Overweight men face greater prostate threat

Researchers say overweight or obese men with prostate cancer are more than twice as likely as men of normal weight to die of the disease.

Increased levels of insulin may be a major reason.

Earlier research has shown that prostate cancer cells have insulin receptors on their surface, meaning they're sensitive to the hormone that regulates the amount of glucose, or sugar, in the body.

Obese people tend to have elevated insulin levels.

Frozen chicken must still be fully cooked

The U.S. government is urging consumers to thoroughly cook frozen chicken dinners after 32 people in 12 states were sickened with salmonella poisoning.

The warning by the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited frozen dishes in which the chicken is raw, but breaded or pre-browned, giving the appearance of being cooked.

They include chicken cordon bleu and chicken breasts stuffed with cheese, vegetables or other items.

The department says many of the people who became ill apparently did not follow the package's cooking instructions and microwaved the chicken dishes even though the instructions did not provide for it.

Microwaving didn't heat the meals enough to kill the salmonella. The department says consumers should cook chicken products to a minimum internal temperature of 74 C.

Flu shot for mom can help newborn baby

A flu shot provided to a woman during her pregnancy can help shield her newborn against the potentially deadly infection, researchers report.

The study, conducted in Bangladesh, bolsters long-standing U.S. recommendations that pregnant women get vaccinated against influenza -- especially since it is also recommended that infants under six months not receive the shot.

"Our data show that a single dose of maternal influenza vaccine provides a considerable two-for-one benefit to both mothers and their young infants," wrote a team led by Dr. Mark C. Steinhoff, of Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health, in Baltimore.

-- Compiled by Florence Sicoli from Hamilton Spectator news services