Important news for women using oral birth control products. Pfizer is recalling about one million packets of birth control pills in the United States because they may not contain enough contraceptive to prevent pregnancy.
"As a result of this packaging error, the daily regimen for these oral contraceptives may be incorrect and could leave women without adequate contraception, and at risk for unintended pregnancy," according to a Pfizer statement on
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website.
Monthly doses contain 28 tablets total... 21 with contraceptive and 7 sugar pills. The pharamceutical company discovered that some of their blister packs had too many active tablets, some had too few and some had the tablets out-of-order.
Related:
7 Amazing Health Benefits of Sex
The recall involves 14 lots of Lo/Ovral-28 tablets and 14 lots of Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol tablets.
Pfizer said the mix-up poses no health threat to women, but it urges those taking the affected products to "begin using a non-hormonal form of contraception immediately."
A company spokesperson told The Associated Press that the problem is the result of both mechanical error and a failure on the packaging line during visual inspections.
The pills in question were distributed nationwide.
Lot numbers of affected packs of Lo/Ovral®-28 (norgestrel and ethinyl estradiol)Tablets and Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets (generic) follow on the table below:
| NDC |
Product |
Lot |
Expiration |
Configuration/Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24090-801-84 | LO/OVRAL® 28 | E15678 | 08/31/2013 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-801-84 | LO/OVRAL® 28 | E15679 | 08/31/2013 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-801-84 | LO/OVRAL® 28 | E15686 | 08/31/2013 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-801-84 | LO/OVRAL® 28 | E15687 | 01/31/2014 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-801-84 | LO/OVRAL® 28 | E15690 | 01/31/2014 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-801-84 | LO/OVRAL® 28 | E15698 | 01/31/2014 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-801-84 | LO/OVRAL® 28 | E15700 | 02/28/2014 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-801-84 | LO/OVRAL® 28 | E80434 | 07/31/2013 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-801-84 | LO/OVRAL® 28 | E80438 | 08/31/2013 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-801-84 | LO/OVRAL® 28 | F36908 | 02/28/2014 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-801-84 | LO/OVRAL® 28 | F36909 | 02/28/2014 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-801-84 | LO/OVRAL® 28 | F43915 | 03/31/2014 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-801-84 | LO/OVRAL® 28 | F43926 | 03/31/2014 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-801-84 | LO/OVRAL® 28 | F43927 | 03/31/2014 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-961-84 | Norgestrel 0.3 mg/Ethinyl Estradiol 0.03 mg | E15677 | 08/31/2013 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-961-84 | Norgestrel 0.3 mg/Ethinyl Estradiol 0.03 mg | E15704 | 01/31/2014 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-961-84 | Norgestrel 0.3 mg/Ethinyl Estradiol 0.03 mg | E15706 | 01/31/2014 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-961-84 | Norgestrel 0.3 mg/Ethinyl Estradiol 0.03 mg | E80440 | 08/31/2013 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-961-84 | Norgestrel 0.3 mg/Ethinyl Estradiol 0.03 mg | F16388 | 01/31/2014 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-961-84 | Norgestrel 0.3 mg/Ethinyl Estradiol 0.03 mg | F16390 | 02/28/2014 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-961-84 | Norgestrel 0.3 mg/Ethinyl Estradiol 0.03 mg | F22132 | 02/28/2014 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-961-84 | Norgestrel 0.3 mg/Ethinyl Estradiol 0.03 mg | F31330 | 02/28/2014 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-961-84 | Norgestrel 0.3 mg/Ethinyl Estradiol 0.03 mg | F36911 | 03/31/2014 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-961-84 | Norgestrel 0.3 mg/Ethinyl Estradiol 0.03 mg | F36913 | 03/31/2014 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-961-84 | Norgestrel 0.3 mg/Ethinyl Estradiol 0.03 mg | F43924 | 03/31/2014 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-961-84 | Norgestrel 0.3 mg/Ethinyl Estradiol 0.03 mg | F43925 | 03/31/2014 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-961-84 | Norgestrel 0.3 mg/Ethinyl Estradiol 0.03 mg | F43934 | 03/31/2014 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
| 24090-961-84 | Norgestrel 0.3 mg/Ethinyl Estradiol 0.03 mg | F53238 | 03/31/2014 | 6 Pilpacks® of 28 tablets each |
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm289770.htm
###
More from
GalTime:
The following letter to the president of Brown University requests that she writes to the editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry supporting our request for retraction of a journal article that misrepresented the efficacy and safety of paroxetine for depressed adolescents. The letter was written by Healthy Skepticism members Jon Jureidini and Leemon McHenry and signed by additional Healthy Skepticism members and others. Jon and Leemon's campaign for retraction of the misleading article has been endorsed as a Healthy Skepticism campaign by the Healthy Skepticism international management group.
4 October 2011
President Ruth J. Simmons
Office of the President
Brown University
1 Prospect Street
Campus Box 1860
Providence, Rhode Island 02912
Dear President Simmons,
Study 329: A multi-center, double blind, placebo controlled study of paroxetine and imipramine in adolescents with unipolar major depression
We write to you about our ongoing concerns regarding a journal article that originated at the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, under the leadership of Dr. Martin Keller.
Between 1993 and 1998, SmithKline Beecham (subsequently GlaxoSmithKline) provided $800,000 to Brown University for its participation in the above study.
[1] The results were published in 2001 by Keller et al. in a journal article, 'Efficacy of paroxetine in the treatment of adolescent major depression: a randomized, controlled trial',
[2] in the
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
.
The article was ghostwritten by agents of the manufacturer, and seriously misrepresented both the effectiveness and the safety of paroxetine in treating adolescent depression.
While problems with study 329 and the Keller et al paper have been thoroughly exposed in legal actions,
[3] the bioethical and medical literature,
[4] a book,
[5] and a BBC Panorama documentary
[6], the paper continues to be cited uncritically in the medical literature as evidence of the efficacy of paroxetine for treatment of adolescent depression.
[7],
[8] Our main concern is that adolescents are being harmed because well-intentioned physicians have been misled.
Moreover, the misrepresentation has been compounded by the following:
1) The
Journal
was asked by two of the undersigned, Drs. Jureidini and McHenry, to retract the article, but has refused to do so.
2) In a letter of May 13, 2008, from Pamela D. Ring to Dr. David Egilman, Brown University refused to release information about its internal investigation into Dr. Keller's conflicts of interest and scientific misconduct.
Study 329 reveals the pervasive influence of GlaxoSmithKline's marketing objectives on the preparation and publication of a 'scientific' manuscript and peer-reviewed journal article. GlaxoSmithKline's own internal documents disclosed in litigation show that company staff were aware that the study 329 did not support a claim of efficacy but decided that it would be "unacceptable commercially" to reveal that.
[9]
The data were therefore selectively reported in Keller
et al
.'s article, in order to "effectively manage the dissemination of these data in order to minimise any potential negative commercial impact".9 As it turns out, the Keller
et al
. article was used by GlaxoSmithKline's to ward off potential damage to the profile of paroxetine and it was used to promote off-label prescriptions of Paxil® and Seroxat® to children and adolescents, some of whom became suicidal and self-harmed as a result.
[10]
The unretracted article is a stain on Brown University's reputation for academic excellence. The University cannot claim to be a leader in scientific research and moral integrity while failing to act to redress this article that negligently misrepresents scientific findings.
In its accreditation document for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), Brown University claims in relation to 'Standard Eleven: Integrity' that 'The institution manages its academic, research and service programs, administrative operations, responsibilities for students and interactions with prospective students with honesty and integrity', that it 'expects that members of its community, including the board, administration, faculty, staff, and students, will act responsibly and with integrity', and that 'Truthfulness, clarity, and fairness characterize the institution's relations with all internal and external constituencies'.
[11] The University's inaction in relation to study 329 casts doubt on the validity of these claims.
We ask that you write to the editor, Dr. Andres Martin,
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
supporting our request for retraction of the journal article.
We are making this letter available to interested parties and it will be posted on the Healthy Skepticism website (
www.healthyskepticism.org).
Yours sincerely
Jon Jureidini
Child Psychiatrist
Clinical Professor, University of Adelaide
Leemon McHenry
Department of Philosophy, California State University, Northridge
Jerome Biollaz
Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne
Alain Braillon
Stephen Bezruchka
Senior Lecturer, School of Public Health, University of Washington
Ruud Coolen van Brakel, director
Sandra van Nuland, consultant
Martine van Eijk, MD PhD
Instituut voor Verantwoord Medicijngebruik (
Dutch Institute for Rational Use of Medicine)
Marc-Andre Gagnon,
Research Fellow, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University
Ken Harvey
Adjunct Senior Lecturer, School of Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne
David Healy
Professor in Psychological Medicine, Cardiff University School of Medicine
Andrew Herxheimer,
Emeritus Fellow, UK Cochrane Centre, Oxford
Jerome Hoffman
Professor of Emergency Medicine, University of Southern California
Joel Lexchin
Professor, School of Health Policy and Management, York University, Toronto, Canada
Melissa Raven
Adjunct Lecturer, Discipline of Public Health, Flinders University, Australia
Dee Mangin
Associate Professor, Director Primary Care Research Unit, Christchurch School of Medicine
Peter Mansfield
Director, Healthy Skepticism
Dan Mayer
Professor of Emergency Medicine, Albany Medical College, New York
David Menkes
Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University of Auckland
Robert Purssey
Senior Lecturer, University of Queensland
Nicholas Rosenlicht
Clinical Professor of Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco
Jorg Schaaber
President, International Society of Drug Bulletins (ISDB)
Arthur Schafer
Director, Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics, University of Manitoba
Michael Wilkes
Professor of Medicine, University of California, Davis
Jim Wright
Co-Managing Director, Therapeutics Initiative
Liliya E. Ziganshina
Head, Professor, Department of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, Kazan Federal University, Russian Federation
[1] Keller M. (2011). Martin B. Keller, MD. Providence, RI: Brown University; 2011.
http://research.brown.edu/pdf/1100924449.pdf
[2] Keller MB, Ryan ND, Strober M, Klein RG, Kutcher SP, Birmaher B, Hagino OR, Koplewicz H, Carlson GA, Clarke GN, Emslie GJ, Feinberg D, Geller B, Kusumakar V, Papatheodorou G, Sack WH, Sweeney M, Wagner KD, Weller EB, Winters NC, Oakes R, McCafferty JP. Efficacy of paroxetine in the treatment of adolescent major depression: a randomized, controlled trial.
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry
. 2001 Jul;40(7):762-72.
[3]
The People of the State of New York vs. SmithKline Beecham
Corp.
(Case No. 04-CV-5304 MGC),
Beverly Smith vs. SmithKline Beecham Corp.
(Case No. 04 CC 00590),
Engh vs. SmithKline Beecham
Corp
. (Case No. PI 04-012879),
Teri Hoormann vs. SmithKline Beecham
Corp.
(Case No. 04-L-715) and
Julie Goldenberg and
Universal Care vs. SmithKline Beecham Corp.
(Case No. 04 CC 00653)
[4] Jureidini JN, McHenry LB, Mansfield PR. Clinical trials and drug promotion: selective reporting of study 329.
Int J Risk Saf Med
2008;20:73-81.
http://www.pharmalot.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/329-study-paxil.pdf
[5] Bass A. Side effects: A prosecutor, a whistleblower, and a bestselling antidepressant on trial. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books; 2008.
[6] BBC. Seroxat – Secrets of the Drugs Trials. Panorama. BBC one; 2007 Jan 29.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/panorama/6291773.stm
[7]
http://scholar.google.com.au/scholar?hl=en&lr=&cites=7589903240306694483
[8] Jureidini J, McHenry L. Conflicted medical journals and the failure of trust. Accountability in Research 18:45-54.
[9] SmithKline Beecham, Seroxat/Paxil adolescent depression position piece on the Phase III clinical studies, October 1998, PAR003019178;
http://www.healthyskepticism.org/documents/documents/19981014PositionPiece.pdf
[10] Hammad TA, Laughren T, Racoosin J. Suicidality in pediatric patients treated with antidepressant drugs. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2006 Mar;63(3):332-9
[11] Brown University. Standard Eleven: Integrity. NEASC Accreditation; 2008.
http://www.brown.edu/Project/NEASC/Standards/integrity_11.php
Does all the health reform chatter have you ready to jump into a high risk pool or bend a cost curve of your own? Take a deep breath and try to look past it all: It's the future, 2025 to be specific, and your name is Mary.
That's right, you're a 50-year-old, middle-income, single woman with diabetes. And your health has been impacted in dramatic ways by forces beyond your control.
How? Well,
in a new report, the aptly named Institute for Alternative Futures lays out four scenarios that could become realities for primary care by 2025. And for you, Mary, that means the potential for four very different -- but equally plausible -- futures.
The various health policy decisions, technological advances and political outcomes that remain to be seen will determine the fate of your health care -- and health. Here, with the help of the officials behind the report, we launch you into four parallel health care worlds.
Behold, Mary. These are your lives.
SCENARIO 1: "Expectable Future
"
In this scenario, which is a continuation of current trends, policymakers have ramped up access to preventive care, in part through a concept called the "patient-centered medical home." Back in 2014, the Affordable Care Act expanded coverage to most Americans, emphasized coordinated care and greatly boosted the use of electronic medical records. People like Mary have a primary care team that includes a physician, a nurse practitioner (who is actually her main point of contact), social workers and others who take care of the vast majority of her needs. They heavily reference her electronic medical record, which tracks her life history, her lifestyle and all bio-monitoring data that comes from devices she wears on her body -- earrings, a wristwatch, and a sleep pad that gives a pretty comprehensive picture of her health. Mary also has access to a digital health coach -- a virtual personality that helps condense all the medical information available online to advise her on behavior changes that she might want to consider.
SCENARIO 2: "Challenging Future
"
To put it mildly, things don't look so bright in this second outcome. With greater economic difficulties prompting significant cuts in federal health care spending, many doctors grew fed-up with lowered reimbursement rates and retired early. That led to even greater health care shortages and decreased access for many Americans, including Mary. Most blame the hardships on the passage of the Affordable Care Act, which caused many employers to stop providing health insurance. Mary considers herself lucky to still have a low-paying job in the aftermath of the second Great Recession, but she can't really afford any kind of real health insurance on her own. So she relies on the minute clinics, online information and emergency rooms when necessary. But her diabetes is so out-of-control she may lose her eyesight or need a limb amputation.
SCENARIO 3: "Aspiring Future
"
In this scenario, most health care initiatives embrace a triple aim promoted as the key implementation goal of the ACA -- enhancing the patients' experience, reducing per capita health care costs, and improving the overall health of the population. The latter means the "patient-centered medical home" has become a "community-centered health home" that monitors and contributes to the overall health of the general population. Mary works with Eva, a community health worker, to manage her diet and exercise. She has a health team: a doctor, nurse and access to all the health professionals. But Eva's her primary contact and the one who works with her on a daily basis -- the one who visits her three or four times per year and reviews Mary's health data so that she doesn't run the risk of diabetes-related conditions. To top it off, Mary has joined a group of other diabetics who like to walk together in the early evening, and for much of the year she gardens daily in one of the two community gardens started by her community health center.
SCENARIO 4: "Surprisingly Successful Future"
In our fourth scenario, primary care is divided into two major camps. The bulk of the health care system has been transformed into personalized programs supported by technologies that allow people to take over many functions of primary care for themselves. A second branch provides efficient, cost-competitive care for complex health needs -- services that are only necessary when people still need care despite all the new, preventive programs. Mary takes care of herself quite well. Her job doesn't cover her health insurance, but she has a consumer-directed plan through her state's Health Insurance Exchange that gives her what she needs. That includes a very effective digital health coach, which analyzes her personal bio-monitoring and genetic code and recommends steps she should take to improve her health. When she does need a doctor, the digital coach analyzes the quality and the price of the doctors in her neighborhood, relates those to the recommendations of her friends, and tells her the best option based upon her budget and health needs.
So, Mary, which do you prefer, and which do you think is most likely? Participate in the poll below -- which will remain open until Feb. 7 -- and share your thoughts in the comments section. Check back next week for the results, as well as expert analysis on the likelihood of the four scenarios and a look at what will need to happen for each to become reality.
Which Scenario Do You Think Is Most Likely? Click each scenario to rate its likelihood.
Rate SCENARIO 1: "Expectable Future"
Rate SCENARIO 2: "Challenging Future"
Rate SCENARIO 3: "Aspiring Future"
Rate SCENARIO 4: "Surprisingly Successful Future"
here.
The scenarios were developed in consultation with some of the top health care experts in the country, and with the support of The Kresge Foundation, which is also a NewsHour underwriter. Read the full report
here.
billion
chicken wings this Super Bowl weekend.
If you're trying to watch your calorie consumption but can't bear the thought of giving up the Super Bowl tradition of hot wings and ranch dressing,
try this healthy recipe for baked, crispy chicken fingers instead.
recent survey completed by the National Restaurant Association revealed that 61 percent of people consider pizza a "must have" Super Bowl treat.
We know—sometimes nothing sounds better than pizza. And that's fine. But you can save hundreds of calories this year by making one of
these delicious, healthier pies at home.
Chips are the ultimate football snack food, and a party's just not a party without them. Reach for
baked versions instead of fried versions to enjoy the crunchy taste without breaking the calorie bank. And ditch creamy, fat-filled dips for
this easy-to-make sweet pea and ginger dip. It cuts calories but packs serious flavor.
Calorie Control Council (CCC) estimates that consumers will eat 30 million pounds of snacks total, with 3.8 million of those being popcorn.
Further, CCC research suggests that people will take in a minimum of 1,200 calories and 50 grams of fat on Super Bowl Sunday... from
snacking alone!
Keep the mindless snacking at bay by making sure you fit at least three square meals in on Sunday. We love
these fast and easy recipes that are not only healthy, but hardly require any cooking, leaving you with more time to entertain guests and watch the game.
California Avocado Commission estimates that in the week leading up to the Super Bowl, 12 million pounds of
heart-healthy avocados will be purchased. On the actual day of the Super Bowl, Americans will consume 8 million pounds of guacamole.
Try
this fruit-enhanced recipe provided by
Toloache; it's the perfect topper for those baked chips.
steak at their watch parties.
Get creative with your grilling—and boost your veggie intake—this weekend by
tossing asparagus, sweet potatoes, or Brussels sprouts on the grill for a side that's delicious and nutritious.
Americans will drink 50 million cases of beer this weekend.The overall beer tab? $10.8 billion dollars. Ouch!
You can still enjoy a beer or two while you root for your team (or rate the best commercials) without ruining your diet. Our suggestion? Consult
this list of the best low-calorie, but still flavorful, beers before kickoff.
and
calories, alternate between
drinking soda and water, or ditch the soda all together and stick with H2O and drinks free of artificial sweeteners and empty calories.
Six percent of Americans will also call in sick that same day. There's a reason why they don't call it Super Monday!
As a doctor, I get a lot of questions about what to eat and what not to eat. Wheat and dairy tie for both “Most Commonly Eliminated” and “Most Devastating To Lose." When I posted about this topic on
my Facebook page, I got a surprising number of comments about how delicious dairy was and therefore could not be removed from the diet.
So let’s set the record straight: I wholeheartedly agree that milk, yogurt and ice cream are delicious!
But when you think about dairy from a nutritional point of view, the conclusion is a little different.
The Harvard School of Public Health recently released the Healthy Eating Plate, their version of MyPlate (the USDA’s new Food Pyramid). They say to limit milk/dairy to 1 to 2 servings per day. This got some media attention as dairy has been a separate food group in the American diet for decades now and USDA MyPlate recommends dairy at each meal.
Related:
Fat-Fighting Foods for Your Diet
USDA versus Harvard
The
Harvard article on calcium and dairy also states: “Currently, there's no good evidence that consuming more than one serving of milk per day in addition to a reasonable diet (which typically provides about 300 milligrams of calcium per day from nondairy sources) will reduce fracture risk.” Most Americans understand the link between calcium and bone health, but this research indicates that more milk isn’t necessarily better for your bones.
Ask people about dairy and you’ll hear “calcium,” “cows,” and often “delicious!” (talking about cheese and ice cream). Although dairy is one source of calcium, the media exposure it gets is out of proportion to its nutritional value. The Harvard article brings up lactose intolerance, the saturated fat content, and the potential increases in rates of ovarian and prostate cancer as reasons to seek out alternative sources of calcium.
So what are those other sources of calcium? Dark leafy greens are incredibly efficient ways to get calcium: 1 cup of raw spinach has almost 30 mg, 1 cup of kale has 93.6 mg and 1 cup of broccoli has 42.6mg — for comparison, 1 cup of skim milk has 316 mg, so yes, there is more in milk itself. Beans are another great option: 1 cup of black beans is 46.4 mg, 1 cup of chickpeas has 80.4mg, and 1 cup of kidney beans has 49.6 mg. As for dairy substitutes, almond or rice milk are great for your coffee while coconut milk ice cream is a delicious dessert. (No, really, it is!)
Related:
Cheese is an Aphrodisiac?
My diet diary for today revealed: (Calcium amounts taken from nutritiondata.self.com)
Breakfast: Calcium Content
2 scrambled eggs 42.6mg
Lunch: Calcium Content
Spinach salad (2 cups) 59.4 mg
Broccoli (1 cup) 42.6 mg
Butternut squash (1.5cup) 126 mg
Dinner: Calcium Content
Roast chicken (1 cup) 21 mg
Sauteed Kale (1.5 cups) 140.4 mg
Roasted yams (1.5 cups) 114 mg
Combine that with 1 cup of yogurt (448 mg) or a multivitamin and I reached the recommended 1,000 mg pretty easily (and that recommended amount is still under debate also, as more and more research is finding that more calcium does not reduce bone fracture risk and may increase heart disease risk).
So I have to agree with Harvard. Although dairy is an efficient way to get calcium into the human body, it is not the only way and there’s no need to worry that you aren’t getting enough if you aren’t eating dairy at each meal. One serving a day is quite sufficient for most people and for those who cannot tolerate dairy, grab an extra cup of spinach or kale and enjoy some B vitamins and fiber along with your calcium!
More from GalTime:
Eat Your Way to Sexy in 6 Steps
Healthy Snacks that Aren't that Healthy!
Healthy Valentine's Day Breakfast
Heart Disease: Risk for YOUNGER Women
References:
The nutrition source calcium and milk: what'sbest for your bones and health?
. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/calcium-full-story/index.html
Cook, M. (2012, January 08).
Harvard declares dairy not part of healthy diet
. Retrieved from
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/harvard-declares-dairy-not-part-of-healthy-diet.html
Dietary supplement fact sheet: Calcium
. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/calcium/
At least two promising vaccines for E. coli O157:H7 are awaiting licensing approval from the Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB) at APHIS. CVB has a long history with animal vaccines, but has primarily focused on those that improve animal health -- not human health. The E. coli vaccines under consideration are not designed to prevent illness in the animal, but could significantly decrease the amount of the pathogen present in the pre-harvest environment, and presumably in the meat that winds up on consumers' plates. Vaccines focusing on public, rather than animal, health represent fairly new ground for the agency. Given the delays in their approval, CVB may be having trouble adjusting its vision. In a series of conversations with many of the players involved -- representatives from CVB and the pharmaceutical companies awaiting licensure -- CVB's approach has been striking. Far from being enthusiastic about the public health possibilities of pre-harvest vaccines for E. coli, the agency instead seems beleaguered and adrift on the issue, even admitting in one conversation that although there's no scientific downside to the vaccines, there are some economic and practical issues to consider. Perhaps there are economic and practical issues to consider -- but that's not CVB's mission. The fiscal implications and logistical applications to these vaccines are issues for the free market to deal with, and not reasons to delay licensing of promising new technologies that could make a significant public health impact. The key issue for CVB -- indeed, the only issue the agency has authority to consider -- is whether the vaccines are pure, safe, potent, and effective. In meetings with CVB officials, the agency acknowledges that the vaccines under consideration have cleared the first three hurdles. It's the efficacy that appears to be tripping them up. CVB says that the industry wants an expectation of efficacy that would decrease summer E. coli shedding rates in cattle to approximate winter shedding rates, an efficacy of between 55 and 65 percent. This is a laudable goal, and it's useful to know what the industry would like to see from a new pre-harvest tool to combat contamination. But surely the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the agency whose mission is to ensure the safety of meat for consumers, has an opinion on whether that expectation of efficacy is too high, too low, or just right? Unfortunately, CVB doesn't know it. From what we can tell, CVB has a bold new responsibility to consider vaccines with a possibly significant public health impact, but they haven't taken steps toward a meaningful collaboration with the relevant public health agency that sits in the same building to decide how best to exercise that power. How CVB came into its responsibility for vaccines that have a public health focus (rather than the traditional animal health focus) is somewhat mysterious. Perhaps it was simply that the agency was left without a chair when, in the early 2000s, the music stopped on a debate about where to house these types of animal vaccine approvals. True or not, the agency has entered a new era -- one where their focus on animal health must share the spotlight with a commensurate consideration for public health. It's time for CVB to embrace that new responsibility, first by re-focusing on its actual statutory mission and away from tangential issues of practicality and economy. Second, the agency must consult with FSIS and gather the relevant stakeholders to discuss how vaccines can make a contribution to public health. Third, CVB should streamline and make more transparent the entire process of vaccine approval, so that interested parties can follow the progress -- or lack thereof -- of promising technologies under consideration.
There's no guarantee about these vaccines, but even without a silver bullet, it is possible much progress can still be made. CVB has the authority and the responsibility to put yet another tool in the box to fight the scourge of E. coli. Now the agency must rise to meet its new public health role, by streamlining, prioritizing, and publicizing the vaccine approval process for those technologies that could have a significant impact on public health.
Here's a
letter written by the Center for Science in the Public Interest to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack about the delay in vaccine approvals.
--------------
Sarah A. Klein, J.D., M.A. is Staff Attorney, Food Safety Program, at theCenter for Science in the Public Interest
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
- Intel and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), are working together to advance the quality of care provided to women and newborns by strengthening the skills of midwives and other frontline healthcare workers using technology.
- The program will use software and technical assistance provided by Intel and training content provided by UNFPA.
- Initial collaboration will focus on 3-5 high-burden maternal death countries in 2012.
UNITED NATIONS, New York and SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jan. 30, 2012 – The high number of unnecessary deaths during pregnancy and childbirth is unacceptable for Intel Corporation and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.
Intel will build on its commitment to the United Nations "Every Woman, Every Child" initiative to help train 1 million frontline healthcare workers by 2015 under the Intel 1Mx15 Health initiative. According to the United Nations, every year, about 360,000 women die in pregnancy or childbirth and up to 2 million babies die within the first 24 hours of life, largely because they don't have access to properly trained health workers.
As part of the initiative, the Intel skoool™ Healthcare Education Platform will provide open access multi-media content delivery in an anytime, anywhere capacity. The content delivery and assessment platform will further educate and train midwives and other frontline healthcare workers. Additionally, Intel will work with various governments to help increase the availability, affordability and usage of technology in order to enable healthy lives.
UNFPA, a UN agency dedicated to improving maternal health, will develop the content and training for health workers, together with relevant partners and professional organizations at country and international levels. UNFPA will also engage national stakeholders to ensure the sustainability and multiplier effect of the program.
"We are looking forward to working with UNFPA to improve training for healthcare workers through technology and education," said Mike Gann, director of global healthcare for the World Ahead Program at Intel. "By increasing the accessibility and affordability of ICT solutions, we would be able to equip the workforce with the correct tools to improve women and children's health."
Countries with high rates of maternal and newborn death will pilot the program. The collaboration will bring new forms of technology and training to the hardest hit areas of India, Bangladesh and Ghana.
"With this innovative collaboration, we are putting game-changing technology into the hands of the people who are saving the lives of women and newborns around the world," said Werner Haug the UNFPA technical division director. "UNFPA is inspired by Intel's commitment and we look forward to strengthening the work for safe motherhood."
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at
newsroom.intel.com and
blogs.intel.com.
About UNFPA
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect.
More information about UNFPA is available at
www.unfpa.org.
Intel is a trademark of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries.
* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
Boardwalk Empire
and
Mad Men
, vintage cocktail bars are popping up all over, offering a sophisticated alternative to 10-cent wing night at your favorite watering hole.
For the health-conscious drinker, however, the question always remains: how healthy are these Don Draper-inspired drinks? Well, it’s what’s being mixed with your spirit of choice that determines its overall value to your health, so we enlisted Ian Present, co-owner of
Dutch Kills and
PKNY in New York City to select eight signature, healthy cocktails, as well as provide mixing instructions for making them yourself.
Photo by Isaac Rosenthal
The Savory Cocktail Book
by Harry Craddock)
1/2 oz. simple syrup
3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 oz. white rum
1 oz. port
the white of one egg
To make: Dry shake (without ice) to emulsify the egg white, shake again with ice, strain into a chilled glass, top with soda. “This drink checks in at a very respectable 160 calories, less than some beers,” says Present, “while the egg white gives you 3.6 grams of protein.”
Photo by Zane Harris
1 oz. applejack
1 oz. rye whiskey
one brown (raw) sugar cube
two dashes of orange bitters (1:1 Fee Bros. West Indian Orange Bitters : Regan’s)
To make: Build in a whiskey glass. Saturate the sugar cube with the bitters, and gently muddle in order to create a slightly granulated paste. Add rye and applejack, and rock ice. Garnish with an orange twist. “This alternative to the Old Fashioned comes in at 152 calories,” says Present, “and brown [raw] sugar is healthier than white sugar due to its higher mineral content.”
Photo by Isaac Rosenthal
The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks
by David A. Embury)
1 & 1/2 oz. cognac
1 oz. Curacao
one lemon wedge, one lime wedge, one orange wedge, and berries
To make: Combine fresh fruit and Curacao in a shaker and muddle. Add cognac, shake with ice, and strain into a Julep mug (or a chilled double rocks glass) over crushed ice. Garnish with a mint sprig and fruits. “The liquor in this drink is close to 200 calories,” says Present, “but all the fresh fruit, and vitamins (particularly Vitamin C) and dietary fiber they bring, more than makes up for it.”
Photo by Isaac Rosenthal
The Savoy Cocktail Book
)
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz. simple syrup
1 & 1/2 oz. fresh orange juice
2 oz. dark Jamaican rum or Bermuda rum
To make: Shake with a small piece of cracked ice, and strain into a chilled Collins glass over a Collins spear. Garnish with an orange wedge. “At 180 calories and 46 percent of your daily vitamin C requirements, this cocktail will have you feeling healthy in no time,” says Present.
Photo by Zane Harris
2 oz. bourbon
3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
3/4 oz. honey syrup
To make: Shake with ice and strain into a chilled double rocks glass over ice. “It’s a respectable 188 calories,” says Present, “and ingesting the small amount of pollen spores that are present in honey helps the body become accustomed to pollen, and should reduce Histamine reactions.”
Photo by Isaac Rosenthal
3/4 oz. simple syrup
1 oz. fresh lime juice
2 oz. Jamaican Rum
two dashes of Angostura bitters
soda water
To make: Shake with a small piece of cracked ice, and strain into a chilled Collins glass over a Collins spear. Top with soda, and garnish with an orange slice and cherry. “178 calories, and the club soda and bitters are good for your digestion,” says Present.
Photo by Zane Harris
3/4 oz. simple syrup
1 oz. fresh lime juice
2 oz. gin
6-8 mint leaves
4-5 green grapes
3-4 cucumber slices
1/8 of a green apple
To make: Combine simple syrup, lime juice, mint, grapes, cucumbers, and apple into a shaker and muddle. Add gin and ice, shake and strain into a chilled doubled rocks glass over rock ice. Garnish with mint, grapes, cucumbers and apple. “This one comes in at 185 calories and is literally loaded with vitamins and minerals,” says Present.
Photo by Ian Present
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
3/4 oz. house-made ginger syrup
2 oz. vodka
To make: Shake with a small piece of cracked ice, and strain into a chilled Collins glass over a Collins spear. Garnish with ginger candy. “187 calories, contains vitamin C, and the ginger has been shown to combat nausea and diarrhea,” says Present. “Also, on a historical note, you’ll be drinking the cocktail that brought vodka to the masses.”
Photo by Zane Harris
After attending a talk called
The Power of Snacking
hosted by one of our favorite healthy snack brands,
LUNA, we just knew we had to interview nutritionist
Keri Gans. What she said really struck a chord with us as she discussed eating at your desk, the need for healthy and psychologically satisfying snacks, when snacking is appropriate, and making healthy eating a part of our busy lives.
start your day and will keep you fuller longer."
About 250 calories, 16 grams fat, 2 grams sugar
?"A Mediterranean
salad with chickpeas, hummus, tomatoes, cabbage, feta cheese, and tomatoes. For the weight-conscious, feta cheese is one of the lowest in fat, and cabbage is full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber."
80 calories, 20 grams carbs, 2 grams protein
?"Fat-free chocolate pudding curbs your sweet tooth and holds you over until your next meal, while still remaining low in calories."
?
"Admit it, everyone cheats a couple times a week! Since you're going to do it, replace those Cheez-Its and Doritos with fiber-heavy chips and fresh guacamole dip. Other substitutions could be fresh salsa, hummus, and low-fat cottage cheese."
?
"Grilled chicken with a side of roasted broccoli. When you get home from a busy day, the last thing most people want to do is slave over the stove. Pre-made grilled chicken and fresh broccoli can be made in under 20 minutes. With the right seasoning and portions, it will be enough to last you into the next morning."
A glimpse at Jeff Halevy's 24-hour diet shows how occasional
indulgences can easily fit into a healthy lifestyle. In between his three nutrient-rich meals, Halevy snacks on treats like fat-free pudding and good-in-moderation
guac.
Two of the country's most respected hospitals: Which one has mastered the art -- and science -- of great website design?
In this week's Website Smackdown, I’m taking a look at the websites for two of the biggest hospital complexes in the world, the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic.
You may be asking yourself, what can a small business learn from looking at the websites of two behemoth hospitals? Actually… plenty. One site understands its target audience and serves that audience’s needs extremely well, and the other just doesn’t get it.
The Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic rank neck and neck (third and fourth respectively) on US News & World Report’s Honor Roll of Best Hospitals, but there’s a huge difference in the quality of their websites.
Let’s Take a Look
Most people coming to the website for a major hospital have health-related questions, require immediate need for a doctor, or need information about visiting (directions, visiting hours, etc.). Just as hospitals are in the business of patient care, their websites should reflect that same level of care for site visitors.
A hospital website should provide key information to site visitors and make it simple and intuitive to find that information. It should also reflect a level of care, professionalism, and respect upon which the hospital has built its reputation.
Take a look at the homepage for the
Mayo Clinic website.
As you can see from the Mayo Clinic’s homepage, the central images are of former patients who have found their “Answers” at the Mayo Clinic. To get to those “Answers,” you have to read the tiny print to the right and click on the case study.
There is virtually nothing on the homepage that is designed to help patients, families of patients, or people looking for assistance from the hospital. After much searching, you can find (in a tiny font and in a sub-navigation) “Request an Appointment” and “Find a Doctor.” What you won’t find is a phone number, directions, or anything else that might be of real use.
By way of contrast, take a look at the
Cleveland Clinic’s homepage.
The Cleveland Clinic keeps the homepage very simple. The main image rotates, showing research, technology, and patient care as the three central messages. Much more importantly, the primary navigation clearly leads you to “Locations and Directions,” “Find a Doctor,” “Patient & Visitor” information, and bold tabs for “Contact Us” and “Appointments.”
Now take a look how each site handles the critical area of “Health Information.”
The Mayo Clinic Health Information page isn’t particularly user friendly. It offers a solid A to Z search and also has searches for symptoms, drugs, tests, and healthy living. While this is all helpful, it is also (forgive the pun) very clinical. People who are looking for health information are often in crisis and the role of the healthcare provider should be to provide as much support as possible.
The
Cleveland Clinic "Health Information" page offers all of the same search functions, but also provides useful tools as a phone number to contact them and even the ability to “Chat Online with a Health Information Search Specialist.” This is far more consumer friendly and much more helpful for a person with real health-related questions.
Finally, let’s look at one more service provided by both websites: Find a Doctor.
The
Mayo Clinic "Find a Doctor" page (again clinical and unfriendly) features an alphabetical search by doctors and departments and nothing else. The page also features videos of three doctors telling us how wonderful the Mayo Clinic is a wonderful place.
The
Cleveland Clinic’s “Find a Doctor” page not only clearly lays out five useful searches, it includes a video that actually walks you through the search process. Rather than extol the virtues of the Cleveland Clinic, it provides a real service to site visitors.
So what can you learn from these hospital websites?
- Know your target audience and know why they are coming to your site.
- Prioritize your navigation to serve the biggest needs of your visitors.
- Make sure you have powerful calls to action and prominent contact information.
- Emphasize customer service!
- Your online messaging should reflect the messaging of your business. If you are a service provider then make sure your site is designed with your potential clients/customers in mind.
Remember, creating a great website for your business isn’t brain surgery. It’s just a matter of understanding, appreciating, and serving your target audience.
“While I personally liked her more muscular look in the
Lara Croft
films, it is inspiring to see a role model who focuses on good eating habits like sushi,
vegetables, and broths,” Matthews says.
Dancing With the Stars
contestant and E!
Fashion Police
panelist said she finally felt optimistic about her chances at recovery.
“For the first time, I felt hopeful. I knew I’d been given another chance at my life, at my career, at happiness. I wanted to grab it,” the 26-year-old wrote in her book,
Fierce
.
“That is how profound the disease of addiction is and how profound the recovery is,” Matthews says. “There are very few people who make it, let alone shine and thrive as Osbourne has.”
Simple Life
star was still battling her demons, and admitted to driving under the influence of marijuana and Vicodin.
“People ask me, do I blame Hollywood or my parents?” the 29-year-old told
InStyle U.K.
in 2010. “No, I don't blame my parents. It had nothing to do with them. I created it and manifested it, and I got myself through it with the help of a lot of great people.”
“Her disease progressed into arrests and unmanageability,” Matthews says. “But through a healthy diet and exercise regimen of yoga and meditation, Richie regained her self-esteem.”
Today, the mother of two is a successful fashion designer and businesswoman. “Now, we see a more balanced woman who is open about her past in order to be a role model for other young women who may be sick or suffering as she once was.”
prescription painkillers, she even stole them from a family member. The addiction stemmed from her own unhealthy body image. After undergoing several plastic surgery procedures, the
Halloween
star abused the painkillers she was prescribed and mixed them with heavy drinking.
She reportedly got so caught up in her addiction that, for a period of time, she didn’t even care about her own health or well-being. This led to weight gain and a general state of unfit. “So I made a change and lost some weight,” she says. Now, Curtis, 53, is arguably one of the most fit actresses in Hollywood.
“She is an advocate for eating right, toning her body, and keeping a balanced lifestyle and credits this to keeping her addiction at bay,” Matthews says.
star Kristin Davis has candidly revealed to gossip sites how she didn't think she would live past the age of 30, and that alcoholism runs in her family.
“I’m a recovering alcoholic,”
celebrity-gossip.net quotes David as saying. “I’ve never hidden it, but I’ve been sober the whole time I’ve been famous, so it wasn’t like I had to go to rehab publicly.”
What made her stop? Matthews says it was Davis’ passion for her craft, along with meditation and a healthy lifestyle.
“Barrymore is one of those rare cases of a child star with substance abuse issues who was able to overcome them by the time she became an adult,” Matthews says. The now 36-year old actress, who maintains a healthy figure without succumbing to Hollywood’s super-skinny standards, spent several years as a vegetarian and also reportedly runs and does
yoga and Pilates.
Although recent reports have surfaced that actress Demi Moore may once again be battling drug addiction (Moore had a stint in rehab during her ‘Brat Pack’ days), the
seemingly healthy actress, albeit shrinking in size lately, has long been the picture of fitness. In the ‘90s, the
St. Elmo’s Fire
standout emerged from the haze of the hard-partying ‘80s to buff soldier in the 1997 flick
GI Jane
.
Collectively, they're tackling everything from healthcare and online video to Web security and e-commerce. And that's only the beginning.
Collectively, these talented start-up founders are leaving their mark on everything from healthcare and online video to Web security and e-Commerce. Based on what they've done so far, that's only the beginning. Here are the women I plan to keep my eye on in 2012—and beyond. Think someone else should have made the list? Let me know
@salubriousdish — Christina DesMarais
Amy Baxter doesn’t hail from Silicon Valley or New York but her start-up is making big waves in the medical industry. Baxter is a medical doctor and the creator of
Buzzy, a medical device that blocks the pain of getting an injection by confusing the body’s nerves and distracting attention away from the poke. Baxter received a $1.1 million Small Business Innovations in Research grant from the National Institutes of Health, is invited to lecture nationally and internationally on pain and sedation issues, and still practices medicine. Buzzy won a 2011 Medical Design Excellence Award, competing against companies like Johnson and Johnson and Novartis. With zero advertising, the all-female company has sold 11,000 units since 2009 by word of mouth. And she’s creating jobs: Baxter plans to move production from China to the U.S. in March.
With a background in engineering and art, 22-year-old Chung is passionate about making the world a better place. That passion led her to develop
Jerry the Bear (co-designed with Aaron Horowitz), a cuddly robotic and interactive educational toy for children living with Type I diabetes. The next few months will be busy for the duo. They’re taking Jerry the Bear to
Betaspring Incubator in February in Providence, Rhode Island, and the toy will soon be used in clinical trials. Previously Chung co-founded
Design for America, an award-winning national student-led initiative that uses design to solve social problems. DFA has expanded to eight universities, raised over $300,000 and
landed on the cover of Fast Company magazine (Inc.’s sister publication).
If you have a branded video you want people to see, British entrepreneur Sarah Wood knows how to make it go viral. Check out this
fantastic YouTube video produced by T-Mobile in which look-alikes pull off an entertaining version of what Kate and William’s royal wedding might have been.
Unruly Media made sure it got more than 25 million views. Remember Evian’s
Roller Babies and
the Old Spice Guy? Wood was behind those too. Since launching in 2006, Unruly has delivered, tracked, and audited 1.3 billion video views and executed more than 1,400 successful social video campaigns for global brands and agencies. Wood has helped take Unruly Media from a three-person operation to the world’s leading social video platform, occupying 40 percent market share. With a revenue run-rate approaching $50 million (2011 full year revenue was $25 million), 2012 looks like it’s going to be even better for Wood and her company.
Houzz, the wildly popular Web platform and app that connects home design professionals with consumers, is the brainchild of design fanatic Adi Tatarko, who also happens to be the business whiz behind the site and app. (Her husband and co-founder is the technologist.) Together, they have created a useful tool for anyone embarking on a remodeling or building project. You create an “Ideabook” for your project and load it with photos—more than 40,000 architects, contractors, and interior designers have uploaded images. You can also contact the vendors behind those photos to buy "the look." Houzz currently gets 3 million unique visitors a month and 50 million page views. And Houzz recently landed a strategic marketing relationship with Lowe’s. Tatarko says she expects the company to be profitable this year.
Frustrated with the lack of career resources for ambitious, professional women, these three ex-McKinsey consultants realized they were sitting on a huge market opportunity. So they founded the online career community
The Daily Muse. They launched in September and went from zero to more than 70,000 monthly job-seekers in three months. They have women like Huffington Post co-founder Arianna Huffington, Google VP of Location and Local Services Marissa Mayer, and New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly doling out career tips and syndication deals with Forbes, Inc., Huffington Post, and Business Insider. In the works: Revenue-generators like a job search platform to help women uncover interesting jobs at new companies, and professional development courses for a fee.
At 30, Clara Shih already has a long list of big successes under her belt, including developing the first business application on Facebook, writing a New York Times best-seller (The Facebook Era) and making her two-year-old start-up, Hearsay Social, cash-flow positive in its first year of operation. She likes to say that social media is a
new business paradigm, possibly bigger than the Internet was a decade ago. And she’s aiming to put her company in the best possible position to take advantage of it—
Hearsay Social is a platform that helps retailers, financial services firms, and anyone else with a lot of employees in a lot of locations to manage their brands via Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google . Oh, and her part-time gig isn’t too shabby either: Starbucks recently tapped her to replace Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg on its board of directors.
While working for The Kauffman Foundation, the world’s largest organization devoted to entrepreneurship, 29-year-old Desiree Vargas Wrigley saw first-hand what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. Then she caught the start-up bug herself and launched
GiveForward, a crowdfunding platform that helps individuals raise money to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses. In addition to getting help with medical bills, families get letters and messages of encouragement that donors send using the platform. When freestyle skiing pro
Sarah Burke recently died from a training accident, a GiveForward fundraiser in her honor raised over $164,000 in the first 24 hours. To date, the company has helped raise more than $10 million and recently received recognition from the White House.
If there’s going to be disruptive innovation in the healthcare space, Halle Tecco may very well have something to do with it. In 2011 she founded
Rock Health, the first seed accelerator exclusively for digital health-related start-ups. So far, 13 start-ups have gone through the program, which provides capital, mentorship, operational support and office space in San Francisco. Nearly half of them have received VC funding and one—
Skimble—is profitable. To cover overhead and fund the start-ups’ grants, Tecco landed a number of high-profile backers like Nike, Proctor & Gamble, Genentech, and UnitedHealth and top VCs like Accel and NEA. Plus, she has built partnerships with hospitals including Mayo Clinic, UCSF, and Harvard Medical School.
Not only did she code the first version of
TaskRabbit herself, Busque bootstrapped it for two years before receiving $25 million in angel and VC investment in 2011. The website is essentially an online marketplace for outsourcing errands and tasks. According to the company, since May it has tripled its monthly task volume and net revenue, increased its customer base seven fold, and grown to 45 employees, up from 9 a year ago. The website, which currently sees more than $4 million in economic activity each month, is available in seven major metros and is coming to five more soon. Busque, who serves as chief product officer, has also joined the
TEDx speaking circuit.
The secret sauce behind Michelle Zatlyn’s fast-growing company? Test, test, and test some more. When she co-founded CloudFlare it was originally a Web security service only, but Zatlyn learned through customer research that IT managers desperately needed a security solution that didn’t slow down their websites. So she did more research and ran tests, eventually figuring out a way to optimize the delivery of Web pages while blocking threats and limiting abusive bots and crawlers from wasting bandwidth and server resources. CloudFlare became two products in one: a spam-killer and performance-enhancer. As a result, in just over a year CloudFlare signed on more than 100,000 customers. It currently receives more traffic than Twitter, Wikipedia, and Amazon combined.
Rebecca Woodcock came up with the idea for a new health start-up after experiencing the inefficiencies of today’s health care payment system first hand; a close friend of hers suddenly developed epilepsy, and blew through her insurance deductible in just a few months. Woodcock co-founded
CakeHealth to help people better understand and manage their health costs by letting them track their deductibles and coverage, catch medical overbilling, and find ways to save. Woodcock is a graduate of the
Founder Institute, a global start-up accelerator for entrepreneurs, where she was one of six women in a class of 80, and recently won "Most Disruptive" start-up of 2011 among all graduates. Catch her at SXSW on the panel, “Anything you can do, I can do in heels.”
For being a first-time start-up founder, it didn’t take long for Caren Maio to master the art of the pivot. When she and her team pitched TechStars in 2011 they were originally accepted to take part in the reality TV show with a different—and fundamentally flawed—concept. Within a couple weeks they scrapped UrbanApt (which would have been sort of a Yelp for apartments) and created
Nestio, a slick website and iOS app that makes hunting for an apartment easier because it lets you bookmark listings from any site, share them with roommates, and compare them side by side. They hit on the idea after doing loads of market research on New York City apartment hunters. Even today Maio will buy strangers coffee at Starbucks in return for real-time feedback on Nestio.
After 10 years of owning an Emmy-winning documentary production company, Erika Trautman started to wonder why online video wasn’t more innovative and interactive like the Web itself. So she set out to do something about it herself. In 2011 she co-founded
Flixmaster, an easy-to-use platform (currently in private beta) that lets you link videos to other clips, text, images, forms, or maps. So advertisers, for example, can create video spots in a choose-your-own-adventure-style—viewers decide what happens next by selecting one of several options. Trautman says these “branching” videos are 16 times more likely than a regular video to rack up 200,000 views, her benchmark for a successful viral video. Viewers spend twice as much time watching these sorts of clips and twice as many buy products advertised in them.
This is a full-time position located at our Washington, D.C. office, and will report to the Executive Director of the ASCP Institute. Local, highly qualified candidates will receive greater consideration. No relocation assistance is available for this position, and this is not a full-time telecommuting position.
About ASCP and the Center for Health Services Research:
The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) is the world’s largest professional membership organization for pathologists and laboratory professionals. Our mission is to provide excellence in education, certification and advocacy on behalf of patients, pathologists and laboratory professionals across the globe. With more than 100,000 members, the society’s influence has guided the application and evolution of the pathology and laboratory medicine specialty since 1922.
The ASCP Institute is focused on health services research and delivery in regards to the use of laboratory diagnostics for improved patient care worldwide. The Center for Health Services Research (HSR) is focused on optimizing patient care and maximizing patient safety by identifying and analyzing evidence-based best practices for the use of laboratory diagnostics through the generation, gathering, assembling, and interpretation of data. By identifying and communicating these diagnostic best practices, HSR helps ensure improved accuracy and efficiency in patient diagnosis and care. The Center for Global Outreach (GO) improves laboratory diagnostic services globally through training and education.
Please view our website to learn more: http://www.ascp.org/global-outreach
All candidates must apply via our Recruiting system for consideration.
Education:
Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree in Health, Education or Business (or other related field) strongly preferred.
Years of Experience:
5-7 years of experience sourcing and writing grant proposals for NIH funding, as well as non-U.S. Government/international funding sources.
Work Experience/Skills set required:
Proven track record in grant writing and program development, with the experience & knowledge to distinguish and identify funding opportunities that would be appropriate for ASCP’s Center for Health Services Research.
Strong biomedical writing experience, as well as excellent verbal and general writing skills. Writing experience within the public health industry will be considered, as well.
Extensive proficiency in research, interpretation, and analysis of diverse data.
Ability to work collaboratively and/or independently to achieve stated goals.
Excellent project management & organization skills, with an ability to implement both systems and follow-up processes.
Ideal candidates will be able to handle and have significant experience with the “full-cycle” grantee process, from researching grant opportunities to end-of-grant reporting responsibilities. Candidates must have demonstrated experience conducting successful research to identify new opportunities for foundation, government, and corporate proposals for domestic and international funding.
Candidates should have ability to effectively present project information to senior leadership, as well as meet deadlines as required.
Ability to utilize SPSS or SAS as required for grant data needs. Advanced capabilities with Word and Excel, and ability to quickly learn & utilize proprietary or other database applications as required.
Experience in effectively collaborating with an accounting or financial department or staff person in the preparation of program budgets, budget modifications, and preparation of financial reports.
Ability and understanding to effectively connect ASCP leadership and thought leaders with granting organizations to enhance and expand funding opportunities
Its roots may date back to a mysterious and bygone world, but the modern practice of clinical hypnotherapy is gaining ground as an effective weapon against a variety of mental health issues, writes Belinda Smart
Hypnosis often conjures somewhat fanciful images of swinging fob watches or other-worldly Indian fakirs, but its modern descendant, clinical hypnotherapy, is far from fanciful. Hypnotherapy is increasingly recognised within the practice of medicine as a tool for remedying numerous health problems, including mental health issues.
Leon W. Cowen, executive director of the Academy of Applied Hypnosis, is unambiguous when asked if hypnotherapy can assist in the realm of mental health.
“The short answer is yes. The current research supports this but there is more research to be done. The effectiveness of hypnosis has been and is being researched for areas such as relaxation, pain control and irritable bowel syndrome. This has led firstly to hypnosis being accepted as an adjunct to medical treatment and then clinical hypnotherapists becoming part of a mental health management team.”
And just as mental health nurses work in partnership, clinical hypnotherapists are now working in partnership with a variety of other health professionals, Cowen says, adding that evidence, including academic articles, indicates that the use of hypnosis is increasing in mental health nursing.
“Clinical hypnotherapy is particularly effective in anxiety disorders such as phobias and areas such as insomnia and other stress related conditions.”
Despite clear advances in the use of hypnotherapy the “how” behind its effectiveness still remains something of a mystery. However Cowen’s own research, encapsulated in articles on the subject, points to a central tenet of the practice, which can be described as the ‘reprogramming’ of the subconscious. Quoting from one of his articles titled ‘Hypnotherapy – Magic or Just an Ancient Mental Super Food’, Cowen sets out his theory.
“How does hypnosis work? It is an age-old question, and perhaps we shall never know the answer completely. However unlike the days of voodoo and mystery, we do know now that hypnotic suggestion can produce physiological changes through the ability of the nervous system to control somatic functions. It can also allow the subject to reach back mentally and emotionally to deal at source with past trauma, and it can allow us to modify our behaviour, if we choose to, by "reprogramming" the subconscious. So perhaps you can begin to see that the carefully structured suggestions of the therapist, together with the responses of the subject, can produce many and varied effects that are very powerful indeed. Our subconscious minds are our storehouse of memory and emotion, and the centre of spontaneous reaction and automatic response. When we give ourselves access to these resources, we access control of our own lives.”
With interest in hypnotherapy growing among the mental health nursing and mental health related allied health sectors, the highest qualification offered by the Academy of Applied Hypnosis is the Advanced Diploma of Clinical Hypnotherapy, which is accredited with ASQA, the Australian Skills Quality Authority (CHECK), Cowen confirms.
“We have nurses who want to add clinical hypnotherapy to their existing skills and they do a Certificate IV in Clinical Hypnotherapy or the Diploma of Clinical Hypnotherapy.”
“Some [nurses] change careers [to become hypnotherapists] but many more study clinical hypnotherapy and use it as an adjunct to their existing skills. Nurses, counsellors, naturopaths, psychologists and medical practitioners all study hypnosis as part of their continuing education requirements.”
Currently there are no required qualifications to become a clinical hypnotherapist and the profession, working under voluntary self-regulation, is now determining a set of competencies which it is hoped will develop into the required standard for Australian clinical hypnotherapists.
Cowen believes it is only a matter of time until the practice of clinical hypnotherapy gains yet more credence as part of a suite of therapies to assist with mental health problems. For those take up the practice, he says the rewards are clear.
“The rewards of working as a clinical hypnotherapist would be much the same as those experienced in nursing. They include helping others, being part of profession that is growing and being recognised in its own right.”
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GWEN IFILL: Now, the man who turned global health and population numbers into an Internet sensation.
Ray Suarez has that story.
RAY SUAREZ: Amid the glitter of a black-tie fund-raiser in New York City, a downright un-glittery guest made his way into the room.
Dr. Hans Rosling, a Swedish global health professor, was given a humanitarian award at the annual Action Against Hunger gala and was the night's star attraction.
WOMAN: Tonight, you are going to hear from one of the world's most inspired thinkers.
So, ladies and gentlemen, will you join me in giving Hans Rosling a very warm welcome.
(APPLAUSE)
RAY SUAREZ: Over the last five years, this unassuming professor has collected millions of fans around the world with a usually un-glitzy topic: statistics.
DR. HANS ROSLING, Professor of International Health: $1,000, $10,000, $100,000, the difference in income per person in the world is two zeros.
RAY SUAREZ: Dr. Rosling's goal for the evening and the focus of his life's work was to wow his audience and teach it something.
He brings to life global health and development statistics, often dense and inaccessible, using a sophisticated visualization software he and his team created.
DR. HANS ROSLING: Because what do we have on the axis? Here, we have the number of children per woman, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, large families, small families. And here we have the child mortality, this most tragic marker of the quality of life in a society.
The size of the bubble is the population. This is China. This is India. Look here, low child mortality, small families. High child mortality, large families. What has happened? Here we come. China is very successful there, India coming there, Indonesia. Look here. This is Brazil. This is Mexico coming here. This is Indonesia. This is Bangladesh. Bangladesh is catching up with India. They're overtaking India.
Africa is falling down. And now we see some are delayed here, but almost the entire world is here. It's a completely new world.
RAY SUAREZ: The presentation is one he's been giving audiences at conferences and meetings around the world since he became an Internet phenom in 2006.
That's when a lecture he gave at the annual TED conference, a who's-who gathering of high-tech, design and entertainment leaders, was posted online and quickly went viral.
DR. HANS ROSLING: My students, what they said when they looked upon the world, and I asked them what do you really think about the world, and they said the world is still we and them. And we is Western world and them is Third World.
And, what do you mean with the Western world, I said. Well, that's long life and small family. And Third World is short life and large family. So, this is what I could display here. I put fertility rate here, number of children per woman, one, two, three, four, up to about eight children per woman. Here, I put life expectancy at birth, from 30 years in some countries up to about 70 years.
Are the students right? It's still two types of country? Here we go. Can you see there? It's China. They're moving against better health. They're improving there. Or the green, that's in American countries. They are moving towards smaller families. The yellow ones here are the Arabic countries. And they get larger families.
RAY SUAREZ: Over three million people have now watched this talk online.
DR. HANS ROSLING: And all the rest of the world moves up into the corner, where we have long lives and small family, and we have a completely new world.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
RAY SUAREZ: Rosling's subsequent online TED talks have also been watched by millions.
I sat down with Hans Rosling during his recent visit to New York to talk about his method and maybe learn a little in the process myself.
Did it occur to you at some point that these lessons you're teaching had to be taught in a better way for people to understand them better?
DR. HANS ROSLING: Yeah, because obviously people do not understand some basic facts.
You see, I find holes, deep black holes of ignorance. And now I try to fill them. That means there are things which are facts, which we know, which still doesn't enter their head -- there are actually less children per woman in Brazil, Thailand and Iran than in Sweden. But it doesn't -- they still have a view of the world that is 25 years old.
RAY SUAREZ: Rosling got his start in global health practicing medicine in rural Mozambique in the 1970s.
While there, he discovered and treated patients with a new paralytic disease he called konzo. He's now chairman of the Gapminder Institute, which is dedicated to building a fact-based world view that everyone understands.
In addition to his popular animated software, which was acquired by Google, Rosling likes to use other visual aids to help him convey information about the world we live in -- Ikea boxes to explain population growth and a washing machine to illustrate how the lives and health of poor women and their families are drastically improved by the device.
DR. HANS ROSLING: So there must be one, two, three, four billion people more will live in between the poverty line and the air line. They have electricity. But the question is, how many have washing machines?
I've done the scrutiny of market data and I have found that indeed the washing machine has penetrated below the air line, and today there's an additional one billion people up there who live above the wash line.
(LAUGHTER)
DR. HANS ROSLING: And they consume for more than $40 per day. So two billion have access to washing machine and the remaining five billion, how do they wash? They wash like this, by hand. It's a hard, time-consuming labor. And they want the washing machine.
RAY SUAREZ: During our conversation, he used LEGO characters to represent all humankind.
DR. HANS ROSLING: Look here. This is one billion people. There's one billion people in Africa. There's one billion people in Europe, one billion people in America.
And, as you know, we are seven. So, all the rest, one, two, three and four, are in Asia. This is the world population. And we know, beyond doubt, that there will be two billion more before we level off around nine to 10. And those two billion, we also know that one will be in Africa and one will be in Asia.
And any CEO of a big company looking, like, they say, wow, that's where the market is.
Believe me, there's nothing boring about statistics.
RAY SUAREZ: In 2010, the BBC aired a documentary about Rosling's work called "The Joy of Stats." Using some high-tech special effects, the production team was able to show his animations in real space.
DR. HANS ROSLING: So, down here is poor and sick. And up here is rich and healthy, Europe brown, Asia red, Middle East green, and the size of the country bubble show the size of the population.
RAY SUAREZ: Can you almost feel when the lights are going on, when people are saying, aha?
DR. HANS ROSLING: Yes, we have.
But it's also -- you have to check after a year if it's still there. And the old concept of the Western world and developing world is very strong. And it's also because it's sort of frightening. People think it's frightening with this Asia and Africa here.
No, these are customers. These are partners. And prosperity in the rest of the world means more peace. The U.S. armed forces doesn't have to make so many interventions in the world if we have less conflict. So it's sort of a new vision about the world we must have.
DR. HANS ROSLING: The bubbles are the countries. Here, you have the fertility rate.
RAY SUAREZ: Rosling says he is going to continue talking about important global health statistics whenever and wherever he can.
Like many successful entertainers and plenty of great teachers, Rosling knows that, once he's got your attention, he can pull out something unexpected.
DR. HANS ROSLING: Bring me my sword.
RAY SUAREZ: In this case, another passion: sword-swallowing.
DR. HANS ROSLING: And I will now prove to you that the seemingly impossible is possible by taking this piece of steel, solid steel, and push it down through my body of blood and flesh, and prove to you that the seemingly impossible is possible.
Can I request a moment of absolute silence?
(DRUMROLL)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
“Drinking just one glass of milk a day could boost your brain power,” the Daily Mail has reported today. Milk is being hailed as a memory aid, the newspaper says, with a study showing that dairy products could “help stave off mental decline”.
The study on which the story is based found that adults with higher intakes of milk and other dairy products did better in memory and other brain function tests than those who drank little or no milk.
However, the Mail’s excitement is misplaced – the study did not show that milk was responsible for better mental performance. The type of study reported cannot show cause and effect. All it showed was that, at one point in time, people who drank more milk performed better in mental tests than those who drank less. It is possible that many other things influenced people’s performance in mental function tests, including occupation, stress levels, even how well they were feeling at the time they took the tests.
Milk may be good for your bones but so far there is no good evidence that it improves mental performance.
Where did the story come from?
The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Maine in the US and the University of South Australia. It was published in the
peer-reviewed International Dairy Journal. It was partly funded by the Maurice de Rohan International Scholarship, the University of South Australia and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the National Institute on Aging and the National Institutes of Health, all in the US.
The Mail reported the study uncritically. Its suggestion that milk could help stave off mental decline is not supported by this research. It’s worth noting that the study was released to the press by a US PR company on behalf of the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board, which is an industry-funded organisation set up by the US government to promote milk. This may explain how it found its way into the Daily Mail.
What kind of research was this?
This was a
cross-sectional analysis of nearly 1,000 participants that aimed to investigate whether dairy food intake was associated with mental functioning. This type of study can provide a “snapshot” of various lifestyle factors and people’s health at one point in time, but it cannot establish cause and effect. A
cohort study that recorded people’s dairy consumption over time and then tested their mental function more than once would provide more reliable results although even this type of study cannot establish cause and effect.
The researchers say that as the whole population ages, cognitive decline and dementia place a severe strain on both families and healthcare systems. Change in diet may have a role in preventing cognitive decline, but they say little attention has so far been paid to the relationship between dairy foods and mental performance.
The researchers say there is growing evidence that dairy products may be of benefit to cardiovascular health. Many experts would dispute this. Some dairy foods are high in saturated fat, which is associated with obesity and heart disease. Most dietitians advise a restricted intake of dairy products or consumption of low-fat varieties.
What did the research involve?
Researchers recruited 1,049 adults of all ages who were taking part in research looking at cardiovascular health and mental functioning. They collected health and lifestyle data from the participants by various methods including self-reports, medical examination, diagnostic interviews, health records and neuropsychological testing.
After excluding those who did not fulfil eligibility criteria (for example, because dietary or cognitive data were missing or because they had suffered a stroke), they were left with 972 participants.
To measure mental functioning of the participants, the researchers used a validated series of tests measuring memory, verbal recall, visual–spatial perception, organisational and verbal skills, and abstract reasoning ability. For dietary intake, they used a recognised questionnaire that included questions about nutrition and lifestyle.
The dietary component of this questionnaire included questions about dairy products. Milk was considered separately from total dairy foods. Total dairy foods were grouped as followed:
- cheese
- yoghurt and dairy desserts
- cream and ice-cream
Participants were asked how frequently they consumed such foods, with six possible responses:
- never
- seldom
- once a week
- 2-3 times a week
- 5-6 times a week
- once or more a day
Participants were also asked which type of milk they consumed – full fat, reduced fat or skimmed.
The researchers used validated statistical methods to analyse the relationship between mental performance scores and dairy intake. They adjusted their results for other factors that might affect the results, including age, education, smoking and alcohol.
What were the basic results?
The researchers report that participants who consumed dairy products at least once a day had “significantly higher scores on multiple domains of cognitive function” compared with those who never or rarely consumed dairy foods. In addition, those who reported eating dairy foods between two and four times a week performed significantly better on some of the tests than those who ate dairy foods once a week. The association between greater dairy food consumption and mental performance remained significant after adjusting for a number of risk factors. There was no significant association, however, between intake of specific categories of dairy foods (such as milk, cheese or yoghurt) and results of the tests.
How did the researchers interpret the results?
The researchers say their results support an association between high dairy food consumption and cognitive function. Although little is known about how dairy foods might influence mental functioning, they say that one possibility is that dairy food consumption may be beneficial for mental functioning through its “favourable effect” on cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity.
Conclusion
Contrary to the headlines, this study does not show that dairy food consumption has benefits for mental functioning. All it can do is provide a “snapshot” of a group of people’s dairy consumption and their mental functioning at one point in time. Some limitations are that:
- It relied on people self-reporting their dairy intake, which introduces the possibility of error.
- It is possible that many other factors (known as confounders) might have affected the results, including exercise habits, alcohol and stress levels, although researchers tried to adjust their findings for some of these.
- As the authors acknowledge, the dietary questionnaire did not specify size of portions or servings, which undermines the accuracy of estimated intakes.
Dairy products contain many nutrients that are needed for good health, in particular for the development of healthy bones and teeth. However, they are also high in saturated fat, which is associated with heart disease and obesity. At present there is no good evidence that dairy foods are especially beneficial for brain functioning.
Find out how dairy fits into a healthy diet using the
Eatwell Plate.
Links To The Headlines
The white stuff: Drinking just one glass of milk a day could boost your brain power. Daily Mail, January 31 2012
Links To Science
Crichton GE, Elias MF, Doreb GA, Robbins MA.
Relation between dairy food intake and cognitive function: The Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study. International Dairy Journal 2012:22;15-23
Applications invited for academic research partner
The Forum is seeking applications for a new five-year strategic research partnership that will enable it to develop research into the health and wellbeing of men and boys.
The partnership forms part of Forum's work towards it key objectives for 2012-17 which include advancing best practices and policies on the health and wellbeing of men and boys; providing men’s health promotion and education; and accelerating research.
The MHF has a strong, long-term commitment to research. It has undertaken and commissioned several major research projects with a significant impact on the evidence-base as well as policy and practice. Over the next five years, it wants to play an increasing role in the development of research in its field.
Shared values and goals
The MHF’s research programme will focus on reducing the burden of preventable conditions affecting men and boys (not just male-specific conditions). We are particularly interested in developing a better understanding of:
- The scale and significance of the problems facing men and boys
- The problems facing men and boys within particular groups (eg. BME communities, disabled men and boys, low income groups)
- How men and boys use health and related services and how this can be improved
- How the health-related behaviours of men and boys (eg. smoking, alcohol, diet) can be improved
- How the health and wellbeing of men and boys can be effectively addressed in national and local health policy and practice
- The role of local communities, volunteers and champions in improving the health and wellbeing of men and boys.
The MHF is not at this stage seeking a partner for biomedical research. It is envisaged that the academic research partner, which will share the Forum's values and goals and have a clear understanding of its work and objectives, will be based in a university or an institution of similar standing and reputation in England or Wales
Expressions of interest are requested by 5pm on Wednesday 22 February 2012. Potential applicants with any questions should contact MHF CEO Peter Baker on 01273 276547 or by email through the address on the full call for applications, downloadable below.
But when Newt said we need a moon base I almost fell off the bed – and I was lying in the middle of it so you can imagine the acrobatic positions my body involuntarily contorted into as a result of this bizarre utterance.
I am still trying to wrap my head around how any candidate who says he or she is conservative can be for building moon bases. Unless of course there are diamonds or gold up there – which frankly the US government can use.
To learn more check out this article from Doug Mohney on TMCnet titled:
Moonbase Newt vs. Republican Pragmatics .
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Happy Birthday, Grandmom!
My grandmother knew a little somethin' about pizzazz: she always added something extra to things, a special topper on a package, a pretty brooch to a jacket, a secret ingredient to a recipe.
Her chocolate cake is coveted by everyone in the family for its dense texture and chocolate flavor that isn't overly sweet. Paired with peanut butter icing, this cake is a classic, just like Grandmom.
The thirteenth child of her family, born on the thirteenth, Grandmom defied the unluckiness of that number and lived her life in song and amusement. She lived to the age of 88, passing a few days after her birthday. 88 on its side is double-infinity. We miss you and love you, Grandmom, but know you'll live on, double-infinity :) .
I can't divulge Grandmom's original cake recipe, as it should remain a family secret, plus, it calls for ingredients like shortening and white sugar that I can't recommend as a person with "Healthful" in her blog title :) However, this version comes out just-as-delicious without straying too far from the original. Stay tuned for a version that eliminates the refined sugar!
Grandmom's Chocolate Cake (Healthful Mama Remix)
Ingredients
2 c. organic cane sugar
3/4 c. coconut oil (or softened organic butter)
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup cocoa
1 c. organic plain yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup HOT coffee
PREHEAT oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9" round cake pans or 24 cupcakes (or kick it old-school Grandmom style and use and extra-long loaf pan like
this one by Wilton
1. Cream the sugar and oil until fluffy.
2. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.
3. Sift together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
4. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the yogurt to the creamed mixture.
5. Add vanilla and stir through.
6. Add the hot coffee and stir gently. The batter will be very hot and watery! Use caution when transferring to baking pans.
7. Pour the batter into greased and floured pan and CAREFULLY transfer to the oven.
8. Bake cake for 55-60 minutes; cupcakes 20 minutes.
Enjoy! I hope you get a bit of my grandmom's good energy :)
What are some of your family favorites?
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