Food safety for you and your baby

Charlyn Fargo, Contributor

Food safety is important for all of us, but if you're pregnant, it's even more important. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has an entire booklet with practical guidelines to reduce the risk of foodborne illness.

Here are a few tips:

Foods that are most likely to contain harmful bacteria fall into two categories: uncooked fresh fruits and vegetables and some animal products such as unpasteurised (raw) milk; soft cheeses made with raw milk; raw or undercooked eggs; raw meat; raw poultry; raw fish; raw shellfish; luncheon meats and deli-type salads.

To lower your risk, make sure meat or poultry is cooked to a safe minimum internal temperature. Make sure seafood is cooked to 145 degrees, or use canned fish and seafood. Make sure milk is pasteurised, and use pasteurised eggs or egg products when preparing recipes that call for raw or undercooked eggs. For fruits and veggies, wash them well, including salads. Use hard or processed cheeses rather than feta, brie, camembert or queso fresco. Make sure you cook all hot dogs, luncheon meats and deli meats to 165 degrees.

When preparing foods, wash hands and surfaces often; don't cross-contaminate surfaces; cook to safe temperatures, and refrigerate foods promptly.

When purchasing foods, check sell-by dates and put raw meat, poultry or seafood in plastic bags to keep it separate. When buying eggs, purchase refrigerated shell eggs, and don't buy food displayed in unsafe or unclean conditions. Pick up perishable foods last in the grocery store and plan to go directly home. In hot weather, take a cooler with ice or another cold source to transport foods safely.

When eating out, ask whether the food contains uncooked ingredients such as eggs, sprouts, meat, poultry or seafood. If so, choose something else. If you plan to take leftovers home, refrigerate as soon as possible, always within two hours after purchase or delivery.

For more information, go to www.fsis.usda.gov.

Avoiding type 2 diabetes

Q Type 2 diabetes runs in my family. What can I do to avoid getting it?

A People with a family history of type 2 diabetes do have greater odds of developing the disease, but research is clear that a healthy lifestyle can substantially cut risk or at least help people live more years without diabetes. One of the most important steps for preventing type 2 diabetes is to reach and maintain a healthy weight. Excess body fat around your waist seems particularly linked with increased risk, even if you are not extremely overweight. Even modest weight loss reduces risk if you are overweight now.

Type 2 diabetes stems from insulin resistance, which is the body's inability to use insulin effectively, despite producing plenty of it. Regardless of your weight, do enough physical activity so it adds up to 30 to 60 minutes daily. Daily physical activity seems to directly reduce insulin resistance in addition to reducing or preventing weight gain.

Tobacco avoidance and healthy food choices also probably help. Vegetables, fruits, whole grains and dried beans contain antioxidants that fight inflammation linked to this disease and provide fibre that may also help reduce risk.

Information courtesy of the American Institute for Cancer Research.

Charlyn Fargo is a registered dietitian at Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists; website at www.creators.com.

Parkinson's drug linked to heart failure

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notified health-care profesionals about a possible increased risk of heart failure with Mirapex (pramipexole). Results of recent studies suggest a potential risk of heart failure that needs further review of available data. Because of the study limitations, FDA is not able to determine whether Mirapex increases the risk of heart failure. FDA is continuing to work with the manufacturer to clarify further the risk of heart failure with Mirapex and will update the public when more information is available.

FDA evaluated a pooled analysis of randomised clinical trials and found that heart failure was more frequent with Mirapex than with placebo. However, these results were not statistically significant. FDA also evaluated two epidemiologic studies that suggested an increased risk of new onset of heart failure with Mirapex use. However, study limitations make it difficult to determine whether excess heart failure was related to Mirapex use or other influencing factors (see FDA Drug Safety Communication Data Summary for a detailed discussion of the studies).

Mirapex (pramipexole) is a prescription medicine used to treat the signs and symptoms of Parkinson's disease and moderate to severe symptoms of primary restless legs syndrome, in a class of medicines called dopamine agonists.

RECOMMENDATION: At this time, FDA has not concluded that Mirapex increases the risk of heart failure. Healthcare professionals should continue to follow the recommendations in the drug label when prescribing Mirapex. Patients should continue to take their Mirapex as directed and should contact their health-care professional if they have any questions or concerns.

Source: The US Food and Drug Administration

New multiple sclerosis treatment approved

The US Food and Drug Administration recently approved Aubagio (teriflunomide), a once-a-day tablet for the treatment of adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

"In a clinical trial, the relapse rate for patients using Aubagio was about 30 per cent lower than the rate for those taking a placebo," said Russell Katz, M.D., director of the Division of Neurology Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "Multiple sclerosis can impair movement, sensation, and thinking, so it is important to have a variety of treatment options available to patients."

MS is a chronic, inflammatory, autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that disrupts communication between the brain and other parts of the body. It is among the most common causes of neurological disability in young adults and occurs at least twice as frequently in women as in men. For most people with MS, episodes of worsening function (relapses) are initially followed by recovery periods (remissions).

Over time, recovery periods may be incomplete, leading to progressive decline. The most common side effects of Aubagio experienced by patients in clinical trials include diarrhoea, abnormal liver tests, nausea, and hair loss.

Source: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration