Health Tip: Poor Air Quality Affects Kids With Asthma

HealthDay – 1 hr 2 mins ago (HealthDay News) -- When the weather heats up and ozone infiltrates the air, kids with asthma should limit their time outside, experts say.

The Nemours Foundation offers these suggestions for the parents of asthmatic children when the air quality is poor:

Run the air conditioner, and don't let your child spend too much time outside.If your kids participate in outdoor activities, limit them to the early morning hours and away from high-traffic areas.Talk to your child's sports coach about practicing in an indoor, air conditioned environment on very hot days. Send your child to practice with a rescue inhaler, just in case.Ensure that your home is well-ventilated, use an air purifier and avoid wood-burning fires inside the home.Discuss your child's asthma action plan with the pediatrician.

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Finding a Quality Eye Wrinkle Cream

July 5, 2012 by admin

While many people always tend to notice the aging of their skin in the form of wrinkles that form around the nose, cheeks or mouth area, it is not always as obvious that the condition of your eyes and the skin that surrounds them can be much more telling when it comes to the visibility of aging in the face. Many people also don’t realize that you should begin paying special attention to the skin around your eyes long before you ever see wrinkles start to form if you want to effectively slow the effects of aging on your face. Choosing the best eye wrinkle cream that you can find will often help to combat these signs of aging.

Did you know that the skin around and under your eyes doesn’t produce any oil? While it may seem that the rest of your face produces enough oil to go around, you should know that this inherently leaves the skin around your eyes very susceptible to early signs of aging.

Also, neglecting your general level of health is most visibly reflected in the skin around your eyes in the form of puffy eyes or dark circles. Finding the best eye wrinkle cream for your symptoms and skin type will put you well on your way to taking good care of your facial skin.

There are many anti wrinkle creams on the market today, but not all of them can effectively treat the wrinkles that form around your eyes. For the most visible results, choose the best eye wrinkle cream that you can afford, because these creams are specially designed to treat the skin found around the eyes. One of the most effective products of this kind is known as Relastin Eye Silk. Picked by Allure magazine as an Editor’s Choice product, this product utilizes a unique formula of zinc firming compounds that helps your own skin cells form elastin, a skin protein that prevents sagging and lines.

Another one of the best eye wrinkle cream products on the market today is called RevaleSkin Replenishing Eye Therapy.

This product is designed specifically to take care of the delicate skin around your eyes using a CoffeeBerry extract, which serves as a very powerful antioxidant. Working very quickly, this product will help to bring life and youth to the skin of your face, and will usually eliminate the need to use a lot of concealer under your eyes to hide the dark, puffy skin.

Anti Aging

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Mediterranean diet is definitively linked to quality of life

ScienceDaily (May 29, 2012) — For years the Mediterranean diet has been associated with a lesser chance of illness and increased well-being. A new study has now linked it to mental and physical health too.

See Also:Health & MedicineNutritionDiet and Weight LossMind & BrainNutrition ResearchDieting and Weight ControlPlants & AnimalsFoodFishLiving WellReferenceMediterranean dietDetox dietSouth Beach dietCoronary heart disease

The Mediterranean diet, which is characterised by the consumption of fruit, vegetables, pulses (beans, peas, chickpeas and lentils etc.) , fish, olive oil and nuts, has been proven to be beneficial to the health in terms of a lesser chance of chronic illness and a lower mortality rate.

A new study headed by the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the University of Navarra took the next step and analysed the influence of the Mediterranean diet on the quality of life of a sample of more than 11,000 university students over a period of four years.

"The progressive aging of the population in developed countries makes it even more interesting to find out those factors that can increase quality of life and the health of the population," as explained by Patricia Henríquez Sánchez, researcher at the centre in the Canary Islands and lead author of the study.

Dietary intake data was taken at the beginning of the study and self-perceived quality of life was measured after the four year monitoring period. In order to ascertain whether the Mediterranean diet was followed, consumption of vegetables, pulses, fruit, nuts, cereals and fish was positively valued whereas consumption of meat, diary products and alcohol was negatively valued.

Published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the results reveal that those who stick more to the Mediterranean diet score higher on the quality of life questionnaire in terms of physical and mental well-being. This link is even stronger in terms of physical quality of life.

The Mediterranean Pyramid

Henríquez states that "the Mediterranean diet is an important factor associated with better quality of life and can be considered as a healthy food model." Its food pyramid combines food to be eaten daily, weekly and occasionally.

Main meals should never lack three basic elements: cereals, fruit and vegetables and dairy products. Furthermore, it must include a daily intake of 1.5 and 2 litres of water. Olive oil constitutes the main source of fat for its nutritional quality and moderate consumption of wine and other fermented beverages is recommended.

Furthermore, fish, lean meat and eggs are sources of high quality animal protein. Fish and seafood are also sources of healthy fats.

At the top of the pyramid are sugar, sweets, cakes, pastries and sweetened beverages that should be consumed occasionally and in small amounts.

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Air Quality Improving in Many U.S. Cities: Report

HealthDay – 4 hrs ago WEDNESDAY, April 25 (HealthDay News) -- Air quality in America's most polluted cities has improved significantly over the past decade, according to a new report from the American Lung Association.

Even Los Angeles, famous for its morning smog, is the cleanest it's been in 13 years, the association noted. Santa Fe, N.M. leads the pack, having been ranked as the cleanest city in the nation.

Despite progress in reducing the level of smog and soot in the air, the "State of the Air" report warned that unhealthy levels of air pollution still persist around the country.

"'State of the Air' shows that we're making real and steady progress in cutting dangerous pollution from the air we breathe," Charles Connor, president and CEO of the American Lung Association, said in an association news release. "We owe this to the ongoing protection of the Clean Air Act. But despite these improvements, America's air quality standards are woefully outdated, and unhealthy levels of air pollution still exist across the nation, putting the health of millions of Americans at stake."

In rating the air quality in cities and counties around the country, the lung association takes into account the color-coded Air Quality Index developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which alerts the public about unhealthy air conditions. The report, released Wednesday, also used data collected by the EPA from 2008 to 2010 on ozone and particle pollution.

The report found drastic improvements in 18 of the 25 cities most polluted by ozone. Nine out of the top 10 cities most polluted by ozone were in California. Topping the list was Los Angeles, although it showed the lowest smog levels since the report was first published back in 2000.

Particle pollution also dropped significantly in 17 of the 25 most polluted cities, including Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. This mix of microscopic bits of ash, soot, diesel exhaust, chemicals, metals and aerosols can lead to early death, heart attacks and strokes.

Four cities -- Pittsburgh, San Diego, Philadelphia and Visalia, Calif. -- dropped to their lowest levels of short-term particle pollution on record, the report noted. Birmingham, Ala., Detroit and York, Pa., dropped off the list of the 25 most polluted cities entirely -- a first for all three.

The lung association cautioned that much work remains to be done to improve air quality in the United States. Forty percent of Americans, or 127 million people, live in areas where air pollution poses a threat to their health. These people are at greater risk for wheezing and coughing, asthma attacks, heart attacks, and premature death, the report noted.

Infants, children, seniors and anyone with lung diseases, heart disease or diabetes are most vulnerable to the harmful effects of air pollution. Those with low incomes or jobs that require them to work outside are also at greater risk.

The report revealed that 38.5 percent of Americans live in counties that received an "F" for air quality because of unhealthy levels of ozone air pollution, which can cause chronic health problems. Meanwhile, almost 50 million people in the United States live in counties with unhealthy surges in particle pollution levels. Year-round particle pollution threatens another 6 million Americans.

The standards set under the Clean Air Act are a driving force behind the improvement in air quality in the United States, according to the lung association. The legislation aims to clean up major sources of air pollution such as coal-fired power plants and diesel engines to reduce the amount of ozone and particle pollution in the air. The EPA estimated that cutting air pollution through this measure would prevent at least 230,000 deaths and save $2 trillion annually by 2020.

The report warned, however, that the positive trend in U.S. air quality will not continue if opponents of the Clean Air Act gain the upper hand on Capitol Hill.

"We still need to fulfill the promise of clean, healthy air for everyone, and that can only become a reality through the full implementation of the Clean Air Act. The American Lung Association strongly opposes any efforts to weaken, delay, or undermine the protective standards the law provides," said Connor. "The American Lung Association has been leading the fight for clean air for decades, and we are as determined as ever to give every American the clean air they deserve to breathe every day."

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on air pollution.

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U.S. watchdog blasts Medicare quality insurance project

Reuters – 28 mins ago WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Medicare, the U.S. healthcare program for the elderly, is spending $8.3 billion on a test project that is supposed to improve the quality of private health coverage but has mainly rewarded mediocre insurance plans, a government watchdog said on Monday.

A report by the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress, recommends canceling the Medicare Advantage quality bonus payment initiative. The three-year project is seen as the largest-scale test of an effort to improve Medicare services to date.

The watchdog agency said the U.S. administration should instead pursue quality improvement measures under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law.

Separately, the administration released its own report predicting that the entire Medicare program would save more than $200 billion through 2016 due to the effects of Obama's reforms. Beneficiaries in traditional Medicare would enjoy $59.4 billion in lower costs.

The two reports underscore an ongoing struggle between the administration and its critics to control the public message about government involvement in healthcare, as the Supreme Court considers whether to strike down the overhaul law in a ruling expected in June.

The GAO report calls into question Medicare's ability to improve care delivery, reduce costs and combat waste at a time when the $523 billion-a-year program, along with its 48 million elderly and disabled beneficiaries, face an uncertain future due to efforts in Congress to reduce the federal debt and deficit.

Senator Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said the study raised questions about whether the administration overstepped its authority in creating the program.

"The White House does not have the authority to green light spending on whatever program it wants. This report is just the beginning," Hatch said in a statement.

The administration defended the program as a necessary effort to determine how best to improve quality and reduce costs in Medicare Advantage, which provides about one-quarter of Medicare beneficiaries with coverage from private insurers.

"Without this demonstration, more than 550 plans serving the majority of those in Medicare Advantage would no longer have an incentive to improve the quality of their healthcare," the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.

MORE COSTLY THAN TRADITIONAL MEDICARE

The demonstration project, designed to promote quality by awarding performance bonuses to private insurers that offer coverage through Medicare, was undertaken to test whether annual quality improvements could be achieved more quickly than under Obama's healthcare overhaul.

Its aim is to provide strong incentives for Medicare Advantage plans with as few as three out of five stars to improve performance at various star rating levels. The program ensures that all qualifying plans receive bonuses at least as great as those that would occur under the healthcare law, rather than just the highest-performing ones.

Medicare Advantage was adopted under George W. Bush as a way to bring market efficiency to the sprawling government program. Some of the largest providers of Medicare Advantage plans are UnitedHealth Group and Humana Inc.

But Medicare Advantage has proved more expensive than traditional Medicare, with payments in private insurers equaling 114 percent of the fee-for-service program.

The administration said it remained on track to bring Medicare Advantage into line with traditional Medicare by 2020, despite the cost of demonstration.

GAO found that the program's design serves to undermine the administration's ability to achieve its stated goal.

"Rather than rewarding only high performing plans, most of the additional payments made under the demonstration will accrue to average performing plans," GAO healthcare Director James Gosgrove said in a letter to Senator Hatch.

"The design shortcomings of the demonstration may undermine its ability to achieve (the administration's) stated research goal," he added.

The GAO study circulated just ahead of an annual report by the Medicare trustees, which is expected to provide a new forecast for the program's long-term financial health.

(Editing by Maureen Bavdek)

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