Health & Safety products or services

Beatrice Coffee Duet French Vanilla creamer says on the carton in bold letters "FAT FREE", yet it also says it's made from "real cream" which made me suspicious, because real cream isn't fat free. After some investigation I discovered that the actual fat content is 7.3%, so I began to wonder how Beatrice could claim it was "fat free" & whether that claim complied with Canadian food labelling laws. Nowhere on the label or web site does it actually say what the percentage of fat for this product is (I had to calculate it based on the Beatrice web site). From what I can tell, the government is phasing in new labelling regulations (links 1 & 2) & this product does seem to comply, which tells me that the government isn't looking out for consumers, but is complicit with food manufacturers in deceiving the public. The government is no longer protecting us by forcing labelling which will describe the actual percentage of fat (which in this case is 7.3%), but allowing companies to label a product as being FAT FREE as long as it has less than 0.5 g of fat per stated serving. The devil is in the details, because the manufacture can state any size of "serving" they want as the measuring stick. On the side of the container it says it contains 1% of "daily value" of fats, which might fool some people into thinking that it contains 1% fat & maybe the government allows food companies to claim "fat free" if it's 1% or less, but such is not the case. Reading further, the label claims that there is 0.4 grams of fat per 15 mL (1 tbsp) severing (extremely small serving), so if you do the math & 0.4 grams of fat equals 1% of your daily value allowance of fat, then apparently we humans are allowed 40 grams of fat per day. Nutritionists will tell you that 20 grams of fat per day is a healthy level, not 40 grams. I can tell you that I probably pour at least 6 times the recommended serving size in a cup of coffee, so at .4 grams of fat per serving, I'm drinking at least 2.4 grams of fat in each cup of my coffee, yet the federal government allows Beatrice to fool me into thinking I am drinking FAT FREE coffee creamer. At just one cup of coffee a day with the amount of creamer most people might put in their coffee, I am actually getting 12% of my "daily value" of fat (based on 20 grams a day being the recommended "daily value" limit by nutritionists) not 1%. Even if I used the 15 ml serving size Beatrice suggests, I would still be taking in 2% of the recommended daily fat, not 1%. So much for our government helping us to learn how to reduce the fat in our diets. No wonder I can't seem to shed the weight despite using "FAT FREE" labelled products. Seems to me if Beatrice wants to steer clear of false advertising (calling it FAT FREE), they should call this product FAT REDUCED or LOW FAT or LIGHT FAT or LIGHT COFFEE CREAMER since it is lower in total fat than "half & half" (10%) or "table cream" (18%). Calling something FAT FREE that has 7.3% total fat content & using labelling that implies 1% is deceptive, regardless of whether it complies with federal government labelling legislation. Just goes to show you that our federal government is becoming more & more friendly to business interests (because they constantly lobby) & less oriented to looking out for the public that elected them. Read the labels carefully because they are designed to fool you. 

Medical Malpractice (Adverse Events) & Virus Spreading At Scarboro General Hospital in Toronto.

LOWER YOUR WATER HEATER TEMPERATURE: Lowering the temperature of your water heater to 120 F (48.9 C) eliminates near instant skin burns & reduces the chance that small children or the elderly will be burned by water they can't get out of immediately. At 120 F (48.9 C) water is still hot enough to cause a 3rd degree burn in about 4 minutes & a 1st degree burn (less severe top layer skin burn) in far shorter time (perhaps 30 seconds). Water temperature at 140 F (60 C) will cause a 3rd degree burn in 5 seconds & a near instant 1st degree burn.

SORE THROAT SPRAY: I've found sore throat sprays very helpful, such as Chloraseptic which has both an anaesthetic (to kill the pain) & an antiseptic (to kill the bacteria). These are sprayed directly on the back of the throat where the medication can immediately go to work. Sprays seem more effective than lozenges. Avoid brands like Cepacol that only have an anaesthetic (to kill the pain), but do nothing to actually make the sore throat get better.

ASPARTAME: The artificial sweetener called Aspartame is frequently used in diet soda pop drinks & as sweeteners for coffee, tea & other beverages. There are many web articles that claim that Aspartame is the cause of all manner of health issues including seizures, birth defects, brain tumours, memory loss, MS, depression, escalating Alzheimer's, blindness, etc etc. There are also many articles disputing these claims as urban legions & saying that Aspartame is a safe sugar substitute. After much reading, I wasn't able to come to a conclusion of whether Aspartame is a health concern or not, but if you are concerned about it, read the labels & try to avoid it.  Monsanto/NutraSweet is the marketer of aspartame. Some products that contain Aspartame are NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, some sugarless chewing gums, children's vitamins & thousands of other drink & food products. If you ingest products with a lot of Aspartame & you're having medical problems, try switching to other products without Aspartame to see if it makes any difference to your health. Do your own web research & come to your own conclusion of whether or not Aspartame might be a dangerous product. There certainly is a huge amount of information & opinions out there, for & against, which is an indicator to be concerned. One particularly interesting article is found at: http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/history.faq   November 2003
Update January 2011, Aspartame is now sold under brand names such as NutraSweet, Canderel & AminoSweet. If you must use a sweetener & don't have insulin issues, try Stevia or Lo han.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/americas-deadliest-sweete_b_630549.html also read http://www.newswithviews.com/NWVexclusive/exclusive15. htm


HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL (TRANS FATS):: Hydrogenation adds hydrogen gas to vegetable oil, helping to solidify it into solid products at room temperature, such as margarine or shortening. Health experts say the process makes the margarine as unhealthy as real butter, if not more so, as the hydrogenated fats act like cholesterol in the body. Trans fats cause significant and serious lowering of HDL (good) cholesterol and a significant and serious increase in LDL (bad) cholesterol; major clogging of arteries; type 2 diabetes; and other serious health problems. If you see the words "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" or "fractionated" in the ingredients, choose a different product. There are NO redeeming qualities to hydrogenated margarine. Trans-fats include margarine and shortening and are found in everything from crackers, cookies, doughnuts, frozen pie crusts, deep-fried foods, and foods with chocolate coatings. More info May 2003

HEALTHY SNACKING: Salsa is a very healthy snack food, but most corn chips that people use to dip the salsa, is loaded with fat. The Hostess Frito-Lay Company sells Baked TOSTITOS Premium Tortilla Chips which have about 1/10th as much fat because they are "baked" instead of "fried". The baked corn chips are a bit more expensive & break easier than fried corn chips, but I think those are small prices to pay for a corn chip that has such a significant reduction in fat. Cost is $3.99 CDN for at 300 gram bag. If you ate the entire bag of baked corn chips you would only be eating 7.5 grams of fat. A normal diet should contain no more than 20 grams of fat per day. If you ate the entire bag of fried corn chips you would be eating about 75 grams of fat. Recently these low fat tortilla chips have been repackaged by Frito Lay in a yellow & blue bag simply saying "Baked Tostitos" with nothing on the package to indicate that they are low in fat. Originally written November 22/2002, updated July 7/2003

HEPATITIS A & B: Glaxo Smith Kline (the manufacturer of Twinrix) has been running television ads aimed at Canadians (age 18 & up) going abroad on vacation. What they recommend is that you protect yourself from Hepatitis A & B infections by getting a series of Twinrex vaccinations. The second shot is administered 1 month after the first shot & then 6 months after the first shot you get the third booster shot. Supposedly this protects adults from Hepatitis A & B for the rest of your life. The Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) does not cover the cost of the prescription, though your doctor might not charge you extra to administer the 3 shots (mine didn't charge). Wal-Mart pharmacy charges $149.23 if you pick up all three vials of Twinrex at the same time (must be kept in your refrigerator until needed), or they'll charge you $166.26 if you pick the vials up at 3 separate times. You can also go to your local public health travel clinic (in our area Middlesex London Health Unit) for $255. total (3 X $65. per shot, plus $30. admin fee for the first visit & $15. each for 2nd & 3rd visit), which would save you the extra trip to the doctor for the prescription & having to keep the prescription in the refrigerator, but you often have to book an appointment a couple weeks ahead & you'll pay over $100. more. I also located a private travel clinic that wanted to price gouge about $330. total ($40. administration fee + $10. to give the shot each of three visits = $150., plus 3 X $60. for the Twinrex prescription at the pharmacy in the doctors building). Hepatitis is a disease characterized by inflammation of and injury to the liver. Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) is a highly contagious disease & the main one you need to be concerned about when going out of the country, but it is rarely fatal. It is also called infectious hepatitis. Hepatitis A is extremely common in less developed countries (like the Caribbean). Outbreaks often occur due to unsanitary conditions, such as contamination of food or the water supply. One third of Americans have evidence of past HAV infection. Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) is the best-known form of viral hepatitis. It can be severe and often develops into chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis. HBV is spread by close personal or sexual contact with an infected person, or by exposure to infected blood. Hepatitis B is not spread through food or water or by casual contact. It once was commonly transmitted through transfusions of contaminated blood, but that is seldom a problem in developed countries because they screen for this virus. 5% of the North American population will get infected by HBV sometime in their lifetime. November 29/2003

CELL PHONES MIGHT CAUSE BRAIN CANCER: Cell manufacturers & service providers really don't want you to know that the radio frequency that your cell phone transmits might cause brain cancer if using several hundred minutes per month. It is very much an unknown what various radio frequencies can to do human tissue when the transmitter is in very close proximity. Some European preliminary tests have shown that nearly all people with brain cancer who also use cell phones extensively, have the brain cancer on the same side of their head as they hold their cell phone to. Cell manufacturers say the tests are statistically insignificant, but I believe these tests may be an early indicator that radio transmissions from cell phones might cause cancer. If you want to minimize your exposure & you need to talk a lot on a cell phone, buy a cell phone where the antenna sticks out on an angle at the back of the phone away from your head, which greatly reduces how much of the radio frequency gets transmitted into your head. Alternately, buy a headset for your phone so you can set the cell phone on a table away from your body, which dramatically reduces how much radio frequency goes through your body. Sept. 2003

USE CRUISE CONTROL ONLY ON DRY ROADS: Did you know that you shouldn't use the cruise control on your car if the road is wet or icy? If your tires loose contact with the pavement they will start to hydroplane or skid & the cruise control will cause the car to speed up. Sept. 2003

By Doug Hembruff.