Laws for the common good By VINOD SETH Bismarck The banner headline across the top of page 4A of our Bismarck Tribune on Tuesday declared, “Some Chicago laws starting to seem intrusive.” The AP byline story noted the crackdown by the Chicago City Council on “things they deem unhealthy ...” Apparently, the city council in the past year has passed laws banning “smoking in nearly all public places, use of cell phones while driving” and was now proposing to “restrict fast-food chains from cooking with artery clogging transfat oils.” Now what’s so intrusive about that? Even big business, tired of rapidly rising health costs from unhealthy food and sugary drinks, wants change. Only the fast-food giants who use transfat oils would find such laws intrusive. Not most people. It is why we elect our leaders, our government: to pass laws for the common good. We know about secondhand smoke. Driving while talking on the cell phone is like driving drunk. And transfats clog arteries. That’s proved. M

Lancet, the medical journal from the UK in a July 1 research article GL Booth from Univ of Torornto and others Lancet 368:July 1 29-36,2006 points out that having diabetes is like ageing 15 years.Earlier onset of cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and coronary artery diseas in men and women. Another reason for no sugar loaded pop and trans fats laden fast food as well as the sit down franchise food restaurants.

FOOD OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE Fears about home canning already are great and now with a letter to the Editor on another two infectious agents these fears will be further fanned. More people will depend on canned goods shipped from low wage factories far away. More anxiety will be unnecessarily created. Our infection health will be no better. Our mental health could be worse. Many high sounding words, " research" and "scientific", and many numbers were used. This letter was full of factual errors, half-truths and equivocations. Please read on. BOTULISM Botulism as a disease is most often NOT a food borne illness. Yes, food borne botulism is a serious disease when it happens, but in 31 years, first in Infectious Disease Fellowship training at Washington University and then in practice both in St Louis and Bismarck in the specialty of Infectious disease I have not seen a single food borne case. Deaths, nationally due to food borne disease, number

I don't know what to eat. They change their minds all the time!! My patients share their confusion with me often. What do I eat? No eggs, yes eggs, no butter, yes butter, yes margarine, no margarine. Yes Vit E, no vitamin E, yes Calcium, no Calcium, yes Beta- carotene, no Beta-carotene. Low carb, high carb, no carb. Confusion reigns in the world of nutrition as defined by science. Humans have known what to eat and drink for millenia. The food habits of the vast majority of Indians who have been vegetarian for generations are a case in point. The veritable garden of Eden that India was provided a vast laboratory for long term observation and deduction. The story ot turmeric is a case in point. How did the deeply yellow ginger-like root turmeric became a ubiquitous ingredient of Indian dishes giving curry its color and stain? How did they know that turmeric was so good for you? It was only a Vippasna meditation retreat in rural Rajasthan that reintroduced me to the magic of tur