For those unfamiliar with its charms, Nutella is a creamy mixture of hazelnuts, sugar, skimmed milk, vegetable oil and cocoa solids (think peanut butter, only more exotic and sweeter — sugar is actually the first ingredient). The Italian company, Ferrero, has produced it since the 1960s, though some say it dates back to at least 1946.

The Food and Drug Administration considers Nutella to be a "dessert topping," which sets the serving size at two tablespoons. Ferraro is petitioning the FDA to reclassify Nutella as a spread similar to jams and jellies, which have listed serving sizes of 1 tablespoon.

That would halve the current calorie count for a serving of Nutella to 100 calories from 200 calories, which is about the same as a small doughnut. The FDA is seeking public comment. Whether anybody actually limits themselves to one or two tablespoons when slathering Nutella on toast remains unknown.

Financial Toxicity

One of the major concerns in cancer treatment are toxic side effects. Usually, we think about this in terms of hair loss, fatigue or worse caused by aggressive therapies. There is another kind of toxicity caused by cancer: financial.

Cancer's impact upon financial well-being can be as devastating as its physiological or psychological effects. When a loved one develops cancer, a family's risk of significant financial hardship rises dramatically. Consider these numbers from the National Cancer Institute:

—Between 33 and 80 percent of cancer survivors exhaust their savings to finance medical expenses

—One in three patients will borrow money from friends or family to pay for care

—Bankruptcy rates among cancer survivors are 260 percent higher than among similar households without cancer

Body of Knowledge

Eyelashes last roughly 150 days.

Number Cruncher

A serving of hard pretzels (10 twists or 60 grams) contains 227 calories, 14 from fat. It has 1.6 grams of total fat or 2 percent of the recommended total fat intake for a 2,000-calorie daily diet.

It also contains 0 milligrams of cholesterol; 814 mg of sodium (34 percent); 45.7 grams of total carbohydrates (16 percent); 1.8 g of dietary fiber (7 percent); 1.7 g of sugar and 6.2 g of protein.

Counts

5: Number of months since the federal Centers for Disease Control began asking hospitals and physicians to look for infections caused by Candida auris. The often-fatal, antibiotic-resistant fungus had not been reported in the U.S., but it is easily misidentified with more common candida yeast infections

13: Number C. auris cases reported since then

4: Number of the first seven patients with C. auris infections who have died

Source: CDC

Doc Talk

Claudication: cramping pain in the legs induced by exercise, typically caused by a reduction in blood supply

Phobia of the Week

Photoaugliaphobia: fear of glaring lights

Never Say Diet

The Major League Eating record for bratwurst sausages is 101 in 10 minutes, held by Carmen Cincotti. From wurst to first, Cincotti had never before finished on top.

Best Medicine

Did you hear about the guy who was arrested after his therapist suggested he take something for his kleptomania?

Observation

"Nyquil comes in two colors, red and green, and it's the only thing on the planet that tastes like red and green."

—Comedian Lewis Black

Medical History

This week in 1989, Dr. Christoph Broelsch and team at the University of Chicago Hospitals implanted part of a woman's liver in her 21-month-old daughter in the world's first successful living donor liver transplant. The liver is the only human organ capable of fully regenerating, often growing back to near-original size in both recipient and donor.

Med School

Q: What is the highest recorded body temperature in a human (who survived)?

A: Willie Jones, 52, of Atlanta, Ga. was admitted into a local hospital in 1980 with heatstroke and a fever of 115.7 degrees Fahrenheit - almost 20 degrees above normal. He was hospitalized for 24 days. Typically, a body temperature above 104 degrees F is considered life-threatening.

Last Words

"If any of you have a message for the Devil, give it to me, for I am about to meet him!"

—Lavinia Fisher (1793-1820), hanged for murder while wearing her white wedding dress gown.