Buffets or picnics can be a great way to serve lots of different, delicious foods to large gatherings of people for special occasions, such as holidays or graduations. But they can also be a means to transmit disease among your guests if care is not taken in how the food is handled. Common causes of food-borne illnesses include norovirus,SalmonellaandE. coliO157:H7
Here are some tips to help you have a SAFE party.
Handle Food Safely

• Always wash your hands before and after handling food.
• Keep the kitchen, dishes and utensils clean.
• Always serve food on clean plates.
• Cook Thoroughly
• Fresh and frozen raw meat, poultry and fish should be cooked hot enough to kill the bacteria, parasites and viruses that may be in the product. The temperatures shown below are recommended for home preparation of food. Always use a meat thermometer to check temperatures.
• Keep Hot Foods HOT, Cold Foods COLD
• Divide cooked foods into shallow containers to store in the refrigerator or freezer until serving. This encourages rapid, even cooling. Reheat hot foods to 165°F.
• Hot foods should be held at 140°F or warmer. On the buffet table, keep hot foods hot with chafing dishes, slow cookers and warming trays.
• Cold foods should be held at 40°F or colder. Keep foods cold by nesting dishes in bowls of ice. Otherwise, use small serving trays and replace them with cold foods from the refrigerator when more food is needed.
• Observe the Two-Hour Rule
• Foods should not sit at room temperature for more than two hours.
• Replace empty platters rather than adding fresh food to a dish that already had food in it.
• Cook Thoroughly
• Cook foods thoroughly to safe temperatures. Always use afood thermometer.

Preventing Tick-borne Disease

• Walk in the center of the trail to avoid picking up ticks from grass and brush.
• Use a good tick repellent:
• Products containing permethrin, which are used on clothing, are especially recommended for people who will be spending an extended period of time in possible tick habitat.
• Permethrin products are marketed under names like Permanone® and Duranon® and are available in stores that sell outdoor gear.
• Do not use permethrin on your skin.
• Standard DEET-based products are another option.
• Use a product containing no more than 30 percent DEET for adults.
• Concentrations up to 30 percent DEET are also safe for children (acording to reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics). Do not use DEET for infants under two months of age.
• Products containing DEET will also protect you from mosquito bites andmosquito-transmitted diseases.
• Follow the manufacturer's directions for all repellent applications.
• Wear clothes that will help shield you from ticks.
• Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants.
• Tuck your pants into the top of your socks or boots to create a "tick barrier.”
• Wear light colored clothes to make it easier to spot ticks.
• Check frequently for ticks and remove them promptly.

Ticks must remain attached for one to two days before they can transmit the Lyme disease bacteria.

Check the hairline and behind the ears and points of clothing constriction (e.g. behind knees, waist line, and arm pits).

Tick removal
If you live near the woods in an area with blacklegged ticks:

• Keep your lawn mowed short.
• Remove leaves and clear the brush around your house and at the edges of the yard.
• Keep children’s play-sets or swing-sets in a sunny and dry area of the yard.
• Make a landscape barrier (such as a three foot wide border of wood chips) between your lawn and the woods.

Prevention for pets
A vaccine to prevent Lyme disease is available for dogs. However, the vaccine will not stop your dog from bringing ticks into the home.

• Check your dog or cat for ticks before allowing them inside.
• Topical tick repellents are available for pets.
• Talk to your veterinarian about these options.

Tick removal
If you find a tick on yourself, remove the tick promptly.

• Prompt tick removal is important.
• If possible, use a pair of tweezers to grasp the tick by the head.
• Grasp the tick close to the skin
• Pull the tick outward slowly, gently, and steadily
• Do not squeeze the tick
• Use an antiseptic on the bite.
• Avoid folk remedies like Vaseline®, nail polish remover or burning matches - they are not a safe or effective way to remove ticks.

The foods that contain probiotics are what I think of as, “living” foods, they are not “processed foods”. I always think of processed foods as foods that are definitely “dead”, not even close to being alive.

The foods that contain high counts of Probiotics are:
• Yogurt with “live and active cultures”
• Sauerkraut and kim chee
• Miso -soybean paste, you may have tried miso soup
• Soft cheeses like Gouda
• Kefir - yummy yogurt tasting drink
• Buttermilk
• Acidophilus milk
• Tempeh which is fermented soybeans, this is a great meat replacer, cut it up and saute in your stir fry.
This is usually found in the “natural food” area, in refrigerated section. It is 1⁄2 inch x 6 inch x 3 inches.

There is plain and also marinated.
• Pickles fermented without vinegar, instead of fermented in water and salt.

Prebiotics are foods that contain nourishment for the good bacteria. Including both prebiotic and probiotics in
your diet is a wonderful mix that may improve your immunity. Some great sources of prebiotics are bananas, berries, garlic, greens, leeks, onions, artichokes, wheat, honey, flax and oatmeal.

• The CDC (Center for Disease Control) has a travelers health website loaded with valuable travel information for health risks, vaccinations required, and specific travel notices for specific destinations. This information can be found at http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel. You can choose the destination link, and select the country you are planning to visit for country specific information.

• Travelers’ diarrhea is the most predictably vacation acquired illness. High risk areas include Asia, Middle East, Africa, Mexico, South and Central America. Steps to help decrease the risk of diarrhea when vacationing include: 1) Pack small containers of alcohol based hand sanitizers. 2) Eat food that has been freshly cooked and piping hot. 3) Drink bottled water which has labeled as processed against Cryptosporidium, or bring with iodine tablets and potable water filters if one will need to drink well water or water that is questionably sanitized. 4) Avoid ice cubes or fresh fruit drinks. One has no control of food purchased from vendors or restaurants, so consider the environment, food handling sanitation, and other risks before eating from commercial businesses.

• Be sure your routine vaccinations are up to date. Travel in some countries will require additional vaccinations for malaria, hepatitis A, or yellow fever, etc. See your health care provider at least 4-6 weeks prior to scheduled travel to allow time for vaccines to take effect and to start taking medicine to prevent malaria, if you need it.

• If the area has mosquitos or arthropods, have insect repellents, and appropriate clothing packed to help protect from insect bites. Beware of key insect biting times and check for tick bites.

• Inspect hotel room for bed bugs by examining bedding, and mattresses. If bed bugs are found seek other lodging. Keep suitcase closed and off the floor if possible; remove clothes from suitcase only when wearing and return them to the suitcase when done wearing them.

• Be sure you are healthy enough to travel for planned itinerary, and have a plan for what to do if you get ill while on vacation. Pack necessary medications including prescriptions, anti inflammatories, antidiarrheal, and anti malaria medications if needed, and be aware of how you are feeling. Keep a list of medications with you and a list of areas where health care can be obtained at the locations you will be visiting. Travelers may get information about local health care from embassies and consulates of other countries, hotel doctors, and credit card companies.

Vacations are meant to relax, renew and re-energize. Careful attention to your surroundings and health risks, and preparing for the area you are planning to visit, may help insure a healthy experience.

Did you know that 1 tsp of ground cinnamon has as much antioxidant activity as 8 ounces of pomegranate juice or 1/2 cup fresh blueberries?

Some quick ideas:

• Keep a shaker of cinnamon handy to sprinkle over everything; hot cocoa, oatmeal, plain or vanilla yogurt, vanilla ice cream, fruit ald.
• Add ginger to hot or iced tea. Sweeten 1 cup of tea with honey and 1/4 tsp. ground ginger.
• New take on grilled cheese: prepare with mozzarella cheese, sliced tomato and 1/4 tsp oregano leaves.
• Add 1/8 tsp thyme leaves before scrambling those eggs.
• Add 1/4 tsp ground red pepper or paprika to guacamole or hummus.
• Add 1/2 tsp yellow curry to 2 cups of hot cooked rice. Add texture with shredded carrots, peas, raisins or toasted sliced almonds.

1. Use generics whenever possible or choose a preferred brand if a generic is not available. The best way to be sure you are getting exactly the drug you need, branded or generic, is to consult with your provider. When your doctor prescribes a drug for you, ask if there is a generic equivalent.
2. check to see if your health insurance provider offers a mail order option to reduce your co-pays and receive up to a 90-day supply at the same cost as two retail refills. Many offer the convenience of home delivery.

3. Check with your local pharmacy. To entice you into their stores, some offer commonly prescribed generic drugs for $4 or zero co-pays. IT PAYS TO SHOP AROUND.

I’ve had employees tell me, “I just can’t afford to continue to take my medications.” When money is tight, prescription drugs may seem like a luxury that you can't afford, but don't give up on treatment. -- for example, pill splitting and using mail order pharmacies may help you until your finances recover.

Since the cold winter months are upon us and the cold and flu season is usually prevalent at this time, here are some facts about antibiotic usage and antibiotic resistance to keep in mind when trying to find cures for these ailments. Antibiotics cure bacterial infections, not viral infections such as colds or flu, coughs and bronchitis, sore throats not caused by strep, or runny noses.

Antibiotics, also known as antimicrobial drugs, are drugs that fight infections caused by bacteria. Alexander Fleming discovered the first antibiotic, penicillin, in 1927. Since that time antibiotics have transformed medical care and dramatically reduced illness and death from infectious diseases. Although antibiotics have many beneficial effects, their use has contributed to the problem of antibiotic resistance.

Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in some way that reduces or eliminates the effectiveness of the drug designed to cure or prevent infections. These resistant bacteria survive and continue to multiply causing more harm. Antibiotic resistance has been called one of the world’s most pressing public health problems. Almost every type of bacteria has become stronger and less responsive to antibiotic treatment when it is really needed. These antibiotic-resistant bacteria can quickly spread to family members, schoolmates, and co-workers- threatening the community with a new strain of infectious disease that is more difficult to cure and more expensive to treat. Methicillin Resistant Staph Aureus, and Vancomycin Resistant Staphylococcus and Streptococcus are several examples of bacterial infections that are very difficult to treat because of antibiotic resistance that has developed to these organisms.

You can help prevent antibiotic-resistant infections by only using antibiotics when they are likely to be beneficial. Here are some useful tips to remember published by the CDC.

1. Talk to your healthcare provider about antibiotic resistance:

Ask whether and antibiotic is likely to be beneficial for your illness
Ask what else you can do to feel better sooner

2. Do not take antibiotics for a viral infection like a cold or the flu.

 3. Do not save some of your antibiotic for the next time you get sick. Complete your prescribed course of treatment and discard any leftover medication.

4. Take an antibiotic exactly as the healthcare provider tells you. Do not skip doses. Complete the prescribed course of treatment even if you are feeling better. If treatment stops too soon, some bacteria survive and re-infect.

5. Do not take antibiotics prescribed for someone else. The antibiotic may not be appropriate for your illness or age.

6. If your healthcare provider determines that you do not have a bacterial infection, ask about ways to help relieve symptoms. Do not pressure your provider to prescribe an antibiotic.

Our laboratory routinely calculates the antibiotic resistant/sensitivity patterns of bacterial grown on cultures submitted. This information is used by your pharmacy and providers to help determine appropriate antibiotics for your treatment.