MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — No needles, no recovery time and no more muffin top.

These are the claims behind the newest weight-loss procedure to hit your dermatologist’s office.

It’s called CoolSculpting and it was just recently approved by the FDA. And as the name suggests, the cold is deliberate.

“It causes the cells to naturally die,” said Dr. Charles Crutchfield III, clinical professor and medical director at Crutchfield Dermatology.

Children eating popsicles — that’s how they thought of it.

“These little kids would eat it all the time and keep it in their cheeks,” Crutchfield said. “They noticed after a few months, they’d get a little dimple of fat that was missing in their cheeks.”

Thus, the million dollar idea; if you freeze fat, it melts away.

Patient Deanna Poirer said she lost more than three inches by putting in just one hour of effort.

“Almost feels like a mammogram on your stomach,” she said.

Crutchfield said the ideal candidate for CoolSculpting is someone who has a small area of unwanted fat.

“Little areas under the tummy, under the belly button, love handles, muffin tops,” Crutchfield said.

Poirer chose to target the lower abdomen and said she wasn’t on any particular diet or added exercise in those 12 weeks.

It’s a treatment that Poirer tells her friends is no longer her secret magic bullet.

“I had a $1,200 nap,” Poirer said.

As for why you can’t just take an ice block to your stomach to see results, is because you’d risk frost bite. CoolSculpting, which costs $1,200 as Poirer said, has the technology that allows the fat underneath the skin to freeze.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Memorial Day weekend signals the start of summer for many Minnesotans, but authorities want to make sure residents celebrate safely, especially while on the water.

Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Lisa Kiava said residents should plan ahead and make sure to bring lifejackets and other safety equipment.

She said most drownings (and near drownings) in Hennepin County happen in hot tubs and swimming pools. Parents are urged to keep a close eye on kids, as many will likely be playing in or around indoor swimming pools due to the weekend’s rainy forecast.

Here are some tips authorities gave in regard to water safety:

– Watch kids closely: 70 percent of child drownings happen when parents are nearby. Also, one child drowns every five days in portable pools, Kiava said.

– Wear a lifejacket. It may look strange in a swimming pool, but weak swimmers are recommended to take safety precautions.

– Learn to swim. Learn CPR, and have safety equipment around, like a shepherd’s hook – or something struggling swimmers can grab onto in case of an emergency.

– If you are on a boat, designate a sober driver before going out on the water; and make sure your boat is secure when moving it.

– Also, state law requires that children under 10 wear life jackets while the boat is moving.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Would you like a little extra energy? Most people would.

That’s why coffee shops and supplements are all so popular. But when I started having insomnia and feeling run down and irritable, I knew I needed more than a cup of coffee.

At first, I thought it was early menopause, or worse. It turns out, many women in their 30s and 40s have similar symptoms of weariness and irritability.

The solution I found not only has me feeling more energetic and stronger; it also opened my eyes to a growing controversy in women’s medicine.

At first, I turned to Bonnie Erickson, a friend, who suggested I see an anti-aging doctor who had worked wonders for her.

“Immediately I felt as though things were different,” she said. “I felt like I had my quality of life back.”

She’s been seeing Dr. Khalid Mahmud for eight years. And after disappointing results with traditional medicine, she swears by his combination of holistic treatments and natural hormones.

“I just think it’s a more natural approach,” Bonnie said. “It’s more of a preventative approach.”

Over the years, she’s convinced most of her family, including her husband and two of her daughters, to see Mahmud.

One of her daughters, Keri Fuqua, had symptoms similar to mine. She also said her treatment with Mahmud was successful – so successful that I couldn’t help thinking that I needed to see him myself.

Mahmud is a former chief of medicine and head of the cancer program at North Memorial Medical Center. His walls are covered with board certifications.

But after a career spent fighting diseases, he has spent the last 10 years trying to prevent them. Mahmud says anti-aging is about feeling younger, regaining lost energy and keeping the body in tune.

He takes a holistic approach, testing everything from your thyroid to diabetes and cholesterol. But with women, he says, the problem is often in their hormones.

“Nature wants to give us youth and has us perfectly balanced during youth, because nature wants us to reproduce,” he said. “But once we have reproduced and have gone to 40s or so, then nature loses interest in us.”

He uses natural versions of progesterone and estrogen – derived from plants and vegetables, like yams — called bioidenticals. He says they’re different than the pharmaceutical varieties used in hormone replacement therapy.

However, the use of bioidenticals has been under intense scrutiny ever since a major study was stopped in 2002, when it linked them to breast cancer, heart attack and stroke.

Mahmud says the natural hormones are different and safe, and he tests blood frequently to maintain the right balance.

My own blood tests showed that I’m not even pre-menopausal, but I was too low on progesterone and vitamin D. Mahmud said my lack of progesterone, which calms you, could explain why I wasn’t able to sleep.

He prescribed me bioidentical pills to crush and dissolve under my tongue — that way, they avoid going through the digestive system. He also prescribes, for other patients, bioidenticals in creams and ointments.

It’s an approach that differs from mainstream medicine, but not as much as you might think.

At the University of Minnesota, Dr. Carolyn Torkelson also prescribes bioidenticals, but in much lower levels.

“What we’re really trying to do is control symptoms,” Torkelson said. “And in order to control your symptoms, we don’t need a high level of estrogen or progesterone.

She uses just enough to get past the bumps in the road of menopause. Not to get back to the levels lost from youth.

“I’ll give them to you for symptomatic control, but following the blood work would probably put you on higher dose than I’d be comfortable giving you,” she said.

That’s where the doctors differ, because Torkelson feels a hormone is a hormone, regardless of where or how it’s produced. And she treats the bioidenticals with kid gloves, because of the 2002 studies.

“We have no studies to suggest they’re any different than taking the Premerin or the Provera [ a synthetic variant of progesterone] in regards to side effects,” Torkelson said.

Mahmud says he’s been working on his own study, and hopes to have it published soon. He says he’s treated almost 1,000 patients with biodenticals — without side effects.

“If you had put them on your hormone therapy…we would have had 30 cases of cardiovascular events and we had zero,” he said.

It’s a contentious issue in the medical community. Doctors are worried about long-term concerns while women want relief from often puzzling problems.

It’s the reason my friends and others went to Mahmud in the first place.

“Could it be just as easy as managing your hormones?” Erickson asked. “I don’t know. I guess I’m trying this route, because I tried the other.”

The anti-aging medicine is not often covered by insurance. But only a week after taking the bioidenticals for the first time, I’m sleeping much better and feeling as though I have more energy.

Like my friends said, it really is night and day. And there are also men who go through this, too. But the big questions is: Am I any easier to be around the house with?

But that’s a question for Frank and my kids to answer.

For more information about the doctors listed in this story:

Dr. Carolyn Torkelson, U of M Medical Center
612-273-7111 | U Of M Providers

Dr. Khalid Mahmoud, Innovative Directions In Health
(952) 922-2345 | Innovative Directions in Health ‎

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Parents will do just about anything to keep their kids healthy, but now it appears that could include a decision made at birth. A new study may have found a link between C-sections and toddler obesity.

Doctors in Boston studied more than 1,200 births and found that 16 percent of the children delivered by C-section were obese, compared to 7.5 percent of the children born naturally.

But some Minnesota mothers find the study unconvincing.

Visit an indoor park on a rainy day, like Thursday, and you’ll see plenty of toddlers and moms. And many were skeptical of the new study.

“Well, I had a C-section,” said Ronda Engelhardt, of Roseville, “and [my daughter] is not obese.”

Kristie Dustin, of Cologne, gave a similar anecdote, saying that all three of her C-section-born children are tall and skinny.

“I don’t know how there could be a link, at all” she said.

But other mothers weren’t so sure about their thoughts on the study. Rachel Zacharias, of Minnetonka, who gave birth to both her children naturally, was hesitant to give a statement on the study’s results.

“I’m not a doctor,” she said.

What the researchers think is this: bacteria that a baby is exposed to in the birth canal might be a factor. Another factor might be the hormones released during birth.

And some doctors hope the study influences mothers’ decisions about elective C-sections.

Dr. Patricia Fontaine, of HealthPartners Research Foundation, said women should only get C-sections for the right reasons.

“[The study] should have women thinking twice and make sure that when caesarian is their choice, it’s for a good medical reason,” she said.

It’s estimated that between 4 and 16 percent of the C-sections in the U.S. are performed at the mother’s request.

Meanwhile, most moms at the park pointed out that there are other ways to keep kids healthy, too.

“I can make the choice of I’m gonna have McDonald’s today with my kids or…we’re gonna eat fruit and veggies for lunch,” Zacharias said.

Kirk Hughes, the education director for Hennepin Regional Poison Control Center in Minneapolis, says the center has gotten 27 calls since March about the small soap pods. The brightly colored packets may lead some children to think they are candy.

Hughes says the effects from the cases were minor.

Nearly 250 cases have been reported this year to poison control centers around the country. A few made children seriously ill.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – It is “definitely gross,” “disgusting,” and an outdoor “ashtray,” according to people we talked with. Cigarette butts are the number one form of litter along our nation’s roadways.

But is it illegal to toss a cigarette on the ground? Is law enforcement doing anything about it? And how long does it take for cigarettes to break down and biodegrade?

“It really is a pet peeve of mine, because they’re so small no one is likely to take the time to pick them up,” said Natalie Wires.

But one Maplewood man, Roger Svendsen, does pick them up.

“Some refer to me as the butt man,” said Svendsen, who is a one-man cigarette butt clean-up crew.

“I think they throw the butts, thinking they’re nothing,” he said.

Svendsen walks around Lake Phelan every day, and says he picked up 65,000 butts in a year. One day he said he picked up 2,074 in one day.

“People obviously don’t consider butts to be even litter,” he said.

But police think differently.

“It is. It’s littering,” said Lt. Eric Roeske, a spokesperson for the Minnesota State Patrol.

Minnesota state statue 169.42 specifically mentions “ashes” and “cigarette filters.” Littering is a misdemeanor, and it goes on your driving record. A second offense has a minimum fine of $400.

So why doesn’t the State Patrol do anything?

“Actually we do,” Roeske said. In the year between May 2011 and April 30, 2012, the State Patrol issued 195 citations for littering and 388 warnings.

“Most of those are for cigarette butts,” he said.

Many smokers think the cigarettes are just paper – and degrade quickly. But according to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, they have a serious environmental impact.

A single butt is tiny, and has no impact; but in the aggregate, about 1.7 billion pounds of butts are tossed on the roads, sidewalks, and beaches in the U.S. every year.

The filters don’t ever really degrade, and their chemicals are just absorbed into the soil and water. Researchers have found dangers for waterways and fish.

State Troopers have bigger safety issues than cigarette butts, but they say they do pull people over.

“It can be an indication about someone who just doesn’t care about other traffic laws,” Roeske said. “Some night shift troopers have arrested drunk drivers on littering stops when they see those cigarette butts fly out the window.”

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – No parent wants their child to suffer from hunger pains, but for one Twin Cities family, that’s a constant struggle.

Two-year-old Nick Joncas never feels full. He has a disease that has forced his parents to lock the kitchen cabinets and control his every meal.

When Nick was just 6-days-old, his parents, Colette and Eric Joncas, were told their baby had a genetic syndrome called Prader Willi. Both Nick’s parents are nurses, but neither had heard of the disease.

In children with Prader-Willi syndrome, their metabolism only works about half as quickly as normal, which leaves them constantly hungry.

“He is literally feeling that he is starving to death,” Colette Joncas said.

Dr. Bradley Miller, Nick’s pediatric endocrinologist at Amplatz Children’s Hospital, says even when Nick eats, his body doesn’t register the food.

Miller said children with Prader-Willi syndrome have an issue with how their hypothalami regulate food and hunger. There is no cure.

“We just don’t know how to fix it,” Miller said.

Doctors say people with Prader-Willi syndrome feel ravenous; they liken it to the feeling healthy people get with they haven’t eaten for three days. There’s nothing those with the disease can do to minimize that feeling of constant hunger. But there are ways parents can help kids cope.

Nick’s parents have decided to lock up the food cabinets. They say children with Prader-Willi syndrome often feel better when there’s a lock on the fridge.

“If they know they don’t have access to it, then they don’t think about it, they don’t dwell on it,” Colette Joncas said.

Nick’s parents say he’s becoming more serious about food.

“He’s much more likely to finish or clean his plate than he was before,” Colette Joncas said.

Nick has a brother, Oliver, who is one year older. Oliver’s supposed to have several more calories than Nick, a concept that may only be tougher on the boys as they grow up and become more aware.

“You’ve got one you can’t feed and the other who’s hungry and you should be feeding,” Eric Joncas said.

Colette Joncas worries that later in life, Nick will likely have to live with the stigma of obesity. But unlike with most who are obese, Nick’s poor choices won’t be to blame.

For now, Colette Joncas spends hours each week preparing perfectly portioned meals. The Joncas family has strict food rules to give the boys’ diets structure. There are no seconds, no desserts and no choices when it comes to meals.

“My kids don’t know what suckers are, they don’t know what candy bars are,” Colette Joncas said.

For those with Prader-Willi syndrome, most calories go to fat for storage. Another symptom is that kids’ muscles are weak due to the constant feeling of hunger.

Once a day, Nick gets a growth hormone shot. The daily injection helps him gain more lean muscle and burn off calories. Nick also goes to physical therapy three times a week to build up his muscles.

“He wasn’t supposed to walk til 18 months old, he walked at 14 months old,” Colette Joncas said.

Beating the odds is something Colette Joncas knows a thing or two about.

“Doctors won’t tell you what your child can do, your child will tell you what they can do,” she said.

While WCCO-TV’s cameras were shooting at the Joncas household, Colette asked Nick if he was ready for lunch.

Nick replied, “No.”

“I love to hear my child with Prader Willi tell me he doesn’t want to eat, he’d rather play with his toys,” Colette Joncas said. “It means we’ve got a little more time.”

What looks like a victory to Colette and Eric may not look like a milestone to other parents: that’s where Colette says she’s found meaning. Life is about celebrating the little things.

“I don’t care, I don’t care if he doesn’t go to college; I don’t care if he doesn’t do any of those things,” she said. “I just want him to be happy. I don’t want him to suffer. I don’t want him to hurt.”

While she can’t take away his hunger, she can fill him with love.

“He loves and he knows that he is loved,” Colette Joncas said.

One in 10,000 children have Prader-Willi syndrome.

A walk is planned for June 2 in Apple Valley at the Johnny Cake Ridge Park East at 10 a.m. The walk will raise money for medical research. So far, Colette Joncas is the top fund-raiser.

For more information on the walk, click here. WCCO-TV’s Aristea Brady is emceeing the event.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Union workers have overwhelmingly ratified a new three-year contract that averted a strike at eight Twin Cities hospitals.

The union represents 3,500 nursing assistants, technicians and support staff. The agreement was reached last week after union members voted to authorize a 2- to 5-day strike.

The union says the new contract holds back on increases in health benefit premiums, retains overtime benefits and includes small wage increases.

The Service Employees International Union Healthcare Minnesota represents workers at Bethesda, Fairview Riverside, Fairview Southdale, Methodist, St. John’s, North Memorial and Children Hospitals in Minneapolis and Children’s Hospital in St. Paul.

“Many people don’t realize that the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is the largest child care provider in the state of Minnesota,” said John Erwin, park board president.

The board serves over 86,000 meals to kids in Minneapolis parks. If you add snacks into the equation, there are approximately more than 220,000 food opportunities.

“We think it’s really important that we try to feed kids as healthy a food as possible,” Erwin said.

Last week a proposal came forward that would require all meat served in city parks, such as hot dogs and burgers, to be lean. Also soda pop would be banned and all breads served would have to be made with whole wheat. Juice servings would also be limited to only 8 ounces a drink.

Park Board Commissioner Jon Olson, who’s also the owner of a Dairy Queen in North Minneapolis, is against the proposal. He was too busy to do an interview WCCO Radio, but he did tell the Southwest Journal: “Can’t we have choices anymore? Do we have to dictate everything?”

Erwin says the proposal was sent back to park staff for revising last week. He said it was too “overreaching.”

Parents at parks in north Minneapolis are excited to hear healthier food options could soon be coming.

“The kids eat a lot of junk already, and they get it at home,” said Nakisha Tyus, a mother of two. “If kids can get a better meal at the park, who better to give it to them then the city.”

The board will review the revised proposal next month before making a decision.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – On Monday night, a WCCO-TV investigation showed a popular trampoline park selling highly caffeinated energy drinks and energy shots to kids. In the story’s aftermath, the two Skyzone parks in Minnesota pulled energy drinks from their shelves and are no longer selling them.

But the drinks are easy to find — from convenience stores to supermarkets — and their bright colors and marketing campaigns appeal to young people.

The initial story showed how two 12-year-old girls got sick after drinking energy shots at Skyzone. While they recovered, there is concern in the medical community that such drinks are dangerous for kids, especially if they’re on certain medications or have certain pre-existing conditions.

The FDA limits the amount of caffeine in pop to 71 milligrams per 12 fluid ounces. But when it comes to energy drinks, there are no FDA limits on caffeine, because they are considered to be nutritional supplements by the U.S. government.

While the FDA says they are nutritional supplements, the American Academy of Pediatrics says energy drinks have no therapeutic benefit and for some children have been linked to serious medical problems.

The report warns that the drinks are being marketed to kids and are easily available — just the way they were at Skyzone.

Ted Labuza, a professor of food science and nutrition at the U of M, said there should be a requirement in order to buy energy drinks.

“There probably should be some kind of requirement that you should be 18 or older to even have this stuff, but even at 18 there is a risk,” he said.

Most of the bottle drinks do have warning labels that are in fine print. The warning on the bottle at Skyzone says, “Caution: Powerful: not recommended for children, pregnant or nursing women or those sensitive to caffeine.”

Mackenzie Hodge and her friend Kelli Pehrson got sick at Skyzone after drinking one energy drink and two energy shots.

“I started to not feel good after I finished the slushie and I upchucked,” Hodge said.

Lab tests showed the girls drank the equivalent of three 12 ounce Mountain Dews in 90 minutes. The Academy of Pediatrics warns that energy drinks are especially risky for kids who are on ADHD medications and have a history of seizures, diabetes, heart problems and mood disorders.

Labuza said the drinks can cause sweating, heart palpitations and nausea in kids. Those symptoms, he said, can lead to heart attack.

The Minnesota Skyzone franchises are no longer selling caffeinated energy drinks or shots. However, there are 37 Skyzones franchises that are operating or are about to open in markets across the country. We reached out to Skyzone to see if other franchises have also sold caffeinated energy drinks or shots. But we were told Jeff Platt, the CEO of Slyzone, was unavailable for comment.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Do you know anyone that’s had a doula?

Its literal meaning is “woman who serves” and is now used to refer to a trained professional who provides support to mothers during and after pregnancy.

Doulas, though not a new concept, are picking up in popularity in the Twin Cities.

Becoming a parent can be scary, so having their expertise is a relief to first-time mothers.

“In the first weeks it’s always nerve wracking being a first-time mom with questions,” said first-time mother Crystal Smith.

As mothers themselves, Veronica (Jacobsen) and Britanny (Kubricky) know this firsthand. In addition to being mothers, they are both Doulas. Their job is to help parents during and after pregnancy.

“We’ve had a lot of people say ‘I wish I knew about you before I had my baby.’  We’re like ok, we’ll still be here for the next one,” said Jacobsen.

Traditionally doctors, nurses and hospitals offer parental support, whether it’s to answer a question or provide a lamaze class.

“You kind of go into it and think every woman has done this, I’ll be fine. I can just look up a few things online. But when we got there we realized there was so much more information that we didn’t realize was out there,” Jacobsen said.

Doulas offer more specialized attention.

“I think it’s important to give families another option,” said Jacobsen.

About a year ago, Veronica and Brittany spun their doula careers into a new business called Baby Love, a place where parents can learn together.

“We wanted to be something where we were small enough so families felt they could get the attention they needed and that they wouldn’t feel overwhelmed. We also wanted to build community,” Jacobsen said. “We do traditional childbirth class and it covers everything from healthy pregnancy, labor and birth.  After the baby we cover newborn care and breastfeeding.”

That’s not all. Baby Love offers classes on breast feeding, how to use cloth diapers and use a car seats.

“Having them learn how to find the right seat, use it correctly and install it,” said Jacobsen.

The classes aren’t just for first-time parents.

“We do a refresher class: First, second or third. We’ve had fourth-time parents come in so they can get the information they need again,” Jacobsen said.

Like other doulas in the Twin Cities, Jacobsen said the No. 1 thing for new parents to remember is that there are resources available for support.

“You know who’s going to be teaching them and you know that we are trained and certified, and this is our passion. This is what we love to do,” Jacobsen said.

Class offerings and prices vary at Baby Love. Most start around $25, and packages are available. Baby Love is one of several doula resources in the Twin Cities.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Energy drinks are everywhere — and they are increasingly popular with kids.

At Skyzone, a popular trampoline park in Plymouth, Minn., which is part of a national chain, caffeinated energy drinks are sold in pre-packaged bottles, and they’re also sold as shots in slushies and other drinks.

A Twin Cities mom says her 12-year-old daughter, Mackenzie Hodge, and her friend Kelli Pehrson got sick after drinking energy shots at Skyzone.

Hodge said she was going to the trampoline park, because “it is a cool place.” Skyzone has multiple trampolines stitched together, a foam pit and a dodge ball court. But it wasn’t either of those things that left Hodge and Pehrson vomiting.

The teens said they saw posters around Skyzone advertising XS Blast Energy Drinks. The blue-bottled drinks sell for $2.50 at the concession stand.

After both teens drank one, they bought two energy shots, which were mixed into slushies. The shots sell for $1 each.

The teens said they were having fun, at first.

“I started to not feel good after I almost finished the slushie,” Hodge said.

Not long after, Hodge vomited. At about that time, Pehrson began to feel sick.

Hodge’s mother, Heather Hodge, was shocked when the girls arrived home.

“Both of their hearts were racing, their eyes were dilated; it was kind of scary,” she said.

Heather Hodge said she didn’t know the teens were able to add seemingly unlimited energy shots to their smoothies.

Hodge’s father is trained as an EMT, and he made sure the teens got lots of water.

“I felt sick after I threw up, too — probably for like another hour,” Hodge said.

Heather Hodge said she had no idea what her daughter and her friend were drinking at Skyzone.

“I have no idea what she put in her body that night,” she said. “I just know she got sick and so did her friend.”

WCCO-TV decided to see what Skyzone sells to kids. So we had kids go into Skyzone to see what drinks they could buy, and we had the drinks tested by a lab.

One of the kids shot video with a cell phone camera showing a 10-year-old girl buying the blue-bottled XS Energy drink that both Hodge and Pehrson bought and drank.

The kids found that Skyzone urges kids to add extra energy shots to their drinks. When an 11-year-old girl ordered a slushie, a staffer asked her: “Do you want an energy boost in that for an extra dollar?”

The girl accepted and was able to buy the shot.

One of the kids, a 12-year-old boy, was able to order a slushie with four shots.

We bottled up these slushies and sent them to a lab along with the XS Blast Energy drink.

The two-shot slushies had approximately 88 milligrams of caffeine. The four-shot slushie had 180 milligrams of caffeine, and the XS Blast bottle had 76 milligrams of caffeine.

A 12 ounce Mountain Dew has 55 milligrams of caffeine. Hodge and Pehrson had one bottle of XS Blast and two shots in their slushies, a total of 164 milligrams of caffeine — or almost exactly three 12 ounce Mountain Dews in about 90 minutes.

Heather Hodge is not happy about those numbers.

“Never would I have thought that my child would get hurt from drinking something in a slushie,” she said.

There are, at least, seven other countries that regulate or even ban the sale of energy drinks. The U.S. has no such restrictions. But concern has been growing in the scientific and medical communities. The American Academy of Pediatrics has called for more research in light of data from Germany and Ireland that links energy drinks to seizures and even death. The Academy of Pediatrics report notes that studies have shown adverse effects in children who have preexisting conditions or are on medication.

Ted Labuza is a professor of nutrition and food science; he reviewed the lab results.

“It’s dangerous,” Labuzza said. “There probably should be some kind of requirement that you have to be 18 or older to have this stuff.”

Labuzza said the effect of the caffeine is intensified at Skyzone because the kids are exercising, using up the glucose in their bodies.

What Hodge and Pehrson did not see in the fine print on the blue XS Blast Energy bottles was a warning that says, “Caution: Powerful: not recommended for children, pregnant or nursing women or those sensitive to caffeine.”

Heather Hodge wonders why a drink with that warning label is being sold to kids at all.

“These drinks are being marketed and promoted to our children,” she said. “I never would have thought that it would have been made available to our child at an event for children, so I would like other parents to know.”

For Hodge and Pehrson the lesson is even more basic.

“Just because the poster is big and bright, doesn’t mean it is good for you,” Hodge said.

The founder of XS Energy, David Vanderveen, gave the following statement.

“XS Energy Drinks does not sell directly to Skyzone and was not aware of their marketing or promotions practices to young children. We do not recommend that any children 12 or younger consume caffeinated products, including our energy drinks with caffeine, which is why we make caffeine free versions of our products that are clearly marked and labeled as such. We are requesting that the distributor who sells our caffeinated products to Skyzone discontinue sales immediately.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Sky Zone took action after WCCO’s investigation. In a statement, the owner of the parks in Minnesota told WCCO: “We have taken away all energy drinks and shots from our shelves. We no longer sell them.”

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – People have been working out and dieting as long as we can remember. And they’re still looking for ways to do it better. So it’s no wonder that health clubs and app developers keep coming up with new ideas.

And some of them, it seems, actually work. WCCO-TV looked at three creative new ways that people can get healthy and found that some small changes are actually driving surprising results.

The sights and sounds of a fitness class are very familiar, but the one at Steele Fitness in Edina is a little different.

“You’re collaborating with your teammate that’s next to you,” said Steele Smiley, who owns the club. “You might not know them when you come in the first day, but that’s what makes it unique.”

The group is a combination of friends and strangers, brought together to work out as a team.

“Years ago, the women used to call each other in the neighborhood,” said Debbie Fallon of Edina, “and they’d all get together at somebody’s house; and they’d all walk together and chat and get caught up….This is an accelerated version of that.”

Fallon lost 10 pounds in the first six weeks. She signed up with a couple friends, and has become close with the rest of her team. They work out three times a week, for about $25 per session. They get personal training in a group setting, and an extra level of accountability.

“Everybody calls each other in the morning,” Fallon said. “They encourage you.”

Melanie Berg is a fitness veteran. She has lost 50 pounds over the years, but now that she’s in this group, she still sneaks a peek at the leaderboard when it’s emailed to members at the end of each week.

“I was in first place last week,” she said, “and this week I know I’m going to be, because I lost three pounds.”

And that reaction gets to the heart of a healthy competition.

“Yeah, you see the (other) names,” she said. “It’s like The Biggest Loser.”

For other folks, though, motivation is as close as the phone. Apps are the new frontier in fitness, and the GymPact app actually pays you money to work out. And it takes away money when you don’t.

You start by wagering how many times you plan to check in at the gym. Whenever you miss, your credit card gets charged – a minimum of $5. But when you show up, you get paid a little bit – money from the folks who missed.

So far, it’s working: 90 percent of GymPact users have met their goals.

Charlie Markon found his motivation in pair of pictures taken in Florida over the holidays. But he also found an app to do something about it. MyFitnessPal is basically a phone-based version of the food diary he used to fill out at the end of the day, but he enters these numbers (or scans them in from labels) in real time, when he’s still in position to make better eating decisions. And he gets to eat more whenever he punches-in a workout. The simple differences motivated him to lose 45 pounds.

“Everything I ate became more of a decision,” he said. “Do I want to spend this many calories eating this instead of eating and trying to figure it out later, after the fact?”

“Most of it is finding something that works for you,” said registered dietitian Heidi Schmidt of HealthPartners. Whether at the gym, or on the phone, she says the key to all diet tricks and tools is finding something that you’ll use consistently.

“We already have difficult enough lives,” she said. “So you want a tool that’s going to help you and not something that you’re going to have to learn, or at least the learning curve isn’t too great.”

The city ranked second among all urban areas in the nation, just behind Portland, Ore., which reclaimed the title.

“Cycling culture in Minneapolis is thriving,” wrote the magazine, noting the city’s continuing success with the Nice Ride bike-sharing program and its 35 new miles of bike lanes.

Coming in behind Portland and Minneapolis were Boulder, Colo., Washington D.C. and Chicago.

Among the cities that were listed by the magazine as big up-and-comers were Boston, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Miami, and San Jose, Calif.

The magazine determines rankings based on available biking infrastructure, the availability of bike routes and what they term as an overall “vibrant bike culture.”

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Have you ever heard the saying, “Don’t drink your calories”? Most nutritionists recommend saving your calories for food dishes instead of beverages.

Shape Magazine put together a list to help steer you in the right direction when it comes to drink choices. They had a few beverages make their naughty list.

Among the drinks you should avoid are flavored and infused waters. They may deliver a few extra vitamins, but can be packed with added sugars. Next time you buy a bottle of water, check the label. If you see anything more than water and natural flavors, leave it on the shelf.

Alcohol in moderation — meaning one or two drinks a day — has been shown to raise HDL cholesterol (the good kind), boost blood flow, and improve sugar metabolism.

But when you ask for that third drink, your risk for obesity and slew of other health problems starts to climb. A March 2011 study from the American Cancer Society found that the risk of cancer death was 36 percent higher among people who drank liquor heavily (3 or more drinks each day) than those who drank in moderation or not at all.

When it comes to cocktails, the mixers are the real calorie culprits. According to the USDA, a 16-ounce pina colada can clock in at a whopping 880 calories, that’s more than 8 times the amount in a shot of rum.

When people think about “energy” drinks, they’re usually referring to products that contain caffeine.

The problem is that most “energy drinks” are loaded with too much caffeine and sugar

They may give you a short-term burst of energy, but you’ll ultimately crash and just want to zonk out.

Labels like “juice drink” and “juice cocktail” are almost always a euphemism for brightly-colored sugar water. For a truly healthy drink, look for 100 percent juice.

Most store-bought versions are made from the same sweeteners used in soda, combined with preservatives and artificial color. At 100 calories per cup, and with the equivalent of 6 teaspoons of sugar and zero nutrients, you’re essentially drinking liquid candy. Definitely not refreshing.

When made with 2 percent milk, a large icy cup of coffee can contain up to 800 calories and a third of the maximum recommended intake for artery-clogging saturated fat.

And there’s a reason why it tastes so sweet: At 170 grams of sugar in a typical drink, you get more of a sugar shock than a caffeine buzz.

When you need a brain boost, you’re better off sipping green tea or snacking on a handful of walnuts.

Obviously, everything is best in moderation. And water is always your best bet if you’re truly thirsty.

EDINA, Minn. (WCCO) - More than 4,000 runners and walkers of all ages came out to Get Your Rear in Gear this morning,

The annual 5k, held at Southdale Center in Edina, helps raise money for the Colon Cancer Coalition.

It’s estimated 143 thousand people will be diagnosed with the disease this year.

WCCO’s Mark Rosen was on hand to help rev up the crowd and pass out awards.

Many of us at WCCO participate in this race to honor our friend and sports anchor Bob Rainey who died a few years ago from the disease.

Click here for more information about the Colon Cancer Coalition.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – More than a decade after they lost their son to cancer, a pair of Hopkins parents are able to heal through giving.

The Adelmans were watching WCCO-TV’s story featuring DaJuan Simmons, a boy who almost died from a staph infection, and became struck by DaJuan’s love for the same icon their son used to look up to: Michael Jordan.

Floyd Adelman said his son, Paul, had a Michael Jordan fixation.

Paul was diagnosed at age 5 with his first brain tumor. After seven years of countless surgeries, Paul passed away at age 12.

However, his love for Jordan served as a desperately needed distraction during those difficult years.

As it happened, the Adelmans sorted through Paul’s shrine to Jordan only one hour before they saw the piece featuring DaJuan.

Some would call it serendipitous; the Adelmans say it’s the work of a higher power. That’s why they were motivated to give.

Posters, sweatshirts, T-shirts and even a Michael Jordan jersey were gifted to DaJuan.

“He had had all the surgeries and now he’s coming back and he’s decked out in Michael Jordan,” Adelman said. “It kind of brought back some things about Paul.”

Angela Young, DaJuan’s mother, said the family appreciated the gift.

“We’re happy to carry Paul’s things,” she said.

The two families are now bonded by something only they could explain.

“What he’s gone through and what your family’s gone through…and we hope nobody ever joins our club of going through stuff like this,” Adelman said to Young.

Since losing Paul, the Adelman’s have started an endowment fund to help children with disabilities. You can find more by clicking here.

The recall announced Friday applies to samples, 6-pound bags and 18-pound bags of Diamond Naturals Small Breed Adult Dog Lamb & Rice Formula dry dog food manufactured on Aug. 26, 2011.

The company says it has received no reports of illnesses among dogs who consumed the food or people who handled it.

The product was distributed in Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.

Diamond Pet Foods’ voluntary recalls earlier this spring included batches of Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Adult Light Formula and Diamond Naturals Lamb Meal & Rice.

___

The latest recall covers the following production codes and best-before dates:

— DSL0801, 26-Aug-2012

— DSL0801, 27-Sept-2012

— DSL0801, 18-Oct-2012

— DSL0801 (samples)

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The Twin Cities is known as a runners’ town, but this weekend even the most experienced runners will be put to the test. Thousands will compete in the Tough Mudder in Somerset, Wis.

For Cortney Minger, the daily workout doesn’t pose a huge challenge. As a runner, she is used to pushing her physical limits. But come Saturday, her strength and stamina will be put to the test.

“I just saw it as a good challenge,” said Minger.

She is participating in the Tough Mudder, a race that requires much more than just a runner’s endurance. Over a 10- to 12-mile course, athletes encounter several obstacles including high walls, water challenges, even electricity.

“The electricity definitely scared me, but I looked at the video after I signed up, so I’m committed,” said Minger.

It’s not only a test of endurance and strength but also team camaraderie. The course is designed so participants must rely on each other to finish. For the Minnesota Wild coaching staff, it’s the perfect opportunity for team building … and punishment for not making the playoffs.

“Payback time,” said Kirk Olson, the strength and condition coach for the Wild. “We didn’t knave a great year, so, we got to put ourselves out there.”

Kirk Olson put the eight-member team on a grueling training schedule twice a week. After all, 22 percent of participants won’t finish the Tough Mudder.

“We do workouts that I designed, that are basically there to … I don’t want to say kill us, but kind of make us cry uncle,” said Olson.

In a race that features fire, heavy lifting, and barbed wire, the question is: Can anyone truly be ready?

“We’ll get out there and give it a whirl,” said Olson.

“I think I’ll push through no matter what,” said Minger.

This will be the first time the Tough Mudder is held in the Twin Cities area. Teams will compete throughout the weekend. It’s not a timed race, the only goal is to finish.

The case involves an 85-year-old woman who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. A judge in 2010 granted Fond du Lac County’s request under Chapter 51 to place her in a locked psychiatric unit because she couldn’t cooperate with health care providers at a nursing home.

Chapter 51 statutes allow officials to detain mentally ill people in any mental health facility if their problems are treatable.

The Supreme Court ruled Friday that Chapter 51 doesn’t apply to Alzheimer’s patients because the disease is irreversible. The court said the woman could be ordered to a nursing home.

Fond du Lac County attorney William Bendt says the court doesn’t mention how to help someone who can’t cooperate with her medical providers.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — It appears the Twin Cities may see some sunshine this weekend, and a lot of people will be focused on soaking up whatever we get.

But it’s important to remember the consequences. Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States. While it’s good to get some vitamin D, it’s important to protect yourself from the sun’s rays. Here are some tips on how to choose the best sunscreens.

Only 25 percent of sunscreens on the market are both effective in protecting your skin from the sun and free of potentially harmful chemicals, according to the 2012 sunscreen guide released by the Environmental Working Group.

To make the watchdog’s safe list, products should not contain oxybenzone and a form of Vitamin A called retinyl palmitate. However, the American Academy of Dermatology says these chemicals have been tested and found to be safe.

Experts say sunscreens labeled “broad spectrum” are the best choices. These products help protect people from both types of ultraviolet radiation — UVA and UVB rays. Each has been shown to cause skin cancer.

Choose a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (or SPF) of at least 15, but generally no higher than 50.

Reapply every 2 hours and after you come out of the water. By the end of this year, sunscreens cannot claim to be “waterproof” or “sweatproof,” as it has been deemed a false claim. Instead, the label will have to read “water resistant” and the label also has to say “apply every two hours,” meaning it can no longer promise to “stay on all day.”

Even though sunscreens offer some protection from the sun, don’t forget to wear a hat and other protective clothing. Avoid the sun during peak hours and seek out the shade.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — What would you go through to look younger, feel younger and burn calories? Would you be willing to freeze your butt off?

People in the Twin Cities are exposing themselves to 220 degrees below zero for just those reasons.

“It’s like walking outside naked, in the middle of winter in the North Pole,” said Elle Anderson, a customer at Cryo Sauna.

The treatment is full-body cryotherapy, which is designed to drastically drop one’s body temperature.

“I mean literally I’m bringing your skin temperature to freezing, 32 degrees to be exact,” said Cryo Sauna Operating Manager Brandon Johnson. “I try to keep that for at least two minutes, it’s what creates the benefits.”

Professional athletes caught on a few years ago. Minnesota Vikings linebacker Jasper Brinkley just started using it to help come back from a season-ending hip injury.

“The wear and tear of just working out hard, having a hard workout and once you get out of (Cryo Sauna), you don’t have any pain,” said Brinkley.

Cryo Sauna opened three months ago in the Medical Arts Building in downtown Minneapolis to the public, and it’s the only one of its kind in the Twin Cities.

“The after effects are beautiful,” said Anderson. “My workouts are longer, my stamina, my joints are better, my skin is better, overall healthy. I feel vibrant and energetic when I use it.”

Here’s how it works: Step inside the booth, wearing only your underwear. The padded chamber fills with bursts of sub-zero nitrogen. Grin and bear it for two-and-a-half minutes, and your body does the rest.

“I’m able to affect the mind in a way that says ‘what are my optimum levels?’” said Johnson. “I’ve put you under so much stress, your mind under so much stress it pushes your body to say, ‘ok what works best for me?’”

There’s no apparent risk of frostbite because the air is dry, and you’re not exposed that long. The theory behind the therapy is that your body is so cold, it goes into survival mode. The blood in the body rushes to your core.

“It also begins to pick up those extra enzymes and nutrients your body would normally store and it releases them when you get out,” Johnson said.

When you step out of the machine, blood rushes back to your arms and legs.

“During this process it actually lifts your red blood cell count throughout the body as a defense mechanism,” Johnson said.

Experts say when your body is exposed to these conditions, your body burns calories trying to stay warm. The claim here is that the same day you use Cryo Sauna, you can burn up to 800 calories.

However, doctors aren’t yet convinced of all the benefits.

“The jury is still out, it’s too early to know,” said Dr. Gary Collins at Regions Hospital in St. Paul. “We don’t have enough data yet to know if there’s a long lasting benefit, if it would work in everybody, which patient populations it would work best for and then of course the long term side effects.”

Customers swear by the benefits. Anderson, who began using Cryo Sauna to help train for a marathon, freezes about once every three days at $85 a session.

She loves what it does to her skin, saying it’s brighter, tighter and looks younger.

Hamish “The Trainerator” Ganga is a personal trainer. He uses Cryo Sauna to relieve his tendinitis. He said the treatment made the paint go away “just like that.”

“I could not bench press 225 (pounds) in the morning. After (Cryo Sauna), I went back (to the gym) and bench pressed the heaviest I’ve ever done, which was 475 (pounds). And, that’s with no pain,” said Ganga.

If you’re allergic to the cold or have hypertension, you should talk with their doctor before trying cryotherapy. One session costs $85. There are packages available, but don’t expect your insurance to cover the cost of this treatment.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A concerned citizen who saw an online ad for mercury helped authorities locate 64 pounds of the potentially toxic chemical, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

Authorities said a person in Floodwood, Minn., which is west of Duluth, posted an online ad on Craigslist selling 64 pounds of mercury for $650. A concerned citizen who saw the advertisement contacted the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District, who called the MPCA.

Officials said the person who was trying to sell the mercury had found it after going through his late grandfather’s garage. Authorities with the MPCA decided to buy the mercury rather than try a compliance investigation on the seller that would’ve taken a far longer time.

Authorities said the seller inherited the mercury from his grandfather, along with unused mining equipment as his grandfather had intended to get into gold mining. It is not illegal to own mercury in Minnesota, but the sale and purchase of it is regulated.

Officials said the mercury was in four sealed plastic bottles and in its original packaging. Mercury can be toxic to a human’s kidneys and central nervous system.

Officials with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency say that much mercury could potentially be devastating to the environment and to the long-term health of people who come into contact with it.

“We have emergency response teams going to schools if a thermometer breaks,” said Jeff Connell, enforcement manager for the MPCA. “Those are thousands of dollars’ worth of costs for what is an extremely minute amount of mercury compared to this find.”

The man was selling the mercury for $650 online, and the MPCA was able to negotiate a price of $300 to make the purchase.

The man attempting to sell the mercury will not face any charges since it’s not illegal to own mercury.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Given the option to run or walk, most people have always thought that running is the better workout.

According to local marathon runner and owner of Running Room, John Stanton, that’s not the case.

It can be intimidating to lace up your shoes, put on a track suit and head out for a run, especially if you don’t do it often.

“It can be daunting on people, because you’re worried about what the neighbors are going to say,” Stanton said.

But if you walk through the neighborhood, odds are no one thinks anything of it.

“It’s the most perfect exercise. For somebody who’s at home and carrying a little extra weight or smoking, if they are looking to change their lifestyle, walking is a brilliant choice because it allows them to do it in a gentle, non-intimidating way,” said Stanton.

Stanton addressed it all in his recent book, “Walking: A Complete Guide to Fitness, Health and Weight Loss.”

Stanton said there’s really only one major difference between running and walking.

“Walking takes a bigger investment of time,” Stanton said. “The beauty of it, though, is as a walker I’m going to sustain far fewer injuries.”

As a walker, you’re also getting fit.

“If you talk to an exercise physiologist, they’ll say that if you go and run five miles or walk five miles, most of the benefits are identical except for cardio and risk injury,” he said.

To get the cardio, you need to step it up.

“Walking is not, I call it the “Queen’s Walk.”  You’re not out walking and waving to your fans.  When you’re out walking, it’s “late for an appointment” walking,” Stanton said.

Another benefit: It’s social. Walking is something just about anyone in the family can do, from small children to the elderly.

“So you’re doing it with purpose, and personal community attachment. The more fun and social we make it, the better people are going to embrace this lifelong,” Stanton said.

A good program is to start with 20 minutes a day. Alternate a brisk walk with a stroll minute-by-minute, and stress followed by rest is best.

Details of the agreement will not be released until the members of SEIU have an opportunity to review and vote on them.

Negotiators representing both workers and the hospitals met all day long on Wednesday, and voting on the tentative agreement is scheduled for next week.

The affected hospitals include: Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina, Fairview Riverside Hospital in Minneapolis, Children’s Hospitals in Minneapolis and St. Paul, HealthEast Bethesda Hospital in St. Paul, HealthEast St. John’s Hospital in Maplewood, North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale, and Park Nicollet/Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A 10-year-old Minneapolis boy has been waiting for two years to get back on the basketball court.

Just last week, he got to lace up his shoes once again. What initially appeared as simply a swollen knee was actually the early sign of a severe staph infection.

DuJuan Simmons is now the remarkable survival story of a boy who never gave up faith.

While from the outside, it may look like any ordinary basketball practice, the drills Simmons completes bring him one step closer to his idol.

“Michael Jordan. When I saw him do a dunk on tape, it made me want to top that,” Simmons said.

Heart is something the 10-year old knows a thing or two about. Just ask his mother.

“When I come in the house, everybody’s doing their own thing. But DuJuan runs to me,” mother Angela Young said.

It was two years ago, after a basketball practice, when DuJuan’s mom noticed his swollen knee.  She was told from one doctor to go immediately to Gillette Children’s Hospital.

“It didn’t feel real, it felt like my soul had walked away,” Young said.

“His knee was red and it was very warm, the circumference of his thigh was about twice normal,” said Dr. Deb Quandeck, Simmons’ pediatric orthopedic surgeon.

It was a severe staph infection that was spreading quickly. DuJuan went in for what would be the first of seven surgeries that would eventually kill the bacteria.

Now two years later, DuJuan is finally working on that dunk again. He’s left with a scar that tells his story and a gratitudee for his doctor he wishes to share.

“I appreciate her, and I hope God blesses her,” Simmons said.

It’s that undying faith, both in himself and that which you can’t see, that’s helped him defeat the odds.

“If you came to visit him, he would tell you, would you hold my leg and pray for me, and I want to hear you say it cause I want to repeat what you say so that God can hear us,” Young said.

One look today, shows God did. Doctors at Gilette say they don’t know what caused DuJuan’s infection.  He was perfectly healthy and had no open wounds.

They caution parents, if you ever notice swelling in your children’s joints, get it checked out.  They say it could be the sign of an injury, arthritis or possibly an infection.

The world’s largest medical device company was being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. The government first subpoenaed documents from Minneapolis-based Medtronic in October 2008.

InFuse contains a genetically engineered protein that can stimulate bone growth. In June, a medical journal alleged that Medtronic downplayed the risks of InFuse and did not disclose millions of dollars in payments to the authors who wrote the initial studies of the product. InFuse brought in most of the revenue from Medtronic’s spinal business, the company’s second-largest division, but the reports have hurt sales.

InFuse is approved for use in spinal, oral and dental graft procedures, but most of the time it was used in neck surgeries and other procedures. Physicians are allowed to use drugs and medical products off-label as they see fit, but companies cannot market their products for off-label uses. Use of InFuse in neck surgeries can lead to problems swallowing, breathing and speaking. Some patients had to have other surgeries because of those problems.

“After several years of investigation, we are pleased that the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have come to the decision to close their investigation of the company related to InFuse Bone Graft,” said Chris O’Connell, executive vice president and group president of Restorative Therapies Group, which includes Medtronic’s spinal business.

A Justice Department spokeswoman declined comment.

On March 30 Medtronic agreed to pay $85 million to resolve a federal class-action lawsuit brought by a shareholder, the Minneapolis Firefighters Relief Association. The association manages pension funds for Minneapolis firefighters and their families, and it alleged Medtronic did not disclose how much of the company’s revenue from InFuse came from “off-label” uses, or uses that have not been approved by regulators, did not disclose the side effects that some of those patients were suffering, and did not disclose what the plaintiffs described as illegal marketing.

Medtronic said it did not make any misrepresentation and did nothing wrong.

Shares of Medtronic rose 7 cents to $38.22 Wednesday and were unchanged aftermarket.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

The panel made up of experts voted unanimously to recommend the approval of the OraQuick In-Home HIV test. The FDA typically follows the advice of such panels.

“We want to see as many people as possible get tested and know their HIV status,” said Bill Tiedemann, executive director of the Minnesota AIDS Project.

He says the one of the best prevention methods for HIV is people knowing if they’re infected.

Tiedemann says they encourage people to get tested in the way that works best for each individual.

“Testing and then treating HIV is critical in maintaining one’s health,” Tiedemann said. “We encourage individuals with HIV to find the support and health services they need.”

Some FDA reviewers have raised questions about the accuracy of the tests. Tiedemann says while there would be concerns about false negatives or false positives with a home test kit, he says hopefully it would lead to further testing in clinical setting.

“(We) would request those individuals who have questions about their test to seek a second test through their doctor or the Minnesota AIDS Project,” he said.

The Minnesota AIDS Project holds its annual Minnesota AIDS Walk and Run for the Ribbon on Sunday at Minnehaha Park.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Talks between eight Twin Cities hospitals and thousands of employees are underway in an effort to reach a new contract and avert a walkout.

The 3,500 members of the Service Employees International Union voted over the past few days, with 91 percent of union members voting in favor of authorizing a strike.

The eight Twin Cities hospitals a strike would affect include Bethesda, Fairview Riverside, Fairview Southdale, Methodist, St. John’s, North Memorial and Children’s Hospitals in both St. Paul and Minneapolis.

The strike would last from two to five days. The union members include nursing assistants, technicians and support staff.

Jeremiah Whitten, spokesperson for the hospitals that would be affected, issued a statement: “We are disappointed with the outcome of the vote. Throughout the negotiations we have worked to achieve a contract that is fair to both sides.”

Whitten continued, “We’re looking forward to resuming negotiations today.”

Both sides are going back to the negotiating table Wednesday in hopes of stopping the walk-out. Legally, SEIU has to wait 10 days before they strike.

The two sides have been negotiating since January. The major issues have been wages and health insurance; the hospitals want the workers to contribute more toward their coverage.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Diets would be a lot easier if cravings for things like ice cream, chocolate and chips didn’t get in the way. A crave can throw off your nutrition for the whole day.

You can eat well and balanced all day and then end up blowing the whole thing on a huge slice of cake.

Overall, the best ways to control cravings are to snack healthily, take a walk, drink some water. However, some recommend that you indulge just a little, as deprivation can cause you to crack and go overboard.

Here are some of the most common cravings:

Red Meat

A lot of people feel like a meal isn’t a meal unless it has a hunk of red meat. It’s the protein you’re looking for, and the key is choosing a healthier cut. Flank steak has about 700 calories, maybe more if you don’t trim the fat. A better alternative is a pork chop, which has only about 170 calories.

Chocolate

According to a study, almost half of American women crave chocolate on a regular basis. One theory on that crave is that it helps with mood swings. The key here is to not reach for a candy bar. Instead, have a square of high-cocoa dark chocolate. That can even be good for the heart.

Ice Cream

It’s a pretty common food to crave — sweet, creamy, cool. Well, the bad news is that a typical serving of vanilla has 230 calories. The good news is that a cup of slow-churned ice cream has less fat and half the calories.

Pizza

It’s another good news/bad news situation. The Good news is that a typical slice has fiber and a serving of vegetables. The bad news is that it can have calories in the 300+ range, depending on your toppings. Make the pizza at home and use whole-wheat crust and reduced fat cheese. Then just top it with fresh veggies like tomato slices, broccoli, or whatever veggies you like.

Pasta

According to a study, pasta is one of the top foods in America. The trouble is most people eat white pasta made with refined flour. And then if you add sauces, you can completely kill your diet. A large bowl of fettuccine alfredo has up to 1,200 calories. A better bet is whole grain pasta with a veggie-based sauce.

French Fries & Potato Chips

A lot of people crave salt. If you’re not getting all of the minerals you need from other foods, you may start craving it. Unfortunately, fries can be just as bad as eating a burger. A typical order of fries has 500 calories. And if you were to eat a full bag of chips, you’re looking at a whopping 1,200 calories; you might as well be having that serving of fettuccine alfredo. Your better option is a side salad or a fruit cup.

Coffee

Typically this craving has more to do with a caffeine addiction. But the problem with coffee drinks is that they can be loaded with cream, sugar, syrups, whatever you take. If you order a large flavored latte or mocha, it can have more than 400 calories. A better option is non-fat or soy milk with your coffee and just skip the flavors.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — To wear a helmet, or not to wear a helmet? That’s a question relevant to both motorcyclists and taxpayers.

New research shows the decision not to wear a helmet affects more than just the motorcyclist. Taxpayers pay for 29 percent of recovering crash victim’s hospital bills, which amounts to $60 million a year.

WCCO-TV broke down the numbers and spoke with one St. Francis family who has had to overcome both the personal and financial cost of a motorcycle crash.

Sara Campbell got the knock on the door that no one wants to get.

“He told me that Brad had been in a motorcycle accident and was being airlifted to North,” Sara Campbell said.

Brad Campbell was not wearing his helmet when he was hit while traveling on a 30 mph road in St. Francis. He spent seven weeks in the hospital.

Sara Campbell is now the sole breadwinner in the family. She called the situation a role reversal.

Doctors told Brad Campbell he’ll likely never work again.

“There’s certain days where I can’t even remember how old I am,” he said. “I can’t remember my kids birthdays some days.”

Financial toll is something the Campbells can speak to.

“It was a struggle,” Sara Campbell said. “We almost lost our house. The helicopter ride was almost $10,000, the first 18 days in the ICU was $380,000.”

Only 16 percent of motorcycle accidents involve severe brain trauma, but they account for more than half the money spent to treat motorcycle accident victims.

Elisabeth Seburg, a research author and University of Minnesota graduate student, took a look at the costs associated with motorcycle crashes.

“These resulted in about $266 million in short term hospital charges,” she said.

Seburg recently added up the cost to taxpayers when a motorcyclist gets hurt. She says she wants to see a new law that gives motorcyclists insurance similar to that of other motorists.

“So, it’s simply requiring that they have the same vehicle insurance as all other Minnesota drivers,” Seburg said.

Motorcyclists who choose to ride without a helmet would have to purchase persona injury insurance.

“They still have the right to decide if they would like to wear a helmet or not, it just shifts the responsibility for the financial implications of the decision to the rider than to the taxpayer,” Seburg said.

It’s a price the Campbells say you can’t attach a premium.

“I’m just thankful to be alive,” Brad Campbell said.

He no longer rides his motorcycle. He says he will never ride it again.

The Campbells also say they fully support the proposed bill.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Summer break is almost here, and when the kids are home from school, that means more mouths to feed.

Nutritionist and fitness expert Kim Coventry (also known as “Fit Kim”) showed WCCO-TV some funs tips on how we can help our children eat healthy.

“Studies are showing that by 2030 if our society continues as it is, we are looking at 50 percent of the population being obese, including children,” said Coventry. “I think it’s time we rethink everything and know that we can teach our kids to be healthy.”

Coventry said it’s a great idea to take children with you to the grocery store, though it can be a challenge to get them to see beyond the colorful packaging.
“If you can teach them to be your little detectives, you’re going to get them engaged,” said Coventry.

One of the most important lessons you can teach them is the ABC’s of reading labels. Depending on their age, they should be able to read most of the ingredients in what you pull off the shelf. Coventry said, if they can’t pronounce some of those ingredients, it’s a safe bet to presume they aren’t the healthiest option.

Coventry also espoused the concept of thinking outside the box — the juice box, that is.

“Go to the nutrition facts instead of getting all the marketing hype,” she said.

Keep an eye out for high fructose corn syrup, an ingredient she says is to be avoided for its reported links to diabetes.

There are some juice boxes that emerged as better than others. Coventry said that while some contain 100 calories and dozens of grams of sugar, she found a Power Rangers drink that had only 30 calories and 5 grams of sugar. And no high fructose corn syrup.

The old saying “give someone a fish and they’ll have a meal for the night, teach them how to fish and they’ll be fed for life” also applies to packing lunches.

“At a very young age, kids are more than capable of making their own lunch. And it will save you some time,” she said. “Teach them fresh whole grains for bread, lean meat, and avoid cheese and mayo. You can add mustard or hummus. You want to side it with some veggies and fruit.”

Coventry said the key is to make sure you’re educating your children about what they’re eating, which requires you as a parent to do the research.

“Use that as your motivation, because everything you teach them is going to help them all of their lives.”

And of course, all of these healthy eating tips naturally also apply to adults year-round.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Like all good things, the gorgeous weather comes at a price.

Chances are good sniffling, sneezing and watery eyes are telling you its peak allergy season – and this may be the worst season we’ve seen in some time.

While most people think visible dandelions and weeds are to blame, it’s actually trees that are the culprit.

Britta Lindvall says it was during a recent walk that she uncovered the mystery.

“I think I’m very allergic to the cottonwood trees, and I see that they’re just blowing, because I can barely speak,” said Lindvall.

Twin Cities allergist Dr. Promad Kelkar said that cottonwoods may be just one of many culprits.

“Ash, birch, maple, oak – all the tree pollens are sky high right now,” said Dr. Kelkar.

And even if you don’t have those trees in your backyard, Dr. Kelkar says tree pollens can travel as much as 100 miles.

Another contributing factor is rain.

“When the rain comes, the pollen counts go down temporarily and people feel better,” said Dr. Kelkar. “As soon as the rain stops, you know the pollen count is going to be sky high again, and the people will feel worse.”

That’s when you need relief. Dr. Kelkar says he recommends first trying over the counter anti-histamines, or even a Nedi pot.

When those don’t work, ask your doctor about prescription nose sprays, or sign up for allergy shots.

“Right now, I’m doing everything that I can with honey and lemon, and anything else I can get my hands on!” said Lindvall.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (WCCO) — When Sydney Winkler encountered one of the biggest adjustments of parenthood, she brought 2-month-old Lily to the chiropractor.

“She was really colicky, crying, fussy, we had a couple days there where she was screaming and not settled,” said the mother from Bloomington.

Dr. Anne Spicer, a pediatric chiropractor at the Northwestern Health Sciences University in Bloomington, specializes in pregnant women and babies.

“So, what I am noticing still too is she is still keeping her head turned left,” said Dr. Spicer, who first adjusted Lily at a few weeks old.

Winkler said the first visit soothed both parents and baby.

“She went home and slept that entire night,” said Winkler.

Dr. Spicer said fussy babies often have a misalignment at the top of the neck, which appears to the case for Lily. She said misalignments put pressure on the nerves that cause symptoms elsewhere. It can often be the result of trauma often during birth.

“If a delivery is fast, three hours or less, that is usually very forceful on a baby and on a mother and we tend to see more spinal misalignments and injury with a fast delivery,” said Dr. Spicer, who estimates about 20 percent of chiropractic care is focused on kids.

A 2007 government report said nearly three percent of children in the United States were treated with chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation in 2007, making it the second-most common form of alternative medicine for children, according to the National Health Interview Survey by the CDC.

The International Chiropractic Pediatric Association points to two studies that show estimates of growth in children visiting chiropractors.

The organization says a 2000 survey found around 30 million pediatric visits to chiropractors (by Lee et al. in the Archives of Diseases in Children). A study published in 2009 showed more than twice that, with around 68 million pediatric visits to chiropractors, according to Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing.

Most of the tiny patients Dr. Spicer sees have reflux and colic.

“It is a risk factor for abuse as well when babies cry inconsolably and over 90 percent get better with a simple spinal adjustment, so I feel an obligation. We need to treat those babies,” said Dr. Spicer.

Dr. Spicer said chiropractors work on the nervous system to improve overall body function, and can help babies with ear infections, colds, stomach pain and even breast feeding.

“Sometimes when there is a neck misalignment or injury, they are comfortable feeding on one side but not the other side because they can’t turn their head easily in both directions,” said Dr. Spicer.

But with any trouble, Dr. Emily Borman-Shoap, a Fairview Children’s Clinic pediatrician, says a child’s doctor should always be part of the equation too, as a medical home base.

“For younger patients, I think we just don’t know enough,” she said. “We do know that young newborns and infants don’t have very strong necks, and there could be a risk of injury, a tiny tiny risk, but it’s probably there, to the cervical spine or upper neck if firm or rapid adjustments are made.”

She points to the lack of study on the effectiveness of chiropractic care for infants and tells parents to talk to their chiropractor and ask questions.

“The studies that have been done are small. And so I think it would be a great thing to study more, if it’s a treatment that can be safe, we just need to understand it better so we know if it does have benefits,” said Dr. Borman-Shoap.

Back at Northwestern, it’s time for Lily’s adjustment.  Dr. Spicer shows us gentle pressure, stressing the light touch is not the manipulation you often see with grown-ups, there’s no cracks or pops. She says some babies sleep through their adjustment.

“We don’t want to push babies, we want to let them guide us and tell us how far they want to go,” said Dr. Spicer.

She says the average first visit to a chiropractor is usually a woman in her late 20s to early 30s, but pediatric chiropractors see many problems that could have been helped early in life.

At the Uptown Wellness Center, Dr. Amberly Hoyer adjusts a woman in her 20s post-pregnancy, but says often helps adults with ailments like allergies, asthma and digestive problems.

“A lot of people who have headaches, allergies and asthma get a ton of relief when you adjust the upper cervical spine, and a lot of kids with allergies,  asthma, ear infections are commonly misaligned at the C1 and C2 vertebrae,” said Dr. Hoyer. “What happens is our brain sends a message down the spinal cord and out to every organ, muscle, tissue and fiber from those nerves, so when your spine is misaligned it will put pressure on those nerves.”

Chiropractic care has taken the pressure off Winkler, who believes the benefits are only beginning.

“It was our original plan to bring her in but it was great to see the results after the crying fits as well,” she said.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Practically all young children use bottles, sippy cups, or pacifiers, but in Health Watch, we’re finding out they may not all be as safe as parents would like.

A new 20-year study shows more than 45,000 children under 3 years old went to the hospital for injuries caused by bottles, pacifiers and sippy cups. That’s about one child every four hours.

Two-thirds of the injuries were children under one who were learning to walk and tripped with one of the products in their hands or mouth. The majority of injuries were caused by bottles.

Doctors say parents shouldn’t let kids walk around while they’re drinking. They also suggest bottles with rubber tops instead of hard plastic ones.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Some union members at area hospitals are talking about possibly going on strike.

They’re voting Monday and Tuesday on a strike that would last two to five days.

At Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina, union members and leaders are addressing the media on Monday about the issues.

Union reps say these workers are facing severe cuts from area hospitals. As many as 3,500 workers are being asked to vote on whether to strike. They’re members of SEIU, the Service Employees International Union.

These are people who have jobs as nursing assistants, emergency room technicians and those working in maintenance. It also includes food service, clerks, warehouse staff and others. They work at five hospital systems in the Twin Cities, including Fairview, Children’s, Health East, North Memorial and Park Nicollet.

The workers’ contracts expired at the end of February. The union claims the changes would push the lowest paid employees and their families into poverty.

A spokesperson for the union says there are concerns over what the hospitals are proposing for overtime, vacation, sick time, and health care.

There is a bargaining session scheduled with the workers and hospitals on Wednesday. We have not heard the hospitals’ side of the issue.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – May is National Bike Month, and this week marks Bike To Work Week. As you hop aboard your two-wheeler, there are a few safety tips you’ll want to keep in mind.

Natalie Kane talked with Kat McCarthy of Calhoun Cycle on Monday morning to make sure commuters get off on the right foot.

The first thing you’ll want to make sure is that your bicycle’s tires are fully inflated. The tire will say somewhere along the side how many PSI you should be inflating them.

Another important piece of safety equipment: lights. You’ll want to have both a headlight affixed to the front of your bike, as well as a taillight at the rear. That way you can see the road ahead of you and be seen by approaching vehicles.

Perhaps the most crucial piece of safety equipment is, of course, the helmet. Not only should you buy and wear a helmet, you should make especially sure that it fits your head properly. It should be covering your forehead.

A few more tips to heed for Bike To Work Week: Map out a route, add a basket or a bag, and commute with a co-worker. Also, bike in work clothes if you aren’t planning on breaking any speed records.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Two young Minnesota sisters share a very special gift: two successful heart transplant surgeries.

For their mother, Linsey Rippy, this Mother’s Day is about routine rather than recognition.

“You just deal with it. What more could I have done? You just take it as it comes,” said mother Rippy, whose 3-year-old daughter, Sydney, is still recovering.

To say the least, few months have been tough on the Rippy family is an understatement. In October, Sydney was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, or an enlarged heart.

“When they sat us down and told us, Sydney’s echo was not normal, I had to leave the room,” said Rippy.

Part of the pain came because history was repeating itself.

“It did shake my faith, quite a bit,” said Noel Rippy, Sydney’s father.

Sydney’s older sister, 6-year-old Madison, suffered the same condition in 2009. Like her younger sister, a heart transplant was the only option and a donor heart was available just 18 hours after Madison was put on the list.

“It’s all a guessing game. We didn’t know we’d make it this far or not,” said Noel.

The successful surgery gave Madison another chance at life. Three weeks ago, Sydney got the same opportunity. Just two days on the donor list, and a heart matched in Texas. Many patients on the donor list wait weeks, even months.

“I don’t know that it’s sunk in, yet, that both my kids have new hearts,” said Rippy.

Recovery and returning home are still months away for Sydney, but with it comes the promise of more Mother’s Day celebrations.

“All things considered, I’d rather sit in a hospital room with my kid than not have her,” said Rippy.

Several fundraisers have been planned to help cover the medical costs for the Rippy Family, if you’d like to help log onto the girls’ Caringbridge.com sites: Madison, Sydney.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A team of doctors and elite athletes are back from a month-long study that’s far from the science lab.

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic studied how the body adapts to extreme environments, specifically the lungs. The researchers teamed up with The North Face and National Geographic to climb Mount Everest. In those high altitudes, scientists watched how athletes climb under extreme conditions — ones that simulate heart disease, muscle loss and heart problems.

The researchers and athletes returned to Minnesota Saturday night.

Those involved said ice falls and avalanches made the study a challenge. Many of the team members had altitude sickness but they say, overall, it was a success.

“These studies are novel and exciting, but they’re challenging and difficult,” one researcher said. “I’d say the Mayo team did extraordinarily well.”

The group was gone almost a month. Some of the athletes are still on the mountain, waiting to summit.

(credit: May Clinic News Network)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Saturday was an ideal day to head over to the farmers market.

The Mill City Farmers Market, located on the Chicago Mall between the Guthrie Theater and Mill City Museum, opened up for the season.

“We are all local, sustainable or organic,” said Brenda Langton, the founder of the Mill City Farmers Market. “And [the foods] are more nutritious and they are fresher than you could get on most grocery shelves.”

Langton she said because of the early spring, the market has “tons” of produce — lettuce, mushrooms and, even, arugula.

“It is a premium product,” she said.

Besides fresh fruits and veggies, Mill City also honored mothers on Mother’s Day weekend. Children planted flowers to give to their moms.

Organizers said the whole idea behind the market is to promote Minnesota farmers and healthy eating.