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Health Gov

Typical Bureaucratic Mistake – Asking the Wrong Question

I had the unusual opportunity, because of inclement weather, to watch much of the recent health care reform summit. After all, I do have a vested interest in the outcome. I listened intently from both sides about positions that, quite frankly, to the more than casual observer like me, are nothing new. However, I was struck by the presupposition which has become the basis for the entire discussion on health care reform. That is, what part of the current legislation President Obama has put forward can they find common ground on? At first blush, it’s sounds like a perfectly reasonable strategy. Then it struck me! We’re asking the wrong question entirely. The question in Washington shouldn’t be what do the Republicans like in the current proposal that they can support and find common ground on. Instead, the question should be. What, in our current health care system can we agree is good and, therefore, worthy of building upon? A natural follow-up question to that would be. What’s broken that needs fixing? Democrats would argue that they are doing exactly that – fixing what’s broken. However, their proposal is too far reaching, overly intrusive and would upset the delicate balance between proper government oversight and the free-market system.
Most, if not all Americans believe that our health care system is one of the best in the world – if not the best! So why should we take the approach that the whole system needs to be scraped in favor of a government-run alternative. There are many areas in the current health care system that are flawed and in need of change and restructuring so why not build on that framework for true effective reform? I’m always struck when an important foreign dignitary announces that they will be flying to the United States to have some sort of medical procedure done. That’s not an accident by any means. They know that there best chance of medical success lies in treatment in the United States. Indeed, our very Congressman and Senators take full advantage of all our amazing medical technological advancements. You don’t see any one of them requesting to get treatment in another country. No, I’m afraid this is more about power and making history for the Democrat party rather then real, substantive change for all Americans. That’s really a shame because we do have the ability to make significant change.…

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General Article

Pregnant and Fit Exercises to Keep Your Growing Body in Shape

Pregnant and Fit Exercises to Keep Your Growing Body in Shape

Your pregnancy is a time of expectation. You’re looking forward to welcoming your baby into the world and your home. You’re thinking about the ways in which your life will change as you and your partner plan to expand your family. Being pregnant is also a time of feeling tired, sluggish, and stressed. As your body grows, you’ll experience bouts of discomfort, low energy levels, and even a poor self-image. Even though it’s the last thing on your mind, exercising is one of the most effective ways to feel great – physically and mentally – while you’re pregnant.

Below, we’ll describe the many benefits you can enjoy by working out on a daily basis. We’ll also provide a quick checklist of the best types of exercises for improving your cardiovascular system, staying flexible, and maintaining your strength.

The Benefits Of Exercising While You’re Pregnant

With your energy levels dipping, and a task list that grows by the hour, you need a reliable way to give yourself an energy boost. A daily workout helps to release endorphins, providing a natural burst of energy.

Regular exercise delivers an assortment of other advantages. It helps you to expend some of your residual energy, so you’ll sleep more restfully at night. It can also lower your stress and improve your self-image by elevating your level of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that influences your mood.

Working out keeps your muscles strong and joints limber. Both help to reduce a substantial amount of the discomfort you’ll likely experience during your pregnancy. Exercise also lets your body prepare for labor and childbirth while laying the groundwork for getting back in shape more quickly.

Working Your Cardiovascular System

Keeping your cardiovascular system in top condition is critical, and increasingly so as you enter your second and third trimesters. However, some aerobic exercises are more appropriate for pregnant women than others.

For example, walking and swimming are ideal because both are easy on your joints. Walking, in particular, is good because you can do it anywhere as long as you’re wearing supportive, comfortable shoes. Swimming puts a wide range of muscles to work, making it a great all-around exercise that you can enjoy during all three trimesters.

How To Stay Flexible

Staying flexible is important because it helps to relieve pressure that is placed on your body and joints throughout your pregnancy. Get into the habit of stretching before, and following, your other exercises (i.e. walking, swimming, weight training, etc.). Stretch your shoulders, chest, and abdomen, taking care to breathe deeply while doing so. Twist your waist and stretch your hips, calves, and thighs.

A lot of women also enjoy doing prenatal yoga. Not only does yoga promote stretching, but it also encourages deep breathing. In fact, it makes a seamless fit with your cardiovascular exercises. The deep breathing prepares you for the experience of childbirth while stretching keeps your body limber.

Maintaining Your Strength

Weight training often takes a back seat to cardiovascular and stretching exercises. But, keeping your muscles toned and maintaining your strength throughout your pregnancy is important. It helps to build stamina that will prove valuable during childbirth. It also keeps your muscles working efficiently, which stimulates your metabolism.

The key is to start slow and take the time to learn how to weight train properly. Ask a trainer to show you the right way to stand while using the machines (avoid free weights). Focus on your form to avoid placing unnecessary pressure on any portion of your body.

Exercise is essential while you’re pregnant. It relieves physical and emotional stress while helping you sleep better at night. It also helps you to feel more energetic during the day. Discuss your daily workout with your obstetrician, and follow his or her suggestions regarding any changes.…

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General Article

The Easiest Diet to Follow

The Easiest Diet to Follow

The truth is there is no diet or weight loss plan that is effortless. The foods we eat in today’s fast, prepackaged world are certainly not optimal for our health or our figures, but they are foods we have become accustomed to eating, many of them contain unnatural chemicals, and the hard fact is we are addicted, in the same way a smoker is addicted to nicotine or a drinker to alcohol.

To change our eating habits overnight, is not feasible, and we are extremely unlikely to succeed. Sadly every time we fail reinforces our belief that we are weak and not able to stick to a diet and lose weight.

Anyone who has successfully changed a bad habit will tell you it did not happen overnight. First of all, we must realize the bad habit exists! Secondly we have to come up with a do-able plan, and take things in small steps.

We will have setbacks and we will have bad days – we have to accept this is simply part of the process, and not a flaw in our characters. Weight loss and regaining good health is not a race, it is a journey, a journey we embark on every day until we meet our destination.

If we had spent our lives eating only one ingredient foods, we would not be overweight and as a race we would not be suffering from many of the common ailments that inflict us today. Countries that eat less processed foods, and stick to the one ingredient meal suffer far less incident of diabetes, cancer and other life threatening diseases that are common in the Western world.

So what is a one ingredient meal?

Basically it is a meal made up of foods that only contain one ingredient. Usually one ingredient foods do not have labels. Examples of one ingredient foods are salmon, sardines, apples, potatoes, tomatoes, almonds, oranges, etc.

You can eat as many, and as much of one ingredient foods at any meal as you desire. There is no need to count calories, portion size or fat content.

If you doubt this to be true, simply try it for three days and see how you feel! I can guarantee you will lose at least 4lbs in three days.

 

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How to Remove Stomach Fat

How to Remove Stomach Fat

When you think of ways to increase weight loss and tone up your stomach, what is the first thing you think? I bet it is exercise. Well you’d be wrong. Of course having an active lifestyle will go a long way in toning your body, but it’s not the be all and end all of how to remove stomach fat. What you need to work on first is raising your metabolic rate, which is how much fat you are burning when you are at rest.

The other major factor in how to remove stomach fat is… yes you guessed it, diet.

Eating a healthy diet is another huge factor if you want to cut down on that belly fat and let your, soon to be toned abs show through. But “going on a diet” is not the way forward here. No, what you need to do is change the way you look at food, that way you can enjoy all the food you want, because healthy foods will be what you desire.

So if you want to know how to remove stomach fat fast, read on!

OK so here are my top tips for changing your lifestyle and getting that flat belly we all crave.

• First up is to cut down all those obviously bad foods. I’m talking crisps, biscuits, chocolate, cake… I could go on but I’m sure I don’t need to. You already know the foods that are bad for you so simply just drastically reduce how much you eat of them. Simples.

• Smaller portions. Eating smaller portions is another excellent idea in how to remove stomach fat. You could try using a smaller plate or my favourite is to put your cutlery down during each mouthful and eat slower. That way your body will recognise when it is full and this is when you stop eating. You may find you have to throw away half a plate full of food. But don’t worry, just do it! In the end you will be sick of throwing away so much food you will serve yourself smaller portions.

• Eating small meals during the day as oppose to the usual breakfast, lunch, dinner. Doing this will make your body burn the foods much faster and because you are eating smaller meals you hopefully won’t be giving in to the temptation to overeat. And remember; don’t eat at least 2 hours before bed either.

OK so I saved the best till last.

• Cardiovascular Exercise. Now I know you don’t want to hear that word but trust me it is easier than you think. You don’t need to join the gym, just try and keep active. So walk to work if you can, take the dog for one extra walk a day. Take the kids for a long ramble in the forest or go for a bike ride. Exercise shouldn’t mean pain, mental or otherwise. Or why not join a martial arts club or a dance class. You just need to find that activity that you really enjoy, that way it won’t seem like work. This is how to remove stomach fat the easy way.…

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Health Tips

Health Care Reform and Biotech

One of the most affected industries regarding the new health care reform is with biotechnology. One of the many provisions in the new health care reform bill is to reduce the prices of the medical prescriptions charged to Medicare and Medicaid. This will hurt the biotechnology industry because the research for new medication is very expensive and tedious work.
The size of the impact to the biotech industry is beginning to be realized and the health insurance providers are starting to resort to eliminating new medication, in favor of the more traditional medications of years ago. Since it takes time for the pharmaceutical companies to exhaust their patents on new health care medication, the health insurance industry is turning away sooner than what was originally expected.
This will translate into less medical prescriptions for the medical healthcare provider and the individual to choose. Many of the medical health care prescription medications we have on the market today are slowly disappearing as the pharmaceutical demand for them are dwindling by the millions.
The losses to the biotech industry is becoming evident and many of the staff are deciding how much longer they will continue with the companies. The provisions, suppliers, health insurance industry, and supporters are no longer able to offer high finances to continue the funding of current projects.
What will this mean for you and your family members? This will mean the health insurance industry will have more control over what you are able to purchase unless you have the monetary means to pay for a given medical prescription out of pocket. It always comes down to what is affordable and what is not affordable.
Many individuals who suffer with orphan diseases will find they will no longer have access to the medication they so desperately need. The funds are drying up because of the new health care reform bill and the prescription medication for the orphan diseases will dry up. This is because as funding dwindles, the money that remains will be focused on the more popular diseases.
This will sadly leave many individuals with a government-run health insurance policy without the necessary health care they require. How will a medical health care physician have the ability to identify and help a patient with an orphan disease when there is no prescription medication to keep it maintained?
This will leave millions of individuals to be forced to take care of themselves the best they are able and pray for better days in the future yet to develop. How sad for the families with children who need health care treatment. Where will they go? Whom will they turn to?…

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Healthcare Articles

Alternatives For Millennium Kids

A good friend of mind recently commented that his own kids and their friends are a lot less materialistic than our generations were, and that numerous surveys show that Millennials don’t want their jobs to interfere with their family or social life. He went on to say that, “Some say this is laziness, I tend to believe that Millennials have their priorities a little better aligned than their parents and grandparents.”
These kids, I believe, are smart, and cognizant of their challenge in America. With social programs being dismantled and safety nets disappearing, they will be on their own, which means that unless they are capable of making lots and lots of money, maybe making it into the top ten percent of wage earners, they will not be able to keep their heads above water, or even afford basic health care which will skyrocket in the near future. Why struggle to save money all your life when the first serious illness means that a hospital or doctor will sue you and take your home and life savings? The enthusiasm to become a part of this is shrinking.
Then there is saving for their kid’s college, and they just can’t see how they are going to afford all of this. And how about retirement? Reagan with his reckless tax cuts partnered with Greenspan to loot the social security fund when his deficits got out of control, and now the fund is going broke, and many want to dismantle it calling it socialism.
So the Millennium kids can look forward to either fending for themselves in old age, or living with their kids, which in independent America doesn’t work too well. So instead of a peaceful old age with Social Security, which this country once promised and which we all paid into all of our lives, and which then was stolen from us, they can look forward to constant struggle and stress to pay for health care, drugs, and food just as their body begins to fall apart and they can no longer work.
In the news recently, doctors are dropping patients unless they pay the doctors $1500.00 a year just to see them. This includes no tests, no hospitalization, no catastrophic coverage, only a chance to see a boutique doctor. This means that in the near future, we will need both an insurance policy plus $1500/year for a doctor. Medicare and Medicaid patients will be left out in the cold.
But there are alternatives for young adults and their futures.
Presently, it’s all about money from every angle of society, more and more money is needed, but there is only so much money with the pile slowly decreasing, which means that those on the lower rungs of society will suffer greatly in the future because the wealth is not being spread out in this country. Distribution of wealth is considered un-American, and wealth is therefore hoarded. The income distribution regarding the lower and middle classes has been in steady decline since Reagan was in office.
If our educational system continues to ignore these kinds of things and fill young adult’s heads with false promises of economic stability when those promises can no longer be kept, (and how can our educational system not ignore these things when moneyed interests and wealthy politicos pressure them?) then we can expect nothing to change and conditions to worsen.
And parents, out of naked fear, signal their kids that they had better be ready to make a killing in the market place, or else! The pressure on these kids result in early high stress levels in an educational system that has lock-stepped into this whole competitive thing (the intense pressure of test scores) instead of teaching cooperation and the value of good character.
The drop out rate increases and the teen suicides skyrocket due to the worry these kids feel, worry which is justified because many times kids can see more clearly than their mentors, who have become hopelessly enmeshed in the whole illusion. The fact is that young adults will have problems down the road, even the successful ones let alone the “average” (where most of us are), which will be left economically in the dust.
Every kid has dream of making it big, playing in the NFL, making lots of money, but the reality is, fifty percent will end up average, which means that their income levels will be not be able to keep up with the wealthy, and the wealthy will not care. This is how it is playing out. And we wonder why gangs are increasing at an alarming rate. How else can people who are discriminated against keep up? Lawlessness and anarchy are always the result.
But there are other ways to live that sidesteps all of this angst, depending on …

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General Article

How to Get Enough Exercise

How to Get Enough Exercise

Making “exercise” the way you would normally move your body on a daily basis means that you are going to be able to get in enough exercise to be healthy and beneficial for your well-being. Start by looking at how you can get more physical in your everyday lifestyle and be fit and productive at the same time.

Housecleaning = Exercise

This includes getting physical about your home and tidying up behind yourself, keeping your desk and office space clear of clutter. Take the time to put some extra energy into your daily cleaning and tidying up habits. You can expend quite a bit of energy just by doing what needs to be done daily. Don’t overlook this important tip, life take energy, organization takes energy. We function better in a clean, clear and organized environment. Why not spice up your daily routines with some enthusiasm that raises your metabolism and heart rate. Give your home environment all the energy you can muster and then notice how you glow from the physical effort.

Walk. Walk. Walk Everywhere.

Walk everywhere. Learn to use your legs as your main form of transportation. Yes, we all walk to and from the car, the store… but walk further, longer and with stronger strides. Use your bike (remember that dusty old-contraption?) and start going from point A to point B on foot or two wheels. Not only will you gain physical fitness and “squeeze in’ enough exercise time over the course of the day, you’ll also be a little bit more earth-friendly.

As an example of adding more walking into your life. Like in Europe, shop in areas where you can park and shop. Find a shopping center that has many stores you can pick up regular items from and save yourself drive time. Walk your bags and purchases back to the car every shop or two and know you’re getting enough exercise while taking care of the weekly essentials.

Dance Through Your Day

Not sure if you’re getting enough exercise? Turn on some music and start dancing. Watch how much exercise you can get in while grooving with your favorite tunes. Lift your mood and your feet when you start listening to more up-beat music. Listen to energetic music while you’re cleaning your house or going for a daily walk. It’s hard not to keep pace with the tempo.

Kick! Stretch and Kick!

And finally, spend a few minutes each day doing some daily, am and pm, stretches. Stretching is a natural feel-good exercise. It keeps you from stiffening up and the added flow of oxygen to your muscles will help them stay in shape. Just follow what feels good. A good back and arm stretch always uplifts your mood and energy levels. Add a few calisthenics and you’ve just put together an exercise routine. Get up and stretch several times a day if you’re working behind a computer or at a desk.

It doesn’t have to take as much effort to get in enough exercise each day. The key is to see exercise as a natural part of your lifestyle. Active and productive people also tend to be healthy and fit. Good physical stamina doesn’t just come from lifting weights or running marathons. It’s the daily use of your body and muscles that determine if you’re getting enough exercise to maintain a happy, healthy body.…