It’s Your Business (Continued from page 76)
take over control of your computer and your identity.
To protect yourself from this danger, never click on a link sent to you in an e-mail, even if the e-mail seems to come from someone you know or from a legitimate company. Hackers have become skilled in creating counterfeit websites that look just like the real thing.
In the real world, it’s difficult to stop an identity thief who zeroes in on you as a victim. The most you can do is make it tough for them by using common sense in protecting your personal information. One simple step you can take to protect yourself is to monitor your credit card accounts regularly. If you have access to your accounts on the Internet, once a week is not too often to look for unautho- rized charges. If you spot one, contact the card issuer immediately. Also check your credit report for unusual activity. The Internet has made it easy to gather and store personal data on individuals. That, in turn, has helped fuel instances of identity theft. Now we can only hope that the same technology will help us find a solution. In the meantime, what do you do if you suddenly discover you’ve been had? You have a tough road ahead of you, but an important first step is to notify your local police and ask to fill out a crime report. That’s an essential piece of evidence you will need to send with letters you send to banks and credit card issuers when you inform them of the theft of your identity. At the same time, contact the banks and credit card companies to see if you need to cancel your credit and debit cards and have new ones issued. It’s also a good idea to run a background check on yourself occa- sionally to make sure there are no problems in the records kept on you. You can initiate a background check on yourself for a small fee through various commercial companies, or for free help, contact the Federal Trade Commission’s identity theft hotline, toll free, at 877-438-4338. For online help, check out the FTC website at
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/ idtheft/.
Good luck. You may need it. ■ 80
Departed GL Officers
Past District Deputy Samuel C. Dickey Jr., of the Redlands, CA, Lodge, died February 27. Member Dickey served as district deputy for the Southeast District of California in 1971–1972.
Past District Deputy Fred J. Kulick, of the Neenah-Menasha, WI, Lodge, died June 29. Member Kulick served as district deputy for the East Central District of Wisconsin in 1999–2000.
Past District Deputy Jack E. Pearson, of the Baker, OR, Lodge, died July 22. Member Pearson served as district deputy for the Northeast District of Oregon in 1968–1969.
Past District Deputy Catherine Y. Tufford, of the Monterey, CA, Lodge, died June 18. Member Tufford served as district deputy for the West Central District of California in 2005–2006.
Past District Deputy John E. Walter, of the Fairfield, IL, Lodge, died May 24. Member Walter served as district deputy for the Southeast District of Illinois in 1962–1963.
Past District Deputy George W. Wool, of the Yucaipa, CA, Lodge, died July 19. Member Wool served as district deputy for the Southeast District of California in 2003–2004.
Healthline (Continued from page 7)
may have no symptoms. Liver function test results may remain normal, and although liver biopsy provides a definite diagnosis, it carries some risks and thus is not a suitable screening test for patients who have no symptoms or findings.
Symptoms of liver disease can be very vague until liver scarring and failure are well advanced. Fatigue, vague abdominal pain, and digestive complaints, as well as enlargement of the liver, are early indicators. Jaun- dice (yellowing of the skin and eyes), fluid in the abdomen, poor clotting, and bleeding from the intestinal tract are late symptoms. Most people who have fatty livers will not go on to this degree of liver failure, just as most alcoholics do not, but there is no easy way to know who will and who won’t. In the presence of NAFLD it is
important to avoid liver toxins such as alcohol and many drugs. With gradual weight loss, it is possible to reverse the accumulation of fat in the liver and to reduce liver inflammation, particularly if the weight loss program includes significant exercise to improve insulin sensitivity. Even in transplanted livers, NAFLD can recur as long as obesity, diabetes, and insulin resistance remain. Obesity surgery appears to reverse some of the liver problems in affected people and may yield new insights into the mechanism of insulin resistance. While researchers are striving to develop drugs that improve insulin resistance and alter fat transport and storage mechanisms, prevention, as always, is the best treatment. This will require education, patience, self-discipline, persistence, and hard work, and it is particularly important for young people. While foie gras is tasty, its development in humans is undesirable. ■
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