By law, California schools prohibit the sale of sugary soft drinks in schools during school hours. The idea was to have kids drink water and juice. But overwhelmingly, the replacement has been “sports” drinks, which are nothing more than sugar water with artificial food colorings, and ,yes, a few electrolytes. The great majority of kids don’t reach a point where their body needs these electrolytes. But the beverage companies... 

The headline on the Washington Post ’s health blog, The Checkup: ” Study: Soda drinkers at increased risk of pancreatic cancer .” The headline on the Village Voice ’s Edible News blog, pointing to the Post ’s item: ” New Study Adds Pancreatic Cancer to Soda’s List of Evils .” But both items go on to explain the many weaknesses in the study. From what I can tell, despite what the study’s authors... 

The best kept secret in the food industry is its liberal use of the definition of a serving size . You’d think a serving size should reflect what the average person consumes, but it seems that many manufacturers are selling their products to smurfs, not humans. How else can you explain exactly 11 potato chips or half a cup of ice cream counting as a serving? The FDA, it appears, is calling the bluff, and according to the New York Times,...