July 25, 2025 • 30 mins
Manny Munoz dives into two important topics you’ve probably heard about—but may not fully understand.
First, food recalls. We see headlines about salmonella, E. coli, or other hard-to-pronounce contaminants all the time. But what do these recalls really mean? How do these bacteria find their way into our food supply, and more importantly, how can we protect ourselves? Manny got some answers from Sandra Eskin, former top USDA official and now CEO of Stop Foodborne Illness.
Then, Manny shifts gears to Restless Leg Syndrome—a condition that might sound amusing but is far from a joke. It affects millions of Americans, sometimes with severe, life-disrupting symptoms. He spoke with Dr. Lourdes DelRosso, professor, sleep expert, and Medical Director at Inspire Health Medical Group, to learn how this condition is diagnosed, treated, and better understood.
First, food recalls. We see headlines about salmonella, E. coli, or other hard-to-pronounce contaminants all the time. But what do these recalls really mean? How do these bacteria find their way into our food supply, and more importantly, how can we protect ourselves? Manny got some answers from Sandra Eskin, former top USDA official and now CEO of Stop Foodborne Illness.
Then, Manny shifts gears to Restless Leg Syndrome—a condition that might sound amusing but is far from a joke. It affects millions of Americans, sometimes with severe, life-disrupting symptoms. He spoke with Dr. Lourdes DelRosso, professor, sleep expert, and Medical Director at Inspire Health Medical Group, to learn how this condition is diagnosed, treated, and better understood.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to iHeartRadio Communities, a public affairs special focusing on
the biggest issues in facting you this week. Here's many
Munio's and welcome to another edition of Iheartradios Communities. As
you heard, I am Manny Muno's and I would love
a follow from you on Instagram at iod manny is
(00:22):
my handle at iod m A n n Y. We
hear about them all the time, food recalls because of salmonell, ari,
COOLi or some other thing we can't even pronounce. But
what are they really? How prevalent are they? How do
they infect our food supply? More importantly, how do we
protect ourselves? Let's discuss all of that and more as
we bring in Sandra Eskin. She's the CEO of Stopfoodbornillness
(00:48):
dot org. Sandra, I appreciate the.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Time, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
So let's start off with that what exactly classifies as
a food born illness in our country?
Speaker 2 (01:00):
A food born illness is caused by some sort of
bacteria or virus or parasite. It's again Saminella, e Poli, Listeria,
and a whole host of other germs. For lack of
a more sophisticated term, now, according to health authorities, each year,
(01:28):
one in six Americans is going to have a food
born illness. For a healthy adult, that's a couple of
days of tummy trouble. But for an at risk population,
a young child, an older person, a pregnant woman, someone
with a compromised immune system, it can be very serious.
(01:52):
It can land them in the hospital. In some instances,
it can kill them. In fact, each year, an estimated
three thousand people die as a result of known pathogens
in our food. What's really important to remember here, Manny,
(02:14):
is many of these infections are preventable.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
This isn't This isn't food going bad, food spoiling. This
is actually something, as you mentioned, a bacteria or a
virus that gets in the food supply. Is that right?
Speaker 2 (02:30):
You are correct, there are bacteria that cause spoilers. You're
absolutely right. And usually if we smell it or taste
it and it's not good, we don't eat it. That's
totally understandable. These are too larger, you're unvisible. You can't
see them, you can't smell them, you can't taste them.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Are there foods that are most often associated with some
sort of food borne illness outbreak?
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Well one thing that we have seen in more recent years, unfortunately,
is we've had outbreaks and recalls linked to fresh produce,
whether it's lettuce, spinach, tarrots, onions, cucumbers. And why is
that Well, because these foods grow in the ground, in
(03:22):
the dirt, they're exposed to the elements. They can get
contaminated by irrigation water, they can contaminated by fertilizer, they
can get contaminated by birds flying over fields. But there
are a lot of depths that can be taken to
reduce those risks, to minimize or lamented contamination. It's a challenge.
(03:44):
We don't again always cook them. Cooking can kill bacteria.
So we also know that fresh produce is a key
component of a healthy diet. So consumers are faced with
a conundrum, Right, eat more fruits and vechea to balls,
But if they hear every few weeks about a recall
(04:05):
or an outbreak, understandably they may not be so keen
on doing that.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Sure, can you tell if food is contaminated by looking
at it? Or is there any way to tell? I
guess whether food is contaminated unless you have a.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Lab in your kitchen. No, you cannot tell. Again, you
don't see it, you don't smell it, you don't taste it.
It is again very tiny bacteria, viruses, parasites.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Most of us don't have microscopes in our kitchen, much
less use them if.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
We do, correct, I think that's the their assumption. So
for that matter, yeah, everything, you need to plate it
and grow it and see what happens. Right, Yes, you're
absolutely right. And that's where the government plays such an
essential role. I think most consumers would agree, and I've
seen this and poll after poll that ensuring the safety
(05:03):
of the food supply is an essential government function. Of course,
companies need to do everything to grow and produce safe food,
but the government's out there protecting us to make sure
that companies do what they're supposed to do.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Are are there symptoms that are most common to food
borne illness? For example, the difference between I just got
a stomach ache because maybe my meal didn't agree with me,
or I got a stomach egg because whatever I just
ate has some sort of food borne illness.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Well, I will disclose that I am not a doctor, sure,
but in terms of symptoms, a fever that lasts a
long time, a extreme in intestinal discomfort, diarrhea and what's
most serious if you're passing blood in your bowels, right,
(06:02):
you have to get help right away. And you know
it's important also in that scenario to sink what did
I just eat or what did I It's some in
some instances it could take weeks, but in most cases
it's important for you when you go to seek medical
help to say if they should ask you what you've
eaten recently, No, that's important to keep in mind.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Well, and that's I guess that's an important step in
this whole process, right, because I guess a medical professional,
if you do go get checked out or something, would
have to ask you about that. They would have to
forward that information I imagine the USDA or some group, so
they could look into whether you know, other people are
getting sick from that.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
There is there a process, Oh, yes, there is quite
a process our public health system. It starts at a
state or local level, depending on how it's organized, and
people who work in the Department of Health called differen
things in different states. When they suspect they you know
that there are problems, they'll come and interview. But the
(07:07):
first step is for your health their provider to take
a stool sample and test it or sometimes a blood sample,
and then that needs to be reported to the Public
Health Department. As I said, someone then will follow up
if it might be food born. So there are many
steps before it reaches the CDC. The centersers that use
(07:30):
control of the federal level FDA for certain foods, USDA
for others. So that's why there are there's a serious
underreporting of food born illness. I gave you one statistic
because usually, again, people may be sick for a few
(07:51):
days and then they're better and they don't go to
the doctor, and then all those other steps don't happen.
So it is really when you have a serious food
borne illness, get medical help and make sure that it's
reported to the public Health Department.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Got a couple more minutes here with Sandra Eskin, former
top official at the USDA. She's now CEO at Stop
Food Born Illness. Their website is Stopfoodbornillness dot org. And
I guess that brings me to this because a little
bit different. If you buy something at the supermarket, take
it home, you got an upset stomach or whatever, maybe
(08:32):
you've gotten some sort of food borne illness, but you're
sick for a couple of days, you move on another.
If you contract something at a restaurant.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Well, whether you contracted or you think you've contracted it
at home or at a restaurant. Again, if you have
serious symptoms high fever, really bad and testinal cramping, bloody diarrhea,
you go to the doctor. You it may sometimes whether home,
(09:05):
manny or in a restaurant, you're eating multiple foods. Sure, sure,
so it's sometimes a challenge. So you just have to
be Again, if you experience these serious symptoms, do your
best to try to recall when what you've eaten, when
you've eaten it, whether it's at a restaurant or at
home or someone else's home.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
I guess the point of my question what it would
be easier to track down some sort of outbreak if
it started at a restaurant or something like that, then
just people buying stuff in a supermarket? Or is that
or am I mistaken?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
I would say that I don't want to say you're mistaken,
but you're understandable in your assumption because you're too kind,
you're well, you're assuming that if you get take at
a restaurant, your reporter, you know you that whole reporting
system will happen.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
That's not necessary. That's not necessarily the case. I don't
have statistics right now in my hand to talk about
the differences. It's important in both contexts home food prep
and restaurant food prep. If you're sick, get medical attention.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Are there steps that we could take at home to
try and protect ourselves since we can't see something that might,
you know, be infected or affected? Is there a way
to protect ourselves?
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Absolutely? There are well known and publicized safe handling practices.
They start with number one, wash your hands thoroughly before
you prepare food. Two, three, and four wash your hands
thoroughly before you prepare food. Use separate cutting boards for
(10:57):
raw versus food you're going to cook. If you are
cooking meat, poultry, fish, use a meat thermometer. If the
product is contaminated and you thoroughly cook it, chances are
you will kill the bacteria the virus. However, if it
(11:17):
is highly contaminated and we don't know that, you know,
we bring it into our house. These safe food handling
practice may not protect you. Generally speaking, they're very important
and they can protect you, But if you're dealing with
a highly contaminated food item, not so much.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Cross contamination at home. You kind of mentioned using different
cutting boards and things like that. I'm not sure that's
something a whole lot of us, maybe who don't watch
food cooking programs adhere to. Is that one of the
most common ways that you see people getting sick.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Yes, you can. It is because logically, if you've got
cutting board and you're using the same cundingboard to cook chicken, sorry,
to cut up a chicken or even cut up spinach
and use it for that, maybe comp contaminated, right, and
then you're using it to cut up potatoes or who
knows something else, you will spread that contamination And whether
(12:25):
or not you get sick depends in large part on
how many of those bacteria do you ingest. Right Again,
if it's something you don't cook, you're really not able
to protect yourself. And it's there are so many ways
(12:48):
that we can try to protect our families and our
friends when you cook. Cooking is eating together is so important.
But we also, as I said, these illnesses to a
large superger preventable, and the consumer has a role, but
ultimately it's the companies that grow the produce it's the
(13:12):
companies that produce the food products and that we that
we bring home and cook and serve. Again, cooking can
kill bacteria at one point.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
How prevalent are these I guess recalls? Are these out
are they outbreaks?
Speaker 2 (13:32):
An outbreak nanny is what word we use to describe
a bunch of illnesses. So the minute two people are
linked to the same general food items may not know
the producer right, that is considered a food borne illness outbreak.
By contrast, a recall goes to a product. So once
(13:56):
there is evidence that a product is or made contaminated,
companies sometimes mostly in collaboration with the government, will ask
we'll issue a recall notice and they'll say, this product
may be contaminated. They'll often say why because the test
(14:18):
showed it had you know, pick a bacteria salmonella in it,
or at least some of it. And then it's up
to the consumer to either return the product or throw
it out or get a refund. But the thing about
a recall that's so important, it's really the last line
of defense, right between a consumer and an illness. We
(14:41):
have a lot more sophisticated technology that allows the government
experts who investigate illnesses to try to connect those food
born illnesses to foods. It's amazing the advances that we
made but make, but unfortunately they still happen and again
(15:02):
recalls again. Some people say they're a good thing because
again you're hopefully catching a problem before it spreads too widely. Right,
But then it also means that food that's contaminated is
leaving a company, you know, processing plant or a farm
and people are buying it.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
So what we when these recalls are issued and I
see them every once in a while, check this you know,
lot number on your bag of you know of lettuce
or whatever. So we as consumers need to make sure
we don't have that at home. But once a recall
is issue, can we count on our supermarkets to proactively
remove that product from their shelves?
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Many? Many do. I'm not going to name memes, that's.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Not very convincing. Many many do, all of them should
should they not?
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Of course? And in some instances they put like labels
or post little posters saying you know, this is where
XYZ product is usually placed, but it's been subtu a recall.
Many companies, sorry, many supermarkets right will post a copy
(16:13):
of a rec call notice, and that's one thing that
stop food board illness. We're working with lots of food
companies to try to improve the recall process because sometimes
the language is so confusing and the information is not
helpful that people aren't inclined to return a product or
(16:35):
throw it out. So we really think there is clear
room for improvement. And to the degree that supermarkets may
not always improve the product, will certainly continue to work
with them.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
Will continue to.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Work with them to make sure that they do.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Just a couple of other things with you, how prevalent
are these outbreaks once a couple of people get them.
How many do we see in our country a year
for example?
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Too many?
Speaker 1 (17:05):
No one is too many, I'm.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
Guessing, but yes, but we see, we see enough. And
again I want to underscore Manny. When companies, when you know,
companies that produce fresh produce do the right things. They
ensure that everything whether it's water or soil or fertilizer
that touches the plants, you know, is as uh is
(17:31):
not contaminated. When companies that produce foods in processing plants
and they're careful, right, we don't have problems, right, These
are preventable to a large degree with practices that are
focused on minimizing contamination. I'm sure you've heard about plenty
(17:53):
of outbreaks in recent years, a point to one involving
Deli meat last year major and there were just a
lot of mistakes made across the board. So the key
here is not every illness is preventable. You can sometimes
reduce risks, but to a very large degree, food born
(18:15):
illnesses are well.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Sadly, you and I are grown up enough to know
that not every corporation does things the right way and
how they should final thing for you, just two or
three rules of thumb.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
I'll repeat too that I stated Number one, wash your
hands thoroughly before handling preparing food. If you're preparing a
hamburger or chicken or salmon, fully use a meat thermometer
and cook your food thoroughly.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Sandra Eskin former official at the USDA. She is CEO
of Stop Food Born Illness. You could go to their
website for more information Stop Foodbornillness dot org. Sandra truly
appreciative for the time and the information. Best of luck.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
Thank you very much, Manny.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Just a reminder, if you have any questions or comments,
you can follow me on Instagram at iod manny is
my handle at iodma n Y. It may elicit snickers
because of the name, but restless leg syndrome is a
serious disease that legitimately affects millions of Americans sum with
(19:26):
potentially debilitating symptoms. Let's talk about it with doctor lord
Is del Rosso, a professor, sleep expert and medical director
at Inspire Health Medical Group. Doctor del Rosso, I appreciate
the time.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Thank you, Thank you for the invitation.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
So what exactly is restless leg syndrome.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
It's an amazing condition in the sense that it causes
this urge to move your legs. It's defined as a
neurological sensory motor disorder. What is amazing about it is
that the symp terms can vary, so you can have
the urge to move your legs because you have a
little bit of a tingly sensation or a little bit
(20:08):
of a weird feeling, or just you need to move
the legs. So a lot of times we're probably gonna
talk about this, but it is not perceived as a disorder.
A lot of times people and physicians do not know
where the symptoms are coming from. So I'm really thankful
that you're interested in talking to the community about it.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
Does it happen only at sleep time? Does it happen
anytime throughout the day.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
Yeah, So the diagnosis of restless leg syndrome, we use
this mnemonic among doctors. It's called urch just for the
urge to move, and the U is the urge to
move to move. They are is because it's worse during
periods of rest, like when you're in the movie either
or in a long plane flight. And the G is
(20:55):
because it gets better with movements if you get up
and walk around, and the E is because it's worse
in the evening.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Huh. How does this begin? Do we know what causes it?
Speaker 3 (21:07):
Well, it is very likely multifactorial. For what we know now,
you know, science keeps advancing, so we know that there
is a genetic component, but it's very various places in
various genes, so it's not just a single gene. And
what we call it epigenetic, which means that the environment
affects it. So situations, dietary conditions for example iron deficiency
(21:32):
or periods of immobility, or other medication effect or other
disorders can contribute to it.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
How is it something like this restless leg syndrome RLS diagnosed.
Is there a standard test for determining if someone has
this or something else?
Speaker 3 (21:51):
You need a very much high clinical suspicion and a
person a physician experience in treating it on CNA to
be able to WRECT recognized. But also for the community
that is listening to us right now. If people do
have those symptoms in the legs, particularly at night before
going to bed, and the legs feel like they have
(22:12):
to move, that you have to reposition, get up and
walk a little bit, talk to your doctor, go online
find a fustation. There is a Restless Legs Foundation that
can help you find the right fastation to see if
what you have is restless leg syndrome.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
Is there a certain age where you generally see this developing?
Are there certain demographic types that are more prone to
it than others?
Speaker 3 (22:36):
I see it in every age. It is most common
in older people and in certain conditions like pregnancy, iron deficiency,
people with kidney conditions, or certain under certain medications like
anti depressants. But to tell you the truth, I see
it at every age. I practice for fifteen years pediatric
(22:57):
sleep medicine exclusively seeing children, and we were able to
diagnose it in children as young as infants.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Is it considered a sleep condition?
Speaker 3 (23:07):
It is a sleep disorder. You know, sleep medicine overlaps
with a lot of other specialties, so for many years
it was under neurologic disorder, and neurologists obviously still know
about it and see it and treat it. Right now,
it is under a sleep disorder.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
We're speaking with doctor Lord still Rosso, a professor, sleep expert,
medical director and Inspire Health medical group. How is it treated?
Is there some sort of therapy? Is it only prescription
drugs to treat this?
Speaker 3 (23:39):
Yeah, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine actually just published
guidelines for the treatment. I am very proud to be
part of the team that put together this guidelines. Based
on the evidence, we recommend as a first line treatment
to have lifestyle modifications like increased activity, decreased consumption of
caffeine and alcohol, whole have a balanced diet. And after that,
(24:03):
the very first step is to check iron levels because
we have found the association with iron deficiency, so check
fairy teen iron levels, iron panels, and the first step
is iron supplementation via oral riv And there are other
medications that are recommended definitely, prescription medication as well, and
devices like there is a perennial nerve simulation device as well.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
How far have you come in the research of this
since it first started. I remember it's been years now,
maybe ten or fifteen, twenty years since we first started
her hearing about this kind of odd sounding thing, restless
leg syndrome.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
Yes, well, we are advancing. We have found the association
with dopamine and iron. We also, initially many years ago,
found that medications that were dopaminergic were able to improve
the symptoms. But after following patients of a long periods
of time, we realize that after a while, after initially helping,
(25:07):
after a while, it makes a ward. So we have
changed the guidelines. There's medications that have been changed. Now.
We have brain imaging studies showing the areas in the
brain where iron is more deficient than others. So it
is a localized brain iron deficiency, not in everywhere. So
we are advancing. We're looking into newer treatments. So it
(25:31):
is a very exciting feel to be able to help
and identify these symptoms early and be able to help patients.
If I can tell you something to me it's been
the most rewarding part of my careers to help children
because in children sometimes imagine restless leg syndrome that gets
worse at rest, and then children are sitting in school
(25:51):
in classes for hours right with the fidgety legs that
they need to get up, and the people are mistagnosing
them with ADHD or diagnosed in them with all sorts
of behavioral problems. And once you supplement iron there is
completely resolution and improvement in sleep and the time activities.
So it's been incredibly rewarding for me to identify this
(26:15):
condition in children and be able to help them earlier.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Is there such a thing as restless arm syndrome or
is it only seen in the legs?
Speaker 3 (26:24):
It is actually part of the same disorder, so some
people can actually have the symptoms in the arms, in
the arms, in the legs, sometimes you know the body.
But there is a different syndrome that actually we described
a few years ago in children, which is called restless
sleep disorder, in which there's no symptoms actually during weight
(26:45):
like when you're sitting in the movies or when you're
at bedtime, but once the child goes to sleep, they're
very restless. They're kicking, they're moving, they're turning around. The
parents would say, like a helicopter in the bed. And
we also found out that it is associated with iron deficiency.
Iron is a cofactor for many neurotransmitters, but especially dopamine,
(27:06):
which is implicated with movement. So if iron is deficiency,
there is a lot of this regulation in this movement
controlled during sleep.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
If somebody is iron deficient, what are they doing wrong
with their diet? Or I guess, let me rephrase that.
What foods should somebody make sure they have in their
diet regularly to prevent them from becoming iron deficient?
Speaker 3 (27:28):
Absolutely, you're absolutely right to say that, because a dietary
consumption is the first cause of iron deficiency, but also
some other conditions, some malabsorption syndromes or some other conditions
can contribute. However, we have a diet that probably it
doesn't include a lot of the iron rich meals like
spinach or beans, lentils, cereals like quino. I love quino,
(27:55):
and yeah, liver. I remember the first time I recommend
liver to somebody that were shocked, little pat so, But
but having iron, you know, iron levels checked especially in
young children because in young children also the demand because
they're growing, so they may be eating a healthy diet,
but they're consuming it. They're they're they're just using it
(28:18):
for all the body functions that they need.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
Last thing for you, what advice would you give to
someone who suspects they may have restless leg syndrome or
somebody who thinks they should get their child checked out.
Is there a specific kind of doctor to see? Is
there something to say to your physician?
Speaker 3 (28:35):
Be an advocate for yourself. That is the best thing.
Some some people do not or physicians may not be
too cognizant of this syndrome, So just pursue it. Go online.
You don't know how many people actually email me from
other states and for other countries because of the publications
that I've had and said, I really suspect my child
(28:56):
has a restless legs or restless leave disorder, but my
primary care it's not aware of the condition. So be
an advocate. Sometimes I recommended patience. Bring articles, Bring articles
to your physicians, to your primary doctors, bring you know
internet patients from the Restless X Foundation, or ask them
to refer you to a sleep doctor, because as sleep
(29:18):
physician will will recognize the symptoms.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
Doctor Lordis del Rosso, a professor, sleep sleep expert and
medical director of Inspire Health Medical Group. Doctor del Rosso,
thank you so much for enlightening us the information be well.
Speaker 3 (29:32):
Thank you, Thank you everyone.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
As always, I'd love a follow on Instagram and I
follow back at Io d Manny is my handle at
io D M A n n Y. And that'll do
it for another edition of Iheartradios Communities. I'm Manny Muno's
until next time.
Welcome to iHeartRadio Communities, a public affairs special focusing on
the biggest issues in facting you this week. Here's many
Munio's and welcome to another edition of Iheartradios Communities. As
you heard, I am Manny Muno's and I would love
a follow from you on Instagram at iod manny is
(00:22):
my handle at iod m A n n Y. We
hear about them all the time, food recalls because of salmonell, ari,
COOLi or some other thing we can't even pronounce. But
what are they really? How prevalent are they? How do
they infect our food supply? More importantly, how do we
protect ourselves? Let's discuss all of that and more as
we bring in Sandra Eskin. She's the CEO of Stopfoodbornillness
(00:48):
dot org. Sandra, I appreciate the.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Time, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
So let's start off with that what exactly classifies as
a food born illness in our country?
Speaker 2 (01:00):
A food born illness is caused by some sort of
bacteria or virus or parasite. It's again Saminella, e Poli, Listeria,
and a whole host of other germs. For lack of
a more sophisticated term, now, according to health authorities, each year,
(01:28):
one in six Americans is going to have a food
born illness. For a healthy adult, that's a couple of
days of tummy trouble. But for an at risk population,
a young child, an older person, a pregnant woman, someone
with a compromised immune system, it can be very serious.
(01:52):
It can land them in the hospital. In some instances,
it can kill them. In fact, each year, an estimated
three thousand people die as a result of known pathogens
in our food. What's really important to remember here, Manny,
(02:14):
is many of these infections are preventable.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
This isn't This isn't food going bad, food spoiling. This
is actually something, as you mentioned, a bacteria or a
virus that gets in the food supply. Is that right?
Speaker 2 (02:30):
You are correct, there are bacteria that cause spoilers. You're
absolutely right. And usually if we smell it or taste
it and it's not good, we don't eat it. That's
totally understandable. These are too larger, you're unvisible. You can't
see them, you can't smell them, you can't taste them.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Are there foods that are most often associated with some
sort of food borne illness outbreak?
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Well one thing that we have seen in more recent years, unfortunately,
is we've had outbreaks and recalls linked to fresh produce,
whether it's lettuce, spinach, tarrots, onions, cucumbers. And why is
that Well, because these foods grow in the ground, in
(03:22):
the dirt, they're exposed to the elements. They can get
contaminated by irrigation water, they can contaminated by fertilizer, they
can get contaminated by birds flying over fields. But there
are a lot of depths that can be taken to
reduce those risks, to minimize or lamented contamination. It's a challenge.
(03:44):
We don't again always cook them. Cooking can kill bacteria.
So we also know that fresh produce is a key
component of a healthy diet. So consumers are faced with
a conundrum, Right, eat more fruits and vechea to balls,
But if they hear every few weeks about a recall
(04:05):
or an outbreak, understandably they may not be so keen
on doing that.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Sure, can you tell if food is contaminated by looking
at it? Or is there any way to tell? I
guess whether food is contaminated unless you have a.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Lab in your kitchen. No, you cannot tell. Again, you
don't see it, you don't smell it, you don't taste it.
It is again very tiny bacteria, viruses, parasites.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Most of us don't have microscopes in our kitchen, much
less use them if.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
We do, correct, I think that's the their assumption. So
for that matter, yeah, everything, you need to plate it
and grow it and see what happens. Right, Yes, you're
absolutely right. And that's where the government plays such an
essential role. I think most consumers would agree, and I've
seen this and poll after poll that ensuring the safety
(05:03):
of the food supply is an essential government function. Of course,
companies need to do everything to grow and produce safe food,
but the government's out there protecting us to make sure
that companies do what they're supposed to do.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Are are there symptoms that are most common to food
borne illness? For example, the difference between I just got
a stomach ache because maybe my meal didn't agree with me,
or I got a stomach egg because whatever I just
ate has some sort of food borne illness.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Well, I will disclose that I am not a doctor, sure,
but in terms of symptoms, a fever that lasts a
long time, a extreme in intestinal discomfort, diarrhea and what's
most serious if you're passing blood in your bowels, right,
(06:02):
you have to get help right away. And you know
it's important also in that scenario to sink what did
I just eat or what did I It's some in
some instances it could take weeks, but in most cases
it's important for you when you go to seek medical
help to say if they should ask you what you've
eaten recently, No, that's important to keep in mind.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Well, and that's I guess that's an important step in
this whole process, right, because I guess a medical professional,
if you do go get checked out or something, would
have to ask you about that. They would have to
forward that information I imagine the USDA or some group, so
they could look into whether you know, other people are
getting sick from that.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
There is there a process, Oh, yes, there is quite
a process our public health system. It starts at a
state or local level, depending on how it's organized, and
people who work in the Department of Health called differen
things in different states. When they suspect they you know
that there are problems, they'll come and interview. But the
(07:07):
first step is for your health their provider to take
a stool sample and test it or sometimes a blood sample,
and then that needs to be reported to the Public
Health Department. As I said, someone then will follow up
if it might be food born. So there are many
steps before it reaches the CDC. The centersers that use
(07:30):
control of the federal level FDA for certain foods, USDA
for others. So that's why there are there's a serious
underreporting of food born illness. I gave you one statistic
because usually, again, people may be sick for a few
(07:51):
days and then they're better and they don't go to
the doctor, and then all those other steps don't happen.
So it is really when you have a serious food
borne illness, get medical help and make sure that it's
reported to the public Health Department.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Got a couple more minutes here with Sandra Eskin, former
top official at the USDA. She's now CEO at Stop
Food Born Illness. Their website is Stopfoodbornillness dot org. And
I guess that brings me to this because a little
bit different. If you buy something at the supermarket, take
it home, you got an upset stomach or whatever, maybe
(08:32):
you've gotten some sort of food borne illness, but you're
sick for a couple of days, you move on another.
If you contract something at a restaurant.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Well, whether you contracted or you think you've contracted it
at home or at a restaurant. Again, if you have
serious symptoms high fever, really bad and testinal cramping, bloody diarrhea,
you go to the doctor. You it may sometimes whether home,
(09:05):
manny or in a restaurant, you're eating multiple foods. Sure, sure,
so it's sometimes a challenge. So you just have to
be Again, if you experience these serious symptoms, do your
best to try to recall when what you've eaten, when
you've eaten it, whether it's at a restaurant or at
home or someone else's home.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
I guess the point of my question what it would
be easier to track down some sort of outbreak if
it started at a restaurant or something like that, then
just people buying stuff in a supermarket? Or is that
or am I mistaken?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
I would say that I don't want to say you're mistaken,
but you're understandable in your assumption because you're too kind,
you're well, you're assuming that if you get take at
a restaurant, your reporter, you know you that whole reporting
system will happen.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
That's not necessary. That's not necessarily the case. I don't
have statistics right now in my hand to talk about
the differences. It's important in both contexts home food prep
and restaurant food prep. If you're sick, get medical attention.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Are there steps that we could take at home to
try and protect ourselves since we can't see something that might,
you know, be infected or affected? Is there a way
to protect ourselves?
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Absolutely? There are well known and publicized safe handling practices.
They start with number one, wash your hands thoroughly before
you prepare food. Two, three, and four wash your hands
thoroughly before you prepare food. Use separate cutting boards for
(10:57):
raw versus food you're going to cook. If you are
cooking meat, poultry, fish, use a meat thermometer. If the
product is contaminated and you thoroughly cook it, chances are
you will kill the bacteria the virus. However, if it
(11:17):
is highly contaminated and we don't know that, you know,
we bring it into our house. These safe food handling
practice may not protect you. Generally speaking, they're very important
and they can protect you, But if you're dealing with
a highly contaminated food item, not so much.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Cross contamination at home. You kind of mentioned using different
cutting boards and things like that. I'm not sure that's
something a whole lot of us, maybe who don't watch
food cooking programs adhere to. Is that one of the
most common ways that you see people getting sick.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Yes, you can. It is because logically, if you've got
cutting board and you're using the same cundingboard to cook chicken, sorry,
to cut up a chicken or even cut up spinach
and use it for that, maybe comp contaminated, right, and
then you're using it to cut up potatoes or who
knows something else, you will spread that contamination And whether
(12:25):
or not you get sick depends in large part on
how many of those bacteria do you ingest. Right Again,
if it's something you don't cook, you're really not able
to protect yourself. And it's there are so many ways
(12:48):
that we can try to protect our families and our
friends when you cook. Cooking is eating together is so important.
But we also, as I said, these illnesses to a
large superger preventable, and the consumer has a role, but
ultimately it's the companies that grow the produce it's the
(13:12):
companies that produce the food products and that we that
we bring home and cook and serve. Again, cooking can
kill bacteria at one point.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
How prevalent are these I guess recalls? Are these out
are they outbreaks?
Speaker 2 (13:32):
An outbreak nanny is what word we use to describe
a bunch of illnesses. So the minute two people are
linked to the same general food items may not know
the producer right, that is considered a food borne illness outbreak.
By contrast, a recall goes to a product. So once
(13:56):
there is evidence that a product is or made contaminated,
companies sometimes mostly in collaboration with the government, will ask
we'll issue a recall notice and they'll say, this product
may be contaminated. They'll often say why because the test
(14:18):
showed it had you know, pick a bacteria salmonella in it,
or at least some of it. And then it's up
to the consumer to either return the product or throw
it out or get a refund. But the thing about
a recall that's so important, it's really the last line
of defense, right between a consumer and an illness. We
(14:41):
have a lot more sophisticated technology that allows the government
experts who investigate illnesses to try to connect those food
born illnesses to foods. It's amazing the advances that we
made but make, but unfortunately they still happen and again
(15:02):
recalls again. Some people say they're a good thing because
again you're hopefully catching a problem before it spreads too widely. Right,
But then it also means that food that's contaminated is
leaving a company, you know, processing plant or a farm
and people are buying it.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
So what we when these recalls are issued and I
see them every once in a while, check this you know,
lot number on your bag of you know of lettuce
or whatever. So we as consumers need to make sure
we don't have that at home. But once a recall
is issue, can we count on our supermarkets to proactively
remove that product from their shelves?
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Many? Many do. I'm not going to name memes, that's.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Not very convincing. Many many do, all of them should
should they not?
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Of course? And in some instances they put like labels
or post little posters saying you know, this is where
XYZ product is usually placed, but it's been subtu a recall.
Many companies, sorry, many supermarkets right will post a copy
(16:13):
of a rec call notice, and that's one thing that
stop food board illness. We're working with lots of food
companies to try to improve the recall process because sometimes
the language is so confusing and the information is not
helpful that people aren't inclined to return a product or
(16:35):
throw it out. So we really think there is clear
room for improvement. And to the degree that supermarkets may
not always improve the product, will certainly continue to work
with them.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
Will continue to.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Work with them to make sure that they do.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Just a couple of other things with you, how prevalent
are these outbreaks once a couple of people get them.
How many do we see in our country a year
for example?
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Too many?
Speaker 1 (17:05):
No one is too many, I'm.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
Guessing, but yes, but we see, we see enough. And
again I want to underscore Manny. When companies, when you know,
companies that produce fresh produce do the right things. They
ensure that everything whether it's water or soil or fertilizer
that touches the plants, you know, is as uh is
(17:31):
not contaminated. When companies that produce foods in processing plants
and they're careful, right, we don't have problems, right, These
are preventable to a large degree with practices that are
focused on minimizing contamination. I'm sure you've heard about plenty
(17:53):
of outbreaks in recent years, a point to one involving
Deli meat last year major and there were just a
lot of mistakes made across the board. So the key
here is not every illness is preventable. You can sometimes
reduce risks, but to a very large degree, food born
(18:15):
illnesses are well.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Sadly, you and I are grown up enough to know
that not every corporation does things the right way and
how they should final thing for you, just two or
three rules of thumb.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
I'll repeat too that I stated Number one, wash your
hands thoroughly before handling preparing food. If you're preparing a
hamburger or chicken or salmon, fully use a meat thermometer
and cook your food thoroughly.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Sandra Eskin former official at the USDA. She is CEO
of Stop Food Born Illness. You could go to their
website for more information Stop Foodbornillness dot org. Sandra truly
appreciative for the time and the information. Best of luck.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
Thank you very much, Manny.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Just a reminder, if you have any questions or comments,
you can follow me on Instagram at iod manny is
my handle at iodma n Y. It may elicit snickers
because of the name, but restless leg syndrome is a
serious disease that legitimately affects millions of Americans sum with
(19:26):
potentially debilitating symptoms. Let's talk about it with doctor lord
Is del Rosso, a professor, sleep expert and medical director
at Inspire Health Medical Group. Doctor del Rosso, I appreciate
the time.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Thank you, Thank you for the invitation.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
So what exactly is restless leg syndrome.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
It's an amazing condition in the sense that it causes
this urge to move your legs. It's defined as a
neurological sensory motor disorder. What is amazing about it is
that the symp terms can vary, so you can have
the urge to move your legs because you have a
little bit of a tingly sensation or a little bit
(20:08):
of a weird feeling, or just you need to move
the legs. So a lot of times we're probably gonna
talk about this, but it is not perceived as a disorder.
A lot of times people and physicians do not know
where the symptoms are coming from. So I'm really thankful
that you're interested in talking to the community about it.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
Does it happen only at sleep time? Does it happen
anytime throughout the day.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
Yeah, So the diagnosis of restless leg syndrome, we use
this mnemonic among doctors. It's called urch just for the
urge to move, and the U is the urge to
move to move. They are is because it's worse during
periods of rest, like when you're in the movie either
or in a long plane flight. And the G is
(20:55):
because it gets better with movements if you get up
and walk around, and the E is because it's worse
in the evening.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Huh. How does this begin? Do we know what causes it?
Speaker 3 (21:07):
Well, it is very likely multifactorial. For what we know now,
you know, science keeps advancing, so we know that there
is a genetic component, but it's very various places in
various genes, so it's not just a single gene. And
what we call it epigenetic, which means that the environment
affects it. So situations, dietary conditions for example iron deficiency
(21:32):
or periods of immobility, or other medication effect or other
disorders can contribute to it.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
How is it something like this restless leg syndrome RLS diagnosed.
Is there a standard test for determining if someone has
this or something else?
Speaker 3 (21:51):
You need a very much high clinical suspicion and a
person a physician experience in treating it on CNA to
be able to WRECT recognized. But also for the community
that is listening to us right now. If people do
have those symptoms in the legs, particularly at night before
going to bed, and the legs feel like they have
(22:12):
to move, that you have to reposition, get up and
walk a little bit, talk to your doctor, go online
find a fustation. There is a Restless Legs Foundation that
can help you find the right fastation to see if
what you have is restless leg syndrome.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
Is there a certain age where you generally see this developing?
Are there certain demographic types that are more prone to
it than others?
Speaker 3 (22:36):
I see it in every age. It is most common
in older people and in certain conditions like pregnancy, iron deficiency,
people with kidney conditions, or certain under certain medications like
anti depressants. But to tell you the truth, I see
it at every age. I practice for fifteen years pediatric
(22:57):
sleep medicine exclusively seeing children, and we were able to
diagnose it in children as young as infants.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Is it considered a sleep condition?
Speaker 3 (23:07):
It is a sleep disorder. You know, sleep medicine overlaps
with a lot of other specialties, so for many years
it was under neurologic disorder, and neurologists obviously still know
about it and see it and treat it. Right now,
it is under a sleep disorder.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
We're speaking with doctor Lord still Rosso, a professor, sleep expert,
medical director and Inspire Health medical group. How is it treated?
Is there some sort of therapy? Is it only prescription
drugs to treat this?
Speaker 3 (23:39):
Yeah, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine actually just published
guidelines for the treatment. I am very proud to be
part of the team that put together this guidelines. Based
on the evidence, we recommend as a first line treatment
to have lifestyle modifications like increased activity, decreased consumption of
caffeine and alcohol, whole have a balanced diet. And after that,
(24:03):
the very first step is to check iron levels because
we have found the association with iron deficiency, so check
fairy teen iron levels, iron panels, and the first step
is iron supplementation via oral riv And there are other
medications that are recommended definitely, prescription medication as well, and
devices like there is a perennial nerve simulation device as well.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
How far have you come in the research of this
since it first started. I remember it's been years now,
maybe ten or fifteen, twenty years since we first started
her hearing about this kind of odd sounding thing, restless
leg syndrome.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
Yes, well, we are advancing. We have found the association
with dopamine and iron. We also, initially many years ago,
found that medications that were dopaminergic were able to improve
the symptoms. But after following patients of a long periods
of time, we realize that after a while, after initially helping,
(25:07):
after a while, it makes a ward. So we have
changed the guidelines. There's medications that have been changed. Now.
We have brain imaging studies showing the areas in the
brain where iron is more deficient than others. So it
is a localized brain iron deficiency, not in everywhere. So
we are advancing. We're looking into newer treatments. So it
(25:31):
is a very exciting feel to be able to help
and identify these symptoms early and be able to help patients.
If I can tell you something to me it's been
the most rewarding part of my careers to help children
because in children sometimes imagine restless leg syndrome that gets
worse at rest, and then children are sitting in school
(25:51):
in classes for hours right with the fidgety legs that
they need to get up, and the people are mistagnosing
them with ADHD or diagnosed in them with all sorts
of behavioral problems. And once you supplement iron there is
completely resolution and improvement in sleep and the time activities.
So it's been incredibly rewarding for me to identify this
(26:15):
condition in children and be able to help them earlier.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Is there such a thing as restless arm syndrome or
is it only seen in the legs?
Speaker 3 (26:24):
It is actually part of the same disorder, so some
people can actually have the symptoms in the arms, in
the arms, in the legs, sometimes you know the body.
But there is a different syndrome that actually we described
a few years ago in children, which is called restless
sleep disorder, in which there's no symptoms actually during weight
(26:45):
like when you're sitting in the movies or when you're
at bedtime, but once the child goes to sleep, they're
very restless. They're kicking, they're moving, they're turning around. The
parents would say, like a helicopter in the bed. And
we also found out that it is associated with iron deficiency.
Iron is a cofactor for many neurotransmitters, but especially dopamine,
(27:06):
which is implicated with movement. So if iron is deficiency,
there is a lot of this regulation in this movement
controlled during sleep.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
If somebody is iron deficient, what are they doing wrong
with their diet? Or I guess, let me rephrase that.
What foods should somebody make sure they have in their
diet regularly to prevent them from becoming iron deficient?
Speaker 3 (27:28):
Absolutely, you're absolutely right to say that, because a dietary
consumption is the first cause of iron deficiency, but also
some other conditions, some malabsorption syndromes or some other conditions
can contribute. However, we have a diet that probably it
doesn't include a lot of the iron rich meals like
spinach or beans, lentils, cereals like quino. I love quino,
(27:55):
and yeah, liver. I remember the first time I recommend
liver to somebody that were shocked, little pat so, But
but having iron, you know, iron levels checked especially in
young children because in young children also the demand because
they're growing, so they may be eating a healthy diet,
but they're consuming it. They're they're they're just using it
(28:18):
for all the body functions that they need.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
Last thing for you, what advice would you give to
someone who suspects they may have restless leg syndrome or
somebody who thinks they should get their child checked out.
Is there a specific kind of doctor to see? Is
there something to say to your physician?
Speaker 3 (28:35):
Be an advocate for yourself. That is the best thing.
Some some people do not or physicians may not be
too cognizant of this syndrome, So just pursue it. Go online.
You don't know how many people actually email me from
other states and for other countries because of the publications
that I've had and said, I really suspect my child
(28:56):
has a restless legs or restless leave disorder, but my
primary care it's not aware of the condition. So be
an advocate. Sometimes I recommended patience. Bring articles, Bring articles
to your physicians, to your primary doctors, bring you know
internet patients from the Restless X Foundation, or ask them
to refer you to a sleep doctor, because as sleep
(29:18):
physician will will recognize the symptoms.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
Doctor Lordis del Rosso, a professor, sleep sleep expert and
medical director of Inspire Health Medical Group. Doctor del Rosso,
thank you so much for enlightening us the information be well.
Speaker 3 (29:32):
Thank you, Thank you everyone.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
As always, I'd love a follow on Instagram and I
follow back at Io d Manny is my handle at
io D M A n n Y. And that'll do
it for another edition of Iheartradios Communities. I'm Manny Muno's
until next time.
Host
Manny Munoz
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