Clinical Immunology

Last Shot: A Concert Photographer's Battle With Cancer

[Editor's Note: Long-time concert photographer Andrew Youssef found out two years ago that he had stage IV colon cancer. In that time, he has continued to shoot tons of music events, on top of other freelance work and working a day job at a hospital, of all places. As he continues to fight for his l ... More >>

Meth: Missouri Launches Anti-Smurfing Campaign to Curb Sale of Medicines to Cooks

Missouri, the Meth Capital of the United States, this week launched a campaign against purchasing cold and allergy medicines and selling them to methamphetamine cooks. It's the "anti-smurfing" initiative. "Missouri law enforcement officials will tell you that smurfing is one of the biggest chall ... More >>

The Secret to Fighting the Flu This Season? Eat Yer Fruits and Veggies! (Gut Check Tells You Where)

Lately, it seems like everyone Gut Check knows either has a cold, is recovering from a cold or is awaiting the arrival of a cold. Now, Gut Check's general recommendation for fighting off a cold is to dose a bowl of pho with twice as much Sriracha as you can stand and then chase it with half a bottle ... More >>

Put Down That Bucket of Chunky Cinnamon Streusel, Sam's Club Customer

Usually it's the why that catches our attention when a food product is recalled: pieces of a gasket, say, or of a pen or a glove. Today it's the what. Dawn Food Products Inc. on Friday announced, via the FDA, a recall of 25-pound buckets of Sam's Club Chunky Cinnamon Streusel because of the risk of ... More >>

The Most Ridiculous Food Recall Ever? Yeah, the Most Ridiculous Food Recall Ever.

In general, food recalls aren't funny. Listeria, E. coli, salmonella: serious business, all of them. Undeclared allergens might not matter to most consumers, but for those who are allergic, they can be a very big deal, indeed. But then there is this recall, announced last week by the USDA.

Dim Sum Dumpling Recall Makes Gut Check Go All A la recherche du temps perdu

As far back as Gut Check can remember [insert your own Proustian madeleine reverie here], we've been smitten with the Chinese chow-down concept of dim sum. Sitting around a table with eight or ten people, pointing at exotic-looking items on the carts that the servers push around, asking, "What's tha ... More >>

Stouffer's Lasagna Italiano Accidently Packaged In Stuffed Pepper Container, Obviously Recalled

Voluntary food product recalls for mislabeled or missing allergens aren't the stuff of scandal, but when a company mass produces a product and labels it with a totally incorrect product name and it's missing allergen information, Gut Check's ears perk up. Yesterday, Nestlé Prepared Foods Company ... More >>

St. Louis Ranked High on List of Worst Cities for Spring Allergies

​Springtime in St. Louis -- the season your car turns a pale green regardless of its paint color. Yep, there's a lot of pollen in the air. Worse, it's in your nose and eyes, producing bucketloads of snot and phlegm and making you weep harder than a guest on Dr. Phil.  But here's the good news ... More >>

Uncle Ben's Recalls Rice Product

​Mars Food has cried uncle -- Uncle Ben's, that is.(Sorry.)The food maker has announced a voluntarily recall of the "Garden Vegetable" variety of Uncle's Ben Whole Grain White Rice because of an undeclared milk allergen. From the announcement of the recall: An ingredient supplier improperly includ ... More >>

St. Louis Named a Top 10 Autumn Allergy Capital

Eat this, Portland!​Finally! An explanation for the sneezing attacks, sinus congestion and itchy eyes you've been experiencing the past couple weeks. They're all perfectly normal symptoms for people living in the 9th worst city in America for fall allergies! Yep, it's official. The Asthma and Alle ... More >>

Take Me to Your Feeder: Welcome to the world's largest candy convention. Be advised: Resistance is futile.

Ten Best Food Events this Weekend: May 20-22

Egan O'KeefeA scene from 2009's Taste of Maplewood​The weather forecast for the weekend may be full of storms and gloom, but forget about it! There's plenty of booze, food and tunes to keep everyone out of the house. Take, for instance, the Missouri Brewfest in Westport or the 30th Annual Fine ... More >>

Gluten-Free Summit Planned, and Not a Moment Too Soon

freakingfitness.com​One person in 133 is gluten intolerant, and they're joining forces to hold the first Gluten Free Food Labeling Summit. The group 1in133.org will host the May 4 event in Washington, D.C., in an attempt to get legislators and food producers to follow the 2007 Food Allergen La ... More >>

What Dangers Lurk Within...Jelly Beans?

www.icanhascheezburger.comNo word on whether the cat was allergic to shellfish.​Gimbal's Fine Candies is on a mission to make Easter baskets safe for kiddos. How does the venerable sweets maker propose to protect children from unseen dangers hidden in the candy cornucopia? With allergen-free ... More >>

The Latest in Petri Dish Fashion: Designer Intestinal Bacteria

image viaThere's a high proportion of these intestinal bacteria, Firmicutes, in people who have a high-fat, high-sugar diet.​We all have a vast collection of bacteria in our intestines, a library, if you will. Most of these bacteria are friendly and helpful, allowing us to digest foods we woul ... More >>

Chefs Hate Foodies. Customers Hate Servers.

It's a harsh world. CNN asked why chefs hate foodies. Los Angeles chef Suzanne Goin said, "To me it's never negative, it's kind of done, that term - can you just calm down and eat your food and like it and not have to be a foodie? But that's me being the jaded food professional. It's better than ... More >>

Food Allergy Diagnosis Guidelines Created

There sure are a lot of new food rules lately. The newest report comes from the Wall Street Journal: The National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases has finally issued clinical guidelines for diagnosing and treating food allergies. The guidelines will hopefully eliminate the hoard of alle ... More >>

Online Tests Misdiagnose Childhood Food Allergies

Online food allergy testing for children isn't effective. The Daily Mail published a report on how British parents, impatient with doctors not recognizing their childrens' allergy symptoms, are often turning to alternative medical tests sold online. The results? Not good. Hundreds of thousands of ki ... More >>

Readers clang on about the Loop's new trolley and new bike laws

The Morning Brew: 5.13

Got a food allergy? Maybe not. The New York Times reports that a lot of food allergies are misdiagnosed. In a new paper by Dr. Marc Riedl, an allergist and immunologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, he suggests that food allergies likely occur in 8 percent of children and less than ... More >>

RFT Flickr Pool Photo 'o Day: "Spring in the Park"

If this image doesn't make want to make you sneak out of your office and bathe in the sun at Forest Park then you are an albino with severe pollen allergies."Spring in the Park" by Antonia Quest via Flickr​Click here to upload your photos to the RFT's Flickr Pool.

The Sweet Scout Tries Gluten-Free Goodies

User "Jellyfish Juice," Wikimedia Commons​Gluten-free foods intrigue me. Why live without gluten? Celiac disease causes an intolerance to gluten, a protein found in wheat; those suffering from celiac disease can suffer numerous health problems if they ingest it. However, recent studies have shown ... More >>

The Noble Writ: Are Sulfites Friend or Foe?

One of the larger areas of misconception surrounding wine is the use of sulfur compounds, most commonly sulfur dioxide (SO2), during the wine-making process. Many consumers seem to misunderstand why most winemakers add SO2 and what ill effects it might cause. Given that all wines containing more tha ... More >>

Exene Cervenka of X Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis

exenecervenka.comCervenkaExene Cervenka, singer of the influential LA-punk band X, who now lives in Missouri, announced on her Web site today that she has been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Cervenka, 53, posted this statement on her site:After some months of not feeling 100% healthy, I recently ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Tuesday, 5.26

A new study suggests a link between childhood obesity and food allergies. (New York Times)The plant that shipped salmonella-tainted pistachios knew about the salmonella, the FDA reports. (AP)The growing number of small slaughterhouses where you can choose your meat before it's killed. It's not a loc ... More >>

It's Only Natural

The Morning Brew: Wednesday, 10.22

I Laughed, I Sneezed: New Jewish drops the curtain on its black-box venue with a raucous but cruel guffaw

Malaise

It's back in a big way

Summertime and the Livin’ Is Cheesy

Viral Marketing

Week of May 31, 2007

Scott Walker

The Drift (4AD)

Raw milk

Living Springs Ranch stand at GreenMarket, 4814 Washington Avenue; 314-361-3114

Under the Beaver's Skin

Gee whiz, Wally: the Beav talks to Unreal about psoriasis! Plus, we see how the Lou stacks up to Beantown, try to understand the appeal of the Pet Building and administer a Harold Ramis quiz

Best Baby Store

Babies "R" Us

Pot Luck

Calling the cops was probably the last thing Jim Hammond should have done