Many people have heard about the power of positive thinking, but who knew that it could apply to our healthy and longevity. A recent study published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association studied the effect of optimism on women. It found that women who avoid negativity and have an optimistic view on life have not only healthier lives, but also longer lives.

The eight year study of post-menopausal women included 97,253 women between the ages of 50 and 79. At the beginning of the study, the women were relatively healthy (none of the women had cancer or heart disease) and they took questionnaires in order to develop their emotional outlook on life. This questionnaire included questions such as “It is safer to trust no one” and “In unclear times, I usually expect the best.”

 

The results of the study concluded that optimistic women had a 9% lower risk of getting heart disease and a 14% lower risk of dying as compared to pessimistic women. Similarly, women who had a high degree of cynical hostility were 16% more likely to die. Race was another factor that modified the relationship between optimism and death. African American optimists had a 33% lower risk of dying after the eight year study, whereas optimistic white women had a 13% lower risk. Other generalizations found in the study include that optimistic women tended to live in the Western US, be younger, have a higher education and income, be employed, be religious and have health insurance. The results of this study may cause you to change your mode of thinking because evidently happy thoughts lead to healthy lives.

        

The next time you get a craving for a McDonalds Big Mac, would looking at the menu and seeing that it has 540 calories make you think twice before ordering? I think it would. Presently, legislation is being discussed by the government as a part of healthcare reform that would make nutritional and caloric information more visible and accessible. As of now, this information is only available online or if it is requested at fast-food restaurants.

 

If the government makes it mandatory for all restaurants to display caloric information, American obesity is likely to decrease. People who see the tremendous amount of calories in some of the meals they order won’t want to order those meals anymore and would opt for healthier choices. Restaurants would then have to adopt healthier menu options if some of their high caloric items don’t sell anymore. Overall, this would lead to healthier and thinner Americans. Of course, this all depends on if American’s care about their health and wants to change the fact that we’re the most obese nation in the world.

 

So if you saw that a White Castle large chocolate shake has 1680 calories in it, a Burger King Triple Whopper with cheese has 1230 calories, and a large McDonalds French Fries has 487 calories…wouldn’t you rather get a large diet coke with zero calories, a Burger King hamburger for 290 calories, and a small fries for 224 calories? Then again…maybe a salad would be healthier.

        

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have released two-dozen recommendations to communities stating how to implement better programs and policies to slim people down. The percentage of obese adults is still rising, increasing to 26.1 percent last year.

A 3 day conference taking place right now in Washington D.C. is allowing the CDC to answer questions about what they are doing to make the United States healthier. One important question to think about is whether tackling the obesity problem so deeply may intrude the country’s restaurants and grocery stores. Can you restrict food content?

"It's a question of limiting personal choice," said Texas State Senator Kel Seliger. He recently opposed a trans fat ban. Though he believes that providing healthier foods in public schools and educating about better food choices is a good idea, the government should not restrict food content. "I like to inform the public rather than coerce the public," he said. 

Unfortunately obesity and healthcare reform may come hand in hand. The CDC reported last week that the health cost of obesity is up to $147 billion annually. Reducing obesity may lower health care costs as well.

Some of the CDC’s recommendations include:

• Making healthy food more available
• Promote physical activity
• Restrict unhealthy foods and beverages throughout communities
• Institute smaller portion sizes
• Limit advertisements of unhealthy food products
• Discourage consumption of drinks high in sugar

To read the full article, go to http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/07/28/government-tackles-obesity-anew-restraint/

        

As the healthcare debates in congress continue, new issues arise. Among the latest and most controversial issues is abortion. Abortion presents problems for many people on moral, political and financial grounds. Although many Catholic leaders support health care reform in the United States, some find themselves torn because some of the provisions in the health care legislation may mandate abortion services. Not only is this a moral issue for Catholics, but it is also a financial matter. Catholic leaders could be pushed out of different networks and referral services they need in order to survive from a financial standpoint. In 2008 alone, about 1,000 Catholic hospitals served 92 million patients.

 

Some politicians, like Republicans Bart Stupak of Michigan and Tim Ryan of Ohio, support an amendment that would specify the exclusion of abortion from any governmental health insurance plan. Such an amendment would help ease the concerns Catholics have over healthcare reform, both from a financial and moral stance. Surprisingly, majority of lawmakers who are prochoice support the idea of protecting a doctors right to refuse to perform abortions, which could help diminish the moral conflicts doctors face. Some people believe that unless if the abortion issue is resolved soon, the healthcare reform will not get enough votes to be passed in the House. Therefore, this issue is key to moving along with Obama’s healthcare reform plans.

        

Recent studies have shown that mothers who breathe in more polluted air during their time in pregnancy are more apt to give birth to children with lower IQs. This study shows the drastic effects that the environment and our treatment of it has on our health, even before we’re born.

 

The study included 249 children split up into high pollution and low pollution groups. The low pollution group was on average four to five points higher than the high pollution group, which can be a significant difference in a person’s intelligence considering that the difference between normal and genius is only 30 points. This study may correlate with other statistics which show that wealthier children tend to do better than poorer children and live in less polluted areas.

 

These findings acknowledge the benefits of living in a healthy world. If air pollution alone could lead to such drastic and negative effects in our ability to think, imagine what eating processed, pesticide-laced foods does to us in contrast to organic food and what drinking soda cans full of sugar does to our bodies and brains in contrast to water. In order to live healthier lives, we have to learn to live more in touch with our roots and nature. We cannot abuse the earth and pollute her to the point where she can make us sick (or dumber in this case). If parents want their kids to be healthy and smart, they have to make the necessary lifestyle changes in order to be labeled as responsible caregivers.

        

Democrats of the House of Representatives released their House plan on Tuesday which asks for guaranteed access to health care. President Obama has been pushing leaders in both the Senate and House of representative to produce health care bills in order to move the legislation through the committees and to a floor vote before the August congressional recess.

The house bill hopes to guarantee health coverage for all and impose a penalty tax for those who do not opt for health insurance. How do they expect to pay for universal health coverage? By soaking the rich in taxes, of course. House Democrats want to raise taxes to millionaires by 5.4 percent in order to help cover the uninsured. The bill will raise over $500 billion due to the tax increase on the rich. Individuals making more than $280,000 will have a surtax starting at 1% rising to 5.4% for those earning $1 million a year. Businesses who do not offer coverage will pay 8% of their payroll and businesses making under $250,000 will be exempt from the tax. 

The health care plan is a 10 year plan that will cost approximately $1 trillion. The plan requires individuals to carry insurance and businesses must offer it. For individuals who opt out of obtaining health insurance, they will pay a penalty of 2.5% of their income.

"We are committed to fiscal soundness," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "Lowering costs is essential to this."

To read more about the House plan, visit http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/14/MNUM18OG90.DTL.

        

A recent British study done by scientists at the Peninsula Medical School discovered that genetics are not the cause of obesity. In fact, children become obese through the influence of their same-sex parent. In other words, if a girl has an overweight mother, she is more likely to become obese and a boy with an overweight father is more likely to be obese. This suggests that behavioral factors play a greater role in determining a child’s weight in comparison with genetics.

The study was conducted on 226 British families. It was found that mothers who are obese are 10 times more likely to have an obese daughter, whereas obese fathers are only 6 times more likely to have an obese son. Interestingly, no link was found between child obesity and opposite-sex parents.

 

These findings suggest that it is actually influence from parents that causes children to become obese. Therefore, in order to combat childhood obesity parents much change their lifestyles and behaviors to set a good example for their kids, so they too will not have to deal with all the health complications related to obesity later in life. The apple really does not fall far from the tree.

article provided by www.healthplanone.com

        

Chiropractic care, the manipulation of the spine and other joints has been practiced for hundreds of years. Many people see it as a useful way in treating orthopedic problems, neck and backaches, disc pain, sciatic problems and whiplash injuries. Some professional athletes even use chiropractic care as a way to increase their athletic performance come game day. However, given the longevity of this form of healthcare, it still surrounds an unprecedented amount of controversy.

 

Some people believe that going to a chiropractor doesn’t help sooth their pain and in some cases even increases pain levels. Also, there have been cases (and lawsuits) where chiropractic care has been linked to stroke, either immediately or several days after an adjustment. Many people claim that most of these cases come from chiropractic malpractice, where the chiropractor does not have the proper education and training to administer the care. But how are you supposed to know if a chiropractor is good or bad? So the question remains: is it worth it to risk the visit to a chiropractor when getting a prescription for some painkillers from your physician may be the safer and more effective way of dealing with your pain?

        

Many states do not legally recognize domestic partnerships unless your among the lucky people who reside in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, New York, and Washington D.C. Other states such as Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine will have legalized same sex marriage by January 2010. Though these states may recognize same-sex marriage, domestic partners still face many problems. One of the main problems they have to deal with is their health insurance options.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ website gives helpful hints and special considerations for domestic partners. According to data from the American Community Survey (ACS), there are approximately 777,000 same-sex couples in the United States as of 2005.

Some tips offered by the NAIC include:

Check to see if your employer offers domestic partner benefits. With the number of partnerships increasing, more and more employers are offering domestic partner benefits. Double check with the health insurance carrier to make sure your partner is covered.

Know that if your domestic partnership ends and you had been receiving health benefits under your partner’s employer based plan, you may be entitled to COBRA, or the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985. This allows you to keep the coverage for up to 18 months upon termination from the plan.

Some insurance companies offer domestic partner benefits. If you have an individual insurance policy, call your carrier to add a partner to your policy.

Make sure your children are covered. If you and your partner have dependent children, they may be eligible for health insurance coverage as “dependents.”

Due to state and local law governing more issues regarding domestic partnerships and same sex marriages, rather than federal law, there are many inconsistencies throughout the country regarding benefits and policies. Make sure to check with your states laws when looking for health insurance.

        

Years ago people didn’t eat genetically modified foods, they didn’t take antibiotics for every little cough they got and they weren’t obese. What happened? Americans in particular seem to be getting sicker and taking medicine earlier than the rest of the world. Maybe that’s why cancer, heart disease and diabetes thrive in our nation. We put so many medicines in our body when it’s not necessary. Recently voting began a panel assembled by the Food and Drug Administration over recommendations on pulling some acetaminophen drugs like Tylenol and Nyquil from stores.

The panel began voting on the issue in an effort to reduce the risk of serious liver injury that is associated with acetaminophen. One option the panel is considering other than pulling the drugs from store shelves entirely, it to reduce the recommended dosages of the drugs.  A 2007 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report estimated that acetaminophen is main contributor to about 1,600 acute liver failures every year.

When reflecting on this news on Tylenol and combining it with the recent reports of Zicam’s negative side effects, it raises questions about whether polluting our bodies with all these prescription and over-the-counter drugs really helps our health in the long run? Maybe going natural and not taking medicine is the real secret to health and longevity.