Wellnews by Scott LaFee

With summer comes barbecues and lots of grilled meat, which means not just good eating but possibly a bellyful of carcinogens known as heterocyclic amines or HCAs.

HCAs are created when meat is cooked. Levels vary with the type of meat. Bacon and rotisserie chicken have the highest levels; hot dogs have the lowest. (Possibly because most hot dogs barely qualify as meat.)

However, a Kansas State University food chemist says there's a tasty remedy to too many HCAs: rosemary extracts or Thai spices, such as cinnamon. J. Scott Smith said experiments show rosemary extracts can inhibit the formation of HCAs in cooked beef patties by 61 percent to 79 percent. Thai spices are a little less effective, inhibiting formation 40 percent to 43 percent. The key is the level of antioxidants present in the spice. Rosemary has higher antioxidant levels.

Another way to reduce HCA consumption is to avoid eating blackened or charred meat, which contains the highest concentrations of the carcinogen.

GET ME THAT. STAT!

Almost half of American hospitals have never reported a single physician disciplinary action to a national database as required by law, according to Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group.

NUMBER CRUNCHER

An entree of Applebee's Fiesta Lime chicken with sauce, cheese and tortilla strips contains 1,285 calories, 423 from fat. It has 47 grams of total fat or 72 percent of the recommended total fat intake for a 2,000-calorie daily diet.

It also contains 187 milligrams of cholesterol (62 percent); 1,443 mg of sodium (60 percent); 136 grams of total carbohydrates (45 percent); 6 g of dietary fiber (24 percent) and 74 g of protein.

STORIES FOR THE WAITING ROOM

Given Americans' growing girth, the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council have updated their guidelines for how much weight women should gain during pregnancy.

For healthy women at a normal weight for their height (a Body Mass Index or BMI of 18.5 to 24.9), the recommended gain is 25 to 35 pounds.

For underweight women (BMI less than 18.5), the gain should be 28 to 40 pounds.

For overweight women (BMI 25 to 29.9), the gain should be 15 to 25 pounds.

The updated guidelines include a new category for obese women (BMI greater than 30).

Their weight gain should be no more than 11 to 30 pounds.

To determine your BMI, use this online calculator: nhlbisupport.com/bmi.

OBSERVATION

Doctors are busy playing God when so few of us have the qualifications. And besides, the job is taken.

— Dr. Bernie S. Siegel

MEDTRONICA

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