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6A – Daily News – Monday, April 11, 2011 Vitality & health DETROIT (MCT) — Finding the right cheese — that's what gave Shan- non Nowak the most trou- ble. Nutrition Quiz: Food pairs (MCT) — As its name implies, Eating Well mag- azine tries mightily to improve our diets. Recently it featured "Power Food Pairs" _ foods that, when com- bined, become nutritional juggernauts. Take our quiz: 1. Adding sauteed onions and garlic to whole grains boosts the absorp- tion of what two miner- als? sium um 2. Everyone knows iron's function is to hasten oxygen toward the body's cells, but what does zinc do? a) Boosts immunity to illness b) Helps repair wounds c) Both a and b 3. Another food pair- ing is "beans and greens." What happens when you combine eating green vegetables with beans? a) The vitamin C in the a) Calcium and magne- b) Iron and zinc c) Iodine and potassi- greens helps you absorb the iron in the beans b) The calcium in the greens is boosted by the protein in the beans c) The level of man- ganese, especially in broccoli, rises threefold because of the iron in beans 4. Eating greens with "nonheme" iron is impor- tant because absorption is difficult on its own. Which is an example of a "nonheme" iron food source? a) fish b) tofu c) turkey 5. According to the journal Free Radical Biol- ogy and Medicine, people who ate several servings of tomatoes mixed with sunflower or olive oil increased lycopene levels. Lycopene has been shown to reduce the risk of what? a) breast cancer b) kidney failure c) gout "I know, it's just grilled cheese," said the Rochester, Mich., mother whose family has moved toward a gluten-free, casein-free diet. "But we went through six or seven months without grilled cheese sandwiches or cheese in the house. You don't realize how much you'll miss it until you can't have it." Still, like many families with diets restricted by food allergies, sensitivities or personal preference, the Nowaks found that it's get- ting easier to go grocery shopping these days. Food labeling is becoming more under- standable, partly because federal law now mandates that the most common allergens be clearly listed. It's good business, too. Approximately 3 mil- lion children in the U.S., or about 4 percent, were reported to have a food allergy in 2007 — a jump of 18 percent over the pre- ceding decade, according to a 2009 report by the American Academy of Pediatrics. For those with food allergies, a bite of the wrong thing — even a touch of it on their skin — can trigger a violent, life- threatening immune response known as ana- phylaxis that swells the lips, face, tongue and throat and cuts off breath- ing. Such allergies cause 300,000 trips to emer- gency departments and physician offices, 2,000 hospitalizations and 150 deaths each year, accord- ing to the National Insti- tute of Allergy and Infec- tious Disease, or NIAID. Even a bowl of vanilla ice cream can be scary if you're allergic to nuts. "So they make rocky road ice cream, and they hose it (the equipment) down. The next run is vanilla, but it could have trace amounts (of nuts) in the first few cartons," said Carol Finkelstein of Orchard Lake, Mich. Her son Ben, 9, is allergic to milk, sesame, tree nuts and latex. "It's a game of Russian roulette," she said. "How lucky do you feel today?" fitness Labels, awareness make restricted diets doable MCT photo Shannon Nowak, 33, left, and son David Nowak, 9, prepare and make gluten-free chocolate chip cookies at their Rochester, Mich. home. Nowak started making every meal, snack and dessert gluten-free for David last year to help him battle his autism. The issue sparked head- lines in Florida last month when an elementary school — trying to protect one child with a peanut allergy — began mandat- ing hand-washing each time students entered the classroom. It also ordered mouth-rinsing as soon as students arrived at school and after lunch. Snacks in the classroom were banned. A peanut-sniffing dog was brought on-site. According to Finkel- stein, the school went too far. In fact, after parents protested, it eased some of the rules. But all of this under- scores that the country is still trying balance several things: educating those with allergies about how to protect themselves, train- ing schools in proper emergency intervention during an attack and ask- ing for understanding from others, she said. Beyond allergies, there is a growing understand- ing of food sensitivities. This intolerance may not cause the violent immune response of a food allergy, but it can lead to other serious problems, espe- cially with digestion. High fructose corn syrup, a ubiquitous ingre- dient in processed food, sends pains into Libby Lee's abdomen that has the 12-year-old doubled over and vomiting violently. That means certain piz- zas or ice cream at a sleep- over used to land her in the emergency room: "My stomach kind of feels like there's a knife in it," said the Howell, Mich., sev- enth-grader. Combined, as many as 15 percent of the U.S. pop- ulation has a food allergy or sensitivity, said Dr. James Li, chairman of the Allergic Diseases in the Department of Internal Medicine at Rochester- based Mayo Clinic. Allergies affect about 12 million Americans. The body's immune response is triggered as if otherwise harmless substances, including food, are a threat. Sme people pro- duce a specific type of antibody called immunoglobulin E (IgE), which binds to food and triggers the release of chemicals such as hista- mine. In severe cases, that leads to life-threatening anaphylaxis. Eight foods account for 90 percent of all food- allergic reactions: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat and soy. Food intolerance and sensitivity often affect digestion and can be seri- ous as well. Among those that cause problems: lac- tose (the sugar found in most milk and milk prod- ucts), monosodium gluta- mate (MSG), sulfites and other food additives that enhance color, taste or protect against the growth of microbes. For more, visit www.foodallergy.org or www.niaid.nih.gov/top- ics/foodallergy Tues., April 12th RODEO PHOTOGRAPHY & ART SHOW RECEPTION Tues., April 12th, 5 pm @ The Big Picture ...And coming up Wed., April 13th • THREE GUN SHOOTING MATCH For info call 527-1154. Entry forms at www.tehamashooters.com • Bull Fighter Meet & Greet 3pm @ Cornerstone Community Bank Ask about our Open Fit Technology Discreet and Comfortable Red Bluff Community Center 1500 So. Jackson Red Bluff • 527-9193 A Retirement Community for the Active Senior Citizens 750 David Avenue, 1-800-488-9906 Appointments CALL Limited Wed., April 13, 2011 10:00 am - 3:00 pm Professional Personal Convenient • Premium Digital Hearing Aids for every budget • FREE hearing evaluations • Service/Repair, all makes and models • Batteries & accessories • Preferred provider for most insurance plans: Including PERS, Carpenters, Blue Cross/ Blue Shield, etc. • Low monthly payment plan available • Trial Period/ Satisfaction Guaranteed Performed for proper amplification selection only. GLUTEN-FREE AIDS CELIAC SUFFERERS A better understanding of celiac disease _ a sort of hybrid between a food aller- gy and intolerance _ has given rise to another kind of consumer: one who scans the grocery store shelves for Asian Massage $ 30 min. massage reg. $40 GRAND OPENING 5.00 off 1 hr. massage reg. $60 $10.00 off Offer good thru April 30th 333 S. Main St. Suite G Red Bluff • 530-710-5940 ©2010 HRB Tax Group, Inc. 1315 Solano St, Corning, CA 96021 530-824-7999 120 Bell Mill Road, Red Bluff, CA 96080 530-527-7515 Mon-Fri 9 am to 7 pm "gluten-free" products. Someone with celiac dis- ease can not tolerate the protein found in wheat, rye and barley. The gluten caus- es an immune response that damages the lining of the small intestine and, in turn, interferes with absorption of nutrients. A person with celiac disease can quickly become malnourished. A growing crop of gluten-free bakeries and more gluten-free fare in restaurants addresses those people's needs. Cereal giant General Mills has tweaked cereal, cake and brownie mixes along with its Bisquick products to make them gluten-free. In February, it teamed up with the Univer- sity of Maryland's Center for Celiac Research to cre- ate www.glutenfreely.com , a Web site featuring gluten-free recipes, medical articles, blogs and 400 items in its online store. "I've been to presenta- tions where it's been claimed that gluten- free is the most significant new (food) product trends in the United States," said Stephen Taylor, a professor of food science and technology at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln and a member of the medical advisory board for the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network. More good news: More label-savvy consumers not only mean more variety on the shelves, but also better taste, says Justin Hiller , vice president of Hiller's Markets, which carries a variety of allergen- and gluten-free foods. Taking a bite of gluten- free bread just a few years ago "was like an eating a mix of cardboard and chalk," he said. "Now it's delicious. You can get it in white. You can get it in wheat. You can get it in multigrain and ciabatta." WE STAND BEHIND YOUR RETURN. GUARANTEED. 90 ANSWERS: 1: a; 2: c; 3: a; 4: b; 5: a