An early-outbreak tally: CDC listed 226 confirmed U.S. swine flu cases across 30 states, Bloomberg later 241 in 34, while WHO counted 898 cases in 18 countries, including 506 cases and 19 deaths in Mexico. Canada reported the virus in an Alberta swine herd.
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Miscellaneous
Chinese government quarantines Mexican travelers
China confined Mexican travelers who shared a flight with one infected passenger to hotels, and the travelers complained of poor medical care and of camera crews meeting them at the gate. Mexico's ambassador objected that none showed signs of the virus.
Books
What You Don't Know Can Hurt You . . . In Fact, It Already Is (Press Release)
A BenBella Books press release announces Toxic Beauty, in which Samuel S. Epstein, MD and reporter Randall Fitzgerald argue that ingredients in everyday cosmetics and personal-care products carry avoidable health risks, and point readers toward safer alternatives.
Vitamins
Nutrient protection against arsenic toxicity
Researchers measuring urinary arsenic metabolites and blood micronutrients in 165 six-year-olds in Bangladesh report that low folate and cysteine may hamper arsenic methylation, and that children appear to metabolize and excrete arsenic more efficiently than adults.
Supplements
Caffeine-containing botanicals in dietary supplements
USDA's Nutrient Data Laboratory analyzed caffeine levels in sports-nutrition, weight-loss, vitamin and mineral supplements bought the same way consumers buy them. U.S. labels need not state caffeine amounts, and botanicals such as guarana, yerba mate, kola nut and green tea extract supply it.
Cooking
Palm oil not a healthy substitute for trans fats
Fifteen adults aged 50 or older with moderately high LDL each ate four 35-day test diets. Palm oil raised LDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B about as much as partially hydrogenated soybean oil did, suggesting palm oil makes a poor substitute for trans fat.
Food Chemicals
Copper rich foods
A reference page pairing recommended copper intakes by age — 200 mcg daily for the youngest infants up to 900 mcg for adults and 1,300 mcg for breastfeeding women — with USDA figures ranking foods by copper content. Pan-fried beef liver, raw oysters and lobster lead the table.
Disease
Swine flu: case reports on the rise
As of May 1 the CDC counted 141 swine flu cases and one death, in Texas, across 19 states, with New York reporting 50. WHO listed 615 cases in 15 countries on May 2, including 397 cases and 16 deaths in Mexico, and advised against travel restrictions or border closures.
Cooking
This light summery salad offers a taste of the Mediterranean
A summer salad of orzo and chickpeas with tomatoes, basil, lemon and a touch of honey, plus notes on orzo's popularity around the Mediterranean and on chickpeas, harvested as early as 7500 BC and supplying fibre, calcium, folate, iron, magnesium and zinc.
Sci-Tech
Food supplements that fortify fowl
ARS immunologist Hyun Lillehoj and colleagues found chickens fed ground green tea for two weeks before infection shed significantly fewer Eimeria maxima oocysts, and that diets with Pediococcus-based probiotics cut oocyte production and raised cytokine levels.
Legal Actions
Lawyers eye on suits against Hydroxycut
After the FDA advised consumers to stop using 14 Hydroxycut products over 23 reports of health problems including liver injury and one death, law firms began recruiting claimants and Saiontz & Kirk moved toward a class action. Maker Iovate disputes the findings but recalled the products.
Advisories
FDA: Stop Using Hydroxycut Immediately
The FDA is warning consumers to stop using Hydroxycut weight loss supplements at once after 23 reports of serious problems, including liver injury and one death from liver failure. Maker Iovate says its own assessment of the risk differs from the agency's.
Politics
Salt Institute challenges Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (Press Release)
The Salt Institute accuses the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee of basing population-wide salt reduction on expert opinion rather than evidence, and of shutting out the public by holding its meeting as a webinar.
Dining
Breakfast cereals vs. donuts and ice cream
Two consumer surveys found many breakfast cereals carry as much sugar as a glazed donut. Britain's Which? reported 31 of the 100 most popular cereals held more than four teaspoons of sugar per serving, and Consumer Reports rated 23 of the top 27 children's cereals only good or fair for nutrition.
Lifestyle
"Love Hormone" helps smooth relations
Swiss researchers gave couples oxytocin or placebo by nasal spray before a laboratory conflict discussion. The hormone increased positive communication and lowered salivary cortisol compared with placebo, though the study's author urges caution about wider claims for it.
Nutrition
Genetically modified corn offers high nutrient solution to vitamin deficiency
A genetically modified corn described in PNAS carries double the average folate, six times the vitamin C and 169 times the beta-carotene, and passed the traits to several generations. The team, led by Paul Christou, offered it as a response to worldwide vitamin deficiency.
Disease
Belly fat linked to depression
In 409 middle-aged women going through menopause, depressive symptoms tracked with visceral fat measured by CT scan. Rush University's Lynda Powell suggests belly fat is a pathway from depression to heart disease and diabetes, but says the exact mechanism needs more research.
Nutrition
Confirmed swine flu cases reach 66 in the US
US confirmed cases reached 66 and a toddler in Brownsville, Texas became the first death, with most cases in New York City. The strain mixes human, bird and swine flu, and CDC experts attribute deaths among healthy adults in Mexico to a cytokine storm immune overreaction.
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