4A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL August 17, 2016
O PINION
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Anti-Trump bias
Another week, another Cottage
Grove Sentinel issue, and of course
another anti-Republican/anti-Trump
political cartoon.
No surprise here. It is obvious that
the Sentinel owners/editors are anti-
GOP/anti-Trump folks.
Why not pick up another politi-
cal cartoonist for a change? There
are political cartoonists out there [if
you search ] who made equal fun of
Democrats/Ms. Clinton and also of
Republicans/Mr. Trump.
Fair and balanced? Hardly.
George Zajic
Cottage Grove
Offbeat Oregon History
‘Christmas Ship’ could have used some
navigation help from Santa
BY FINN J.D. JOHN
For the Sentinel
E
arly in December of 1941,
the 421-foot steam freighter
Mauna Ala was on her way to Ho-
nolulu with a cargo hold stuffed
with Christmas cheer.
The steamer was hauling the
load for the U.S. government, and
she was that year’s “Christmas
ship.” She was packing 60,000
Christmas trees, 10,000 frozen
turkeys, 3,000 frozen chickens
and thousands more cases of
prime steaks and Almond Roca
candy. Her destination: Pearl Har-
bor, where the soldiers and sailors
stationed at the base were eagerly
waiting for her to arrive.
Of course, 1941 was the year
something else would arrive at
Pearl Harbor.
The Japanese airstrike of Dec.
7 happened when the Mauna Ala
was still several thousand miles
from her destination. The word
went out immediately that the voy-
age was off. Pearl Harbor, heavily
damaged and clotted with sunken
Navy ships, was in no condition to
be playing host to any ships whose
errands weren’t absolutely essen-
tial. Plus, a state of war had just
broken out, and the Japanese had a
world-class submarine fl eet. Now
was not the time for big, slow, ag-
ing steamers like the Mauna Ala to
be making unescorted trips across
the Pacifi c.
So the Mauna Ala was ordered
to make immediately for the near-
est deepwater port. And, unfor-
tunately for the Mauna Ala, the
nearest port was Astoria, Oregon.
While the ship was getting
turned around and headed back
toward the continent, a couple
things were happening that would
essentially seal her fate. First, an
order for radio silence went out.
Radio transmissions could be tri-
angulated upon, which meant that
the enemy would quickly be able
to fi gure out exactly where to send
its submarines to intercept a ship
whose radio offi cer was too chat-
ty. So as the Mauna Ala steamed
homeward, she was neither getting
nor receiving any information.
And that was unfortunate, be-
cause had it not been the case, they
surely would have learned that the
well-meaning authorities in Or-
egon had decided to black out the
entire coast. And they’d blacked it
out completely — including light-
houses and navigational beacons.
Of course, the Mauna Ala’s
crew did learn that eventually.
But it was an expensive lesson.
The lookout in the steamer’s bows
learned it roughly an hour after
dusk when he saw the ship’s run-
ning lights gleaming on the tops of
breakers just ahead.
And so it was that, under full
power at maximum cruising speed,
the S.S. Mauna Ala piled onto the
beach at Clatsop Spit, just south of
the Columbia River entrance and a
little way south of the wreckage of
the Peter Iredale. Her screws were
still turning, driving her steel hull
deep into the sands and still churn-
ing up the waters behind her as
she ground shuddering to a stop.
When she hit, her offi cers on the
bridge were still actively scanning
the horizon around for the light of
the Columbia River Lightship —
never realizing that the light had
Please see OFFBEAT, Page 5A
Get a healthy start to the new school
year with vaccinations
BY SUSAN JOHNSON
Regional Director, US Department of Health and Human
Services, Region 10
I
n August, you’ll see back-to-school
ads from virtually every store.
These ads will try to convince you that
you need to buy clothes, shoes, comput-
ers, school supplies, sporting equipment,
lunch making materials, cleaning wipes,
and myriad other products. Children
legitimately need some of these items.
Other items are in the nice-to-have cat-
egory. The average family will spend in
excess of $600 per child for back-to-
school items—and signifi cantly more
for college-bound students, especially
when they need to furnish that freshman
dorm room. Back-to-school has become
the second largest shopping season in
the year.
There is one item that may not be on
your back-to-school list: Immuniza-
tions! Immunizations are something ev-
ery child and young adult should have
before they head back to school. That
may be why August is National Immu-
nization Awareness Month!
Some of the greatest medical break-
throughs have been the development of
effective vaccines for illnesses that have
killed or injured hundreds of thousands
of people in the past. According to the
CDC, “…among children born during
1994–2013, vaccination will prevent an
estimated 322 million illnesses, 21 mil-
lion hospitalizations and 732,000 deaths
over the course of their lifetimes, at a net
savings of $295 billion in direct costs and
$1.38 trillion in total societal costs.”
In recent years, we’ve looked eagerly
for vaccines for HIV, Hepatitis C, Ebola,
the Zika virus and other emerging dis-
eases, just as in the past people looked
for vaccines for polio, measles, mumps,
rubella and smallpox.
Many of the vaccinations we receive
in this country are for “childhood illness-
es.” Despite the inoffensive title, these
illnesses can be quite serious or even
deadly, especially for the very young, the
elderly, or those with immune systems
compromised by diabetes, cancer, lung
diseases, or other illnesses. Many people
currently live with long term effects of
diseases acquired in childhood—some
of which, like polio—have been largely
eradicated thanks to immunizations.
Vaccinations are also important to pro-
tect those who for medical reasons can’t
be immunized. Community Immunity
or “Herd Immunity” helps protect these
individuals by containing the spread of
diseases.
Add this one extra item to that back-to-
school list. Make sure your child is fully
immunized. While you’re at it, check to
see if your immunizations are all up to
date—immunity to many diseases, such
as whooping cough and tetanus—can
dissipate over time, and the fl u vaccine
is different each year.
There is good news with this back-
to-school item though—recommended
vaccinations are available as a preven-
tive health service through Marketplace
plans, so this won’t add to your back-
to-school expenses. Just be sure to fol-
low your plan’s guidance on where you
should get your vaccinations to be sure
the cost is covered.
The State of Oregon provides excel-
lent resources for parents, including
Immunization Requirements Flyer for
the 2016-2017 School Year in English,
Spanish, Russian, and Vietnamese,
FAQs for Parents which is only available
in English, and Oregon Immunization
Data and Reports which allows you to
see how your county stacks up on im-
munizations.
Every child (and parent) should have a
safe and healthy school year. Immuniza-
tions are an easy way to start out at the
head of the class!
How to eat for beautiful, healthy skin
BY JOEL FUHRMAN, MD
For the Sentinel
T
he skin is the largest or-
gan of the human body
and a barrier that protects us
from microbial pathogens and
other damaging elements. The
health of
the skin is
a refl ection
of overall
health, and
the skin’s
resilience
to sun ex-
posure and
outward ap-
pearance can be enhanced with
high-nutrient foods.
Skin cancer is the most com-
mon cancer in the U.S., affect-
ing one out of every fi ve Ameri-
cans. Ultraviolet radiation from
the sun promotes skin aging
and cancer via oxidative stress,
infl ammation, and damage to
DNA. Ultraviolet (UV) expo-
sure also leads to alteration of
the skin’s structural proteins,
causing sagging and wrinkling.
Taking proactive measures such
as using a safe mineral sun-
screen and limiting mid-day sun
exposure are crucial to protect-
ing your skin from the sun’s UV
rays. Phytochemicals from nat-
ural foods can provide an extra
source of protection, by enhanc-
ing the body’s natural defenses
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM
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to help prevent sun damage and
slow the aging of the skin.
Carotenoids are one class of
phytochemicals that offer pho-
toprotection. After we consume
carotenoid-rich foods, carot-
enoids accumulate in the skin,
where they oppose UV-induced
oxidative stress. Individual ca-
rotenoids, mixed carotenoids,
and carotenoid-rich whole
foods have been shown to have
photo-protective qualities that
prevent or repair DNA damage
to the skin caused by the sun.
For example, lycopene, found
in tomatoes and pink fruits such
as watermelon, grapefruit, and
papaya, helps to protect the
skin from sun damage. Similar
results have been found for lu-
tein and zeaxanthin, found in
leafy greens, and beta-carotene,
found in yellow and orange veg-
etables.
In addition to carotenoids, an-
other class of antioxidant nutri-
ents—polyphenols—may have
photoprotective actions. There
are hundreds of polyphenols,
and they are present in most
whole plant foods. Polyphe-
nols from cocoa and green tea,
for example, have been shown
to counteract UV-induced skin
damage in human studies.
Wrinkles and other signs of
skin aging are related to chrono-
logical age but also strongly
infl uenced by UV rays. It is es-
timated that 80 percent of the
visible aging in a woman’s face
is due to sun exposure. The phy-
tochemical-rich foods that offer
sun protection also offer some
protection against wrinkles. In
one study of older adults, higher
intakes of vegetables and le-
gumes and lower intake of dairy
and sugar were associated with
less visible sun damage. Anoth-
er study assessed skin aging in
middle-aged American women,
and found that higher dietary
vitamin C intake was associated
with fewer wrinkles. In a study
of Japanese women that related
dietary variables to “crow’s
feet” wrinkling, higher intake
of green and yellow vegetables
was associated with fewer wrin-
kles. In studies on green tea and
cocoa polyphenols, in addition
to UV protection, these inter-
ventions improved appearance
factors such as elasticity, hydra-
tion, and softness.
Structural proteins in the con-
nective tissue of the skin are also
affected by diet. There is evi-
dence that beta-carotene reduc-
es the levels of one such protein
that promotes skin wrinkling.
Also, tomato paste supplemen-
tation was found to reduce the
activity of an enzyme known to
degrade structural proteins in
the skin, presumably slowing
skin aging.
In spite of the well-known
damaging effects of the sun on
our skin, many of us still per-
ceive a suntan as healthy-look-
ing. Food-derived carotenoids
can also affect our skin color-
ation, and research has shown
that carotenoid-colored skin is
perceived as healthier and more
attractive. In the wild, carot-
enoids are responsible for the
bright feather colors of male
birds, which make them more
attractive to potential mates.
There is a much more subtle, but
similar phenomenon in humans.
An increase in carotenoid-pro-
duced skin coloration was con-
sistently found to be perceived
as healthier in people of Cauca-
sian, African and Asian descent.
One interesting study found
that people preferred the skin
color caused by eating carot-
enoids over the skin color from
a suntan. Another study investi-
gated skin carotenoid coloration
changes in response to increased
fruit and vegetable consump-
tion. They found that photos of
individuals a few weeks after
increasing fruit and vegetable
intake by three serving per day
received higher ratings of health
and attractiveness than “before”
photos. Furthermore, the im-
provement in appearance has
been shown to be a motivating
factor for increasing fruit and
vegetable consumption.
Each time the skin is exposed
to the sun, some carotenoids are
“used up” for their antioxidant
activity, so they must be con-
stantly replenished by the diet
to maintain the protective ef-
fects (smoking and alcohol also
deplete additional carotenoids
from skin). Consistently con-
suming antioxidant-rich plant
foods will build up the stores
of these protective phytochemi-
cals in the skin. You can even
quantify your skin carotenoid
levels using a specialized scan-
ner to confi rm the accumulation
of dietary carotenoids in your
skin. I use one of these scan-
ners in my medical practice to
confi rm and motivate patients
to eat a Nutrtarian diet, rich in
these colorful phytochemicals.
A high-nutrient (Nutritarian)
diet is designed to be rich in
antioxidant phytochemicals and
promotes health inside and out,
protecting against chronic dis-
ease, heart disease and cancer,
while at the same time protect-
ing the skin from sun damage
while giving a natural, healthy-
looking glow.
Dr. Fuhrman is a #1 New
York Times best-selling author
and a board certifi ed family
physician specializing in life-
style and nutritional medicine.
Visit his informative website at
DrFuhrman.com.
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