Author: Staff (Page 20 of 158)

Cargill Recalls 30,000 Pounds Of Ground Beef Fearing Salmonella Contamination

July 24, 2012 / Staff

According to a news release by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation is issuing an immediate recall of approximately 29,339 pounds of ground beef bases on concerns that it may be contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis.

The agency was made aware of the potential contamination during the course of an ongoing investigation of a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis involving 33 patients from seven states.

The recall includes 14 pound chub packages of “Grnd Beef Fine 85/15” and bears the establishment number “EST. 9400” inside the USDA mark of inspection. The meat was produced on May 25, 2012, and shipped to centers in Connecticut, Maine and New York for further distribution. The products are no longer available for purchase and the use-by date has passed, but the agency expressed concerns that the meat may still be present in consumers’ freezers.
According to a notification on the Cargill website, consumers with questions may review their ground beef recall information or call the company’s toll-free consumer relations line at 1-888-812-1646.

Proper handling is imperative when dealing with meat and meat products.

Quality Control

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Should All Kids Be Screened For Cholesterol?

July 23, 2012 / Staff

Should your child’s annual physical include a cholesterol screening?

And, if so, should the results warrant, should he be put on statins?

This is the debate amount physicians.

There is worry that pharmaceutical companies may have too much sway over doctors who may be influenced by money to push cholesterol lowering drugs on children.

However, a growing obesity rate would suggest that high cholesterol and the danger of developing heart disease is a real possibility.

The guidelines are endorsed by the Academy of Pediatrics, which publishes the journal that carried the critical commentary Monday. The panel recommends that all U.S. children should get blood tests for high cholesterol as early as age 9 and that testing should begin much earlier for kids at risk of future heart disease, including those with diabetes or a family history of heart problems. Treatment should generally begin with lifestyle changes including diet and exercise, the guidelines say.
Cholesterol drugs would be recommended for some kids, but probably less than 1 percent of those tested. But the advice says those drugs, including statins, shouldn’t be used at all in children younger than 10 unless they have severe problems.
The guidelines aim to help prevent and treat conditions in children that put them at risk for later heart-related problems. At least 10 percent of U.S. children have unhealthy cholesterol levels and one-third are overweight or obese.

How about preventing obesity and not taking the risk of side effects from unnecessary drugs?

Doctors, Health Care Policy, Quality Control, Wellness

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Can Food Cause Pain?

July 22, 2012 / Staff

There is real truth behind the “gut feeling”.

Our intestines do more than simply process food and the wrong foods can wreak havoc with our bodies.

Too much sugar, starch and fat are the leading offenders when it comes to pain because of their inflammatory affects on our bodies.

Avoiding inflammation through diet is the best way stay healthy.

Scientists are making a strong link between our food choices and pain.
About 70% of our immune cells are in our digestive system, making direct contact with the food we enjoy every day. If the immune system is triggered by bacteria in food, or flags a food as an allergen, or has an imbalance of important hormones such as insulin, it can set off the red alert of inflammation.
For example, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that processed sugars and other high-glycemic starches increase inflammation, which causes pain, overheating, redness and swelling.
While inflammation is an important part of the body’s healing process, chronic inflammation is at the root of many deadly diseases. The great news is that we can completely heal and prevent chronic inflammation with an eating plan.

Nutrition, Quality Control

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Dr. Oz Approved Diet Foods

July 21, 2012 / Staff

Any processed foods are a bad thing.

But always having to prepare meals can be difficult for even the most organized of us.

Along with a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains a few healthy shortcuts can make it easy to stay on your regime without falling off the wagon.

Being able to pick up a healthy snack or prepared meal when you’re on the go will help to insure that you can always make a good eating choice wherever you are.

Chiquita Pineapple Bites, Amy’s Roasted Vegetable Pizza and Lucy’s Gluten-Free Ginger Snaps are just three of the 99 choices.

Read the list for all the healthy options.

Doctors, Nutrition, Resources

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Milk May Not Be So Wholesome After All

July 20, 2012 / Staff

The debate centers around school lunch and the longtime promotion that milk builds strong bones.

Dr. Neal Barnard, president of the PCRM, (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) has stated that, “Research has now made it abundantly clear that milk doesn’t build strong bones. Whether we are talking about children who are forming bones or older people who are trying to keep their bone integrity, milk doesn’t have a beneficial effect on either one.”

The promotion of milk to help build strong bones in kids is, “in effect, the promotion of an ineffective placebo,” writes the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) in its petition [PDF]. “Milk is high in sugar, high in fat and high in animal protein” — all of which counters its purported benefits to bone health, the committee argues.
The PCRM notes that dairy products, including milk, are the No. 1 source of saturated fat in Americans’ diets. Drinking milk for the calcium it contains is therefore a losing strategy, especially since people can get their daily recommended calcium from other, more nutritious foods. And for millions of Americans who are allergic to milk — including 1.3 million children — or intolerant to the lactose it contains, drinking milk carries potentially severe health risks.

Nutrition, Quality Control, Research, Wellness

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