Make Our Food Work For Us

by guest blogger Jody Perrecone

Earlier this month, I attended Veggie Fest in Naperville, Illinois.  Not just for vegetarians, this festival drew over 25,000 people, had food demonstrations, dozens of speakers, and over 100 booths.

One of the speakers was Sara Sukumar, PhD, Professor of Oncology and Pathology and Director of the Breast Cancer Program at Johns Hopkins University. She spoke on anti-cancer properties in specific foods.  Here is her list:

Common Cold Remedies - Fact vs. Fiction

It's the middle of winter and you know what that means. Cough and cold season is in full swing for many families and households. There's nothing worse than coming down with a wicked case of the common cold. It can sideline you for a week or more, which is the last thing anyone has time for.

The common cold is most typically caused by the rhinovirus[1]. Symptoms start showing up within 24-48 hours of contracting the virus and include the following:

• Sore throat
• Fatigue
• Low-grade fever
• Nasal congestion
• Runny nose
• Watery eyes
• Cough

These symptoms last about 7 days for most and can make for a miserable week. It can also have a miserable effect on our nation's pocketbook. In fact, the common cold leads to $25 billion in lost productivity in our society due to absenteeism, reduction in on-the-job productivity, and caregiver absenteeism[2]. With so much at stake many people will do anything to feel better. Many of these efforts involve turning to age old remedies that our parents and grandparents handed down to us. But do these remedies work or do they just make our misery seem less, well, miserable?