Eating For Health

My sister said she heard on the news that a bite from tick can cause you to become allergic to red meat.   Then I picked up our local paper and there was a big article about it.   So what is the real story on this? Apparently this started a few years ago as doctors saw patients becoming allergic to red meat after being bitten by a tick.   It is now becoming more widespread as the tick is spreading from the Southwest and Eastern US to other parts of the country.   An allergist in Long Island, New York has seen 200 cases in his practice.   He notes, “Why would someone think they’re allergic to meat when they’ve been eating it all their lives?”   ( Tick bite and red meat )   So what kind of tick is this?   The Lone Star tick.   Although it is named for Texas, the tick has spread throughout the South and East of the US. Lone star tick bites are likely the cause of thousands of cases of severe red meat allergies that are plaguing patient...

We have all heard about “Leading Causes of Death” and usually read about heart disease, cancer, diabetes, strokes.   But now the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) and the University of Washington have ranked “poor diet” as a leading cause of death. (Environmental Nutrition, Oct. 2013).    Why?   Scientists analyzed data from 2010 and discovered that of the 10 leading causes of death, POOR DIET is now "leading the pack".   In 2010, they attributed 678,288 deaths to a poor diet.    Poor diet surpassed smoking, drug use and alcohol as causes of death.   However, physical inactivity was not far behind the other factors.     So what is the Poor Diet that is causing so many deaths?   Low intake of fruits and vegetables .    If more people ate 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, they could lessen their risk.   Sodium – most Americans take in way too much sodium, and mostly from packaged...