Health Headlines - October 6

Four More Canadians Die of Unknown Illness

Four more residents of a nursing home for the elderly have died of an unknown respiratory illness, bringing the number fatally infected by the disease to 10, Toronto's chief medical officer said Tuesday.

Bush Considers Military Role in Flu Fight

President Bush, stirring debate on the worrisome possibility of a bird flu pandemic, suggested dispatching American troops to enforce quarantines in any areas with outbreaks of the killer virus.

Doctors Warn About Toddlers' Diets

As toddlers begin eating "grown-up" food, they may also develop grown-up eating habits -— like too much junk food and too few vegetables, warn doctors who want parents to change their ways.

WHO: Chronic Disease May Kill 400M by 2015

Nearly 400 million people will die from heart disease, diabetes and other chronic ailments over the next 10 years, but many of those deaths can be prevented by healthier lifestyles and inexpensive medication, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.

Kansas Counties to Test Synthetic Blood

Four Kansas counties are part of a national study that will test a new synthetic blood on critically injured trauma victims.

Liver Cancer Up, Other Kinds Improving

Liver cancer seems to be on the rise, a blip of bad news in the nation's otherwise optimistic annual report on cancer that shows survival continuing to improve.

Researchers Praise Kidney-Swap Program

Researchers are reporting a high success rate for a novel kidney-swap program that proponents say could someday ease the nation's shortage of transplant organs.

Food Fact:
Be skeptical of "superjuices."

So-called "enhanced" drinks may have less than meets the eye. The amount of ginseng in your water, ginkgo in your iced tea or echinacea in your juice is far below the recommended levels claimed to affect energy, memory, immunity or anything else. The problem for drinkmakers: Often, adding enough would affect taste.

Fitness Tip of the day:
Be a walkie-talkie.

Instead of chewing the fat with co-workers over lunch, discuss office issues while you walk. Next time you find yourself in a meeting, suggest to your boss that you take it outside during a stroll around the block or through the office halls. Just 20 minutes a day of brisk walking will lower your risk of serious diseases -- that's just four five-minute walks a day! A half-hour a day is even healthier. Walk 45 minutes a day, and watch your waistline shrink.

FAQ of the day:
Do children need whole milk?

Children only need whole milk until age 2. Up to that age, infants and toddlers need more fat, from a variety of sources, than the rest of us. One reason is that their brains are rapidly developing, and brains are made up mostly from fat. Let your infants and toddlers enjoy their whole milk, whole yogurt and other high-fat dairy foods, as well as plenty of other "good" fats in tofu, fish, nuts and seeds, for example, up to age 2. After that, gradually switch to dairy foods that reduce saturated fat.