Everyone is aware that health care costs continue to skyrocket. Last year we spent an average of $8,687 dollars per person on health care, and the figure—which includes insurance premiums, deductibles, co-pays and co-insurance—is projected to rise to $13,100 by 2018 if we do nothing to stop it. It’s enough to prompt widespread panic or wholesale defeat, depending on your outlook.
The good news is that something can be done, even by ordinary people, but first of all it’s important to understand where health care dollars are currently being spent.
One of our readers recently asked if it was possible to eat healthy from a fast food restaurant.
I'm (Jen) not going to be shy, but upon reading the question, I thought, of course not. However, being a columnist, I decided to review menu items at a few of our local fast food chains and see if any menu items meet the criteria based on USDA and American Heart Association guidelines. I also am making the assumption that the meal would be one of three meals a day and allowed for one-third of the diner's daily allowance with the meal. I also based my parameters on normal, active men and women. Keep in mind that smaller women or sedentary individuals need fewer calories and therefore, less fat, protein and carbohydrate.
Posted by: Jen Boland in chronic disease, cancer on
Oct 04, 2010
As many of you know, my mother was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ, also known as Stage 0 breast cancer. This extremely early form of cancer has a 100% cure rate (if recommended treatment protocols are followed.) The reason it is so successfully treated is because it is caught so early.
Companies that base their wellness programs around screenings don’t understand that screenings actually cost them money. You have to screen a lot of people to find one incidence of disease. I don’t oppose screenings, but isn’t preventing disease a loftier goal than simply catching it early and treating it.
