I didn’t think things could get much more weirder than they already are, but I am consistently and constantly proven wrong.

The latest, if you haven’t already heard, is the campaign to brand food with labels warning against children choking.

The whole thing sort of reminds me of that person who spilled hot coffee on themselves and sued McDonald’s because they got burned even though there was a warning right on the cup stating, Caution: HOT!

Which is to say, we are a nation who has lost their common sense.

The group [The American Academy of Pediatrics] is issuing a new policy statement calling on the government and manufacturers to implement a food labeling system warning parents of these risks.

“This is a call to action,” said Dr. Gary Smith, a pediatrician and immediate past chairman of the Committee on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

“For many years, the U.S. has protected children from choking on toys. We have legislation. We have regulation. We have voluntary standards. We have labeling. We have recall programs,” said Smith, also director of the Center for Injury, Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

They want to go so far as to recall foods that pose a risk of choking if necessary.

The American Academy of Pediatrics lists hot dogs as the highest risk food for young kids. Grapes, raw carrots, apples and peanuts are also dangerous.

So…..common sense should tell you to cut these foods up in smaller pieces. Seems logical. Or, don’t give these foods to your child.

This article sites this fact:

Choking kills more than 100 U.S. children 14 years or younger each year and thousands more — 15,000 in 2001 — are treated in emergency rooms.

While this fact is disheartening, AAP shouldn’t have to go so far as mandating choking warning labels for food. It seems overkill to me. There should be awareness, but not legislation.

…the American Academy of Pediatrics lists a few tips on its Web site to help parents with problem foods. It suggests parents:

• Cut hot dogs lengthwise and grapes in quarters. This changes the dangerous shape of the food, which can block throats of young children and even teenagers.

• Avoid giving toddlers other high-risk foods such as hard candy, nuts, seeds and raw carrots.

• Never let small children run, play or lie down while eating.

Okay. The above-it’s common sense. Why is it necessary for them to post this on their site? Are Americans really that incompetent? Or are companies making us think we are?

Earlier in the month, Governor Schwarzenegger ordered an investigation into what is causing an over abundance of birth defects such as facial deformations and cleft palates in Kettleman City, California.

“This is a tremendous victory for the people of Kettleman City, whose pleas for help have fallen on deaf ears, including the state’s for the past 15 months, said Bradley Angel, executive director of the environmental justice group Greenaction. “We just wish he would have done this a year ago.”

Kettleman City is home to one of the most toxic waste plants in the state of California. But, it also sits off I-5, a major thoroughfare for the trucking industry.

Some say diesel emissions and pesticides on nearby farm fields could be contributing to the health problems.

The birth defects became a rallying point last year for residents trying to stop the expansion plans of the West’s largest hazardous waste facility by Chemical Waste Management Inc. Their stories of miscarriages and the photographs they carried of children with facial defects failed to convince the Kings County Board of Supervisors that the company’s expansion plans should not go forward.

The people at Waste Management, Inc. (owners of the plant)

are confident it will show their operation is not to blame for the facial defects in five of 20 children born there between September 2007 and November 2008.

They probably aren’t the sole cause for the defects, but they are definitely part of the problem.

The governor said both the California Department of Public Health and the state EPA will conduct the investigation and present initial findings at a meeting Feb. 9. The investigation will include interviews with residents, and reviews of soil samples and medical records.

Read the article here.

Follow-up article here

Hard to believe when you’re pulling your hair out for the third time in a week or when you’re caught in tantrum-land.

But, according to a study done by Brigham Young University, having kids can actually lower your blood pressure, especially women.

The study involved 198 adults who wore portable blood pressure monitors, mostly concealed by their clothes, for 24 hours.

The monitors took measurements at random intervals throughout the day – even while participants slept. This method provides a better sense of a person’s true day-to-day blood pressure.

The effect was more pronounced among women, with motherhood corresponding to a 12-point difference in systolic blood pressure and a 7-point difference in diastolic blood pressure.

Read the entire article here.

Women in India will now have an alternative for birth control: the I-Pill, also universally known as the morning after pill.

The fact that the pill is readily available from the local pharmacist is a huge step forward in Indian culture and society as well as for Indian women themselves.

However, there is concern about over-use of the pill; that there is too much dependence on it and that it’s being used instead of condoms.

People-the pill is NOT a replacement for condoms. Use them.

If these women are taking the pill like it’s a vitamin, or something-some taking it as many as three times or more in a month-who’s to say what affect that will have on the woman’s body? Particularly if you have certain health conditions.

Abortions are actually legal in India, but are not safe or sanitary. The I-Pill offers a safer alternative to abortion, but as of now, there are few, if any, restrictions and guidelines concerning the pill. There shouldn’t be restrictions on availability, but there should at least be a warning label with any known side effects on it.

Currently, scientists aren’t sure of the side effects that may occur. Maybe the scientists should get on that before the women start dying from gulping down these pills.

Read the rest of the article here.

It’s no secret that the unhealthy American diet is contributing to an epidemic of obesity. But there’s another hidden epidemic that our fatty diets are at the root of: A national sex crisis.

Yep. A sex crisis. A NATIONAL sex crisis for God’s sake! Now, I don’t think that’s quite the problem round here lately. But this article, on the best and worst foods for your libido, proclaims we are in such an epidemic.

What can we do to avert this crisis? Let’s start with the foods that made the HOT list.

Bananas

No, it’s not just the suggestive shape — the healthy doses of potassium and B vitamins in bananas help boost the production of important sex hormones

Chocolate Covered Strawberries (this should be a no-brainer!)

This sexy combo isn’t just a Valentine’s Day gimmick. The phenyl ethylamine in chocolate releases the same hormone released during sex, and strawberries contain vitamin C, which helps libido. Plus, Italian researchers found that women who often eat chocolate have a higher sex drive than those who don’t. Just make sure the chocolate you’re using has at least 60 percent cacao for the maximum benefit.

The Ancient Pomegranate

Pomegranate contains boatloads of antioxidants, which can help increase blood flow to all parts of the body, including the genitals.

Asparagus! (who knew?)

It may not seem like a sexy veggie (especially when it’s steamed to the point of limpness –yikes), but asparagus is one of the oldest aphrodisiacs out there. And for good reason — asparagus is packed with vitamin E, which stimulates the production of sex hormones.

Of course, there is the (almost) universally enjoyed bar of choc-o-late. Dark chocolate, to be more specific. See the chocolate covered strawberries above.

Others that made the list: sirloin steak, Vanilla ice cream

Food that is NOT hot: Tomatoes, oysters, chili peppers, and (even if yummy) half a bottle of wine.