Don’t eat any commercially prepared peanut butter products, that’s the new warning from the Food and Drug Administration as they investigate the Salmonella outbreak.
474 people in 43 states have been sickened.
    Kathy Bryant, manager of infection control, with Spartanburg Regional Medical Center says it could be just a matter of time before we see it here.

The clock is ticking when it comes to our bodies and stress.  According to Dr. Chasse Bailey-Dorton, the more we let it get to us the worse we are going to feel.
She says, “When you get stressed out the foods you reach for are actually ones that are the worst for you.  We go for these high sugar high salt things and they kind of exacerbate what it is going on in our body.“

  It’s a health scare across the country and thousands of new cases are reported in the Upstate. Now researchers say STD’s are on the rise, especially in young women.
    A new study is out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and even shows Syphilis is making a comeback.
Despite prevention efforts, more young women are contracting the most common sexually transmitted diseases.  At Reach Upstate in Spartanburg Chrissy Calvert says she sees it all the time.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report salmonella outbreak could be linked to 3 deaths.

Local hospitals are cutting back to deal with the recession.

Dietician Carole Mabry with Spartanburg Regional says, “Sometimes people would have a tendency to buy more processed foods during that time so there may be a tendency to put on a few extra pounds.“

Losing weight is the number one New Years resolution and hopefully most of you battling the bulge haven’t fallen off the wagon yet. Unfortunately statistics show ninety-five percent of all diets fail. Now, local experts offer some weight loss secrets that will help you melt the pounds away.

    In the Carolinas, our children are facing a crisis.  Childhood obesity.
Doctors say it is growing at an alarming rate and causing serious health problems for children previously only seen in adults.
    We found a local young man who recognized his problem and took action vowing never to suffer from weight again.

It is no secret there’s a big connection between mood and food. Experts say it starts when we are babies and seventy-five percent of overeating is because of emotions.

The annual weight loss challenge kicks off in one week. This year organizers are encouraging more businesses to join the fight against obesity and get involved.

Losing weight can seem like the toughest thing in the world when you are on a diet, but doctors say it isn’t rocket science. They claim if you want to drop weight and keep it off, there’s only one way to do it.

The holidays are over and many of us are trying to lose weight, but it can be very frustrating and overwhelming.
One local man says you don’t have to spend a lot of money or try fancy diets to lose big.
He did it the slow and steady way and is now down 180 pounds.

AnMed health is trying to help those in need by offering 230 generic drugs for just $5.

Recently the FDA released a statement saying BPA was safe but environmentalist Cindy Lee with Clemson University says that’s questionable.

The holidays are here and so is all the good food. If you are worried about your weight dieticians say you don’t have to go without the good stuff.

For 8 year old Mathew Mayhorn much of his life is spent looking out of windows watching his brother and friends play wishing the sun would go down so he can join them.
His mother Crystal Anders says, “Sometimes he’ll say mama when is the sun going down when is the sun going down.“
Mathew suffers from an extremely rare genetic disorder called Trichothiodystrophy.

  Are you happy?  A new study published in the BMJ says happiness is contagious and good for your health.
To find out if that’s true we went to a guy who sees no shortage of smiles.
Santa making his appearance at Westgate Mall says,  “I see it through the eyes of a child.  What happiness is.  It is almost like a magnet that draws you to the happiness part of life.“

    A mother suffering through this tough economic time tries to cut cost and stretch the amount of formula she has for her baby.
    But what she didn’t realize is the water she was adding was having a deadly impact on her little boy.
    5 month old La’Damian Barton is a hungry and alert baby boy, nothing like a week ago when he came to the hospital near death.

    Times are tough and even tougher if you are unemployed.  The jobless rate is at the highest level its been in nearly three years in South Carolina and its hurting people financially as well as mentally.
Charles Bruce is a regular at Career Source in Spartanburg.  The 44 year old has worked in manufacturing for years and was recently laid off.
  He says, “It can get discouraging.  Emotionally it can make you depressed, lethargic, hard to get going in the morning because you have no where to go.“

    At Piedmont Care, AIDS and HIV cases are an every day ordeal.
    According to Tracey Jackson with Piedmont Care, in the Upstate HIV and AIDS infections are an epidemic.  She says here’s what AIDS looks like in our community.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics show more people under age 30 are contracting the disease than any other age group.
    72% of the people with HIV or AIDS in South Carolina are African American and people who do not know their HIV status account for more than half of all new HIV infections.

    The number of HIV and AIDS cases are rising in our area.
South Carolina now ranks 7th in the nation for the most AIDS cases and 9th for cases of HIV.
    Health experts say with World AIDS day coming up December 1st the community needs to know this a problem that is only getting worse.

Thanksgiving is over and you know what that means, leftovers! Dieticians say if you don’t want to pack on the pounds make sure you don’t eat those leftovers all at once. Cindy Thomas with Greenville Hospital System says it doesn’t matter if you have turkey for breakfast lunch and dinner.

Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings, we look forward to it ever year.
  Dietician Cindy Thomas with Greenville Hospital System says, “A traditional meal is white meat turkey, stuffing, mash potatoes, gravy, green beans, sweet potatoes, of course the roll with butter and then the infamous pumpkin pie.  Now that totals to about 3,000 calories.“

Every 20 minutes a child in the U.S. is diagnosed with autism which is devastating news for the family.  Now a Greenville group is finding a way to help the child and families through their bond with man’s best friend.  Dogs For Autism is changing lives one paw at a time.

41 year old Rob Dempsey proudly shows off his former pants. Size 44 and he claims those were snug, but look at him now. He is down 140 pounds from 308 pounds. He says,  “My kids motivated me to lose my weight. When I was lethargic I couldn’t do anything. When I can’t get on roller coaster rides with my children that means I need to do something.“ Rob says the way he did it was by taking the first step and coming to the YMCA.

  You are tossing and turning and the clock is ticking each minute means less sleep and that can be a serious problem.

Dr. Ahmad Boota with the St. Francis Sleep Disorder Center says, “People who are prone like for blood pressure and diabetes, obesity because of their family history these people will see much increase in high blood pressure, diabetes or obesity.“

Morgan is Bridgette Repenning’s first child. At only 8 months old Bridgette says she is very concerned about her daughter’s development.  That’s why she says she was shocked to find out the plastics she was using at home could be hurting her child. Repenning says,  “I called my pediatrician right away and they alarmed me to go and get the BPA free bottles.“ She’s talking about Bisphenol-A or as most people call it, BPA.  A compound used to make rigid plastics.  You can find it in everything from baby bottles to cars to canned foods.

A local weight loss group is helping people keep the pounds off while helping the needy.

  South and North Carolina get a “F” when it comes to reducing preterm births, according to nationwide study out today. Doctors say not only is that a health risk to the baby, but it is financial burden all on all of us.

Mental health experts say after months of rising anxiety and depression no matter who you voted for the mood in America is lightening.
Many Americans are riding high on the heels of the historic presidential win by Barack Obama.
Mental health experts say that’s good news considering depression and anxiety rates were skyrocketing because of the wars, economy and housing issues.