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We may live in the agricultural center of the state, but that doesn't mean everyone is being fed.
Kern County ranked No. 13 out of 41 counties and county groups for low-income individuals who have trouble getting quality food and who often can't afford meals, according to the study done by...
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This morning I awoke at 6:30 a.m., ready to break my fast of the past three days. I could have continued; my body did not say "feed me" this morning and I felt just as I had each day of my fast. But I had chosen to fast for only three days, and I was ready to start my new healthy eating...
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I've hardly blogged today, I've been so busy with work. Plus, I haven't really had much to blog about.
I have not thought about food but for three fleeting moments. Each time it was because my nose caught a draft of some scent that made me want to taste each of these items: scrambled eggs,...
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This morning, an anonymous blogger wrote this on one of my Day 2 blogs (Buffet in the brain)
"I find it interesting that you claim to have started this fast because you wanted to mitigate your "obsession with food" and, yet, here you are blogging three and four times a day about...
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I've made it through another 12-hour day at work, and I have watermelon left over. I have not needed nearly the amount of fruit as I did yesterday to get through my 3-day fast.
Today I have thought about food much less. As I felt a craving for a certain item, I made a note of it. They are:...
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I just returned to the office after surviving the hardest part of my fast: The monthly Kern Press Club board meeting. We always meet for lunch. Luckily three other board members also did not order lunch (I suppose they had other plans) but three did. And their lunches looked GOOD!
Tuna...
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Last night was hard. I got home from work around 8:30 and went to the kitchen to rinse out my watermelon container. I knew I was surrounded by food, so I quickly left. I watched Planet Earth on the Discovery Channel for 1/2 hour, then decided I better just go to bed. I ate a couple bites of...
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I sadly just bid farewell to a handful of co-workers who were heading over to Mama Roomba's (my favorite downtown restaurant) for drinks. They were nice about it; they invited me on their way out.
No thank you, I said. I'm fasting!
I am scared to go home tonight. There is so much food in my...
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At 3 p.m. yesterday, I was nearly crippled by a headache. I had to get some ice tea to satisfy my caffeine withdrawal.
But it is 4 p.m. now and I have successfully made it through the day with no headache so far. I feel great!
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Randomfactor, this is for you.
This photo was taken of me in March when I was promoted. It ran in the newspaper! You can clearly see my weight gain over the past two years in my face. In a few months, when I feel healthier, I'll ask a photographer to take another photo of me. THAT will be the...
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For those of you who were not privy to yesterday's amusing blog ("I'm Hungry"), I am undertaking a three-day fast. Yesterday was my "prep" day during which I tapered off my food intake and focused on drinking water. Lots of water. Good thing there is always a bathroom nearby....
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Comments [6] - Views [101]
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This show takes reality TV to a whole new level.
A Dutch television network is launching "The Big Donor," in which a terminally ill woman will pick who to give her kidneys to out of three contestants with kidney problems.
Her choice will be based on the contestants' history,...
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The U.S. government is undertaking some very ambitious and very controversial medical experiments.
The $50 million, five-year project, which will involve more than 20,000 patients in 11 sites in the United States and Canada, is designed to improve treatment after car accidents, shootings,...
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You may have heard all of these before, but if you haven't or are in need of a refresher, here's 10 steps to better health, courtesy of California First Lady Maria Shriver.
10 steps for parents:
If you eat healthfully, your family will too.
When your family's thirsty,...
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The red smudge in the center of the blue state of California may be more liberal than you think.
A recent study from the Public Health Institute found that 89 percent of Central Valley parents support comprehensive sex ed (abstinence, condoms and birth control) over an abstinence-only...
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Yoda knew something was up with Anakin Skywalker, and finally someone agrees with him.
Reporting their findings at the American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting, researchers have determined that the young Darth Vader meets the criteria for borderline personality disorder, right in...
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Disclaimer: Sexually transmitted diseases are very serious. It's always better to know what you have so you can protect yourself from infecting others. And if you find out you have one, you should tell your partner/partners, so they can be tested.
And not to take away from the toll STDs take...
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Six people have already accidentally drowned this year.
Help make sure you and your loved ones aren't added to that tally.
The health department, Department of Human Services and the fire department offer the following tips on having a safe Memorial Day and summer.
Home safety:
...
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Photos of the pristine Big Mac dripping with cheese couldn't be true, though that's the image we normally have in our heads when ordering.
This site shows it like it actually is.
Thewvsr.com/adsvsreality.htm compares advertising photos of the fast-food big hitters — Arby's Beef 'n'...
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My day started with the bloody diarrhea of the local E. coli outbreak and now I've moved on to menstrual flow.
Talk about an ... ummm ... interesting day.
The first birth-control pill that can halt women's menstrual periods indefinitely won Food and Drug Administration approval today.
...
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OK, let's get graphic.
Following the county health department's theory, the children originally sickened in the recent E. coli outbreak — the two children who were sick before the notorious water slide party — came to the party and used the slide.
They were shedding E. coli...
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The state's uninsured population are overwhelmingly U.S. citizens and documented residents, according to a UCLA study.
The study, which is part of the California Health Interview Survey, found:
One in five of the 4.8 million Californians who were uninsured at the time they were...
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The county health department came out Monday with its idea of how E. coli bacteria was spread to nine children and one adult.
Two children contracted the bacteria between April 16 and April 24.
They spread it to the other children by a water slide (see image) at a backyard party on...
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Vicki Moore awoke on her birthday, May 3, to find banners up, loved ones singing "Happy Birthday" and a Krispy Kreme doughnut brought in from Fresno especially for her.
She enjoyed two strawberry-filled cakes with butter cream icing — her favorite cake — and a private...
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"These days when somebody smokes in the movies, they're either a psychopath or European."
— Thank You For Smoking
Unless a movie shows the side effects of smoking (i.e. Robert Downey Jr.'s character in "Zodiac") or places it within a...
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You've heard it since you were little and you see it posted in public restrooms: WASH YOUR HANDS!!!!!
And you may think you know your way around a faucet and a bar of Dial, but do you really?
With the recent outbreak of a possible foodborne illness among children, public health officials...
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Reporters get inundated with press packets and releases every day.
For example, I just got a release blaming high heel shoes for an increase in urinary tract infections. Don't know the validity of that argument, but I've been surprised before.
David Burger, the entertainment reporter, just...
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The county Department of Public Health is working to confirm what exactly sickened 12 local children. (Read "Outbreak said to be contained" in Wednesday's Californian.)
Here's a primer on some of the foodborne diseases being talked about.
E. coli enteritis
Cause: eating foods...
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If you haven't yet, please read "Unknown illness strikes four" in today's Californian.
I'm still following this story, so look for updates over the next few days.
Here's the gist:
At least one child has been put on dialysis and as many as three others have been hospitalized...
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In response to Tolerance's request for a link to research of marijuana leading to or worsening schizophrenia in individuals here is one.
http://www.drugs.com/news/m...
Their many more listed if you search under marijuana/schizophrenia alone, not to...
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The family of Vicki Moore, a Bakersfield mother of two who is battling cancer, is asking local residents to help them celebrate Moore’s birthday.
They want to shower Moore in funny cards for her 37th birthday, which is Thursday, said Beth Cheatwood, Moore’s mother. The cards will...
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Almost any night of the week you can have your pick of medical TV shows. You got your "Scrubs," "Grey's Anatomy" and "House." If reality TV is your thing, take your pick from "Untold Stories of the ER" on TLC and "Dr. 90210" on E!. Even the crime...
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One good thing might come out of suffering a lifetime of painful migraines.
A new study from Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, found that middle-aged migraine sufferers showed less cognitive decline and memory loss over a period of 12 years than a...
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This project will stick in your mind long after you finish reading it and make you truly appreciate family and life.
Sacramento Bee photographer Renée C. Byers and writer Cynthia Hubert followed mother Cyndie French for a year as her son Derek Madsen battled neuroblastoma, a rare...
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Kristi Shelton still has the purple card with the fallen leaf and tear drop printed on it that workers at Mercy Southwest Hospital put on her hospital room door after she lost twins Faith Anna and Christian Todd.
Both were born at 20 weeks, just halfway through a typical gestation.
That...
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Mexico's new secretary of health visited California Monday to talk about the health needs facing Mexicans in California.
According to a story from the San Francisco Chronicle, Jose Angel Cordova Villalobos plans to meet every six months with U.S. health officials and Mexican immigrant...
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Rules intended to protect the environment are forcing asthma patients to turn to a different emergency inhaler -- a change that isn't coming cheap.
The Food and Drug Administration is phasing out the albuterol inhalers that use chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, to propel the medicine into the...
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Q: Why doesn't Bakersfield have a long-term care facility for patients with respiratory problems considering Kern County had an increase in the number of patients with respiratory problems?
-- Arman Domingo
A: Bakersfield does not have a long-term care facility that solely treats respiratory...
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The National Cancer Institute has a neat tool that lets you calculate your breast cancer risk.
It's called the Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool and asks you seven questions regarding age, family history and medical history.
Keep in mind, though, that this is only to help you learn more...
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Think you know your way around a fast-food menu board?
Test your knowledge.
1. Which of the following breakfast items that are served at Denny's do you think has the fewest calories?
A. ham and cheddar omelet
B. country fried steak and eggs
C. three slices of French toast...
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As the warmer temperatures beckon us outside, look out for ticks, the state's health department said Tuesday.
Ticks are small arachnids that are found in naturally vegetated areas throughout California, according to a news release from the state Department of Health Services. They prefer cool,...
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It may be too soon to tell if the recent gusty winds in Bakersfield are going to cause an increase of valley fever cases, but medical professionals are telling people to watch out.
(Read "Recent winds expected to stir up valley fever" in Tuesday's Californian.)
Valley fever is a...
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About one in eight pregnant women will go into preterm birth, according to a landmark national study released last year.
Preemies, babies born before 37 weeks gestation, not only have higher rates of respiratory, gastrointestinal, hearing, vision, cognitive, behavioral and growth problems,...
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A study came out yesterday that found health benefits to be the most highly coveted of employee perks.
One caveat of the National Business Group on Health report that I found particularly interesting was the fact that two in three, or 65 percent, favor charging smokers more for health...
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The Food and Drug Administration is in a tizzy over a new energy drink/dietary supplement called Cocaine.
The 8.4 ounce drinks are being marketed as "the legal alternative."
Produced by the Las Vegas-based Redux Beverages, Cocaine contains no actual cocaine, just sugars, amino...
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Opponents of California's physician-assisted suicide bill say more than 500 residents a year would commit legal suicide if the bill passes.
And if it is passed, other states would likely follow suit, according to a story today in USA Today.
"Absolutely, other states would...
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Earlier this year, I wrote on this blog about a family who started a Web site to keep loved ones informed about a Bakersfield woman's battle with cancer.
What do you think about this method of keeping everyone in the loop? (Read "Web site spreads news of woman's condition" in...
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By the time you were nine, had you started an organization to fund surgeries for children on the other side of the world?
I doubt it. I think by that age, I had collected money for UNICEF during Halloween and helped in some food and clothes drives, but that was about it.
Bakersfield...
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The Californian is undertaking a large project on childhood obesity in Kern County — a serious issue that's impacting our schools, our health system and, most importantly, our children's lives.
And we're looking for some help.
Wanting to go beyond the basic...
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What role should medical professionals have in executions? Some states require a doctor to be present, but many physicians say this is unethical.
Stateline.org, a journalist-staffed Web site focused on policy issues, came out with an interesting story today on the dilemma.
As the story...
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