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San Diego Needle Exchange Program Examined
KPBS profiled San Diego"s "only clean syringe exchange program," a mobile van that twice weekly provides injection drug users with clean needles in exchange for used ones. The program also offers HIV and Hepatitis C tests and gives referrals to drug treatment programs. According to KPBS, "The concept behind syringe exchange is simple: people are going to shoot drugs. It"s crucial to make sure they have access to clean equipment, so they don"t spread blood-borne infections." However, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors is "adamantly opposed to the concept," and it is "illegal in San Diego for people to buy clean needles without a prescription," KPBS reports. In 2008, the privately-funded exchange program, which has the support of the mayor and the city council, collected more than 183,000 used syringes and handed out about 172,000 new ones (Goldberg, 7/7).
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Norway Chooses The Four-Type HPV Vaccine Gardasil(R) For The National Vaccination Programme
The four-type (6,11,16,18) human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, Gardasil®, has been chosen by the Norwegian authorities for the national vaccination programme after the assessment of a variety of criteria, including efficacy in the prevention of cervical cancer, safety and evidence of long-lasting protection. All available data was considered, including new data presented during the 25th International Papillomavirus Conference (IPC) in May in Malmē¶, Sweden.
News of the day
National Organization for Women Establishes Kansas Abortion-Rights PAC To Fill Void After Death Of Abortion Provider Tiller
The Kansas chapter of the National Organization for Women has formed its own political action committee to replace ProKanDo, a PAC founded in 2002 by abortion provider George Tiller that was closed after his murder in May, the AP/Hays Daily News reports. ProKanDo spent more than $1 million over the last four years to advocate for abortion rights, assist candidates who support abortion rights and oppose antiabortion-rights candidates. The organization had more than 6,400 contributors but received between one-third and one-half of its annual funding from Tiller, according to former Director Julie Burkhart.NOW has scheduled a conference in Wichita on July 25 to discuss legislative strategy and Kansas elections. Marla Patrick, coordinator of NOW"s Kansas chapter,÷ said that although the new PAC will not have the same financial support from Tiller that ProKanDo received, his death has invigorated grassroots support. She added, "I think that can be every bit as effective, if not more so, especially in light of all the recent events" (Hegeman, AP/Hays Daily News, 7/18).
Cardiovascular

Nutrient-Rich Foods Index Aims To Reshape Nutrition Education

WHAT: The Nutrient-Rich Foods (NRF) Index is a new, objective, science-based way to measure the total nutritional quality of foods and beverages. Effective nutrition profiling should be based on existing science and validated against proven measures of diet quality, according to the August issue of the Journal of Nutrition. A study in the issue outlined the scientific approach taken to develop the NRF Index, a measurement of nutrient density validated against the USDA"s scientifically based Healthy Eating Index (HEI). While the HEI mainly measures the recommended eating pattern from the five food groups, the NRF Index goes a step further by focusing on the nutrient density of individual foods and beverages. The NRF Index has implications for people of all ages, allowing them to choose more nutrient-rich foods first in order to build a healthier diet. WHY: Both adults and children are overweight and undernourished - missing out on important nutrients because they are not choosing nutrient-rich foods first. In much of today"s nutrition education the focus is on avoiding specific nutrients - such as sugar or fat - and it appears to have failed to provide Americans with the means to build a healthy, complete diet. For this reason, the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Committee requested the development of a scientifically valid definition of nutrient density to help with nutrition guidance. Thus, the NRF Index was created to provide a positive, science-based approach to inform people about what to eat rather than what not to eat, and how to choose more nutrient-rich foods. The Index balances beneficial nutrients and nutrients to limit in order to find the true nutritional value of a food, beverage, meal or total daily food intake. HOW: To use an objective approach to develop a nutrient density index that could be validated against the HEI, different formulas featuring hundreds of varying numbers and combinations of nutrients were evaluated. A formula based on 100 calories and taking the sum of the percent daily values of nine nutrients to encourage (protein, calcium, magnesium, iron, fiber, potassium and vitamins A, C and E) minus the sum of percent daily values of three nutrients to limit (saturated fats, sodium and added sugars) resulted in the greatest correlation with the HEI, and was established as the NRF Index. Consumer research is currently underway to create tools that will help people use the NRF Index in their everyday lives. WHO: Adam Drewnowski, PhD, MA, co-author of the study and Director of the Center for Public Health Nutrition at the University of Washington. NUTRIENT RICH FOODS COALITION: The Nutrient Rich Foods Coalition (NRFC) is a partnership that brings together leading scientific researchers, health professionals, communications experts and commodity organizations to answer the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Committee"s call to action to develop a scientifically valid, consumer-relevant definition of nutrient density. The NRFC is working to develop scientifically sound, consumer-tested tools based on the total nutrient package of a food or beverage - not just the nutrients to avoid - that can help educate people on how to get more nutrition for their calories. Matt Coldagelli Nutrient Rich Foods Coalition


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