Posted in Firm News, Health & Wellness on October 10, 2013

As the battle over The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and the debt ceiling stalls in congress, furloughs of more than 800,000 government employees continue and some public safety services have literally gone “offline.” Salmonella outbreak In an effort to research the massive salmonella outbreak that has sickened nearly 300 people, we...

Posted in Health & Wellness on October 1, 2013

The stories have been around for decades: reports of razors, needles, poison, and even illicit drugs in kids’ Halloween candy. Thankfully, they are largely urban myths. In fact, a 2010 news report stated, “there has never been a documented case of a stranger poisoning kids' Halloween candy.” That’s not to say that parents shouldn’t...

Posted in Health & Wellness on August 15, 2013

Procter and Gamble has issued a recall of several types of pet foods for dogs and cats, citing an increased risk of salmonella poisoning. The FDA reports that salmonella bacteria can affect not only the animals eating the contaminated food, but also people who handle it or come into contact with exposed surfaces. According...

Posted in Health & Wellness on July 25, 2013

Smokers of menthol cigarettes may soon be facing the difficult choice of either switching to regular cigarettes or kicking the habit altogether. A massive 153-page preliminary study released by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week found that adding menthol to cigarettes may cause new smokers to pick up the habit more easily...

Posted in Health & Wellness on July 8, 2013

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports that one person has died and at least four more have been hospitalized due a listeria infection, including a pregnant woman who suffered a miscarriage. The outbreak has been linked to cheese distributed by the Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese Company based in Waterloo, Wisconsin. The cheeses were...

Posted in Health & Wellness on July 2, 2013

I don’t know about you, but I love the hot summer sun. Days spent at the beach or on the golf course rank way up there in my book. But whether you like sand or snow, it’s always important to be mindful of the dangers of UV radiation. Here’s the Skinny. The bad news:...

Posted in Accident & Injury, Health & Wellness on June 26, 2013

New research reveals that patients who suffer from a traumatic medical event may develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Typically associated with events such as battlefield combat or sexual assaults, PTSD can have debilitating effects. Studies conducted by Dr. Donald Edmondson and his colleagues found that nearly 25 percent of stroke patients and 12 percent...

Posted in Health & Wellness on June 18, 2013

The American Medical Association may recommend a ban of sales and advertising of “high-energy/stimulant drinks” to children and adolescents under the age of 18. As we have warned readers before, energy drinks can be especially dangerous to children. During a debate this weekend in Chicago, The AMA’s House of Delegates, its principle policy-making body,...

Posted in Health & Wellness on June 12, 2013

  Some grocers sell cuts of meat that have been mechanically tenderized.  Now, that may sound no different than machines wielding spikey meat-tenderizing hammers (like the one we all have shoved somewhere in the back of a kitchen drawer.) But for the food industry, the industrial method of meat tenderizing involves piercing the meat...

Posted in Health & Wellness on May 7, 2013

Do you know how dangerous tanning beds are? Did you know that they increase your risk of melanoma by nearly 75 percent? We are in the middle of peak tanning season, as teenage girls and young women get ready for prom and summer weddings. However, tanning beds could soon be the latest products to...