Egg salmonella
BY PHILIP S. CHUA M.D FACS, FPCS
Egg salmonella
PHILIP S. CHUA M.D FACS, FPCS
‘An egg is safer from contamination when it is hard boiled, fried scrambled, or fried over-hard (not -easy), making sure the yolk (yellow part) is fully cooked.’
IF you eat raw eggs, as a "health" shake with juices or as a cocktail mixed with alcoholic drink, or prefer them runny or sunny side up, please read on.
There is serious salmonella outbreak involving contaminated eggs in the United States, and the recall of eggs involved many states, including Iowa, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Georgia, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.
The alert and egg recall started August 13, 2010, and to date, more than 380 million eggs have been recalled, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is working with state health departments. The initial recall was 228 million eggs (19 million dozen-egg cartons) by the company Wright County Eggs of Galt, Iowa.
The eggs were packaged under the labels Albertson, Boomsma’s, Ducth Farms and Kemp, Farm Fresh, Hillandale, Lucerne, Lund, Mountain Dairy, Ralph’s, Shoreland, Sunshine, and Trafficanda.
Some of the salmonella poisoning was in salad, pies and puddings, besides fried (sunny side up) or undercooked eggs. This salmonella bug could be in eggs from healthy-appearing chickens.
The commonest symptoms include abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and fever within 8-72 hours of eating the contaminated egg/egg products. In children, seniors and persons with compromised immune system, the poisoning risk could include death.
If in doubt, dump them. Although this salmonella egg outbreak is in the United States, it is prudent for everyone, anywhere, to stay away from raw eggs, sunny side-up or runny fried eggs, and egg salad that is more than 4 hours old. An egg is safer from contamination when it is hard boiled, fried scrambled, or fried over-hard (not -easy), making sure the yolk (yellow part) is fully cooked.
The glutathione craze
Glutathione, a very powerful antioxidant, is more widely known today for its skin-whitening side-effect than for its more vital roles in our body. Glutathione is normally produced by our liver, from the food we eat. This endogenous glutathione are amino acids that detoxify harmful compounds in our system.
Amino acids, the building blocks of protein in the body, enhance the manufacture of various neurotransmitters, hormones, and enzymes indispensable in brain metabolism. Amino acids enables smooth balance cognition and even transmission from thought process to disciplined action of execution of what the brains tells the body to do. These essential acids, which affect exercise metabolisms, also aid in minimizing "stress, frustration and cognitive overload."
Of the twenty amino acids in our system required to produce different proteins needed for body growth and repair, eleven are nonessential amino acids that are synthesized by the body, and nine, which are termed "essential amino acids," exclusively come our diet. All these 20 are vital to health. Essential amino acids are found in high protein foods, like fish, eggs, meat, and dairy products.
Glutathione produced by our body and those from the food we eat detoxifies foreign compounds like heavy metals lead, arsenic, mercury, and is essential for the immune system. The drug labeled Glutathione is not approved by the US-FDA or the Philippine BFAD, and are ineffective for any diseases the manufacturers and vendors claim their product to have.
The basic question is: Does long-term use of glutathione topical (cream, lotion, etc), or oral, to whiten the skin, or to "feel younger," have any future adverse side effects?
Those with asthma or allergy, pregnant or breastfeeding moms, are advised not to take any form of glutathione. This substance also has interactions with acetaminophen (Tylenol, Paracetamol) and alcoholic drinks.
The claims that taking glutathione orally help make people look and feel younger and ward of a host of diseases, are all without scientific basis. They are fraudulent, a financial scam at best. Glutathione, by mouth, is not effectively absorbed by the body. There is no medical evidence that ingested glutathione does any good at all. As a skin whitener, it appears to work, but then again, its risk to health, years down the line, is unknown. The motivation from vanity might only lead one to trouble later in life. Let us be content with the complexion we were born with.
The food we eat gives us the right amount of glutathione our body needs, safely and inexpensively. There is really no need to take any glutathione supplement and waste money on something that is not any better, nor safer, than drinking 8 to 10 glasses of fresh clean water every day.
Coffee and health
More than a decade ago, the medical consensus was that regular coffee was "bad" for health, especially those with heart irregularity. New studies since then showed that drinking coffee is good for a variety of diseases. Imbibing a cup a day is said to lower the risk of early death from all causes by 37 percent, except for tobacco and/or alcohol abusers. Drinking at least 2 cups (regular or decaf) brings down the risk from heart disease by 25 percent; at least 3 cups a day cuts the risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s by 65 percent; and, at least 4 cups a day, decreases by 56 percent the development of diabetes type 2.
One does not even have to go to Starbucks (founded March 30, 1971) for great cups of coffee or for status symbol that is pricey. Good coffee beans or ground coffee are available at grocery stores at a more reasonable price. You can custom-brew your coffee to suit your taste, all at the comfort of your own "StarMoreBucks" corner in your kitchen.
As always, eating a healthy diet, resting enough, and living a healthy lifestyle, which includes daily exercises, is a fountain of youth in disguise, one that can even beat the bad genes we may have.
In summary, I would stay away from salmonella and glutathione, and instead enjoy my cup of Colombia Espresso coffee.
Please visit www.FUN8888.com
Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com