By MICHAEL POLLAN
New York Times
09-11-09
Berkeley, Calif.
TO listen to President Obama’s speech on Wednesday night, or to just about anyone else in the health care debate, you would think that the biggest problem with health care in America is the system itself — perverse incentives, inefficiencies, unnecessary tests and procedures, lack of competition, and greed.
No one [...]

By ANAHAD O’CONNOR
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/08/health/08real.html?em
THE FACTS
In a country obsessed with germs and sickness, antibacterial soaps and sanitizers are becoming more and more common. But because such products contribute to the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, some researchers recommend sanitizers made with cinnamon oil, which has been shown in many studies to have powerful antimicrobial properties.
A recent [...]

By TARA PARKER-POPE
As head of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. David A. Kessler served two presidents and battled Congress and Big Tobacco. But the Harvard-educated pediatrician discovered he was helpless against the forces of a chocolate chip cookie.
In an experiment of one, Dr. Kessler tested his willpower by buying two gooey chocolate chip cookies [...]

By JANE E. BRODY

You may find this surprising — I certainly did — but only about 15 percent of Americans regularly consume beverages and foods that contain artificial sweeteners.
Given the perpetual struggles in this nation with expanding waistlines, and the apparent popularity of diet sodas, I would have expected that at least half the population [...]

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
That, more or less, is the short answer to the supposedly incredibly complicated and confusing question of what we humans should eat in order to be maximally healthy. I hate to give away the game right here at the beginning of a long essay, and I confess that I’m [...]