Health News
- Safety Tips For Trick Or Treating, Halloween Parties
The state Department for Public Health offers these food safety tips to help you have a safe Halloween: Avoid having children snack while they?re out trick-or-treating so you can inspect the contents of their treat bag. Give children a light meal...
- Lose Power In A Storm? Keep Your Food Safe
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom Power outages often accompany big storms. While Hurricane Sandy might not knock out your electricity this time, it?s good to know the basics of food safety related to your refrigerator and freezer. If you don?t already have...
- Eat Food, Not Nutrients
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom We?re all in a state of what I call ?nutrient overload.? We?re always reading about a food of the week linked to reducing disease risk for illnesses ranging from diabetes and heart disease to stroke and cancer. Despite the promotion...
- Top Food Safety Tip: Cook It!
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom You might have heard about the recent recall of raw ground turkey from supermarket shelves. Salmonella (a type of bacteria causing food-borne illness) was found during routine testing, with a quick removal from stores. Food contamination...
- Nutrition Rich Cookies?
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom Have you heard about the new ?nutrition-rich? cookies called WhoNu?, as in ?who knew delicious could be so nutritious?? Each 3-cookie serving contains 3 grams of fiber, as much calcium and vitamin D as a glass of milk, and as...
Health News
Are Raw Food Diets Safe?
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom
We like to think of ?raw foods? as the closest to nature ? the most nutrient-dense, and totally healthy. Now, in a perfect world, that would be true. And many raw foods are a great choice ? raw fruits and vegetables are always a healthy go-to group (washed thoroughly or washed and peeled).
But are all raw foods are safe to consume? No! Raw foods ? meaning completely uncooked ? can have bacterial contamination that you can?t ignore. Here are a few foods public health reports indicate that you should not consume because they pose a significant risk of food-borne illness.
Raw milk: It?s not the milk coming from the cow that is contaminated, but the handling of it until it gets to the consumer. Bacterial contamination can easily occur during the transition from the dairy to your doorstep (or local market). Always look for pasteurized milk, which has been raised to high temperatures to kill off any bacteria.
Raw juice: A serious bacterial contamination, called botulism, has repeatedly been connected to consumption of raw juice purchased outside the home in various locations. I?m not talking about blending your own at home from raw fruits or vegetables and drinking it immediately ? and then putting your juicer or blender jar in the dishwasher. repeatedly. As you do with milk, look for pasteurized juice products to ensure safety.
Raw sprouts: While these are nutrient-dense little morsels, there are major problems with the processing of these greens to get them to market. Repeated reports and recalls for bacterial contamination make this a raw food you?ll often want to skip. There are loads of other nutrient-rich greens to use.
Just part of being a smart consumer! Other foods you think should be on this list?
And remember that children, the elderly, and those with a compromised immune system need to be especially careful, as these groups are the most susceptible to food-borne illness.
- Safety Tips For Trick Or Treating, Halloween Parties
The state Department for Public Health offers these food safety tips to help you have a safe Halloween: Avoid having children snack while they?re out trick-or-treating so you can inspect the contents of their treat bag. Give children a light meal...
- Lose Power In A Storm? Keep Your Food Safe
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom Power outages often accompany big storms. While Hurricane Sandy might not knock out your electricity this time, it?s good to know the basics of food safety related to your refrigerator and freezer. If you don?t already have...
- Eat Food, Not Nutrients
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom We?re all in a state of what I call ?nutrient overload.? We?re always reading about a food of the week linked to reducing disease risk for illnesses ranging from diabetes and heart disease to stroke and cancer. Despite the promotion...
- Top Food Safety Tip: Cook It!
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom You might have heard about the recent recall of raw ground turkey from supermarket shelves. Salmonella (a type of bacteria causing food-borne illness) was found during routine testing, with a quick removal from stores. Food contamination...
- Nutrition Rich Cookies?
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom Have you heard about the new ?nutrition-rich? cookies called WhoNu?, as in ?who knew delicious could be so nutritious?? Each 3-cookie serving contains 3 grams of fiber, as much calcium and vitamin D as a glass of milk, and as...