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Friday, 11 April 2014

Princess Health andToronto Yonge Street 10K: H+P Men's Team.Princessiccia

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On Sunday April 13th the TYS10K, one of Canada's fastest 10Ks, will be flying through Toronto!  H+P is very excited to be entering a men's team for the event which includes some of our fastest runners.  We will be hammering, chasing some PB's, and having a lot of fun along the way!   CLICK here to follow along and see our results on race day.  We will also set up live tweets.  Race starts at 9AM sharp.

Here is the full men's team roster:

Name: Ahmed Ahmed
Age: 19
Height: 5'6
Weight: 120lbs
Current PBs: 17:18 5K (but has crushed many other xc races)
Interesting Facts: Known as the Kenyan Stallion.  Crushes all the guys during hill repeats.




Name: Rob Brouilette
Age: 21
Height: 6'0
Weight: 135lbs
Current 10K PB: 34:02
Interesting Facts: Loves running...like a lot.  Is the king of social media.











Name: Brendan Hancock
Age: 23
Height: 6'0
Weight: 165lbs
Current PBs: 16:47 5K, 1:15:15 half
Interesting Facts:  Current H+P TT record holder.  Throws up more often then any other men's team  member.












Name: Pat Mulherin
Age: 24
Height: 6'1
Weight: 160lbs
Current PBs: 17:37 5K (2008)
Interesting Facts: Most recent H+P signing.  Never does half  workouts.



Name: Jordan Schmidt
Age: 26
Height: 5'10
Weight: 160lbs
Current 10K PB: 37:30 and dropping!
Interesting Facts: Will have a new 10K PB after this race.
Name: Sean Delanghe
Age: 28
Height: 5'8
Weight: 155lbs
Current 10K PB: 34:05
Interesting Facts: Lacks the ability to keep up to Ahmed going up hills.

WOMEN'S TEAM UPDATE

Unfortunately we do not have a complete women's team this year.  We DO, however, have two great women running: Gillian Willard and Jessica Kuepfer.  Don't forget to watch for their results and cheer them on.  Good luck girls!!

 

Princess Health and Princess Health andSeason has arrived for poison ivy, oak and sumac; here's plenty of advice on how to deal with them and their rashes.Princessiccia

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Leaves of three, let them be.

This old childhood rhyme still holds true today,well at least for poison oak and poison ivy. Poison sumac has seven to 13 leaflets on each leaf. But the result is the same: If you come into contact with the oil from their leaves, you are likely to end up with a an itchy rash that can last from one to three weeks.

About 85 percent of people will develop an itchy, blistering rash when they come in contact with the oil from these plants, says the American Academy of Dermatology in a news release.

The rash itself isn't contagious, but the oil is, and it can linger on just about any surface: skin, clothes, under fingernails, tools, pets -- you get the picture. It can even come through the air if someone is burning brush. So, you can get poison ivy, poison sumac or poison oak without stepping one foot into nature.
Avoiding the plants and wearing protective clothing are the two proven ways to avoid getting a rash from these plants.

�If you are absolutely certain that your rash is due to poison ivy, poison oak, or poison sumac, and if the rash appears on a small section of your skin, you may be able to treat the rash at home,� Seemal R. Desai, dermatologist from Texas, said in the news release. �However, if you have difficulty breathing or swallowing, you experience swelling, or you have many rashes or blisters, go to the emergency room right away.�

The association also recommends going to the emergency room if the rash covers most of your body, if your eyelid swells shut, if the rash develops anywhere on your face or genitals, if much of your skin itches, or nothing seems to ease the itch.

Fortunately, there are simple steps people can take to safely treat a mild rash at home. Here are the association's recommendations for treating mild cases of poison ivy, poison oak or poison sumac:

1. Immediately rinse your skin with lukewarm, soapy water. Initially take a shower, not a bath, to get the oil off of your body.
2. Wash your clothing.
3. Wash everything that may have come in contact with the oil from the leaves.
4. Do not scratch. Scratching can cause infection.
5. Leave blisters alone. If blisters open, do not remove the overlying skin, as the skin can protect the raw wound underneath and prevent infection.
6. Take short, lukewarm baths to relieve the itch. Add colloidal oatmeal from the drugstore or one cup of baking soda to the running water for additional relief.
7. Consider using calamine lotion or hydro-cortisone cream.
8. Apply cool compresses to the itchy skin.
9. Consider taking antihistamine pills. These pills can help reduce itching, however use with caution. Call your doctor if you are uncertain if you should take an antihistamine.
10. Do not apply a topical antihistamine to your skin; doing so can worsen the rash and the itch.
11. See a dermatologist if the rash has not improved within 10 days.

Princess Health and Princess Health andHere are spring-cleaning tips to help allergy sufferers.Princessiccia

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Spring cleaning often stirs up dust and pet dander, and can leave a strong scent of cleaning supplies in the air. All can cause those with allergies to reach for a tissue and dread the task. But stirring up a little dust and dander is worth a few extra sneezes, the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology says in a news release, because a thorough spring cleaning will ultimately help you avoid allergy symptoms.

�Thoroughly cleaning your home can help eliminate allergens and keep new ones from easily entering,� James Sublett, president-elect of the ACAAI, said in Newswise, a research-reporting service.  �Allergy season can last all year for those sensitive to indoor allergens, but it can worsen in the spring months when pollen becomes an issue. It�s important to remove allergens from the home so you can lead a healthy and active lifestyle.�

The ACAAI  offers tips to remove allergens from your home as well as ways to prevent more from entering.

The best way to prevent allergens from building up in your home is to stay on top of certain chores, such as vacuuming regularly to get rid of dust mites using a cyclonic vacuum or HEPA filter, changing air filters every three months using filters with a MERV rating of 11 or 12, and washing bedding and stuffed animals weekly.

It is also important to resist the urge to open the windows as the weather gets warmer, because this lets unwanted pollen into the house.Those with allergies also have to be careful to avoid air fresheners and candles because chemicals in these items can spur asthma attacks.

A top allergen target in spring cleaning is mold, paying special attention to mold-prone areas like bathrooms, basements and tiled areas, says the release. Make sure bathroom fans are functioning and usable, and always make sure not to leave any standing water in these areas. Use detergent and water to remove any visible mold, and to prevent further mold from growing, keep the humidity in your house below 60 percent.

Because pets spend so much more time indoors over the winter, chances are there is an increased amount of fur, saliva and dander in your house. Remove these allergens by vacuuming frequently and washing upholstery, including your pet's bed, the release says. Also, don't allow your pet in your bedroom.

Those with allergies should avoid being outdoors in noonday and afternoon, because pollen counts are highest then. Wear gloves and a N95 pollen mask when mowing or gardening, and make sure to wash your hands, hair and clothing when finished. Also, make sure to take your medication before going outside.

Princess Health and More Graphs of Calorie Intake vs. BMI. Princessiccia

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In the last post, a reader commented that the correlation would be more convincing if I graphed calories vs. average BMI rather than the prevalence of obesity.  It was a valid point, so I went searching for average BMI values from NHANES surveys.  I dug up a CDC document that contains data from surveys between 1960 and 2002 (1).  Because these data only cover five survey periods, we only get five data points to analyze, as opposed to the eight used in the last post.  The document contains BMI values for men and women separately, so I averaged the two to approximate average BMI in the general adult population.  It's also worth noting that I use the approximate midpoint of the survey period as the year.

First, a graph of average BMI over time.  It went up:



Now, let's see how well average BMI correlates with calorie intake:


The correlation between calorie intake and obesity prevalence was remarkable, but this correlation is simply incredible.  An R-squared value of 0.98 indicates that daily calorie intake and average BMI are almost perfectly correlated.

We can further deduce that each 100-calorie increase in daily food intake is associated with an 0.62-point increase in average BMI among US adults.  

Princess Health and Princess Health andMcConnell continues attack on Obamacare as Washington Post gives him 'four Pinocchios' for misleading article in C-J.Princessiccia

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U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell took the resignation of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius as an opportunity to repeat his criticism of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

"Regardless of the administration�s public explanation for the secretary�s exit, Obamacare has been a rolling disaster and her resignation is cold comfort to the millions of Americans who were deceived about what it would mean for them and their families," McConnell said in a press release. "Countless Americans have unexpectedly been forced out of the plans they had and liked, are now shouldering dramatically higher premiums, and can no longer use the doctors and hospitals they choose. Beyond that, virtually everyone who has come into contact with this law has had new reason to worry about what it means for the government to control their health care."

McConnell has been perhaps the leading critic of the law, which led New Yorker magazine cartoonist Barry Blitt to make him the focal point of his artwork on this week's cover, which shows President Obama administering medicine to McConnell as House Speaker John Boehner moves on and Rep. Michelle Bachman and Sen. Ted Cruz await their spoonful. For Blitt's brief explanation of his work, click here.

The point of the cartoon is that despite criticism and a troubled national rollout, the administration exceeded its goal of 7 million people signing up for Obamacare by the original March 31 deadline. In Kentucky, enrollment on the Kynect exchange is now more than 402,000, with several thousand more having been determined eligible for a subsidy to buy private insurance. In an April 10 press release, the state said 79,580 people have bought private policies and 322,827 have qualified for coverage under the federal-state Medicaid program.

McConnell bases part of his criticism on the state's initial report that 285,000 people "might be affected if they had substandard plans," The Courier-Journal said in an editorial. "A month later�in December 2013�Kentucky revised the figure to 168,000 and the [Washington] Post said the number could be as low as 100,000." The Post's Glenn Kessler, in his Fact Checker column, recently gave McConnell the maximum "four Pinocchios" for a misleading op-ed piece in the Louisville newspaper attacking the reform law.

The senator wrote, �Only approximately 64,000 Kentuckians enrolling in Obamacare have enrolled in a private plan in Kentucky�s own Obamacare exchange, far fewer than the 280,000 who received cancellation notices of plans they had and liked.� Kessler says that number is nowhere near correct.

Kessler writes that the 64,000 number (now up to almost 80,000; see above) "can be related only to the 130,000 individual plan policies. Adding in small-group policies inflates the total. . . . When the state made the announcement, it did not know how many plans might actually comply with the law; it just described the size of the individual and small-group markets." Also, he notes, not all the cancellation notices are going out at once: "We have no idea what the flow would be, but just taking a simple average over 12 months yields 11,000 individual policies a month. That adds up to only 55,000 individual policies since November, yet McConnell assumed that all of the notices had been mailed and received."

Finally, Kessler writes, "The 280,000 figure is out of date. In December, the state said it had determined that more than 48,000 plans were grandfathered in under ACA and that nearly 64,000 qualified for transitional relief under an administrative fix announced by the Obama administration. (The state did not distinguish between individual and small-group plans in its announcement, but overall that�s a 40 percent reduction.) That brought the total down to 168,000, a figure that was reported." McConnell spokesman Don Stewart said the fundamental point of the letter, that Democrats were touting Obamacare's successes and ignoring its pitfalls, was still correct.
Princess Health and Princess Health andLouisville jails sign up inmates for health coverage to save the state money; other jails around state may follow suit.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andLouisville jails sign up inmates for health coverage to save the state money; other jails around state may follow suit.Princessiccia

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Louisville jails are holding daily health insurance sign-ups for released inmates, Chris Kenning reports for The Courier-Journal.

Most inmates qualify for expanded Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and Medicaid applications can be made at any time, not just during the annual sign-up period. Officials told Kenning that after the first four days, they had processed 18 applications, mostly for Medicaid.

The benefit to prisons and jails is twofold: Inmate hospitalizations lasting more than 24 hours can be billed to Medicaid, and getting coverage for released inmates provides insurance to a population that has a high rate of chronic disease, substance abuse and mental illness -- conditions that often bring them back to prison, Kenning writes.

This treatment is often only a temporary fix, because repeat offenders fail to continue their treatment when released because of a lack of health insurance, officials acknowledged.

"I know some people will think, 'I can't afford health insurance myself. Now a person in jail gets access to health care?'" Mark Bolton, director of Metro Corrections, told Kenning. "But taxpayers are paying for these people anyway."

Kenning reports that in Louisville, "Metro Corrections' health care costs make up $9 million of its $52 million budget � a result of treating medical conditions including diabetes, heart disease, infections and drug problems." The jails house an average of about 2,000 people.

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell does not support the signups, telling The Courier-Journal that it adds burdens to an already strained Medicaid program that is hard-pressed to find enough doctors willing to accept Medicaid patients. "This is yet another disturbing aspect of a profoundly troubling piece of legislation," he told Kenning.

Plans to expand to other jails and other parts of the state are in the works, said Barbara Gordon of the Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency, a Louisville-area government clearinghouse that provides "Kynectors" to help people sign up on Kynect, the state health-insurance exchange. They now spend two hours a day at the jail and hope to eventually have someone there full time, Bolton told Kenning.

About a third of people going in or out of prisons and jails would qualify for expanded Medicaid, and 24 percent would qualify for subsidized private insurance, estimates Dr. Fred Osher, director of health systems and services policy for the nonpartisan Council of State Governments Justice Center.

The state Department of Corrections projects that by shifting the costs of those 24-hour hospital stays to Medicaid, the state prison system would save more than $5 million a year, Kenning reports. The system has seen health costs rise to more than $54 million this year, from $34 million in 2004.
Princess Health and Princess Health andNew law bans sales of electronic cigarettes to minors.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andNew law bans sales of electronic cigarettes to minors.Princessiccia

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Sales of electronic cigarettes to people under 18 are now illegal in Kentucky, following Gov. Steve Beshear's signing into law Thursday of a bill that had support from cigarette manufacturers, many of whom are also getting into the e-cigarette business.

Senate Bill 109, sponsored by Republican Paul Hornback of Shelbyville and Dennis Parrett of Vine Grove, took effect immediately because it contained an emergency clause. A House committee had approved a similar bill, but it did not contain an emergency clause and never came to a vote in the full House.

The law bans the sale to minors of "alternative nicotine products," defined as "a noncombustible product containing nicotine that is intended for human consumption, whether chewed, absorbed, dissolved, or ingested by any other means," but "does not include any tobacco product, vapor product, or any other product regulated as a drug or device by the United States Food and Drug Administration." It also adds to state law more detailed definitions of "tobacco product" and "vapor product," and also bans the sale of the latter to minors.
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