News Letter 2006 06

M. A. SMITH

A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORPORATION

MASAPLC.COM

Michael A. Smith, Attorney at Law

319 E. Foothill Blvd., #C Voice - (626) 357-1177

Arcadia, CA 91006 Facsimile - (626) 357-4588

June 2006 No. 13

While Congress wages battle over illegal immigration, the Supreme Court entered the fray in a context involving one of the law’s most powerful weapons: RICO. RICO was originally passed to be used against “organized” crime. A decade ago, Congress expanded the act’s reach to include violations of federal immigration law. On April 26, the Justices considered whether a corporation and its outside recruiters, alleged to have engaged in the systematic recruiting and hiring of illegal workers, could be constituted an “enterprise” under RICO. Thanks Fred C.

This being an election year, it will not be a year of honest talk about California’s financial troubles. There is, however, one person in Sacramento who will not sugarcoat the challenges ahead: Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill.

Her message: for all the talk about an improved economy, unexpected revenue surpluses and long-term investment in the infrastructure, California is still spending more than it brings in. Whether you are talking about a household budget or a $120 billion enterprise, that is a big problem.

Even with revenue surpluses, California faces a projected budget deficit of $5 billion for the 2006-07 year, about $4 billion the year after that and another $5 billion for 2008-09.

Microsoft (Research) regularly releases updates designed to “fix” vulnerabilities in its software that hackers could take advantage of but experts say the announcements leave out key details of exactly what is being fixed. Security fixes can take tremendous effort to install throughout a company with thousands of systems. Without more information about these “vulnerabilities,” administrators are not able to judge which fixes are routine and which are truly urgent. Thanks Fred C.

If your eyesight is fading or growing hazy from the middle of your focal area you could have macular degeneration. One in 4 Americans, aged 64 to 74, suffers from this disease, as does 1 in 3, over 75. It affects younger people but less frequently.

The macula is the central area of the retina, where most of the vision cones are located. It is responsible for focus and color vision. In macular degeneration, the macula deteriorates, reducing aspects of visual function. The cause of macular degeneration is not known although smoking, poor diet and obesity, high blood pressure, light colored eyes, farsightedness, family history and age may all be contributors. The condition tends to affect whites and females in particular.

One theory on the cause of this condition is an insufficient disposal of waste materials from the cells in the eye. Cellular metabolites are normally carried off; in this case some are left behind, obscuring light and impairing cell function, which impairs vision.

There are two types of macular degeneration--dry and wet. Between 85 and 95 percent of patients have the dry form. Vision loss is generally very slow and painless. Symptoms include shadowy areas in one’s central vision or experiencing unusually fuzzy or distorted vision.

To “avoid” or “put off” getting macular degeneration-wear sunglasses to avoid harmful rays, eat a proper diet, stop smoking, lower your blood pressure and see an Ophthalmologist regularly. Bottom Line Daily Health News

Once again, recognizing the signs of stroke are very important. We all need to keep these simple guidelines in mind. Ask the individual to:

2. TALK; speak a simple sentence (must be coherent), e.g., It is sunny today.

4. STICK OUT THEIR TONGUE. If the tongue is crooked, if it goes to one side this is also an indication of stroke.

Call 911 immediately. If care is given in the first three hours of a stroke, the chances of a full recovery are great. Thanks Pauline M.

J. Russell Ramsay, PhD, is assistant professor of psychology in psychiatry at the School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. He is also the Associate Director of its adult ADD treatment and research program. He says researchers have found from 50 to 75 percent of children with ADD continue to “experience significant problems from the disorder” when they reach adulthood. It is not possible to “catch” ADD as an adult, so an adult sufferer has had it their entire life. Diagnosis in adults has been missed for so long because criteria used to determine ADD in children is not appropriate for evaluating adults, nor do grown-ups display symptoms in the same way as children.

Adults mature out of the hyperactive element as a result of learned behavior modification and brain maturation. However, other symptoms of ADD, especially a persistent sense of mental restlessness, inattention and distractibility, remain throughout a lifetime, if left untreated.

In some ways, adults with ADD suffer more than children because life’s expectations are so much greater. Adults are depended on to maintain structure and organization. Furthermore, they do not have a support network reminding them what needs to be done and helping them complete responsibilities. This leads to a persistent sense of fear and doom in the adult ADD suffer. Because an adult’s life is faster paced, these people fall behind more rapidly and the consequences are greater. They change jobs and get divorced more frequently, are poorer drivers and at higher risk for substance abuse. This group tends toward depression and anxiety; understandable given the life problems many face. They are often heavy smokers because nicotine is known to stimulate areas of the brain that controls planning, foresight and attention.

Experts estimate 8 to 10 million adult Americans have ADD to some degree. While childhood ADD affects more boys than girls, among adults it is gender balanced. Bottom Line Daily Health News

In the U.S., 75 women are raped each hour. Every few seconds, a woman is beaten. Each day, 400 Americans suffer shooting injuries, and another 1,100 face armed criminals.

Gavin de Becker, author of The Gift of Fear, says victims of violent behavior usually feel a sense of fear before any threat or violence takes place. They either distrust their feeling or it spurs them to action that saves their life. An expert on predicting violent behavior, de Becker believes we can all learn to recognize signals of the “universal code of violence,” and use them as tools to help us survive. His book shows how to identify warning signals of a potential attacker and recommends strategies for dealing with the problem before it becomes life threatening. Thanks Fred C.

Antacids are a drug used to relieve heartburn by decreasing levels of stomach acid. They are among the best-selling drugs of all time. What has been marketed as excess stomach acid is really acid produced at the wrong time.

Digestive Phase: when food enters the stomach, acid is produced to help dissolve the food and extract nutrients, and

Quiescent Phase: when the stomach is empty, normally there is little or no stomach acid.

Antacids decrease or even eliminate vital stomach acid, and stomach problems actually develop because of too little, not too much, stomach acid. All drugs, including antacids, have side effects.

We all need stomach acid to activate pepsin and digest food. Taking too many antacids could lead to intestinal gas, bad breath even skin rash. If you avoid certain foods because they “bother” you, it is your body telling you these foods are not good for you--stay away from them.

Stomach acid is not just for digestion. Its ability to kill the vast array of microbes we ingest along with our food is one of the body’s major defenses against disease. Using too many antacids may weaken that defense.

The liver needs protein to create HDL or “good” cholesterol. However, antacid use decreases the body’s ability to thoroughly digest protein, which in turn reduces its ability to make HDL.

Antacids can backfire and lead to more heartburn instead of less, causing acid reflux disease. When there is not enough stomach acid to properly digest food, the lower esophageal sphincter may weaken and make reflux and heartburn more likely to occur.

Before you begin or increase the use of antacids, check with your doctor and discuss what is best for your health.

Why choose an apple over a bag of pretzels if they have roughly the same number of calories? It would be a matter of taste if calories were all that counted. But nutrients count, too. For about the same number of calories, a person could also get fiber, vitamin C and potassium by selecting the apple. This is an example of “nutrient density,” which is highlighted in the USDA 2005 Dietary Guidelines which recommends consuming a variety of nutrient-dense foods and beverages as part of a healthful diet.

Energy-dense foods provide more calories per unit of volume. These calories, largely from refined sugars and fat, are sometimes called “empty calories.” In other words, energy-dense might sound healthy but it usually isn’t.

Nutrient-dense foods provide more nutrients and generally fewer calories per unit volume. They are the foods loaded with the nutrients we need to thrive.

Think about choosing a potato instead of potato chips; a banana instead of a soda; a plate of vegetables instead of a dinner roll. Skip the cake and go for the fruit. Choosing foods based on nutrient density will be choosing foods based on quality.

As a general rule, whole grain breads and cereals are more nutrient-dense than their “white” counterparts. Many fruits and vegetables are nutrient-dense snacks because they are low in fat and are packed with fiber, vitamins and minerals. Candies or sweetened beverages provide the carbohydrates but no other nutrients. Thanks Fred C.

Although artificial sweeteners have no calories, they may still be contributing to your weight gain, according to research done at Purdue University.

Things like taste and texture of food is associated with calories. Sweet taste tells the body this is a high-calorie item, and the body prepares by increasing its core temperature and gearing up for calorie burning. When the sweet taste is not accompanied by the usual calories, physiological mechanisms may be disrupted, leading to less efficient calorie burning and weight gain.

Although eating sugar does not provide any nutritional benefit, sometimes we just want some sugar. If that’s the case, go ahead and have a little. If it is the real deal, your body will respond appropriately and know it is satisfied. If it is not the real deal, you will finish sweet unsatisfied and may search for other foods to “satisfy,” consuming more in the long run. Bottom Line Daily Health News