1000629 A Burning Issue

A Burning Issue

New sunscreen rules make for a healthier summer

By Cameron Keady

School's out for summer! June 21 marked the official first day of the highly anticipated season. Students nationwide will soon be out of the classroom and in the warm summer rays. However, there will soon be a new set of rules for fun in the sun. On June 14, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced new regulations for sunscreen labeling.

The rules will go into effect next summer. They require sunscreen makers to create and advertise products that protect against both UVA and UVB rays. Both kinds of rays can cause skin cancer. UVB rays cause sunburn. New sunscreen labeling must clearly explain the effectiveness of the sunscreen and the level of protection it offers. "These changes to sunscreen labels are an important part of helping consumers have the information they need so they can choose the right sun protection for themselves and their families," said Dr. Janet Woodcock, FDA drug division director.

Word Play

The hot term to look for on new labels is "broad spectrum," which means that the sunscreen protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Past sunscreen labels have advertised protection only against UVB rays. If a sunscreen does not meet this broad-spectrum standard, its label must include a warning saying it hasn't been shown to help reduce the sun's harmful effects.

The new rules also require manufacturers to shift from labeling sunscreen as "waterproof" or "sweatproof," terms the FDA has referred to as "exaggerations of performance," to terms like "water resistant." Calling a product waterproof suggests sunscreen does not need to be reapplied after swimming or sweating, putting consumers at a greater risk for sunburn and skin disease. New labels will provide a time frame indicating how long sunscreen is effective while swimming or sweating.

Strength in Numbers

The sun protection factor, or SPF, is a familiar label to sunscreen users. SPF labels give a number, usually anywhere between 2 and 50. Some labels go as high as 100. People who want greater sun protection often reach for sunscreens with a high SPF number. The FDA's new guidelines call into question the effectiveness of sunscreens with SPFs higher than 50. "Right now, we don't have any data to show that anything above [SPF] 50 adds any value for anybody," Dr. Woodcock told the New York Times. Unless manufacturers can provide solid results of protection by sunscreens with a higher SPF, the FDA is proposing to limit sun protection factors to 50.

On the lower end of the number spectrum, sunscreens with an SPF between 2 and 14 are required to have a warning label: "This product has been shown only to help prevent sunburn, not skin cancer or early aging." With more than 1 million Americans diagnosed each year with skin cancer, the FDA believes that new labeling guidelines will help people protect themselves from the sun.

Max- It's summer right now, so when the weather is very hot, many people will go to the beach. But, the sun is very bright, do you know that playing in the beach will cause sunburn? Becuase of this, we would spread some sunscreen to protect ourselves from sunburn. Two kinds of rays will cause sunburn, called UVA and UVB sunrays, and those two rays can also cause skin cancer. Most people wanted to prevent sunburn, so they buy sunscreen with a higher SPF. And some sunscreens with a lower SPF only prevents us from sunburn, but does not prevent us from skin cancer.  So if you go to the beach, you should notice about the sunscreen you spread on, then you can prevent yourself form sunburn and skin cancer!   

1000625 A Balanced Food Plate

A Balanced Food Plate

The USDA replaces the traditional food pyramid with a simple food plate

By Kelli Plasket

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is serving Americans a new plate. To help consumers better balance their meals, the USDA and First Lady Michelle Obama announced on Thursday that the government is throwing out its familiar but complicated food pyramid. The pyramid had been used to represent nutritional guidelines. It will be replaced by a symbol that the USDA hopes is easier to understand: a food plate.

"When it comes to eating, what's more useful than a plate?" Mrs. Obama said Thursday during a news conference unveiling the new icon, called 'MyPlate.' The USDA, which provides nutritional guidelines to consumers, first introduced the food pyramid icon in 1992. The USDA revised the symbol in 2005 to reduce the significance of grains and include exercise. Many nutrition experts had criticized the pyramid-shaped guide. It was too complicated for people to easily understand when making food choices, they said. So the USDA partnered with Michelle Obama and her "Let's Move" campaign to better show consumers how to build a healthy meal. The Let's Move initiative aims to "put children on the path to a healthy future."

"This is a quick, simple reminder for all of us to be more mindful of the foods that we're eating," the First Lady said at the conference. She emphasized the importance of having a kid-friendly nutrition symbol. "[Children] can learn to use this tool now and use it for the rest of their lives," she said.

It's Not a 'Pie' Chart!

The plate icon is a colorful circle graph divided into four sections representing fruits, vegetables, protein and grains, plus an additional small circle on the side for dairy. It illustrates that half your meals should be fruits and vegetables, a little more than a quarter should be whole grains and a bit less than a quarter should be protein, plus a small amount of dairy.

The symbol also serves as a reminder to control portion sizes and to consider various options for each category. Nutritionist Toni Bloom is the co-founder of Funfoodle, which provides hands-on food and nutrition education to kids and their parents. Bloom told TFK that the icon's simple message, such as a clear emphasis on fruits and vegetables, makes it practical and effective for families. "I like how 'clean' the plate is," she said. "There are no foods pictured on it, just words that represent a food group. This subtly suggests that any food can fit as long as it is portioned correctly and is a food that can clearly fit into a food group."

On the MyPlate website, the USDA provides a tool to determine more specific serving sizes based on your age and health. Other dietary guidelines from the USDA's include eating whole grains for at least half your grain servings, choosing low- or fat-free milk and water over sugary drinks; and selecting soups, bread and frozen meals with lower sodium, or salt, levels.

Max- We knew that keeping healthy is the best way to live longer. So we always have some good ways to keep healthy. Like doing some sports and exercises, and some good healthy habits will be good for being healthy. But the most important thing to get healthy is to eat balanced meals. Many peoples’ meals aren’t balanced enough, some eat very many meat and fast foods and some eat very less vegetables. Eating balanced meals can protect us from getting many diseases, from colds to getting a fever, from being fat to getting cancers, that’s why eating a balanced meal is very important! To have a balanced meal, we must eat many vegetables and fruits, and some grains, and a little meat and dairy. If you eat balanced meals and do some exercises every day, you will become healthy very much!

1000621 A Bad Bug

A Bad Bug

A germ called E. coli causes a deadly outbreak in northern Germany

By Liz Sawyer             

German officials continue to search for the cause of the world deadliest E.coli bacteria outbreak. The outbreak began on May 2 near the city of Hamburg in northern Germany. A crop of vegetables is the likely cause.

So far, the super-strong strain of E. coli has sickened 2,400 people in 12 countries, including the United States. It has killed 24 people. More cases are being reported every day.

What Is E. coli?

E. coli are bacteria that live in the guts of humans and animals. They help the body break down and digest food. Most of the time, E. coli are harmless. But sometimes they can get into food, including meat and vegetables. How does that happen? The bacteria are found in cattle poop, called manure, which is used to grow crops. Bacteria can also get into food when water contaminated with E. coli is used to irrigate crops.

When eaten, the bacteria may cause a severe infection. Symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting and cramps. Most people recover from the bug within a week, but sometimes it can be deadly.

Which Crop Is the Culprit?

The exact cause of the outbreak is still unknown. Last week, German officials apologized after identifying Spanish cucumbers as the source. On Sunday, the government claimed that bean sprouts grown in northern Germany were actually to blame. After testing both crops, neither vegetable showed signs of the dangerous strain of E. coli.

Guenael Rodier of the World Health Organization said these results don necessarily let the bean sprouts off the hook. Investigators continue to test the crop for signs of the bacteria.

"Just because tests are negative doesn’t mean you can rule them out," Rodier said. "The bacteria could have been in just one batch of contaminated food. By the time you collect specimens from the samples that are left, [the bacteria] could be gone."

A Tough Task

Scientists say identifying the source of the contaminated crops may be difficult now because the produce has likely disappeared from the marketplace.

"It like looking at camera footage of a traffic intersection today to see what caused an accident three weeks ago," says Michael Osterholm. He is the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.

Osterholm adds that finding the source of the outbreak may take time, but still, it not an impossible task. In the mean time, consumers are being extra cautious about what and where they eat.

To learn more about food safety, click here.

Max- E. coli is just like other germs that live in the guts and help digest food. It is harmless when it’s in the own place, but when they go outside the guts, it won’t be harmless anymore. Like most of the germs, they can spread from place to place. And if they spread from the water to the soil and to the food we eat, we would be infected by the germs. Now, one kind of germ called E. coil started to let Germans sick, and some even died. This germ now cause more than a thousand people infected, and about 20 people died. Germans still didn’t know which crop E. coil existed, But after they thought that the cucumbers in Spain would be the culprit, they found out that the bean sprouts in northern Germany is the real culprit. Now, these two vegetables didn’t have E. coil in it, but we don’t know how long to let the infection stop.

1000603 A May Day for Mom

A May Day for Mom

You may know your mom, but how well do you really know Mother's Day?

By Carolyn R. Buchanan

Cards, flowers, sales, TV specials, and a day off for someone who really deserves it—that's what probably springs to mind for many people when they think about Mother's Day. But there's definitely more to the story.

The Earliest Mother's Day

Mother's Day hasn't been around as long as moms have, but the tradition does go way back. The earliest Mother's Day celebrations were held in the springtime in ancient Greece. The celebrations honored Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday," a day in which even servants were given the day off to spend with their families. A "mothering cake" was even served with the family meal.

Mother's Day Here at Home

In the U.S., Mother's Day began in 1872 when Julia Ward Howe, who wrote the words to famous song "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," suggested it as a day dedicated to peace. But it didn't really catch on until 1907 when Anna Jarvis started a campaign to honor her own mother. She believed that mothers could help people get over the pain they experienced during the Civil War.

Moms Celebrated All Over the World

The U.S. isn't alone in devoting a day to its mothers. Many other countries including Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, Japan, and Belgium also celebrate their moms in May. Other countries honor their moms at different times of the year.

Learning more about and celebrating Mother's Day is important, but probably not as important as understanding what your own mom, or grandmother, or aunt or anyone you choose to celebrate on May 10 has really done for you. And that will certainly be appreciated more than one day a year.

Max- Our mothers are very important for us, so we need to thank our mother to let us eat food, wear some clothes and clean our home. So now there is a Mother’s Day, which is a festival to thank our mother.   There are many ways to celebrate Mother’s Day, the ordinary way is to give a card to their mother, and write some words on the card to thank their mother. Others give flowers, presents, and even cakes to thank their mother. But, it isn’t important to use a special way or not, we just need to let our mothers know we thank them a lot.   There are many countries that celebrate Mother’s Day, but some countries don’t celebrate Mother’s Day at the second Sunday of May. Some people don’t know Mother’s Day started celebrating about two or three hundred years. So Mother’s Day is very important!