Breast (Milk) Is Best, Says PETA to Ben & Jerry’s

Getting their inspiration from a Swiss restaurant that will begin using human breast milk for 75% of their milk needs, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) wrote a September 23 letter to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, founders of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc., manufacturer of premium ice creams favored nationwide, urging them to follow suit.  PETA says a switch to human breast milk would benefit people and cows, too. Read more

Will Botox Land You More Dates?

Botulinum toxin A, marketed as Botox, is a very popular means of cosmetic enhancement, perhaps because we think we look better after getting a treatment. But recent research went a step further and evaluated the effects of one’s Botox treatment based on the opinions of others. Read more

FDA Wants New Labeling System to Prevent Re-entry of Refused Food Imports

At this time, a shipment of food from another country that is denied entry into the United States must be sent back or destroyed but this isn’t always the outcome.  There are no current means of identifying rejected shipments and many owners and consignees of such shipments merely forward these shipments to another US port in the hope that entry will be granted there instead, a practice called port shopping. Read more

Doctors Miss Many Opportunities to Show Empathy

Empathy is the acknowledgment and understanding of another person’s feelings or emotional situation. Empathetic doctors generally have patients who are more satisfied with their treatment and are more likely to comply with medical recommendations. Unfortunately, not all doctors readily express empathetic thoughts, according to a study recently published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Read more

FDA Explores Food Allergen Labeling Improvements

About 2% of all American adults and 5% of the nation’s infants and young children suffer from food allergies.  Some allergic reactions triggered by the foods eaten are merely irritating but 30,000 of them every year are severe enough to require emergency medical treatment.  About 150 people die every year after eating something they were allergic to. Read more

Odds For Suicide High in Older Problem Gamblers

Casinos and the games played within them can be loads of fun and the thrill of winning is unbeatable. Unfortunately, there are more people not winning in a casino near you than there are people winning. When the lure of the game becomes so strong the gambling causes financial, professional, and emotional devastation, the gambling has progressed to a point considered a problem. And older problem gamblers, those 55 and older, are more likely to consider, even attempt, suicide at rates about six times that of the population in general. Read more

Veggies Provide Tasty Way to Ease COPD Symptoms

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects at least 16 million Americans. Often associated with cigarette smoking, COPD is the nation’s #4 leading cause of death. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Medical School have just published the findings of a recent study that suggests a diet rich in vegetables, particularly broccoli, may help the body produce enzymes that fight the negative effects of tobacco smoking. Read more

Omega-3 in Fish, Breast Milk Feeds Healthier Babies

When expectant mothers enjoy a diet rich in fish, their babies are more likely to develop better, physically and cognitively, than babies born to mothers who eat less fish. When babies are breastfed for a substantial length of time, their developmental progress closely resembles that of babies born to mothers who ate the most fish during pregnancy. Both fish and breast milk contain significant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, thought to be an essential element in childhood development, according to a recent Danish study of infants and their mothers’ diets. Read more

FDA Expands Gardasil’s Cancer-Preventing Uses

In 2006, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the vaccine, Gardasil, for girls and women between the ages of 9 and 26 as a means of preventing cervical cancer caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV).  In a September 12 announcement, the FDA has expanded the vaccine’s cancer-preventing protections to some forms of vulvar and vaginal cancers, too. Read more

CDC: US AIDS Epidemic Far From Over

Statisticians for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had predicted that about 40,000 new cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), would be diagnosed each year in the US alone but the grim reality is that as many as 56,300 Americans became infected in 2006. Read more

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