HEALTH CARE DIGITAL

	Eat More Fish Getting the protein you need from fish rather than red meat and other high-fat sources reduces your risk of heart disease and stroke. Studies show consuming the omega-3 fatty acids found in most fish decreases triglycerides in the blood and inhibits the arterial plaque build-up that can lead to a heart attack or stroke.
	Walk More, Drive Less Exercise, even in small amounts, has been shown to slow weight gain, decrease bad cholesterol levels, control blood pressure, and decrease the risk of heart attack and stroke.
	Eat Smaller Portions People tend to eat as much as they're given, regardless of hunger. In Japan, meals are usually served in courses with small bowls or plates. Consuming smaller meals decreases overall caloric intake and allows the body to more thoroughly digest food. Studies have found this leads to lower fat storage and lower cholesterol levels, among other benefits.
	Eat Slowly and Stop Eating Before You Are Full Eat like a crane, as the Japanese say. Eating slowly gives your body a chance to digest properly and signal fullness before you've overeaten. And follow the Japanese saying Hara hachi bunme—eat only until you are 80 percent full. This reduces overall calorie intake and avoids obesity, which leads to many health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.
	Try Yoga and Other Meditative Exercises Yoga, tai chi, and other meditative exercise techniques have been shown to improve flexibility, balance, heart and lung capacity, and overall well-being.

Source : National Geographic

Traditional health insurance

Up until about 30 years ago, most people had traditional indemnity coverage. These days, it's often known as "fee-for-service." Indemnity plans are a bit like auto insurance: you pay a certain amount of your medical expenses up front -- in the form of a deductible -- and afterward the insurance company pays the majority of the bill.

Advances in modern medicine increased the cost of providing health care and made it possible for people to live longer. Those advances caused many insurance companies to look for ways to reduce their costs of doing business, giving managed care the boost it enjoys today.

Fee-for-service

For years, indemnity or fee-for-service coverage was the norm. Under this type of health coverage, you have complete autonomy when it comes to choosing doctors, hospitals and other health care providers. You can refer yourself to any specialist without getting permission, and the insurance company doesn't get to decide whether the visit was necessary.

You don't, however, have complete autonomy. Most fee-for-service medicine is managed to a certain extent. For instance, if you're not already incapacitated, you may need to get clearance for a visit to the emergency room.

On the down side, fee-for-service plans usually involve more out-of-pocket expenses. Often there is a deductible, usually of about $200, before the insurance company starts paying. Once you've paid the deductible, the insurer will kick in about 80 percent of any doctor bills. You may have to pay up front and then submit the bill for reimbursement, or your provider may bill your insurer directly.

Under fee-for-service plans, insurers will usually only pay for "reasonable and customary" medical expenses, taking into account what other practitioners in the area charge for similar services. If your doctor happens to charge more than what the insurance company considers "reasonable and customary," you'll probably have to make up the difference yourself.

Traditionally, preventive care services like annual check-ups and pelvic exams haven't been covered under fee-for-service plans. But as the evidence mounts that preventive care can prevent more costly illnesses down the road, some insurers are including them.

Fee-for-service plans often include a ceiling for out-of-pocket expenses, after which the insurance company will pay 100 percent of any costs. Needless to say, the ceiling is usually pretty high.

In a nutshell, fee-for-service coverage offers flexibility in exchange for higher out-of-pocket expenses, more paperwork and higher premiums.

Managed care

Managed care has been around in one form or another since the 1930s, but it really took off in the last 10 years. As it grew, it evolved, leaving us with three basic types of managed care plans. Today, the majority of people with private health insurance have some type of managed care.

Although there are important differences among the different types of managed care plans, there are some similarities. All managed care plans involve an arrangement between the insurer and a selected network of health care providers, and they offer policyholders significant financial incentives to use the providers in that network. There are usually explicit standards for selecting providers and a formal procedure to assure quality care.

Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs)

One step over the managed care border is the Preferred Provider Organization. PPOs have made arrangements for lower fees with a network of health care providers. PPOs give their policyholders a financial incentive to stay within that network.

For example, a visit to an in-network doctor might mean you'd have a $10 co-pay. If you wanted see an out-of-network doctor, you'd have to pay the entire bill up front and then submit the bill to your insurance company for an 80 percent reimbursement. In addition, you might have to pay a deductible if you choose to go outside the network, or pay the difference between what the in-network and out-of-network doctors charge.

With a PPO, you can refer yourself to a specialist without getting approval and, as long as it's an in-network provider, enjoy the same co-pay. Staying within the network means less money coming out of your pocket and less paperwork. Preventive care services may not be covered under a PPO.

Exclusive Provider Organizations (EPO)

Exclusive Provider Organizations are PPOs that look like HMOs. EPOs raise the financial stakes for staying in the network. If you choose a provider outside the network, you're responsible for the entire cost of the visit.

Point-of-Service (POS)

Point-of-service plans are similar to PPOs, but they introduce the gatekeeper, or Primary Care Physician. You'll need to choose your PCP from among the plan's network of doctors.

As with the PPO, you can choose to go out of network and still get some kind of coverage. In order to get a referral to a specialist, though, you usually must go through your PCP. You can still choose to refer yourself, but it'll mean more hassles and more money coming out of your pocket.

If your PCP refers you to a doctor who is out of the network, the plan should pick up most of the cost. But if you refer yourself out, then you'll probably have to deal with more paperwork and a smaller reimbursement. You may also have to pay a deductible if you go outside the network.

POS plans may also cover more preventive care services, and may even offer health improvement programs like workshops on nutrition and smoking cessation, and discounts at health clubs.

Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs)

Most of the time, when you talk about HMOs, you're really talking about closed-panel HMOs -- the least expensive, but least flexible type of health plan. They also tend to be geared more toward members of group plans than individuals.

In exchange for a low co-payment (or sometimes no co-pay at all), low premiums and minimal paperwork, an HMO requires that you only see its doctors, and that you get a referral from your primary care physician before you see a specialist. If you can still pick up the phone, you'll probably need to get clearance before you can visit the emergency room.

An HMO may have central medical offices or clinics (such as those used by Kaiser Permanente), or it may consist of a network of individual practices. In general, you must see HMO-approved physicians or pay the entire cost of the visit yourself. HMOs have the best reputation for covering preventive care services and health improvement programs.

Concerns are always being raised in relation to the dangers of child or teen weigh loss, especially with parents. For many teens today, the image of the body is at the fore front of their minds, especially when you look at the models used in magazines etc. Teenagers will be easily swayed by their peers or TV/Movie idols, and some will go to drastic measures in order to look as good, and wear the clothes that their heroes are wearing. More and more teenagers are suffering from either anorexia or bulimia (both very serious illnesses), both of which they can often easily hide from their parents.

It is very difficult to understand how anorexia and bulimia affects people who, to others, may look healthy and being a normal size weight. For many sufferers, they see themselves as fat and undesirable, and they usually lack self confidence and self esteem. They may feel this because they have been laughed at when they were younger, or it can be that they are just too shy or embarrassed to discuss how they feel. But whatever the reason, those suffering from either anorexia or bulimia are at risk. Their health will become compromised (not now but may be later on in life). Should such eating problems not be diagnosed early enough, then the damage they cause to their body may be irreversible.

You can not force a person to eat if they don’t want to, and neither can you stop a person from purging themselves. What you need to do is get to the root of their problem and discuss with them how they feel about themselves. Find out why they feel that they need to lose the weight in such a manner. Then you can look at ways in which you can help them to combat this problem.

However, those people who are suffering either from anorexia or bulimia will most likely need professional help (you don’t need to send them a way to rehab). There are plenty of self help groups which have now been set up to aid with these eating disorders.

How do I recognize if my teen is suffering from an eating problem? Unfortunately, most people, especially children, are good at hiding the symptoms related to eating problems. But below are some signs that should help.
1. The color of their skin. Does it have a healthy glow or is it dull and pale?
2. Eyes - are they bright or dull?
3. Hair – It is full and shiny or has it become dull, flat and thinning?
4. Legs and Arms – Have they got good tone, or do they look just like skin and bone?
5. Have their energy levels decreased?
6. Teenage Girls – Has their menstrual cycle altered in any way?

There are other ways in which bulimia may be diagnosed. Because a teenager will be forcing themselves to bring up the food which they have eaten, they develop cavities near the gum line. So if you can discreetly watch their bathroom habits, are they constantly going to the bathroom after they have eaten in order to purge the food from their body? Do they brush their teeth often because they want to make themselves sick or have they loose stools and stomach cramps because they are taking laxatives?

Those teenagers who are suffering from anorexia will often play with the food on their plate, or say they are not hungry or that they earlier when they were out with their friends. Others may well skip breakfast and just grab something on the way school, or they won’t take the lunch that you have prepared for them to school…or if they do, they throw away as soon as you are out of sight. Discreetly check with the school to see if they are eating meals at school, and if you are able to, speak to their friends and find out what, if anything, they are eating when they are with them. However, it is important that you do not pry too much, or it will lead to them only hiding the problem from you even more.

If you are able to, monitor what they are reading and logging onto on the internet. For many teens, they will deny that they have a problem where eating is concerned. Parents must find a way to get past the idea that thereis nothing troubling the teen, and that they go through stages when they don’t like certain foods or they will avoid eating a meal with the family. However, if you are reading this chapter and you see things in it which seem familiar in relation to your teen, then it may be worth taking a further look at your teen’s lifestyle.

Today, there is a lot of pressure being put on teens to become vegetarians, and some vegetarians will allow fish as part of their diets.This is okay as this provides the necessary nutrients, Vitamin B12, zinc and iron, which a teen will need while they are growing. However, it is wise to show them which fish are the best to eat more often, and which they should eat less of. It is the teens who give up meat and fish altogether that a parent should be concerned about.

Protein is important for us to grow, maintain healthy muscles, skin, hair and good health. The best source for protein is from animals, and those teens who give up this source will need to get it from other areas, such as through vitamin supplements. Studies carried out claim that the quantity of nutrition provided by pills is not the same, or as good as they would get from animal sources.

Therefore, as a parent, if you should have any concerns in regard to what is written above, it is time to take action. A great way of doing this is to help your teen to understand why they should eat properly, and what foods they should be eating, as well as how much and when and what they should avoid. Not only will this help you, but it will help your teen to better understand the importance of food, and what we need to have a healthy body, as well as the best ways to combat weight gain naturally.

So now is the right time for you to take action with regard to your teen’s health and any concerns they may have about their body image and weight.

Source : beerkala