Table of Contents
FDA Consumer magazine
January-February 2000

One out of every two men and one out of every three women will develop heart disease, which claims nearly a half million lives yearly in this country. Whether you have heart disease or want to prevent it, you can reduce your risk of having a heart attack by lowering your cholesterol level. How? The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute tells you at www.nhlbi.nih.gov/chd/. On the "Live Healthier, Live Longer" Website, you can learn all about coronary heart disease and its connection to high cholesterol levels, as well as risk factors and prevention tips.

Stumped for ideas that'll help you ace your next school report? Then check out the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition's "Student Resources" page. It contains valuable research and writing tips and links to good report topics, including: cosmetics, health fraud, losing weight, nutrition, pesticides, how laws are made, and food labels. For a leg up on your next research paper, go to www.cfsan.fda.gov/~comm/students.html.

Despite ongoing progress in the nation's overall health, disparities in illness and death continue to exist for blacks, Hispanics, American Indians, and Alaskan natives compared with the U.S. population as a whole, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. One of the ways the federal government is combating these inconsistencies is by boosting outreach in six areas of concern within racial and ethnic communities: infant mortality, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and immunizations. At www.raceandhealth.omhrc.gov, you can find background on the six areas, as well as a description of how to reach goals for curbing disparities and how to get involved in the program.

Ever wonder how safe microwave ovens are and how best to use them? Or how microwaves work their magic in heating food? FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health explains this and more at www.fda.gov/cdrh/consumer/microwave.html. Learn about FDA's standard that limits the quantity of microwaves that can leak from an oven throughout its lifetime. The site also has other tips, such as a warning that commercial microwave testing devices are generally inaccurate and unreliable.

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