Though millions of words have been written about the health care reform that may or may not become law in 2010, very few actually address the health of the American citizenry. Apparently it’s assumed that expanding health care insurance is the same thing as improving the health of the American people. Not true. As I hope to make clear, “improving health” is not the same as “providing health care insurance.” While health care insurance certainly improves access to treatment, it doesn’t necessarily improve the overall health of the American people. Continue reading Improving Americans’ Health, With or Without Health Care Reform Improving Americans’ Health, With or Without Health Care Reform originally appeared on DailyFinance on Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:00:00. Filed Under: Healthcare Permalink | Tweet this! | Comments

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Improving Americans’ Health, With or Without Health Care Reform

Filed under: Healthcare , Pfizer , Merck , GlaxoSmithKline “There have been long-standing concerns regarding the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) oversight of postmarket drug safety.” So begins a Government Accountability Office (GOA) report released on Wednesday that examines the steps the FDA has taken since making its own 2006 recommendations on the matter. In the eyes of many, the GAO’s finding may be an understatement. The GAO’s main recommendation was that the FDA separate responsibilities between the Office of New Drugs and the Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology — the first would approve new drugs, and the second would follow up on postmarket drug safety issues. When those approving the drugs in the first place are also responsible for tracking them postmarket, potential conflicts could arise, the GAO found. Those who approved the drug — obviously finding it safe enough — may find themselves in an awkward position if the drug is later found to be lacking. Continue reading Missing in action: An FDA plan for postmarket drug safety Missing in action: An FDA plan for postmarket drug safety originally appeared on DailyFinance on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Missing in action: An FDA plan for postmarket drug safety

Filed under: Company News , Media , Pepsico Food manufacturers, like the politicians currently debating health reform, may have a solution to the obesity crisis: Feed Americans a lot of hot air. But this heated air is not just a figure of speech for packaged goods companies including Ralcorp Holdings’ ( RAH ) Post Foods and PepsiCo ( PEP ) subsidiaries Frito-Lay and Quaker. In many packaged products, as much as 50% of the contents is just empty space, an investigation by Consumer Reports reveals . And we consumers are buying that nothingness every day. Continue reading How much for the air? As much as half of food packaging is empty space How much for the air? As much as half of food packaging is empty space originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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How much for the air? As much as half of food packaging is empty space

Filed under: Company News , Healthcare I’m the first to harangue against chocolate milk marketed as a healthy choice for children. Call me if you want a rant on the terrible health risks associated with modern meat production . Need outrage about deceptively fattening movie theater popcorn ? I’m your woman. I’ve been known to send my children out of the house with a firm reminder never to accept the offer of fast-food hamburgers from strangers, or their own daddy. Hardee’s famous 2/3-pound Monster Thickburger is just the sort of delicacy someone like me might fear: It’s made of two 1/3-pound beef patties, four strips of bacon and three slices of American cheese on a mayonnaise-coated sesame seed bun. It weighs in at 1,420 calories and 43 grams of saturated fat — more than double the daily recommendation for an adult. It’s obscene. But do I think we need to be protected from Hardee’s Monster Thickburger and other foods of its ilk? Continue reading Do ginormous fast-food helpings need warning labels? Nope Do ginormous fast-food helpings need warning labels? Nope originally appeared on DailyFinance on Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Do ginormous fast-food helpings need warning labels? Nope

Filed under: Company News When it comes to comfort foods, chocolate milk ranks right up there with pizza and mac n’ cheese. But a campaign to market the sweetened milk as a healthy choice for kids is leaving parent groups anything but comforted. As we know, sugar may be a huge contributor to our obesity crisis and other chronic diseases. The American Heart Association in fact recently recommended children limit their intake of sugar to 16 grams a day. The association might, then, be surprised that pediatricians, dieticians, celebrities and a whole social media campaign are fighting the good fight for chocolate milk, calling it a healthy choice for kids. How much added sugar, you ask, does eight ounces of chocolate milk contain? Four teaspoons, 16 grams, making one serving the maximum a child should consume every day. Continue reading Got chocolate milk? Parent groups say no amid effort pushing it as ‘health food’ Got chocolate milk? Parent groups say no amid effort pushing it as ‘health food’ originally appeared on DailyFinance on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Got chocolate milk? Parent groups say no amid effort pushing it as ‘health food’

Filed under: Company News , Healthcare Drugmaker Amgen ( AMGN ) did not win the Food and Drug Administration’s approval on Monday for its experimental osteoporosis treatment denosumab. Amgen, based in Thousand Oaks, California, had been banking on the drug’s approval for company growth , but the FDA asked for more information to make a decision. Although the news was unsurprising, clearly, the road is far bumpier than initially envisioned for the drug by the company, analysts and investors alike. It’s unclear how much time Amgen will need to meet the FDA’s requests. Amgen applied in February for approval of denosumab — or Prolia, by its trade name — which it’s studying in a range of bone-loss conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis and bone loss from treatment for breast and prostate cancer, and for its potential to delay bone metastases and to inhibit and treat bone destruction across many stages of cancer. Continue reading Amgen’s bone drug gets delayed by the FDA, and Wall Street isn’t surprised Amgen’s bone drug gets delayed by the FDA, and Wall Street isn’t surprised originally appeared on DailyFinance on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Amgen’s bone drug gets delayed by the FDA, and Wall Street isn’t surprised

Filed under: Media In case you needed convincing that things have changed for good in the glossy magazine business, the best proof yet arrived Monday morning, when Cond

Filed under: Company News , Technology , McDonald’s The greatest potato consumer in the U.S. is McDonalds ( MCD ), which buys 1.5 million tons of spuds every year to make french fries for the world. Of course, buying so much of a single commodity means McDonald’s choices greatly affect the rest of the country — and it makes the company an easy target for advocates of sustainable growing. In March, McDonald’s acceded to the wishes of shareholders who wanted it to develop best practices for reducing the pesticides used to process its potatoes. The term “best practices” tends to be slippery, but any actions by McDonald’s will by definition have a massive impact on the food industry. With that in mind, the company is working with growers and food scientists to develop new strains of potatoes that will satisfy customers while supporting the environment. Continue reading McDonald’s prepares to switch its fries to a greener potato McDonald’s prepares to switch its fries to a greener potato originally appeared on DailyFinance on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: Company News , Coca-Cola Company , Pepsico If the new TV commercials for Truvia and PureVia are any indication, stevia has made a sudden and astonishing leapfrog from hippie sprinkle to bonafide challenger to the decades-long dominance of the blue (Equal), pink (Sweet and Low), and yellow (Splenda) packets on the tables of diners and coffee shops everywhere. Is its use in mainstream soda brands far behind? Hard to say, but one thing is pretty clear: the days of chemical-derived sweeteners are waning as consumers become more suspicious of foodstuffs which, as the food writer Michael Pollan says, can’t be imagined growing in nature. Stevia has been used by natives of South and Central America for centuries, and has long been highly-regarded for its intense sweetness, 30 times as sweet as sugar. It similarity to sugar is legendary: as Time magazine says of its key component, rebaudioside A, it has a “profile very similar to sugar with respect to onset, intensity and duration of sweetness.” Continue reading Stevia shakes up the sweetener wars Stevia shakes up the sweetener wars originally appeared on DailyFinance on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Stevia shakes up the sweetener wars

Filed under: Energy , Company News Warm ice cream. Sounds oxymoronic, or just plain moronic, right? Not to Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever ( UL ), which is developing ice cream consumers could buy at room temperature and then freeze at home, according to a report in The Times of London . There is actually a reason for this potential food faux-pas: the giant marketer behind the Breyers, Klondike, and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream brands sees “ambient” ice cream as a way to lower carbon emissions created by transport and storage. Continue reading Talk about Unilever’s warm ice cream gives artisan producers the shivers Talk about Unilever’s warm ice cream gives artisan producers the shivers originally appeared on DailyFinance on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Talk about Unilever’s warm ice cream gives artisan producers the shivers