Nutrition

One Veggie Burrito with Salmonella Please

/ SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

I had a burrito with guacamole and salsa for lunch today.  Serious!

Medical News: Salsa, Guacamole Among Top Causes of Foodborne Illness – in Infectious Disease, Public Health from MedPage Today

The incidents accounted for 4.1% of all restaurant-related food borne illnesses from 1998 to 2008, more than double the 1.6% incidence from 1984 to 1997.

Of the 5,560 salsa or guacamole-related illnesses reported, 33% were attributed to Salmonella, 18% to Norovirus, 15% to Shigella, 10% to other infections, and 24% due to unknown causes. The infections resulted in a combined 145 hospitalizations and three deaths.

Of the outbreaks, 95 were traced to salsa and 36 to guacamole. Reported reasons for contamination included improper storage time or temperature (30%), contamination by food handlers and preparers (20%), and contaminated equipment or cross-contamination.

The raw ingredients used to make the popular condiments — including tomatoes, hot peppers, and cilantro — have also been implicated in past outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, Kendall noted.

The study concluded that training materials should be devised for the healthy preparation and storage of salsa and guacamole.

The CDC began collecting data on foodborne illnesses in 1973, but the first recorded incidents related to salsa and guacamole occurred in 1984.

Fish Oil = Reduced Risk of Breast Cancer

/ SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

Medical News: Fish Oil Linked to Lower Breast CA Risk – in Hematology/Oncology, Breast Cancer from MedPage Today

Women taking fish oil had a 32% reduced risk of breast cancer (95% confidence interval 8% to 50%) in a large cohort study led by Theodore M. Brasky, PhD, of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

Soft Drinks and Pancreatic Cancer – a Weak Link

/ SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

Medical News: Soft Drinks Linked to Pancreatic Cancer Risk – in Hematology/Oncology, Other Cancers from MedPage Today

Pereira and colleagues followed 60,524 men and women who enrolled in the Singapore Chinese Health Study between April 1993 and December 1998 and were followed for 14 years.

At enrollment, the participants completed a 146-question food frequency questionnaire, which contained three items related to soft drinks and juice. The questions asked the participants how much, if any, they drank of soft drinks such as Coca-Cola and 7-Up, orange juice, and other fruit and vegetable juices.

The dietary data was later cross-referenced with records from the Singapore Cancer Registry and the Singapore Registry of Births and Deaths, to determine which of the participants had died of pancreatic cancer and whether it might be related to their soft drink or juice consumption.

Overall, researchers found that 140 participants had contracted pancreatic cancer.

The results were largely consistent with three of four previous U.S. studies on the links between pancreatic cancer and soft drinks. Three of the U.S. studies found an association between soft drinks and cancer.

Soy Foods Associated with Decreased Risk of Death in Women with Breast Cancer

/ SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

JAMA — Abstract: Soy Food Intake and Breast Cancer Survival, December 9, 2009, Shu et al. 302 (22): 2437

Design, Setting, and Participants The Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival Study, a large, population-based cohort study of 5042 female breast cancer survivors in China. Women aged 20 to 75 years with diagnoses between March 2002 and April 2006 were recruited and followed up through June 2009. Information on cancer diagnosis and treatment, lifestyle exposures after cancer diagnosis, and disease progression was collected at approximately 6 months after cancer diagnosis and was reassessed at 3 follow-up interviews conducted at 18, 36, and 60 months after diagnosis. Annual record linkage with the Shanghai Vital Statistics Registry database was carried out to obtain survival information for participants who were lost to follow-up. Medical charts were reviewed to verify disease and treatment information.

Conclusion Among women with breast cancer, soy food consumption was significantly associated with decreased risk of death and recurrence.

Tofu anyone?

Greetings From NYC

/ SupremeCmdr / 1 Comment

While it is true I don’t get out much, I do get out now and then.  The MUD meeting was awesome.  If you get the opportunity to attend this underwriting meeting, don’t pass it up.

But do take a pass on room service.

I stayed in a midtown hotel of reasonably good quality.  The room service breakfast menu had a Build Your Own Omelete for $24.95.  Thankfully, coffee was included.  Juice? Add another $7.00.  Once you add an 18% service charge, tax, and delivery fee it starts looking real expensive.

I’ve never had a omelete, coffee, and juice that cost over $40.00.

I’m going back to Oklahoma.