Candy Sagon

Biography: Candy Sagon writes about health topics for AARP. She previously was a reporter with the Washington Post and has written numerous articles on food, health and nutrition for national magazines.

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Candy Sagon 'sPosts

Ground-Turkey Test Finds 90 Percent With Bacteria

Posted on 05/1/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthA Consumer Reports lab analysis of ground-turkey products purchased nationwide found that 90 percent had potentially disease-causing bacteria, some of which were antibiotic-resistant. The consumer watchdog organization said its first investigation of this kind on ground turkey also showed that turkeys raised without antibiotics had much less antibiotic-resistant bacteria than did turkeys raised with antibiotics. The new report follows a February analysis of store-bought meat by Food and Drug Administration scientists that found antibiotic-resistant bacteria in 81 percent of raw …

The Delicious Pie That Can Get You Sued

Posted on 04/30/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | FoodDo not mess with the one and only authentic Derby Pie. That would be the trademarked, legally protected name of the yummy chocolate-nut confection invented in 1954 by Kern’s Kitchen of Louisville, Ky., and traditionally enjoyed at Kentucky Derby parties. Over the years Kern’s has filed lawsuits against many who have illegally used the name of their signature pie. This year it’s against another Kentucky restaurant — Claudia Sanders Dinner House, the Shelbyville restaurant founded by the wife of Kentucky …

Just Listen: Teaching Doctors to Pay Attention

Posted on 04/29/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal Health“There is a bias in medicine against talking to people,” a frustrated health care provider tells the Washington Post. Or, as a recent story in the Wall Street Journal put it, “Doctors are rude. Doctors don’t listen. Doctors have no time. Doctors don’t explain things in terms patients can understand.” And then there’s the poignant explanation that a 78-year-old Medicare patient tells the Post: “In a doctor’s office, a lot of people, especially older people, feel pressure to get out …

Need to Remember Something? Try Making a Fist

Posted on 04/25/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthThe next time you see someone make a fist, he may not be threatening you — he may be just trying to jog his memory. In a fascinating little study titled “Getting a Grip on Memory,” psychologist Ruth Propper, Ph.D., of Montclair State University in New Jersey writes how clenching your right hand for 90 seconds will help you memorize facts, whereas clenching your left hand for the same amount of time will help you recall them. The study was …

This Saturday: Take-Back Day for Old Drugs

Posted on 04/25/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Home & Family | Personal HealthAmerica, it’s time to clean out your medicine cabinet. Those old, expired, dangerous prescription drugs that you no longer need and are wondering how to get rid of safely — and anonymously — and for free? Mark your calendars for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, for National Prescription Take-Back Day. Collection sites and times are posted at www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback. This is the sixth time in three years that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has offered this event. Last year Americans …

Bypass or Stents: Which Is Best for Older Patients?

Posted on 04/24/2013 by Candy Sagon | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthIf you’re a Medicare patient facing either heart bypass surgery or having stents inserted in your blocked arteries, the deciding factor may have a lot to do with the rest of your health, a new study suggests. Overall, the average patient did slightly better with bypass surgery, living about 19 days longer over the course of five years, according to a team of Stanford University researchers. However, when researchers separated out the patients who were otherwise healthy (no diabetes or …