Chronic Bits 

Please Don't Pass the Nuts is doing some comprehensive reporting on a Food and Drug Administration public hearing on "Food Labeling; Current Trends in the Use of Allergen Advisory Labeling: Its Use, Effectiveness, and Consumer Perception." The hearing is September 8 and celiacs (and folks with food allergies) are paying big attention to the process and potential outcomes...and MSNBC breaks it down for the laypeople.

Rural Doctoring hosts Grand Rounds today , with a quirky Shakespearean theme. Huzzah!

Thought it was only grapefruit juice you couldn't take your medications with? Think again, Babes. BBC reports new research shows that orange juice, and maybe apple juice, too, can interfere with meds. Ugh.

Of course, anyone new to the site is reading that headline and saying, whuh? Grand Rounds, our fave blog carnival of "the best of the medical blogosphere," is being hosted this week by Six Until Me, one of our fave ladybloggers.

She does it again: Laurie Edwards comes up with a vital point regarding patient-to-patient relationships. What a fantastic article, Babes!

In case you missed it, How to Cope with Pain hosted a contest, and its winning entries are terrific. Get some fresh tips on coping with pain today.

Via Boing Boing, check out this rock & roll yoga t-shirt. Awesome. (BTW, Editrix Jenni's 20-month-old niece visited last weekend and did yoga alongside her...but called it "yoda." Now it's stuck in her head.)

Cute Overload Page-A-Day Calendar 2009. Must. Get. It. Yes, it's back-ordered, but it's only August 2008—pre-order it now and you won't miss a single day of cuteness next year. A great daily pick-me-up!

Dr. Rob, a doc-blogger, lays down the rules for patients. Babes, these actually make sense! Hooray for Dr. Rob! (He also has rules for physicians.) Thanks for the tip, Kevin, M.D.!

Our ChronicPals at But You Don't Look Sick? are celebrating their 5th anniversary (congrats!) and offering all kinds of goodies, including a "spoon theory" poster. (If you've never heard of the spoon theory, it's a must-read kind of thing, Babes.) They make a perfect "get well" gift, or "friendship/ I understand" gift, and would look great in a support group meeting room. Celebrate and teach folks about what it's like to be a ChronicBabe with invisible illness!

Enjoy a fresh dish of Grand Rounds - a heaping serving of the best of the medical blogosphere. Thanks for hosting, Medical Humanities Blog!

...according to one prominent health blogger, at least. Check out the full list of the Top 100 Women's Health Blogs at Nursing School Search, which includes specialties in fertility, exercise, chronic illness and much more. Great resources, Babes!

Architect Online talks about the re-tooling of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), what it means for folks who've been disabled for years...and for the many veterans returning from Iraq with permanent disabilities.

the Editrix is back in the office and finding some cool stuff for all you ChronicBabes.

And the Editrix is fine, just a little shaken up. A few of her friends had storm damage, and it was definitely reminiscent of last year's experience—tornadoes and everything—so please think kind thoughts about our fellow Chicagoans as they clean up. Thanks!

Did you know there are literally THOUSANDS of resources on the ChronicBabe site? Browse around and you'll find hundreds of articles, 60 archived Goodie Bag enewsletters chock full of tips and news, hundreds of recommended web sites in our Help Desk section...and it's all searchable. Check us out and get the resources you need, Babes!

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released an update to its earlier warnings about eating peppers. In short: "Until further notice, the FDA is advising consumers to avoid raw serrano peppers from Mexico, in addition to raw jalapeño peppers from Mexico, and any foods that contain them." Don't be shy about asking restaurants how they're handling the problematic peppers; Chipotle restaurants are cooking them before serving.

The BBC reports that new research shows an herb, Indian Frankincense, might be able to lessen the symptoms of arthritis. We just like imagining a BBC reporter saying "herb" with a hard H.

In August we wrap up our summer-long party for ChronicBabe's 3rd birthday, and Editrix Jenni's celebrates her wedding anniversary, the 6-year anniversary of starting her own biz, and on August 23 she'll celebrate being home—and whole—a year after the bad storm that nearly wiped out ChronicBabe HQ last summer. August rules. Happy August!