Some omega-3 oils better than others for protection against liver disease

Feb. 5, 2013 ? Research at Oregon State University has found that one particular omega-3 fatty acid has a powerful effect in preventing liver inflammation and fibrosis -- common problems that are steadily rising along with the number of Americans who are overweight.

The American Liver Foundation has estimated that about 25 percent of the nation's population, and 75 percent of those who are obese, have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. This early-stage health condition can sometimes progress to more serious, even fatal diseases, including nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, as well as cirrhosis and liver cancer.

The study, published online in the Journal of Nutrition, was one of the first to directly compare the effects of two of the omega-3 fatty acids often cited for their nutritional value, DHA and EPA.

In research with laboratory animals, it found that EPA had comparatively little effect on preventing the fibrosis, or scarring, that's associated with NASH. However, DHA supplementation reduced the proteins involved in liver fibrosis by more than 65 percent.

"A reduction of that magnitude in the actual scarring and damage to the liver is very important," said Donald Jump, a principal investigator with the Linus Pauling Institute at OSU and a professor in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences.

"Many clinical trials are being done with omega-3 fatty acids related to liver disease," Jump said. "Our studies may represent the first to specifically compare the capacity of EPA versus DHA to prevent NASH. It appears that DHA, which can also be converted to EPA in the human body, is one of the most valuable for this purpose."

The issues have taken center stage as the weight of Americans continues to rise, with a related increase in the incidence of fatty liver disease and liver damage.

NASH is a progressive form of liver disease that is associated with chronic inflammation and oxidative stress, resulting from excess fat storage in the liver. Chronic inflammation can eventually lead to fibrosis, cirrhosis, or even liver cancer. While management of lifestyle, including weight loss and exercise, is one approach to control the onset and progression of fatty liver disease, other approaches are needed to prevent and treat it.

About 30-40 percent of people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease progress to NASH, which in turn can result in cirrhosis, a major risk factor for liver cancer. While this research studied the prevention of fatty liver disease, Jump said, ongoing studies are examining the capacity of DHA to be used in NASH therapy.

The levels of omega-3 oils needed vary with the health concern, officials say.

"Omega-3 fatty acids are typically recommended for the prevention of cardiovascular disease," Jump said. "Recommended intake levels of omega-3 fatty acids in humans for disease prevention are around 200-500 milligrams of combined DHA and EPA per day."

Levels used in therapy to lower blood triglycerides, also a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, are higher, about 2-4 grams of combined EPA and DHA per day. The OSU studies with mice used DHA at levels comparable to the triglyceride therapies.

"DHA was more effective than EPA at attenuating inflammation, oxidative stress, fibrosis and hepatic damage," the researchers wrote in their conclusion. "Based on these results, DHA may be a more attractive dietary supplement than EPA for the prevention and potential treatment of NASH in obese humans."

This work was the result of a four-year study supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, as well as the National Institutes of Health. Co-authors on the paper included Christopher M. Depner and Kenneth A. Philbrick, both graduate students in the Nutrition Graduate Program at OSU.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Oregon State University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. C. M. Depner, K. A. Philbrick, D. B. Jump. Docosahexaenoic Acid Attenuates Hepatic Inflammation, Oxidative Stress, and Fibrosis without Decreasing Hepatosteatosis in a Ldlr-/- Mouse Model of Western Diet-Induced Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis. Journal of Nutrition, 2013; DOI: 10.3945/jn.112.171322

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/m7U8H1fChWw/130205123758.htm

macauly culkin joe namath stefon diggs nazi ss naomi watts andrej pejic steve jobs fbi

New Secretary of State Kerry speaks to Netanyahu, Abbas about peace

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry stressed his commitment to promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace on Sunday in telephone calls to the leaders of both sides, the State Department said.

In separate conversations, Kerry, who took over as the top U.S. diplomat from Hillary Clinton on Friday, spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

"Turning to Middle East peace, the secretary underscored his personal commitment and that of President (Barack) Obama to support Israel's security and to pursue a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians." State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said of Kerry's conversation with Netanyahu.

A spokesman for the Israeli prime minister confirmed that the call took place but provided no details.

Netanyahu assumed the responsibility on Saturday of forming a new Israeli government following the January 22 election in which his rightist Likud-Beitenu lost ground but still emerged as the biggest party, with 31 seats in the 120-seat Israeli parliament.

His new government is expected to include a new centrist party headed by former TV personality Yair Lapid, which with 19 seats is the second-largest party in parliament, and the 12-seat far-right pro-settler Bayit Yehudi.

The success of the centrists in the election is expected to improve the outlook for Israeli-Palestinian peace. Formal talks broke down in 2010 over Israel's continued building of Jewish settlements on land the Palestinians want for a state.

Since then each side has taken steps that have antagonized the other.

The U.N. General assembly on November 29 overwhelmingly upgraded the Palestinians status to that of "non-member state," prompting Israel to retaliate by withholding tax revenues owed to them as well as by announcing fresh plans for settlement construction.

However, Israeli officials said last week that they would release about $100 million in withheld tax revenues, a move that Kerry "commended ... as an important step" in his conversation with Netanyahu, the State Department said, adding that their discussion also covered Iran and Syria.

In his call to Abbas, Kerry, former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, reiterated his commitment to peace and promised to keep working with Congress to release budget support funds for the Palestinian Authority.

An Abbas aide told Reuters that Kerry told Abbas he was determined to facilitate the restart of stalled peace between the parties and that he hoped to be able to meet him soon, although no time or venue was set.

Nuland said Kerry spoke on Saturday to Israeli President Shimon Peres, who holds a largely ceremonial position. She declined all comment on when Kerry might travel to the region.

"The two men held a lengthy conversation on Saturday night and Peres said that the results of the recent general election could open a window for renewed peace talks," a Peres spokeswoman said in a statement.

Netanyahu, who has been asked by Peres to form a new coalition, said on Saturday that renewing talks with Abbas would be a top priority for his new government.

"The next government that I will form will be committed to peace. I call on Abut Mazen (Abbas) to return to the negotiating table. Every day that passes without us talking to jointly find a way to create peace for our peoples is a day wasted," he said.

Separately, the State Department spokeswoman said Kerry spoke on Sunday to Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan. Kerry spoke on Saturday to the foreign ministers of Turkey, Canada and Mexico.

(Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah and by Ori Lewis in Jerusalem; Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; editing by Christopher Wilson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/secretary-state-kerry-speaks-netanyahu-abbas-peace-222213106.html

UT Austin Lizzie Velasquez NFL Network att libya engadget twin towers

At palace, Egypt protesters, police clash

CAIRO (AP) ? Protesters denouncing Egypt's Islamist president hurled stones and firebombs through the gates of his palace gates on Friday, clashing with security forces who fired tear gas and water cannons, as more than a week of political violence came to Mohammed Morsi's symbolic doorstep for the first time.

The streets outside the presidential palace were a scene of mayhem for hours into the night.

Security forces pumped volley after volley of tear gas, set fire to protester tents and at one point dragged a protester to the ground, stripped him and beat him. Protesters burned tires and hurled stones and fireworks. A 23-year-old died when he was shot in the chest and forehead, the Health Ministry said.

The march on the palace, where Morsi was not present, was part of a wave of demonstrations in cities around the country called by opposition politicians, trying to wrest concessions from Morsi after around 60 people were killed in protests, clashes and riots.

But many of the protesters go further, saying he must be removed from office, accusing his Muslim Brotherhood of monopolizing power and failing to deal with the country's mounting woes. Many have been further angered by Morsi's praise of the security forces after the high death toll, which is widely blamed on excessive use of force by the police.

The day's unrest, however, risked boosting attempts by the government and Brotherhood to taint the opposition as violent and destructive ? a tack Morsi supporters have taken for weeks.

In a statement issued amid the clashes, Morsi accused protesters of trying to break ito the palace and said "political fores involved in incitement" are responsible for the violence. He called on all factions to condemn the violence and said security forces would "act decisively to protect state institutions."

A day earlier, the top opposition figures met with the Brotherhood for the first time and agreed on a joint promise to avoid violence. That drew sharp criticism from many anti-Morsi activists who said the politicians had played into the Brotherhood's hands and given legitimacy to any crackdown.

The fighting started when a crowd of several thousand marched to the palace in an upscale district of the capital, chanting, "the people want the fall of the regime," and "leave, leave, Morsi." Security forces allowed them to reach close to the main gate, and some protesters hurled shoes and stones through the fence into the grounds. Some climbed on the fence, apparently to better throw stones, but it did not appear they were breaking in.

At first, police and Republican Guards inside did not respond. But when several firebombs were thrown over the fence, the security forces unleashed water cannons, then tear gas, then riot police descended on the streets outside the palace.

Hours of clashes ensued, with streams of tear gas and stones flying through the air as security forces pushed the protesters back. A particularly heavy volley of dozens of tear gas canisters over a few minutes scattered much of the crowd, fleeing into side streets as riot police pursued and the sound of birdshot being fired echoed. Associated Press footage showed police stripping one protester on the ground and kicking him before dragging him into a van.

The Interior Ministry, in charge of police, later said in a statement that it would investigate the incident, calling it "regrettable and unacceptable."

More than 50 people were hurt during demonstrations around the country, the Health Ministry said.

The turmoil was the first significant violence at the presidential palace in the eight-day wave of protests ? though the site was the scene of clashes in November between anti-Morsi protesters and Islamists that left around 10 people dead. But other protests around the country on Friday did not see significant violence.

The unrest is Egypt's worst crisis since the 2011 fall of autocrat Hosni Mubarak. It was at its worst last weekend, when protests around the country marking the two-year anniversary of the anti-Mubarak uprising turned to clashes in many cities. It further exploded on Saturday, when residents of the Suez Canal city of Port Said rose up in fury over death sentences issued against local residents over a deadly soccer riot a year ago. Around 40 of the deaths in the crisis came in Port Said when security forces reportedly opened fire on protesters, some of whom attacked police facilities.

Morsi, who came into office in June as Egypt's first freely elected president, responded by trying a heavy hand. He imposed a state of emergency and curfews in Port Said and two other Canal cities, which responded with near open revolt. Clashes and protests continued around the country, with anti-Morsi crowds blocking railroad tracks and marching through the streets. The turmoil has only hiked opposition criticism that Morsi, and the Brotherhood, which forms the backbone of his leadership, are unable to manage the country.

Morsi's aides and the Brotherhood, in turn, have accused the opposition of using the streets and condoning violence in an attempt to overturn the results of elections that Islamists have won repeatedly, securing their power.

They have tried to link the political opposition to a group of protesters called the Black Bloc, who wear black masks and have vowed to "defend the revolution." Officials and state media depict them as conspiratorial saboteurs, but the opposition says authorities are using the group as a scapegoat to justify a crackdown.

On Friday, thousands of residents marched through Port Said, located at the Suez Canal's Mediterranean end, pumping their fists and chanting, "Leave, leave, Morsi." They massed around the city's main security headquarters, but no clashes or violence was reported.

"The people want the Republic of Port Said," protesters chanted, voicing a wide sentiment among residents that they are fed up of negligence and mistreatment by central government and that they want to virtual independence.

Egypt's main opposition political grouping, the National Salvation Front, called for Friday's protests, demanding Morsi form a national unity government and amend the constitution. They say the unrest reflects the widespread discontent over Brotherhood attempts to rule alone and keep decision-making in its own hands.

"The policies of the president and the Muslim Brotherhood are pushing the country to the brink," the opposition said in a statement.

But there were signs of splits and confusion in the opposition ranks after leaders of the Front met for the first time with the Brotherhood as part of a dialogue hosted by Egypt's premier Islamic institution, Al-Azhar. The Front had previously refused talks with the Brotherhood until its conditions were met.

With Front leader Mohamed ElBaradei and the deputy leader of the Brotherhood at the same table, the gathering of a spectrum of politicians signed a joint statement denouncing violence.

The statement, known as the Al-Azhar Document, angered some in the anti-Morsi camp. It seemed to focus on violence by protesters with no mention of excessive force by police or the wider political issues.

"Al-Azhar's initiative talks too broadly about violence," a group of 70 activists, liberal politicians, actors and writers said in a statement criticizing the meeting. They said the document gives "political cover to expand the repression, detention, killing and torture by the hands of police for the authority's benefit."

The document "didn't offer solutions but came to give more legitimacy to the existing authority," it added.

Those who attended the Thursday's meeting defended the anti-violence initiative.

"We toppled down Mubarak regime with a peaceful revolution. We insist on achieving the goals the same way whatever the sacrifices and the barbaric suppression tactics," ElBaradei wrote in a tweet.

"No one can say no to an initiative to stop violence," said Ahmed Said, an opposition party leader.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/palace-egypt-protesters-police-clash-223337378.html

denver broncos vs new england patriots cruise ship sinking vernon davis starship troopers starship troopers cruise ship italy patriots broncos game

Lil Wayne has yet to watch Nicki Minaj on 'Idol'

METARIE, La. (AP) ? "American Idol" picked Nicki Minaj as a judge to draw in viewers, but she's actually discouraged at least one person from watching it ? her mentor, Lil Wayne.

The rap star admitted Friday that he has yet to see "Idol" this season ? or any other season.

"Actually, I've never watched it," he said, a bit sheepishly.

Part of the reason he hasn't tuned in to see Minaj is because she didn't exactly sell the show to Lil Wayne.

"When I talk to her she's always tells me, 'You don't wanna watch that, you're not going to be into it,'" he said.

"She knows me. ... It's kind of like a catfight where they be going back and forth type of thing, I'm not into all that," he said of the judging panel, which includes Mariah Carey, with whom Minaj had a much-publicized argument.

"The talent on that is pretty good I heard, though," he said.

Lil Wayne spoke Friday after signing autographs for more than 100 fans who were at a suburban New Orleans Macy's to support his Trukfit clothing line; a couple hundred more waited outside for a glimpse of the star.

Wayne said he's hoping to soon make Trukfit for women and children. Now, it's just a men's line. Part of the problem is finding the right designer.

"They send everything, every design to me, and I approve or decline, and the designer is extremely OK (with that). ... That person may have designed something, and I may say I hate it. I get no flack about it, and women are different," he said, laughing. "So we're trying to find the perfect female designer who has no problem with me declining what I don't like."

Lil Wayne, of course, still has his day job: His new album, "I Am Not A Human Being II," is due out March 26. When asked what fans could expect, he said, laughing: "Never have expectations for me, like never, because I probably will not meet your expectations. ... Just enjoy what you get, hopefully."

___

Follow Nekesa Mumbi Moody at http://www.twitter.com/nekesamumbi

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lil-wayne-yet-watch-nicki-minaj-idol-165439058.html

dalai lama tamera mowry slow jam the news madden cover obama slow jams the news metta world peace ron artest

Russian WWII vet recalls the Battle of Stalingrad

MOSCOW (AP) ? The Soviet soldiers used their own bodies as shields, covering women and children escaping on ferry boats from a Nazi bombardment that killed 40,000 civilians in a single day. It was the height of the Battle of Stalingrad, one of the bloodiest conflicts of World War II.

"They were all hit in the back," said 90-year-old Alexei Stefanov. "But they did not flee."

Stefanov is among the few surviving veterans of the battle, which claimed 2 million lives and raged for nearly 200 days before the Red Army turned back the Nazi forces, decisively changing the course of the war. Russia celebrates the 70th anniversary of that victory on Saturday, with President Vladimir Putin taking part in ceremonies in Volgograd, the current name of the city in southern Russia that stretches along the western bank of the Volga River.

Stefanov arrived in Stalingrad in August, 1942, just a month after the Nazis began their onslaught. A marine, he commanded what was left of a reconnaissance platoon, 17 scouts who had survived previous missions on the front lines.

The German army invaded the Soviet Union in June, 1941, and by the following summer had pushed deep inside the country. For Adolf Hitler, taking the city named after Soviet dictator Josef Stalin would be a symbolic victory, and it also would allow the Germans to cross the Volga and secure access to Russian oil supplies.

What Stefanov saw was a once-thriving industrial city being reduced to rubble by shelling and bombing by the Nazis and their Romanian, Italian, Hungarian and Spanish allies. Only about 100,000 residents had been evacuated, and the remaining civilians were frantically helping to dig trenches.

The Red Army had orders from Stalin not to retreat, so only women, children and wounded soldiers were allowed to take the crossing over the wide river to relative safety.

The day Stefanov remembers most vividly is Aug. 23, 1942, when hundreds of Nazi planes bombed the city, turning it into a giant burning ruin. Hundreds of Soviet soldiers with wounds bad enough to keep them out of the battle but not severe enough to incapacitate them set out to rescue women and children from the basements of demolished buildings. They rushed them to ferries that would take them across the Volga, a river about 2 kilometers (more than 1 mile) from shore to shore.

Fires from spilled oil and gasoline burned on the water, and the defenseless ferries were easy prey for the Nazi planes. The Soviet soldiers covered the children with their own bodies. Stefanov is still haunted by the sight of the soldiers who died, their backs ripped apart.

In the city, thousands of dead bodies were left unburied, lying amid the ruins in the sweltering August heat. For the only time during the Battle of Stalingrad, German tanks got to the river, and Soviet tanks and artillery fiercely fought them back.

"That was hell, literal hell," Stefanov said. "This one episode to me was equal to the whole war."

Stefanov recalls reconnaissance missions deep inside enemy territory, when he had to crawl for hours and hide in ravines to gather intelligence on the location and number of Nazi troops and weapons.

In September, 1942, Stefanov was hit in his left hand, a wound that still troubles him. He later returned to active service and was with Soviet troops when they drove the Germans out of Norway and marched into Warsaw and Berlin.

He was back in Moscow in late June, 1945, to participate in the Victory Parade on Red Square. Then he went on to China to help drive out the imperial Japanese.

Stefanov's contribution to the war effort won him dozens of medals. Although they weigh a combined 11 kilograms (24 pounds), he still wears them pinned to the front of his uniform on holidays and other special occasions.

His real reward at the end of the war was his marriage to Lyudmilla, also a decorated war veteran. They are still together 67 years later.

"War is not a game, it's the most horrible thing," said Stefanov, who heads a government-run organization of World War II veterans. "That's the thing youngsters should always know."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russian-wwii-vet-recalls-battle-stalingrad-165156184.html

jim jones tony stewart kurt busch kurt busch nba dunk contest 2012 act of valor woody guthrie

Defiant Iran plans to speed up nuclear fuel work

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran has announced plans to install advanced uranium enrichment machines in what would be a technological leap allowing it to significantly speed up production of material the West fears could be put to developing nuclear weapons.

In a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Tehran said it would introduce new centrifuges to its main enrichment plant near Natanz, according to an IAEA communication to member states seen by Reuters.

The defiant move will increase concerns in the West and Israel about Iran's nuclear ambitions, which Tehran says are entirely peaceful, and may further complicate efforts by big powers to negotiate curbs on its enrichment program.

Enriched uranium can fuel nuclear power plants, Iran's stated aim, or provide material for bombs if refined to a high degree, which the West suspects is Tehran's underlying purpose.

"It is certainly a provocation to increase any enrichment capacity at all," a senior Western diplomat said.

It was not clear how many of the new centrifuges Iran planned to put in place at Natanz, which is designed for tens of thousands of machines, but the wording of the IAEA's note implied it could be up to roughly 3,000.

Analysts say U.N. sanctions have limited Iran's access abroad to special steel and other components needed to produce sophisticated enrichment machines in larger numbers.

Iran has for years been trying to develop centrifuges more efficient than the erratic 1970s IR-1 model it now has, but their introduction for full-scale production has been dogged by delays and technical hurdles, experts and diplomats say.

Iran's announcement coincides with wrangling between Tehran and six world powers over when and where to meet next, delaying a resumption of talks aimed at reaching a negotiated deal and avert a new Middle East war.

The powers - the United States, France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China - want Iran to scale back its enrichment to ensure it remains within peaceful dimensions and submit to stricter U.N. nuclear inspections.

"We along with the other U.N. Security Council members have called upon the Iranians to freeze enrichment work during negotiations," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency on Thursday.

Western states have intensified the sanctions pressure on Iran over the past year, targeting its lifeline oil sector. This has inflicted increasing damage to Iran's economy but its clerical leadership is showing no sign of backing down.

Israel, believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear-armed state, has hinted at possible military action against Iran if sanctions and diplomacy fail to resolve the nuclear stand-off.

GAME CHANGER?

Iran asserts a right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes and has repeatedly refused to halt the work, a stance underlined anew by its new centrifuge plans. Centrifuges spin at supersonic speed to increase the ratio of uranium's fissile isotope.

Iran said it would use the new model at a unit in Natanz, where it is now refining uranium to a fissile concentration of up to five percent, according to the IAEA's communication.

The IAEA "received a letter from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) dated 23 January 2013 informing the Agency that 'centrifuge machines type IR2m will be used in Unit A-22' at the Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) at Natanz," it said.

The IAEA said it had asked Iran, in a letter earlier this week, to provide technical and other information about the plans. A unit can house more than 3,000 centrifuges.

The Vienna-based U.N. agency, whose mission it is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons in the world, regularly inspects Natanz and other, declared Iranian nuclear sites.

Nuclear expert Mark Fitzpatrick of the International Institute for Strategic Studies think-tank said that employing the new centrifuges at Natanz could be "a most unfortunate game changer," depending on how many there were.

"Using the IR-2m in large numbers would enable Iran to enrich uranium much faster," Fitzpatrick said.

Iran says it refines uranium to power a planned network of nuclear energy plants. But just one of these plants would take many years to complete, raising many questions abroad about the motivations of a major oil and gas producer speeding up its accumulation of enriched uranium and, since early 2010, refining to a level beyond the 5 percent suitable for civilian energy.

The part of Iran's enrichment work that most worries Western diplomats - to a fissile purity of 20 percent - is carried out at the Fordow underground facility near the town of Qom.

This higher level of enrichment represents a significant step closer to weapons-grade uranium. Iran says it needs 20 percent uranium to fuel a medical research reactor in Tehran.

Fordow "has increasingly been the focus of concern about Iran's capability, but a technological breakthrough at the much bigger Natanz plant might be still more provocative," said nuclear expert Mark Hibbs of the Carnegie Endowment think-tank.

(Additional reporting by Mark Heinrich in London and Steve Gutterman in Moscow; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-says-plans-upgrade-uranium-enrichment-natanz-diplomat-081034490.html

News Ryan Lanza Facebook usa today foxnews cnn yahoo news nbc news

Which foods make Americans ill? Whether chicken or salad, food safety at home is key to avoiding illness

Jan. 31, 2013 ? A new study analyzing outbreaks of foodborne illness has found contaminated salad greens make the most people sick, but contaminated poultry have resulted in the most deaths. In light of this study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Home Food Safety program -- a collaboration between the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and ConAgra Foods -- encourages Americans, rather than avoid certain foods, to practice safe food handling at home instead.

"While this study found produce accounted for nearly half of food poisoning illnesses, everyone should still eat plenty of fruits and vegetables," says registered dietitian and Academy Spokesperson Rachel Begun.

"Safe food-handling procedures can help protect you from foodborne illnesses while still allowing you to enjoy these tasty and nutritious foods."

"One of the most important things you can do to stay healthy is to wash your hands thoroughly for 20 seconds with soap and water, especially when it comes to the particularly nasty norovirus," Begun said. "The norovirus accounted for 46 percent of the illnesses according to this study, and while hand sanitizer is great to reduce the spread of some germs, research shows us that soap and water is best," she said.

Begun encouraged Americans to visit www.HomeFoodSafety.org for tips to reduce the risk of food poisoning, and offered the following advice:

Produce

• Properly wash all fresh fruits and vegetables, whether they have a peel or not, with cool tap water just before eating.
• Cut away any damaged or bruised areas before preparing or eating. Remove and discard outer leaves of lettuce.
• Dry produce with a clean cloth or paper towel to further reduce bacteria that may be present.
• Cut all fruits and vegetables on a separate cutting board from raw meats and fish. Color-coded cutting boards can help you remember which is which.
• Cook raw sprouts, such as alfalfa and clover, to significantly reduce the risk of illness.

Meat and Poultry

• When buying and handling meats, always look for the Safe Food Handling label on the package, and make sure the meat is tightly wrapped. At the grocery store, pick up the meat last and ask to have it bagged separately from other groceries to prevent cross-contamination.
• Store meat in the coldest part of the refrigerator at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below. Use fresh, raw chicken within one- to two days of purchase, meats within three to four days, and throw away ground meats, sausage and organ meats after two days. Cooked meats should be eaten or frozen within three to four days.
• Wash hands thoroughly for 20 seconds before and after handling raw meat, and use a separate cutting board for raw meats and fish to avoid cross contamination.
• Defrost meats in the refrigerator or in the microwave by using the defrost setting. Never defrost on the counter. Cook meat that has been thawed in the microwave immediately and do not re-freeze thawed meat.
• Use a food thermometer to ensure meats are cooked to the safe minimum internal temperature. Find the correct temperature with the Is My Food Safe? app or the Safe Grilling Guide.

Learn more about food safety at www.HomeFoodSafety.org or by downloading the free Is My Food Safe? app (www.homefoodsafety.org/app), and encourage children to wash hands properly with the downloadable Hand Washing Maze.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, via Newswise.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. John A. Painter, Robert M. Hoekstra, Tracy Ayers, Robert V. Tauxe, Christopher R. Braden, Frederick J. Angulo, Patricia M. Griffin. Attribution of Foodborne Illnesses, Hospitalizations, and Deaths to Food Commodities by using Outbreak Data, United States, 1998?2008. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2013; 19 (3) DOI: 10.3201/eid1903.111866

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/eVwVJzgEpJU/130131154328.htm

g8 summit netanyahu aipac vanessa minnillo super tuesday epidemiology total eclipse of the heart