Viva For Your Health

New Orleans area residents without health insurance will have access Saturday to a massive free health clinic that organizers say will boast at least 400 medical professionals and support workers with resources to serve at least 2,000 patients.

The event, which will take up 166,000 square feet at Ernest M. Morial Convention Center, is the second nationally this year in a series of health fairs sponsored by the Louisiana Free Clinic Association and the National Association of Free Clinics, a not-for-profit based in Washington, D.C.

Doors are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with 2,000 appointment slots available, plus the ability to take some walk-ups. No one will be charged. Uninsured or underinsured individuals can make appointments by calling 877.233.5159.

Dr. Rani Whitfield, a Baton Rouge physician acting as medical director for the clinic, said he also wants more medical professionals — from specialist physicians to emergency medical technicians and medical administrators — to help staff the event.The staff will offer general medical exams and limited lab tests and will give all patients information about where they can get follow-up care. As of Tuesday evening, immunizations were not part of the plans, though organizers said they would accept any contributed vaccine supplies.

Nicole Lamoureux, executive director of the national clinics organization, said, “We want to underscore what goes on every day at 1,200 free clinics around the country.” But, she said, “Free clinics are just a Band-Aid on a much larger problem” of access.

That network of facilities served about 4 million people in 2008, Lamoureux said. The economic downturn will push the total above 8 million this year, she said.

National research suggests that as many as 70 percent of the clientele at free clinics come from homes where at least one adult works full-time. Whitfield said Louisiana clinics have similar numbers. “Uninsured does not necessarily mean unemployed,” he said.

More than a fifth of Louisianians — nearly all of them adults, given the success of government programs covering children — have no insurance.

The series of mass clinics are designed to make uninsured patients aware of what services are available and to call attention to the difficulty that many Americans have in accessing quality care. In Houston, the one-day event drew almost 2,000 people. Future stops include Little Rock, Ark., and Kansas City, Mo.

Everyone is aware that sugar causes cavities, makes their children hyper, induces cravings and will eventually make you crash. Unfortunately, sugar is so pervasive in our food supply that most of the time we don’t realize that we are eating it. And for that reason we are relatively unaware of the degree to which sugar can affect our health. Sugar has been linked in studies posted in well-known medical journals to everything from depression to arthritis. There is even empirical evidence that sugar may be a contributing factor to the growth of cancerous tumors.

The following case studies represent the effects of sugar on our lives and our health:

Case Study #1

Patient: Female in her mid-forties.

Symptoms: Complains of aching joints during movement or exercise.

What she tried: Anti-inflammatory drugs.

What resulted: Minimal decrease in joint pain.

Alternative approach: A Naturopathic physician had the client eliminate sugar and grains from her diet; supplementation of fish oil.

What resulted: Complete alleviation of presented symptoms; elimination of abdominal bloating.

Case Study #2

Patient: 10 year old boy

Symptoms: Hyperactivity/ADD/ADHD traits

What they tried: Ritalin

What resulted: Temporary decrease in symptoms; dependency on drug to maintain behavior

Alternative approach: A Naturopathic physician had the patient eliminate sugar and white flour to balance blood sugar; supplementation of magnesium and calcium to correct deficiencies; introduction of healthy bacteria to correct intestinal dysbiosis from previous use of antibiotics

What resulted: Behavior showed improvements immediately and continued to improve with diligent attention to diet and loving care.

That has sugar in it?

To reiterate the point, the number of processed foods that food manufacturers manage to stick some form of sugar in is astounding. Take a look at this list of commonly consumed foods and their % of sugar content:

Wrigley’s Spearmint Chewing Gum

•62.8% sugar

Pillsbury Instant Breakfast

•47.5% sugar

Heinz Sweet Gherkins

•21.9% sugar

St. Joseph Cough Syrup

•40.6% sugar

Heinz Tomato Ketchup

•28.9% sugar

Hamburger Helper

•23% sugar

Shake n Bake Barbecue

•50.9% sugar

Mostly due to lack of awareness many people don’t pay attention to the ingredients in their foods. And also due to lack of awareness people don’t notice the immediate physical effects of sugar in their food. The immediate effects of sugar on the body are noticeable and your body does send you signals but it’s difficult to read them when the body is flooded with food additives, trans fatty acids and other unrecognizable chemical compounds. For instance, that headache that you had last night may very well have been a signal from your body that the Weight Watcher’s® Boston Crème Pie was not the right thing to eat.  It is very important to start to listen to these signals from your body in order to get your health on track. The long-term effects may be much more alarming and eye opening than the short-term signals. The following diseases have been linked to the consumption of sugar:

·       Diabetes

·       Kidney Disease

·       Liver Disease

·       Atherosclerosis

·       ADD

·       Candida Albicans

·       Osteoporosis

·       Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

·       Colon Cancer

·       Diseases of malnutrition

It should be clear at this point that sugar’s negative effects are much more far reaching than most believe it to be. It’s not just about the fact that you might get a cavity or you might need a nap after the bowl of ice cream. It is about your health and your family’s health. The short term satisfaction of eating something sweet seems insignificant when you realize that ten or twenty years from now you could suffer from a serious medical condition that could have been prevented by better choices. And since you always do have a choice, the following are some choices that you can make to dramatically influence your health tomorrow and years beyond.

Instead of CHOCOLATE

•Raw Nuts

•Seeds and Fruits

Instead of WHITE BREAD or WHITE RICE

•Sprouted grain breads

•Wild or Brown Rice

Instead of Processed CEREAL

•Raw Steel-cut Oats

Instead of MANGOS or PAPAYAS

•Green Apple

Instead of CANDY or DESSERT

•Sweet Potato

•Butternut Squash

(Choose organic meats and produce when possible because nutrient deficiencies often contribute to sweet cravings; organic produce contains far greater quantities of important nutrients such as Magnesium and Calcium)

*Disclaimer: The preceding is intended to inform as to the effects of sugar in a persons diet. Always consult a physician if you have a medical condition or if you want to make any changes to your diet. This information does not necessarily represent the opinion of Own Health and is not intended to be medical advice.

Through trial and error scientists have found and proven that petroleum diesel, a fuel source that is used in our every day life is quite harmful to the environment. That is why they have tried to find new fuel sources that are more efficient but not as costly. The new fuel must also be friendly to our environment.

One of the sources that scientists have been doing a lot of testing on is biodiesel, a fuel made from natural products. So far, tests that have been carried out on the health effects have shown that biodiesel poses absolutely no threat to human health and that it is also biodegradable.

They also did a lot of comparisons to petroleum diesel and there were a lot of interesting findings. For example, they discovered that biodiesel forms roughly fifty percent less smog then petroleum diesel. Smog is a health hazard that can cause asthma, emphysema and bronchitis as well as decrease the lungs working capacity.

The exhaust emissions of carbon monoxide are 50 percent higher then from diesel.

Carbon dioxide is a very poisonous gas and also a contributing factor in the localized formation of smog. The exhaust emissions of sulfur oxides and sulfates which are major components of acid rain are completely eliminated when it comes to biodiesel.

Finally, the exhaust emissions of aromatic compounds known as PAH and NPAH
which have been suspected to cause cancer are substantially reduced when compared to petroleum diesel. These factors range from a drastic 75% to 95% difference.

The scientists have used the best technology possible to gather their data. This shows how important the use of biodiesel is important to our health and to the environment that we live in. Hopefully we will fully replace petroleum with it and it will slowly but surely show us a wide range of differences in which we can benefit from.

If you are a small business or a larger conglomerate; private or public sector, Occupational Health Services can help. A little investment can go a long way.

Occupational Health Services usually includes the following:

Pre-Employment Screening to ensure that potential employees are suitable for the role

Regular Health Screening to make sure that you maintain the optimum workforce but gives added business benefits. It gives you the ability to promote this fact to existing customers and also you can provide a solid foundation based on fact to secure new customers. Why would a new customer go to a competitor when they can be assured that the new supplier has a very happy, healthy and productive team of workers?

Provision of regular monitoring and reporting as you would expect from a professional company of specialists.

A reputable provider will minimise the impact of stress, and demonstrate that you have taken all reasonable steps to ensure a healthy working environment

A well-designed occupational health service will protect against litigation. E.g. workers exposed to chemicals, noise or other pollutants require regular screening.

Professional service providers will deliver value for money through using technology.  Whilst being of a size and scale to be able to provide face-to-face services, you will get a better return from a company who has utilised technology such as video and telephone conferencing facilities.

If you are a national company you should ensure that the specialist Occupational Health Company has specialists on hand around the UK rather than being confined to a specific geographical region.

You can find all this and more at People Asset Management. Click on   www.people-am.com to find out more; a professional and established company with accreditations such as ISO 9001. Here you will see our vision and why People Asset Management excels in their field – UK-wide.