Health and Fitness Review

Fitness, exercise and nutritional supplement review. Healthy recipes and anything related

Kick-Start Your Workout - Yahoo! Health

By Denise Austin, Prevention
One you’ll do! When I want quick results, I do interval training. Research shows that vigorous bouts of aerobic exercise followed by easier ones, or mixing cardio intervals with strength training (as I do here), burns tons more calories in less time than if you were to work out at a steady intensity.

Intervals supercharge your metabolism, so you burn calories all day long. And constantly switching from one move to the next keeps things interesting.

The following program combines kicks, jumps, and squats. It really works your hips, thighs, and buns, so you tone and trim inches at the same time.

Your Toning Program
Beginner: Do 30 seconds of each of the five exercises; repeat the entire sequence four times for a total of 10 minutes.

Advanced: Do 1 minute of each exercise; repeat the entire sequence four times for a 20-minute fat-blasting routine.

Do three to five times a week.

1. Front Kicks
Stand with your feet apart, left foot in front, and hands in loose fists in front of your chin, palms facing each other.

Keeping your abs tight, lean your weight into your left leg. Lift your right knee to waist height, and kick your lower leg straight out in front of you as high as is comfortable. (It’s a quick but controlled movement.) Keep your left (standing) leg slightly bent. Immediately bring your right leg back down. Do 5 to 10 kicks, then switch to your left leg.

2. Travel Squats
Stand with your feet together, arms at your sides. Step your left foot out to the side. As you land, sit back, bending at your knees and hips. Don’t let your knees move forward over your toes. Raise your arms in front of you as you sit back.

Squeeze your butt, and press through your heels to stand back up. As you do, step your right foot in to meet your left foot. Then step your left foot out to the side as you squat once again. Do 3 or 4 squats to the left, then go to the right.

3. Do jumping jacks

4. March in place, or jog

5. Side Kicks
Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width and your left foot turned out about 45 degrees. Hold your hands in loose fists in front of your chin, or rest your left hand on a chair for balance. Lean to the left, and cock your right hip up. For a printer-friendly version of all steps click below.

Lift your right knee. Then, without lowering it, kick your lower leg out to the side. Keep your abdominals tight, your left (standing) leg slightly bent, and your right foot flexed. Concentrate on kicking through your heel. Bend the knee back in, and bring your leg down. Do 5 to 10 kicks with your right leg, then switch to your left. Start low, gradually working up to higher, faster kicks.
Last Updated: 12/04/2006 16:09:17
2007 Rodale Inc. All rights reserved. Prevention ® is a Registered Trademark of Rodale Inc. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Rodale Inc.

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Sunscreens: The Difference Between SPF and Skincare
by Dr. Neil Sadick

As we know, SPF gives you a relative scale of protection for how long you can stay out in the sun without becoming sunburned versus the time it would take you to burn without using sunscreen. Sunscreens are graded from SPF 2 to SPF 70. The question is when is it necessary to use a higher numbered blocker versus a lower numbered blocker and are higher numbered blockers actually that more efficacious to justify the higher cost?

For example, if it takes you three minutes to burn and you use an SPF 15, it would take you 45 minutes to develop a burn. SPF 15 gives you 15 times the sun protection. It is generally recommended that most individuals will benefit from using a sunscreen in 30-to-45 range. The minimal sun protection factor that is recommended would be SPF 15. However, for those individuals who are very fair-skinned, for example of Irish-American descent or those that have a history of skin cancer - then higher numbered sun protection factors such as 45 to 70 would be indicated in those individuals.

It is felt from scientific studies that higher SPFs do give you better sun protection; however, how much more protection they give you is still a controversial point. The general consensus is that if you are fair-skinned or if you have a history of skin cancer then higher SPFs are indicated.

It is very important to use a sunscreen that has both UVB shortwave and UVA longwave coverage. The SPF only measures the UVB coverage. There is a new grading system that has been passed by the FDA which will grade UVA coverage from one to four stars based on its capability to protect against longwave UVA irradiation and that should be released in the next few years. In terms of skin care products, many cosmeceuticals state they have sun protection factors or SPFs in them. However, in my opinion, usually by themselves they are not sufficient enough to protect your skin from harmful irradiation because of their dilution with other ingredients.

Remember when you swim or sweat any sunscreen will be removed from the skin so it is necessary on very hot days or when you swim or have excessive sweating to reapply suncsreen every two to three hours to be sure you have adequate protection. Sunscreens keep your skin healthy and protect against the risk of skin cancer and photoaging. Always wear a sunscreenof SPF 15 or higher – even under clothes – for optimal protection.

Dr. Neil Sadick is one of the most renowned dermatologists and researchers whose multiple discoveries have strongly influenced and transformed the future of dermatology. He is a Professor of Dermatology at Weill Cornell Medical College and President of the Cosmetic Surgery Foundation. Dr. Sadick is author, or co-author, of more than 500 articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals and has contributed more than 75 chapters of medical books. Read more at www.sadickdermatology.com

Using Bodybuilding Supplements To Build Muscle Mass!

Author: Anthony Ellis

OK, first let’s get something straight here…

If you think that buying a shake or taking a few pills will all of a sudden make you huge, then you are mistaken.

No supplement will help you if you are not training and dieting correctly — they will just give you very expensive urine. All aspects of your program have to be in order for you to get the maximum benefit from sports nutrition supplements. From my experience, supplements enhance your program by:

1. Adding an element of convenience: Using food supplements like Meal Replacement Powders and whey protein help to eliminate the common problem of ‘not enough time’, by providing you with an quick efficient way to get your required nutrients each day.

2. Increasing strength and decreasing recovery time: Using vitamin and amino acid supplements help to minimize the negative side effects of weight training and speed your recovery.

The Benefit of Convenience

There are many ‘old school’ trainers and bodybuilders who profess the uselessness of supplements. They are constantly preaching that they don’t work, and that you don’t need them. Well, to tell you the truth they are correct, somewhat. Remember that not too long ago there were no supplements. Bodybuilders built huge physiques without meal replacement powders, creatine or prohormones.

There was no such thing as exercise ‘machines’. They used multi-jointed, compound free weight exercises that not only increased their muscular size, but also make them incredibly strong. So, if you look at that way it can be done and you don’t need any supplements. However, the decision whether or not to use supplements should involve the consideration of other factors that may come into play when speaking of dieting today. The first of which is time.

Many people today just do not have the time to live, eat and breathe food. Very few people like to cook, and even fewer cook on a regular basis. When was the last time that you actually had six meals that you actually cooked yourself? Many of those who are against dietary supplements continue to preach that you should get all the nutrients that you need from your diet. ‘Eat a balanced diet and you will get all the nutrition you need’. Well, 100 years ago that may have been true, but today this type of advice is questionable.

The fact is, most people’s idea of a good meal is restaurant or (even worse) fast food. To ask someone to eat specific amounts of protein, fat and carbs seems like an impossible request considering that most people can’t even get their minimum requirements of good fat or fiber. Experts will continue to spout ‘eat a balanced diet,’ while Americans feast on nutritionless fast food and sugar. Not only do our bodies have to deal with the ever-increasing external stresses of everyday life, they also have to combat nutrient-depleting, tissue damaging exercise.

If I did not have the option to supplement my diet with whey protein, I probably would not have gained as much weight as I have. Now, I’m not saying that the whey protein is why I gained weight, but it did help me a great deal.

I am usually very busy and I just don’t have the time, nor the desire to eat six, planned whole food meals per day. Supplements like meal replacement powders and whey protein fill in this gap for me.

I typically have three real food meals and three protein supplement meals — that makes up my required six meals each day. When I’m away from home, or not able to get an adequate meal, my MRP is always right there when I need it. It gives me a quantifiable amount of protein so that I can keep track of my nutrient intake. In my opinion, this is much better than just grabbing something and then trying to guess at how much protein, fat or carbs you just ate. Getting in all of your required meals and nutrient amounts is crucial to your success.

My mass diet requires a very high daily protein intake — Over 300g per day. Just to give you example of how much that is, here are some examples of what 300g of protein is equal to:

Tuna — 50 oz of canned tuna (the average can is 6-8oz.), which is 1,750 calories and 25g of fat

Chicken — 38 oz of chx breast (equals about seven 6oz breasts), which is 1,313 calories and 38g of saturated fat

Beef — 43 oz of lean ground beef (about 2.7 pounds of meat), which is 3,214 calories and 215g of saturated fat

Eggs — 50 large whole eggs, equals 3,750 calories and 250g of saturated fat

Egg whites — 100 egg whites, equals 1,600 calories and almost no fat

Pure whey protein — 15 scoops of EAS Precision Protein, equals 1,500 calories 7.5g of saturated fat

It is very possible to get this amount from eating whole foods only — But it will take work. Also, as you can see from the above numbers, getting all of your protein from regular food will also bring a lot of unnecessary elements like extra saturated fat. Yes, our goal to gain mass is to eat a lot of calories (including fat), but your main fat intake should consist of unsaturated fats that are liquid at room temperature like olive oil, flaxseed oil, sunflower oil and safflower oil. Whey protein supplements will help to give you the extra protein without the fat.

Increased Strength and Decreased Recovery

In addition to a whey protein supplement, I recommend that everyone should be taking a multi-vitamin, plenty of vitamin C, and glutamine. Creatine can also be added if you are over 18.

Multi-Vitamin

Weight training increases the body’s need for many minerals like magnesium and selenium. The multi-vitamin ensures that I am not deficient in any major essential vitamin or mineral. Deficiency symptoms include muscle weakness and suppression of the immune system, muscle cramping and fatigue.

I always take a multi-vitamin without iron, because grown men do not need additional iron. We get enough from our food. Men and postmenopausal women should never take iron supplements unless they have iron-deficiency anemia, which is only diagnosed by blood tests. The body has no way to eliminate excess iron except through blood loss. Women who menstruate are protected from iron overload, obviously. Iron is also an oxidizing agent that can cause damage to the heart and arteries, and is a major risk factor in arteriosclerosis.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C essential to prevent free radical damage, which is accelerated after the heavy trauma of weight training. It is also essential is helping to repair connective tissue which helps decrease the amount of time you are sore. I train very heavy and extremely hard. When I train my legs, I am usually sore for about 5-6 days afterwards.

If I do not supplement my diet with vitamin C, I would normally be sore for almost 10 days! So, it really helps me to recover and get back to training. I typically take around 3,000mg in divided doses. That would equal quite a few oranges!

Glutamine

Glutamine is an amino acid that is produced by our bodies, but most of the time our bodies demand so much, that it can’t create enough. I supplement my diet with glutamine to increase my levels of glutathione. Glutathione is a powerful antioxidant, which helps to combat the stresses of exercise trauma, and prevent muscle protein breakdown.

I especially believe that it helps prevent my body from breaking down my new muscle while I am asleep, so I never go to bed without taking it. I take about 15g per day (in divided doses), which would be impossible to get naturally.

Creatine Monohydrate

Creatine’s purpose is to supply our muscle with energy. It is also found in red meat, but you would have to eat an enormous amount of meat to get the same benefits as taking pure creatine powder. Everyone knows about creatine so I will not go into it here, but I do want to say that the major benefit from taking creatine is that it will increase your strength.

This will enable you to lift heavier weights, which will stimulate more muscle growth. Many people make a big fuss over the muscle volumizing effects of creatine, because if you stop taking it, you lose that extra fluid that creatine brings into your cells. So what! You certainly DO NOT lose the extra muscle creatine helped you to gain.

I can honestly say that I could not have built the body I have today without the convenience and enhancements supplements provide. I simply don’t have the time or desire to do it any other way. This is a choice that you must decide for yourself. You will be spending your money on these products, so make sure that you know their place in your program.

Don’t get caught up in product hype. Supplements will help, but they will NOT do the work for you.

About the Author

Former “skinny guy” Anthony Ellis is the author of Gaining Mass. The most widely used weight gain program in the world. This unique program contains the complete diet, supplements and weight training program he used to gain 32lbs of mass. For more information on how to build more muscle go to http://www.fastmusclegain.com

Sports Supplement

Sports Supplement

Author: Rolf Rasmusson

Times Online and agencies

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article3497282.ece
Patrick Swayze’s battle against pancreatic cancer will be a difficult one, as survival rates for the disease are low, according to estimated figures from a cancer charity.

Cancer Research estimates that, of the 7,400 people diagnosed with a pancreatic tumour each year, only about 3% of people are still alive five years later.

The pancreas, which lies across the body at the bottom of the breastbone, behind the stomach, produces digestive juices, insulin and other hormones that aid digestion.

Pancreatic cancer is the UK’s 10th most common form of cancer, excluding non-malignant skin cancer.

It mainly affects older people, with 63% of cases diagnosed in those over 70, and tends to strike in men and women equally.

Smoking is known to significantly raise the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, with up to a third of diagnoses related to it. Scientists believe nitrosamines, carcinogenic chemicals found in cigarette smoke, may be the cause.

Diet, alcohol consumption, being overweight and inactive are all thought to increase the risk of pancreatic cancer.

Doctors think their may be some genetic link in up to one in 10 cases of the disease, but the vast majority of pancreatic cancer cases do not run in families.

Common symptoms of pancreatic cancer include jaundice, back or abdominal pain, weight loss and loss of appetite. These can vary depending on the form of cancer and where in the pancreas the cancer is located.

Rarer types of cancer - endocrine pancreatic tumours - can lead to hormones being produced.

If the cancer is contained within the pancreas, treatment for the disease may include surgery.

But in many cases, if the cancer has spread, surgery can be used only to relieve symptoms, and remove blockages in the digestive system. Radiotherapy may be used to shrink the tumour, and chemotherapy is often used after surgery or as the first treatment in advanced cases.

Overall, pancreatic cancer has a poor prognosis. Often the disease can be quite advanced by the time a patient notices symptoms, goes to a doctor and cancer is diagnosed.

Only about 15-20% of pancreatic cancers diagnosed are suitable for surgery, and only 10 to 15 of every 100 people diagnosed are still alive a year later.

Screening for pancreatic cancer is currently only given to people over 40 with hereditary pancreatitis, and some people with a high incidence of pancreatic cancer in the family.

We Sell Treadmills

By T.M. Shultz
The Daily Courier

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

At least nine states, including Arizona, are reporting an outbreak of salmonella infections involving uncooked tomatoes.

So far the Yavapai County Health Department has not reported any cases in Yavapai County, but that could change at any time, said Michael Murphy, spokesman for the Arizona Department of Health Services.

“There are numerous suspect cases,” Murphy said.

So far a strain called Salmonella St. Paul has sickened five people from Maricopa, Pima, Apache and Coconino counties and sent one person to the hospital. No one has died, Murphy said.

The outbreak began in late April in Texas and New Mexico and then spread to Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Utah and Arizona.

So far the St. Paul strain of salmonella has infected at least 70 people nationwide and hospitalized at least 17.

Until inspectors can find the source of the outbreak, the state has a simple recommendation: “Don’t eat tomatoes,” state public information officer Janey Pearl said.

She recommends that people wash them or cook them really well.

Once the Food and Drug Administration identifies the specific grower of the tainted tomatoes, officials likely will issue a tomato recall, said Kenneth Komatsu, state epidemiologist for the Arizona Department of Health Services.

“The Food and Drug Administration is tracing back from individual food histories to find the distributors, the growers and how they were contaminated,” Komatsu explained. “The FDA typically works with the stores, distributor and grower to conduct voluntary recalls.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Arizona state health officials also are recommending people take the following steps:

• Do not eat raw Roma or red round tomatoes other than those sold attached to the vine or grown at home, especially if you are at increased risk of infection - this group includes infants, elderly people and those with impaired immune systems.

• Avoid buying bruised or damaged tomatoes and discard any that appear spoiled.

• Thoroughly wash all tomatoes under cool, running water.

• Refrigerate within two hours cut, peeled or cooked tomatoes, otherwise discard.

• Separate raw tomatoes from raw meats, seafood and other raw produce.

• Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils and counter tops with hot water and soap when switching among food types.

• Cook tomatoes at 145 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 15 seconds to kill salmonella.

• Wash hands often, especially after going to the restroom, before preparing or serving food, and after changing a diaper.

Most people infected with salmonella develop diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps within 12 to 72 hours. The illness usually lasts four to seven days, and most people recover without treatment. Some people may need hospitalization because of severe diarrhea.

Salmonella may spread from the intestines to the bloodstream and then to other body sites, and can cause death. In severe cases, antibiotic treatment may be necessary.

For more information visit the CDC website at www.cdc.gov/salmonella/saintpaul.

Contact the reporter at tshultz@prescottaz.com

By LYNN DOAN | The Hartford Courant
May 25, 2008

HARTFORD, Conn. - It’s still fruit, just fizzy.

That’s how a food service contractor for about 20 Connecticut school districts and private schools is describing Fizzy Fruit _ pieces of oranges, apples and grapes pumped with carbonation to give them a soda taste. Sodexho has been incorporating the Pop Rocks-like snack into school lunch menus, hoping that it will turn kids on to fruit.

In Danbury’s South Street School cafeteria, the Fizzy grapes are a hit.

“It tickles my throat,” Dakota Lancey, 8, said Thursday, swallowing his second serving of the snack, which contains the same nutritional content as regular fruit.
Dakota’s classmates crowded the booth where a cafeteria worker hurried to fill plastic cups with plump grapes, stuffed with air bubbles. It’s been a weekly snack at the elementary school this year, a part of the regular lunch menu and available at no extra charge.

“They go crazy over them,” said Meg Kingston, Sodexho’s general manager for the Danbury area. “You put regular grapes out in a bowl, and you say it’s the fruit of the day, and they walk right by it. You tell them it’s Fizzy Fruit, and they can’t get enough.”

Sodexho, an international food management contractor, buys the “Fruit Fizzolators” _ the equipment and powder to make carbonated fruit _ from Portland, Ore.-based Fizzy Fruit for $1,056. One shipment produces 450 servings. Cups of the fruit snack are also expected to be on grocery store shelves within two months, said company President Jim Jones.

But there are some who hope that the idea of children eating carbonated fruit fizzles out.

Holly Fydenkevez, who has an 8-year-old son at Goodwin School in East Hartford, where Sodexho plans to serve Fizzy Fruit in the fall, said that she would rather see schools serve regular fruit.

“A lot of kids haven’t been introduced to soda, so why introduce them to anything carbonated?” she said. “They’ll try a piece of the orange and think, `Oh, now I know how orange soda tastes.’ And then you’ve turned a kid on to soda when he never knew soda before.”

Critics also say they fear that Fizzy Fruit will cause kids to turn their backs on regular fruit in favor of the carbonated kind, which would cost more in retail stores.

A 7-ounce cup of Fizzy mandarin oranges is expected to cost between $1.50 and $2 at stores, and a 4-ounce cup of Fizzy grapes, apples or pineapples will cost about $2, Jones said.

“I’m afraid they’re just trying to exploit our children, selling them a product that ultimately doesn’t give them any additional nutritional benefits,” said East Hartford school board member Ram Aberasturia.

But Jones said that parents and school administrators should see Fizzy Fruit as more of a fruit snack than a replacement for fruit. After all, he said, only certain fruits with enough water content can be “fizzolated.”

The process relies on the chemical reaction between citric acid and baking soda, which produces the carbonation in the fruit, Kingston said. But that reaction requires water, which not all fruits have enough of — like bananas. The fizzy effect fades within an hour.

“So as far as getting them hooked on just Fizzy Fruit,” Jones said, “there’s not a wide enough variety of fruit that we’re going to be able to fizz.”

Jones said that he sees his competition as junk food rather than regular fruit.

“We love fruit,” he said, “and if we can replace a bag of Doritos or a can of Pringles or a candy bar with this natural, sweet, fun snack, we’re going to do it.”

Back at South Street School, Axel Ortiz, 7, was too busy attempting to make a business transaction with a cafeteria worker Thursday to think about junk food. He’d already had his third serving of Fizzy Fruit, and he’d been refused a fourth.

Explaining that he wanted more because “it tastes like soda,” he turned to the worker and said, “I’ll pay you. How much?”

Times Online and agencies

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article3497282.ece
Patrick Swayze’s battle against pancreatic cancer will be a difficult one, as survival rates for the disease are low, according to estimated figures from a cancer charity.

Cancer Research estimates that, of the 7,400 people diagnosed with a pancreatic tumour each year, only about 3% of people are still alive five years later.

The pancreas, which lies across the body at the bottom of the breastbone, behind the stomach, produces digestive juices, insulin and other hormones that aid digestion.

Pancreatic cancer is the UK’s 10th most common form of cancer, excluding non-malignant skin cancer.

It mainly affects older people, with 63% of cases diagnosed in those over 70, and tends to strike in men and women equally.

Smoking is known to significantly raise the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, with up to a third of diagnoses related to it. Scientists believe nitrosamines, carcinogenic chemicals found in cigarette smoke, may be the cause.

Diet, alcohol consumption, being overweight and inactive are all thought to increase the risk of pancreatic cancer.

Doctors think their may be some genetic link in up to one in 10 cases of the disease, but the vast majority of pancreatic cancer cases do not run in families.

Common symptoms of pancreatic cancer include jaundice, back or abdominal pain, weight loss and loss of appetite. These can vary depending on the form of cancer and where in the pancreas the cancer is located.

Rarer types of cancer - endocrine pancreatic tumours - can lead to hormones being produced.

If the cancer is contained within the pancreas, treatment for the disease may include surgery.

But in many cases, if the cancer has spread, surgery can be used only to relieve symptoms, and remove blockages in the digestive system. Radiotherapy may be used to shrink the tumour, and chemotherapy is often used after surgery or as the first treatment in advanced cases.

Overall, pancreatic cancer has a poor prognosis. Often the disease can be quite advanced by the time a patient notices symptoms, goes to a doctor and cancer is diagnosed.

Only about 15-20% of pancreatic cancers diagnosed are suitable for surgery, and only 10 to 15 of every 100 people diagnosed are still alive a year later.

Screening for pancreatic cancer is currently only given to people over 40 with hereditary pancreatitis, and some people with a high incidence of pancreatic cancer in the family.

By DENISE LAVOIE, Associated Press WriterTue Jan 8, 11:01 PM ET

At Whittier Farms dairy, the fifth-generation owners brag of the quality of their Holstein cows and still deliver milk right to your door, in glass bottles. Customers like the products because they are a hormone-free taste of old New England.

But health officials now say three elderly men have died and at least one pregnant woman has miscarried since last June after drinking bacteria-contaminated milk from the dairy’s plant in Shrewsbury, about 35 miles west of Boston.

All were infected with listeria, which is extremely rare in pasteurized milk. It is more often found in raw foods, such as uncooked meat and vegetables, and processed foods such as soft cheeses and cold cuts.

The outbreak is believed to be only the third time listeria has ever been linked to pasteurized milk in the United States, said Dr. Alfred DeMaria, state director of communicable disease control.

“We know something is going on; we just don’t know what it is,” DeMaria said. “We just need to find out how the bacteria is getting into the milk.”

Listeria bacteria are often present in manure and are commonly found in soil and water. Pasteurization is supposed to kill listeria.

Tests at the Whittier Farms plant found nothing wrong with its pasteurization process, deepening the mystery.

Health investigators are now looking at the cooling and bottling machinery, including the connecting pipes, for the source of the bacteria, DeMaria said. Investigators have taken about 70 samples from vents, ceilings, floors, tanks, bottle-washers, bottles and other equipment.

“We’re focusing on every inch of contact with the milk products,” DeMaria said.

The dairy, which distributes milk under various brand names to homes and stores across central Massachusetts and also operates a 500-acre farm in the town of Sutton, has suspended operations until the source of the contamination is pinpointed.

The Whittier family has declined to be interviewed. In a statement posted in the window of its dairy store and in a letter to its customers, the farm said it is “extremely concerned about the situation” and is cooperating with the investigation.

Health officials say about 2,500 serious listeriosis cases are reported in the United States every year, 20 to 40 of them in Massachusetts. Symptoms include fever, nausea and diarrhea.

Listeria can cause serious illness or death in pregnant women, newborns, the elderly and patients with compromised immune systems. Healthy adults and children generally recover.

A 1983 outbreak in Boston that was believed to have been caused by pasteurized milk led to 14 deaths.

In the Whittier Farms outbreak, DNA testing on the four patients showed they carried exactly the same strain of listeria, suggesting the germ had a common source. After the test results came back in mid-December, health officials began interviewing the patients and their families, hoping to zero in on the source.

At about the same time, a health worker at the hospital where an 88-year-old man was diagnosed with listeriosis learned that the man had had unpasteurized cider and coffee-flavored pasteurized milk. When both drinks were tested, only the pasteurized milk — from Whittier Farms — came back positive.

Officials then found listeria in an unopened container at the dairy’s store in Shrewsbury.

State health officials would not identify any of the listeria patients because of privacy laws. But health officials in the town of Medway confirmed that the 88-year-old man who died Jan. 3 was John J. Powers, a World War II veteran and retired timekeeper at the Boston Naval Shipyard.

Powers’ son bought the milk. The younger Powers had some flu-like symptoms for several days but recovered, while his father — who had other health problems — became ill and died, said Bill Fisher, Medway’s health agent.

Two of the victims, a 78-year-old man and a 75-year-old man, died in Worcester County in June and October.

A pregnant, 34-year-old woman recovered but suffered a miscarriage. Health officials suspect another pregnant woman, 31, contracted listeriosis from Whittier Farms milk. She recovered, and her baby is doing fine.

Brian Gay, owner of Maple Farm Dairy, has distributed Whittier’s milk for about a decade and said many of his customers were shocked by the outbreak. Some canceled their service, Gay said, but most seem willing to return to Whittier when the milk is deemed safe.

“They were bumming out, because they love the product,” Gay said.

___

AP reporters Mark Pratt and Melissa Trujillo contributed to this report.

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