Merinda Teller, MPH, PhD

Mercury’s Poisonous Persistence in the Medical Armamentarium

Reading Between the Lines Mercury, science and medicine have a long, intertwined history, dating back to ancient times.1 Historians believe that Arab physicians were using mercury compounds as […]

Read More »

Modern Assaults on the Thyroid

Thyroid health is critically important. Thethyroid gland—which makes and secretes hormones that regulate metabolism—influences cells, tissues and organs throughout the body. As one thyroid expert puts it, “Without […]

Read More »

Red Meat: The Food They Love to Hate

In late October 2015, one of the nutrition establishment’s most cherished villains—red meat—hit the newsstands again in a big way. A report by the cancer agency of the […]

Read More »

Microwave Radiation Coming to a Lamppost Near You

In an exceptionally short period of time, cellular technologies have become a dominant fixture of modern-day life. When the first clunky cell phones became commercially available in the […]

Read More »

Much Ado about Obstetric Dilemmas

When you are an excited mom-to-be, and you know that natural childbirth is important for the health of mother and child, ending up with a cesarean section (c-section) […]

Read More »

MSG: Three Little Letters that Spell Big Fat Trouble

Chances are, if you are not obese yourself, you know someone who is. Nearly two-fifths (38 percent) of all adults in the U.S. are obese, as are over […]

Read More »

Growing and Eating: What Teenage Boys Do Best

My teenage sons have always had hearty appetites. Even as babies, the boys nursed enthusiastically. Later, they developed a genuinely omnivorous appreciation for the seasonally varied, nutrient-dense diet […]

Read More »

Soy Infant Formula and Autism

Rates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are skyrocketing. According to the most recent National Health Interview Survey from 2014, 2 percent of children aged three to seventeen in […]

Read More »

Zika and the Rush to Judgement

Reading Between the Lines Not infrequently, individuals who assertively proclaim that “the science” and “the facts” buttress their position on a given topic do so with the intention […]

Read More »

Understanding the Concussion Epidemic: The Importance of Nourishing the Brain

When the film Concussion was released in late 2015, pundits noted that the topic of sports-related traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) had “gone Hollywood.”1 Although the movie focuses on […]

Read More »

Lead in the Water: Flint’s Cautionary Tale

Reading Between the Lines Nutrition Updates by Merinda Teller, MPH, PhD Historians may disagree about the extent to which the decline of the Roman Empire can be attributed […]

Read More »