Caring For Your Life

On September 7th  Governor Rell signed a new bill that affects your child if he or she uses an inhaler for asthma or has the need to carry an epipen for allergies. Sue Albino and Geri Bernacki from the Connecticut Society of Respiratory Care joined Mothers of Asthmatics and Governor Jodi Rell for the signing  of SB 755, which allows students to carry their own inhalers and epipens in school.  Members of the CTSRC were involved in the authoring of this bill. Connecticut has been one of only three states without a system in place for students to self-administer their asthma inhalers, and only one of 10 without an epipen protocol. Prior to this bill the rules on use of these medications were dictated by individual school boards and  your child may have had to go to the designated person in their school, generally the school nurse, to have access to their inhalers or eipipen. This bill now sets a higher standard that is state wide. Carrying the medication on their person allows the child to self administer FAST! If your child has an asthma episode or has a reaction to something they are allergic to they can now self administer their medications. This is terrific news as time is of the essence when treating these problems. An asthma attack is a distressing and potentially life threatening experience as is exposure to foods that your child has an allergy to.

The bill reads hat children must have  written authorization from their parent or guardian along with a written order by the their physician that documents the need to carry their inhaler or epipen.

If your child has asthma it is important for him or her and for you to be educated on this disease and how to best control it so the child has fewer asthma episodes. Proper use of their inhalers is most important as only 15-20% of the medication gets into the lung with proper technique. If they do not use their inhalers correctly they may not be getting any of the medication where it matters, their lungs. 

If your child has food allergies, education is also the key to the prevention of a serious issue.  The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network is a good place to start.

The next time you see your health care provider ask him or her to review with your child the proper use of their inhaler or their epipen. Ask your school nurse or the school administrator what steps you may need to follow so your child can begin to carry an inhaler or epipen while in the classroom.

Who doesn’t love a nice dish of creamy ice cream? Yummm, it’s so delicious.  It used to be so easy to go shopping and pick out your favorite ice cream. You would walk down the ice cream aisle and you would have your choice of any Full-Fat ice cream–vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, coffee, etc. Today’s experience of walking down the ice cream aisle is totally different.  It’s like an invasion of numerous ice cream varieties. You can choose from Full-Fat, Fat-Free, Light, Smooth and Creamy, Slow Churned, Smooth and Dreamy, Overload, No Sugars Added, Fattier Super Premiums, Frozen Yogurt, Yogurt Blends, Soy, Sorbets, etc.  What is one to do?  How do you choose? 

Let’s give you some tips so you don’t get frostbite sifting through all of the labels in the ice cream freezer.

     1.  Read the Label – You better think small because the typical serving of ice cream is 1/2 cup.  How big is a 1/2 cup?  it is about the size of 2 golf balls or 8 level tablespoons.  Always read your label and look for the serving size, calories/serving, total fat calories, saturated fat calories, protein, carbohydrates, and sodium.  Don’t be shocked when you read the label on the ice cream carton.  Some ice creams may be extremely high in fat and calories such as the fattier super premiums, while others are really not that bad such as the frozen yogurts or slow churned.   

2.  Cut the Saturated Fat- Today, many of our ice creams are reduced fat.  It is easy to find ice cream with 2.5 grams of fat or less.  Try Edy’s Slow Churned, Bryers Smooth and Dreamy or the Double Churn Free, or Turkey Hill Light Recipe.  Many of these healthier varieties are actually really good, they are creamy and delicious and no longer taste like flavored ice crystals.  Did you know that some of the Fattier Super Premiums may have as much as 10 or 20 grams of fat in a 1/2 a cup.  Yikes! Read the label.

3.  Check the Calories – A 1/2 cup of the light ice cream  is about 130 calories, while some of the Full Fat or Super Premium versions may have as many as 400-600 calories in a 1/2 cup.

4.  Watch the Calcium – The majority of frozen ice creams, etc. are not high in vitamins and minerals.  Frozen yogurts typically supply 10 – 15% of the day’s daily requirements for calcium, ice creams supply 5 -  10% of the daily requirements for calcium, soy ice creams supply 0 – 4% of daily requirements for calcium and sorbets supply 0% for calcium, but sorbets such as mango sorbet  provide 20 – 30% of the daily requirements for Vitamin A and also contain some vitamin C.

5.  Caffeine – If you love coffee ice cream, remember that you will be getting a little “kick.”  Why?  Because it also contains caffeine.  The average caffeine content in coffee ice cream runs from 15 – 50 mg per 1/2 cup serving.

So, next time you walk down the ice cream aisle, choose cautiously and read your labels.  Try one of the healthier versions such as Edy’s Slow Churned, Bryers Smooth and Dreamy, Turkey Hill Light Recipe, Haagen-Dazs Frozen Yogurt or any of the other many lower fat versions of ice creams, frozen yogurts or sorbets.  Enjoy!!!

The air quality alert for today is moderate, 51-100.  What exactly does that mean and why should we pay attention?

The Air Quality Index (AQI) is an index for reporting the daily air quality. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) sets the standards for this index. You can generally get the index in the local paper or in the weather report via radio, television or Internet. The AQI lets us know how clean or polluted the air is for the day. It takes into  consideration 5 air pollutants, gound level ozone, particle pollution, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide.

The index is 0-500 and correlates to 6 categories. They are good, moderate, unhealthy for sensitive groups, unhealthy, very unhealthy and hazardous.

Over the past few weeks we saw the “unhealthy for sensitive group” category on several days regarding ozone. This means that children, people with lung disease and cardiac disease need to be careful about their exposure on these days. I tell my patients with lung disease to be very careful on these days and that too much exposure can be like getting a sunburn in your lungs. The inflammation process that occurs can cause real problems for those with lung disease, even hospitalization. Even folks with healthy lungs should reduce “prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors” (EPA) on days that the ozone alert/AQI is >100. I  limit my own outdoor exercise on these days. If you are going to exercise outdoors on these days it is recommended to do so earl y in the morning.

If the air quality reaches the unhealthy category we all need to be concerned. For more information on air quality indicators and to understand what is good ozone and bad ozone and  the effects of bad ozone on your health you can follow this link. You can sign up to  receive  emails from this site and receive the daily AQI, with explanations, in your inbox.

www.epa.gov/airnow

by Carey Vallillo, RD

Just because you are going to a picnic over the long Labor Day weekend it does not mean that you cannot still eat healthy and stay active. Below are some strategies on how to do just that.

1. Offer to bring something healthy (such as vegetable platter or fresh fruit salad) so that you know that there will be at least one healthy option to choose from.

2. Have a snack (such as carrot sticks with hummus or apple with peanut butter) prior to going to a picnic to help curb you appetite so that you are not ravenous when you get there.

3. Watch your drinks. Both alcohol and high sugar drinks (such as lemonade, soda, and kool-aid) can pack on pounds.
     Drink calorie- free, caffeine-free drinks in order to stay hydrated.

4. Try to sit away from where the food is being served so that you are not tempted to “pick” even when you are not hungry.

5. Get moving! Initiate a baseball or kickball game and get everyone moving.

6. Keep cold foods below 40 degrees F and hot foods above 140 degrees F to avoid food borne illnesses.

7. If you do overeat- Relax. Tomorrow is another day.

I am going for a walk today.  A long walk in fact.  It doesn’t get any better than this when it comes to walking weather.   I hope we have this weather for the whole month.  Going out for a walk is one of the easiest ways to get your exercise in each day,  de-stress from the day and literally smell the roses!  

 Up until last November, I used to walk my dog twice a day.  I got to know all the dog-owning neighbors and my dog, Taylor, a black standard poodle,  got to socialize with all the other dogs in the neighborhood as well.  Taylor was so smart.  She would sit right beside me when I put on my sneakers as if to say, “Don’t even think about not taking me with you.”  She always  thought it was a splendid idea, was so grateful for the experience and agreed with everything I said and thought.  Taylor passed away at 15 years of age last year, and I miss her terribly. While it is more difficult to coordinate going for a walk with my friend and neighbor, I have to admit, the conversation isn’t as one-sided! The time passes quicklyand we get to catch up on all the recent family, social, current and political events. 

The recommendation for adults looking to shed a few pounds is 10,000 steps per day.  That’s  5 miles!  Walking 5 miles  all in one shot takes well over an hour, unless you’re one of those power walkers. Considering that most of us barely average 1,000 to 3,000 steps per day, 5 miles is a lot!   If you get a pedometer, you can track your average number of steps/day to get your base.  Once you have that you can start adding 500 extra steps per day for a week and keep adding 500 steps each week until you are able to get up to 10,000 steps per day.  So…..get out there!   Fall is right around the corner!

With school starting, the panic begins ….. What do I pack them for lunch? Packing your child’s lunch not only takes time to plan, it’s a challenge to figure out what they will eat, what the latest food trend is and what the “in” food is for the year. Relax! Just remember the Lunch Box ABC’s and you will find it easier than you could ever imagine.

a. Aim for at least 4 food groups when you pack their lunch. Choose from healthy whole grains such as whole wheat bread, whole wheat pitas or whole wheat crackers. Choose a brightly colored fruit such as a banana,apple, orange or grapes. Pack a snack bag with crunchy vegetables such as carrots, celery or grape tomatoes. Encourage them to drink low fat milk, cheese, yogurt or cottage cheese, and to have a serving of lean meat such as turkey, ham, tuna, peanut butter or hummus.

b. Be Safe. Clean your child’s lunch box daily. 50% of all kids who carry luch boxes say their containers are not cleaned every day. 8% say that they are hardly ever cleaned. Perishable foods should not be left out of refrigeration for more than 2 hours, so pack your child’s lunch in a insulated bag with an ice pack. If you make your child’s lunch the night before, make sure that perishable foods stay in the refrigerator at a temperature of 40 degrees or below until the next morning. Wash all fruits and vegetables before packing them. 1 in 4 kids say that they save some of their lunch for a snack. Encourage your kids to throw out the perishable food and provide them with an extra snack in their lunchbox that they can have as a snack such as a granola bar, trail mix, single serve apple sauce or fruit etc. Oh yes, and with flu season just around the corner, pack your child’s lunchbox with some hand sanitizer or a moist towelette. 60% of kids who eat lunch at school do not wash their hands before they eat. 9 out of 10 kids say that they would, if they had hand sanitizer. What a great way to stop some of those germs from entering their mouths.

c. Communicate with your kids and let them help you, make their lunch creative. Not all kids like sandwiches. Try making wraps, tortilla tiangles with cheese and turkey or whatever they want to put on it, fruit and yogurt, vegetables and low fat dip, hummus and pita chips or whatever else they can dream up. Get your kids involved and they will love their lunch!  You, will be able to  sit back and enjoy a hot, aromatic cup of coffee.

Governor Rell is supporting an increase in the cigarette tax to $3 per pack, up from $2 per pack. While the powers that be have not come to full agreement on the budgetary line items, when the state budget finally passes it looks like folks may be paying more  for cigarettes. The current price is already high and whether you think this proposed tax is fair or not won’t matter much.  Your currently paying close to $8 per pack and it soon may be more. Smoking 1 pack per day costs about $56 per week  and $2920 per year out of your pocket!  That is a lot of dollars! I would prefer a vacation!

Maybe it’s time to say ” enough is enough”  and kick the habit. It will save you money and quite  possibly save your life! Did you know that cigarette smoking is the single most avoidable cause of early death and disability in the U.S.? A few facts:Cigarettes have more than 4000 chemicals in them, many of which cause cancer;the average male smoker loses and average of 13.2 years off their life and female smokers, 14.5 years  and not all smoking results in death, 8.6 million people suffer from chronic disease due to current or former smoking. Fairly scary stuff!

So quitting, yes, it is hard, but you can do it!  I can personally attest to this  success as an ex-smoker. People quit smoking successfully every day. Are you ready to quit?

Smokers tell us that 50% of the job of quitting smoking is the DECISION to quit.  Think of the reasons why you smoke and the reasons to quit and write them down. Pay attention to why and when you smoke. What could you do instead? How about reasons to quit , make it personal. Also, get some help. Talk to your doctor or join a smoking cessation class. The tools are available to help you quit, the choice is yours. Make the decision to quit, today, and set a quit date! It will surely save you money and  could also save your life!

The the coffee is ground, the timer is set and the coffee pot is ready for brewing bright and early tomorrow morning.  I can not wait to smell the aromatic coffee.  Coffee has received a lot of attention as a potent dietary antioxidant.  Coffee has more antioxidant capacity than cocoa, and green, black or herbal tea.  It contains several components, the largest being a dietary polyphenol called chlorogenic acid that helps improve oxidative stress, and is therefore beneficial to the immune system.   So for now, run with the good news, and ENJOY your morning coffee!