Why Use A Food Thermometer?

Think about this … 1 out of every 4 hamburgers turns brown in the middle BEFORE it has reached a safe internal temperature, according to recent USDA research.

Most people think they know when food is “done” just by “eyeballing it.” They look at it and trust their experience.   Experience is good, but it sometimes can be misleading. For instance, cooking by color is definitely misleading. Meat color — pink or brown — can fool you!

Digital, Dial, & Disposable

Thermometers are turning up everywhere in today’s kitchens in all shapes and sizes — digitals, instant-reads, probes for the oven and microwave, disposable indicators and sensor sticks, pop-ups, and even barbecue forks. They’re high-tech and easy to use.

Some thermometers are meant to stay in the food while it’s cooking; others are not. Some are ideal for checking thin foods, like the digital. Others, like the large-dial thermometer many people use, are really meant for large roasts and whole chickens and turkeys.

Choose and use the one that is right for you!

• Dial Instant-Read
• Digital Instant-Read
• Disposable Temperature Indicators
• Fork
• Dial Oven-Safe
• Pop-Up

Why Is It Important?

Millions of people get sick from dangerous bacteria in food every year.

Public health data in 2000 show that there are more than 5 times the number of dangerous bacteria in our food than we were aware of in 1942.

Many people don’t link their illness to foodborne bacteria. They think they have a case of the flu.

You can become sick anytime from 20 minutes to 6 weeks after eating food with some types of harmful bacteria.

Infants and young children, pregnant women, and older adults are at greatest risk for foodborne illness, as are all people with weakened immune systems caused by cancer treatment, AIDS, diabetes, kidney disease, and organ transplants.

Temperature Rules

Food	Degree F (° F)
Beef, Pork, Veal, Lamb	160
Turkey, Chicken	165
Fresh Beef, Veal, Lamb Medium Rare Medium Well Done	145 160 170
Chicken & Turkey, whole	165
Poultry Breasts, roast	165
Duck & Goose	165
Stuffing (cooked alone or in bird)	165
Fresh Pork	160
Fresh Ham (raw)	160
Pre-cooked Ham (to reheat)	140
Egg Dishes	160
Leftovers and Casseroles	165

Source:

United States Department of Agriculture, http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Use_a_Food_Thermometer/index.asp (accessed July 27, 2011)

Fat-Free Doesn’t Mean Calorie-Free

A calorie is a calorie is a calorie whether it comes from fat or carbohydrates. When you eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight. You can lose weight by eating fewer calories and by increasing your physical activity.

Reducing the amount of fat and saturated fat that you eat is one easy way to limit your overall calorie intake. However, eating fat-free or reduced-fat foods isn’t always the answer to weight loss. This is especially true when you eat more of the reduced fat food than you would of the regular item. For example, if you eat twice as many fat-free cookies, you have actually increased your overall calorie intake.

The following *list of foods and their reduced fat varieties will show you that just because a product is fat-free, doesn’t mean that it is “calorie-free.” Calories do count!

Fat-Free or Reduced-Fat		Regular
Product	Calories	Product	Calories
Reduced-fat peanut butter, 2 T	187	Regular peanut butter, 2 T	191
Reduced fat chocolate chip cookies, 3 cookies (30 g)	118	Regular chocolate chip cookies, 3 cookies (30 g)	142
Fat free fig cookies, 2 cookies (30 g)	102	Regular fig cookies, 2 cookies (30 g)	111
Nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt (<1% fat) 1/2 cup	100	Regular whole milk vanilla frozen yogurt (3-4% fat) 1/2 cup	104
Light vanilla ice cream, (7%) fat, 1/2 cup	111	Regular vanilla ice cream, (11%) fat, 1/2 cup	133
Fat free caramel Topping, 2 T	103	Caramel topping, homemade with butter, 2 T	103
Lowfat granola cereal, approx. 1/2 cup (55 g)	213	Regular granola cereal, approx. 1/2 cup (55 g)	257
Lowfat blueberry muffin, 1 small (2 1/2 inch)	131	Regular blueberry muffin, 1 small (2 1/2 inch)	138
Baked tortilla chips, 1 oz.	113	Regular tortilla chips, 1 oz.	143
Lowfat cereal bar, 1 bar (1.3 oz.)	130	Regular cereal bar, 1 bar (1.3 oz.)	140

*Nutrient Data System for Research, Version v4.02/30, Nutrition Coordinating Center, University of Minnesota.

Source:

 National Institutes of Health, http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/lose_wt/cal_cnt.htm (accessed April 11, 2008).

 National Institutes of Health, http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/lose_wt/fat_free.htm (accessed April 11, 2008).

Cameron Counseling Center

The Cameron Counseling Center announces the Indiana Addiction licensure of Rita Lechleidner, Director, LAC; Christine
Sebring, LCAC, and Adelle Schwan, LCAC. This licensing distinction is new in the state of Indiana.

Licensure as a Licensed Addiction Counselor (LAC) and Licensed Clinical Addiction Counselor (LCAC) requires extensive experience in the addictions field, advanced certification by the Indiana Counselors Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse (ICAADA), a bachelor or master’s degree, and significant years of clinical work in the field of substance abuse and addiction.

Lechleidner has served as the director of the Cameron Counseling Center for over three years and has provided substance abuse counseling for over 19 years. She holds the Indiana Advanced Certifed Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor II (CADAC II) certification.

Sebring has been in the field of mental health and substance abuse counseling for twenty years and is also certified in Indiana at the advanced CADAC IV level. She works part-time at the Cameron Counseling Center and has a private practice in Michigan.

Schwan recently joined the Counseling Center’s staff, with thirty years of experience in substance abuse counseling. She is certified in Indiana at the CADAC II and Certified Clinical Supervisor (CCS) levels.

Congratulations to the Cameron Obstetrics Department!

The Obstetrics Department was recently presented with the Silver Certificate from the Indiana State Department of Health,
Perinatal Hepatitis B Prevention program. This award honors Cameron for its pro-active practices in the prevention of perinatal Hepatitis B infection.

The primary goal of the program is to prevent perinatal transmission of hepatitis B infection by identifying and providing case management to infected pregnant women. This ensure initiation of postexposure disease prevention to their
newborns, completion of the hepatitis B vaccination series and post-vaccination testing.

One of the strategies to accomplish this goal is to conduct audits of maternal and newborn medical records in order to evaluate policies and procedures in the prevention of perinatal hepatitis B. In 2011, 65 records were reviewed at Cameron.

Focus On Fruit: The Asian Pear

Many experts suggest we need five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Tired of the same old fruits and veggies? Add some variety to your diet by trying new fruits and vegetables.

It can be difficult to blindly select a new fruit or vegetable. Cameron Hospital will periodically provide information on a variety of fruits and vegetables to help you choose ones that you will enjoy.

The Asian Pear

Asian pears are cousins to the pears that are typically seen in grocery stores. However, this fruit is similar to an apple and its many names reflect that characteristic. This fruit is also called the Chinese pear, Japanese pear, Sand, Nashi, and apple pear.

Asian pears differ from the traditional European ones. These pears are usually round, firm to touch when ripe, and are ready to eat after harvest. Asian pears reach prime quality when they ripen on the tree, like an apple and peach. These pears will be crisp, juicy, and slightly sweet with some tartness, especially near the core.

While European pears have the bulbous bottoms and tapering tops, they are not ready to eat until they are slightly soft and must be picked during the green stage and ripen at room temperature. European pears will be soft and juicy, with a sweeter, mellower taste. European pears will be brown at the core and have an unpleasant taste if they are tree-ripened.

There are several Asian pear varieties available. Japanese pears are more round in shape, while the Chinese pears are more oval or “pear-shaped.”

In the United States, the Japanese type of Asian pear called 20th Century or Nijisseki is the most popular. It is easily identified with its round shape and smooth yellow skin. Other common varieties include the Japanese bronze-toned Hosui pear and the pear-shaped Ya Li, a pale-green Chinese variety.

Selection

Select the most fragrant and unbruised fruit with little to no brown spots. Ripe Asian pears are hard and do not soften. They are ready to eat when purchased.

Storage

Asian pears keep well. You can store pears for one week at room temperature or up to three months in the refrigerator.

Nutrition Analysis

Serving size – 1 pear
Calories per serving – 50
Total Fat – 0
Cholesterol – 0
Sodium – 0
Total Carbohydrate – 13 g
Dietary Fiber – 4 g
Sugars – 9 g
Protein – 1 g

Source:

Centers for Disease Control, http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/month/asian_pear.html (accessed April 29, 2008).

Cameron Memorial Community Hospital Annual Report

Cameron Memorial Community Hospital is releasing its first-ever annual report.   In an effort to be more transparent to the community it serves, the report provides a variety of information, including financial data, on Cameron’s operations for 2011.

Advances at Cameron have continued at a rapid pace in the last year with electronic health
record enhancements, new physicians, new clinical services, and planning for the new Cameron Hospital. As we move ahead, Cameron Memorial Community Hospital remains committed to high quality patient care, to excellence in customer service, to increased access to additional specialty physicians, and to keeping our costs among the lowest in the region to promote a healthy and vibrant community…Well into the FUTURE.

The publication is included in today’s Herald Republican.

Cardiac CT Scan For Coronary Calcium at Cameron

As part of National Heart Month, Cameron Memorial Community Hospital is very pleased to offer CT Coronary Calcium Scoring for just $99 (which includes image interpretation by Fort Wayne Radiology) for the month of February. The test is available within the Radiology department of the hospital, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. The service is done on a self-referral basis (no physician order is necessary) and is considered self-pay (no insurance involvement).

A cardiac CT scan for coronary calcium is a non-invasive way of obtaining information about the presence, location and extent of calcified plaque in the coronary arteries. Calcified plaque results when there is a build-up of fat and other substances under the inner layer of the artery. This material can calcify which signals the presences of coronary artery disease (CAD). People with this disease have an increased risk for heart attacks.

The goal of a CT Coronary Calcium scan is to determine if CAD is present and to what extent, even if there are no symptoms. Some benefits of this procedure include:

• The scan is a convenient and noninvasive way of evaluating whether you may be at increased risk for heart attack.
• The exam takes little time, causes no pain, and does not require injection of contrast material.
• No radiation remains in a patient’s body after a CT examination.
• X-rays used in CT scans usually have no immediate side effects.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and is a major cause of disability. Don’t become a statistic. Get more information and schedule an appointment, by calling Cameron’s Radiology department at (260) 665-2141, ext. 2739.