I Knew Sugar Was Bad, But This Blew Me Away!   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNtjV3j3Tp4

By Alexandra Sifferlin 

5 Things You Should Know About Chicken Pox and Shingles

The news raised questions about how likely adults are to get chicken pox and how chicken pox is related to a condition that’s more common among adults, shingles. So here are some quick facts about the infections.

If you never had chicken pox as a child, can you still get the infection as an adult?
Yes. Although most cases of chicken pox occur before age 10, adults who have never contracted the infection are still at risk.
Can chicken pox be more severe in adults?
Most people get chicken pox when they are young, but the symptoms can be more severe among people who catch the infection in an older age. They include loss of appetite, fever, headache, tiredness and rashes, all of which can be more taxing on the health of elderly adults.
What is shingles, and how is it different from chicken pox?
Shingles, also known as zoster or herpes zoster, is a painful skin rash caused by the same virus responsible for chicken pox: the varicella zoster virus. Even if you had chicken pox in the past, you can still contract shingles. That’s because the chicken-pox virus remains in the body, lying dormant in the roots of nerves, and can reactivate many years later. It’s not clear why the virus reawakens — in some people it never does — but researchers believe that the virus is triggered as the immune system weakens with age or in conditions of stress.
About 1 out of 3 people in the U.S. is affected by shingles at some point in their lives, with the majority of cases occurring in men and women ages 60 and older.
Shingles is less contagious than chicken pox and cannot be passed from person to person. However, the varicella zoster virus can be spread from a person with shingles to someone who has never had chicken pox. The unfortunate recipient might develop chicken pox, but not shingles.
How long is a person contagious with the chicken pox or shingles?
The infection can take anywhere from 10 to 21 days to develop after exposure to someone with chicken pox or shingles. People with chicken pox are contagious a couple days before their rash appears and remain so until all of their blisters have scabbed. A person with shingles, on the other hand, can only spread their infection while their skin rash is still blistering. They’re not contagious before the blisters occur, and are no longer contagious once the rash starts to scab.
What’s the best way to prevent chicken pox and shingles?
To avoid chicken pox, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends two doses of the chicken-pox vaccine — which is 98% effective — for kids, adolescents and adults who have not had chicken pox. Adults who have not had the disease and may be in close contact with young children who are likely to be infected should consider getting vaccinated. Children should receive the first dose when they are between 12 months old and 15 months old, and a second dose when they are 4 years old to 6 years old. The U.S. started chicken-pox immunizations in 1995, so Walters would not have been vaccinated as a child.
There is also a shingles vaccine. Zostavax is recommended for people ages 60 and older since they are most vulnerable to the infection. Currently, the CDC doesn’t have a recommendation for the vaccine in people ages 50 to 59, but the Food and Drug Administration did approve the shot for this age group as well. According to the CDC, shingles-vaccination rates among adults are low, but there was a 16% increase in people ages 60 and older who were immunized in 2011. While the vaccine cannot protect you completely from a bout with shingles, it can make the rashes less painful and help clear them up more quickly.
 http://healthland.time.com/2013/01/29/5-things-you-should-know-about-chickenpox-and-shingles/

FDA to crack down on antibiotics in animals reared for meat

Regulators announce new guidelines for drug firms to phase out some antibiotics as a growth enhancer in livestock.The Food and Drug Administration is taking steps toward phasing out the use of some antibiotics in animals processed for meat in the US, citing a potential threat to public health.

Many cattle, hog and poultry producers give their animals antibiotics regularly to ensure that they are healthy and to make the animals grow faster. Now, the agency has announced that it will ask pharmaceutical companies to voluntarily stop labeling drugs important for treating human infection as acceptable for that growth promotion in animals.
If the companies sign on — and one major company has already said it will — using those antibiotics to promote growth in animals would be illegal. Prescriptions would be required to use the drugs for animal illnesses.
The FDA has been debating how to address the issue of antibiotics in meat for several years as consumers have become more aware of the issue and are clamoring for antibiotic-free meat. McDonald's, among other companies, has moved to limit the drugs in their meat, pushing many animal producers to go along.
The FDA move is designed to limit antibiotic-resistant diseases in humans. Repeated exposure to antibioticscan lead germs to become resistant to the drug so that it is no longer effective in treating a particular illness.
Antibiotic resistance is a growing public health problem. In September the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released sobering estimates that more than 23,000 people a year are dying from drug-resistant infections.
The biggest risk is from germs spread in hospitals, and it's not clear how much of the problem is related to the use of drugs in meat. Still, the FDA says this is one step toward decreasing resistance.
"We need to be selective about the drugs we use in animals and when we use them," said William Flynn of FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine. "Antimicrobial resistance may not be completely preventable, but we need to do what we can to slow it down."
The new guidance will give the companies three years to comply.
Michael Taylor, FDA's deputy commissioner of foods, said he believes asking industry to make the changes is the fastest way to help phase the drugs out. If the FDA made the process mandatory, he said, the agency would have had to move forward with a complex regulatory process that could take years.
"We have high confidence based on dialogue with industry that this initiative will succeed," Taylor said.
Drug company Zoetis, a leading manufacturer of animal antibiotics, has already said they will comply.
"This reflects our continued commitment to antibiotic stewardship and represents the many ways that Zoetis promotes the responsible use of antimicrobial drugs in animals," the company's statement said.
Animal agriculture groups will not have much of a choice in the matter if drug companies sign on and make the drugs' use illegal. But many antibiotics will still be available for those producers to use, just not those that the FDA has classified as most important for treating human infections. Some of the antibiotics that could not be used in animals are penicillins and tetracyclines, the FDA said.
Many animal groups signaled support for the FDA guidance after it was announced Wednesday, including the National Pork Producers Council. Still, Dr. Liz Wagstrom of the pork producers' group said the FDA action will mean "real change" in the way antibiotics are used on the farm, as some animals may not grow as quickly and producers may see more disease. She said she does not know how much it will cost the industry.
Some advocates pushing to rid the animal food supply of antibiotics said the FDA did not go far enough. Democratic Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York, a microbiologist, said the FDA should have made the action mandatory. The guidance "falls woefully short of what is needed to address a public health crisis," she said.
Others hailed the agency move as progress.
"We commend FDA for taking the first steps since 1977 to broadly reduce antibiotic overuse in livestock," said Laura Rogers of The Pew Charitable Trusts' human health and industrial farming campaign. "There is more work to do, but this is a promising start, especially after decades of inaction."

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/dec/11/fda-crackdown-antibiotics-animals-meat

Amazing Onion.

Now let us read about the Amazing Onion. A friend of mine told me a story about when he was a kid he was in the hospital & nearly dying. His grandmother came to the hospital & told a family member to go buy her a large onion & a new pair of white cotton socks. She sliced the onion open then put a slice on the bottom of each of his feet & put the white cotton socks on him. In the morning when he awoke they removed the socks. The slices of onion were black & his fever was gone. The following story that someone sent to me might have some truth in it & we are going to try it this winter.  In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu. Many of the farmers and their family had contracted it and many died.  The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone was very healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back then). The doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under the microscope. She gave him one and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.  Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser in AZ. She said that several years ago many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must work.. (And no, she is not in the onion business.)  The moral of the story is, buy some onions and place them in bowls around your home. If you work at a desk, place one or two in your office or under your desk or even on top somewhere. Try it and see what happens. We did it last year and we never got the flu.  For flu cure: Cut both ends off an onion put one end on a fork and then place the forked end into an empty jar... Placing the jar next to the sick patient at night. It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs... Sure enough it happened just like that... The onion was a mess and I began to feel better.  Onions and garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago. They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties.  One more thing, never store cut onions and consume the next day.

Tips For Girls To Remain Slim

Tips For Girls To Remain Slim

* First of all we must be determined to remain slim and work towards it. Develop a mind set towards it.

* Set realistic goals.

* Make lifestyle changes like giving up alcohol, smoking, avoiding fatty food, refined food,...

*Include fresh foods as far as possible as processed foods tend to contain high level of salt and sugar

* Do not expect immediate results.

* Never go for crash diets instead reduce weight gradually and slowly.

* Never skip meals as you tend to eat more, the next meal. Do not skip breakfast in particular.

* Include lot of fiberin your diet as it gives a feeling of fullness, thereby preventing you from gorging spicy and fatty food.

* Nuts contain lot of fiber.They are satisfying and cause people to eat less at meal time.

*Take warm lime juice mixed with honey the first thing in the morning.

* Go for skimmed milk.

* As far as possible avoid weight loss supplements.

* When you have cravings for sweets, takea fruit instead.

* When you have cravings for certain type of foodlike chocolates or ice cream, once in a while, you can take in smallquantities .

* Take fruits and vegetables which has lot of wate rcontent like watermelons, cucumbers and white pumpkin..

* Keep yourself engaged as boredom leads to overeating.

* Drink lot of water, at least 8 glasses per day.

* Use the stairs instead o flift. Park the car a little far away and walk to your office. Use every opportunity to be physically active.

* Walk, Walk and Walk as much as possible .Even if you are busy, go for walk at least 5 days a week.

* Aerobic exercise like jogging, swimming, cycling, running accelerates weight loss. Consult a physician before starting any weight loss program.. Aerobic exercise combined with healthyeating will certainly help in weight reduction.

* Make your exercise session enjoyable.

* Keep yourself free of stress

* Finally, weight loss is a slow process, so do not get disappointed and giveup

 

The fire was caused by lap top in the bed.

A well known family in Mequon  lost their 25 year old son (Arun Gopal Ratnam) in a fire at home  June 4th.
This is what happened.
He graduated with MBA  from University of Wisconsin-Madison
two weeks earlier and  came home.
Had a lunch with his dad at home and decided to  go back to clean up his room at school.
Father told him to  wait and see his mother before he goes back for a few days.
He decided to take a nap while waiting for his mom to come  home from work.
Neighbors called 911 when they saw black  smoke coming out of the house.
Their 25 year old son Arun  died
in the three year old house.
It took several days  of investigation
to find out the cause of the fire.
It  was determined that the fire was caused by lap top in the bed.  When the lap top is on the bed  cooling fan does not get air to cool the computer and that is  what caused the fire. Uneven surface of the bedsheets has blocked  the air intake vent below the CPU fan.
When the laptop is  placed on a flat surface i.e. on desk/table, there is a gap  between the desk surface and the base of the casing to allow air  to flow/suck in through the air intake vent by the CPU fan to  cool the CPU.

He did not even wake up to get  out of the bed he died of carbon monoxide (CO).
The reason  I'm writing this to all of you is that I have seen all of us  using our lap top in bed.
Let us all decide and make it a  practice not to do that.
Risk is real.

Let us make it a  rule not  to use lap top in bed or put computer on bed with blankets and  pillows around.