Stay Healthy During Grilling Season

When it comes to warm weather parties, few ideas are more popular than a backyard barbecue. However, as enjoyable as such gatherings can be, they can cause problems as well, particularly if certain steps aren't taken when it comes to cooking and handling food.
* Clean your hands: Most backyard barbecues feature a host of standard fare when it comes to the menu. Burgers, steaks, hot dogs, and poultry are some of the most popular items. If you're handling raw meat and poultry, wash your hands between touching the meat and then touching the poultry.
* Don't marinate outside: Any good grillmaster knows that the key to a successful barbecue is how well the food is marinated. If marinating food for an extended period of time, keep the food refrigerated while marinating. Also, be sure not to apply leftover marinade to food that's already cooked. If you're wary of wasting the marinade, boil it before applying to cooked food. The boiling will remove any bacteria left in the marinade by the raw meat or chicken.
* Use a meat thermometer: Many grill chefs have heard cries that their food isn't cooked well enough. Typically, this is heard after someone puts all the fixin's on their food. That can make continuing to cook the food a messy ordeal. To avoid such instances, use a meat thermometer on burgers and steaks. In general, burgers should be cooked to 160 F, while meats such as steaks, roasts or london broil can be cooked to 145 F (medium rare) or 160 F (medium). Undercooked poultry can be especially dangerous, so cook to 170 F.
* Change utensils and plates: Once the food is cooked or if you're checking to see if it's finished, don't use the same utensils to remove or check food that you used to place it on the grill. Also, carry the uncooked food out on one plate, and present cooked food on another plate to avoid food contamination.
* Heat a charcoal grill properly: If you prefer to use a charcoal grill, make sure the coals are heated for 20 to 30 minutes before you put any food on the grill. Coals should not still be black if you're about to commence cooking. Instead, they should be gray.
* For tailgaters, cool your food as wel: Grilling out isn't confined to summertime or backyards. Sports fans across the nation often take their grills to the stadium and tailgate before the big game. In such cases, make sure you bring a food-only cooler along. Keep food separated and refrigerated in the cooler and until it's time to do some cooking.

Healthy Eyes Begin With Sun Protection

When it comes to conditions caused by harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun, individuals are quick to mention skin cancer. However, it's important to note that the eyes are delicate organs which are also very susceptible to sun damage.
UV rays are high-energy, invisible rays of light. These rays can warm up the planet and promote life. However, they can also be detrimental to areas of the body when overexposure occurs. When absorbed by the eyes, UV rays can create eye ailments or contribute to existing conditions.
One of the common side effects of too much eye exposure to UV rays is retinal damage. To understand the damage, one must first understand the role the retina plays in the eye.
The retina is responsible for taking the light and shadows the eye "sees" and converting this information into the electrical impulses that are sent to the brain to form the "picture" in front of us. The retina is sort of the film inside of a camera. The macula is the most sensitive part of the retina. It is responsible for the fine detail we see. Without the macula, the images from our eyes would be blurry.
When the eyes are damaged from the sun, the retina can be compromised. Depending upon the damage, vision may become blurred or distorted. Vision loss may also occur.
Retinal damage isn't the only damage that can occur from sun exposure. Cataracts, the result of gradually accumulating damage to the proteins of the lens, can also be caused by sun damage. This is often the case when UV exposure occurs from an early age. Pterygium, or tissue growth on the whites of the eyes that can compromise vision, may also occur from UV exposure.
When it comes to cancer, many believe that melanoma of the skin is the only reaction to UV rays. However, although rare, melanoma can also occur in the eyes.
The best way to prevent sun-related eye damage is to stay out of the sun. Naturally this is not possible at all times. In these cases, sunglasses that offer at least 95 percent UV (blocking UVA and UVB radiation) protection are vital to eye health. Also, choose a tint on the sunglasses that blocks 80 percent of transmissible light, but no more than 90 to 92 percent of light, say eye experts. Look for lenses that block visible blue light and are large and closely fitted to the face.
One safety warning to heed, especially when purchasing sunglasses for children, is to skip ordinary sunglasses that have no UV protection. The dark lenses may actually enable the eye's pupil to dilate and let in more harmful UV radiation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Information from Metro Newspaper Service © 2010