12/19/2013 Health News: Consumer Reports 97% Chickens with Bacteria, Horse Slaughter Continues, Organic Milk

CONSUMER REPORTS: GUT BACTERIA ON 97 PERCENT OF RETAIL CHICKEN BREASTS

It won’t all harm you, but some of it might. That’s the caveat in the latest Consumer Reports analysis of tests on raw chicken breasts purchased at retailers nationwide. The analysis found that 97 percent of tested chicken breast samples “harbored bacteria that could make you sick.” While it is true that the detected bacteria... Continue Reading

10TH CIRCUIT LIFTS INJUNCTION: HORSE SLAUGHTER CAN LEGALLY RESUME IN U.S.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver has lifted its emergency injunction from early November, clearing the way for the slaughter of horses before the year ends for meat for export from any of three establishments USDA has found eligible for equine inspection services. In removing the emergency injunction, the 10th Circuit found... Continue Reading

More Helpful Fatty Acids Found in Organic Milk

Whole milk from organic dairies contains far more of some of the fatty acids that contribute to a healthy heart than conventional milk, scientists are reporting. The finding, published in the journal PLOS One, is the most clear-cut instance of an organic food’s offering a nutritional advantage over its conventional counterpart. .continue trading

USA's Health Improving; Hawaii Ranks First, Mississippi Ranks Last

An annual measure of the nation's health status finds evidence that Americans made "a notable shift" toward better health in 2013.Important gains were seen in more than two-thirds of the measures analyzed for the 2013 America's Health Rankings report, released, including:

• A decline in the smoking rate, down from 21.2% of the adult population in 2012 to 19.6%. Seventeen states had significant drops in smoking, the largest being in Nevada, Maryland, Oklahoma, Kansas and Vermont.
• A drop in physical inactivity, defined as not doing any physical activity outside work for 30 days, down from 26.2% of the adult population in 2012 to 22.9% in 2013. The prevalence of physical inactivity varies from a high of 31.4% in Arkansas to a low of 16.2% in Oregon.
• A leveling off of the obesity epidemic as the percentage of adults who are obese — defined as roughly 30 or more pounds over a healthy weight — holds steady.continue reading