Health Quote

"Health is not valued till sickness comes"
by Thomas Fuller

Health Tips-Handle Food Safely

Medically known as food-borne illness or food-borne disease, you probably know food poisoning as miserable -- whatever it's called.It occurs when you eat or drink something contaminated with any number of disease-causing bacteria, viruses, or parasites. And it can result in diarrhea, vomiting, and fever, which can be serious if prolonged, and can lead to dehydration.


Most people rarely get sick from contaminated foods because their immune systems are strong enough to protect them. But when harmful bacteria multiply beyond safe limits due to unsafe food handling or lack of refrigeration, that's when food poisoning strikes. When the immune system is impaired by sickness, age, or other factors, food poisoning is also more likely.


Raw foods from animals, such as eggs, meat and poultry, shellfish, and unpasteurized milk, are the foods most likely to be contaminated. Raw fruits and vegetables are of particular concern because washing decreases but does not eliminate contamination.


But food poisoning usually can be prevented by handling food safely. The FDA offers four simple steps for safely preparing food at home:


1. Clean and wash hands, countertops, and other surfaces often. Bacteria can spread throughout the kitchen and get onto cutting boards, utensils, sponges, and counter tops.


Wash your hands with hot soapy water before and after handling food and after using the bathroom, changing diapers, and touching pets. Avoid preparing foods if you have diarrhea.


Wash your cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and countertops with hot soapy water after preparing each food item and before you go on to the next food.
Use plastic or other nonporous cutting boards. These boards should be run through the dishwasher -- or washed in hot soapy water -- after each use.


Consider using paper towels to clean up kitchen surfaces. If you use cloth towels, wash them often in the hot cycle of your washing machine.
Put wet sponges and plastic scrubbing pads in the microwave oven for two minutes to kill any bacteria.


2. Separate and don't cross-contaminate. This is especially true when handling raw meat, poultry, and seafood, so keep these foods and their juices away from ready-to-eat foods.


Are You Stuck In an Eating Rut?
It's so easy to fall into an eating rut. Having the same breakfast, lunch, or dinner day in and day out offers convenience and comfort: No need to think about what to eat or where to find it. There are no surprises when you pour yourself a bowl of the same old cereal for breakfast day after day. The foods people get hooked on range from the ordinary -- burger and fries, chips and soda -- to the unusual -- pepperoni slices with mayo, popcorn, and chocolate, even processed cheese squirted from...


Separate raw meat, poultry, and seafood from other foods in your grocery shopping cart and in your refrigerator.


If possible, use a different cutting board for raw meat products.


Always wash hands, cutting boards, dishes, and utensils with hot soapy water after they come in contact with raw meat, poultry, or seafood.
Never place cooked food on a plate that previously held raw meat, poultry, or seafood.


3. Cook food to proper temperatures to kill the harmful bacteria.
Use a clean thermometer that measures the internal temperature of cooked foods to make sure meat, poultry, casseroles, and other foods are cooked all the way through.


Cook roasts and steaks to at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Whole poultry should be cooked to 180 degrees Fahrenheit for doneness. Because bacteria can spread throughout ground beef (hamburger) during processing, always cook it to at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit.


Information from the CDC links eating undercooked, pink ground beef with a higher risk of illness. If a thermometer is not available, do not eat ground beef that is still pink inside.


Cook eggs until the yolk and white are firm. Don't use recipes in which eggs remain raw or only partially cooked.


Fish should be opaque and flake easily with a fork.


When cooking in a microwave oven, make sure there are no cold spots in food where bacteria can survive. For best results, cover food, stir, and rotate for even cooking. If there is no turntable, rotate the dish by hand once or twice during cooking.


Bring sauces, soups, and gravy to a rolling boil when reheating. Heat other leftovers thoroughly to 165 degrees Fahrenheit.


4. Refrigerate food promptly. Refrigerate foods quickly because cold temperatures keep harmful bacteria from growing and multiplying. Set your refrigerator no warmer than 40 degrees Fahrenheit and the freezer no warmer than 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Check these temperatures occasionally with an appliance thermometer.


Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared food, and leftovers within two hours.
Never defrost food at room temperature. Thaw food in the refrigerator, under cold running water, or in the microwave. Marinate foods in the refrigerator.
Divide large amounts of leftovers into small, shallow containers for quick cooling in the refrigerator. Don't pack the refrigerator full. Cool air must circulate to keep food safe.

Food Facts-Healthiest Foods

3.CHERRIES:-
                Cherries are relatively low in calories,and they are good source of  POTASSIUM.The sour ones have a nice amount of Vitamin A.Cherries are loaded with anti inflammatory,anti aging,anticancer compounds that don't show up on average nutrition facts label.The cancer fighting agents in cherries include a Flavonoid called Quercetin as well as Ellagic acid and Perillyl alcohol.


Perillyl Alcohol in Cherries may inhibit tumor growth.Cherries have shown to lower levels of uric acid in the blood,which is the most common caused of gout pain.Quercetin in Cherries found to be a potent anti cancer agent and it also exhibits significant anti inflammatory activity which is why quercetin is one of the favorite suppliments for allergies and asthma.


Also found in red raspberries,ellagic acid has been shown to inhibit the growth of tumors caused by certain carcinogens.A publication of American Cancer society says that ellagic acid is a very promising natural supplement because it causes apoptosis (cell death) of cancel cells in the lab,with no change to healthy normal cells.Ellagic acid also has antiviral and anti bacterial properties.


Even Cherry Juice packs a punch.The secret to the benefits of cherry juice are compounds called anthocyanins,which are the pigments that give cherries their bright red color and are also believed to be the key to helping the body relieve inflammation.Anthocyanins may significantly reduce the risk of colon cancer,the third leading cancer in America.

CHERRY ALERT- Unfortunately,the Environmental Working Group,a consumer advocate and protection nonprofit research organization,put CHERRIES on it’s 2003 list of 12 foods most contaminated with pesticides.The organization suggests YOU BUY ORGANIC CHERRIES.

Source:-Healthiest foods on Earth .

Apples Good for your Heart

April 12, 2011-Eating Apples Daily Lowers Cholesterol, Inflammation, Study Finds.. Eating an apple or two each day may reduce heart disease risk factors, a new study shows.


The study, which is the latest to polish the apple’s heart-healthy reputation, found that eating apples daily appeared to lower levels of cholesterol and two other markers associated with plaques and inflammation in artery walls.


“We were pleasantly surprised ...” that apples so effectively lowered LDL (bad) cholesterol, says study researcher Bahram H. Arjmandi, PhD, RD, Margaret A. Sitton Professor and Chair, Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences at The Florida State University in Tallahassee.


The study was presented at Experimental Biology 2011, in Washington, D.C. 
Experts said the study’s results were consistent with previous evidence that apples do indeed live up to the famous adage about keeping the doctor away.


“When we look at the whole composite of human studies and animal studies and in vitro lab studies, when you look at the active components in apples and apple juice, there’s definitely benefit,” says Dianne A. Hyson, PhD, RD, a nutritionist and researcher at the University of California at Davis. 


Hyson, who was not involved in the current research, recently completed a review of 80 studies, published since 2005, on the health benefits of apples, and she says that in addition to their cardiovascular benefits, there’s some evidence that apples help regulate blood sugar and control appetite, protect against cancer, and safeguard the lungs.


Pitting Apples Against Prunes


For the study, researchers recruited 160 women and randomly assigned them to eat daily servings of either dried apples or prunes, which are dried plums.
Study participants received blood tests to look for markers of heart health after 3, 6, and 12 months.


After a year, the women in the apple group saw their total cholesterol drop by an average of 14%. Their LDL cholesterol was reduced by an average of 23%. Levels of lipid hydroperoxide, a biochemical involved in the formation of heart-clogging plaques, and C-reactive protein, which is a marker of inflammation, were both down by about one-third.


And the women in the apple group lost weight -- an average of about 3 pounds over the course of a year.Arjmandi says the women in the prune group also saw some slight reductions in those heart markers, but not to the same extent as those who ate apples.


Apple Advantages


Experts say there are several possible explanations for how apples aid the heart.
Apples are rich in pectin, a soluble fiber, which blocks cholesterol absorption in the gut and encourages the body to use, rather than store, the waxy stuff.Apple peels are also packed with polyphenols -- antioxidants that prevent cellular damage from free radicals.


Though the study used dried apples for convenience, Arjmandi says fresh are likely to be even better.  And it doesn’t matter if they’re green, red, or golden. “Any varieties of apples are good,” he says.Another key, Dyson says, is eating the whole fruit, rather than looking for individual components in supplements.


“Most of the time, in many studies, the whole is better than the sum of its parts,” she says.As far as how much to eat, just follow the apple-a-day adage, though Arjmandi says, two-a-day might be even better.“That’s doable and practical and people like apples,” he says.


WebMd News

Green living tips

1.OLIVE OIL is not just a kitchen essential;it's also a great choice for moisturizing your skin.


2.MOTH proof your cloths the green way by using a mixture of LAVENDER & CEDAR WOOD OILS,which are natural MOTH REPELLENTS.


3.A great way to remove INK STAINS from fabric without polluting the environment with harsh cleaners is to SOAK  the item in MILK,then wash as usual.


4.To remove STICKY CHEWING GUM from your clothing,simply RUB stuck-on gum with ICE and the gum will slowly flake off.


5.For a DISINFECTANT that really works,get rid of GREASE,and even attacks RUST,mix 3-6 tablespoons of EUCALYPTUS OIL with 2 pints of water and pour into a spray bottle.Shake before use and keep in the refrigerator for up to a month.


6.Use a HIGH ABSORBENCY TOWEL on WET HAIR before you blow dry.By removing as much excess water as possible,your blow drying time will be shorter,which will save energy,plus it's healthier for your hair to receive less direct heat.


7.Instead of using BLEACH to remove food stains on laundry,try a natural solution instead.Add half cup of LAUNDRY SODA to each load to whiten whites and brighten colors.You could also add LEMON JUICE to the rinse cycle.


8.Most people use far more SHAMPOO and CONDITIONER than they really need.Why not cut the amount you use in half for a week and then evaluate the difference? Chances are your hair will look just as good.


9.Many wrinkle resistant fabrics have been treated with FORMALDEHYDE,poisonous to many living things,so avoid buying no-iron products altogether.


10.Wash clothes in COLD OR WARM WATER instead of hot.Studies show that clothes get just as clean and a lot less energy is used because up to 90 percent of the energy used to wash clothes is expended just heating the water.

Health Alert-Latest Tylenol Recall

Johnson & Johnson Recalls Even More Tylenol
Latest Recall: 1 Lot of Tylenol 8-Hour Extended Release Caplets


March 30, 2011 -- Yet another lot of Tylenol has been recalled by Johnson & Johnson's McNeil division.
The latest recall involves one lot -- 34,056 150-count bottles -- of Tylenol 8-Hour Extended Release caplets.


The recalled Tylenol 8-Hour Extended release caplets are 150-count bottles with the lot number ADM074 and the UPC code 300450297181.


As with its many previous recalls, the latest Tylenol recall is due to a musty or moldy smell. The odor is thought to be caused by trace amounts of the extremely odorous compounds TBA and TCA, produced by the breakdown of a fungicide used to treat wooden pallets on which the products were stored.


The company has also added 10 lots of various products, including Tylenol 8-Hour caplets, to its Jan. 14 wholesale-level recall of various Tylenol, Benadryl, Sudafed, Sinutab, and Rolaids products. This recall does not affect products distributed at the retail level.


The wholesale recall adds some 717,696 bottles or packages to the Jan. 14 recall:


5 lots of Tylenol Arthritis Pain Extended-Release Geltabs (180,288 bottles)
1 lot of Tylenol Sinus (108,336 packages)
1 lot of Tylenol 8-Hour Extended Release (207,288 bottles)
2 lots of Benadryl  Allergy Sinus Headache (87,216 packages)
1 lot of Sudafed PE Cold/Cough Multisymptom (134,568 packages)


The string of Johnson & Johnson recalls has gone on so long, and involved so many familiar brands, that the company has devoted an entire web site, mcneilproductrecall.com to the recall.

Health Alert-Contaminated shopping carts

Fecal Bacteria on 72% of Shopping Carts
Fecal bacteria — that is, germs from poop — can be found on 72% of shopping carts, MSNBC reports.It’s yet another icky finding from University of Arizona microbiologist Charles Gerba, PhD, sometimes called “Dr. Germ.”


In his latest report, Gerba reportedly found traces of fecal bacteria on the handles of 61 of 85 shopping carts tested in four states. Half of the 36 carts subjected to further testing yielded evidence of E. coli bacteria.
Some strains of E. coli can cause severe infections.  But before you start to shun your local grocery, note that no disease outbreaks have (yet) been traced to shopping carts.


Gerba has correctly pointed out that most of the infections people get come not from airborne droplets, as we tend to think, but from germs we’ve picked up on our hands and transferred to our mouths, noses, or eyes.


In recent years, Gerba has warned of bacterial and/or viral contamination in reusable shopping bags, airplane bathrooms and seat-back trays, airport kiosks, ground-floor elevator buttons, bachelor pads, water fountain toggles, pencil sharpeners, keyboards,  faucet handles, desktops, faucet handles, paper towel dispensers, shared touchpads such as iPads, cutting boards, shoes, well water, playground equipment, and just about anything touched by children.


It might (or might not) make all this seem less of a gross-out if we stop for a moment to think of our bodies not as hermetically sealed but as part of the seething microbiology of the world. Our guts, for example, carry a vast bacterial ecosystem that is crucial for our health.
That said, Gerba’s main point is a very, very good one: Wash your hands. Often.


Source:Web Md