This is the third study that I've come across recently that shows that high percentage of meat in stores may be infected with Staph. Currently, the government doesn't routinely check retail meat and poultry for Staph bacteria.

This study struck a cord.

I know from my own experience that even mild Staph infection can be very dangerous. Its symptoms can mimic other diseases. For example, my daughter had Staph in her throat. It caused severe difficulty breathing and horrible, never ending cough. She was misdiagnosed with asthma and unsuccessfully treated with costicosteroids....

Staph (Staphylococcus aureus) can cause frequent respiratory diseases, pneumonia, flash-eating disease and food poisoning. It also can be fatal. It is especially dangerous for the newborn babies. It is treated with antibiotics.

Now read this...

Whether you eat turkey, pork, beef or chicken, beware that every second piece you buy may be infected with Staph.

Half of the infected pieces contain Staph that is resistant to at least three antibiotics.

Three out of 136 samples of meat taken for the study at the stores across the US contained the most dangerous type of Staph, MSCA, that is resitant to all antibiotics and can be fatal.

This study shows that much of our meat and poultry is contaminated with multidrug-resistant staph," Paul Keim, one of the study's authors, said. It is a well known fact that livestock and poultry routinely receive small doses of antibiotics in their feed in order to prevent spread of disease in crowded environment. The study authors believe that this practice may be a contibutor to the antibiotic resistance of Staph found in the samples.

What can you do to protect yourself?

• Washing hands and utensils and thoroughly cooking your meat are two ways to avoid the problem.
• Avoid restaurant-cooked meat as you can never be sure how it was prepared. If you eat it, make sure it is well cooked.
• My family decided we shall not buy industrially produced meat. Instead, we reduced meat consumption to a bare minimum and opted for organic or naturally raised meat. This is our way to support sustainable and ethical farming. Any cheap meat is not raised this way and can be dangerous. If you live in Canada and think our meat is safer, you never know for sure unless you can track where and how that cow was killed. It is an international business now.
• Some of us have gone vegetarian. This is another way to be healthy and protect yourself from the devastating impacts of the industrial meat production. We vote with our dollar.

If you suffer from frequent throat and lung infections, ask your doctor to test you for Staphylococcus aureus. It is a simple swab from the throat.

If you happened to have it, make sure he or she also runs test what antibiotic it is resistant to (instead of randomly prescribing them one by one to see which one works). This is how my daughter was cured.

Staph lives on the skin of 25% of healthy people. It can become a problem when your immunity is low, and it happen to get into your airways or stomach. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that Staph accounts for about 240,000 cases of stomach infections in the US every year.

I hope you and your family will never be affected by Staph infection. If you want to try eating less meat, like we do, check out my easy healthy recipes. Anything I post on my website is tasty, yet easy to cook.

Share this email with people whose health you are concerned about. Forward it or like it on Facebook. People have the right to know.

To your good health,

Olga

P.S. The study can be found here: http://azstarnet.com/news/science/health-med-fit/article_cdb8c668-a62e-547a-b4e1-482cddb90eee.html (please copy paste the link)