It’s Safe to Eat Tomatoes

The FDA reported on Thursday, July 17th that it was once again safe to eat fresh tomatoes. The recent salmonella outbreak reached 1,220 confirmed cases, with at least 242 people hospitalized. While the FDA says it is safe to eat tomatoes, eating peppers is another story. The warning against jalapeno and serrano peppers remains in effect for the largest foodborne outbreak in the United States in more than a decade.

The FDA said they still do not know where the original contamination was. In this salmonella outbreak, there are 20 to 30 new cases being reported daily. While the outbreak is definitely not over, there has been a decreased number of new cases since the middle of June. The outbreak began in April of this year.

At first, the FDA thought the cause of the outbreak was due to contaminated tomatoes but it has been linked now to peppers.

Falls Major Cause of Injury/Death Among Elderly

The American Geriatric Society (AGS) states that falling is a leading cause of serious injury and death among the elderly. The AGS reports that most of these falls are occuring in the homes of these elderly people.

“There are many steps people can take to make their home safer for those who are aging. Something as small as using a night light in a dark hallway can prevent an elderly person from falling during the night,” Dr. Cheryl Phillips, a member of the AGS, said in a news release. “Falls are so dangerous to this particular population, and there are easy ways to help avoid them.”

Here are a few safety suggestions the elderly should follow in order to prevent injury and death from falls:

Wear shoes with non-skid soles around the house. Socks can cause you to slip and fall.

For areas of your home that are dimly lit, use night lights.

Install hand rails near any stairs in the home or backyard.

Latest Findings On Breast Self Exams

A new research study found that women giving themselves monthly self breast exams doesn’t make much of a difference at all when it comes to reducing breast cancer deaths.

The review was done by the Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research. Even more shocking is that the study found that doing self exams montly may be doing more harm than good. The research was conducted on approximately 400,000 Chinese and Russian women.

“Data from two large trials do not suggest a beneficial effect of screening by (BSE) but do suggest harm in terms of increased numbers of benign lesions identified and an increased number of biopsies performed,” concluded the authors in Tuesday’s issue of The Cochrane Library. “At present, screening by breast self-examination … cannot be recommended.”

Now that this news has been revealed women are going to wonder what they should really be doing. We have been hearing for years that we should check our breasts monthly.

Do You Want To Know The Calorie Count?

I was reading an article this morning about whether or not people want to know how many calories are actually in the foods they order in restaurant. How about you? Do you think that knowing how fattening the foods are you typically choose when you eat out would make you change your routine? Or would you rather not know because you enjoy your favorite meal so much?

My husband, son and I eat out once a week so I probably would not want to know. It is a family thing we have done together for years and it is something that we enjoy. If I knew how many calories were in the meals we eat I would probably never want to go out again and that would not make my family happy.

We very rarely order desserts so at least that is a good thing. But now that I read that article I will be thinking about every morsel I put in my mouth.

The article said that New York has become the first city in the U.S. to implement a law forcing chain restaurants to post the calorie count of each food in the same size and font as the price. Imagine how this is going to hurt the profits of restaurants.

Is Aspartame Really Bad For You?

Over the past several years, there has continued to be more and more controversy over whether or not aspartame has serious health risks. There is a website, Sweet Poison, where a doctor says that aspartame poisoning almost killed her. Dr. Janet Hull also wrote a book warning people of the dangers of drinking and consuming foods that contain aspartame.

Dr. Hull claims that there are over 92 different health side effects that come from consuming aspartame. Dr. Hull says:

Aspartame dissolves into solution and can therefore travel throughout the body and deposit within any tissue. The body digests aspartame unlike saccharin, which does not break down within humans.

The multitude of aspartame side effects are indicative to your genetic individuality and physical weaknesses. It is important to put two and two together, nonetheless, and identify which side effects aspartame is creating within you.

So what are your thoughts? Do you think that there are risks to consuming aspartame or is it just a bunch of hype?

Vision Loss Tied to Suicide

A report in the Archives of Ophthalmology reports that while vision loss and vision impairment alone does not increase the risk of suicide, there is a risk increase found when vision loss is associated with already poor health.

The findings suggest that better treatments for the underlying conditions that cause visual impairment, along with factors linked with poor self-ratings of health and health conditions may reduce the risk of suicide, Dr. Byron L. Lam, from the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, and colleagues conclude.

The study findings come from over 137,000 adults who were surveyed by the National Center for Health Statistics between 1986 and 1996. Data from these surveys were then linked to mortality data from the National Death Index.

The report states that during an average follow-up period of 11 years there were 200 deaths by suicide recorded.

Cervical Cancer Shot Not Cleared For Certain Women

The FDA has found issues with a cervical cancer shot, Gardasil, for women ages 27 - 45. So Merck Co. cannot yet have the drug approved for women in this age group. Right now it is not known whether the drug will eventually be approved for older women. Merck also said that they did not gain FDA approval of expanded use of Gardisil to protect against more strains of the Human Papillomavirus that causes cervical cancer.

Gardasil was approved in 2006 for preventing cervical cancer and genital warts in females ages 9-26. It has been one of Merck’s most successful newer products and has helped the company recover after the 2004 withdrawal of its Vioxx arthritis treatment. Gardasil is the world’s first vaccine created to prevent cervical cancer.

Nuts During Pregnancy & Asthma

Dutch researchers have recently reported that women eating too many nuts or peanut butter daily during pregnancy can increase their child’s risk of developing asthma by 50%.

The study revealed, however, that moderate amounts of nuts or peanut butter did not seem to have any effect. So basically what researchers are saying is that it is still too soon to tell if women should completely give up their love for nuts and peanut butter during pregnancy. I am a huge nut and peanut butter eater and I ate a lot of both while I was pregnant. My son has never developed asthma.

The researchers also don’t want to rule out pregnant women eating nuts because of the health benefits and nutritional value that comes with eating nuts. Pregnant women need these nutrients.

Power Outage at CDC Lab

A CDC lab building that houses the bird flu virus had a power outage that lasted for more than an hour. The backup generator system failed to work and a total of four buildings were left without power. It was reported that the outage affected air flow systems in labs that contain germs and viruses, including athe Avian flu virus.

CDC spokesperson, Tom Skinner, said that even though there was a power outage, there was no risk of exposure of infectious agents to the employees or the public. Skinner also said that with having such a large campus there are going to be issues and they can never fully eliminate problems and power outages.

Increase In Children With Low Vitamin D

As I was watching the health portion of the local news recently, I heard about how there is a big increase in children who have low vitamin D levels. What is the main reason children aren’t getting enough vitamin D? Because children are not spending as much time outside as they once did. We need to get our kids back outside playing more and eating healthier. In today’s world, PlayStation, computers and other electronics have replaced good old-fashioned outdoor fun.

The television is another reason kids aren’t getting outside enough. As parents, we need to limit indoor activities that cause children to be sedentary and encourage more outdoor activities. Start exercising and taking walks and bike rides with your children. Lead by example.

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