What Zero Grams (0g) of Trans Fat Really Means
Eating foods with trans-fat (or trans fatty acids) raises low-density lipoprotein (“bad” cholesterol), lowers your high-density lipoprotein (“good” cholesterol), and is linked to heart disease. Trans fat provides no health benefit and there’s no safe level of eating trans-fat. The FDA, American Heart Association, and the Institute of Medicine all agree that trans fatty acids have a stronger effect on [...]
We Can Prevent Suicide
This is national suicide prevention month. What can you do to prevent suicide? Look for the warning signs: Those talking about wanting to die Those giving away their possessions Those feeling hopeless, or intensely lonely Those experiencing mental or physical pain Those increasing their use of substances Those discussing revenge Those demonstrating extreme mood swings Those sleeping in excess Those [...]
The Ebola Intervention Roadmap
The pace of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has quickened over the last few weeks. There have now been over 4,900 cases and 2,400 deaths (half in the last month). The WHO has warned that by October, we may see the number of Ebola cases doubling every three weeks. For several months now, the caseload has overwhelmed the capacity [...]
Influenza Preparedness
It’s coming up on the harvest season for infectious diseases, and many of our ADHS teams are gearing up. We’re monitoring the number of flu cases reported across the state (we’ve only had 1 in the last couple weeks), supporting distribution of flu vaccines, encouraging healthcare workers and the public to get vaccinated, and testing influenza specimens to identify circulating strains [...]
Bringing Down AZ’s Teen Pregnancy Rate
We’re showing success in reducing our teen age pregnancies. It’s one of our winnable battles because babies born to teen moms are more likely to have bad birth outcomes; teen moms are likely to drop out of school and live in poverty. Since 2002, our teen pregnancy rate has declined almost 40%. We continue to work with our partners across [...]
Congrats to Emily
Congratulations to Emily Jenkins, the President and CEO of the Arizona Council of Human Service Providers who was recognized by the Arizona Capitol Times as the Leader of the Year in Public Policy for Healthcare this week. The award recognizes individuals and organizations for advancing public policy that positively impacts the lives of Arizonans. Categories include education, arts and humanities, [...]