So after a break of almost 13 months, fluoride is now back in Hamilton's water supply. It was 5 June last year that the council, after three months of public consultations, submissions and hearings, ... (401 words)

"Alkaline and hydrogen-rich" water is being touted as the latest cure-all. There is a sort of health shop in the Johnsonville Mall on the outside of which is this handsome sign: Which is intriguing. ... (819 words)

Alison Campbell learns some interesting facts about water chemistry Following recent events in Hamilton I've found myself involved in several debates on the merits of fluoridated water lately. This ... (712 words)

Iridologist's neglect led to 'avoidable' death A Te Horo iridologist breached the code of human rights and failed, as a healthcare provider, to give a Feilding grandmother proper care, the Human ... (1303 words)

Hormone supplements derived from plants are widely promoted as more 'natural' than hormones from horses, but they carry the same risks - and some more of their own. The New Zealand Menopause ... (786 words)

Stuart Landsborough conducts a small experiment which may land him in big trouble. I tried an experiment with my wife, but until now she knows nothing about it. I wonder what her reaction will be ... (692 words)

Having a basic knowledge of the principles of chemistry can help one evade the pitfalls of many pseudosciences - but it's not infallible. This article is based on a presentation to the 2011 NZ ... (2610 words)

Proponents of alternative therapies often throw around charges of vested interest when challenged. But often their own interests don't bear scrutiny. As this is the first of what I hope will be a ... (1042 words)

A 'natural' way to manage teething pain has no plausible mechanism. Parents, especially new parents like myself, are a vulnerable group. We tend to be full of anxiety that we are doing the 'right ... (1235 words)

How to Poison your Spouse the Natural Way: A Kiwi Guide to Safe Eating, by Jay D Mann. JDM & Associates, $24.95. Reviewed by David Riddell. A Christchurch mother who fed her five-year-old son raw ... (329 words)

Selenium - Too Much of a Good Thing? New Zealand soils are deficient in selenium and this can cause serious health problems for animals. A 500kg animal needs about 1mg selenium daily. There is no ... (1259 words)

Cellulite - Just a Euphemism for Fat Cellulite is the term used by women's magazines to describe dimpled fat. It has no scientific or anatomical validity and it is simply ordinary fatty tissue that ... (1333 words)

The Skeptics flyer on colloidal silver (see the resources section on the Website) prompted this interesting correspondence from a doctor dealing with it. Argyria and the whole food supplement issue ... (197 words)

Insecurities about water quality have led to a boom in sales of bottled water. But the health benefits of the phenomenon are probably minimal. We were surprised to hear recently that sales of ... (976 words)

Whether or not you believe in the paranormal may depend entirely on your brain chemistry. People with high levels of dopamine are more likely to find significance in coincidences, and pick out ... (336 words)

NZCSICOP Politics As a subscriber to your magazine, I am concerned by the general trends evident in the statements made by a number of your contributors. For example, in the last issue Mr Wyant ... (1373 words)

One of the fictions of the "naive-greens" and other "irrationalists" is that "chemicals" are bad while natural products (non-chemicals?) are good. When asked if water is a chemical, and hence evil, ... (537 words)

What is the link between chemicals and cancer? Forty years ago, Bruce Ames was a young microbiologist working at NIH in the day and enjoying Scottish country dancing in the evening, when he had an ... (2498 words)

The media were quick to cry "Wolf" when concerns were raised about the fungicide Benlate. On 9 December, 1993, the people of Canterbury read an alarming headline in the Christchurch Press: "Herbicide ... (1077 words)