Thursday, September 28, 2006

Consumer Health In the News


What to do about spinach? Sunset Food says "buy it frozen for Spinach and Crab Enchiladas, Artichokes and Spinach au Gratin, Baked Parmesan Dip, and more." Actually, while the CDC has just declared spinach safe to eat, their current webpage says nothing of the sort - hopefully a case of the webmaster's having left for home. Information for consumers is well detailed on their site, including what to do if you feel you've been affected. I think I'll stick with frozen for a while.

And what's all the brouhaha about NY and a proposed ban on trans fats? Big debate ongoing, including this piece from US News & World Report. It ain't over yet.

In other news, Boingboing lets us know about a new cell phone ringtone cued to kids' sharper hearing. Nothing at all to do with health, but Danah Boyd's great talk on social media - like Facebook & such - at UNC-Chapel Hill was preserved through Boingboing as well - yay! I was there and swear it's going to give any listener a lot to think about. She's a decidedly nonboring academic (really!)

Cool sites section: check out dog health care, blurb from their site, courtesy of lii.com: "Discover all that's involved in fostering a healthy dog through each stage of its life." Features information on dental care, controlling fleas and ticks, safety, caring for puppies and senior dogs, and managing weight. From the publisher of Dog Fancy magazine.

When you're done there (and have sent the link to your sister), send your folks the link to the NIH Senior Health site: "A
site specially designed for seniors, with larger print and short, easy-to-read articles. A growing collection of topics includes Alzheimer's Disease and exercise for seniors. There are captioned videos, FAQs, quizzes, and links to MEDLINEplus for more information. From the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute on Aging." I'm not quite senior myself yet, but I'd be embarassed to tell you how often (and how large) I blow up screen text (and isn't it a pity we can't do this with rl text? Ah, well.) I'm off to check out Soft Drinks and Health: "Information from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) linking increased consumption of soft drinks by children to obesity. Also includes discussions of osteoporosis, tooth decay, heart disease, and other possible health outcomes from excessive soft drink consumption. Features the report "Liquid Candy: How Soft Drinks are Harming Americans' Health." (These last few descriptions are courtesy of lii.org. Take a look. You may be gone for hours :))






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