I am a huge health advocate, and I’m also a strong believer in the old saying “Knowledge is power.” I wanted to start this Healthy Living series in this blog to arm readers with as much knowledge as possible, so that you all are able to make educated choices around your health and well being. That way, even if you’re making poor choices (I’m looking at you, smokers), you know all of the full ramifications around those choices. To kick things off, I wanted to wax poetic about one of my favorite subjects: food. More specifically, where the food we Americans eat comes from. I’m hoping that bringing this subject to light will make you think more thoughtfully about the food you’re putting into your body and how you might make better dietary choices.

Happy Cows Come From…

As a vegan, I realize I have a biased perspective on the meat industry here, but really, if you do enough reading and research, the numbers don’t lie. When I ask my meat-eating friends and family how they can still eat meat knowing how animals are raised, treated, slaughtered and so on, they often reply “I just try not to think about it.” I can only shrug, because living in denial is a hard thing to shake people out of. But when you’re biting into a hamburger, do you know where that meat has come from? Meat like beef and poultry are raised in huge feedlots around the country. You can’t take a drive down I-5 in California without seeing cattle literally stacked on top of one another. When you’re biting into a juicy steak, are you confident in the USDA’s inspection of the meat processing plants? Read a book like “Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect, and Inhumane Treatment Inside the US Meat Industry” and you may never look at beef the same way again. Things like cattle not being stunned properly and skinned alive to rotted meat simply being cut away from carcasses and sent on through inspection with flying colors. Graphic and disturbing? Yes. But necessary to know if you’re really interested in knowing about what you’re eating.

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Insurance carriers are always having to shell out the money-that’s just a part of what they do. When people need to draw on their insurance plans to cover things that happen, insurance companies open their pockets to make it happen. 2008 broke into the top numbers in terms of expenses for insurance companies. Hitting the #3 slot happened due to multiple catastrophes around the world in this past year, causing millions to turn to their insurance companies in the wake of a disaster.

Cyclones, Earthquakes and Hurricanes: Oh, My!

If you watch the news, you know that this hasn’t been an easy year for people around the world. There was the devastating earthquake in China, and the horrendous cyclone in Myanmar, and the list goes on. In fact, if you look up “2008 natural disasters” and visit a few different web pages, you might be surprised at how many events human beings endured around the world this past year. Flooding, tropical storms, landslides, typhoons and in so many different countries. All of these events contributed to making 2008 the 3rd most expensive year for insurers. When people lose everything, it’s insurance companies who take the hit.

Catastrophes and Insurance by the Numbers

Although there were less loss-producing events around the world this past year (dropping 210 from 2007), insured losses in 2008 were 50% higher than the previous year, coming in at $45 billion, as overall losses stood at $200 billion, when they had only been $85 billion in 2007. This past year, over 220,000 people were killed as the result of a natural disaster.

In looking at these horrible events individually, it was the United States who got hit the hardest in terms of losses. Hurricane Ike blasted through the nation like the nasty storm that it was, leaving insurers to clean up the mess to the tune of $15 billion. Following a close second was the terrible Hurricane Gustav, who caused overall losses of $10 billion and and insured loss of $5 billion.

Can This Insurance Trend Be Reversed?

This is a hard question to ponder, because when you’re dealing with things like natural disaster, the solution is quite complex. Such increases in the number of natural disasters and occurrences is caused by changes in our climate like global warming, rising sea levels and higher temperatures everywhere. This may not be able to be reversed, but we can certainly do things to slow it down or even stop it completely. This would require radical changes around the world, and we’re obviously looking at greater issues here than just insurance costs. Human life and quality of it is much more valuable, and we don’t want to lose either.

In the meantime, look over all of your insurance needs. Having health insurance is the first place to start. If you are looking for more information about how to protect your family, take a look online to help some answers to any questions you might have. If you are renting a home, get renters insurance for all your property within. If you own your home, home insurance is a wonderful investment for your future. Life insurance and everything in between may seem like a waste of money as you sign those checks each month, but in the event of an emergency, you will be so happy you spent your money wisely.

photo credit: eschipul

In the last post we reviewed a few of the top health breakthroughs of last year. Here, we’re continuing the series with more information about BDNF, Vitamin D, and 2009 New Year’s resolutions.

A Little More About BDNF

What is this mysterious acronym and what does it do for your body? This snazzy molecule in the body is a great find of the past year, because it is a key player in keeping nerve cells alive and helping stimulate the growth of new nerve cells. Nerves basically keep everything in your body circulating and moving, so you can imagine that their maintenance is a pretty high priority for the body.

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Last year was quite the roller coaster of a year. Even if your personal life was a bit of a snooze-fest, there was enough happening with the rest of the world to keep things interesting. We elected a new President, the country’s finances came crashing down around us, the auto companies took a swim and the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series. Jaw-dropping things weren’t just occurring in the stock and housing markets-they were happening in medicine and health as well. From ravings about running to BDNF, read on to find out what healthy happenings occurred in this past year.

A Healthy Thyroid Equals a Happy Human

If your thyroid is out of whack, it can throw the rest of your body into a tailspin as well. You may only associate thyroid problems with people who are obese, but people at a healthy weight can have their thyroid act up as well. Some thyroid problems can be treated with medicine, but if you are experiencing thyroid issues stemming from lifestyle stimuli (i.e. pollution, what you are eating, emotional stress…) then you may have some work ahead of you.

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If you or a loved one has ever dealt with cancer, you know what a nightmare treatments can be. While they can work wonders in curing the disease itself, side effects like losing one’s hair, nausea, exhaustion and a laundry list of other symptoms can leave patients feeling drained and sometimes hopeless.

If you are one who believes in treatments beyond the norm, you may want to learn more about alternative forms of therapy. Some may be covered by your health insurance provider, while other simply reply on positive thought or just moving your body. Even if you are initially skeptical, opening your mind to alternative treatments may prove incredibly rewarding for your health and well being.

Take Control of Your Body: Biofeedback

Personally, I’m very intrigued by this form of therapy, as I feel it could be applied to so many things beyond dealing with cancer treatments. Biofeedback basically a form of therapy that strives to connect the body and mind. It’s designed to enable the patient to use thoughts and will to control the body. Biofeedback is based on the idea, confirmed by scientific studies, that people have the innate potential to influence with their minds many of the automatic, involuntary functions of their bodies.

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Think back to past holiday seasons. Are you the one at office Christmas parties telling drunken stories in the back corner, or perhaps sneaking off for a little fun in the copy room? Do you end up passing out drunk on the couch at your parents’ house? Do you end up coming away from the holiday season looking like a version of a inflated float from the Christmas Parade? There’s no doubt about it: the holidays can be a stressful time for many of us. Decorating, cooking, shopping, dealing with family and all of the obligatory company parties can leave us exhausted and looking to really cut loose when the opportunity presents itself. While having a glass or two of wine is one thing, getting repeatedly smashed and embarrassing yourself is quite another. Read on to find out how you can manage your alcohol consumption in the end of 2008, and enter the new year feeling fit, healthy and not like you want to crawl under a rock.

Consider Your Current Consumption and Health

Self-analysis is never easy. Sometimes there are things you just don’t want to cop to, to yourself or anyone else. But realizing that your drinking has led to problems in the past is a crucial first step to getting things under control. You first have to some to grips with the fact that you might have a problem with the way you treat alcohol.

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