Healthsifter by mary desmond pinkowish, since 2003

Calories on the Menu May Hurt, not Help

Here's an online-only piece from the Wall Street Journal about a recent study published in the journal Health Affairs on the effectiveness--not--of NYC laws requiring restaurants to post calorie counts for their products:

Before food czars get any more punch-happy on their own Kool-Aid, they need to be purged of the illusion that their laws are actually working. Last month, New York University and Yale medical professors published a ground-breaking study, which shows that New York City's law requiring fast food chains to post calories on their menus doesn't reduce their customers' caloric intake.

Actually, 85% of people ignored the info...and Allysia Finlay concludes:

The lawmakers who enacted the calorie posting regulations succumbed to the fallacy that everyone thinks like them. They probably reasoned that because they would make healthier choices if presented with nutritional information, everyone else would as well. But maybe what consumers actually want is a delicious meal at a low price.

Autism and Vaccines: Autism One Conference, Chicago

AMEDnews reports evenhandedly on the Autism One conference, which was held in Chicago over the Memorial Day weekend.One of the featured speakers was Dr. Andrew Wakefield, the British physician whose 1998 paper in The Lancet claimed an association between autism and the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism in 12 kids. But this is what's happened since then, quoting from AMEDNews:

"Every so often, a small study such as the one conducted by Dr. Wakefield comes along to buttress that belief. In this case, the momentum has held, even though 10 of the 13 authors on the 1998 paper published a statement inThe Lancet in 2004 retracting the original interpretation that their data indicated a causal link between MMR and autism, and Dr. Wakefield faces significant professional scrutiny."

That is, Dr. Wakefield is in danger of losing his license to practice. In June, the UK health authorities declared that measles is now endemic in that country and confirmed a recent measles-related death. In the US, measles rates are at their highest since 2001. It's more than spots: encephalitis and pneumonia are just two possible complications.

Damage done.

More on the Salmonella Tomatoes

More than 550 people have gotten sick from tomatoes contaminated with salmonella bacteria. One person has died, but he had advanced cancer and is not typical, obviously. Last year during the same time period, three people were reported to be infected with this strain of salmonella. More may have actually been ill, it's just that only three came to the attention of the CDC. That agency says that the toll from this year's epidemic may be higher, as not everyone who gets sick with salmonella sees a doctor or has a sample of stool submitted for diagnostic testing. You can read the latest from the CDC here. Here are some of the major points from their document:

What the illness looks like: "Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12-72 hours after infection. Infection is usually diagnosed by culture of a stool sample. The illness usually lasts 4-7 days. Although most people recover without treatment, severe infections may occur. Infants, elderly persons, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely than others to develop severe illness. When severe infection occurs, Salmonella may spread from the intestines to the bloodstream and then to other body sites, and can cause death. In these severe cases, antibiotic treatment may be necessary."

Safe tomatoes: "These include cherry tomatoes; grape tomatoes; tomatoes sold with the vine still attached; tomatoes grown at home; and red plum, red Roma, and round red tomatoes from specific sources listed at: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/tomatoes.html*. Consumers should be aware that raw tomatoes are often used in the preparation of fresh salsa, guacamole, and pico de gallo, are part of fillings for tortillas, and are used in many other dishes."

If you're interested, I urge you to go to this document and check out the other numerous links and information sources. In addtion, the FDA has posted a list of states in the US and Mexico where tomatoes are thought to be clear of salmonella.

(Illustration from istockphoto.com)