You’ve probably heard about the deadly listeria outbreak linked to cantaloupe grown on a Colorado farm, Jensen Farms. Twenty-one deaths (and counting) have been reported out of 109 people infected with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes in over 20 states.

The cantaloupes were voluntarily recalled on September 14, but cantaloupes may still be in refrigerators across the country. Jensen Farms or Rocky Ford-branded cantaloupes should be avoided. Worse, listeria infection can take up to two months to develop in a person who has eaten the cantaloupe, so more illnesses are expected to occur, even after the fruits has been recalled. The CDC and FDA say that cantaloupes from other farms are safe to eat, as this outbreak has been linked to only one farm.

Listeriosis, the disease caused by listeria bacteria, is rare, but is deadly to 30 percent of people infected. Among the elderly, 90 percent are hospitalized after infection. In pregnant women listeria usually causes mild illness, but can result in stillbirths or miscarriages. Previously, listeria outbreaks were mostly associated with deli meats and soft cheeses. Pregnant women are usually cautioned to avoid processed meats and soft cheeses for this reason. Cantaloupe may now be added to that list.

Cantaloupes are known to be more susceptible to bacteria contamination due to their rough skin, a veritable hide-out for bacteria. If listeria is present on the rind, when cut open, the bacteria will contaminate the fruit. It is also more difficult to clean cantaloupe because of the rough surface. It’s probably best to clean the skin, and then also rinse the cut fruit before eating.

For the latest updates, visit the CDC’s listeria webpage.

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A particular parasite, called Cryptosporidium, is showing up in pools, lakes and fountains, causing a diarrheal disease known as cryptosporidiosis, or “crypto” for short. A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 134 disease outbreaks associated with recreational water in 2007 to 2008, when the most recent data is available. That is a 72 percent increase over the previous two-year period. Of all 105 confirmed disease outbreaks in pools and fountains, Cryptosporidium was responsible for 57 percent of them, causing over 12,000 illnesses.

The parasite can cause diarrhea in all age groups, but immune-compromised individuals, the very young, and very old are particularly susceptible to more serious illness upon infection. Symptoms of crypto include abdominal cramping, frequent watery diarrhea, nausea, feeling ill, and even malnutrition and weight loss in severe cases. In most people, however, a crypto infection is not dangerous, but it’s uncomfortable.

Cryptosporidiosis spreads by contact with contaminated water, and as the bacterium is tolerant of chlorine, it may not be possible to avoid contact. While it is not common for a pool to be contaminated with this parasite, Cryptosporidium contamination is increasing. Proper sanitation and hygiene are important for prevention of this illness. People, and especially infants, with diarrhea should not swim in pools until their diarrhea subsides. Infants should wear protective diapers when swimming. Try not to swallow water and be sure to wash hands after swimming to stay on the safe side.

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Autoimmune disease involves a process whereby the immune system mistakes part of the body as a foreign invader, and mounts an attack against it, damaging tissue. The most common autoimmune diseases include type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, celiac disease, psoriasis, lupus, and Grave’s and Hashimoto’s diseases.

Prevalence of autoimmune disease is on the rise. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates as many as 23.5 million Americans may be afflicted with at least one autoimmune condition, up from 8.5 million in 1996. But even this estimate is low, since those numbers only consider 24 autoimmune conditions, when these illnesses actually number over 80.

Though genes do play a role in autoimmune diseases (they tend to run in families), environmental triggers are also involved and contribute to the increase in prevalence rates, according to Fred Miller, director of the Environmental Autoimmunity Group at the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences. “Our gene sequences aren’t changing fast enough to account for the increases,” Miller says. “Yet our environment is—we’ve got 80,000 chemicals approved for use in commerce, but we know very little about their immune effects. Our lifestyles are also different than they were a few decades ago, and we’re eating more processed food.”

Environmental triggers of autoimmunity include: chemicals, infections, stress, hormones, drugs, diet, weight gain and behavior. Of these, chemicals are particularly concerning due to their prevalence in the environment and to the lack of safety testing and regulation. The following toxins have been linked to autoimmunity: polyaromatic hydrocarbons (found in air pollution), heavy metals (lead and mercury), trichloroethylene (an industrial solvent that contaminates our water and air) and asbestos (found in building materials of older buildings).

Studying the link between environmental toxins and any illness is difficult, but because there are so many autoimmune disease, and because each one has different features, studying the link between chemicals and each illness is particularly difficult. Scientists are calling for better ways to link autoimmune diseases together, as occurs with cancer, to increase funding and understanding of what factors trigger this complex of diseases.

In the meantime, reducing toxin exposure, following a healthy diet, and supporting the seven channels of elimination—colon, liver, lungs, lymph, kidneys, skin and blood—with regular internal cleansing is recommended to help reduce toxic burden.

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Ok folks, my weekly challenge involves a very interesting study from Boston University that I came across the other day that I want to share with you. The study looked at a technique known as expressive writing, which involves writing one’s thoughts and feelings about a certain issue. In this study, participants with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) expressed their thoughts and feelings about having IBS. They wrote for 30 minutes on four consecutive days.

Expressive writing was found to improve IBS severity and cognition in participants with longer-term duration of IBS. More studies are needed to confirm the potential for using this method in IBS treatment, but these preliminary results are hopeful.

It turns out that expressive writing has been found to be beneficial for a number of health conditions, like depression, rheumatoid arthritis, high blood pressure, chronic pain, chronic infection, and even length of hospital stay. How cool!

So, this week, if you are suffering from a chronic illness (especially IBS) take 30 minutes out of four days in a row to record your thoughts and feelings about it. Here is an excerpt from the instructions used in the study:

“…Feel free to really let go and explore your very deepest emotions and thoughts. You might tie your topic to your relationships with others, including parents, lovers, friends, or relatives, to your past, your present, your future, or to who you have been, who you would like to be, or who you are now…”

So get out a pen and paper (or your laptop) and let it all out. It may just make you feel better in the long run.

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Exciting news! If you live in the greater Tampa Bay area, be sure watch me LIVE on WEDU-TV tonight from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. for my NEW PBS special, The Road to Perfect Health.

A lot of folks don’t realize that a healthy body begins with a healthy gut. That’s because your digestive tract is where more than 80 percent of your body’s natural defenses are found, and it’s where trillions of bacteria live in a delicate balance to help you absorb nutrients, defend against toxins, and fight off illness and disease—not to mention help with bowel regularity!

But what may surprise you is that even things you wouldn’t normally associate with digestive health—everything from anxiety, joint aches and food sensitivities to fibromyalgia and even high cholesterol—they all start in the gut. That’s how important it is to keep your digestive system running smoothly.

Join me to learn the secret to balancing your gut and healing your body, beginning with the power of probiotics. Those are the beneficial bacteria in your intestines that help with healthy digestion and immune function, and they are the key to a strong GPS, or what I like to call your Gut Protection System. From there, I’ll give you the keys to rebuilding your health from the inside out and finally living the life you’ve always wanted. See you there!

If you don’t live in the Tampa Bay Area, The Road to Perfect Health is also airing nationwide right now through mid-December. Visit PBS for air times and station in your area.

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The day after Thanksgiving, my new PBS television special, The Road to Perfect Health, started airing nationwide and the response has been incredible. It was such a long but rewarding journey to bring all the elements of this new show together, and I’m so happy to finally be able to share the message of vibrant health with audiences all across America.

So many people in our lives are suffering—waking up every day with problems like poor digestion, fatigue, weight gain, anxiety, joint pain and so much more—but it doesn’t have to be that way. The secret to a healthy body begins with a healthy digestive system, and the information in The Road to Perfect Health will teach you all about what’s going on inside your gut and why it’s so important to keep your digestive system running smoothly.

Join me and together we’ll look at the trillions of good bacteria living inside your gut that help your body absorb nutrients, defend against toxins, fight off illness and disease, and yes, even help with problems like constipation, irritable bowel and other digestive issues. Those good-for-you bacteria are called probiotics, and they’re the key to a strong Gut Protection System—or GPS for short!

Just like the GPS in your car, all those good bacteria in your gut help keep you on the path to better health. But what happens when your GPS isn’t working right? You can get lost, and just like getting lost on the road, we sometimes lose our way on the road to better health and end up stuck in a rut of illness and poor digestion.

I hope you’ll tune in this month to learn the secret to rebuilding your health from the inside out. It’s time to balance your gut and heal your body! Check your local PBS station for dates and times.

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Folks, I can’t tell you how excited I am that in just a few days my new PBS special, The Road to Perfect Health, will begin airing nationwide. It’s been such a long but rewarding journey to bring all the elements of this new show together, and I’m so happy to finally be able to share the message of vibrant health with audiences all across America.

So many people in our lives are suffering—waking up every day with problems like poor digestion, fatigue, weight gain, anxiety, joint pain and so much more—but it doesn’t have to be that way. The secret to a healthy body begins with a healthy digestive system, and the information in The Road to Perfect Health will teach you all about what’s going on inside your gut and why it’s so important to keep your digestive system running smoothly.

Join me and together we’ll look at the trillions of good bacteria living inside your gut that help your body absorb nutrients, defend against toxins, fight off illness and disease, and yes, even help with problems like constipation, irritable bowel and other digestive issues. Those good-for-you bacteria are called probiotics, and they’re the key to a strong Gut Protection System—or GPS for short!

Just like the GPS in your car, all those good bacteria in your gut help keep you on the path to better health. But what happens when your GPS isn’t working right? You can get lost, and just like getting lost on the road, we sometimes lose our way on the road to better health and end up stuck in a rut of illness and poor digestion.

I hope you’ll tune this month and through December to learn the secret to rebuilding your health from the inside out. It’s time to balance your gut and heal your body!

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Okay, so maybe it isn’t a headline you expect to see very often, but lately things are changing, and I say they’re definitely changing for the better. More and more people are becoming aware of the vast numbers of microscopic bacteria living inside their bodies, and a whole new field of science has emerged to study the literally trillions of microorganisms that grow and thrive inside us—helping us do everything from digesting our food to boosting our immune defenses and protecting us against illness and disease.

To help you get an idea of just how important these bacteria are, consider this: In the human body there are 10 times more microbial cells than human cells. Just think about that for a second—it means that roughly 90% of our genetic makeup is microbial. Whoa! I don’t know about you, but I think it’s pretty amazing that something we can’t even see can be such an important part of who we are.

In the gut especially, there are about 100 trillion bacterial cells. Some are good, some are bad, and some are neutral, but the key is making sure you always have more good than bad (somewhere around 80% to 20%), because the good guys—called probiotics—help to nourish and protect not just your digestive tract, but your whole body.

In just the last few years scientists have made some pretty amazing discoveries about the role of probiotics in human health, and studies show that taking a daily probiotic supplement can help with digestive conditions such as irritable bowel, diarrhea and constipation, as well as aid in vitamin production, weight loss, mental health, and of course building up our immune defenses by crowding out harmful, disease-causing bacteria.

So the next time you hear someone talk about bacteria, resist the urge to cringe and remember the good guys! Probiotics literally means “for life,” and no wonder. I heard this great quote the other day by Dr. Jeffrey Gordon at the Center for Genome Sciences at Washington University, and it really sums it up: “Most people have this view of our encounters with microbes from the perspective of disease. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Most of our interactions with microbes are beneficial and are healthy.” Like I said, hooray for bacteria!

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“Renew You” Challenge – Be a part of my Weekly Challenge (I mean, opportunity!) to help set you off on the right foot for bringing health to your week.

So here we are right smack in the middle of another cold and flu season, and all I can hear in my head is mom telling me to eat my fruits and veggies. Why? Well, you know how a lot of folks take multivitamins every day? Fresh fruits and vegetables are like nature’s multivitamin—chock full of important nutrients and natural antioxidants proven to boost immune function and help keep you healthy—which brings me back to cold and flu season.

The best way to ward off seasonal illness is by being proactive. Don’t wait until the first sign of a sneeze or sniffle, but instead practice good habits all year long, and that includes (and you knew this was coming) eating more fruits and veggies. So that’s your challenge this week!

Now before you start to groan, just bear with me. The CDC has this great new website that helps you calculate how many servings of fruits and vegetables you need each day based on your age, sex and activity level, and from there it’s just a matter of being creative. And parents, pay attention—getting kids to gobble up their fruits and veggies may not be as difficult as you think. Just plan ahead, spend a little time at the beginning of the week slicing and storing, and soon the whole family will be on their way to better health. Here are some tips to help you get started!

 Dip bite-size veggies in low-fat dressing
 Spread natural peanut butter on celery sticks
 Spread hummus on celery, carrots or even whole-wheat pita
 Add pre-sliced veggies and even fruit to sandwiches & wraps
 Prepare individual salad servings for a quick grab-and-go lunch
 Top natural tortilla chips or pita chips with fresh, homemade salsa
 Mix berries or other fruits with yogurt, oatmeal & cereal
 Keep frozen fruit on hand for shakes & smoothies

For more simple, healthful snack ideas and recipes using fresh fruits and veggies, be sure to visit www.fiber35diet.com.

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Exciting news! If you live in the DC/Baltimore area, be sure to tune in to your local PBS station this Saturday, September 11 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for an exclusive one-day-only sneak preview of my NEW PBS special The Road to Perfect Health.

A lot of folks don’t realize that a healthy body begins with a healthy gut. That’s because your digestive tract is where more than 70 percent of your body’s natural defenses are found, and it’s where trillions of bacteria live in a delicate balance to help you absorb nutrients, defend against toxins, and fight off illness and disease—not to mention help with bowel regularity!

But what may surprise you is that even things you wouldn’t normally associate with digestive health—everything from anxiety, joint aches and food sensitivities to fibromyalgia and even high cholesterol—they can all start in the gut. That’s how important it is to keep your digestive system running smoothly.

Join me this weekend to learn the secret to balancing your gut and healing your body, beginning with the power of probiotics. Those are the beneficial bacteria in your intestines that help with healthy digestion and immune function, and they are the key to a strong GPS, or what I like to call your Gut Protection System. From there, I’ll give you the keys to rebuilding your health from the inside out and finally living the life you’ve always wanted. See you there!

The Road to Perfect Health will also air nationwide beginning in late November through mid-December and continue periodically in 2011 and beyond. Stay tuned to www.brendawatson.com and I’ll keep you posted!

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