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Wellness Wednesday: Red Cross lifts restrictions on blood donations for members of the LGBTQ+ community

Tubes direct blood from a donor into a bag.
Charlie Neibergall
/
AP
Tubes direct blood from a donor into a bag in Davenport, Iowa, on Friday, Nov. 11, 2022.

The Red Cross is in desperate need of blood donations.

Last year, the Food and Drug Administration ended blood donor restrictions for gay and bisexual men.

The ban started during the AIDS epidemic, but has long since been criticized as unnecessary by medical professionals and gay rights advocates.

A Consumer Reports analysis of 85 popular food items, from fast food to supermarket staples, found plastic chemicals in nearly all of them.

The presence of these so-called plasticizers are linked to a long list of health concerns, even at low levels.

And that doesn’t take into account microplastics, or tiny particles of actual plastic, in our food.

Panera Bread is currently being sued over their recently released Charged Lemonade.

Plaintiffs argue that deceptive marketing over the health benefits and amount of caffeine in the drink led to overconsumption and either permanent damage or death.

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