Maximize Your Nutrition With These Winter Fruits and Veggies
This time of year it is really hard to find fresh produce. Most farmer’s markets are not meeting and many local farms don’t have much winter season produce. The local grocery store will have a variety of fruits and vegetables but your best bet is to stick to the produce that is in season. Seasonal fruits and vegetables will give you the most nutritional bang for your buck. Buying local is the first choice but if local is not available, opt for what’s in season.
Vegetables in season right now include:
- Greens (kale, collard and turnip)
- Brussel sprouts
- Winter squash
- Radishes
Roasted Red Peppers Stuffed with Kale and Brown Rice
And don’t forget about fruits. God is creative in His planning of seasonal foods and what nutrients are more abundant at certain times of
the year. Winter is full of fruits that are loaded with vitamin C to ward off colds and the flu. Fill up on your vegetables for meals and have oranges, mandarins, clementines and grapefruit for dessert.
Roasted Red Peppers Stuffed with Kale and Brown Rice
Ingredients
Peppers:
- 3 medium red bell peppers
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Filling:
- 8 ounces kale, (6 cups lightly packed), trimmed
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4 cup cooked short-grain brown rice
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, divided
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Preparation
1. To prepare peppers: Preheat oven to 400°F. Halve peppers lengthwise through the stems, leaving them attached. Remove the seeds. Lightly brush the peppers outside and inside with oil; sprinkle the insides with salt and pepper. Place, cut-side down, in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Bake until peppers are just tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool slightly. Turn cut-side up.
2. To prepare filling: Bring 2 cups salted water to a boil in a large wide pan. Stir in kale, cover and cook until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water; squeeze dry. Finely chop.
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and chopped bell pepper; cook, stirring often, until onion is golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Stir in the kale. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Stir in rice, Parmesan, 2 tablespoons pine nuts and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Divide the filling among the pepper halves. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons pine nuts.
4. Add 2 tablespoons water to the baking dish. Cover the peppers with foil and bake until heated through, 15 to 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 minutes more. Serve hot.
Recipe provided by eatingwell.com
Valerie Costanza, RD
Valerie Costanza, RD, received her Bachelor and Master’s degrees from Louisiana Tech University in Nutrition and Dietetics. She loves being outdoors and playing with her labradoodle, Leilah. Avid runner, Registered Dietician, wife to Sam and now she has a new title: mom to Amelia Claire. Valerie is an advocate for leading a healthy lifestyle. Eating healthy and staying active is her passion and encourages those around her to follow suit! Her favorite job as a teenager? Working at the Cucuzza Squash Farm.
From The Doctor’s Desk: New Year Solutions
Dr. Nathan Goodyear, MD
We are just days away from putting on silly hats, drinking champagne, and kissing the one we love as we bid goodbye to the year. What an amazing year 2011 has been and how quickly it has come to an end! Soon, we will wake to January 1, 2012 resolving to do something new, to do something better. We will all take the plunge into New Year’s resolutions.
So, why do we make resolutions?
The need for a resolution implies that a problem exists. That a need for a change of directon is required. With a resolution, we have a resolve or determination to do something better. The way I see it, we should be focusing on solutions. And in the battle for our health, we need a solution-focused approach.
To find a solution, we must define the problem. The greatest obstacle to health today is disease. The problem is that our current health care disease model doesn’t work for health or health restoration. It does do a good job of managing disease, but we are not interested in disease management, as it relates to obesity. We are interested in disease resolution.
So, what does the research say in response to the above statement?
The future health of Americans is bleak. According to a recent article from the world’s leading general medical journal, The Lancet, 50% or more of Americans will be obese by the year 2030. The same article showed that 12 states have an obesity rate exceeding 30%. The healthiest state was Colorado, but its obesity rate just clipped the 20% mark. In fact, no state had an obesity rate less than 20%. Another article from The Lancet revealed that 86% of American adults will be obese or overweight by 2030.
We need a resolution to focus on solutions, not band-aids.
But, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, it will happen before 2030. The OECD says that 75% of Americans will be obese or overweight by 2020. And it is worse for men, where 82% are estimated to be obese or overweight.
The impact of obesity? According to the International Diabetes Federation Foundation, 1 in 10 adults will have diabetes by 2030. That equates to 552 million adults worldwide. In the US, money spent or lost on obesity has reached an estimated 1% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
What has our current disease-model paradigm done for the obesity battle? If you look at the statistics, nothing. In fact, we are losing the battle. Yet we continue to pour money into a failing medical model for obesity, that studies have shown doesn’t work.
What we need is a solution-focused approach to the obesity epidemic. We need a resolution to do better as a medical community. We need a resolution to focus on solutions, not band-aids. We need a resolution to focus on health and health restoration, not on disease management.
At Seasons Wellness Clinic, our approach to wellness is solution-focused and addresses the obesity epidemic head on. We work every day to offer our patients and clients the tools they need to pursue wellness. Questions? Spend some time on our website getting to know us and what we do. Then call 318.255.3223 and speak with one of our Patient Relations Specialists. We look forward to a New Year full of health, wellness, and solutions!
Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge 2012
Need inspiration? Information? Accountability? Join some of North Louisiana’s top physicians, nutritionists and personal trainers for the 2012 Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge. Each FREE session offers you the opportunity to accomplish your nutrition and fitness goals for the new year. The reward? A healthier you, goodies, door prizes, and much more! This year we have added a 30 minutes workout to the end of each session. So bring your water bottles and let’s get going!
Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge Session #1
The first session of the 2012 Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge will be held on Tuesday, January 10th from 5:30pm – 6:30 pm at the Lincoln Parish Library Community Room. We will be conducting optional weigh-ins and measurements at the end of each session so please come prepared to exercise and dress comfortably.
Our first session will include:
- Meal plans
- Strength workouts
- Recipes
- Time Management | Making time for yourself
- Prepping for our 5k run with Maryanne Smith
- Optional weigh-in and measurements (5 – 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 – 7 p.m.)
To register, you must first join our Healthy Woman program and then click the link to RSVP. Please note: you must RSVP for each session after you have joined.
Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge Session #2
Join us for the second session of the 2012 Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge on Tuesday January 24, 2012 from 5:30 PM to 6:30 at the Lincoln Parish Library Community Room. Don’t forget we will be exercising and doing weigh-ins at the end of this session. So, come prepared to workout and dress comfortably. You can still attend this event even if you are not participating in the Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge.
The focus for this session will be:
- “Knees, Knees, Knees!” | Orthopaedic Surgeon, Major Blair, M.D., will discuss ways to avoid injury while exercising.
- “Getting down to the basics: Nutrition” | Registered Dietician, Jessica Hood, RD, LDN, will give nutrition advice and tips on staying on track with your diet.
You must be a member of the Healthy Woman program to participate in this event. If you have not joined already, click here. Membership is free, and the benefits last a lifetime. You must RSVP for each session of the Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge that you would like to attend.
Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge Session #3
Our 3rd session of the 2012 Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge will take place on Tuesday February 7, 2012 from 5:30 PM to 6:30 at the Lincoln Parish Library Community Room. Don’t forget, we will be working out and breaking a sweat for the last 30 minutes of the session. We will also be doing weigh-ins and measurements. So, dress comfortable!
The focus for this session will be:
- “Hello, dont forget about your heart!” | Interventional Cardiologist, Michael Langiulli, M.D.
- Heart Health Recipe Fun
To join Healthy Woman or RSVP to this event, click here. Membership is free, and the benefits last a lifetime.
Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge Session #4
Session #4 will be our final session of the Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge. This session will take place on Tuesday February 21, 2012 from 5:30 PM to 6:30 at the Lincoln Parish Library Community Room.
Our focus for this session will be:
- Staying on track… You CAN do it!
- Accountability = Stability
To RSVP for this session or to Join Healthy Woman, click here.
For more information about the sponsors of the 2012 Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge, please visit their websites.
- Northern Louisiana Medical Center
- Body Back by Maryanne Smith or on Facebook
- Seasons Wellness Clinic and Seasons – The Spa or on Facebook and Twitter
- Sharon Jackson’s Personal Training Services or on Facebook
Click here to see out photos from a previous Healthy Woman Wellness Challenge 5K!
Nibble-On-This: Best Food Phone Apps!
Valerie Costanza, RD
With the convenience of today’s technology, there is no excuse for poor eating habits. From recipes and food journals to menu planners, you can find just about anything you need online. There are hundreds of apps that can be downloaded to your phone or iPad to help with any dietary needs or health plan. Some of my favorites include:
- True Food Shopper’s Guide and Non-GMO Shopping Guide: these allow you to search out food that are Genetically Modified Organism free
- The Farmer’s Market Finder: find your nearest farmer’s market
- Fooducate: this rates foods based on the Nutrition Facts panel as well as ingredients
- Go Meals HD: provides a guide for searching out healthier options at restaurants
I know you are looking forward to the good food and family that will surround us as we count our blessings this Thanksgiving. You are sure to have leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner so here is a healthy recipe for the leftover turkey.
Crispy Turkey Tostadas
Crispy Turkey Tostadas Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 14-ounce can petite diced tomatoes, with jalapeños optional
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 3 cups shredded cooked turkey, or chicken (12 ounces; see Tip)
- 8 corn tortillas
- Canola or olive oil cooking spray
- 1 avocado, pitted
- 1/4 cup prepared salsa
- 2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 cup shredded romaine lettuce
- 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Preparation
1. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 375°F.
2. Bring tomatoes and their juice to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and most of the liquid has evaporated, 15 to 20 minutes. Add turkey (or chicken) and cook until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, coat tortillas on both sides with cooking spray. Divide the tortillas between 2 large baking sheets. Bake, turning once, until crisped and lightly brown, about 10 minutes.
4. Mash avocado in a bowl. Stir in salsa, sour cream and cilantro until combined.
5. To assemble tostadas, spread each crisped tortilla with some of the avocado mixture. Top with the turkey (or chicken) mixture, lettuce and cheese.
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Valerie Costanza, RD, received her Bachelor and Master’s degrees from Louisiana Tech University in Nutrition and Dietetics. She loves being outdoors and playing with her labradoodle, Leilah. Avid runner, Registered Dietician, wife to Sam and now she has a new title: mom to Amelia Claire. Valerie is an advocate for leading a healthy lifestyle. Eating healthy and staying active is her passion and encourages those around her to follow suit! Her favorite job as a teenager? Working at the Cucuzza Squash Farm.
Is The Flu Shot As Good As Gold?
Ah, fall! The crisp, cool mornings, the return of football, and the sweeping changes of color found throughout the landscape. Fall is a welcome change after the long, hot Louisiana summer. With all of the wonderful changes that fall brings, there are a few unwelcome visitors. Just as we move past the summer heat, fall ushers in the cold and flu season.
Recently, I overhead a good friend of mine say that the flu vaccine is “as good as gold” and that as far as results, “the proof is in the pudding.” Not long after that, I saw an ad campaign for the flu vaccine with the tagline: “the value of wellness.”
So, I have to pose this question. With the upcoming cold and flu season, what is the best way to protect my family? How should I treat or even prevent the flu? Is the flu vaccine “as good as gold” and is the “proof” really “in the pudding?”
Today is the era of evidence-based medicine. So, to answer these questions let’s see what the evidence shows.
Is the flu vaccine “as good as gold?”
The answer is no. While not surprising to me, I’m sure this comes as a surprise to you! Let me show you the evidence.
A Cochrane analysis, “Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy adults,” published in 2010 looked at over 70,000 adults ages 16-65 from 1966 to 2010. The objective was defined as: “identify, retrieve and assess all studies evaluating the effects of vaccines against influenza in healthy adults.”
The results may surprise you.
- Flu vaccine was found to be a very poor match (1%). Each year, the 3-strain flu vaccine is created in attempt to match the up coming viral strains.
- Flu vaccine only had a modest effect on reducing flu symptoms and days missed.
- No evidence was found that the flu vaccine affects complications. Complications were defined as pneumonia, hospitalization, and TRANSMISSION.
In my opinion, if you are a healthy adult, the flu vaccine is a waste of your time. But don’t worry; there are many scientifically proven preventive and therapeutic treatments available. The problem is most are labeled “natural” or “alternative” so you may not have heard of their benefits.
Vitamin D
Hippocrates said, “Whoever wishes to investigate medicine properly should proceed thus: in the first place to consider the seasons of the year.” Vitamin D levels show an inverse relationship to the cold/flu incidence.
Cannell JJ et al., in “Epidemic influenza and vitamin D,” showed that vitamin D levels reach their lowest levels during the winter months, often dropping by 24%. Below in “Epidemic influenza and vitamin D”, 2,000 IU daily versus 800 IU and placebo was shown to significantly reduce the incident of the cold/flu.
In addition to being preventative, vitamin D is active against ongoing infection. A recent study in the Journal of Virology, revealed that vitamin D has anti-viral properties. Because of its function in the innate immune system, vitamin D, a proven anti-viral, was suggested to be a primary method of treatment.
Probiotics
That’s right, a healthy gut equals a healthy immune system. In children with recurrent otitis media, 24 weeks of probiotics versus placebo was shown to reduce recurrent respiratory infections. Another study, revealed reduced otitis media recurrence in children given probiotics. Still another study revealed a reduction in fever, rhinorrhea, cough, days of antibiotics, and missed school days in children given probiotics daily for 6 months versus placebo.
How? The current thought is that bacteria and viruses use a “biofilm” protective layer. This protects the virus or bacteria against the body’s immune attacks. This also appears to protect the offending virus/bacteria against administered therapies.
The importance of the gut to the immune system shouldn’t surprise us. It is estimated that 70% of the immune system is concentrated in the gastrointestinal system. In fact, we know that the route of delivery predicts the gut flora. Other events, including maternal steroids, antibiotics, and breast-feeding, can also alter the risk. Collectively, these early events can increase obesity risk.
Vitamin C
What do guinea pigs and people have in common? Their bodies don’t make vitamin C. That’s right, we humans, don’t make vitamin C. So, the only way our bodies get vitamin C is through our diet. Just like vitamin D, the majority of us don’t take in enough Vitamin C.
No therapies will have all positive studies, but therapy using vitamin C has a large body of evidence supporting its use against the common cold and flu. Vitamin C therapy came to prominence with Linus Pauling in the 1970’s. Linus Pauling was an advocate for Vitamin C therapy as an anti-viral therapy in the treatment of the common cold and flu. In his 1970 study, the incidence of colds were reduced by 45% and the duration of the colds were reduced by 63%. High dose IV vitamin C therapy has been shown to reduce the symptoms of the common cold and flu by 85% in a study of 715 people by Gorton and Jarvis. A study by Straten and Josling, showed that vitamin C reduced the incidence and the duration of cold symptoms. A large Cochrane review, showed a reduction of the severity and duration of cold symptoms with vitamin C therapy.
Furthermore, vitamin C has been shown to have many positive immunomodulatory effects. A study by Wintergerst, Magginini, and Hornig discussed many of the positive immune effects of vitamin C. And Harri Hemila in 2006, discussed the effects of vitamin C and the large body of evidence that show the positive effects it has on the immune system. The immune enhancement effects of vitamin C should be evident over the long-term. A study out of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2006 showed no change in severity or incidence of the common cold, BUT a 66% decrease in 3 or more colds over a 5-year period was seen; revealing just the long-term positive immune enhancing effect we were looking for. So the benefits are extensive, reaching beyond a therapy for the common cold and flu.
Homeopathy
Homeopathy goes back to the eighteenth century with Samuel Hahnemann, MD. In fact, it probably goes back even further. Hippocrates (400 BC) was quoted as saying, “through the like, disease is produced and through the application of the like, it is cured.” Homeopathy works by helping the body to heal itself first, before the powerful interventions of today’s therapies. These powerful interventions come with powerful side effects. The healing medical model of homeopathy fits the Hippocratic oath well, “First, do no harm.”
Homeopathy has been shown to be an effective addition in the treatment and prevention of the cold and flu. Homeopathy was shown to reduce the infection rate of cold and flu viruses by 20-40%. Long waits to see the doctor are very common in Europe and one study showed that homeopathy effectively reduces URI symptoms in children versus a waiting-list control. Finally, in a head-to-head study, homeopathy was shown to be more effective and had lower complication rates than antibiotics in children with recurrent acute rhinopharyngitis.
So how do we stay well?
One thing is certain, wellness doesn’t come from the flu vaccine. Working with your body and allowing what God created to work as it was intended provides true wellness. Your body wants to protect and heal you. Why not give it a chance, first? No one therapy can provide 100% protection against the common cold and flu. However, these four recommendations, vitamin D, probiotics, vitamin C and homeopathy, have been shown through scientific evidence, to be worthy preventive and therapeutic tools for the upcoming cold and flu season.
Cinnamon: The Super Spice!
It's not just for your french toast!
Cinnamon has long been known for its health and healing properties. Benefits include anti-clotting actions, anti-microbial and fungal activity as well as blood sugar control. Many people have the stubborn yeast called Candida. Cinnamon has been found to help stop the growth of this nasty fungus. Among it’s many benefits, cinnamon has one of the highest antioxidant levels of any spice. This super spice can also help reduce blood sugar spikes after eating foods loaded with carbohydrates. If eating a high carb meal, season with cinnamon to help lessen its effect on blood sugar levels.
Here are a few ways to add cinnamon to your day:
- Sprinkle hot cereal with cinnamon in the morning
- Diffuse cinnamon essential oil
- Simmer cinnamon sticks with your favorite type of milk and honey
- Add ground cinnamon to black beans and enjoy a distinctively, delicious taste
- Spice up your holiday dishes by making a cinnamon turkey glaze or healthy peanut butter cookies.
“Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills” video book review by Nathan Goodyear, MD
For more videos from Seasons, visit our YouTube channel.
5 Keys to Long-Term Weightloss: Gimmicks vs. Wellness
Dr. Nathan Goodyear, fellowship-trained Metabolic Specialist
Obesity is described as the #1 health problem today. But what exactly is a health problem? I’d like to define it this way: a health problem is an obstacle to good health.
As I have said many times, obesity is the doorway to disease. Sixty-seven percent of Americans are either overweight or obese today. And for the first time, obesity exceeds those that are overweight. Approximately 34% of Americans are obese. Just think about that for a minute. What a hopeless statistic.
And the numbers, unfortunately, are not improving. Look at our children. More children battle obesity than ever before. The statistics in children is alarming, with up to 17% of children and adolescents being obese. Worse yet, this is a three-fold increase in just one generation.
Metabolic syndrome is in many ways the result of obesity. Metabolic syndrome, once only an adult disease, is now frequently diagnosed in children. As obesity goes, so goes metabolic syndrome. As metabolic syndrome goes, so goes disease. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome is 39.7% in moderately obese children and 49.7% in severely obese children.
All this to say, we, as a nation, need to lose weight. But we need to lose weight the right way. The reality is this: helping people lose weight is not difficult, but helping people to lose weight and maintain the weightloss proves to be very difficult. If it was so easy, everybody would do it.
Just look around us. There are weight loss “gimmicks” all over the place. According to the free dictionary, a gimmick is defined as “a device employed to cheat, deceive, or trick.” Gimmicks come in all forms: prepackaged meals, shakes, prescription drugs (Adipex, Xenical), HCG and even weight loss surgeries. All these gimmicks have in one thing in common – failure. Yes, they will help you lose some weight, but they fail miserably in the maintenance department. The short-term success of weightloss through gimmicks results in long-term failure due to a train-wrecked metabolism, making your long-term weight loss that much more difficult.
Let’s look at a few examples. Adipex is commonly prescribed drug that helps people lose weight. It is an amphetamine-like compound that speeds up the metabolism and suppresses the appetite. It works short-term, but without lifestyle change, rebound will occur. The rebound is worse as Adipex alters the body’s ability to lose weight through muscle loss and thyroid dysfunction. Oh, and did I forget to mention the addiction?
Let’s look at HCG. So if you take HCG, does that mean the cause of your obesity is a deficiency in HCG? Really, whose cause of obesity is an HCG deficiency? Throw in the fact that the HCG diet consists of 500 calories daily. A diet of 500 calories daily will cause starvation and actually changes your thyroid metabolism, triggering a slowing of metabolism. So when you come off the HCG and the 500 calorie diet, rebound weight gain occurs. Who can maintain a 500 calorie diet anyway?
And the worst gimmick? Weight-loss surgeries. Let’s objectively think about this. What do the numbers say about weight loss surgery? A recent 10 year study of Lap Band, considered the safer weightloss surgery, revealed only a 42% weightloss maintained over 12 years with a quality-of-life scale unchanged. Let’s contrast that with the risks. Up to 50% of the patients required removal of their lap band with a repeat surgery risk at 60%, up to a third of the bands eroded, and over 40% encountered serious complications. Couple this with the bone loss seen in adults and children with weight loss surgery, and the question asked should be this: What are we doing to ourselves and our children?
Now that we’ve discussed the gimmicks, let me offer a solution: the Wellness Weight Loss program powered by Seasons.
Why “Wellness Weight Loss?” Our primary objective at Seasons is to provide solutions for you to be healthy and well! We don’t just want to help people lose weight. We want to help people lose weight and keep it off. That is the only path to long-term health and wellness.
The definition of a successful weightloss program is not whether weightloss occurs: it is whether the weight-loss is maintained. One of the greatest obstacles to wellness is inflammation. Fat itself produces systemic inflammation. Fat cells trigger inflammatory signals, called cytokines. Fat cells have been shown to release the cytokines: TNF-alpha, IL-1, and IL-6. To reduce inflammation, one must lose weight. Only through weight loss and long-term maintenance, can wellness be achieved.
Why powered by Seasons? At Seasons, we want to glorify our creator in all that we do. To do that, we must look to His creation to find the answers. His creation is our bodies. His signature is our biochemistry. That should be where we are looking, because that is where the causes are. And yes, there are always multiple causes. And no, a one size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. God created us to be unique and different. Our causes of weight gain will also be unique and different. And our solutions for weightloss need to be unique and different – customized for your particular metabolism and circumstances.
Wellness Weight Loss powered by Seasons follows the 5 Points of Wellness that we’ve established as our guidelines to achieving optimal health.
- Nutrition
- Exercise
- Hormone balance
- Inflammation
- Detoxification
These 5 Points of Wellness are the keys to proper metabolic functioning. They are God-created and they are the only means to long-term weightloss. Through the 5 Points of Wellness, a customized program is created to meet your exact metabolic dysfunctions.
Contrary to what you see today, healing can and does occur. But, healing only comes through our creator. To do that, we must look to His creation first, our bodies, for the means to achieve healing.
Why not glorify God in all that we do, including weightloss. Lose weight. Live well!
Healthy Living Tips: A Recipe for All-Natural Bug Spray
Dr. Nathan Goodyear
Toxins are everywhere. I am always looking for ways to reduce my families exposure to toxic chemicals. There is nothing more dangerous than home fumigation for bugs, filling every corner of your home with toxins. These toxins are very dangerous, as they linger in the house and we are continually exposed to them.
I have found a recipe for an all-natural alternative to your everyday bug spray, a home bug spray using essential oils. Not just any essential oil will do here; they must be pure and unadulterated. For this reason, I use YoungLiving Essential Oils.
Here’s the recipe for an all-natural bug-spray solution.
- 20 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil
- 10 drops of Cypress Essential Oil
- 1 cup water
Mix well. Be sure to shake the mixture well before spraying.
You’ll enjoy a bug-free AND toxin-free environment. This solution is great for ants and cockroaches. I have found that it works with spiders as well. With this approach, you are one step closer to detoxing your home and your life! At Seasons, we carry many Young Living Essential Oils, including peppermint and cypress essential oils. For more information, contact Seasons at 318-255-3223.
Live Healthy. Live Well.
What is the Cost of No Health?
“Health is like money, we never have a true idea of its value until we lose it.” – Josh Billings
Dr. Nathan Goodyear
The rising cost of healthcare is a big topic today, and rightly so.
In 2009, the cost of healthcare was $2.5 trillion. That is 17% of the United States’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is the highest annual jump as percentage of GDP in history.
And what about health insurance premiums? They are on the rise, too, due to the increase in mandates through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as ObamaCare.
Government healthcare mandates account for up to 50% of the costs of health insurance. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the new federal mandates in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will cause a significant increase in individual health insurance premiums.
What are we getting for these rising costs? Are we healthier? Are we seeing less disease? Are we seeing less cancer? Are we seeing less depression and anxiety? Are we seeing fewer prescriptions? No. The exact opposite is true. Unfortunately, the poor health of Americans is on the rise. In fact, the US consistently ranks low in quality and efficiency of healthcare and ranks #1 for the highest percentage of obesity with 30.6% of all Americans considered obese.
When we talk about health, we are not talking about the cure of disease or about early detection. Instead, the conversation needs to begin with prevention. And prevention can only occur through healthy lifestyle choices.
A snapshot of poor health is to simply look at obesity. We are losing that battle. Obesity is the doorway to disease. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), 67% of Americans are overweight and over half of those are obese. In 2010, 38 states had obesity rates above 25%. Contrast that to 1991 when no state had an obesity rate that exceeded 20%.
What about the kids? Ten percent of kids 2-5 are obese, 20% of kids age 6-11 are obese, and 18% of adolescents are obese.
So, what is the cost of poor health? According to a study by the CDC and RTI, the direct and indirect healthcare costs are as high as $147 billion annually. Overweight individuals pay about 42% more in healthcare costs than comparable healthy individuals. This equates to an extra $1,429 out of your pocket annually. And that figure reflects 2009. This amount will only increase annually.
What about individual costs? Remember, obesity is the doorway to disease. So, let’s follow the path of disease development. According to a report released by the George Washington University School of Public Health, the direct individual costs of obesity are $4,879 for women and $2,646 for men annually.
Let’s add the cost of disease to the cost for obesity.
- Diabetes. The diagnosis of diabetes increases by 1 million annually. According to the American Diabetes Association, the annual, individual costs of diabetes is $11,744.
- Cardiovascular disease. For our discussion purposes, this will include high blood pressure, cardiac events, strokes, and associated treatments for an initial event. Kaiser Permanente did a 7-year study of the direct, annual costs of cardiovascular disease. In this study, they found that the direct, individual costs of an initial cardiovascular event was $18,953. A second event would increase the costs by 4.5 times.
- Cancer. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), the direct total costs were $93.2 billion in 2009. For our discussion purposes, let’s use prostate cancer (the highest incidence in men) and breast cancer (the highest incidence in women).
For prostate cancer, the average costs were divided into 2 categories: watchful waiting and treatment. The costs were followed over 2 years for more than 9,000 men. The direct individual costs of watchful waiting was $24,809. Compare this to the 2-year individual costs of $59,286 for the treatment group.
For post-menopausal women, the annual direct costs of breast cancer was found to be $13,925. The costs of cancer are known to be a “U” curve. The highest costs concentrate in the initial phases and the last phases of disease treatment.
So, let’s add this all together assuming a 5-year window of treatment and assuming aggressive treatment, not watchful waiting.
Again, assuming a 5-year window of treatment, the total costs for men would be $314,930 and $247,505 for women.
Remember, these costs include direct costs only. They do not include indirect costs. Additionally, these numbers are all pre-2011 dollars and are only calculated over 5 years, so the costs are even higher today.
This disease/cost hypothesis assumes the coexistence of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer simultaneously. Though the coexistence of all 4 diseases simultaneously is not common, it is very common for obese individuals to have diabetes and cardiovascular disease simultaneously. Then, give time, the risk for the examples of prostate and breast cancer increase significantly. These costs may be spread out over a lifetime, but still would exist.
Obviously, America is not getting healthier and the costs of healthcare continues to increase due to the prevalence of disease. The disease-focused model of healthcare is not working to improve the health of Americans.
We need a disease model to treat disease when it exists. However, the disease model is not effective in producing GOOD health and PREVENTING disease. We need a new health and wellness model. This can only be accomplished through an individual, metabolic analysis and treatment plan. This is the type of treatment we offer at Seasons Wellness Clinic in Ruston, Louisiana and Seasons of Farragut in Tennessee.
“The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.” – Thomas Edison
According to Wikipedia, the definition of health is this: the level of functional and (or) metabolic efficiency of a living being. Health implies being free from illness, injury or pain.
The cost of healthcare is directly proportional to the lack of health of our citizens. It is by practicing true preventive medicine, increasing the metabolic efficiency of the body, that we will actually reduce the cost of healthcare and provide good health for our nation.
