The Eye Popping 2016 Obamacare Rate Increases Are Out

[RayNY]

We should start with school lunches. You can't believe the kind of "healthy school lunch" that is offered to my kids. Corn dogs! Pizza. Hot dogs. Processed chicken patties. Of course they offer some healthy dishes alongside the unhealthy ones. But what do the kids pick from the choices offered? Yeah, you guessed right.

Have you seen the "ThanksMichelleObama" hashtag of all the kids complaining about the new school lunch requirements? https://twitter.com/hashtag/thanksmichelleobama

They tried, and failed miserably. The new guidelines are as messed up as ACA.

Not even kidding, pizza is considered part of the vegetable requirement because it has tomato sauce, as is ketchup on a burger. Smaller portions aren't exactly making people happy either.

 

[scagnt83]

We should start with school lunches. You can't believe the kind of "healthy school lunch" that is offered to my kids. Corn dogs! Pizza. Hot dogs. Processed chicken patties. Of course they offer some healthy dishes alongside the unhealthy ones. But what do the kids pick from the choices offered? Yeah, you guessed right.

The problem is that school lunches are not required to be healthy. They are required to provide a certain level of life sustaining nutrition. They can serve all of the fried and processed food they want as long as it has enough protein & carbs, and stays under a certain fat & salt content.

In my daughters school district a handful of schools started a true healthy lunch program. It is decent for the most part. They bake stuff and dont fry it. They serve vegetables and fruit with all meals. They offer a soup & salad option (which a surprising amount of kids get). The salt content is lower than national standards, so is the fat content. They use minimal processed foods. Use wheat bread and no starched white bread.
I believe the whole district is going to it next school year. It is certainly a step in the right direction.

However, they still have a few things occasionally that I do not agree with. I think they do get 1 or 2 days per month they can cheat in some areas. Like yesterday they served them salami & pepperoni sandwiches... At least it came with an apple and small salad. Last time I ate with her at school they had baked chicken with brown rice. So it is better than most. And most kids do not complain.

But healthy meals only go so far too. They need to get outside and out from in front of the tv and computer.

John Stewart had a segment on his show last night about "free range" kids. They made a satirical comment about how when a kid is in front of the tv all day, who cares if they are slowly dying of diabetes, at least you know they are not being molested... lol. There is a lot of hidden truth to that statement though. When I was 11+ I roamed all over the place with my friends on our bikes. We would be 4 or 5 miles from home and not even think twice about it.


Anyway. Imo it starts with the parents. The majority of fat people have fat kids. The majority of healthy people have healthy kids. It is all about the lifestyle choices they make 90% of the time.

 

[kgmom219]

But Preventive Care can only do so much. Children are not going without Preventive Care unless the parents are totally irresponsible. The majority of kids without vaccines are from wealthy families with egg head new age moms who think it is going to cause autism. But at the same time, those kids are much more likely to be physically fit vs. low income kids. Child obesity is a much larger issue in this country than kids going without vaccines. (because the majority of kids are vaccinated)

The vaccine rate is going down annually, due to the egg heads. (Don't get me started on the anti-vaxxers).

One reason that the "low income" kids are always 100% is because in most states, the moms can't get the WIC coupons without the kids being vaccinated.

 

[scagnt83]

The vaccine rate is going down annually, due to the egg heads. (Don't get me started on the anti-vaxxers).

One reason that the "low income" kids are always 100% is because in most states, the moms can't get the WIC coupons without the kids being vaccinated.

I realize that. It still is not a lack of access to Preventive Care. It is a lifestyle choice... which was the point of my previous post.

I think that the anti-vaccine movement will run its course once enough rich white kids get polio and their lives are ruined. Nothing like a little bit of history to remind us of why we are where we are today.

 

[sman]

However, if "health care reform" was more about health and less about reforming the insurance industry, we could go a long ways toward having a healthier society, and lower medical costs.

There's a mentality in our culture that "there's a pill for that". For example, a few years ago when I was approaching age 41 I decided to have my cholesterol checked as I have two uncles with heart issues. Of course, they are both overweight and smoked for many years. I'm 6' and weigh 175lbs and stay in decent shape. But considering the family history I decided it was best to get checked.

My cholesterol was high, very high. The doctor immediately prescribed a medication. I told her that I'd like to attempt to get it down naturally. Of course she was adamant that it wasn't possible. That was all the motivation I needed. Within 4 months I was able to lower my cholesterol 85 points and get it back into a normal range. She then said, "whatever you're doing, keep doing it".

When discussing this with a friend and his wife, the wife said, "He (meaning her husband) just asks the doctor if he can take a medication to lower his cholesterol. He's not going to change his lifestyle when a pill will take care of it."

That's the mentality I speak of. Don't get me wrong, there may come a day where I need to be on a medication for cholesterol as my body produces more than what is considered normal. So I'm grateful that there is a medication that will help me if and when it is needed. But as long as I can have some control over it I will keep working at it.

 

[AllenChicago]

There's a mentality in our culture that "there's a pill for that".

Within 4 months I was able to lower my cholesterol 85 points and get it back into a normal range. She then said, "whatever you're doing, keep doing it".

When discussing this with a friend and his wife, the wife said, "He (meaning her husband) just asks the doctor if he can take a medication to lower his cholesterol. He's not going to change his lifestyle when a pill will take care of it."

We'll reach a point one day where the government will tell everyone with elevated _________ to try and get it down like SMAN did. Only get the pill if you fail. I wonder how Americans will take to this? Those who want the government to control our medical care will be the first to whine.

 

[justthefacts]

It's great sign that we are talking about cost controls(all ideas are good) but how about some basic USA healthcare accounting realities. The dominant cost of both medicaid and medicare comes from end of live care of the aged(Medicare spends 45% on 5% of its population) Medicaid close to(my state fl) 70% on the custodial nursing population.USA has by far the highest claims for ICU(Intensive Care Units) then anywhere in the world.Ditto for all types diagnostics labs and imaging.
Regardless of your politics a strong accounting case can be made that Medical providers of all stripes are over treating all of us for two reasons, greed and because they can!

 

[bluediamond]

There's a mentality in our culture that "there's a pill for that". For example, a few years ago when I was approaching age 41 I decided to have my cholesterol checked as I have two uncles with heart issues. Of course, they are both overweight and smoked for many years. I'm 6' and weigh 175lbs and stay in decent shape. But considering the family history I decided it was best to get checked.

My cholesterol was high, very high. The doctor immediately prescribed a medication. I told her that I'd like to attempt to get it down naturally. Of course she was adamant that it wasn't possible. That was all the motivation I needed. Within 4 months I was able to lower my cholesterol 85 points and get it back into a normal range. She then said, "whatever you're doing, keep doing it".

When discussing this with a friend and his wife, the wife said, "He (meaning her husband) just asks the doctor if he can take a medication to lower his cholesterol. He's not going to change his lifestyle when a pill will take care of it."

That's the mentality I speak of. Don't get me wrong, there may come a day where I need to be on a medication for cholesterol as my body produces more than what is considered normal. So I'm grateful that there is a medication that will help me if and when it is needed. But as long as I can have some control over it I will keep working at it.

Good job and if that day ever comes really research what the statin drugs do your blood sugar, not to mention other organs. I have been on them for years, last year my type 2 got out of hand to where the doc put me on metformin and change bp meds, that first week really screwed me up, legs swollen from the change in meds, stomach upset from metformin. So I decided to go back to my regular bp med, drop the metformin and statins that first week and went on a strict low carb diet. Next blood work 3 months later A1C down 1.5 pts, cholestrol stayed the same around 100 without the medication for 3 months. I now taking the cholestrol half pill every other day and in the morning after take by blood sugar and it's spiked.

I have read statins add to type 2 and they are wondering why it's an epidemic in us older people.


Sadly I have put 7 lbs back on and just had blood work yesterday, waiting for the results.

Oh might add that low carb diet was full of fat meat, chicken, tuna and salads.

 

[sman]

Good job and if that day ever comes really research what the statin drugs do your blood sugar, not to mention other organs. I have been on them for years, last year my type 2 got out of hand to where the doc put me on metformin and change bp meds, that first week really screwed me up, legs swollen from the change in meds, stomach upset from metformin. So I decided to go back to my regular bp med, drop the metformin and statins that first week and went on a strict low carb diet. Next blood work 3 months later A1C down 1.5 pts, cholestrol stayed the same around 100 without the medication for 3 months. I now taking the cholestrol half pill every other day and in the morning after take by blood sugar and it's spiked.

I have read statins add to type 2 and they are wondering why it's an epidemic in us older people.


Sadly I have put 7 lbs back on and just had blood work yesterday, waiting for the results.

Oh might add that low carb diet was full of fat meat, chicken, tuna and salads.

The way I was able to get my cholesterol down was through multiple avenues. I reduced carbs (I really just reduced my bread intake). But the thing that helped more than anything was increased fruits and vegetables. For a while I would make a smoothie every day. It consisted of 8-10 whole frozen strawberries, about 1 cup or so of frozen blueberries, a banana, an orange and 1 stalk of broccoli (that's about the only way I can eat broccoli). I also add freshly ground flaxseed. In addition I take a daily Niacin (Vitamin B3). That was challenging to get used to. Through all of my research, the flush works better than the no flush so I went with the flush. In the beginning, about an hour after taking it (1,000mg), I'd look like I was sunburn and my body would be warm to the touch. It's not as bad now.

Of course, throw in some cardio a few times per week and I really dropped my numbers. It gets a little challenging at times having to do all of this and I've had moments where my numbers increased some when I've gotten slack. I've always been a fairly healthy eater (very little fried food and red meat). Mostly baked or grilled chicken and fish. But adding more fruit and vegetables to your diet is a plus. I may have the occasional burger (once per month maybe) and when I have steak it's typically filet mignon (also maybe once per month).

I also found in my research that some of us just produce more cholesterol than others. And regardless of diet and exercise we'll still have elevated numbers. I'm evidently one of those people.

 

[somarco]

You can't believe the kind of "healthy school lunch" that is offered to my kids. Corn dogs! Pizza. Hot dogs. Processed chicken patties

They must not be on the new Michelle Obama meal plan.

Cholesterol & Niacin

Q: Are there different types of niacin that might reduce the flushing?
The flushing occurs with over-the-counter immediate-release niacin tablets. With this type of niacin the vitamin is delivered to the body in a short burst and the flushing reaction is more intense.

Sustained-release niacin tablets deliver the vitamin to the body in a slower fashion over many hours. This reduces the intensity of the flushing but this type of niacin causes liver damage in some people.

A prescription extended-release niacin product called Niaspan® releases niacin in a slower way but over a shorter period of time compared to the sustained-release tablets. This gives the liver a "break" from processing the niacin making liver damage less likely. This type of niacin has been shown to have positive effects on cholesterol with reduced flushing. However, it is more expensive than regular niacin tablets.

Q: What about "no-flush" niacin?
No-flush niacin contains something called inositol nicotinate, which the body is supposed to slowly convert to niacin. However, there is evidence that it does not actually provide the body with much niacin. This is probably the reason it does not produce any flushing. Of course, this also means that no-flush niacin does not have any of the beneficial effects on cholesterol.

Niacin: The facts on flushing