Listeria Outbreak : Why It Happen Regularly?

The recent listeria outbreak in cantaloupe has been noted as the deadliest outbreak of food-related illness in more than 10 years in the United States. At least 16 deaths and 72 illnesses have been associated with listeria infection from Jensen Farms cantaloupes, according to news reports.

What is Listeria?

Listeriosis is a dangerous infection caused by eating food contaminated with bacteria called Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes).

Infection is rare, but when it does occur it most frequently affects pregnant women in their last trimester, newborns, and kids and adults whose immunity is weakened by diseases such as cancer or HIV. People who have had various types of transplants are also more at risk for listeriosis.

Listeria bacteria can be transmitted through soil and water. A person can also ingest listeria by eating certain foods, such as deli meats and cold cuts, soft-ripened cheese, milk, undercooked chicken, uncooked hot dogs, shellfish, and coleslaw made from contaminated cabbage. Many cases of infection, however, have no identifiable source.

Listeria infections may create symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, difficulty breathing, and poor feeding. Pregnant women who develop listeriosis may experience only mild flu-like symptoms, although they are at risk for premature delivery, miscarriage, and stillbirth.

How does it spread rapidly?

L. monocytogenes is found in soil and water.

• Vegetables can become contaminated from the soil or from manure used as fertilizer.

• Animals can carry the bacteria and can contaminate meats and dairy products.

• Processed foods, such as soft cheeses and cold cuts, can be contaminated after processing.

• Unpasteurized (raw) milk or foods made from unpasteurized milk can be contaminated.

Who is most likely to get seriously ill from Listeria bacteria?

Healthy adults and children hardly ever become seriously ill from Listeria. However, people at increased risk of illness from Listeria bacteria include:

• Pregnant women: Pregnant women are 20 times more likely to get listeriosis than the average healthy adult

• Newborns

• People with weak immune systems

• People with cancer, diabetes, or kidney disease

• People with AIDS People with AIDS are 300 times more likely to get sick from Listeria than people with normal immune systems

• People who take gluticocorticosteroids such as cortisone

• Elderly people

Can Listeriosis be treated?

Treatment of listeria infection varies, depending on the severity of the signs and symptoms. Most people with mild symptoms require no treatment. More serious infections can be treated with antibiotics. During pregnancy, prompt antibiotic treatment may help keep the infection from affecting the baby. Newborns who have a listeria infection may receive a combination of antibiotics.

What we can do to Prevent Listeriosis?

Although there are no vaccines against the bacteria that cause listeriosis, you can help reduce the risk for your family by taking these food safety precautions:

• Always cook food (especially meat and eggs) thoroughly to the proper internal temperature.

• Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly before eating.

• Only drink pasteurized milk, and make sure that milk is refrigerated at the appropriate temperature, which is less than 40° Fahrenheit (4° Celsius).

• Avoid foods made from unpasteurized milk.

• If you're in a high-risk group, avoid soft cheeses such as feta, Brie, Camembert, blue-veined and Mexican-style cheeses unless they have labels that clearly state they are made from pasteurized milk.

• Reheat precooked, prepackaged foods such as deli meats or hot dogs to steaming hot temperatures, especially if you're pregnant.

People at High Risk (Pregnant women and people with weak immune systems)

• Do not eat hot dogs or lunch meats unless they are heated to a temperature sufficient to kill Listeria bacteria

• Avoid getting liquid from hot dog packages on other food

• Wash hands after handling hot dogs and lunch and deli meats

• Do not eat soft cheeses (e.g. feta, Brie, Camembert, blue cheese, and queso blanco) unless the label clearly states that they are pasteurized

• Do not eat refrigerated pâté or meat spread, only canned or shelf-stable ones

• Do not eat refrigerated smoked seafood, sometimes labeled as “nova-style,” “lox,” “kippered,” or “jerky.” Canned or shelf-stable smoked seafood is ok.

What should you do if you've eaten a food recalled because of Listeria contamination?

The risk of an individual person developing Listeria infection after consumption of a contaminated product is very small. If you have eaten a contaminated product and do not have any symptoms, we do not recommend that you have any tests or treatment, even if you are in a high-risk group. However, if you are in a high-risk group, have eaten the contaminated product, and within 2 months become ill with fever or signs of serious illness, you should contact your physician and inform him or her about this exposure.

What happen if not treated well?

Most of the time listeria infections are mild and they may go unnoticed. However, in some cases, a listeria infection can lead to life-threatening complications including: 

• A generalized blood infection (septicemia)

• Inflammation of the membranes and fluid surrounding the brain (meningitis)

Complications of a listeria infection may be most severe for an unborn baby. Early in pregnancy, a listeria infection may lead to miscarriage. Later in pregnancy, a listeria infection may lead to stillbirth, premature birth or a potentially fatal infection in the baby after birth even if the mother becomes only mildly ill.

References:

http://www.mayoclinic.com

http://www.medicinenet.com

http://www.huffingtonpost.com

http://www.medic8.com

http://kidshealth.org

http://www.webmd.com

http://www.cdc.gov

Health Tools: Food2GoodHealth

Today’s busy lifestyle and junk food habits are leading us to many lifestyle diseases and conditions; no wonder. The Online Health Tools are now a day’s are important features for health portal. If you know your height, weight and age you will get various health parameters like BMI, Body Fat%, daily calorie and water requirement and these will help us to keep watch on our health. The Food2GoodHealth website contains various health tools which will help you to see your health status in more realistic manner.

1. Body Mass Index (BMI) Calculator:

BMI (Body Mass Index) is a measurement of body fat based on height and weight that applies to both men and women between the ages of 18 and 65 years.

What Does Body Mass Index Mean?

BMI	Conclusion
18.5–24.9	Normal weight
25.0–29.9	Overweight
30.0–39.9	Obese
40.0 and above	Extreme obesity

BMI can be used to indicate if you are overweight, obese, underweight or normal. A healthy BMI score is between 20 and 25. A score below 20 indicates that you may be underweight; a value above 25 indicates that you may be overweight.

Although BMI can be used for most men and women, it does have some limits. It may overestimate body fat in athletes and others who have a muscular build. BMI also may underestimate body fat in older people and others who have lost muscle.

Body Mass Index for Children and Teens

Overweight is defined differently for children and teens than it is for adults. Children are still growing and boys and girls mature at different rates.

BMIs for children and teens compare their heights and weights against growth charts that take age and sex into account. This is called BMI-for-age percentile. A child or teen's BMI-for-age percentile shows how his or her BMI compares with other boys and girls of the same age.

What Does the BMI-for-Age Percentile Mean?

BMI-for-Age Percentile	Conclusion
Less than 5%	Underweight
5 % to less than the 85%	Healthy weight
85 % to less than the 95%	Risk of overweight
95 % or greater	Overweight

You can calculate your BMI by using BMI Formula.
Non Metric BMI Formula:

BMI = (Weight in Pounds / (Height in inches x Height in inches) ) x 703

Metric BMI Formula:

BMI =(Weight in Kilograms / (Height in Meters x Height in Meters) )

Uses of BMI calculator:

It is often used by doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals as a means of determining if a patient is overweight or obese.

Being overweight or obese can cause long term health problems so action needs to be taken early on. If a BMI measurement indicates that a patient is overweight then a doctor can recommend a diet and exercise regime.

If you fall into the overweight or obese category then you will have to make some changes to your lifestyle. And these changes will probably have to be followed for the rest of your life.

2. Daily Calorie Needs

EER is an estimation of how many Calories you need in a day based on your height, weight, and physical activity levels. Everyone's body utilizes energy differently, so if your body is very efficient at using energy, then you won't need to be that close to the result. The formulas are as follows:

EER for Men: 19 years and older (BMI 18.5-251. kg/m2):

EER=662-9.53*age(y)+PA*(15.91*weight)+539.6*height

PA      PAL

1          sedentary

1.11     low active

1.25     active

1.48     very active

EER for Women: 19 years and older (BMI 18.5-25 kg/m2)

EER=554-6.91*age(y)+PA*(9.36*weight)+726*height

PA      PAL

1          sedentary

1.12     low active

1.27     active

1.45     very active

For example, one person's result was 2100 Calories per day, but if they were to eat that much, they would gain weight. They actually kept a steady weight around 1400 Calories. So this equation may seem like it doesn't work very well, but it's a good starting point to see how your body reacts to energy. 

• Sedentary includes only the light physical activity associated with typical day-to-day life
• Low Active includes physical activity equivalent to walking about 1.5 to 3 miles per day at 3 to 4 miles per hour, in addition to the light physical activity associated with typical day-to-day life.
• Active includes physical activity equivalent to walking more than 3 miles per day at 3 to 4 miles per hour, in addition to the light physical activity associated with typical day-to-day life. This corresponds to a minimum of 60 minutes of at least moderate intensity physical activity
• Very Active is an elite athlete in training.EER has the potential use for nutritional and physical activity assessment and for weight management studies when energy expenditure from physical activity is not measurable.

3. Body Fat Percentage Calculator:

Body fat percentage is simply the percentage of fat that your body contains. For your body to function properly it is essential that your body contains a certain amount of fat. Body fats helps regulate your body temperature, it cushions and insulate organs and is the main form of the body's energy storage. It is important for everyone to have a healthy amount of body fat.

It is important to note the differences between men and women when it comes to determining healthy body fat percentages. Mainly, women are healthier with higher body fat percentages than men. This is because women require higher fat levels for safe pregnancy. As a result, different body fat percentages will be provided with the same health assessment for both genders.

For women between age 20 and 40, 19% to 26% body fat is generally good to excellent. For women age 40+ to 60+, 23% to 30% is considered good to excellent.

For men between age 20 and 40, 10% to 20% body fat is generally good to excellent. For men age 40+ to 60+, 19% to 23% is considered good to excellent.

If the body fat percentages for both age groups are higher than the highest listed healthy percentage or lower than the lowest healthy percentage, the result may be considered fair or poor. As such, seeking a way to lose fat is necessary. Fat loss is not that difficult, but does require some sort of exercise program, diets alone will not help with fat loss.

Your body fat percentage is calculated by taking your age, height and weight, gender into account. The formulas are as follows:

Child Body Fat % = (1.51 x BMI) - (0.70 x Age) - (3.6 x gender) + 1.4

Adult Body Fat % = (1.20 x BMI) + (0.23 x Age) - (10.8 x gender) - 5.4

Where male gender= 1, female=0.

4. Ideal Body Weight (IBW) Calculator

Ideal Body Weight refers to the desired weight of a person of given height and body frame.

Maintaining an ideal body weight, i.e., a body weight just right for your height and body frame is key to living a healthy and disease free life. An ideal body weight greatly reduces the chances of diseases like heart diseases, diabetes etc...

The ideal weight of a person is determined by his/her gender, height and body frame. The formula for calculating IBW is as follows:

For Men = 50 kg+ 2.3 (Height (in) - 60)

For Women = 45.5 kg + 2.3 (Height (in) - 60)

5. Total Body Water (TBW) Calculator:

Total Body Water (TBW) is the amount of water in the body. A significant fraction of the human body is water. This body water is distributed in different compartments in the body.

Body water is broken down into three fluid compartments: Intracellular fluid (2/3 of Body Water), Plasma (1/15 of Body Water), and Intercellular fluid (4/15 of Body Water). Lean muscle tissue contains about 75% water. Blood contains 83% water, body fat contains 25% water and bone has 22% water

Infants and children contain the highest proportion of water, at approximately 77 percent. In men about 72% of the body mass is water. This value is about 68% in women due to a higher proportion of body fat. Seniors usually have the lowest body water proportion, at 45 percent. There are so many formulas available, but the most widely used formula is Watsons formula is as follows:

For Men =  2.447 - (0.09156 x age) + (0.1074 x height) + (0.3362 x weight)

For Women =  -2.097 + (0.1069 x height) + (0.2466 x weight)

Total body water (TBW) estimations have been used to estimate body composition, particularly fat-free mass, to aid in nutritional interventions, and to monitor hydration status.

6. Body Surface Area (BSA) Calculator:

The body surface area (BSA) is the measured surface of a human body. As it is less affected by abnormal adipose mass, BSA is found to be a better indicator of metabolic mass. The Calculation is based on the Mosteller formula with the given height and weight.

BSA (m²) = ( [Height(cm) x Weight(kg) ]/ 3600 )½  

BSA (m²) = ( [Height(in) x Weight(lbs) ]/ 3131 )½

This value if of great importance in medicine because the dose and dosage of drugs and the amount of fluids to be administered intravenously are usually calculated taking the BSA into consideration. Certain indices such as the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and cardiac index are calculated in relation to the BSA.

7. Lean Body Mass (LBM) Calculator

Lean body mass is simply an estimation of how much you weigh without the body fat - how much your bones, organs and muscles weight. As the other factors are assumed to be relatively static, by monitoring your LBM you can get a fairly accurate estimate of the amount of muscle you are gaining or losing.

It is a critical number to know whether you are trying to lose or gain weight. It is a much more important than your bodyweight. People with the same bodyweights but different LBMs can look radically different. Your goals are not to lose muscle and gain fat, they are to lose fat and gain muscle. Your LBM can give you an accurate picture of where your training is taking you.

The formula for lean body mass using the method of James is as follows:

Lean Body Mass (men) = (1.10 x Weight(kg)) - 128 x ( Weight2/(100 x Height(m))2)

Lean Body Mass (women) = (1.07 x Weight(kg)) - 148 x ( Weight2/(100 x Height(m))2)

8. Blood Alcohol Calculator (BAC)

Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is the amount of alcohol in an individual’s body, measured by the weight of the alcohol in a volume of blood.  The BAC limit determines the maximum amount of alcohol that can be consumed before it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle on a public road.

An individual’s BAC depends upon that person’s gender, weight, metabolism, time period over which the alcohol was consumed and the amount of food in the stomach prior to drinking. Although a person’s BAC can be estimated, the level cannot be determined solely by the number of drinks consumed, and cannot be precisely calculated by a person’s height and weight.

Widmark's Basic Formula for calculating BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration) at a particular time is expressed as follows:

%BAC = (A x 5.14/W x r) - .015 x H

"A" is the total number of liquid ounces of alcohol consumed by the person since the commencement of drinking. This figure is ascertained by multiplying the number of liquid ounces of alcoholic beverages consumed by the percentage of alcohol in the beverage.

The 5.14 in the formula is a conversion factor of .823 x 100/16, wherein .823 is used to convert liquid ounces to ounces of weight, 100 is used to convert the final figure to a percentage, and 16 is used to convert pounds to ounces.

The 0.15 figure appearing in the formula is the average alcohol elimination rate.

"W" is for weight of the person in pounds

"r" in the alcohol distribution ratio which for men is .73 and for women is .66.

"H" is the period in hours during which alcohol was eliminated from the bloodstream and this is usually the total number of hours between commencement of drinking and the time the BAC calculation is made.

Here at Food2goodHealth you will also be getting calories you get with the drink plus time when you can drive safely; in addition to your present blood alcohol%

9. Daily Water Requirement

The average sedentary man should consume at least 2.9L of water a day and the average sedentary women at least 2.2L per day. About 1/3 rd of this will come from food.

Your water needsdepend on many factors, including your health, how active you are and where you live.Fluid requirements can vary dramatically under extreme conditions. The calculations are done depending on person’s lifestyle

DWR: for person with sedentary lifestyle:

Water requirement/day=weight{(kg)*2.2}*0.625+16= ounces=ounces/8=glasses(8oz glass)

DWR : for person doing strenuous physical exercise:

Water requirement/day=weight{(kg)*2.2}*0.625+16+16= ounces=ounces/8=glasses(8oz glass)

10. Height Predictor:

Parents often have questions about how tall their kids will be. Although there are many methods to predict a child's future height, one that is popular is which is based on the parent’s height.

So how accurate is this prediction? Your child has a 68% chance of being within 2 inches and a 95% chance of being within 4 inches of this predicted height. Keep in mind that other factors may influence your child's growth, including his overall health and nutritional status. Height predictor formula is as follows:

Boy= {[Mother's height (in)+ Father's height (in)]/2} + 2.5

Girl = {[Mother's height (in)+ Father's height (in)]/2} - 2.5

Good Health is basis of good life. Here at Food2goodHealth we are promoting you to take charge of your health with right tools and information. We wish happy healthy life for you and your family!