Today's Health Tips: Dangerous bacterium hits Phoenix area

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Dangerous bacterium hits Phoenix area PHOENIX (UPI) -- A dangerous strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has been confirmed for the first time in Arizona this year, striking 10 patients in the Phoenix area. Two people known to be infected with the NAP1 strain of Clostridium difficile have died, The Arizona Republic reports. All of those infected were elderly hospital or nursing-home patients. "Assuming this continues to evolve, it is going to be a real pain for our healthcare communities," said Dr. Bob England, who heads the Maricopa County Department of Public Health. C. difficile is antibiotic resistant in all its forms, but the NAP1 strain is about 20 times as toxic. The bacteria cause diarrhea and can cause a fatal inflammation of the colon. An alert from the state Department of Health Services did not say where cases of C. difficile have been reported, the newspaper said. The Republic obtained the document by a Freedom of Information request. The NAP1 strain was first identified in the United States about 10 years ago and has now been reported from at least 39 states. Copyright 2010 by United Press International
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Hip-hop video says healthy eating is cool BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (UPI) -- A senior film student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham created a 60-second video with a message to kids: Eating healthy is cool. Anna Lloyd, 22, said her 60-second Internet video "Fresh Grown," features five children rapping and dancing at a grocery store and at the Pepper Place Farmers' Market, both in Birmingham. The pint-size rappers, surrounded by rows of carrots, tomatoes and strawberries, sing the lyrics "I like fresh grown fruits and vegetables." The Jefferson County Childhood Obesity Task Force contacted the university to develop a social marketing project Jones Valley Urban Farm, a non-profit organization that grows organic produce and flowers on a 3-acre vacant lot in downtown Birmingham. Lloyd surveyed fourth-graders at a downtown Birmingham about nutrition, music and their favorite Web sites and television shows. "I realized that the kids already knew what they should be eating, but they said it just wasn't cool to eat healthy," Lloyd said in a statement. "So, I wanted a video that would make healthy foods cool, and that's where the idea for a hip-hop video came from." The video is at: www.youtube.com/uabnews. Copyright 2010 by United Press International
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BPA, erectile dysfunction linked OAKLAND, Calif. (UPI) -- U.S. and Chinese researchers have linked bisphenol A in the urine to worsening male sexual function. BPA is an organic compound commonly used in manufacturing polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins and is now contained in a wide variety of consumer products. The 5-year Kaiser Permanente study, published in the Journal of Andrology, linked increasing urine BPA levels with decreased sexual desire, more difficulty having an erection, lower ejaculation strength and lower level of overall satisfaction with sex life. The association was dose-dependent, the study said. "This is the first human study to show that high urine BPA is associated with lower male sexual function," lead author Dr. De-Kun Li of Kaiser Permanente's division of research in Oakland, Calif., said in a statement. "Also, even among men exposed to BPA from only environmental sources -- no occupational exposure and with average BPA level lower than the average observed in the American population -- there were indications of an increased risk of sexual dysfunction." Li and colleagues examined 427 workers in factories in China and compared workers in BPA manufacturing facilities with a control group of workers in factories where no BPA was present. Li noted the estimates in the environmentally exposed group were not statistically significant due to small sample size, but the finding may enhance the understanding of the BPA effect in human populations with low-dose environmental exposure and have important public health implications. Copyright 2010 by United Press International
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Distance to food not predictor of diet SEATTLE (UPI) -- Researchers in Seattle question the outcomes of studies that used distance to supermarkets as the best predictor of good diets. Adam Drewnowski, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington and his team combined a telephone survey, modeled on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System, with geo-coding techniques and spatial analysis to study where people bought food. "Six out of seven people shopped for food outside their immediate neighborhood," Drewnowski said in a statement. "The closest supermarket for most people was less than 1 mile away, but people chose the market that was more than 3 miles away." If a person has access to a car, driving further to save money on groceries is common. Therefore, physical proximity to a supermarket may not, by itself, assure a healthy diet. "Money does matter," Drewnowski said. The researchers found Seattle is well-supplied with grocery stores, farmers markets and other vendors but did not see evidence of significant food deserts -- areas with limited or no access to healthy foods. Public transportation is prevalent and accessible, so people have access to a supermarket or grocery store even if they do not have vehicle. However, shoppers and shopping opportunities differed among the stores. "Consumers who shop at most area supermarket chains have obesity rates at 25 percent and higher," Drewnowski said. "However, the obesity rate was only 4 percent among Whole Foods and PCC Natural Markets, a certified organic grocery store." Copyright 2010 by United Press International
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