One Thing Leads To Another: Playing Chicken (& Egg) With Bird Flu 🐓🥚
What's l'oeuf got to do with it?
3 min read
TAINT IT, BLACK
Wellllll it’s January 56th and it’s been quite a month. In the midst of the noise, you may or may not have caught some recent headlines about the potential flame-retardants and contaminants in black plastic kitchen tools like spatulas and even black sushi takeout trays. We don’t like to set off alarms around here for no reason- everyone has enough to be nervous about! That being said, how about a small upgrade to your kitchen drawer? Invest in a new set of wooden spoons, and move your sushi to a plate before eating.
DON’T OVERZINC IT
As we are still peak yuck season, many folks have their usual go-to to fend off or shorten the common cold. Elderberry had a mid-pandy 15 minutes of fame until it was determined that while it can alleviate common cold symptoms, there is no evidence suggesting it treats COVID. In the other corner, zinc has held the title of heavyweight cold shortener for decades, but while brands like ColdEEZ guarantee a reduction in symptoms, the fine print should not be overlooked. Like many OTCs, just because you don’t need an Rx, doesn’t mean they’re a good idea for everyone (more on Advil another time). Zinc can be toxic at high doses, and there are potential interactions with other meds like corticosteroids and antibiotics. So before gobbling lozenges on the regular, unless you’re treating a specific zinc deficiency don’t take large doses (more than 40mg, less for children) for more than a week, and don’t take with fiber, which inhibits its absorption.
FLU THE COOP
Guess what else zinc won’t help? Bird flu. This is not not serious, guys. Flu experts like Richard Webby are saying “I’m still not pack-my-bags-and-head-to-the-hills worried, but there’s been more signals over the past four to six weeks that this virus has the capacity to set off a pandemic.” So there’s that. 😱😱😱
Some reasonable precautions to take- avoid direct contact with wild birds or their droppings when outdoors- this goes for you and your pets- and if said pets eat a raw food diet, you’ll want to study up. And it seems like it should go without saying, but you may want to lay off the raw milk for a while, if you know anyone who’s into that kind of thing...
HERE’S A TIP, MAKE THE CHANGE
🥚 What’s bird flu got to do with the price of eggs? A lot. Egg prices continue to rise- estimates predict another 20% is likely- due to the millions of chickens that were infected and died from flu, creating a shortage. While the general sentiment is that eggs remain safe to eat, your wallet might benefit from folding some alternatives into the mix (that was baking wordplay at its finest 🧑🏻🍳):
Change up your sources of morning protein- i.e. cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, and protein powder (thorough deep dive to come)
Use applesauce, mashed bananas or even a flax egg in baking
Try these tofu-less Vegan Scrambled Eggs
Find a friend with pandemic chickens!
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING SWEET
I know I’ve delivered a LOT of icky news recently- never the goal, it’s just kinda the moment we’re in. For a happier delivery, while a far cry from a typical wellness story, this one does provide all the warm fuzzy feels we might need right now: Woman delivers baby in snowstorm at Krispy Kreme, nicknames him Glaze. 🥹
Happy weekend, I’ve never been so excited to see February, hope it’s the Fixx we need.