Q: If one slice of bread has mold on it, is it safe to eat another slice from the same loaf?
A: Best to toss the loaf and start fresh. Bread is very porous, so mold can spread quickly and easily, particularly in organic products that don’t contain preservatives. Plus, mold, which has roots, could be thriving below the surface, even after you scrape it off. The same goes for meats, jams, and fruits or vegetables—when you see mold, it’s time to pitch them. (Individual fruit such as strawberries that has come in contact with moldy pieces can simply be washed and eaten. The mold in blue cheese is considered safe, too, unless you’re pregnant.) Eating a tiny amount of moldy bread isn’t likely to cause a serious illness, though it could give you a stomachache.
To avoid mold, store food in a cool, dry place or in the fridge. Also, always check the expiration dates and eat any leftovers within three or four days.
Q: How risky is just one visit to a tanning salon?
A: Too risky to bother. Skin cancer is on the rise in women under 50—the deadliest type, melanoma, is up 50% since 1980—and the use of tanning beds is partly to blame. While most research has examined people who tan regularly, some studies show that even one session makes you two-and-a-half times more likely to get squamous cell skin cancer and one-and-a-half times more likely to get basal cell skin cancer, the two most common forms of the disease. And, according to the National Cancer Institute, women who use tanning beds more than once a month are 55% more likely to develop skin cancer. Plus, you won’t get a golden glow or keep your tan with just a single session; you’d have to go several times.
Going for a base tan before a tropical vacation might sound reasonable, but the protection this gives you is equivalent to using an SPF of 3. Not worth it. Instead, achieve a faux glow the safe way: Self-tanning products and cosmetic spray tans are more goof-proof than ever—and risk-free. Also, be sure to schedule regular skin checks with your dermatologist, especially if you’ve frequented a tanning bed (or have a history of bathing under real rays). She will be able to spy a changing mole before it becomes a bigger problem.
Q: I take fish-oil pills for the omega-3s. How can I avoid fishy burps?
A: Foul-smelling belches are, alas, a common annoyance for many people who pop fish oil pills. Here, a few solutions.
Try a different brand. Cheap pills are made with cheap oil and may not come from reputable producers. What’s more, they not only are more likely to cause smelly burps but also could contain questionable levels of toxins such as mercury.
Check the label. The pill should be “pharmaceutical grade,” which means the oil is taken from healthy fish raised in clean water and has been processed in a high-quality facility.
Take your pill with food—and eat slowly to avoid swallowing air, which causes burps.
Freeze your pills. They’ll break down slower in your stomach, which means less gas and belching. Note: Some manufacturers advise against this, because the pills may lose some of their healthful qualities if frozen. This isn’t true for all varieties, so be sure to read the label and freeze accordingly.
You can also get your omega-3 fix by eating more salmon or tuna, or from flaxseed-oil pills (or sneak in some flaxseed powder, which has a pleasant nutty flavor, by sprinkling it on yogurt). Common foods like orange juice and eggs are now fortified with omega-3s, too. Bonus: Your body may absorb the nutrients better when they come directly from food.
Roshini Rajapaksa, MD, is an assistant professor of medicine at NYU Medical Center.
ILLUSTRATION: DIANE BIGDA
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Comments (8)
I think you and your readers need to research beyond what the the sunscreen industry wants/needs you to believe.
Try sites such as http://www.uvtalk.com
Q: How risky is just one visit to a tanning salon?
A: A. Bernard Ackerman, MD, is an exceptionally distinguished dermatologist and one of the world’s foremost authorities on the subject of skin cancer. In 1999, after a long career in academic medicine, he founded and became director of the Ackerman Academy of Dermatopathology in New York.
Largely because of his leadership and high standards, Dr. Ackerman’s institution quickly became the world’s largest training center in the field of dermatopathology. (Dermatopathology is the study of the disease processes that affect the skin. It involves detailed knowledge of the microscopic anatomy of the skin’s structure in health and disease.) Dr. Ackerman and his six associates examine more than 100,000 skin specimens and do more than 4,000 consultations per year. Dr. Ackerman has published 625 research papers and his list of honors and awards includes this year’s Master Award, given to one person a year by the American Academy of Dermatology.
What makes this accomplished scientist particularly interesting is not just his distinguished career in academic medicine but the fact that he challenges some of the dermatology profession’s most cherished dogmas. According to an article in the New York Times (July 20, 2004), at age 67, Dr. Ackerman “continues to teach and write, and also to ask for data and question his field’s conventional wisdom.”
“The field is just replete with nonsense,” he told the Times. For instance:
Dr. Ackerman does not believe that the link between melanoma and sun exposure (a central dogma of dermatology) has been proven. He himself is deeply tanned and unafraid to expose his body to the sun.
He does not believe that sunburns, even the painful or blistering kind sustained early in life, necessarily lead to cancer. While some studies do show a small association, he says, others show none. Even those studies that show some such correlation “disagree on when the danger period for sunburns is supposed to be,” writes Gina Kolata, author of the New York Times article. Taken as a whole, “the research is inconsistent and fails to make the case.”
He doesn’t buy the argument that sunscreens protect against melanoma. He points to a recent editorial in an orthodox journal, Archives of Dermatology, which also concludes that there is scant evidence to support this crucial dogma (Bigby 2004).
Finally, while the incidence of basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma have been shown to be closely linked to lifetime sun exposure, Dr. Ackerman challenges the tenet that the more intense a person’s exposure to the sun, the greater their risk of melanoma. He believes that the data for this also is not compelling. Although we are told that the incidence of melanoma increases in populations that live nearer the equator, the correlation is not that simple. Epidemiological data on melanoma, says Dr. Ackerman, are imprecise and inaccurate. The data simply “cannot demonstrate cause and effect.”
click here to read the entire article
http://chetday.com/sunskincancer.htm
Thought you might be interested in this short omega-3 video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIgNpsbvcVM
Concerning the moldy bread… It is actually good to eat some of it once in a while. It contains an antibiotic called quinine, which unless you’re alergic to it won’t hurt your wellbeing. In fact during wars in the past especially WWI and WWII in Europe the soldiers have eaten molded bread so that they won’t catch any serious diseases like cholera or the black death… so when it comes down to it being too careful about what you eat might not be that healthy. However, moldy meat fruits etc. aren’t recommended at all, so don’t try those…
Now as I think of it, there was a passage in the Bible where Jesus says that it doesn’t matter how clean the food you consume is, more important is what comes out of your mouth. God bless!
The advice to coat one’s body with fake tanning chemicals, and call it safe seems irresponsible. If you won’t eat it, it shouldn’t go on your skin, is good advice, as anything on your skin typically soaks into your body. No mention is made of eating berries for at least thirty days before going out in the sun to get the kind of protection that your skin really needs. To respond to the mention of skin cancer, although I believe the sun block products are toxic, I KNOW that eating apricot kernels (or other sources of laetrile) can prevent cancer, also adequate vitamin d and alkalizing your body chemistry can make you worry free.
Paul’s advice on “If you won’t eat it…..” is great!
On the moldy bread, I use to cringe at my sister scrapping mold off of tortillas, etc and feeding her KIDS!
Great Post.
http://tucsonbassplayer.blogspot.com
The other thing you can do is go to your local GNC and get the Deodorized fish oil capsules. I have been taking them for several months now and have only had twice where my burp tasted fishy, but those two times I had taken them without food. So take with food and with the deodorized it’s a great non-fishy way to get your Omega-3s. Best of luck!
if you want to avoid fish-burps altogether, you should really try eating chia seeds. chia seeds have 8 times the amount of omega-3 than salmon and are the richest known source of omega-3 found anywhere. chia seeds are a whole grain that not only contain large amounts of omega-3, they are also loaded with antioxidants, fiber, protein, calcium and more. if you want to learn more about the amazing health benefits of chia seeds, you should really check out http://www.TheChiaSeed.com