"Healthy Families" Cuts

The recession has devastated Tout Tou Bounthapanya and her family. She's an immigrant who graduated from college. But she lost her job and depends on state sponsored health care. Bounthapanya said, "Because I use to be independent. I use to not be in any programs. I use to be independent ... If I apply for public programs, I'm not qualified like Medicare. If I apply for private market, it's too expensive. I can not afford them."

Bounthapanya is a recipient of "Healthy Families", a state program that provides affordable health care to working families. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to eliminate the program to help solve a $24-billion budget deficit.

Advocates like Reverend Sharon Stanley protested the cuts on Thursday in front of a West Fresno clinic. Stanely said, "We should not solve the budget crisis on the backs of the poorest we have in our county or any county around the state."

Doctors at Clinica Sierra Vista say "Healthy Families" actually saves money by providing preventative care and keeping people out of already crowded emergency rooms. Doctor Juan Carlos Ruvalcaba said, "It's a lot more expensive. I believe it's 10 times more expensive than coming to a primary care doctor ... They can wait up to 8-10 hours and take beds that real emergencies need to be taken care of."

Bounthapanya now wonders if her boys will lead healthy lives without the "Healthy families" program.

Dysfunctional Families and the Shame Cycle: Healthy Families

Taking the kids — and staying healthy

Sure the swine flu news is making us nervous — very nervous — just when millions of us are planning our much-needed summer vacations. But that doesn't mean we should grab the kids and huddle under the covers.

We just have to plan — and travel — smart. So far outbreaks have been reported in New York, California, Kansas, Ohio, Texas, Canada and even New Zealand with the first U.S. death reported Wednesday. The World Health Organization, which has upgraded the influenza alert level, says that given the widespread presence of the virus, current focus should be on "mitigation measures" and urges those who are ill to delay international travel and for those developing symptoms after an international trip to seek medical attention.

Of course, if we are smart, we're going to avoid "nonessential travel" to Mexico, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has now recommended. (For the latest information, visit www.cdc.gov/travel.)

No worries if you have already booked a trip to Mexico. The airlines are waiving change fees and cruise lines are temporarily diverting ships. You should be able to either reschedule or get a refund without penalty for your hotel too. (And if you can't, let me know!)

With every resort offering incredible deals this summer, you shouldn't have trouble finding an alternate destination for some fun in the sun with the kids. (Check www.takingthekids.com for daily deals.)

At the same time, it's unclear if everyone is heeding the advice of health experts. Tim Smith, spokesman for American Airlines, says so far the airline is continuing to operate its normal schedule of 42 daily flights to Mexico. "No agency has asked us to reduce our schedule, though we obviously will continue to monitor demand." Smith notes that, so far, the volume of calls from customers seeking to change their Mexico itineraries has been far less than during a severe weather event.

The most important thing, of course, is to do all you can to keep the gang healthy wherever you're going. "Watch the news, since swine flu is an international problem affecting numerous countries," urges Dr. David Tayloe, the president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, who has traveled widely with his own four children.

Strict hand washing — at least a minute — is key, Dr. Tayloe adds.

"Bring hand sanitizer," adds Atlanta pediatrician and parenting author Dr. Jennifer Shu, editor of the American Academy of Pediatrics' book on baby and child health. "Teach kids not to touch their faces and avoid sick people!"

"The goal is to avoid crowds and close contact," says Dr. Meg Fisher, the chairman of the department of pediatrics at the Children's Hospital at Monmouth Medical Center and an infectious disease expert for the Academy of Pediatrics.

White House Hosts Summit on Childhood Obesity

First Lady Michelle Obama met with task force members on Friday at the White House to tackle the weighty issue of childhood obesity. The task force will be preparing a report that will “serve as a very important road map, with goals, benchmarks, [and] measurable outcomes…” she said.

With one in three children falling into the overweight/obese category, this issue is approaching crisis mode. To stem the tide, and hopefully improve the health of our nation’s youth, the legislature, with the support of the White House, has been implementing programs, instituted the task force, and stumping for an improvement in our food delivery system overall and in our schools.

Back in February the White House announced the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, a $400 million/year initiative aimed to expand access to fresh, healthy food to all underserved urban and rural communities across the country within seven years, creating jobs in the process. During the same month, the First Lady launched her own childhood obesity initiative, “Let’s Move.” The program is quite ambitious, with the goal of developing workable ideas to help end childhood obesity within one generation.

The task force meeting, about 100 strong, was composed on senior Administration officials, doctors, teachers, activists, and other individuals who are committed to ending childhood obesity. Initial discussions focused on the cost of childhood obesity, the lack of playgrounds in neighborhoods around the country, and more esoteric issues such as behavioral economics. Melody Barnes, chairman of the task force and director of the Domestic Policy Council, broke the members into groups with a very specific task: "Come up with three to five of the best ideas, the important actions, the task force should recommend to the president."

It will be interesting to see what recommendations spring from this group of well-researched, knowledgeable individuals. Not only to they have to think outside the box, they need to think within a budget and at a level that works for children, parents, schools, and communities as a whole.

HealthNews Dozen: 12 Tips for Spring Allergies

With the onset of spring, allergens seem to be floating everywhere and attacking innocent people who were - until all of the sneezing and sniffling - happy to see the season change. It is the time of the year that many people find that they have allergic reactions to particular things, and for others, it is that unavoidable time to stock up on tissues and medications that might alleviate the pain and discomfort.

But there are things one can do to minimize allergic reactions and the presence of allergens in many parts of one’s life. If the body’s immune system refuses to cooperate and fend off the allergy-causing substances, it is up to the person to change parts of their environment. Though it is humanly impossible to form a cocoon and hide there until summer, Prevention Magazine has some more realistic suggestions.

The first thing to do is engage in some spring cleaning. Wearing a mask while doing it may keep from being bombarded with dust during the process, but the cleaning is necessary. The artificial heat of winter and lack of fresh air often allows much dust to build in closets and in corners, and ridding the home of it all is the best way to start. However, it is necessary for allergy sufferers to continue to keep the home clean. Once the major scouring process is complete, a weekly surface-clean will keep the home a safe place for overly sensitive senses.

Spring cleaning might be the time to change things about one’s bed to make it an allergy-free zone as well. Special allergen-proof pillows are available at most home stores. And for those who have severe allergic reactions, there are mattresses and box springs that have tight fabric weaves to keep dust mites out.

Another change to the home is to add throw rugs. Even in a carpeted room, buying throw rugs can not only enhance the look of the room but allow the carpet to stay allergen free. And rugs can be easily cleaned in hot temperatures on a regular basis to kill dust mites.

Speaking of laundry, linens, towels, and the like should be washed in water that is at least 130 degrees, something that can be tested with a meat thermometer. If the home washer doesn’t reach a high enough temperature, a laundromat can wash to your specification.

Surrounding oneself with clean air is not always possible, but there are some things to do to make surroundings more allergy-free. In the car, use air conditioning rather than letting the wind blow allergens into the vehicle. Stay away from smoking and smokers, and if one must smoke, doing it outside to keep the home and vehicles free of smoke will help immensely. And in the house, a dehumidifier can stop many dust mite problems, as they don’t thrive in humidity below 45 percent. But if that doesn’t work, installing an air filter or air purifier can alleviate some of the problems.

A less ideal solution is to isolate pets in exchange for not getting rid of them altogether, but that is not realistic for most people who love their animals. There can be “safe” rooms, like the bedroom, however, where the pets are prohibited, which will allow some literal breathing room for those with allergies.

All in all, there are ways to ease the pain of allergy season. Though it may require more work than getting a prescription, it may be worth the better overall health of living in a cleaner environment and protecting oneself from mites and germs.

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Copper in Food

Sources of Copper

It isn't hard to get enough copper-- unless you live in an industrial nation. I've compiled a chart showing the copper content of various refined and unrefined foods to illustrate the point. The left side shows industrial staple foods, while the right side shows whole foods. I've incorporated a few that would have been typical of Polynesian and Melanesian cultures apparently free of cardiovascular disease. The serving sizes are what one might reasonably eat at a meal: roughly 200 calories for grains, tubers and whole coconut; 1/4 pound for animal products; 1/2 teaspoon for salt; 1 cup for raw kale; 1 oz for sugar.

Note that beef liver is off the chart at 488 percent of the USDA recommended daily allowance. I don't know if you'd want to sit down and eat a quarter pound of beef liver, but you get the picture. Beef liver is nature's multivitamin: hands down the Most Nutritious Food in the World. That's because it acts as a storage depot for a number of important micronutrients, as well as being a biochemical factory that requires a large amount of B vitamins to function. You can see that muscle tissue isn't a great source of copper compared to other organs, and this holds true for other micronutrients as well.

Beef liver is so full of micronutrients, it shouldn't be eaten every day. Think of it in terms of the composition of a cow's body. The edible carcass is mostly muscle, but a significant portion is liver. I think it makes sense to eat some form of liver about once per week.

Modern Agriculture Produces Micronutrient-poor Foods

The numbers in the graph above come from NutritionData, my main source of food nutrient composition. The problem with relying on this kind of information is it ignores the variability in micronutrient content due to plant strain, soil quality, et cetera.

The unfortunate fact is that micronutrient levels have declined substantially over the course of the 20th century, even in whole foods. Dr. Donald R. Davis has documented the substantial decline in copper and other micronutrients in American foods over the second half of the last century (1). An even more marked decrease has occurred in the UK (2), with similar trends worldwide. On average, the copper content of vegetables in the UK has declined 76 percent since 1940. Most of the decrease has taken place since 1978. Fruits are down 20 percent and meats are down 24 percent.

I find this extremely disturbing, as it will affect even people eating whole food diets. This is yet another reason to buy from artisanal producers, who are likely to use more traditional plant varieties and grow in richer soil. Grass-fed beef should be just as nutritious as it has always been. Some people may also wish to grow, hunt or fish their own food.