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Black jelly beans, a health risk?

Posted by Staff on Thursday, March 28, 2024

By Karen L. Kier
Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU Healthwise Team 

Easter baskets and candy will be here soon. The top three best selling Easter candies are Reese’s Milk Chocolate and Peanut Butter Egg, Kinder Joy Egg, and jelly beans. Besides the sugar and calorie content of these treats, what other dangers can lurk?

A bag of jelly beans is a wonderful array of colors, but the black jelly beans are often ignored. Why?

According to a recently released poll of the most disliked foods by Americans, black licorice is ranked number 2 with 45% indicating a dislike for the candy. This is followed by the number one disliked food of anchovies at 50%. Oysters, beets and blue cheese rounded out the top 5. 

This may help to explain why black jelly beans containing licorice are left for last! However, some individuals prefer the black jelly beans and you can buy whole bags of just that color. 

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Strawberry Fields Forever: Nutrition and health

Posted by Staff on Thursday, March 21, 2024

By Karen L. Kier
Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU Healthwise Team 

Strawberry Fields Forever was an original ballad written by John Lennon for the Beatles. It was released on February 13, 1967.  The song was considered a departure from the classic Beatles songs and many felt it ushered in the psychedelic genre. After Lennon’s death, 2.5 acres of Central Park in New York City known as Strawberry Fields was dedicated to his memory.

Science provides insight on so many aspects about our lives and the influence of health and happiness.  These different aspects can include food, relationships, passions and laughter.

One example is a new movement to educate the public about how food is a medicine for health. The food is medicine (FIM) movement aims to bring more components of nutrition into the healthcare system.  

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Weekend Doctor: Don't risk eclipse eye damage

Posted by Staff on Saturday, March 16, 2024

By Stephen Orr, MD, Ophthalmology
Medical Staff Member - Blanchard Valley Health System 

The residents in this area will have a front-row seat for the total eclipse of the sun on Monday, April 8, 2024. For many, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. With proper preparation and precautions, it is possible to safely observe the eclipse without damaging your eyes. 

“Eclipse blindness” is caused by the exposure of the retina (the back part of the eye) to high-intensity visible light. The rods and cones (the cells responsible for vision) can be permanently damaged by prolonged exposure to direct sunlight during an event like an eclipse, even when there does not appear to be much light from the sun. This damage can cause permanent, irreversible visual loss by two different mechanisms. First, the light itself causes chemical reactions within the cells that cause them to stop functioning. Second, the actual heat from the sun burns and destroys certain layers of the retina. The end result is visual loss that can be permanent, and for which there is no current treatment.  

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If I Could Turn Back Time: Daylight Savings Time and health

Posted by Staff on Thursday, March 14, 2024

By Karen L. Kier
Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU Healthwise Team 

If I Could Turn Back Time was a 1989 song released by Cher. The video for the song was filmed on the USS Missouri naval battleship. As a performer, she has accomplished what no other female singer has done before. Cher has had a #1 hit in seven consecutive decades, with her first in 1965 with Sonny Bono.

Daylight Savings Time (DST) was first implemented in the United States with the Standard Time Act of 1918 to increase daylight to conserve energy during World War I.  This was instituted again with World War II.  After the war, local jurisdictions were able to choose whether to use DST or not until 1966.  In that year, The Uniform Time Act was passed for DST.  

There has been significant debate about DST at both the federal and state levels. Despite the debate, no real action has changed the current standard.  Does the impact on health change the debate?

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Weekend Doctor: Considering a vasectomy?

Posted by Staff on Saturday, March 9, 2024

By Joshua Ebel, MD
Urology, Blanchard Valley Urology Associates

March has arrived. For many men, this is a time to take it easy and enjoy watching your favorite (or not-so-favorite) college basketball team compete in March Madness.

For others, it’s your last break before a busy spring of outdoor work around the yard or in the fields. For these reasons, March has often also been considered the perfect time to think about a vasectomy. ESPN has even covered the trend of men scheduling vasectomies in March, and local trends reflect this as well. Some clinics even report a 50% increase in vasectomies through March. 

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Pinch of salt: Health effects

Posted by Staff on Thursday, March 7, 2024

By Megan Gushrowski, Pharmacist and Karen L. Kier, Pharmacist
On behalf of the ONU Healthwise Team 

If someone uses the idiom to “take it with a pinch of salt,” they are asking you to consider or evaluate a statement because one may be skeptical about the truthfulness. Others may think of a pinch of salt when it is used in cooking. However, a pinch of salt (sodium chloride) does have an impact on one’s health.  

A diet high in sodium is a known contributing factor to high blood pressure and a recent study shows it may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus. A study published by the Mayo Clinic in November 2023 asked people whether they always, usually, sometimes, or never/rarely added salt to their food and then followed these people to see if they developed type 2 diabetes. 

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