One of the top headlines today is a story about a 24-year-old woman who got flesh-eating bacteria, or "necrotizing fasciitis," after a fall from a zip line. She's had one leg amputated and may lose some fingers and her other foot.

This is one of those scary stories that makes us wonder how vulnerable we might be to just the most minor of scrapes and cuts. Western medicine has some basic advice to give people to prevent such problems:

There is no known way to fully prevent the illness, but the National Necrotizing Fasciitis Foundation suggests these common sense tips: frequent hand-washing, immediate medical treatment for wounds (thorough cleansing of the area and application of an antibacterial ointment), limited contact with anyone with a strep infection, and teaching children the need for cleanliness.

A woman recently filed a lawsuit against Nutella for misleading advertising - she was angry that she thought she was feeding her child something "healthy" - despite Nutella being the flavor and consistency of a melted chocolate bar.

But Nutella isn't bad for you, as long as it's consumed in moderation. Don't put a big spoonful in your mouth - especially one after the other - because one tablespoon contains 100 calories. But a small amount spread upon a piece of whole grain toast shouldn't kill you.

From Slate:

What's next? Gluing your mouth shut so you can only eat what fits through a straw? The latest fad diet is the "feeding tube diet," which involves a doctor putting a feeding tube down your nose and carrying around a bag filled with liquid proteins and fats.

This seems like an extreme way to lose a few pounds. My question is, can you eat other things while the tube is down your throat? Would it stop you from downing a Twinkie or some ice cream?

Hopefully this extreme diet will fade away into the woodwork. Exercise, not malnutrition, should be the first focus of any diet.

Beyond Human could be just another "think positive" Law of Attraction self-help book. Thankfully, it goes "beyond" simple "just think good thoughts" advice and provides some innovative tools and ways of approaching things that you might not have heard of before.

Right off the bat, the author, Jaden Rose Phoenix, sets herself apart by commenting on the lack of "out of the box" thinking that traps so many people in mediocrity. If more people took her advice on just trying new things to solve problems, the world would probably be a better place.

Doing Virtuous Business is about how the best businesses utilize spiritual principles to not only achieve success but make the world a better place. It's a compelling idea and one that we should, as a culture, explore further. The author comes at the subject as a devout Christian, and so much of the theory is based in Christian principles and ideals; however, he does endeavor to expand the playing field to other faiths.

Deadly "brain-eating" amoebas have been in the news lately, as a number of people have died this year from being infected with them through contaminated water. From Yahoo News:

The third case, in Louisiana, was more unusual. It was a young man whose death in June was traced to the tap water he used in a device called a neti pot. It's a small teapot-shaped container used to rinse out the nose and sinuses with salt water to relieve allergies, colds and sinus trouble.

Health officials later found the amoeba in the home's water system. The problem was confined to the house; it wasn't found in city water samples, said Dr. Raoult Ratard, Louisiana's state epidemiologist.

The young man, who was only identified as in his 20s and from southeast Louisiana, had not been swimming nor been in contact with surface water, Ratard added.

He said only sterile, distilled, or boiled water should be used in neti pots.

A Facebook friend posted a link to the following article, which talks about the theory that anti-depressants not only don't cure depression, but make it worse by altering brain chemistry in negative and sometimes long-lasting ways:

The Epidemic of Mental Illness: Why?

Not surprising, many responses to the article were from folks who were attached to the belief that they needed psychiatric "rescue" by drugs. I posted a reply (admittedly, sometimes I waste too much time debating on Facebook), but thought it might be good to share here on my blog. Given that anti-depressants may make you depressed for life, can you afford to take the risk of using them? Wouldn't it be good to know that there is another way?

Here is my Facebook response:

More and more women are choosing reusable cloth menstrual pads over disposable pads and tampons. Reusable cloth pads are better for the environment and surprisingly more comfortable than commercial menstrual pads. And, with concerns over dioxin in tampons, cloth pads are safer too.

Cloth pads require an upfront initial investment, however, and you could spend $100-200 getting your pads. There are some great, inexpensive cloth pad shops on eBay. The nice thing about the price of these pads is that you can test them out without a large upfront investment. Here are a few cloth pad shops on eBay I've tried:

Cindy's Cloth
http://myworld.ebay.com/cindy11110/
Cindy's Cloth offers really high quality cotton-top pads. They are extremely well-made and comfortable. Many cloth-pads are topped with fuzzy flannel - but, especially in hot weather, cotton is more comfortable.

MonoMio's Cloth Pad Shop
http://stores.ebay.com/MonoMios-Cloth-Pad-Shop

Same Life, New Story by Jan Silvious is billed as a “10-Week Bible Study for Women” covering stories of women in the Bible and how they apply to life for women today. It’s not so much as a Bible study as it is a self-help coaching book for Christian women. It could also be used by spiritual-but-not-religious women who may be interested in applying Christian concepts to their personal growth.

I went to church weekly as a child but never really knew much about women in the Bible. I guess our church never covered them that much, for whatever the reason. So I was interested in this book because of its focus on women in the Bible. I was curious to read their stories and hear how they might apply to me today. Would women of the Bible be inspiring to me? I wanted to find out.

The Final Summit by Andy Andrews is a self-help parable that seeks to answer the question: "What does humanity need to do, individually and collectively, to restore itself to the pathway toward successful civilization?" It attempts to do so through a fictional character who finds himself at a heavenly “summit” of time “travelers” who have been brought there by the Archangel Gabriel. Most of the “travelers” are famous people who are known for great accomplishments, except for the hero of our story, a normal man who found wealth and prosperity by learning life secrets through his previous time travels.

This leads us to the first problem with this book: It's actually a sequel, apparently, to a previous book. So it took me a little while to figure out what this whole “traveler” business was about. I left the book still not quite sure what the travelers were actually doing in traveling, or how it all worked, but I got the basic gist of it.