Princess Health and Slicing your way to an apple a day: Americans' apple consumption is on the rise because we're eating them in small pieces. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Slicing your way to an apple a day: Americans' apple consumption is on the rise because we're eating them in small pieces. Princessiccia

children's health diet health nutrition school health school lunch

Gusty 13:13 Add Comment

Photo from livestrong.com

By Danielle Ray
Kentucky Health News

Presentation is everything. Apple consumption is on the rise, and researchers at Cornell University think pre-sliced apples are the cause.

The 2013 Cornell study explored why so many whole apples served in school lunches ended up uneaten in the trash. Researchers found that eating whole apples can be difficult for young children with small mouths and for kids with missing teeth or braces. The study also noted that older girls find whole fruits messy and unattractive to eat.

The study found that consumption jumped by more than 60 percent when apples were served sliced. These findings back up U.S. Department of Agriculture statistical data about overall apple consumption. Data show that Americans ate more than 510 million pre-sliced apples in 2014, up from fewer than 150 a decade before.

Likewise, overall apple consumption has grown by 13 percent percent since 2010, according to USDA data. Americans ate about 17.5 pounds per capita in 2013, the most in nearly a decade.

Why does simply slicing an apple matter? The difference between a whole apple and apple slices may seem silly or superficial, especially to an adult, but the inconvenience is a barrier nonetheless, David Just, a professor of behavioral economics at Cornell and one of the researchers behind the study, told Roberto Ferdman of The Washington Post.

"It sounds simplistic, but even the simplest forms of inconvenience affect consumption," Just said. "Sliced apples just make a lot more sense for kids."

The rise of mass-produced pre-sliced apples probably has a lot to do with the fast food industry. McDonald's added apple slices to its menu in 2004 in an effort to give parents healthier options. The company began automatically serving apple slices with Happy Meals in 2012, causing apple sales to skyrocket.

McDonald's has served more than 2 billion packages since first offering apple slices as a side, a representative for the company told the Post. In 2015 alone, the company served nearly 250 million packages of sliced apples, which amounts to more than 60 million apples, or about 10 percent of all fresh sliced apples sold in the United States, the Post noted.

The USDA, which oversees school lunch programs, can't be sure of how many schools offer pre-sliced apples versus whole apples, as local school districts make that decision. However, the agency does make recommendations and encourages schools make fruit appealing in presentation.

The problem with the pre-sliced apple trend? It may lessen food waste, but it increases plastic waste, which puts a strain on the environment. McDonald's apple slices, for example, are served in plastic wrappers. These wrappers are recyclable, yes, but two important differentials exist. First, "recyclable" does not mean it was made of recycled materials, only that it has the potential to be recycled. Second, just because consumers can recycle the wrappers does not mean they will.

Princess Health and Feds strengthen anti-discrimination health rules. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Feds strengthen anti-discrimination health rules. Princessiccia

disabilities federal regulation gender disparities health health care health care access health care reform health communication obamacare Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act

Gusty 13:20 Add Comment

Photo from mdxipe.wordpress.com

By Danielle Ray
Kentucky Health News

The Department of Health and Human Services issued rules Friday in an effort to ensure equality in health care for women, the disabled and people who speak English as a second language.

The new provisions protect women from discrimination not only in the health coverage they obtain but in the health services they seek from providers. They also prohibit denial of health care or health coverage based on a person's sex, including discrimination based on pregnancy, gender identity and sex stereotyping.

The rule also requires providers to take reasonable steps to provide communication access to people with limited English proficiency. In addition, it requires that providers make electronic information and newly constructed or altered facilities accessible to individuals with disabilities, including providing auxiliary aids and services.

HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell called the rule "a key step toward realizing equity within our health care system." She said in an agency news release that it reinforces the central goal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act, to improve access to quality health care.

The rule covers any health program or activity that receives federal funding, such as providers who accept Medicare or Medicaid; any health program that HHS administers; and federal- and state-based health insurance marketplaces and insurers that participate in them.

The new rule implements Section 1557 of the 2010 health-reform law, which is the first federal civil-rights law to prohibit discrimination based on sex in federally-funded health programs. Previously, civil rights laws enforced by the agency's civil rights office barred discrimination based only on race, color, national origin, disability, and age.

The rule does not resolve whether discrimination on the basis of an individual�s sexual orientation status alone is a form of sex discrimination under the reform law. However, the provisions leave room for the agency's civil-rights office to evaluate complaints that allege sex discrimination related to a person�s sexual orientation to determine if they can be considered sex stereotyping, which the rule prohibits. In cases where religious freedom would be violated, health-care providers are not required to follow the regulation.

A summary of the new rule can be accessed here.

Princess Health and Feeling exhausted and not sure why? Ask your health-care provider to check your vitamin B12.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Feeling exhausted and not sure why? Ask your health-care provider to check your vitamin B12.Princessiccia

anxiety depression health over-the-counter medicine prevention

Gusty 08:57 Add Comment

Some doctors are adding a vitamin B check to their standard "baseline" workup, especially vitamin B12, the one most commonly deficient, Dr. Leigh Erin Connealy reports for Newport Natural Health.

"By some estimates, up to 40 percent of the population does not have sufficient levels of B12," Connealy writes.

The B vitamins work together as a family to  perform many important functions throughout the body, such as helping to convert our food to fuel, allowing us to stay energized through the day, helping maintain heart health, preventing birth defects, creating red blood cells or assisting with the production and repair of DNA, to name a few.

Vitamin B12, or cobalamin, keeps our blood, nervous system and heart healthy. It is found primarily in animal-sourced foods�all meats, dairy products, eggs, and shellfish. Liver, sardines, and salmon contain the greatest amount.

Image from webmd.com

While it is not uncommon for vegetarians and vegans to have low levels of B12, Connealy says that even meat eaters can lack it, usually because of poor absorption.

Absorption issues in younger people are often caused by acid-blocking medications, disorders such as Crohn's disease, leaky gut, diarrhea and other gastrointestinal problems.  Older people with a condition called hypocholorhydria, where the stomach does not produce enough acid to help with the absorption of nutrients, can have low levels as well, Connealy notes.

B12 deficiency can cause a wide variety of debilitating symptoms ranging from exhaustion and lethargy to depression, anxiety, memory loss, confusion, and other Alzheimer�s-like symptoms.

WebMD adds rapid heartbeat and breathing, pale skin, sore tongue, bleeding gums, stomach upset and weight loss and diarrhea or constipation to the list of symptoms.

Connealy notes that there are differing recommendations for the amount of B12 that should be in a supplement. The Dietary Reference Intake recommends between 2-3 micrograms daily, while the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition recommends 6 mcg daily, based on a 2,000-calorie diet.

Connealy recommends the higher dosage, especially since "absorption problems are so common with age" and "it's nearly impossible to overdose." She also recommends B12 injections for severe deficiencies. In particular, she says that vegetarians, vegans and those age 50 and older should take an oral B12 supplement every day.

Princess Health andCDC says SOAR should focus on substance abuse, obesity and diabetes; idea of mountaintop mining study is largely ignored.Princessiccia

Princess Health andCDC says SOAR should focus on substance abuse, obesity and diabetes; idea of mountaintop mining study is largely ignored.Princessiccia

Appalachia Centers for Disease Control and Prevention health

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By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

Shaping Our Appalachian Region, the bipartisan effort to revitalize and diversify Eastern Kentucky's economy, will focus its health efforts on substance abuse, obesity and diabetes, SOAR Executive Director Jared Arnett told Kentucky Health News.

"We believe they have the greatest impact on our ability to create jobs and build a world class workforce," Arnett said in an email. He said David Roberts of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, determined the priorities after spending three months at the SOAR office in Pikeville.

The priorities differ from those put forth by SOAR's Health Working Group, which made two major recommendations after a series of public forums: a coordinated health program in schools, and a study of the health effects of large-scale surface mining. However, when SOAR published the working groups' ideas a few weeks later, it listed only the "shortest-term recommendations" and did not include the mining study. No recommendations appear on the health group's webpage.

At the health session of SOAR's "Strategy Summit" May 11, Dee Davis of the Whitesburg-based Center for Rural Strategies asked the moderator/presenter, Jennifer "Jenna" Seymour of the CDC, what if anything was being done about the recommendation. Seymour replied that she wasn't aware of it, Al Cross reported for the Appalachian Kentucky page of The Rural Blog.  

"That dismayed me," Cross writes. Later, upon raising his hand and being recognized by Seymour, he told her and the audience that it was "disconcerting and almost unbelievable" that she was unaware of the recommendation about mountaintop mining. Seymour replied that she had, in fact, heard about it.

Cross wrote, "Noting that the Pike County Fiscal Court Room was nearly full, I told Seymour that a lot of people had attended meetings and made their concerns known, and that even though this issue was "a hot potato," because of the coal industry's role, she needed to "go back to the powers that be, and tell them there's a room full of people who want answers."

Cross wrote that he was not for or against a study on the health effects of mountaintop mining, and " Unless they're writing opinion pieces, journalists aren't supposed to take sides," he wrote. "But they do need to speak up when issues of broad community concern aren't being addressed, especially when those concerns have been solicited."

The SOAR working groups concluded their meetings last summer and submitted their final reports. Since then, the SOAR executive board has decided to launch a SOAR Advisory Council and hold annual roundtables, or more as needed. They have made a request for a community health representative to be appointed to serve on this council, and Arnett said he expects this person to be appointed by June 1 or so. 

In addition, a follow-up CDC representative will be assigned to the SOAR office for one year beginning in late summer to help put together a strategic plan to address the three areas of focus recommended by the CDC at the summit. This person will also lead a Community Health Action Team for SOAR to work on building a blueprint for improved public health in the region, Arnett said.

"We are focused on working with our corporate partners and the Community Health roundtable to address these issues identified by the CDC on what can have the broadest reach and the greatest impact," Arnett said. A full report of all of the CDCs recommendations is expected in the near future, he said.

Princess Health andKentucky led the nation in hepatitis C cases in 2013; state's rate rose 357 percent from 2007 to 2011.Princessiccia

Princess Health andKentucky led the nation in hepatitis C cases in 2013; state's rate rose 357 percent from 2007 to 2011.Princessiccia

Appalachia diseases drug abuse drug use drugs health hepatitis c prescription drug abuse rural health rural-urban disparities

Gusty 08:18 Add Comment

By Tim Mandell
Kentucky Health News

Kentucky had the nation's highest rate of hepatitis C in 2013, with 5.1 cases per every 100,000 people, says a report by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As many as 3.5 million people in the U.S. have hepatitis C and more than 56,000 Kentucky resident may have chronic hepatitis C infection, according to the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The main cause of hepatitis C is shared needles among intravenous drug users.

Hepatitis C cases rose 364 percent in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia from 2006 to 2012. The big increase was in 2007-11, when the rate rose 357 percent, a CDC state health profile says.

"Of the cases that have been reported and researchers gathered data about potential risk factors, 73.1 percent reported injecting drugs," Brian Wu reports for Science Times. Among new cases, 44.8 percent were people under 30.

While officials said HIV rates are low in the four Appalachian states, they said they fear that the increase in hepatitis C cases could lead to a rise in HIV cases, Wu writes. Officials said needle-exchange programs are key to reduce the number of potential HIV cases. Kentucky recently authorized such programs if local officials agree to them.

"About 4.5 million Americans older than 12 abused prescription painkillers in 2013 and 289,000 used heroin, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration," Liz Szabo reports for USA Today. "About 75 percent of new heroin users previously abused opioid painkillers. The number of first-time heroin users grew from 90,000 people in 2006 to 156,000 in 2012, according to the CDC."

Kentucky has the third highest drug overdose mortality rate in the U.S., with 23.6 deaths per 100,000 people, says the 2013 report "Prescription Drug Abuse: Strategies to Stop the Epidemic," reports Trust for America's Health. "The number of drug overdose deaths�a majority of which are from prescription drugs�in Kentucky quadrupled since 1999 when the rate was 4.9 per 100,000."

Princess Health andKentuckyOne Health is offering mobile screenings for risk of heart attack and stroke, and cancer prevention, for a price.Princessiccia

Princess Health andKentuckyOne Health is offering mobile screenings for risk of heart attack and stroke, and cancer prevention, for a price.Princessiccia

health health care access prevention

Gusty 14:52 Add Comment

For a price, KentuckyOne Health is offering a new, mobile, preventive screening program at various locations around the state.

Screening packages range from $179 to $347 and are designed to evaluate an individual�s risk of heart attack, stroke and cancer. Patients are responsible for the cost, since KentuckyOne is not accepting Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance funding to pay for it at the time of service, but patients can submit their final report findings to their health provider and insurer for consideration of reimbursement.

�Through mobile screenings we can now expand cardiovascular and other health screenings throughout the commonwealth, including areas that may have limited access to these tests,� Alice Bridges, KentuckyOne's vice president for healthy communities said in a press release. �A major goal of this program is to help people become more aware of their health status and encourage active involvement in proactively managing their health.�

Tests included in the exam are: echocardiogram; electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG); hardening of the arteries test; stroke/carotid artery ultrasound; abdominal aortic aneurysm ultrasound; peripheral arterial disease test; Know Your Numbers�; high sensitivity c-reactive protein test (hs-CRP); thyroid-stimulating hormone test; testosterone test; and prostate specific antigen test (PSA).

The screening unit has  private exam rooms and the process takes less than an hour, according to the release. Technicians use painless ultrasound technology to examine the patient's heart and arteries to identify potential health risks, and then board certified physicians examine all results before providing patients with the report. The process takes approximately one week. Patients are encouraged to take their report back to their primary health provider for follow-up.

Mobile screenings are also available for partners of KentuckyOne Workplace Care.

 �Mobile screenings will allow us to bring services to the employer to help employees monitor their health and meet wellness goals," Shirley Kron, regional director of KentuckyOne Health Workplace Care, said in the release.

More information, including dates and locations, is available at Kentuckyonehealth.org/screenings or -855-721-8378.

Princess Health andProposals sought for research of Appalachian 'bright spots' where health is better than socioeconomic factors would indicate.Princessiccia

Princess Health andProposals sought for research of Appalachian 'bright spots' where health is better than socioeconomic factors would indicate.Princessiccia

Appalachia county health Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky health health rankings health status overall health status research

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A three-year research project to determine factors that can support a culture of health in Appalachia and whether that knowledge can be translated into actions that address the region's health disparities has released its Request for Proposal to invite proposals from qualified research teams and consultants who would like to work on this project.

The project,�Creating a Culture of Health in Appalachia: Disparities and Bright Spots,� is sponsored by the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and will run through the end of 2017.

The research for this project will identify Appalachian �bright spots,� where health outcomes are better than would be expected based on unemployment and poverty rates and other community factors, and try to figure out why. Researchesr will also try to determine why health outcomes in some communities are not as good as would be expected.

The request for proposals offers detailed guidelines for submissions, which are due June 8. Applicants are encouraged to register for a webinar, detailed on the RFP, to be held May 7 at 10 a.m. EDT. Click here for more information.