Table of Contents
FDA Consumer magazine
September-October 1999

Food Safety for Seniors

Studies show that people over 50 suffer more complications from food-borne illness, including hospitalization and even death, than those younger. "Seniors and Food Safety," at www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/seniors.html, explains why seniors are at risk and how food-borne illness occurs. The site, managed by FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, includes tips on how to prepare food safely at home and how to make sure carry-out food stays safe on the trip home. Visitors also can take a quiz to see if their kitchen passes a food safety test.

The ABCs of safe and healthy child care. Toxic chemicals and the environment. Firearm injuries and fatalities. Helping children prepare for disasters. Internet safety tips for kids. Federal Resources for Educational Excellence, or FREE, brings together resources from dozens of federal agencies, to help consumers and students become better informed on these and many other subjects. At www.ed.gov/free/, users can browse through topics such as aging, chronic conditions, death and dying, disease, mental/emotional health, and nutrition on the "Health and Safety" page. Elsewhere on the site are pages devoted to art, foreign languages, science, and social studies. The Department of Education manages FREE.

The term "alternative medicine" is bandied about liberally these days. But what does it really mean? How can consumers be sure an alternative treatment is on the up and up? One of the best ways is to check out the Website of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) at altmed.od.nih.gov/nccam/. Run by the National Institutes of Health, NCCAM evaluates alternative medical treatments and determines their effectiveness. The site explains current research the center conducts and supports, including potential treatments for AIDS, cancer, stroke, pain, and asthma.

"Some people are shaped like a spoon ... Other people are shaped like an hourglass ... Another shape is a ruler ... No category is better or worse than any other, only different." This advice, from a Website called "BodyWise," www.girlpower.gov, is part of a message to girls between ages 9 and 14 that encourages positive self images, good nutrition, and fitness. Research shows that girls in that age group tend to lose self confidence, sometimes resorting to behavior such as skipping meals as a way to control weight. BodyWise offers important information about the symptoms and dangers of eating disorders. The site is sponsored in part by the Public Health Service's Office of Women's Health.

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