Office for Science and Society - Separating Sense from Nonsense

Will Vitamin D Go the Way of Cod Liver Oil?

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 16:58:08 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

In many of my public lectures, I address the topic of dietary supplements and often do a rudimentary audience survey. When I ask about taking Vitamin D, the majority of adult hands go up.

What If We Were Able To Graze on Grass Like Cows?

Shona Hanaishi — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

On a future field trip to Mount Royal, I imagine opening up my lunch box to find a small forest of fried insects flavoured with MSG and curry powder. On the side are some salmon rice balls. Noting I missed some greenery, I grab some grass and sprinkle it onto my rice balls.

$1,950 Worth of Woo: The Biomat, Unwrapped

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Recently, I was forwarded an email about the Biomat—a $1,950 USD “healing mat” that claims to cure everything short of a broken heart. And boy oh boy, is it ever a hotbed of pseudoscience wrapped in a cozy cotton cover and priced like a small vacation. When I dug into the science behind the Biomat’s claims, I found a textbook case of clever marketing dressed up in scientific jargon, with very little evidence to back it up.

An Ode to Yogurt

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 20:55:34 +0000

Many years ago, when I first started teaching about the chemistry of food, yogurt was only granted a few minutes of lecture time. It appeared as one of the first processed foods, albeit accidentally processed, dating back some 7000 years to when bacteria happened to drift into a pot of milk in Mesopotamia, thickening it and giving it a tart taste. I explained that the bacteria were likely of the Lactobacillus genus that produce lactate dehydrogenase, an enzyme that converts the milk sugar lactose into lactic acid.

Can You Get Cancer from Kissing a Smoker and Other Questions with Definitive Answers

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 15:58:14 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

Recycling is Here to Stay: Unpacking Quebec’s Recycling Paradigm Shift

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

When the clock struck midnight on January 1st, 2025, Quebec not only celebrated the beginning of a new year–– it welcomed a new, bold era of recycling. Quebec’s recycling system is now managed by Éco Entreprises Québec (EEQ), a private non-profit organization that oversees all operations related to selective collection. In Quebec, selective collection refers to the curbside recycling system where household waste is collected separately from your recyclables.

Functional Medicine Is a Pipeline to Alt Med

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

A 56-year-old university professor with psoriatic arthritis goes to see a doctor because his condition is worsening. Psoriatic arthritis is a disease where your immune system rebels against you, creating patches of abnormal skin and aching joints. Does the man leave the doctor’s office with a prescription for a better medication than what he was on? No.

Best of Times, Worst of Times

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 16:20:29 +0000

Most of us are living the good life. There is no doubt that we are living longer and in greater comfort than ever before, but at a price. We fly through the air with ease, but that air is becoming polluted. We have conveniently packaged consumer goods, but we are beginning to drown in garbage. Ample water runs out of our taps, but it is tainted with traces of perfluoroalkyl substances. We protect our food supply with pesticides, we devise new materials, we clothe ourselves in novel fibers, we synthesize new medications, but we generate toxic wastes in the process.

For the Love of Carbs

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 18:58:50 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

Disrupting Science with Crypto

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 18:04:27 +0000

Let’s say I am afflicted by a common but non-life-threatening condition. I shall refer to this fictional misfortune as “chin gribbles.” I have chin gribbles. Many people have chin gribbles. It’s annoying and it affects our quality of life. When we go to the pharmacy or speak to a doctor, we’re told there are very few treatment options for chin gribbles, if any.