August 24th, 2007 by Dr. Val Jones in Opinion
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A new study in the American Journal of Public Health reports that teens can expect a 50% reduced risk of developing chlamydia and gonorrhea if they use condoms from their very first sexual experience. Starting to use condoms later on can certainly protect against disease – but it seems that there is something important about using them from the beginning. In other words, people who use condoms from day 1 are more likely to keep using them regularly, and are therefore less likely to contract sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
I could enter into some awkward speculation about why this is true (maybe it’s easier to get used to the sensation of wearing a condom if it’s all you’ve ever known? Maybe using condoms from the start is more likely to make it a habit?) but more importantly, a 50% reduction in sexually transmitted infections is an incredibly huge margin of success. Sadly, sex education programs for youth have had mixed success in increasing consistent condom use. This study seems to suggest that for those students who receive the message, and use condoms from their first experience, there is a much greater chance of avoiding STIs. Early sex education, therefore, may have more benefit than sex education offered after an adolescent is sexually active.
Of course, like Dr. Stryer, I feel a bit concerned about over-exposing elementary school kids to sexual messaging. But since kids are already exposed via TV, the Internet, and various other media, it behooves us to arm them with age-appropriate information at the earliest point possible. Abstinence is the only 100% guarantee of an STI-free adolescence – but since ~50% of teens are sexually active (regardless of beliefs, sex education, or parental controls) it might be best to teach them that condoms are an inextricable part of all sexual intercourse. Sexually transmitted diseases can mean the difference between fertility and infertility, long life, or earlier death for our kids. With stakes this high, consistent condom use should be our mantra.
This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
August 23rd, 2007 by Dr. Val Jones in News
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I’ve always thought that bats got a bad rap. Just because one type of bat sucks blood from unsuspecting cattle, a whole vampire legend has unfolded, spun by Hollywood executives looking to feed upon a new movie blockbuster. But what about the other 700 species of bats who are vegetarian or eat mosquitoes and other bug pests?
Well, it’s getting harder and harder to defend these cuties, especially since two very incriminating reports were released recently. Apparently, rabid bats are turning up in Illinois, and certain fruit bats are carrying an ebola-like virus in Africa. So what’s a human to do? Basically, you should avoid bats – don’t touch them or play with them. And if you encounter one in your attic, it’s best to presume that it could carry the rabies virus and call in professionals to remove it. I would be especially wary of bats in sub-saharan Africa (for all those of you who frequent that part of the globe) since the Marburg virus they carry is quite lethal.
There have been recent cases of bat-bourn rabies in Canada so although it’s really rare – it’s something to keep in mind.
Here’s to bat free living…
Addendum: just today a woman in Chicago was bitten by a rabid bat when trying to remove it from her home. Guess she didn’t read my blog. 
This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
August 8th, 2007 by Dr. Val Jones in News
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The New York Times exposed an interesting counter-culture phenomenon today: drinking raw milk. Grocery store milk has been heated and packaged in a nearly sterile fashion so that no harmful bacteria are in it. Farmers collect raw milk from cows, then pasteurize (a heat treatment) and homogenize (blend the creamy part with the skim part) it before packaging the milk for human consumption. This process has virtually eliminated milk borne illness in this country, including the transmission of Tuberculosis, Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria.
So why are people fascinated with raw milk and seeking out farmers who will sell them milk prior to heat treatment? Raw milk does taste slightly different (I think it’s a little bit more “gamey”) and there’s no doubt that the creamy layer that floats on the top is delicious. In New York City raw milk has a black market, cult following. Should you jump on the bandwagon?
As my regular readers know, I grew up on an organic dairy farm, and had the pleasure of handling cows up close and personal for at least a decade. In fact, their sweet-smelling grass breath, and not so sweet-smelling cow patties are etched permanently in my mind. Cows are curious, somewhat dim witted, and generally oblivious to the terrain upon which they tread.
Cows will stand in manure for hours without a moment’s regret, should you present them with fresh hay to eat or some nice shortfeed. They drop patties on the ground, in their troughs, and occasionally on one other. Their flicking tails often get caked with manure as they swish flies away and they scratch their udders with dirty hooves as well.
This is why when it comes time to milk them, farmers need to wipe their udders carefully with a disinfectant scrub before applying the milk machine. Mastitis (or infection of the udder teets) is not uncommon, and is a reason for ceasing to milk a cow until the infection has cleared.
And so, the cleanliness of raw milk depends upon whether or not the farmer removes all the excrement carefully, scrubs the teets well, and remembers not to milk the cows with mastitits. It also matters whether or not the cows are harboring certain strains of bacteria – which often don’t harm the cow, but cause very serious problems for humans.
Did I drink raw milk as a kid? Occasionally, yes. Were my parents super-careful about the cleanliness of the milk? Yes. Did I ever get sick from raw milk? No. Would I give raw milk to my kids? No.
I appreciate that gourmands want to experience the flavor of raw foods, but for me, the risks are simply not worth it when it comes to milk. There is no appreciable nutritional benefit to drinking raw milk (in fact, store bought milk is fortified with Vitamin D, which is critical for healthy bones), and it caries a small risk of serious infection. If adults want to take that risk, they may do so – but I would strongly encourage them not to put their kids at risk. I agree with the FDA’s ban on interstate sales of unpasteurized milk, and would not want to see raw milk available widely for general consumption. Of course, to get around this ban, some companies are selling raw milk and cheese under the label “pet food.”
It’s a crazy country we live in – anti-bacterial hand wipes, soaps, gels, plastics and an insatiable appetite for raw milk. As a doctor, I throw up my hands. What do you think?This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
June 29th, 2007 by Dr. Val Jones in News
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Well, having grown up on a yogurt farm – nothing delights me more than scientific evidence that this fine dairy treat is good for your health. Hats off to my friends at the Imperial College, London who just published a study showing that elderly, hospitalized individuals may use yogurt to avert nasty bacterial infections that cause explosive diarrhea.
Yes, it’s the battle of the bugs at its best – the most common yogurt bacteria: Lactobacillus casei, L. bulgaricus, and Streptococcus thermophilus work together as pretty effective colonic bouncers for enemy bug C. difficile. In this study, elderly patients (n=57) at risk for hospital acquired diarrhea (due to antibiotic use) were given 2 small active culture yogurt drinks/day during the time they received antibiotics and for one week afterwards. Another group (n=56) was given similar drinks, but the yogurt cultures had been sterilized with heat (so there were no actual live bacteria in the yogurt).
And guess what? None of the patients who drank the live yogurt got C. difficile infections, while 9 in the other group did! That means that for every 5 elderly people in the hospital (and taking antibiotics) you could potentially save one from getting a painful gut infection.
So if grandma’s in the hospital on antibiotics, you might want to ask her doctor if she can eat yogurt. It may make the difference between a short stay and a long and unpleasant healthcare experience.This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
June 19th, 2007 by Dr. Val Jones in News
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This was one of the strangest news items in my inbox this week. Apparently, British cattle are catching tuberculosis from the local badger population. Now, the only thing that I thought the two animals had in common was their coloring… but I guess they must hang out together with sufficient frequency to pass on TB infections.
In fact, one BBC News report suggests that farms with larger hedges had lower rates of cattle TB infections… presumably because the hedges kept the badgers from fraternizing as much with the cows. This finding provides a nice alternative to badger culling, a practice that the animal rights folks do not endorse.
But what does this mean for humans? Well, according to the CDC, cattle TB (caused by a special strain of mycobacterium – M. bovis) has been virtually eradicated in the US due to herd culling and milk pasteurization methods. Cattle TB doesn’t tend to infect the lungs, so it’s less transmissible via droplets and such. So even if you’re in England and Bessy the cow sneezes on you, you probably won’t catch TB. But if you drink Bessy’s unpasteurized milk or cheese products, you’ve got yourself a risky situation. As for badgers – they’re not very affectionate anyway, so I wouldn’t try to befriend them.This post originally appeared on Dr. Val’s blog at RevolutionHealth.com.
