Dennis recovering from gastroenteritis

[redqueen]

March 9, 2004

Many of you know that Dennis is being treated at a Cleveland-area hospital for gastroenteritis (commonly referred to as "stomach flu"). The ailment was apparently brought on by food poisoning.

Dennis was en route to a major campaign appearance in Selma, Alabama Sunday when he was taken ill. He returned to the Cleveland area on the advice of his physician, and underwent routine tests. Dennis is expected to return to the campaign trail shortly.

Supporters wanting to share wishes for a speedy recovery are encouraged to send cards - not flowers or food - to Dennis at Campaign Headquarters (Kucinich for President, 11808 Lorain Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44111). Campaign contributions are also appreciated by phone at 866-413-3664, online or by mail.

link

[JohnKleeb]

1. awww I hope he gets better

Hope he feels better.

[chocolateeater]

5. I hope he gets better too.

Dennis is tough, I think he'll be fine.

[U of M Dem 07]

2. Ooh...

That's a nasty bug... it went through my dorm last month. It wasn't fun. Hope he feels better soon. :)

[redqueen]

3. Isn't it awful?

He's probably already over the worst of it. Thank goodness he's getting some much needed rest. (bright side)

Oh yeah and welcome to DU! :hi:

[sangh0]

7. The worst is probably over

The worst of it usually lasts no longer than eight hours, though it can take some time to recover. It takes a lot out of you, so to speak.

[redqueen]

8. Um

EW!

And it sure FEELS like more than 8 hours!

[genius]

4. I hope he recovers fast. He's a great guy

and he is very inspiring.

[redqueen]

6. When I'm sick, money always serves as a great pick-me-up!

j/k, sorta

:D

[Kanary]

9. Thanks for the update!

I've thought a lot about him today, and wondered how he is doing.

I sure hope he's sleeping a lot! His body must be screaming at him by now.

:toast: to Dennis!

Kanary

Another Delusional Diehard for Dennis!!

Kucinich 2004!

[redqueen]

20. Always happy to share DK news

Glad to hear you're still a Delusional Diehard for Dennis, too!

:toast:

[Kanary]

25. Diehard -- ALWAYS!! ^_^

I'm going bannering tomorrow, and probably later this week, too.

I'm going to get as much in as possible.

Looks like Dennis may be here at the end of the month, (if he's feeling up to it), so I'm going to try to get *LOTS* of people turned on and showing up!

Can you tell I'm just a weeeee bit excited?

Kanary, with Dennis to Boston -- And Beyond! :)

Another Delusional Diehard for Dennis!!

Kucinich 2004!

[AngryAmish]

10. That sucks

I had it (not for many years thank god) and it is not fun. The one positive thing (for me) is causes you to lose a lot of weight. Unfortunately, most of it is just water. Dennis is pretty slim so he does not need to lose any weight.

[maddezmom]

11. Hope he's feeling better soon

I've had my share of intestinal problems living abroad and it's not fun. Sending healthy vibes to Dennis. :)

[WilliamPitt]

12. Totally unsurprised here

While on the road (which is all the time), Dennis takes food from supporters he doesn't know. Total strangers. They pass tupperware bins to his handlers, and Dennis chows down in the van. It is really really nice of people to do this, but sooner or later he was going to run into a bad cook. Combine this with the fact that the food is vegan and requires special preparation, and this was inevitable.

[KittyWampus]

13. I Was Macrobiotic/Vegan. What "Special Preparation"?

If you mean washing your hands and cooking utensils etc.... yeah, I guess there's "special preparation".

[goodhue]

14. Special Preparation?!

WTF?! As a life long vegetarian and sometimes vegan I have know idea to what you refer.

MEAT requires special preparation, not beans, rice and vegetables.

Maybe some bad hummus or bean curd but would relate to long-term lack of refrigeration and not preparation.

[WilliamPitt]

16. 'Live food' doesn't need special preparation?

Looked like it did to me.

[goodhue]

18. "live food"

what's that?

[WilliamPitt]

21. Something from the vegan food realm

that requires care in preparation. I saw this myself. Total strangers delivering 'live food' which Dennis then ate. I'm not surprised something made him sick.

[Desertrose]

24. Hey Will...think it coulda come from Crawford TX

:evilfrown:

Dennis is very trusting about his food and so far has been fine but when it gets summer and well, even vegan food doesn't keep forever in the heat....

Peace
DR

[goodhue]

26. Refrigeration is not special preparation!

I don't doubt that DK is unduly trusting and may have gotten sick from food supplied by volunteers but it has nothing to do with the fact that he is vegan. The whole vegan diet as "special" thing is really irritating.

Now there are certainly live cultures in soy and wheat based foods, (e.g, miso, soy yogurt) just as with dairy. There are also specialty "live foods" such as bragg liquid aminos and apple cider vinegars, which is what I'm guessing you are referring to. You buy these in bottles at your local co-op See, e.g., http://www.bragg.com/. But just like dairy-based "live foods", these live foods require simple refrigeration. So does hummus for that matter. The only thing special required is refrigeration. Meat on the other hand requires special preparation beyond refrigeration.

Refrigeration is not special preparation. These "live foods" require no more special handling than milk or apple cider would.

[WilliamPitt]

27. I'm not dissing vegans, so dial it back

This 'live food' was home-made. Possible someone messed up?

[goodhue]

29. sorry

The unstated implication that illness is somehow due to diet raised my dander. Peace

[goodhue]

28. Bragg Liquid Aminos - comes in a bottle, no prep required

http://www.bragg.com/products/liquidaminos.html

Information:

Bragg Liquid Aminos is a Certified NON-GMO liquid protein concentrate, derived from soybeans, that contains the following Essential and Non-essential Amino Acids in naturally occurring amounts:

Alanine
Arginine
Aspartic Acid
Glutamic Acid
Glycine
Histidine
Isoleucine
Lysine
Leucine
Methionine
Phenylalanine
Proline
Serine
Threonine
Tyrosine
Valine

Great on Salads & Dressings, Soups, Veggies, Rice & Beans, Tofu, Wok & Stir-frys, Tempeh, Casseroles, Potatoes, Meats, Poultry, Fish, Jerky, Popcorn, Gravies & Sauces, Macrobiotics.

Our Bragg Liquid Aminos are made from health-giving, NON-GMO soybeans and purified water. They are an excellent, healthy, gourmet replacement for Tamari and Soy Sauce. Not fermented or heated.

HEALTH BENEFITS:

Bragg Liquid Aminos contain:

no chemicals
no artificial coloring
no alcohol
no preservatives
Certified NON-GMO

A source of delicious, nutritious, life-renewing protein.

Taste you'll love - Nutrition you need.

Great on salads, veggies, dressings, soups, rice, beans, Wok foods, tofu, gravies, jerky, poultry, fish, popcorn, meats, casseroles, potatoes and most foods.

Contains important amino acids that are responsible for preventing arteriosclerosis.

[goodhue]

22. FDA on preventing food borne illnesses (note meat & dairy focus)

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qa-fdb1.html

Q: How can I prevent foodborne Illness?

A: Prevention Tips

The idea that the food on the dinner table can make someone sick may be disturbing, but there are many steps you can take to protect your families and dinner guests. It's just a matter of following basic rules of food safety.

Prevention of foodborne illness starts with your trip to the supermarket. Pick up your packaged and canned foods first. Don't buy food in cans that are bulging or dented or in jars that are cracked or have loose or bulging lids. Look for any expiration dates on the labels and never buy outdated food. Likewise, check the "use by" or "sell by" date on dairy products such as cottage cheese, cream cheese, yogurt, and sour cream and pick the ones that will stay fresh longest in your refrigerator.

If you have a health problem, especially one that may have impaired your immune system, don't eat raw shellfish and use only pasteurized milk and cheese, and pasteurized or concentrated ciders and juices.

Choose eggs that are refrigerated in the store. Before putting them in your cart, open the carton and make sure that the eggs are clean and none are cracked.

Select frozen foods and perishables such as meat, poultry or fish last. Always put these products in separate plastic bags so that drippings don't contaminate other foods in your shopping cart.

Don't buy frozen seafood if the packages are open, torn or crushed on the edges. Avoid packages that are above the frost line in the store's freezer. If the package cover is transparent, look for signs of frost or ice crystals. This could mean that the fish has either been stored for a long time or thawed and refrozen.

Check for cleanliness at the meat or fish counter and the salad bar. For instance, cooked shrimp lying on the same bed of ice as raw fish could become contaminated.

When shopping for shellfish, buy from markets that get their supplies from state-approved sources; stay clear of vendors who sell shellfish from roadside stands or the back of a truck. And if you're planning to harvest your own shellfish, heed posted warnings about the safety of the water.

Take an ice chest along to keep frozen and perishable foods cold if it will take more than an hour to get your groceries home.

Source: Excerpted from FDA Consumer - The Unwelcome Dinner Guest: Preventing Foodborne Illness, Jan.-Feb. 1991; Revised Dec. 1997, Feb. 1999, Oct. 1999, and June 2000

[WilliamPitt]

23. They should add a line item

"Don't eat 'live food' given to you by strangers."

[sangh0]

33. Does that apply to roadkill too?

The unfit aren't crazy about getting sick either

[John_H]

35. Raw food requires special precautions meat or not.

I din't know Dennis was a macrobiotic vegan--Doesn't that mean nothing above 110 degrees?

Eating food that will not be heated to 150 degrees means you're more likely to get sick if the food is handled by someone with dirty hands, etc.

At my restaurant, we serve mostly organic, small-farm raised produce and get lots of requests from people who only eat raw stuff. We wash it twice and take extra care to make sure it's prepared on a santized surface and always plated with gloves. I've seen more people get food poisoning from fruit than raw fish By far.

I don't care if my line cooks taste a veal jus w/ their fingers while it's reducing, but if my garde manger tastes a vinagarette the same way, she's in big trouble.

Sorry, but that's biology, and if you eat only uncooked foods your risk of getting sick is higher than people who eat both raw and cooked foods, vegan or not.

[redqueen]

15. Thanks for the good wishes

:hi:

[Desertrose]

19. Actually , Will is right...

I saw Dennis abscond with an entire box of vegan oatmeal chocky chip cookies @1AM. We brought them from Flag to Farmington...of course we DID sample them & make sure they were OK -oh damn, they were :evilgrin:

and I inherited a vegan chocolate cake from CA...it was getting ripe but what the hell- we ate it anyway...so yeah, I can see how it could happen...

I wish you all could have seen the twinkle in that man's eyes when he grabbed the cookie box, grinned at us all & then closed the door before anyone else could get any! It really was priceless!!!

Here's to Dennis feeling WAAAY BETTER!!
vegan beer--->:toast: DUH- I guess beer IS vegan! :spank:


Peace
DR

[goodhue]

31. certainly

DK eats all kinds of stuff which he has no clue who prepared. Remarkably trusting and a recipe for eventually getting sick.
I was just overreacting to suggestion that vegan food requires special preparation since I feel it is quite the opposite--non-vegan food requires special preparation and most food borne illness relate to meat and dairy.

Beer is vegan but not on DK's diet. In Minneapolis a couple weeks back some supporters were working on a keg in the basement of the House of Balls sculpture studio awaiting DK's arrival. When Dennis showed up and came downstairs, he was offered a beer. He turned his shoulder as if he had not heard and went down the hall, where he then gave a most excellent Q & A in which he talked about comic books, quantum physics, and his laser-like focus on taking back the democratic party. In Minneapolis, Dennis got about 25% of the vote.

[no name no slogan]

32. Actually, not all beer is vegan, or vegetarian actually

I spent six months in pub in London, UK, working as a cellarmaster.

In british beer, there's something called "finings" that are added to the beer to help clarify it before it leaves the brewery. These finings are made from the ground-up swim bladder of a sturgeon, and help remove some of the protein haze that can be present in British-style cask-conditioned ale while it undergoes its secondary fermentation in a pub cellar.

These finings typically drop to the bottom of the cask when the beer is finished with its secondary fermentatiion, and generally are not present in the beer when it's served.

This only applies to British-style cask-conditioned ale in the UK, and doesn't apply to bottled versions or to beer served via a CO₂ pump.

I know, I know, not very useful, but still interesting in a weird way?

BTW tonight at the MN for Kucinich Delegates meeting we're sending a "get well" card to DK, along with a few more $$ for the campaign. We're going to shake up our Senate District/County conventions this year, and do the same to the Congressional District ones, too-- not to mention the statewide convention!!!

:toast:

[King of New Orleans]

17. Get Well DK

Should we send him one of those e-cards with the dancing cats?

[MoonRiver]

30. Best wishes for a speedy recovery to Dennis!

Food poisoing is the pits. O8)

[Zorra]

34. Go Dennis!.......er, whoops, I mean...

You know. A speedy recovery, and get elected soon.