Health and Fitness for Thursday March 31, 2011

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Raw bean sprouts a haven for bacteria VANCOUVER, British Columbia (UPI) -- Sprinkling raw bean sprouts on a salad is not a healthy decision because of bacterial risks, a University of British Columbia professor cautions. Microbiology Professor Kevin Allen told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. he tested 50 samples of raw bean sprouts from across the country and found 93 percent contained active, living bacteria. Some samples showed fecal contamination, he said. He said the sprouts, which are very popular in Asian cuisine and among vegetarians, are grown in warm, damp conditions ideal for bacteria to flourish. Sprouts should be thoroughly washed and cooked before eating. None of the bacteria levels were high enough to trigger a recall under federal regulations, but Allen said they were still capable of making people sick, particularly those with compromised immune systems. The professor told the CBC bean sprouts weren't part of his family's diet in any form. "Personally, I don't consume sprouts and I wouldn't feed them to my children either," he said. Copyright 2011 by United Press International
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Maltreated in youth risk low-weight babies SEATTLE (UPI) -- Mothers maltreated as children have increased risk for giving birth to low-birth weight infants, U.S. researchers discovered. Lead author Amelia Gavin, assistant professor in the University of Washington School of Social Work, says about 8 percent of U.S. babies are born weighing less than 2,500 grams, or 5-and-a-half pounds, annually. Low-birth weight -- due to growth restriction in the womb or from being born prematurely -- puts newborns at a greater risk for death before their first birthday, and infants with low-birth weights who survive their first year are more likely to develop obesity, diabetes and other health risks later in life, Gavin says. The rate of such births has increased since the mid-1980s even as prenatal care has improved, Gavin says. "What matters most for healthy birth weights is the health status the mother brings into pregnancy," Gavin says in a statement. "We're trying to map pathways of early life exposures that lead to low birth weight." The findings, published online in the Journal of Adolescent Health, suggest a mother's economic position in childhood and her experience of maltreatment during childhood have implications for her children born years later. Copyright 2011 by United Press International
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U.S. poverty-linked infections prevalent WASHINGTON (UPI) -- The threat of dengue fever and the prevalence of parasitic infections are a reality for tens of thousands in the United States, an expert says. Dr. Peter Hotez of the George Washington University, who is president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, says the infections that plague the poor threaten the poorest people living in the Gulf Coast states and in Washington. In an editorial published in the journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Hotez says post-hurricane Katrina conditions in the Gulf coast states coupled with the BP oil disaster and extreme levels of poverty make some areas vulnerable to neglected infections of poverty. Dengue hemorrhagic fever, Chagas disease and cutaneous leishmaniasis, as well as non-vector borne neglected infections like trichomoniasis and toxocariasis, are affecting the people living in this region, Hotez says. Washington is one of the worst U.S. cities in terms of life expectancy and health index -- meaning its residents suffer from the lowest incomes, lowest educational attainment and shortest life expectancy, Hotez says. Despite the fact that these conditions are triggers for neglected infections, no surveillance data currently exist to reflect their prevalence, the editorial says. "Because these infections are serious problems that perpetuate poverty, I am extremely concerned about the welfare of the people in these regions," Hotez says in a statement. "A national plan to help these people is critical." Copyright 2011 by United Press International
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Being conscientious can be worth $158,000 ANN ARBOR, Mich. (UPI) -- Conscientious people are reliable, meet deadlines and pay their bills on time, which can add up to $158,000 in savings over a lifetime, U.S. researchers say. Study co-authors psychologist Angela Lee Duckworth of the University of Pennsylvania and economist David Weir of the University of Michigan say people at the 85th percentile of conscientiousness earn about $1,500 more per year than the average American, which amounts to about $96,000 more in lifetime earnings and $158,000 more in lifetime savings. The paper is based on almost 10,000 U.S. adults age 50 and older who participated in the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study in 2006 and 2008. Study subjects rated themselves using a scale of 1 to 4 on 26 adjectives from the personality traits -- conscientiousness, emotional stability, agreeableness, extraversion and openness to experience. The study found more emotionally stable adults earn more per year than the average American, but they don't necessarily save more. Agreeable people or those who are open to experience earn less and save less over their lifetimes, while extraverts earn about the same as introverts but save more, the study says. "One of the exciting things about working on personality, as opposed to other aspects of the individual like IQ, is that there is some hope that conscientiousness can be changed, can be deliberately cultivated, particularly in children, but arguably across the entire life course," Duckworth says. Nonetheless, what makes some people more conscientious than others remains a mystery, requiring further research, the co-authors say. Copyright 2011 by United Press International
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