We last looked at some essential foods and food groups that will help your heart and reduce the risk of coronary disease/failure. Today we will discover just how wonderful and important vitamins can be to the body. Believe it or not, we can obtain nearly all of the vitamins our body requires just from the foods we eat, however supplements are an easy way to make sure that we get the ideal amount into our system. It is important, however, to understand the role that vitamins play in our lives and how to recognize the signs when our body tells us that we are deficient in a particular vitamin. Ready? Alright, here we go.

• Vitamin A – Simply put, vitamin A helps us see. The properties of the vitamin help strengthen eye muscles allowing us to see better, see colors brighter. Vitamin A is also important for healthy skin. A deficiency in vitamin A, while rare in the United States, can lead to blindness or other vision problems.
• Vitamin B – There are many different variations of B vitamins, but they all serve the same general purpose – they produce and aid in the transport of energy around the body. Vital to red blood cells, B vitamins transport oxygen throughout the body. There are also certain vitamins in the group that aid in the transport of iron in the body. A deficiency in the B vitamin group is signified by fatigue, memory loss and high blood pressure.
• Vitamin C – Vitamin C is perhaps one of the most important vitamins in our diet, it surely gets talked about the most! Vitamin C is essential for repairing damaged tissue, regenerating muscle cells and fighting off infection. This is why drinking orange juice when you have a cold is such a good idea! A lack of vitamin C will manifest itself through sore muscles, bleeding/soft gums, and a general tendency to be affected by infectious diseases. Again, with our diets today, vitamin C deficiencies are extremely rare.
• Vitamin D – Much like the group of B vitamins, there are a few different varieties of vitamin D, all of which perform separate tasks in the body. The main role of the D vitamins is to assist in bone growth and bone structure maintenance. Vitamin D works hand in hand with Vitamin K which we will get to in just a bit. Lack of D vitamins can lead to brittle, porous bones, increased tendency towards tumor growth and unstable hormones. Too much vitamin D, on the other hand, combined with a deficiency of Vitamin K can lead to the calcification of soft tissue.
• Vitamin E – Vitamin E, as discussed in the last blog post on heart health, is vital to protecting tissue, muscle and skin. Think of it as providing a protective layer around your organs. It can protect your lungs, heart, and liver. Vitamin E also works hand in hand with some of the B vitamins in transporting oxygen around the body and can assist Vitamin C in regenerating damaged tissue. Although the effects of Vitamin E deficiency have not been studied in great detail, the benefits include acting as a possible antioxidant (antioxidants balance out free radical cells in your body, most of which eventually lead to tumors). Vitamin E, as it seems, works hand in hand with many of the other vitamins in your body, helping out where needed.
• Vitamin K – As previously mentioned, Vitamin K works with Vitamin D to provide balance and stability to your bone processes. A deficiency of Vitamin K will allow the calcium and Vitamin D to take over your soft tissue, resulting in calcification of your soft tissues. Vitamin K is also essential in the formation of blood coagulation, preventing excessive bleeding whenever you cut yourself. Hemophiliacs lack the receptors in their body to accept vitamin K in the necessary doses and as a result, have difficulty forming blood clots.

Now that you know the important roles that vitamins play in your body, day in and day out, you can make better, more educated decisions when it comes to your diet and nutritional intake. Knowing how your body uses the vitamins and minerals you consume every day will also raise your awareness concerning the difficulties and conditions that might arise from being deficient of any of these vitamins.

One of the biggest causes of death in the world today is heart failure.  With so many people suffering from heart related illnesses, one might ask themselves “Is there anything I can do about this?”  Thankfully, there are quite a few steps you can take on the road to achieving and maintaining a healthy heart.

Diet and exercise are two of the most important factors when it comes to having a healthy heart.  Today, we will focus on the diet side.

There are 5 basic and essential needs for the human body: Proteins, Fats, Fruits & Vegetables, Dairy, and Grains.  Every individual in one way or another needs these to survive in a healthy manner.  Below I will break down some of the best ways to get these heart healthy essentials into your diet each and every day.

•    Proteins – Whether you are a meat lover or a vegetarian, the human body cannot survive without protein.  Protein is the basic building block of muscle tissue, and guess what; the heart is the most important muscle in the human body!  Although red meat contains the highest abundance of usable protein, your body can also obtain it from fish, chicken, eggs, and beans.  All of these foods are high in protein and are not hard to come by, by any means.  Combining an abundant source of protein with regular exercise is the first step towards building a healthy heart.
•    Fats – Now I know what you are thinking, isn’t fat bad?  Well it depends.  There are 3 kinds of fats, Trans fats, which we all know are bad and have hopefully said goodbye to long ago; Saturated fats clog up arteries and eventually lead to stroke or cardiac arrest; Monounsaturated fats, however, move freely through the blood stream and are easily broken down by the body making their energy instantly available.  Although diets high in fat should be avoided whenever possible, ensuring that your body has enough monounsaturated fat to produce and store energy will increase the efficiency of your heart.  Many nuts are high in monounsaturated fat including walnuts, pistachios and peanuts.  Substituting a light olive oil spray for heavy salad dressing is an excellent way to incorporate heart healthy fats into your diet.
•    Fruits and Vegetables – Our bodies evolved with a certain dependence on fiber and plant materials in order for it to survive.  While diets are still changing and the benefits of incorporating meat into our everyday diets have been realized, do not forget about vegetables.  The main source of fiber in the average American diet comes from fruits and vegetables, but studies show that Americans in particular are still not getting enough.  The American Heart Association recommends 15 grams of fiber for every 1000 calories your body consumes.  The fiber in your diet assists with digestion, prevents cholesterol buildup from foods high in oils and polyunsaturated fats, and improves satiety (the feeling of being full or satisfied after a meal) by slowing the digestion process.  Fruits and vegetables that are highest in fiber include oatmeal, peas, citrus, and strawberries.  Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and carrots round out the list of vegetables with the highest fiber content.
•    Dairy – When consuming dairy products, one must be careful.  While the nutrients contained in these products are essential to the body (i.e. calcium, potassium, and magnesium) they can also be very high in the polyunsaturated fats, remember those from earlier?  The items found in dairy however, besides the fats, have been known to reduce blood pressure, specifically potassium.   The role of potassium in our body is to maintain a healthy fluid balance.  This ultimately leads to balanced and healthy blood pressure.  Healthy blood pressure is essential to the health of your heart by making its job much easier.  Recommended dairy products include low fat milk, low fat cheese, and yogurt.  It is important, however, to be aware of your intake of dairy products.  While consuming the recommended amount of dairy products will serve to decrease your blood pressure, eating too much can begin to have the opposite effect as it will increase your cholesterol levels and begin to clog your arteries.
•    Grains – Grains are perhaps the most important step in maintaining a healthy heart.  Grains are so versatile; they perform many of the tasks of the above food groups; lowering cholesterol, decreasing blood pressure, and enriching the muscle tissue of the heart.  Much of the value of grains comes from vitamin E, a proven protector of muscle tissue.  It is important that as your heart becomes strong, that you maintain it with a healthy diet of grains.  Grains are also a good source of fiber, often consisting of varieties that cannot be easily obtained from fruits or vegetables.  Foods high in grains include bread, bran and brown rice. Substituting “whole wheat” items into your diet can reduce your risk of heart attack by up to 30%.

Each and every food item listed above can be easily obtained at any grocery store.  Remember the three main steps. Strengthen your heart with proteins, assist your heart with dairy, fiber, and dietary fats, and lastly, protect your heart with grains and minerals.

There is a question that has been asked of large corporations from the moment their profits are made public…Where do all of their profits go?  Many individuals do not agree that companies who create products to help others stay healthy should be charging so much for their products.  Many consumers feel that they are being taken advantage of by unfair prescription drug pricing just so these companies can see huge profits.

It turns out that the drug companies generally have 3 major spending areas:
•    Research and Development
•    Advertising/Marketing
•    Administration Costs

Although the drug companies as a whole make exorbitant profits, research has shown that in the majority of cases, these profits have been re-invested into research and development products.  You must keep in mind that once the drug is discovered, tested and approved, yes, it is relatively easy to produce.  The truth of the situation, however, is that before a drug becomes available to the public, the company that paid for all of the research, testing fees, insurance against possible suits and claims, is already millions, sometimes billions of dollars in the red.

With this being the case, one could argue that the prices are necessary in order to keep these companies in business.  Without the drug companies, we would not be without a lot of the prescriptions that make it possible to go outside without sneezing due to allergies.  We might have missed some of the best years of a loved one’s life because a potential life saving drug was not created.

It is true that without a health insurance plan, it is very difficult to afford name brand prescriptions.  However, there are systems in place either through the government or through your insurance company that can help subsidize the cost of these drugs and make them accessible for you and your family should the day come where you ever need them.  Before you go off judging the drug companies for their expensive prices, keep in mind all of the fees they incur.  The research alone costs millions.  Their insurance is possibly even more since they are constantly under threat of a lawsuit if someone has an ill effect from the drug.  Furthermore, all of the testing that must be done on the drug before it goes to market, much of which is mandated by the government, can not only delay the realization of a medication’s profits, but it can also contribute to the initial costs of getting a drug approved for sale.

Have you been to the doctor’s office recently?  If you answered yes, you know just how expensive it can be, especially if your family health plan doesn’t include lowered costs for doctor’s visits. So how can you avoid paying too much for medication or for doctor’s visits?  The answer is simple; re-think your medical insurance.

Many times, your employer will have more than one option when it comes to the health insurance that they will help pay for.  These options often include paying a little bit more a month, but paying less per doctor’s visit or per prescription.  If you are on a family insurance plan, paying these lower costs per doctor’s visit will prove to be very beneficial to your family.  Often times, when one child gets sick, any other children you have are more likely to get sick within the next couple of weeks.  Without a lower cost per doctor’s visit, you will end up paying much more for these visits than you would have saved by having gone with the cheaper per-month plan.

You also need to consider if you can save money by switching to a plan that offers less expensive prescriptions and medications.  For individuals that have allergies, or require other types of medication, make sure you consider the costs that you will have to pay in order to obtain these medicines.  There are many individual health plans available that allow for the purchase of generic prescriptions which will end up saving you significant money in the long run.

It all comes down to your medical insurance plans.  Carefully consider all of your options when selecting a carrier.  For more assistance on obtaining an affordable health insurance quote, visit www.thehealthquote.com to speak with a representative.

One of the hottest debate topics from this year’s election was over the healthcare industry. There are those that believe that the government should be in charge of our health care despite the obvious increase in taxation needed to cover these costs. Yet others believe that healthcare should be privatized making each individual household responsible for obtaining their family health insurance plans. 

With the election of Barack Obama to the United States Presidency, what effect will that have on our nation’s health care programs? What is Obama’s plan to bring affordable healthcare to an increased number of citizens without raising taxes? Some major changes are being suggested including changes in policies, benefits, and cost. Below are a few of the major changes that President-Elect Obama has promised to make:

• Health Insurance Companies will now be required to cover pre-existing conditions meaning lower costs for the insured but obviously higher costs for the insurance company.
• Obama plans to offer a tax benefit to companies that offer affordable medical insurance options to their employees, hoping to increase the amount of affordable healthcare options for Americans.
• Obama plans on lowering prescription costs by importing generic drugs from developed countries. This will reduce our dependence on the American drug companies; however it will increase our dependence on drug companies who do not necessarily follow the same guidelines as American companies.

These are just a few of the plans that our President-to-be has for our healthcare industry. While it is unclear exactly how many of these policies will follow through, one thing is for certain, the landscape of the healthcare industry is set to change dramatically and should serve to increase the overall health and wellness of our nation.

*All information relating to Obama’s plans for healthcare come from http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/

Now that Hillary is out of the running, we can turn our attention to what Obama’s plans for healthcare reform will include.

According to his official website:

Quality, Affordable and Portable Coverage for All

• Obama’s Plan to Cover Uninsured Americans: Obama will make available a new national health plan to all Americans, including the self-employed and small businesses, to buy affordable health coverage that is similar to the plan available to members of Congress. The Obama plan will have the following features:
  1. Guaranteed eligibility. No American will be turned away from any insurance plan because of illness or pre-existing conditions.
  2. Comprehensive benefits. The benefit package will be similar to that offered through Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), the plan members of Congress have. The plan will cover all essential medical services, including preventive, maternity and mental health care.
  3. Affordable premiums, co-pays and deductibles.
  4. Subsidies. Individuals and families who do not qualify for Medicaid or SCHIP but still need financial assistance will receive an income-related federal subsidy to buy into the new public plan or purchase a private health care plan.
  5. Simplified paperwork and reined in health costs.
  6. Easy enrollment. The new public plan will be simple to enroll in and provide ready access to coverage.
  7. Portability and choice. Participants in the new public plan and the National Health Insurance Exchange (see below) will be able to move from job to job without changing or jeopardizing their health care coverage.
  8. Quality and efficiency. Participating insurance companies in the new public program will be required to report data to ensure that standards for quality, health information technology and administration are being met.

As healthcare industry professionals, some of his administration’s ideas sound solid. However, the cost and effort to implement these plans could take years. Is it realistic to imagine a flawless transistion into government healthcare? You be the one to decide…