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- 1. Build your own prevention kit If you live in a state or area with the mosquito that spreads the Zika virus and you are concerned about Zika, learn how to build your own Zika prevention kit. Your kit should include items that will reduce your risk of getting Zika. Reducing the risk for Zika is particularly important for pregnant women. Your kit should include: A bed net Insect repellent Permethrin spray Standing water treatment tabs Condoms Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention F inally, its finalized. For the first time in more than 20 years, the Nutrition Facts label on packaged foods has been revised. Why? To reflect new scientific infor- mation, says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the agency responsible for the safety and proper labeling of foods sold in the United States. More specifically, says the FDA, the new label addresses what we now know about nutri- tions effect on chronic diseases such as heart disease and obe- sity. (Yes, obesity is considered a chronic disease a persistent condition that can be controlled but usually not cured). One sad statistic: About half the adults in America are plagued by at least one chronic disease related to poor food choices and lack of physical activity. The FDA hopes the new food label will help us make bet- ter decisions: Short of yelling out, Pay attention to this! the new label highlights Calories and Serving Size in bold letters. And serving sizes are now based on what we actually eat, not on what we should eat. For example, a serving of ice cream is now 2 3 cup instead of 1 2 cup, which is still probably less than what most of us actually eat but who asked me? Calories from fat will no longer be on the label. Why? Because we now know the type of fat we eat is more important to our health than the total amount. Added sugars sugars added during the production of food will be added to the label both in grams and by the Percent Daily Value which will be defined on the label: The percent Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serv- ing of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. Sugar is not necessarily bad for us; its the main source of energy in fruit, vegetables and milk. But too much added sugar, especially in sweetened foods and beverages, packs on extra calories with no nutritional benefit. And this can be a health detriment, say experts. A can of regular soda, for ex- ample, contains 39 grams (about 10 teaspoons) of added sugar or about 150 calories. Thats about 8 percent of a persons total calo- ries for a day (Daily Value) in the form of added sugars. Our goal is not to exceed 10 percent. Since most of us still dont understand Percent Daily Value, important nutrients such as vitamin D, calcium, iron and po- tassium will be listed in actual amounts. For example, instead of show- ing that 1 cup of milk provides 30 percent of my Daily Value for calcium, the label will now indicated that 1 cup of milk contains 300 milligrams of calcium (30 percent of what I need in a day). Expect to see the new food la- bel in full force by July 26, 2018, says the FDA. Will it help us make better choices? Time will tell. Nutrition labels add some needed weight FYI HEALTH | 8A | MONDAY, JUNE 13, 2016 BARBARA QUINN Tribune Media Services Travel safely TheCDChasis- suedtravelwarnings forabout50countries regardingtheZikavirus, includingMexicoandinthe Caribbean,CentralandSouth AmericaandthePacificIslands. Specificsaboutadvisoriesforeach countryareavailableatnc.cdc.gov/travel/ page/zika-travel-information. If you travel to these countries, try to stay in- doors behind screens, or closed doors or windows as much as possible, especially during the day when the mosquitoes are most active. At night, sleep under a mosquito net. Choose the right clothes The right clothes can go a long way toward reducing bites. It might seem counterintuitive to don long pants and sleeves in tropical climates, but try to cover as much skin as possible. Clothing with a close weave works best to prevent bites, but layered loose-weave clothing works almost as well, says Joe Conlon, medical entomologist and techni- cal adviser to the American Mosquito Control Association. And because bugs are attracted to dark colors, go for clothes in white, beige or light khaki colors, he says. Use the right spray Whenitcomestosprays,notallbrandsarecreatedequal. ConsumerReportsfoundthatthemosteffectiverepellents forwardingoffAedesmosquitoeswereSawyerPicaridin andNatrapel8Hour,eachofwhichcontainsa20percent concentrationofthechemicalpicaridin.Anothergood oneisOff!DeepwoodsVIII,whichcontains25percent ofthechemicalDEET. Notonlydidtheseproductskeepmosquitoesfrom bitingforabouteighthours,theyareregisteredwith theEnvironmentalProtectionAgency,whichmeans theyareevaluatedforsafetyandeffectiveness. Stop mosquitoes at home To steer clear of the West Nile-carrying Culex mosquitoes, its best to stay indoors at dawn and dusk when they are most active. To eliminate mosquito breeding grounds from your yard, dump or drain water thats been stand- ing for several days in flower planters, pet dishes, birdbaths, swimming pools and remove old tires, tin cans or buckets. Safe sex Men can spread Zika to a female partner through sexual transmission, as has been demonstrated with 11 U.S. Zika cases. However, its still uncertain if women can pass the virus onto male partners, or which modes of sexual transmission are most risky. Until more is known, the World Health Organization says men and women returning from Zika-affected areas especially pregnant women and their partners should practice safe sex, including using condoms or abstaining from sex, for at least eight weeks. 1 2 3 4 5 By MARTHA ROSS The Mercury News | TNS M osquitoes have always been an annoying part of summer, but sud- denly they seem to loom larger and buzz louder. With the world facing its latest health threat from the mosquito-borne Zika virus, you might be tempted to cancel your summer trip to Mexico or points south, including Brazil e v e n if you were lucky enough to snag tickets to the Summer Olympics. Or, in the U.S., you might worry about getting bitten by a Culex mosquito. Thats the species that carries the West Nile virus, which now is endemic in California. While the global village we live in means we can no longer wave off certain diseases as distant epidem- ics, health officials also say theres no cause for panic. Certainly, with the risks of Zika-related birth de- fects, pregnant women should carefully consider visiting countries dealing with outbreaks. Still, the rest of us can re- duce our risk by using sim- ple precautions. MOSQUITOES BEWARE Mosquito range Thenewestimatedrangemaphasbeenupdatedfromavarietyofsources.ItshowsCDCs bestestimateofthepotentialrangeofAedesalbopictusintheUnitedStates.Itincludesareas wheremosquitoesareorhavebeenpreviouslyfound.Themapisnotmeanttorepresentriskfor spreadofdisease.Becausethesemosquitoesfeedonanimalsaswellaspeople,theyareless likelytospreadviruseslikeZika,dengue,chikungunyaandotherviruses. Source: Center for Disease Control and Prevention Five steps to take to prevent West Nile, Zika diseases