Making the Most from Your Blue Shield Health Insurance

The price of healthcare is always rising and having Blue Shield health insurance will give you the peace of mind you need during these hard times. It may not be cheap, but living without a plan can be more costly and quite often devastating emotionally and financially.

 Just imagine the costs if you do not have San Diego Blue Shield health insurance behind you - hospital, medical equipment, medication, doctor bills and other unforeseen expenses that may be covered by health insurance. With Blue Shield health insurance, you are assured that you will be taken care of by a healthcare provider network. These are well-skilled professionals who are at your beck and call, depending on what type of health coverage you invested in.

 When you get San Diego Blue Shield health insurance, you can be stress-free even when you are not fully assured of the condition of your health over the next few years. In California alone, Blueshield has been in the business of providing affordable health care for people for almost 70 years. You will be at ease that, with San Diego Blue Shield health insurance, you will be able to utilize its comprehensive health portfolio, which includes short-term health plans, Medicare and health savings accounts.

 If you are single, then nothing beats investing in a Blue Shield health insurance for your state of mind. You can expend your earnings purchasing things to maintain your lifestyle, but do not forego your health insurance. If you have a family, then that is more of a reason for you to invest in Blue Shield health insurance, not only to keep yourself tension-free in case someone in the family gets sick, but also to make sure that your family gets the best healthcare possible at all times.

 Some people think of investments only in terms of material purchases like a house, cars, jewellery or even precious metals. However, purchasing San Diego Blue Shield health insurance is also an investment, the kind that everyone should never forego if he or she wants to have financial security in the future. You can safeguard your income by investing in stocks and other businesses. But no matter how much money you make in these investments, they will all disappear if you do not have health insurance.

 The beauty of buying San Diego Blue Shield insurance is that you pay for it on a monthly or yearly basis. You pay an amount most appropriate for you depending on your needs and your income. But when it is your turn to need healthcare, you will be able to utilize a pool of resources, covered by those who think that health insurance is a requirement and never a luxury.

 You might not be earning a large income but you can still benefit from a Blue Shield insurance. Talk to your insurance agent, they will help you choose a plan that will fit your income, given the coverage you require when it comes to healthcare.

 One of the best things about obtaining a Blue Shield insurance plan is the opportunity to control your coverage online. You do not need to contact your agent to look into the status of your insurance coverage and your claims as you can do this on the Internet.

Importance Of Health And Safety Management Guidelines

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued voluntary protection program management guidelines to encourage employers to do more than just comply with regulations to prevent occupational injuries and illnesses. Although compliance with the law, including specific OSHA standards, is an important objective, an effective corporate safety program looks beyond specific requirements of law to address all hazards. It seeks to prevent injuries and illnesses, whether or not compliance is an issue.

 This is precisely what some of the best workplace safety consulting firms are doing. Health and safety management system standards/guidelines are important for corporate safety and health consultants to establish. These safety management practices are compiled, applied, and finally advocated by safety and health professionals and consultants representing corporations, professional associations, and labor unions. As a result, these guidelines are used to promote workplace safety through the use of effective and comprehensive safety audits.

 The health and safety management guidelines call for systematic identification, evaluation, and prevention or control of general workplace hazards, specific job hazards, and potential hazards which may arise from foreseeable conditions. Additionally, the extent to which a safety management system's program is described in writing is less important than how effective it is in practice. As the size of a worksite or the complexity of a hazardous operation increases, however, the need for written guidance increases to ensure clear communication of policies and priorities and consistent and fair application of rules. For this reason, it is vital for organizations to seek the guidance of an industrial occupational health and safety firm. By relying on a safety organization's expertise, a company can effectively prepare for OSHA's Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). Since safety consulting firms conduct comprehensive audits with an emphasis on solutions-oriented recommendations for program improvement, companies become more aware of specific factors that put their employees health and safety at risk as well as the actions that need to be taken to promote a safer work environment.

 Major elements of an effective occupational safety and health program include:

 Management Commitment and Employee Involvement. This calls for:

 "A worksite policy on safe and healthful work and working conditions clearly stated so that all personnel with responsibility at the site and personnel at other locations with responsibility for the site understand the priority of safety and health protection in relation to other organizational values.
 "A clear goal for the safety and health program and objectives for meeting that goal so that all members of the organization understand the results desired and the measures planned for achieving them.
 "Top management involvement in implementing the program so that all will understand that management's commitment is serious.
 Employee involvement in the structure and operation of the program and in decisions that affect their safety and health, to make full use of their insight and energy.
 "Assignment of responsibilities for all aspects of the program, so that managers, supervisors, and employees in all parts of the organization know what performance is expected of them.
 "Provision of adequate authority and resources to responsible parties, so that assigned responsibilities can be met.
 "Holding managers, supervisors, and employees accountable for meeting their responsibilities, so that essential tasks will be performed.
 "Annual reviews of program operations to evaluate their success in meeting the goal and objectives, so that deficiencies can be identified and the program and/or the objectives can be revised when the goal and objectives are not met.

 Worksite Analysis. This includes:

 "Identification of all hazards by conducting baseline worksite surveys for safety and health as well as periodic comprehensive update surveys. Also included would be an analysis of planned and new facilities, processes, materials, and equipment; and another of routine job hazards.
 "Regular site safety and health inspections, so that new and/or previously missed failures in hazard controls are identified.
 "A reliable system to encourage employees, without fear of reprisal, to notify management personnel about conditions that appear hazardous and to receive timely and appropriate responses. Investigation of accidents and "near miss" incidents, so that their causes and means for prevention are identified.
 "Analysis of injury and illness trends over extended periods so that patterns with common causes can be identified and prevented.

 Hazard Prevention and Control. This calls for:

 "Procedures that ensure that all current and potential hazards are corrected in a timely manner through engineering techniques where appropriate; safe work practices understood and followed by all parties; provision of personal protective equipment; and administrative controls, such as reducing the duration of exposure.

 Safety and Health Training. This includes training to:

 "Ensure that all employees understand the hazards to which they may be exposed and how to prevent harm to themselves and others.
 "Confirm that supervisors and managers understand their responsibilities and the reasons for them so they can carry out their responsibilities effectively.

 The most effective workplace safety specialists help companies (internationally, nationally, and locally) continuously improve their safety management systems through comprehensive auditing where a team of highly qualified/certified safety and health professionals review the clients' organization in terms of OSHA compliance, safety programs, training systems, etc and recommend corrective action and management process improvements as they relate to occupational safety and health.

Importance Of Mental Health Among Youth

Mental health is not merely the absence of mental illness, but it also the ability to cope with the challenges in life. Mental health is as important as physical health to everybody. Youths usually experiment with attitudes, appearances, and behaviors. Most of their experiments are harmless, but some experiments may have terrible results. Children and youths experience mental health problem such as stress, anxiety, harassment, family problems, depression, learning disability, etc. Serious mental health problems, such as self-injurious behaviors and suicide, are increasing among youth.

 A good mental health is essential for leading a good life. Youth cannot succeed in academic and personal life effectively if they are struggling with a mental health problem, such as depression or unsteady feeling due to academic, social or family pressures.

 Failure to detect youths mental health problem may result in negative consequences such as increased risk for academic failure, social isolation, unsafe sexual behavior, drug and alcohol abuse, suicide attempt, unemployment, and poor health. A recent report says, The rising rates of mental and emotional problems among U.S. children and youngsters signal a crisis for the country. Depression, anxiety, attention deficit, conduct disorders, suicidal thinking, and other serious psychological problems are striking more and more children and youths. Conservative estimates say one in every ten children and adolescents now suffers from mental illness severe enough to cause impairment.Even if detected earlier, unfortunately many children and youth do not receive the help they need. Some reports are there that most children and youth who need a mental health evaluation do not receive services and that the rates of use of mental health services are also low.

 Parents and adults must take care of the youths mental health. The parents and adults must talk with the youth, be a good role models to them, advice them to choose good friends, and monitor their activities.
 There is a growing and unmet need for mental health services for children and youth. Mental health services are important for students and youths success. Prevention programs help in early identification of mental health problems in youth. These programs provide education on mental health issues, violence prevention, social skills training, harassment prevention, suicide prevention, conflict resolution, and screening for emotional and behavioral problems. The Family Guide Web sites are designed for parents and other adults to emphasize the importance of family, promote mental health, and help prevent underage use of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs.

 Good mental health is very important for youths success. In order to emphasize the importance of mental health in youth, the following steps can be taken: Create awareness of child and youth mental health issues; provide a comprehensive guide for effective and meaningful youth meetings for organizations and professionals; and Conduct programs to generate awareness about youths mental health in each communities. Awareness about the importance of mental health issues among youth equally important to other physical issues, such as heart disease, AIDS, cancer, etc. Local and state health officials must draw more attention to the importance of mental health treatment of affected children and youths.

 Attention to youths mental health will more effectively improve their life standard. This also positively impacts their academic and personal life achievements. The families, society and youths benefit only when mental health problems in youths are identified and prevented earlier.

How To Make Filipino Foods Healthier

In a Filipino home, the kitchen is the heart. There is rarely a gathering that doesnt require eating  and we all know you really cant say no. With obligatory and voluntary consumption of delicious ensaymada, puto, and ube rolls, my stomach is happy but my waistline is not.

 Lately my husband has been asking me if I could make some of his favorite Filipino dishes healthier. My first thought was, how can you make crispy pata healthy? As a registered dietitian and professionally trained chef, Im constantly at war with myself when I cook and eat Filipino food. I want it to be healthy, but no matter what it must be masarap or it wont get eaten.

 With a lifetime ahead of me full of celebrations and weekday dinners, I want my family to know and enjoy Filipino cuisine, but I dont want this to impact our long-term health. Much of the traditional Pinoy diet is comprised of meat, fried foods, heavy starches and sometimes sugars and sodium. Throw it all together with American portion sizes and youre at risk for heart disease and diabetes  just by reading the recipes.

 Ive risen to the challenge of finding ways to tweak traditional recipes and staple foods to shave off calories, saturated fat, sodium, and sugar but not skimp on flavor.

 Heres a look at a few of the healthy changes weve made in our house:

 Rice

 The rice switch was a sticky situation. Telling any Asian they should eat brown rice will most often come with a mountain of resistance. Ill admit  theres nothing quite like white, fluffy rice that slightly sticks together when you push it onto your spoon. At first its best to meet this challenge half way, mixing both brown and white rice to get half your grains whole. Its not quite the same but its not as drastic a switch as going to all brown rice.

 After doing that for a while, we took the plunge to get our fiber intake up and keep our cholesterol in good standing by only eating brown rice at home  except when we have arroz caldo.

 Adobo

 Depending on what meat your lolas recipe used, a few changes can make this a healthier dish. If making pork adobo, choose a lean cut of pork like pork loin; if its chicken make sure its skinless. No matter what the meat is make it lean. Switch the soy sauce to a low sodium version to help keep hypertension at bay. These little switches can be made in many of the stewed recipes from calderata to bulalo for a healthier profile.

 Merienda

 When it comes to afternoon snacks, we try to keep it light and easy, steering away from baked goods and sweets. This is an easy opportunity to increase our fruit and vegetable intake for the day and well often have just fresh produce for our merienda. Making this change keeps the calories in check and helps us increase our vitamin and fiber intake. If its a warm summer day, we might make a mango shake (see recipe).

 Spice it up

 With family from the Bicol region, were not afraid to spice up our dishes. Research suggests that eating hot peppers may help elevate metabolism (every little bit counts). We get our fix with a side of suka at sili with our meals.

 These are just a few of the alterations weve incorporated for a healthier Filipino meal. I havent found a way to alter the crispy pata just yet, but with our other small changes and moderation were able to fit it in!

 Mango Shake Recipe

 Ingredients:

 1 cup of Sofl Mango (you can find this is the yogurt section of your local Asian retailer)
 3 halves ripe fresh mango or frozen mango
 1 cup skim milk
  cup crushed ice
 2 Tbsp whipped topping (optional)

 Directions:

 Place all ingredients in a blender. Pulse on high speed until mixture is smooth. Pour into a glass, top with whipped topping and enjoy!

 Makes 2 servings.

 Nutrition breakdown per serving:

 Calories: 173 calories

Is This Health Food For Thought

A study done by "Men's Health" and "Women's Health" magazines rated 100 of the largest U.S. cities to find the healthiest one to live in. The cities were ranked by 38 factors including cancer rates, air quality and number of gym memberships. Although Salt Lake City, Utah was the healthiest city for women, the healthiest for men was Madison, Wisconsin. Thankfully, the study found 7 cities rated in the top ten for both sexes. Aurora, Colorado; Madison, Wisconsin; Minneapolis, Minnesota; San Francisco and San Jose, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Seattle, Washington were the healthiest cities for "twogetherness".

 The healthiest transportation is active transportation. New research found a link between active transportation - biking, walking or taking public transportation - and less obesity in 17 industrialized countries. Countries with the highest levels of active transportation for work, school or shopping generally had the lowest obesity rates. For example, 62% of Swedes use active transportation and Sweden's obesity rate is 9%. Nineteen percent of Canadians use active transportation and Canada's obesity rate is 23%. Then there's the U.S. with the highest obesity rate. Only 12% of Americans use active transportation and 25% to 33% are obese. The key to fighting obesity is obviously not a car key.

 The Physician's Health Study published in the journal "Circulation" found that being obese increased the risk of heart failure 180% and being overweight increased it 49%. However, the study of 21,099 male doctors - average age 53 - which was done over a 20-year period also found that any extra weight increases the risk. In men 5 feet 10 inches tall every 7 pounds of extra weight increases the risk 11%. Considering there are 300,000 deaths in the U.S. yearly from heart failure, the solution seems to be suffering from another kind of "wait" problem.

 According to a study published in the journal "Psychology and Aging", older adults shouldn't wait to play video games. Adults in their 60's and 70's who spent one month (23 hours) learning to play a strategy-heavy video game showed improvement in tests of memory, reasoning, and multi-tasking. This supports earlier research which found older adults can improve cognitive health by staying physically and mentally active through reading, writing and other hobbies. Because social interaction also enhances cognitive abilities in older adults, the researchers suggested seniors play video games with their grandchildren. That would definitely improve their cognitive ability to be good losers.

Dog Health Food Could Cure Your Dogs Dermatitis And Arthritis

Dog health food may sound a like a strange idea, but today there are so many dogs suffering from allergies and reactions to their food that you owe it to your best friend to look into this. Many vets are recognising that dogs are starting to develop health problems that are solely due to additives in their food.

 So when was the last time that you actually looked at the ingredient list on your dogs food? Go ahead and have a look now. Do you know what meal is exactly? What about the preservatives? What are they doing to your dog?

 Well, from a nutritional point of view you need a certain ration of protein, fat and carbohydrate to give your dog their full spectrum of nutrients. Often youll see ratios like 40% meat 50% vegetables and 10% grain. While not wrong, this can be a bit confusing. The actual ratios that you want to achieve are based on protein (25-30%), fat (30-35%) and carbohydrate (35-45%). Then you need to look at exactly what ingredients make up those ratios. I mean, lean meat isnt going to add much to the proportion of fat, compared to a really fatty type of meat.

 Often you'll hear carbohydrates being dismissed as an unnecessary part of a dogs diet, however this is only true when an excessive amount of the food is made of low quality grain fillers.

 Sometimes, pet food companies use cheap grains as a filler for the food so the ratio might be more like 70-80% carbohydrates, so this isnt going to be the best for your dog in the long run. And can lead to allergies and dermatitis just like in humans. After all its a bit hard to imagine a German shepherd grazing on the African savannah isnt it? They arent herbivores so we shouldnt feed them like they are.

 And what about preservatives? A common and hotly disputed one is ethoxyquin. This is used to preserve that fat component from breaking down, but it has been linked to problems ranging from dermatitis to cancerous tumors and dramatically shortened life spans. Unfortunately pet food labeling requirements arent as strict as human ones, so some companies are adding this horrible preservative but arent actually listing it on the label. Which makes it pretty difficult to track down, if you want to keep using commercial dog food but keep your dog healthy. This is one of the most dangerous additives but not the only one that is routinely added to dog food and hidden.

 But what about the actual protein and fat content? What exactly are the proteins used? Some research has found a range of horrible animal parts that have been put into dog food. Offal and by products of other animals and even euthanized pets, their plastic tags and lethal chemicals intact! So just because there's 30% protein, that doesn't mean that it's something you'd be wanting your dog to eat!

 It's easy to see why more people are beginning to make their own dog food. In many cases it'll be cheaper and far better quality. You can give your dog a variety of meats, you can control the quality and you can eliminate all those nasty chemicals. And it doesnt take long either. Many people cook up a batch once a week and freeze it. Or you can opt for a baked biscuit type of food with all your dogs favorite goodies in there.

 Dog health food is fast changing from a luxury for pampered pooches to an essential component of keeping your best friend healthy. They trust us to give them what they need, so it's up to us to get educated about what really goes into their food.

China Will Rectify The Health Food Market To Ensure Public Food Safety

Business community on May 11th hearing the State Food and Drug Administration recently issued "2010 health food safety rectification work plan", calling through the consolidation of health food safety, crack down on illegal health food, health food law to curb chaos in an effective, regulate health food market order, safeguarding people's health and safety.

 It is reported that the rectification work focuses on: according to the approved period of registration but did not indicate a full clean-up of health food replacement; carry out health food labels, instructions and special inspection of the contents of drugs in health food special inspection of law; regulation of health foods exaggerated advocacy function and use of public lectures, etc. disguised sales of fake and shoddy health food; investigate acts of selling counterfeit and inferior health food; investigate claims of ordinary food-specific health care function's behavior.

 The program urges all health food regulatory authorities to further improve food safety rectification work on health importance and urgency of understanding the health food safety rectification work on an important position, conscientiously perform their statutory duties, earnestly rectification health food safety organization and implementation and implementation. Regulatory departments at all levels of health food with local conditions, develop practical implementation plans, clear objectives, tasks and responsibilities, step by step implementation of consolidation tasks, timely inspection and evaluation organization, to ensure the rectification work closely and firmly grasp fine, achieve results, efforts to Construction of scientific supervision and effective monitoring of long-term mechanism.

 Regulatory departments at all levels of health food products to increase food safety rectification propaganda, and actively respond to hot issues of social concern. To give full play to the role of community supervision, the mobilization of social forces to actively participate in the restructuring efforts, not only the exposure time illegal enterprise, illegal products, and timely information to the progress and effectiveness of the rectification work.

 In addition, all levels of health food regulatory departments should strengthen inter-regional, inter-sectoral coordination and cooperation, monitoring efforts. Involving other regions and sectors violation cases, to promptly inform the relevant regions and departments of the situation, make an investigation request; received briefings on the requirements and an investigation should be handled in a timely manner as required response. The provincial health food regulatory authorities to strengthen food security and consolidation of the health organization and coordination and inspection work, timely detection and rectification of problems in processing, ensure that the rectification work carried out, to achieve tangible results.