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With the season of baking in full swing, we need to be reminded of a few proper food handling techniques that can make a healthier holiday season and less trips to the urgent-care for tummy troubles.  There are also a number of seasonal favorites that require either special ingredients or a specific handling method that I’ve found ways to make healthier.

I recently saw a news report discussing the importance of not eating cookie dough.   As you may know cookie dough contains raw egg which has been linked to salmonella outbreaks in the past.  However, the flour itself has recently been found to have traces of E. Coli.  This is especially important with prepared, refrigerated cookie dough which can often be mistaken as safe because of quality control during production. Consumers should also be aware of pre-made dough, since these products go through the same basic process as at home, only on a much larger scale.   It’s also important to clean the surfaces the cookie has come in contact with to prevent cross-contamination.

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Since I’m on the topic of egg safety, let’s not forget a seasonal favorite, Eggnog.  While I find it a guilty pleasure for the calories, I’d love to make this myself but didn’t know how to do so safely. The idea is to cook the eggs well, at least to 160 degrees and chill well overnight afterwards. I found a delicious recipe that avoids any contamination issues, and one that is kid friendly.  Let me know how your works out in the comment box below.  Enjoy!

1. | The Tale of the New Year’s Fail

2. | Are You Losing Patients?

3. | Fantastic Plastic

courtesy of Houston Plastic Surgery

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Lately we’ve heard many reports on the status of our water supply.  Too few people in the world have access to clean drinking water.  In just 1.5 minutes 13,000 people will become gravely sick and 4 children will die due to this problem. As it stands now, only 1 in 8 people do not have access to clean potable water which translates to about a billion people.  Until recently there seemed no real answer to this issue. In fact, as the population has increased combined with an increasingly difficult political, environmental and economic world, access to clean water supplies has only gotten worse.

Unequal access to clean water supplies as shown above

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Despite our planet being 2/3 water, most of the fresh water present is trapped in glaciers and ice caps, much of it being too remote to access.  It either comes in the form of inconveniently timed monsoons, torrential storms, hurricanes and the like and or at inconvenient locations.  In fact, one of the problems we’re having recently is the increase in weather activity which results in an increased need for on-the-spot potable water. As demonstrated during Hurricane Katrina,  a developed country like the U.S. would presumably not have a problem getting drinking water to the masses and yet it took 5 days to get fresh water to people at the Superdome.   Having ‘ridden’ through Hurricane Ike in 2008, I have vivid memories of hurricane prep that involved stock-piling water in jugs or purchasing cases of bottled water that would sit in storage for just such an event.  This becomes a regular practice if you’re living in vulnerable areas of the world that are prone to these kinds of severe weather patterns.

A village near the coast of Sumatra lays in ruin after the 2004 tsunami that hit southeast Asia

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It took 5 days for fresh water to reach people at the Superdome after Katrina

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Til now the main sources of fresh water filtration have been in the form of large-scale processing plants such as desalination or facilities requiring established energy sources not readily available in third-world countries. Fortunately there are a few really usable products available on the horizon that would not only solve the immediate problem of storm-stricken populations’, but could solve the problem in developing parts of the world.

The most recent item that caught my eye is the Lifesaver Water bottle. The Lifesaver Water Filter bottle by Michael Pritchard was developed after he witnessed in frustration the events that followed the 2004 Tsunami and 2005 Hurricane Katrina. Both situations occurring either in a developing part of the world where resources were limited or in a developed 1st world country that no one thought could be so adversely affected.  The main problem he sought to resolved was how the majority of filters currently on the market only filtered down to 200 nm (nano-meters) which is the size of the smallest bacteria (such as tuberculosis) and the smallest virus is 25 nm (such as Polio). Obviously this means contaminated water even after standard filtration.  The Lifesaver can filter down to 15nm which means every virus and bacteria can be filtered, with only clean water left behind.  The portability of this and similar products allows for a wide variety of applications which would provide not only much-needed water in crisis situations, but would save time, money and resources normally spent transporting large quantities of bottled-water.

no more Montezuma's revenge for the soldier in the field

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These new technologies would also be usable in military environments where troops are located in remote sites as well as recreational purposes for hiking, scouting and general outdoor use.

Scouting and hiking require a reliable water-filter

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As these filtration technologies advance, so does our ability to those most in need in dire circumstances. However, its cost-savings should appeal to the emergency-management community and to anyone looking for an affordable, green and convenient solution to the ever-present water supply issue.  We all share a better quality of life from these advancements.

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While I typically use teas and the like for standard treatment, my usual stand-by comfort food would be chicken soup.  As it was and continues to be reported time and again, the origin of this food therapy can be found as far back as 800 years ago when the  Jewish physician Maimonides recommended the use of  chicken soup as a remedy for upper respiratory congestion which explains the cliche ‘jewish penicillin’ that persists today.

Why this particular remedy is so effective as a folk remedy for generations is substantiated by Dr. Stephen Rennard out of the University of Nebraska Medical Center.  He discovered after testing multiple samples of his wife’s old-world chicken soup recipe revealed a decrease in inflammation of the mucous-membranes as a result of the slowing of certain white blood cells called neutrophils to the resperatory areas.  This inflammatory response results in a cascade of other symptoms from swollen airways and nasal passages to increased mucous that results in the obvious unpleasantness of a cold. The soup brings with it this decreased inflammation as well as increased hydration and increased air flow from the nasal passages from the heat of the liquids and the broth itself.

Similarly, another study showing further benefits from other substances such as curcumin (the key to the yellow color in turmeric) and black pepper, ingredient particular to the soup.  Black pepper was also found to decrease inflammation due to Caryophyllene, a substance that gives the pepper the distinctive ‘kick’.  Additionally, turmeric, which I’ve found makes the soup golden and all the more appealing, was found to stop melanoma by Dr. Bharat B. Aggarwal during a study done at MD Anderson Cancer Center  in 2005.

The benefits of various food additives and the combination of ingredients in familiar favorites comfort foods turn out to be some of the best medicine. Kids are less likely to turn up their noses to a warm bowl of comfort food than the typical over-the-counter and prescription remedies available.  If you have any favorite family recipes that have brought relief and comfort, please share them in the comments below.  Good health to you and yours!

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  A multi-national study at King’s College, London has revealed that a gene named “KLF14″ linked to Type II diabetes and cholesterol acts as a ‘master switch’ that can control the behavior of other genes throughout the body including BMI, cholesterol, insulin and glucose levels.  As fat has become the focus for so many disorders ranging from obesity to heart disease and diabetes, this gene could be targeted in future treatments to curb this current medical epidemic.

Another genetic revelation came in the form of a study out of  the University of Scotland at Dundee. This study which focused on children, showed how the FTO gene commonly referred to as an ‘obesity gene’ can influence one to choose more calorie-dense foods, not neccessarily a larger quantity of food. This gene is found in roughly 74% of Americans of European origin and can make someone crave 200 more calories a day over someone without this gene giving credence to the idea of some people being more prone to being over-weight.

help is on the way

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 However, before you throw up your hands in defeat, another study involving over 200,000 adult subjects revealed that simply increasing physical activity can alleviate the obesity-causing effects by about 33% in adults with the gene.   The idea of controlling intake and increasing activity once again rings true.

So, while you enjoy a large family feast, you can focus on how to increase your activity level by remembering all the shopping and errand running that awaits you. Mall-walking and bargain-hunting takes on a whole new meaning. It’s easier to find the time by including your exercise activity in your daily routine. This takes some of the stress out of squeezing in a few hours of exercise and provides encouragement to those of us strapped for time.

a 40-minutes mall walk can burn calories.

Small things like parking the car farther out and walking a lap or two prior to shopping the box-store or mall can have favorable results.  My husband lost 40 lbs in 8 months just using this method along with watching his calories.  I shared in his ‘errand-running’ and  enjoyed an increased endurance in the process.

Approaching this winter with an encouraged outlook towards calorie-intake and activity can fuel a more successful New Year’s weight-loss resolution.  Just remember where you parked your car.

In 14^th and 15^th century paintings you’ll see the ideal body image for women that was desired and respected- round stomach, modest breasts, and thick thighs- is on a completely different end of the spectrum from what is valued today. In the 1800s plump, full-figured, pear-shaped women were what every woman desired to look like and every man desired to have. Corsets became fashionable at this time because they accentuated a women’s shape. In the 1950s Marilyn Monroe, who was a size 16, sent the drive for this body style into full force. However, half a century later statistics show that 1/3 of women who are a size 12 think they’re overweight.

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All of this very scary but realistic information leaves every woman wondering how to achieve the perfect body. Many women today believe that starving themselves or exercising to the point of exhaustion is the way to accomplish this but there’s a much simpler way to do it. Although, exercising on a daily basis is beneficial for losing weight or achieving a ‘perfect’ figure the real reason any individual should strive to be in the gym should be for their health. Contrary to popular belief 90% of weight loss is correlated with eating habits, not dieting, rather than work-out regime.

Dieting isn’t the way to shed body fat; it’s changing your eating habits all together. The best way to go about this change is to learn ‘how’ to eat properly, learning what food(s) and what amount of each food is good for you, and what you need to avoid in order to keep the body fat off. Many experts agree that the best meat for women to eat is chicken or fish- and it is important to keep in mind safe preparation, since it is not just about losing weight but staying healthy. Researching these changes is the easy part. It is actually employing these changes into your daily lifestyle that can be difficult.

Although, running into the nearest fast food chain saves time and feeds your hunger you have to gain and utilize discipline if you really want to achieve and project a health body image. The best way to reduce body fat is to keep yourself from ever letting the unwanted calories into your body. You’ll be amazed at how much less you have to exercise once these changes have been made and enforced. If you have a well balanced diet and work-out plan you’ll be able to achieve whatever body style you desire. Your diet will provide the appropriate amount of nutrition while exercising will burn excess calories keeping you at a healthy weight and a body image you are happy with.

Google image search for scabies. Do not want.

It appears that members of the University of Minnesota Ballroom Dance Club have been dancing with scabies, and therefore ballroom classes were canceled at Bierman Field Athletic Building this week after one member received the disturbing diagnosis.

Jessica Lussenhop’s post tells us, “Scabies are a kind of mite that tunnel into the skin, and cause itching and some pretty grody-looking rashes.”

This tiny parasite wreaked itself into the lives of a family over the summer 2010 as well, as I learned when I read about Taylor Rios and her little girl, age 1.  There were several medical staff members to thank by the time this ordeal was diagnosed and treated, because scabies is not what is necessarily expected when a quick spreading rash shows up during the summer season:

Ms. Rios made her acknowledgements in her 7/29/10 post: “I would also like to thank Dr. Coldwell at Hill Country Memorial Hospital in Fredericksburg, Texas for not giving up on finding the cause of this rash. Many doctors would have shrugged and sent her him with benadryl.  Dr. Coldwell kept at it for 2-3 hours searching for the answer. Thank you so much, Dr. Coldwell and Hill Country Memorial Hospital for your hard work, persistence, and dedication.”

Louisville (KY) South KOA

Fall Back – On Sunday, November 7, 2010 at 2 a.m

Daylight Saving Time is the plan to keep us productive in our day-to-day lives.  This is in the sense that the daylight hours of the day are maximized when the afternoon light shines as brightly as possible as long as possible.  When we shift the hour behind in the autumn season – “fall back” – the sky stays lit until 5:00pm well into December, where I live on the -85° 38′ longitude line.  The spring forward time change has the complementary effect in the morning hours, as well.

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