Internal Medicine

Can Marijuana Help Keep Diabetes in Check?

Of all the good things marijuana can do for you -- enhance your hearing at reggae concerts, make you fall in love with otherwise unattractive people, inspire you say profound things while sitting in a hot tub -- this one is pretty amazing. Researchers using five years worth of National Health and N ... More >>

California Takes Up Soda Tax Idea

California lawmakers are considering a bill this week that would tax sugary drinks to the tune of one cent per fluid ounce. That would add 12 cents to your typical can of Coke -- but not Diet Coke. It would also affect the price of sweet tea, but not tea that you add sugar to yourself. Yes, this is ... More >>

Marijuana Users Don't Eat More, Study Says

The stereotype of the chunky, Cheetos-scarfing pothead never rang true to us. All the daily smokers we knew were more like Spicoli than Belushi (who appeared to like the nose candy anyway). Yet another study (see this report from 2011) seems to support the idea that daily cannabis users don't neces ... More >>

Sugary Drinks Linked to 180,000 Deaths Annually

Now we know you were all really mad at NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg for trying to ban large-sized sodas. But the man may have had a point. Sugary beverages are linked to more than 180,000 deaths worldwide annually, according to new research presented this week at an American Heart Assn. conference. ... More >>

Americans are Commonly Dying Under Age 50: Blame Stupid Choices, Too Much Driving and Sitting, and Poverty, Study Says

Everyone wants to live forever. But a study from USC and the National Academies suggests that if you'd like to see 51, it's time a lot of people stopped acting stupid. Americans spend more on health care than anyone, but are less healthy, birth to death, than residents in other developed countries. ... More >>

Researchers Paying People to Get Fat on Junk Food

Raise your hand if you'd like to be paid to eat junk food every day. In a study that is proving popular with participants, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are paying people to eat an extra 1,000-calorie fast food meal every day for three months, ABC News reports ... More >>

Nutrition Science Initiative: Scientists Create 'Manhattan Project' to Take On Obesity in U.S.

Why are Americans so damn fat, and what can be done about it? A newly launched nonprofit organization, the Nutrition Science Initiative, is trying to find the answer to that mind-boggler. NuSI's goal is to "create a Manhattan Project-like effort" to solve the problem of obesity in the U.S. by focusi ... More >>

Peter Reinhart's Upcoming Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Baking Book

Attention Peter Reinhart fans, the crusty bread guru has a new baking book that will hit shelves in two weeks! Take note, there's been a slight change of his baguette direction. This time, he co-authored the book with Denene Wallace, a baker who specializes in high-protein, low carbohydrate, glute ... More >>

Nestle Acquires Stake in "Brain Food" Company

Your teeth may be rotten, but your brain will be sparkling! Nestle, best known for making candy bars like Butterfinger and Kit Kat, is branching out into "brain health products" by purchasing a stake in a company that makes milkshakes for Alzheimer's patients, The Wall Street Journal reports. Broom ... More >>

Medical Marijuana Can Help You Lose Weight?

We never understood the drug stereotypes of the skinny cocaine user and the overweight stoner. Just take a look at John Belushi or Montel Williams. New research suggests that, indeed, those old stereotypes might be wrong: Weed might actually help you fight obesity. That would explain all the skinny ... More >>

Domino's New Crust Tests (Mostly) Gluten-Free

Domino's, we may have wronged you. Last month, we wrote about the pizza chain's new "gluten-free" crust, and how the company added a bunch of disclaimers to that description, including saying the new pizza "was not recommended for people with celiac disease." Although the pizza was made with gluten ... More >>

7-Eleven Introduces Slurpee Lite Free Slurpee Day

7-Eleven is introducing a new low-calorie, sugar-free Slurpee at its stores nationwide this week. The offering targets women in their 20s who have bought into the whole "skinny girl" hoopla. Right off the bat, we see a couple of problems with this move. One, we weren't aware that anyone over the ag ... More >>

Lawsuit Seeks Federal Ban on Foie Gras

And the foie gras wars continue: According to Courthouse News, the Animal League Defense Fund and other animal rights organizations filed a lawsuit this week against the U.S. Department of Agriculture for continuing to permit the sale of foie gras. The lawsuit claims that the federal agency's failu ... More >>

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 5/7 - 5/11

In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "I was never trying to make a statement about vegetarianism at Ubuntu, I was just trying to showcase the best ingredients I had available." Q & A With Jeremy Fox: Paper or Plastik, Prefabs, His New L.A. Restaurant Life Post- ... More >>

Black Licorice Found to Fight Diabetes

The cure for diabetes might be ... candy? Scientists have discovered that licorice root, the raw material for licorice candy, may be effective in treating type 2 diabetes, The Atlantic reports. A research team at the Max Plank Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin, Germany, has identified a ... More >>

Domino's Introduces (Sort of) Gluten-Free Crust

Domino's is proud to be the first national pizza delivery chain to introduce a gluten-free pizza crust for their "choice consumers." There's just one little hitch: They can't guarantee the pizza is actually gluten-free. So it's not recommended for those with celiac disease, but rather, only for tho ... More >>

Is Sugar Toxic? Research Says Yes

We hope everyone knows by now that sugar is bad for you. But just how bad? Is it merely empty calories we have to spend an extra hour at the gym to sweat off? Apparently, no. A research team from the University of California, San Francisco says it's so bad it should listed as a toxic substance. W ... More >>

Paula Deen and Her Brother Bubba Accused of Sexual Harassment

Whether she's hiding a three-year-old type-2 diabetes diagnosis, inking deals with pharmaceutical companies for diabetes drugs or dropping two pants sizes, Paula Deen is riding an unpredictable public relations roller coaster with the media this year. And now, Deen is back in the headlines: a former ... More >>

Cleo Berry, Los Angeles Actor With 2 Legs, Photoshopped Into Diabetic Amputee by NYC Health Department

It's one thing to wake up to a heroic graphic design of your face on the cover of TIME, a la Sarah Mason of Occupy L.A. It's another to wake up to an unflattering (and even more unflatteringly manipulated) photo of yourself on a New York City billboard, and all over the Internet, posing as a fat gu ... More >>

TSA Officers Confuse Insulin Pump for Gun at LAX, Declare 'Security Breach'

This morning's big TSA blunder at LAX was kind of the opposite of cupcakegate -- call it diabetesgate. Here's what happened, according to the Los Angeles Times: A woman with an insulin pump on her person was screened with one of those privacy-infringing porn machines the TSA likes to call "advanced ... More >>

5 Paula Deen Desserts Not to Try if You're Diabetic: Or, Adventures in Schaden-fried

Given Paula Deen's recent announcement about her Type 2 diabetes diagnosis and her partnership with Novo Nordisk, we thought we'd follow up our 5 Paula Deen Holiday Recipes We Don't Want To Try with a few more recipes we would suggest diabetics (and health-conscious eaters in general) stay away from ... More >>

Food News Roundup: Kobawoo House, Paula Deen Has Diabetes How Much Bacon Increases Your Risk of Cancer

Flickr/Andy Ciordiaa bacon weave​CBS News: Pancreatic cancer risk increases with every 2 strips of bacon you eat. (Good to know.) Gastronomy: More fun at Kobawoo House in Koreatown. Eater LA: La Cachette Bistro closes for good. OC Weekly: Paula Deen announces she has diabetes and is now a ... More >>

Barbara Morrison

Drug Users to Get Fresh Needles Without Prescriptions Under New California Program

Jared Cuffe​Looks like you'll be able to get fresh needles, no questions asked, at your local pharmacy soon. Good news, right Courtney? (We kid). The pro-marijuana Drug Policy Alliance is happy that Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law SB41, which will allow you to get your favorite drug-delivery ... More >>

Hard Liquor Increases Risk of Pancreatitis

Guzzle & NoshLiquor bottles behind the bar at 1886 in Pasadena.​Candy may be dandy but liquor is quicker, especially when it comes to increasing your risk of pancreatitis. Drinking just 4 cl. (centilitre) of hard liquor, the equivalent of 1.35 US fluid ounces (or a little more than a typical 1 ... More >>

Diet Sodas Make You Fat, Study Finds

Flickr/GoodNCrazy​ They may be calorie-free, but diet sodas can still make you fat, apparently. A 10-year study by the University of Texas, San Antonio has found that diet sodas can actually make you gain weight, especially in the stomach area, the London Daily Mail reports. The beverages and ... More >>

Scientists Discover Obesity "Master Switch" Gene: And No, It Does Not Control Your Car Window

Flickr/Jeremy Brooksa drive-thru window view​ Yesterday Reuters reported that scientists have found a so-called "master switch" for obesity. And no, it is not the lock button on your car door window. Although given that the line of cars recently stacking up to order drive-thru at the first br ... More >>

Employee At Jerry's Deli In Westwood Contracts Hepatitis A: Customers Warned

jerrysfamousdeli.comNot the employee in question.​If you ate a sandwich at Jerry's Famous Deli in Westwood between Nov. 18 and 24, you might want to get a hepatitis A vaccination. Turns out an employee there got the hep. And he was making sandwiches Nov. 18, 21, 23 and 24. Yummie sandwiches. ... More >>

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 9/13-9/17

In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "Ovine: It means sheeplike. Food writers don't use that one nearly enough." Top 10 Food Words We Love. "A professional knife sharpener is a beautifully atavistic profession, not unlike being a cobbler or a Shaker chairmake ... More >>

New Cookbook: The Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef, Not Just For The Gluten Free

​So many gluten-free cookbooks have the word "diet" slinking around somewhere on the cover. Presumably to catch the eye of those who might not have celiac disease but actually (really?) enjoy constantly running from one restrictive eating treadmill to another. A doctor-prescribed limited diet ... More >>

The 13th Step: Researchers Find That Chocolate Can Save Your Liver

Valrhona chocolate​ Your favorite 12 Step program just got a new step: chocolate. Reuters reports that Spanish researchers have found that eating chocolate after meals decreased abdominal blood pressure, which can reach dangerous levels in patients with cirrhosis of the liver. In other words, ... More >>

L.A. County In Relatively Good Health

​The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health this week touted a study that concluded L.A. county has "one of the lowest per capita death rates in the state, ranking 14th out of the state's 58 counties," according to a statement from the department. "This report underscores that our col ... More >>

THESE TWO NIHILISTS WALK INTO A BAR

Fun With Johnny Cakes

BEWARE OF GLITTER

Lila Downs Cancels Santa Monica Pier Show

Elena Pardo​Oaxaca singer Lila Downs has canceled her Thursday night performance at Santa Monica Pier. In her place will be the Lowrider Band. Last week we profiled Downs, and were greatly looking forward to her show. Here's the announcement: August 23rd, 2009 It is with much regret that we ... More >>

There Will Be Blood Sugar

Susan Partovi

Medicine woman

Sugar Highs and Lows at Hollywood's Cupcake Challenge

If you give a guy a cupcake ...

Guantanamo Detainee Mysteriously Contracts AIDS

Fresh air for prisoners at Guantanamo Abdul Hamid al-Ghizzawi, a Libyan meteorologist currently designated an "enemy combatant" and imprisoned by the U.S. government at Guantanamo Bay, has mysteriously contracted AIDS inside the notorious compound. According to his lawyer Candace Gorman, Al-Ghizz ... More >>

Lisa D'Amato Likes Balls, Jason Bentley "Not Sure" About Elephants

I wasn't at Banksy's Barely Legal opening party last night, but I did bump in to OBEY artist Shepard Fairey later on at La Cita downtown, and he told me all about it. He said that it was 'amazing' (not an unexpected response from Fairey, who believes Banksy to be one of the most important ... More >>

The Jock's Itch

Petros Papadakis

Letters

In the Lap of Lobbyists

Our Bodies, Their Solutions

The rise and fall of one more fad diet

Pharm Phresh

Frankenfoods II