Consumer columnist and West Hartford resident Harlan Levy has more than 20 years of experience writing stories about everyday experiences that anyone could encounter. 

Harlan Levy. Courtesy photo

By Harlan Levy

Checking for recent significant legal rulings and scientific studies affecting consumers I found two, the first concerning anaphylactic shock and, second, the effects of fasting.

But first a warning to Connecticut apple juice lovers: Walmart recalled around 10,000 cases of “Great Value” brand apple juice for unacceptable levels of inorganic arsenic after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an urgent recall on Friday.

The juice was sold in Connecticut and 24 other states.

Both natural and inorganic arsenic are present in many foods, the FDA said. Inorganic arsenic, which can be found in drinking water, is highly toxic, while organic arsenic occurs naturally in foods like shellfish, and is considered to be less harmful. (Diner to waiter: “Can I please have ice with my arsenic water?”)

Anaphylaxis

Allergic life-threatening reactions (anaphylaxis) are commonly treated by injecting epinephrine. No spray had been authorized – until now. On Aug. 9 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a “neffy” (epinephrine nasal spray) for ARS Pharmaceuticals for the emergency treatment. A neffy is a single dose nasal spray squirted into one nostril.

“Anaphylaxis is life-threatening, and some people, particularly children, may delay or avoid treatment due to fear of injections,” said Dr. Kelly Stone of the FDA’s Division of Pulmonology, Allergy and Critical Care. “The availability of epinephrine nasal spray may reduce barriers to rapid treatment of anaphylaxis.”

I’m repeating what many of you probably know: Anaphylaxis happens when a person’s immune system reacts abnormally to something that normally causes no symptoms, typically involving multiple parts of the body. Common causes include certain foods, medications, and insect stings. Symptoms usually occur within minutes of exposure and include hives, swelling, itching, vomiting, difficulty breathing and loss of consciousness, the FDA said. Epinephrine is the only life-saving treatment and has previously only been available for patients as an injection.

The most common side effects of neffy include throat irritation, tingling nose, headache, nasal discomfort, feeling jittery, tingling sensation, fatigue, tremor, runny nose, itchiness inside the nose, sneezing, abdominal pain, gum pain, numbness in the mouth, nasal congestion, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. All are fine with me – compared to the alternative.

Fasting

Are you a devotee of fasting to maintain your health? Guess what (as Joe Biden often says)? Breaking a fast produces more health benefits than fasting itself, according to a new study published in Nature magazine on Aug. 21.

The study, using mice, led by Ömer Yilmaz, a stem-cell biologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, first noted that fasting causes intestinal stem cells to begin burning fats rather than carbohydrates for energy, boosting their ability to repair damage to their intestines.

But the new discovery was that the stem cells multiplied at the fastest rate in the mice that feasted after fasting. Intestinal stem cells “repair and regenerate the intestinal lining, in part by producing large amounts of molecules called polyamines, which are important for cells to grow and divide,” the article explained.

“There is so much emphasis on fasting and how long to be fasting that we’ve kind of overlooked this whole other side of the equation: What is going on in the re-fed state?” Yilmaz is quoted as saying.

So don’t feel guilty about gorging after fasting.

Now you know.

NOTE: If you have a consumer problem, contact me at [email protected] (“Consumer” in subject line), and, with the power of the press, maybe I can help.

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