April 1, 2010 by Kathleen Barnes The health care reform law has its benefits and its drawbacks, but requiring restaurant chains to post nutrition information is a stroke of genius. Starting next year, any restaurant with more than 20 stores must post calorie counts right next to the item on the menu and have full … Read more
If you’ve ever thought that your voice isn’t heard, it’s just not true. I am a strong proponent of letting my elected officials know what I think. I do so often and as politely as possible. Now I can salute Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for withdrawing support for his own legislation – a bill that … Read more
Feb. 19, 2010 If Sen. John McCain has his way, Americans’ access to herbs, minerals and dietary supplements will be severely curtailed. McCain’s newly introduced bill the Dietary Supplement Safety Act (DSSA) will give the FDA complete control over all dietary supplements. The DSSA will repeal parts of the DSHEA (Dietary Supplement and Education Act). … Read more
Feb. 15, 2010 The new CARD consumer credit protection act takes effect next week—and not a moment too soon. We’re still in a feeding frenzy of credit car companies raising interest rates through the stratosphere while they still can. Now, hopefully, those ridiculous rates will slow down. I recently heard of one that was 250%! … Read more
The House of Representatives has voted to make the new credit laws effective immediately in the face of flagrant abuses by credit companies hoping to beat the February deadline by raising interest rates into the stratosphere. The Senate has not yet taken up the measure, and it is uncertain what will happen there, but Senate … Read more
You’ve always had a stellar credit score. You keep you balances low or, better yet you pay off your credit cards every month like clockwork. You’ve never, ever had a late payment. But you got one of those “drop dead” letters from your credit card company. Yikes! My condolences. It’s gonna hurt, no matter how … Read more
Sept 28, 2009 Here‘s a little rant about social networking. In recent times, you were nobody if you weren’t on Twitter. It was an essential business and personal branding tool. I am on Twitter (@KathleenSBarnes) and am approaching 2,400 followers. Not too shabby. I have some wonderful followers who post interesting stuff. But lately, I … Read more
Unprecedented shortages of dessicated or natural thyroid hormones like Armour thyroid and Nature-Throid are causing serious problems for patients with hypothyroidism. Shortages of Armour thyroid have become fairly common in recent years, but the recent shortage of Nature-Throid indicates the pressure to take patients off the natural hormones that have been available for 100 years … Read more
Two really important studies crossed my desk recently, both showing profound advantages of vitamin supplementation in reducing markers of heart disease and in prolonging life in those at risk of heart disease. I’ve long been an advocate of supplements since we know that it is nearly impossible to get all the nutrients we need from … Read more
We Americans are getting even more supersized than ever. More than one third of all adults and 16 percent of all children are obese, according to just-released government statistics. This puts 26.1 percent of the overall population at accelerated risk of cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer because of their excess … Read more