Upcoming presentations in the San Diego area are scheduled for the Osher Lifelong Learning Center, Cal State San Marcos (www.csusm.edu/olli) and the OASIS Adult Learning Center (www.oasisnet.org). Dates, times and locations are posted on their websites.

Avoiding modern diseases –  Osher Lifelong Learning Center at the Temecula Higher Education Center,  February 19 and 26, March 5 and Mission San Luis Rey, March 22 and 29, April 5. Topics include Ten steps to avoid cancer, Baby Boomer blindness and Ten ways to avoid dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Sleep, light and health, Mission Valley Library (OASIS) February 20, 1:00 p.m.

Dieting Guidelines

Cravings occur because sheer survival is built into our behavior. Survival is an overriding instinct, so don’t feel guilty when you have cravings, even when they make you do irrational things like raiding the refrigerator when everyone else is asleep.

You can avoid cravings by snacking on foods that are high in fiber and low in calories, such as most fruit. Don’t be concerned about fruit sugar; a normal piece of fresh fruit usually has only about 70-80 calories but the fiber will satisfy your appetite. Protein snacks, such as protein food bars, will also help to prevent cravings but they should contain only small amounts of carbohydrate and fat.

A hint: eat snacks slowly. That’s especially true of nuts, a small handful of which will usually contain a little more than 100 calories but that is very filling – if you eat them slowly!

In the news

Tiny turtles – cute but dangerous.

Many of us had little turtles as kids, usually from the local Five-and-Dime with an American flag painted on the shell. But for decades those pets have been responsible for thousands of cases of illness due to various strains of Salmonella. The germ usually only causes diarrhea but in the very young and the very young it can cause serious bloodstream infection and even death.

The Centers for Disease Control has banned the interstate sale of small (carapace less than four inches in diameter) turtles since 1975 because of the high risk. Salmonella bacteria are common in turtles and the water of the tanks in which they are kept – and kids love to pet and kiss those cute critters.

Banned or not, tiny turtles continue to cause outbreaks, the latest in November of 2017 that spread to fourteen states. More than a third of the victims were below the age of five years.