Happy Thanksgiving!

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CONSUMER DINING & PURCHASING ADVICE: The FDA has advised that raw green scallions (green onions) may pose a health risk of Hepatitis A.  To decrease your risk, only eat scallions that have been thoroughly cooked (boiled, baked, or sautéed) or will be cooked (if used as part of another food item or mixed with another item). Exercise caution about where you choose to eat and purchase food items.

When purchasing prepared foods or dining out, check carefully that any items do not contain raw or lightly cooked scallions. Ask if items contain scallions or green onions. When in doubt, don't eat an item.

Questions? Check out the FDA's FAQs on the current outbreak.

If you travel to areas with questionable hygiene and sanitation standards (in or out of the United States), you should consult with your physician about getting a Hepatitis A vaccine shot.

TIP: If you have not eaten potentially contaminated items, but have a health condition that may put you at additional or serious risk if you should contract Hepatitis A, contact a physician and discuss whether you should get a Hepatitis A vaccine shot. (Note: The vaccine is designed to work before you are exposed to a potential contaminant.)

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Eating. Shopping. Sleeping. Game Playing. Partying. TV and video watching. These shared activities can be fun and important bonding opportunities for geographically dispersed friends and family who come together for the holidays. But there are a few other activities that can add years of joy and ensure good health for every generation. If you really want to invest in your family's health and well-being, use your next family gathering as opportunity to:

► Begin Collecting Your Family's Medical History

Want to give a gift that everyone can enjoy--forever? Give the gift of your clan's medical history. It's the ultimate healthy gift--one that can add years to you and your loved ones' lives; prevent many life-threatening diseases; and improve the overall quality of life for every generation.

For many families, the end-of-the-year holiday gatherings are one of the few times the various branches of the family meet and talk at length. It's a perfect opportunity to start collecting vital information needed to create an overview of your family's health history.

Knowing the accurate and in-depth details of your family's health is becoming more and more important in both preventing and treating many common (and more serious) diseases. What the youngest members learn now about the older living and departed members can help them make what could be life-or-death lifestyle choices. Knowing a family's history of breast, uterine, or prostate cancer; mental health issues; a predisposition to heart disease, diabetes, or neurological problems, for example, can help everyone more accurately assess their personal health risks. With that information, they can prevent many problems and ensure more accurate diagnoses and treatment for current or future problems. 

Tips for Getting Started:

• Designate the most diplomatic, tactful, and considerate members to serve as a go-betweens, facilitators, and information gatherers. Even close families are often notoriously private when it comes to sharing such intimate details.

• Ask members from each generation to participate in the data-collection process. Don't assume that the most senior (or dominant) members should supervise the process.

• Consider enlisting the services of a non-family member (See Resources, below.). Families that are estranged or less close (as well as those who don't have the time or resources) may require the help of a non-family member or a health/medical counselor to collect the needed data.

          Some folks may be more comfortable, cooperative, and forthcoming about sharing private info if

          they provide it to an objective medical professional who will act as a coordinator on behalf of the

          family.

• Respect the participants' privacy. You may have to promise a degree of confidentiality to get total cooperation. Negotiate. Discuss. Beg, if you have to. But get all the data you can.

• Don't rely on handwritten notes. Taped interviews, which can be transcribed and inputted onto a computer at a later date, can help ensure more accurate and complete data that can more easily be shared among family members as the "report" is finalized.

• Use multiple methods of data collection. Use snail-mail and e-mail questionnaires and forms to ensure that you cover all the topics with each and every member.

• Let participants review their input and allow time for fact checking.

RESOURCES:

• Healthcare financial executive and patient advocate Lan Lievense, the founder of HealthCare Financial Advocates, offers a unique "Hereditary Health Documentation" service for families. For more information: info@healthcarefinancialadvocates.com; 805-389-1750 (phone); 805-384-4456 (fax)
 

• The Family Medical Journal: Recording Your Family's Medical History
by Kris Solie-Johnson (to be published in December, 2003)

• Past Imperfect: How Tracing Your Family Medical History Can Save Your Life
(Carol Daus and Jeanne Homer)
 

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►Discuss Your Personal Wishes for Medical Emergencies and End-of-Life Care

Lest you think I'm being morbid, consider this. If you really love your family, would you ever want to have them try to second-guess your wishes on end-of-life care? Or see them forced to make life-or-death medical treatment decisions with no understanding of your true desires? Trust me, I've been there and it's a situation you want to avoid at all costs.

Maybe you missed the ongoing story of the battling parents and husband of Terry Schiavo, a woman who has been on life support for over a decade since a medical incident in her twenties. I doubt if her family ever thought they'd be in this situation. But lacking any written documentation of Ms. Schiavo's wishes, the family is locked in a legal battle that only adds to the struggle of their day-to-day caregiving. It happened to them, and it can happen to you. Pretending otherwise, and failing to prepare for such a possibility is tantamount to neglecting your family duties.

So whether you're single, married, or whatever; the grandparent, the parent, the sibling, spouse, or child; a product of a "new" family; in your teens or your eighties; you need a living will or an advance-care directive that details your healthcare wishes and designates someone to make decisions for you if you are unable to do so for yourself.

There's no substitute for a well-thought out, properly executed and legally binding living will or advance-care directive. But before you start acquiring and filling out forms, you need to sit down and talk honestly and in depth, about your personal wishes with your family and other loved ones. Even the presence of legally binding documents can't prevent some of the heart-breaking disagreements that can arise when someone's medical care is questioned by family or friends.

TIP: Before completing the various forms, make sure you fully understand what is involved in the various healthcare options. Many people are unfamiliar with the medical terminology or with how such choices are physically implemented. Seek advice from a medical professional to be sure you understand your options. Most important, discuss your decisions, and the reasons for them, with those will be most affected by them.

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A WARNING TO CAFFEINE COUNTERS: If you're trying to limit your caffeine intake for health or other reasons, you may want to consider switching to decaf. If the findings of a study published in the October issue of the Journal of Analytical Toxicology are correct, it's virtually impossible to get an accurate reading on your cup of Joe's caffeine count.

Researchers reviewed both caffeinated and decaffeinated specialty coffee and espresso samples. The results:

• The caffeine counts are inconsistent: Caffeine content varies from cup to cup, from day to day, as well as from shop to shop.

• The levels of caffeine varied from 58 to 259 milligrams per serving. A medium-size (16-ounce) cup of Starbucks' regular brew topped the high end with 259 milligrams. (But a single shot of the chain's espresso logged the lowest caffeine level, 58 milligrams.)

OTHER NEW PRODUCTS: Applebee's is now testing low-cal menu items (entrees, appetizers and desserts) developed with input from Weight Watchers. The company is currently offering 11 items in Kansas City; Providence, R.I.; Portland, Oregon; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Birmingham, Alabama, outlets. The full roll-out (for the most popular items) is expected in late 2004. Menu items will include WW's point information. ...Organic food fans, take note. Campbell is now debuting a new, Organic Tomato Juice--its first certified organic product and reportedly the first organic tomato juice. ◄

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