and sleep from the University of Michigan has gained much press attention – though much of the news is not new. Yes, alcohol powerfully disrupts sleep. It disrupts lots of healthy processes necessary for body regeneration. The real news may be that media people find the […]
