Archive for September, 2010

What affordable health insurance is the best?

September 30, 2010 - 2:00 pm Comments Off

I will be divorced in 2 months and will have to find my own health insurance. I have been with Anthem for 14 years and have no health problems and no medications except 1 blood pressure pill a day. I am waiting for a quote from Anthem for a single policy but I am afraid it will not be affordable. Thanks for all the help I can get!

I recommend you this site where you can compare quotes so you can find the best option for you

http://qinsurance.notlong.com

Drink Enough Water for Good Health – Vitalizer Plus

September 27, 2010 - 4:10 am Comments Off

You are about two-thirds water, based on your weight . Water is working for you every day, flushing toxins out of your body. It moves nutrients to your cells and creates a moist environment for ear, nose and throat tissues. You’re always losing water through your breath, perspiration, urine and bowel movements . For your body to operate properly , you need to replenish its water level by consuming foods and beverages that will supply you with enough water. A shortage of fluids can result in dehydration and even mild dehydration can drain your energy and make you tired . There are many health products built around water like the Vitalizer Plus.

So, what’s the right amount of water to drink? Water is crucial to healthy living , however requirements vary from person to person and are affected by several things , including your health, activity level and where you live . It’s a simple question lacking an easy answer . Overall , doctors will say 64-72 ounces but if you consume sufficient fluid so that you don’t get thirsty and produce at least 6.3 cups (1.5 liters) or more of colorless or slightly yellow urine every day, you’re drinking enough .

You might think to modify your fluid intake based on how active you are, the climate you live in, your overall state of health , and if you’re expecting a baby or breast-feeding. When you perspire , you will use more water. Heated indoor air also can cause your skin become dry during wintertime. Further, altitudes greater than 8,200 feet (2,500 meters) might cause increased urination and quickened respiration , which expend more of your fluid reserves . Fever, vomiting or diarrhea, will dehydrate you . When this happens , you should take in more water. You can also check into Kangen Water, ionized water and hexagonal water designed to mimic the natural effect of water rapidly flowing over rocks.

Pregnant and breast feeding women need more water . Large amounts of fluid are used especially when nursing . The Institute of Medicine recommends that expecting mothers consume 2.3 liters (about 10 cups) of fluids every day and women who breast-feed consume 3.1 liters (about 13 cups) of fluids a day. If you have been drinking distilled water, check out products like a Vitalizer Plus to put mineral content back into your fluids.

Drink before you’re thirsty . By the time you’re thirsty you’ll already be slightly dehydrated. In addition to that , as you age you’re less able to notice that you are drying out and take action . To ward off dehydration and make keep your body well hydrated make water your beverage of choice . Train yourself to drink one glass of water with every meal and another glass between your meals and you’re off to better hydration and as well , always hydrate with pure filtered water before, during and after exercise.

Antioxidant Supplements and Heart Disease

September 27, 2010 - 4:10 am Comments Off

Heart issues aren’t caused by one set of circumstances and you can’t say that any single solution to heart disease will work for everyone. And in fact, some circumstances could be totally out of your control. But, it s still a good approach to to make the changes within your power to combat heart disease. To start with – we understand that oxyradical accumulation and left untreated lead to damaging the heart and cardiovascular system. We know that antioxidants can remove free radicals and reduce that damage. So, will taking antioxidant supplements fight heart disease?

The answer is still unclear. Supplements based on the antioxidant vitamin E, for one, don’t seem to reduce the incidence of stroke, heart disease, or other cardiovascular difficulties. While the supplement may contain antioxidants, they don’t seem to help.

Antioxidants are also available from beta carotene supplements, but it seems that too much beta carotene should be avoided. It can unfortunately cause an increase in heart disease and other cardiovascular issues! So mega dosing beta carotene to put anti oxidants into your system to combat cardiovascular problems is -you’ll agree-a less than brilliant idea.

The best route seems to come from eating foods rich in antioxidants.

Vegetables, whole grains, and fruits that contain antioxidants have been shown to reduce the likelihood of heart disease. To help lower your risk of cardiovascular diseases, then, you may need to modify your diet to at more of the top antioxidant foods like dried beans pinto, red and kidney; wild blueberries; other berries like raspberries, cranberries and farm grown blue berries . There are others , butadding dried beans and some berries to what you eat would be an easy way to start.

Natural antioxidants seem to offer the most promise and that now takes us to L-glutathione which is made in the body. As the Master Antioxidant, glutathione is another tool in your heart disease protection arsenal,but it’s just not very well absorbed when taken as a pill . But you can try a glutathione precursor like MaxGXL from Max International.

And if you’re serious about helping your heart by boosting your supply of antioxidants – stop smoking. Not much of a news flash, is it? Smoking has been conclusively linked to the presence of free radicals, so you’ll need to take even more antioxidants just to compensate for the smoking. Another thing – watch your blood pressure, eat foods with more fiber and other nutrients, and exercise regularly.

Is it possible I have Sjogren’s syndrome?

September 26, 2010 - 7:52 am 1 Comment

I’m 16, and I was just reading symptoms of it, and I have dry eyes and a really dry mouth? help

If you truly have dry eyes and mouth, then it is certainly possible that you could have Sjogren’s syndrome. Sjogren’s syndrome usually occurs later in life, but it is still possible at your age. There are also other medical conditions that can lead to dry mouth and eyes. You will have to be evaluated by your doctor to determine if you have Sjogren’s syndrome or not. Blood tests can also be performed to evaluate for this.

How Probiotics Supplements Might Help with Depression and Anxiety

September 24, 2010 - 4:05 am Comments Off

Research conducted at the University of Toronto has found that a daily probiotics supplement can aid with symptoms of anxiety disorders in people who suffer from CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). This studycame out of a team under the leadership of A. Venket Rao. The project was based on a two month study, which revealed a significant reduction in the subjects anxiety symptoms.

Are you wondering about the relationship between probiotics and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? It appears that subjects with CFS are also often afflicted with digestive disorders and these are frequently connected with a reduction or near absence of beneficial bacteria in the intestines which maintains control of populations of disease causing bacteria. That bad bacteria in the gut has previously been connected with a higher likelihood of mood and depression disorders, and scientists feel that bacteria levels be connected with our behavior. Probiotics supplements are naturally sourced live bacteria – such as Lactobacillus or Bifidobacteria. Probiotic supplements help to ensure the balance with good bacterial or beneficial intestinal flora. Once again it’s shown that intestinal health has far reaching overall health implications.

This research was conducted on subjects who had CFS – Chronic fatigue syndrome, which exhibits many symptoms, including ongoing fatigue- and for almost half of those affected – sleep disturbances, depression and anxiety. Because of a well documented correlation showing that digestive problems were not uncommon among CFS patients, probiotics were indicated as a possible treatment course and showed that after two months of taking probiotics every day, the patients in the research group showed improved results in managing disorders such as depression and anxiety.

The subjects who took the probiotics every day showed higher levels of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria and at the same time exhibted fewer signs of anxiety They also showed an improvement with their digestive issues, with a decrease in gas, inflammation and bloating The researchers have published their study in the journal -”BioMed Central”.

If the indications from this study hold up under further research and probiotic supplements do turn out to be viable option, it will be good news for sufferers. Unlike the usual drugs , which can trigger a long list of unwanted side effects, probiotics might offer a safe and easy alternative. “The findings are huge,” said study co-author Alison C. Bested, who continued to say the patients in the study felt calmer and better able to cope with their illness , slept better and feeling less anxious.

Do We Need to Supplement Our Diet with Antioxidants?

September 24, 2010 - 4:05 am Comments Off

Arthritis and inflammation pain, fibromyalgia, heart disease, premature aging, cancer and diabetes are just some of the diseases and and health issues that are being laid at the door of chronic inflammation and various types of free radical damage. The answer is antioxidants.

Most people have been told that when a person can eat a proper diet, with lots of antioxidants and the “correct ” foods, it will meet all your needs in the ideal way and be much cheaper than consuming supplements like wellness drinks or glutathione precursors.

I can’t bring out 47 scientific charts to prove this, but I am of the mind that this is no longer the case and the way we live means:

* That perfect diet is too hard for most people to ever achieve and that’s too bad. * Very few of us can really afford the cost of enough organic and freshly grown antioxidant abundant vegetables and fruits to totally fulfil our requirements.

* Even if we could pull together the willpower and the cash to have that perfect diet, our stress filled lives and everyday toxins and pollution all around us have changed so much from our natural state – that our bodies require more help than diet will provide.

Like it or not , the days of fighting the chemicals in our environment with just a a healthy diet, rich in natural antioxidants have passed ! We have a huge selection of excellent natural supplements made from glutathione precursors to betalains for fighting inflammation pain. Adding them into our healthy lifestyle in addition to the best foods we can eat will aid us to build our internal antioxidant level.

For one thing, herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, chemical fertilizers, artificial hormones and food additives and the unbelievable quantity of toxins have been added to our lives were not considered in the Grand We were not designed to deal with this. Add to that, the emotional stresses and pressures in our days, our poor diets and absence of exercise. The problem is getting worse , far past the capability of an antioxidant rich diet to deal with.

But there’s more. You’re not perfect! We might love the concept of a perfect diet, but most of us don’t eat one. No matter how hard we try finding vegetables, protein and fruit sources uncontaminated with agricultural chemicals, planted in nutritionally depleted ground or nurtured on growth hormones, is becoming more difficult to do. And with the pace of our lives, it’s almost inevitable that a few fast food meals will slip in there and we’ll buy some overly refined, instant meals from the corner store.

Both are a double edged swords. First we cut ourselves by missing an opportunity to intake the good, fresh antioxidant rich foods we need to eat. Then we cut ourselves again by eating more processed, chemically altered and overly refined bad-food, adding more toxins to the build up we already have that increase the task load that we need antioxidants to overcome.

And what about the cost of good food?

Some people often ask why pay for antioxidant supplements when we can derive those benefits more cheaply by simply eating the right foods? Well, take out your calculator and really check out what it will cost you to include enough of those superfoods in your meals each and every day. Who knows where all the “expose the scam” writers have been doing their shopping , but it certainly isn’t where I shop. Adding enough blueberries, nuts, pineapples and the other fresh, organically grown, antioxidant-rich foods will add big dollars to your monthly grocery bill.

So with our rushed lifestyles, the totally under estimated expense for the right foods and the ubiquitous presence of everyday toxins we weren’t designed for, I think that we need more antioxidants than ever before and more than we should reasonably expect diet alone will provide. Should you be choosing these wonderful antioxidant abundant foods? Oh yes, indeed! We should do everything we can to improve our diets to be as healthy as possible. But we should not ignore the wonderful advances that of a glutathione precursor like MAX GXL.

The time has come to concede that we need all the help we can find .

The Battle for Your Health and Probiotics Supplements

September 24, 2010 - 4:05 am Comments Off

Colonies of friendly bacteria must live in the colon for it to function properly. Without these beneficial bacteria, we are more susceptible to harmful yeasts, intestinal toxemia, dangerous bacteria, viruses, and a wide spectrum of other problems.. Why? Because without the good bacteria to consume the toxic waste from insufficiently digested food and evacuated, the toxins and undigested food particles can enter the circulatory system and make the immune system to work overtime. These substances are treated as foreign invaders that must be either converted into something usable or removed from the body. Eventually this can hinder the immune system so that itis unable to handle serious diseases or infections..

The toxins produced from this waste material can extend throughout your system, literally poisoning you. Your starved and toxin riddled organ systems are subjected to increasing stress and will weaken to the point of failure. This is why so many researchers now believe that death begins in the colon. Good intestinal health is vital to our well being.

Colonies of friendly or probiotic bacteria must livein the colon for it to function properly . These bacteria help create a balance in your gut by holding down the proliferation of bad bacteria like E. coli and salmonella.

Unfortunately, the good bacteria that should populate our colons and control these problems are targetted by an increasingly wide range of enemies. Including the ubiquitous enemies of chlorinated water, the antibiotics we take for illness and those we ingest in the meat and sterile dairy products we consume, alcohol chemicals in our environment, not to mention radiation and chemotherapy . So now we need to look at digestive supplements.

These friendly intestinal bacteria used to be passed naturally from mother to baby. Unfortunately , over the past half-century, in our hurry to remove all bacteria, we have also killed the good with the bad. For this reason we should regularly reintroduce good bacteria into our body to ensure we keep ourselves healthy. Probiotics supplements may also be a good idea immediately following use of antibiotics or other medications designed to kill bacteria or viruses.

How are illegal immigrants getting free health care?

September 22, 2010 - 10:04 am 4 Comments

I heard in a lot of debate about illegal immigrants and how they care free services such as health care. I became a U.S citizen two years ago and I’ve been trying to find cheaper and quality health care, but I couldn’t. I researched free health care online, but can’t find it. I don’t have health insurance, so whenever I visit the doctor, I either pay upfront if it’s about $200 or they send me the bills if its way higher. So how are illegal immigrants getting free health care?

First off, illegal aliens are not immigrants. Immigrants follow laws. They get free health care by not paying bills when going to emergency rooms, giving false names and addresses etc… It also cost American taxpayers over $6000.00 per birth for each anchor baby born. That is if there are no complications.

In a recent year in Colorado, the state’s emergency Medicaid program paid an estimated $30 million in hospital and physician delivery costs for about 6,000 illegal immigrant mothers – average of $5,000 per baby. Those 6,000 births to illegal aliens represent 40% of the births paid for by Medicaid in Colorado. Those 6,000 babies immediately became U.S. citizens and qualified for full Medicaid services, with a cost yet to be tabulated.

The federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) mandates that U.S. hospitals with emergency-room services must treat anyone who requires care, including illegal aliens. Medical service for Americans in affected communities is being severely damaged as hospitals absorb more than $200 million in unreimbursed costs. Some emergency rooms have shut down because they cannot afford to stay open. Local tax-paying Americans are either denied medical care or have to wait in long lines for service as the illegals flood the facilities. In California, the losses are calculated to be about $79 million, with $74 million in Texas, $31 million in Arizona, and $6 million in New Mexico.

These costs are staggering. The Cochise County, Arizona Health Department spends as much as 30 percent of its annual $9 million budget on illegal aliens. The Copper Queen Hospital in Bisbee, Arizona, has spent $200,000 in uncompensated services out of a net operating budget of $300,000. The University Medical Center in Tucson may lose as much as $10 million and the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, also in Tucson, has lost $1 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2002.
__________________________________________________
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION HEALTHCARE COSTS AFFECT YOU!
Published 06/01/2010 – CST By Elizabeth Lee Vliet, M.D.

In both Tucson and Dallas where I have practiced medicine, hospitals are struggling under massive costs of uncompensatedmedical services for uninsured people who, by federal law, cannot be turned away for lack of insurance or ability to pay.

How much does this uncompensated care actually cost taxpayers? The incredible answer: no one knows.

We only have “estimates” of the costs to taxpayers to treat illegal immigrants because hospitals and public health clinics do not ask for proof of citizenship before providing care.

What are consequences to taxpaying citizens?

1. Increased cost and reduced access to trauma care. Tucson has lost all but one Level I Trauma Center to serve all of southern Arizona, in large part due to massive, unsustainable losses from uncompensated care. Auto accidents involving overloaded vans of illegal aliens happen regularly in southern Arizona. Injured are flown by air ambulance to University Medical Center’s Trauma Center and treated with state of the art care….all at taxpayer expense.

2. A registered nurse involved with the Pima County health system since the 1970’s who must remain anonymous because of her role, said she has never seen any staff member at either El Rio Clinic or Pima County Health Department ask for proof of citizenship before providing free medical services (immunizations, Well Baby checks, food stamps, WIC services, birth control, and even elective abortions). Costs are paid by taxpayers. When funds are depleted, low income American citizens have fewer services and longer waits as a result.

3. This same RN also said: “I personally know Mexican men who married 16 year old girls, got them pregnant, brought them to Tucson for the baby to become a US citizen. They livein Mexico but come here for their health care. Taxpayers pay for this medical care many ways, at the Public Health Department, and with school nurses who provide care.”

4. Uncompensated medical services for illegal immigrants mean higher premiums for all of us due to cost shifting among all third party payers. To cover the deficits from “free” medical services they provide, the administration at University Physicians Health System Kino campus is analyzing how much to increase employeehealth insurance premiums as of July 1.

5. Obamacare cuts benefits to American citizens: $500 billion in Medicare cuts and slashing the Medicare Advantage program. Medicare Advantage, chosen by one in five seniors, is the most popular plan for low and moderate income seniors, and covers about half of our Hispanic or African-American elderly. My patients on Medicare have worked and paid into the system over their working careers, yet these cuts mean less health­care available to them now. We certainly cannot afford to cover those here illegally.

6. Hospitals in Tucson and Dallas also provide uncompensated (“free”) maternity services to pregnant women here illegally. Their babies then become US citizens entitled to all of the services available for low income American families – food stamps, WIC, immunizations, office visits, medications, etc. This drives up costs to all of us: higher premiums for private insurance companies, and higher taxes for government insurance like Arizona’s Medicaid (AHCCCS).

7. Professional estimates are that over halfof the pregnant women served at Parkland Hospital in Dallas are in this country illegally. With over 16,000 deliveries a year, Parkland is one of the nation’s busiest maternity services with prenatal clinics for low income women to receive free prenatal care, nutrition, medication, birthing classes, child care classes, and free supplies (formula, diapers, bottles, car seats). Taxpayers pay the bills.

How do I correct dry mouth from radiation therapy?

September 22, 2010 - 10:04 am 3 Comments

My wife had head and neck cancer (phrangeal lymphoma) in 2002. Treated with radiation therapy. Was told that saliva would return 6-8 months after therapy…it did for a while and disappeared. Have dry mouth (xerostomia) for approx. 8 months now.

Has he tried just gum. Chewing gum stimulates the salivary glands to produce saliva. That’s what I would do.

Lycopene – One of Nature’s Antioxidant Rich Foods

September 19, 2010 - 4:01 am Comments Off

Lycopene is an antioxidant you might not have heard of, but researchers are paying a lot more attention to it, lately. Antioxidants have powerful disease-combating abilities that can help protect the cells in your body from being damaged by free radicals. They also help strengthen the immune system and fight diseases.

Lycopene is what makes antioxidant rich fruit and vegetables like tomatoes look red, and it could prove useful in overcoming prostate cancer and heart disease. Research has actually shown that eating 10 daily servings of food containing lycopene can actually decrease the risk of prostate cancer by over 30 percent. Antioxidants have also been shown to help protect against heart disease and lycopene might help defend against osteoporosis and assist men challenged by fertility issues.

Lycopene, is one antioxidant which is not naturally manufactured in the body. This is totally different from an antioxidant like Glutathione, which is only manufacturered in the body. So, the only way we can improve our lycopene level is to choose foods rich in this antioxidant.

Tomatoes, and that includes juice, sauce, and to my surprise ketchup, are the biggest sources of lycopene. Other red-colored vegetables and fruits like papaya and watermelon also provide lycopene, but in lesser qualtities than tomatoes. Another interesting fact about lycopene is that we absorb it better from cooked tomato foods. No one is really certain why that is true, but cooking tomatoes with just a bit of oil improves the body’s lycopene absorption rate.

If you’re a man and want to protect yourself against prostate cancer or heart disease, eating tomato products is the ideal way to increase your lycopene levels. There are a few quick ways to do this. For example add tomato sauce to pasta. You must admit that’s a simple enough idea for anyone to follow. And you can have tomato soup with your meal, tomato juice or other tomato based vegetable drinks. You can have watermelon or pink grapefruit in the morning, but you’ll need to eat more of these fruits since they’re not as rich in lycopene.

I imagine you can pour ketchup on everything you eat, but potential health benefits of lycopene aside , that just sounds so wrong! However, there’s no getting around that with the benefits credited to Lycopene, it seems like a very good guess that the antioxidant rich red foods will be on the menu for a whilealthough you can also look for an antioxidant supplement that includes lycopene if tomatoes are just not an option.