Disease Proof

• Well here’s some good news. According to the Associated Press lettuce that was recently recalled by the Nunes Company Inc. has tested negative for the deadly strain of E. coli bacteria:

"We are relieved that all results were negative, and we are confident our product is safe," company president Tom Nunes said in a statement.

• The Diabetes Blog is discussing a recent study proclaiming the healthful effects of eating garlic. Maybe a few cloves a day keeps the doctor away:

Much of the research is showing real promise. Knowing that heart disease is twice as likely to strike diabetics, it would behoove many of us to take a chance with a few cloves of garlic every day. What have you got to lose? Studies suggest that fresh garlic may prevent blood clots and destroy plaque.

• Now I’m short, and even I think this next item is lunacy. Apparently all the rage among young Chinese professionals is an elective leg lengthening surgery. The AFP reports:

The operation involves breaking the patients' legs and stretching them on a rack, and has led to several cases of disfigurement, the Xinhua news agency said, citing the health ministry.

• Diet-Blog is talking about a BBC news report linking cola consumption with osteoporosis in British women:

Cola consumption (4 colas a week or more) was linked to a lower bone mineral density in three hip sites (but not the spine) - and the association was only with colas and not other carbonated beverages.

• Psoriasis leads to heart attacks? Well according to new research it does. Carla K. Johnson of the Associated Press explains:

Based on their findings, the researchers predict that 1 out of 623 people with severe psoriasis in their 40s will have a heart attack related to their psoriasis each year, Dr. Joel Gelfand of the University of Pennsylvania said. For mild cases, 1 in 3,646 people in their 40s would have a heart attack each year.

• SleepDoctor lets us know that disrupted sleep and complaints about sleep are common among suffers of bipolar disorder:

Sleep disturbance is a well-recognized feature of acute psychiatric illness, and is included in the diagnostic criteria of many of the affective and anxiety disorders. Recent research has found that disrupted sleep and sleep complaints are common in patients with affective disorder even between mood episodes.

• The Associated Press  reports carrot juice suspected to be contaminated with the botulism toxin was still on shelves during the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday, leaving many sick:
  

A week after Bolthouse Farms issued a continental recall of its carrot juice, at least 10 Toronto businesses still had the product on their shelves over the long holiday weekend, prompting health officials to call on the media to warn households and shopkeepers to throw away the juice.