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The spinach and carrot juice debacles have led many to think twice before eating up their greens, veggie fan or not.
The following article helps with those food fears, albeit the headline is a little sensational.
A colleague sent me the link to a story from Ediets.com headlined...
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Last week county supervisors passed an ordinance requiring A, B or C grades be posted in the windows of local restaurants after inspections by the county's environmental health department. The new letter grades will start appearing in restaurants in January. Some other California...
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As one person told me yesterday, "there's more to being diabetic than just meals."
One event is trying to give people with diabetes the tools they need to get past the hurdles -- such as bland, restricted food -- and live normal lives.
Chris Smith, a.k.a. "The Diabetic...
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Are you or your child dressing up in a straight jacket for Halloween? Have you been chased by a pretend psychiatric patient in your favorite haunted house? Do you relish watching the Halloween movies, in which Mike Myers, an escaped psychiatric ward patient wreaks havoc?
Do any of these strike...
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Abortion is on the ballot.
How do you feel about Proposition 85? How are you going to vote on this?
Abortion measure back on slate for second time
Staff and wire reports
One year after the relatively narrow defeat of an initiative seeking...
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If you haven't figured out that it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, you must live under a rock — a rock that has probably been painted pink and tagged with a pretty pink ribbon.The publicity and social marketing of this cause are everywhere.There's pink Campbell Soup cans, pink Estee Lauder...
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I had heard about the post-holiday guilt and subsequent New Year's resolutions to join a gym, but I had never heard of people losing weight before the holidays so they can eat their feasts guilt-free. This probably explains a lot. Anyway, Monday's Eye Street cover included a story from the...
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The carrot juice controversy continues.
Be careful and conscientious with food. Here's some general food preparation tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Botulism cases accumulate as inquiry continues
BY EMILY HAGEDORN, Californian staff writer
e-mail:...
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Kern Medical Center is essential to the future of this area. It's the "safety net," as they say, for the 101,000 uninsured people in the county, not to mention the large amount of people who are underinsured. And while you may not be in either of these categories, there's a good chance...
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Looking further into people leaving hospice alive, I talked to several hospice employees and stumbled onto Kathryn White, a 90-year-old woman who has gone in and out of hospice care three times. Optimal Hospice calls her a "graduate."
Woman, 90, who survived several strokes a...
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A few months ago, I had the pleasure to tag along on a march with marijuana enthusiasts who want the drug legalized. It definitely was an interesting experience.
Several of the marchers stopped in front of the Bakersfield Police Department to light up. They did it again when they got to the...
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Entering hospice might not be an end for some after all.
I came across this story today in the Washington Post: 'Kissing Hospice Goodbye: Art Buchwald's Case is Unusual, but Leaving 'End-of-Life' Care Without Dying Is Not."
Humorist Art Buchwald was told by his doctor he had only a...
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As the clouds and rain outside show, fall is upon us and soon winter will follow, which means flu season is around the corner. But as opposed to past seasons of stuffy noses and vomiting, some school nurses are using this one to emphasize good hygiene habits in the event that bird flu does comes...
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Skyrocketing costs for cancer drugs are just one example of an already out-of-control health care system.
Did you see the New York Times story about cancer drugs? If not, you should read it.
The story talks mainly about Abraxane, a cancer drug that's now going for about $4,200 a pop. It's...
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Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy effects over a million people, yet little is known about it. My daughter Ashley age 15 is trying to get help to hold a Benefit Concert to help others that suffer from this terrible disease.
She has already raised over $1,000 in donations and auction items but needs...
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Are you having a harder time with asthma, allergies and other pulmonary problems lately? I know I am. Despite two allergy medicines, I have been feeling more congested and gross than normal for the last week.
Local physician's blame the Day fire's smoke and ash.
For more information on...
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Many prominent stakeholders in Kern County's health realm were no-shows at Monday's health summit. Representatives from Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, San Joaquin Community Hospital and Bakersfield Heart Hospital didn't attend. Steve Schilling of Clinica Sierra Vista sent his executive assistant....
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Tuberculosis -- the AIDS of the late 1800s and early 1900s -- is still an issue today. According to the Associated Press, the worst forms of tuberculosis have been gaining ground in the United States.
The story, which ran in Monday's Californian, said, "Although the number of...
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The county supervisors are holding a "health summit" on Monday to talk about the biggest health issues facing the county. I'd urge anyone interested in the future of health care in Bakersfield to attend.
What do you think are the biggest health issues? KMC? The rise in obesity and...
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I spent most of yesterday talking to people about Wal-Mart's new drug plan. The retail chain is selling about 300 generic drugs at $4 for a month's supply. They kicked it off Thursday in Tampa Bay, Fla., and it could reach the rest of the country by next year.
Here's the Associated Press story...
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I warn you. If you want to eat the food at the Kern County Fair with a clean conscience stop reading. I knew that all that fried food wasn't good for you, but I was surprised to find out just how bad it was.
Below is a story I wrote in today's paper about the nutritional value of fair food....
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A woman from Waukegan, Ill., died from a heart attack after waiting two hours in the emergency room of a Chicago-area hospital. Now her death is being called a homicide, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune.
At the hearing, in the county administration building in downtown Waukegan,...
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After researching foodborne illnesses all day yesterday, I looked at my refrigerator full of food with a wary eye last night. The strange smell notwithstanding, there were some things in there that should have hit the trash a week or so ago, mingled in with food that I hope is still fresh....
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Remember when greasy pizza, birthday parties every week and snack machines in the hallways were the norm in school? Well, that seems to be coming to an end as schools rush to address the high incidence of obesity and diabetes in children today.
Below is a story I wrote, that was published...
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To go along with an L.A. Times story on Asian delicacies and the potential headaches they are causing food inspectors, I wrote a local take on it that ran Saturday in Eye Street.
For some more background on this issue, see my previous blog, "Bad food or Asian delicacy," from Sept. 5.
...
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Tension between nurses at Bakersfield Memorial and Mercy hospitals and the hospitals' management is increasing as both groups try to hammer out a contract. Below is a story I wrote in today's paper about a demonstration the nurses held last night and what both sides are saying about the...
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I am doing a story on how clinical trials work and am looking for people who have taken part in clinical trials.
If you or someone you know has been a part of a trial, please give me a call at 395-7510 or e-mail me at ehagedorn@bakersfield.com.
I'm looking for good and bad experiences, so...
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There's a story in the New York Times today about an implantable heart that has just been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
More shocking than the fact that the device has been approved is the fact that it was approved despite a meager and terrible track record.
"The...
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Chinese and Vietnamese connoisseurs are butting heads with food inspectors over some Asian delicacies.
Bakery and restaurant owners say sitting these pastries out for hours, and sometimes days, helps maintain texture. Inspectors say this allows bacteria to grow.
According to the L.A....
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The high cost of prescription drugs has led many people to seek cheaper meds across the border. If you buy drugs from Canada or know someone who does, you might want to reconsider those purchases.
The drugs you pay for might not be the ones you get, according to the Food and Drug Association....
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A year and a half ago I weighed 240 pounds(i am 6' 1"). I didn't really think much about it and never saw myself as a fat ass. My knees and hips hurt all the time, but so did my shoulders and neck. Nothing surprising as I have lived a very action packed life and have worked and played hard...
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For everyone who doubts global warming, pay attention. Global warming is not a "myth" that some people think it is. Glacours are retreating, ice is melting, and the weather is getting worst. Some people think that global warming is real, but we can't do anything to...
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I'm currently at Stanford University for an international symposium on valley fever. Valley fever is primarily a lung disease that is caught when the fungus Coccidioides is inhaled. It's endemic to the lower San Joaquin Valley and parts of Mexico and South America. I wrote a story, published in...
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As kids bring home their supply list for school, you might want to add one more thing to it: a check-up. Making sure all your child's health issues are in check can eliminate a potential cause for worry, helping your child concentrate better in the classroom.
Many parents might have already...
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A 16-year-old cancer patient got his wish today to forgo chemotherapy.
According to an Associated Press story, the family’s attorneys and social services officials reached a consent decree, which said that Starchild Abraham Cherrix, who is battling Hodgkin’s disease, will be...
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Do you have different colored fibers coming out of your skin? This is just one symptom of Morgellons, a possible urban myth of a disease that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is looking into.
Here's some information from a story the San Francisco Chronicle did in June:
...
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Plan B, the morning after pill, is getting closer to over-the-counter status nationwide. The maker of Plan B, Barr Pharmaceuticals, said yesterday that the Food and Drug Administration promises to speed up the process. Here's a story about the recent developments, done by MSNBC.
Plan B has...
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I don't think much has been written about this in the United States, but it's something that is being talked about among researchers.
In March, human trials started on TGN1412, a drug designed to treat chronic inflammatory conditions and leukemia, by the German firm TeGenero in England. Eight...
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On Friday, I had lunch with some people at Option Care, a specialty pharmacy near Meadows Field. The topic of conversation was hepatitis C, a disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis C virus. Option Care does a lot of hep C education for patients and their families, the group said. Along with...
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About a week ago, Babytalk, a magazine usually found in OB/GYN and pediatrician offices, found itself in controversy over its cover of a baby breastfeeding.
Rather than potentially offending people by showing the cover in this blog, here's a link to the pic with a story by CBS News about the...
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Congrats! You just found the Californian's health and medicine blog.
On this blog, you'll find interesting stories that are all the buzz in medicine, fun facts, sources for debate, some health stories from the newspaper and, from time to time, other random bits of goodness.
I must admit I'm...
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Wow! Thanks for reading my babble! I wish I could have that kind of a response to my ha ha Internet campaigns. Well, thanks for reminding me, it's true snopes has some good info. Thanks for that-twice.
Just for fun and to use up the offending carbonated beverages tried a little research on my...
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