Some health information is newsworthy but doesn’t justify a full column. This week’s column consists of several, random health tips.

• Paleo advocates are touting bone broth as a health food, claiming that it heals leaky gut, promotes healthy joints, improves immunity and improves appearance (by replacing skin collagen, which diminishes with age). However, on his website nutritionfacts.org, Dr. Michael Greger points out that there is no scientific evidence supporting these claims. Furthermore, bone broth may cause harm, due to lead, which is concentrated in bones of fish and animals. Studies show worrisome lead levels in bone broth made from fish, chicken and other meat products — even wild game killed with lead bullets. Lead in humans leads to problems with the nervous system; kidneys; bone marrow; and reproductive, cardiovascular and endocrine systems.

• According to the journal Pediatrics, secondhand cannabis smoke can be absorbed by children living in houses of cannabis marijuana smokers, which potentially could cause harm.

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• According to Nutrition Action, an unbiased publication put out by the Center For Science in the Public Interest, prominent medical researchers have recently resigned from important positions after failing to disclose financial ties with drug companies, health care companies and the food industry. Respected nutritionist Marion Nestle recently published a book called “Unsavory Truth: How Food Companies Skew the Science of What We Eat.” It discusses “conferences awash in corporate largesse”; Big Food paying academic researchers to produce industry-favorable results in studies; hefty donations by Big Food to organizations such as the American Society for Nutrition; and scientists with industry ties on advisory panels that shape the government’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which set standards for food programs such as school lunches and home meals for seniors.

• Starting in 2020, potassium and vitamin D will be added to food labels.

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• An ounce of red or yellow peppers contains more than three times the amount of vitamin C than an ounce of oranges or orange juice.

• For optimal health, it’s important to eat legumes every day. To cut down on gas-forming substances in beans, soak them in water with a teaspoon of baking soda, then discard the soaking water and cover them with fresh water when you cook them. Also, edamame (soy beans) rarely cause gas. Furthermore, if you stick with daily intake of beans for two weeks, gassiness usually resolves.

• According to an article in the PCRM (Physician Committee For Responsible Medicine) journal, a meta-analysis published in Molecular Psychiatry showed that people on inflammatory, animal product-based diets had an increased incidence of depression. Eating vegetables, nuts and fruit decreased the incidence of depression — thought to be due to a reduction in inflammation, oxidation and insulin resistance.

• A study in the Journal of Nutrition suggested that eating whole, unprocessed grains helped prevent type 2 diabetes.

• Sleep apnea is associated with high total LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglycerides; and low HDL (good) cholesterol.

Dr. Feinsinger, who retired from Glenwood Medical Associates after 42 years as a family physician, has a nonprofit Center For Prevention and Treatment of Disease Through Nutrition. He is available for free consultations about heart attack prevention and other medical issues. Call 970-379-5718 for an appointment. For questions about his columns, email him at gfeinsinger@comcast.net.