| Volume 23 Issue 22 | NOVEMBER |
NATIONAL DIABETES MONTH
NUTRITION NEWS...
Today’s Topic: Diabetes.."Do you have a little bit of diabetes"
Have you been told you have borderline diabetes, or that your sugar is a little high? If so talk with your care provider about getting your blood tested further. These terms are no longer used. We know that there is no such thing as a little bit of diabetes. With treatment, people with diabetes can live a healthy productive life.
If you have diabetes or symptoms of diabetes and have not been to see your health care provider in the last six months, this month is a good time for a checkup.
Diabetes means that the body cannot handle sugar, so it builds up in the blood. The result of too much sugar over time can be kidney failure, blindness, heart disease and loss of limbs. However, almost all of these complications can be prevented with regular early detection and treatment.
Five medical tests can give information about how well blood sugar has been controlled over the last three to four months. This is a hemoglobin A1c test and is done in a doctors office every three to three to four months. For people without diabetes the A1c number is about 5. For people with controlled diabetes the number is about 7 or 8. When the A1c number starts going higher, it is time to change something in your life.
You might need a change of medication, diet, or other lifestyle change.
A microalbumin urine test checks how well the kidneys are functioning and is very good at detecting kidney problems before they become serious problems. With medication most people with diabetic kidney problems will never experience serious problems.
Two tests are used to check heart functioning, blood pressure and LDL cholesterol. When blood pressure is controlled, many of the other symptoms of diabetes are also controlled.
The fifth test that regularly needs to be done is a dilated eye exam. In the dilated eye exam the physician puts drops in a person’s eye to detect bleeding inside the eye.
With these tests, a health care provider can recommend changes in medication, diet, exercise and smoking that could improve the quality of life that most people have.
Be good to yourself :
"Check diabetes during National Diabetes Month."
Holiday Food
Safety
Home cooked foods often appear at holiday buffets and potlucks that occur throughout the year. To avoid foodborne illness, prevent contamination of the food, and keep naturally occurring bacteria from multiplying by cooking, storing, and serving food at proper temperatures, a basic rule is "keep hot food hot and cold food cold."
More than 250 diseases can be caused by contaminated food or drink, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most foodborne diseases are caused by bacteria such as Salmonella or Cain pyiohacter. These bacteria are most commonly found in raw or undercooked foods of animal origin such as meat, milk, eggs, fish or shellfish.
Consequences of foodborne illness range from mild stomach upset to flu-like symptoms, including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, to severe symptoms such as kidney failure or even death. Most foodborne diseases can be prevented by following g some simple food handling rules:
Purchasing food
• Shop for meats (including poultry and seafood) last.
• Keep raw meats separate from other foods (especially produce) in your shopping cart or grocery bags. Put meat in plastic bags to prevent drips that may contaminate other food.
• Do not leave meat or dairy products on the counter or in the car after shopping. Put foods into the refrigerator as soon as possible.
• Wash your hands after handling raw meat in the store or at home. Raw meats that are wrapped for display often leak.
Preparing food
• Always wash hands before you begin to prepare food, and after handling raw meat, poultry or seafood. Use warm water, soap and paper towels. Antibacterial soap is a good idea.
• Keep your kitchen, utensils, and dishes clean. Sanitize cutting boards, knives or countertops that come into contact with raw meat by using a solution of bleach water (1 teaspoon bleach per gallon or water).
• Do not re-use wash cloths after wiping countertops. especially after cleaning up liquids from raw meats.
• Serve food on clean plates. Do not use the same dish before and after you cook meat unless it has been washed.
• Wash fruits and vegetables under running water.
• Thaw frozen meat in the refrigerator.
• To ensure adequate cooking of the turkey to 163 degrees, do not stuff it with dressing. Instead, cook the dressing separate from the turkey and then stuff the cooked turkey with the cooked dressing.
• Cook food thoroughly to safe temperatures. Use a food thermometer. Cook fresh roast beef to at least 130 degrees for medium rare. Ground beef should be cooked to at least 155 degrees. All other beef products arid fish should be cooked to 140 degrees. Pork should be cooked to 150 degrees. All turkey and poultry products should be cooked to a minimum of 165 degrees.
Serving food - potlucks and buffets
• Do not allow perishable food to sit at room temperature for more than two hours. Keep track of how long food sits on the table. After two hours, refrigerate it, reheat it or throw it away.
• Arrange and serve food on several small platters instead of one large platter. Keep the rest of the food either hot in the oven or cold in the refrigerator.
• Hot foods should be kept at 140 degrees or warmer. On the table, keep hot foods hot with chafing dishes and warming trays.
• Cold foods should be kept at 45 degrees or colder. On the table, keep cold foods cold by nesting dishes in bowls of ice.
• Replace empty platters rather than refilling them.
• Serve only commercially produced eggnog, which is made with pasteurized eggs.
Storing food
• Do not allow leftovers to cool at room temperature. Put them in the refrigerator immediately.
• Keep leftovers in shallow containers so they cool quickly.
• Do not cover foods in the refrigerator until they have cooled down. Lids trap heat, creating more opportunity for bacteria to grow.
• Re-heat leftovers to 165 degrees.
Snohomish Health District, Environmental Health division
Ever sparred with someone about whether a tomato was a fruit or a vegetable? That argument raged more than a century ago in a New York courtroom. Importers of tomatoes from the West Indies complained that they had been unfairly charged to bring those "red fruits" to America, since vegetables were subject to tariff, but not fruits.
You’ve heard (and perhaps used) the argument: botanically speaking tomatoes are fruits because they have seeds. But the supreme court judge decided in the 1893 case that "in the common language of the people" tomatoes and other fruits from the vine such as cucumbers, squashes, peas and beans are grown in kitchen gardens and are usually served at dinner and not at dessert. So, there you have it: tomatoes are vegetables. Case closed.
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