February Springfield Healthy Cells 2011

February 2011 FREE

HealthyCellsm a g a z i n Ewww.healthycellsmagazine.com

areaPromotingHealthier Living in Your Community • Physical • Emotional • Nutritional

SPRINGFIELD/DECATUR

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Decatur Memorial Hospital First Hospital in U.S. to Receive TapeaseTM

New Tape That Makes Starting an IV Easier Invented by DMH Nurses

Body Image & Your Kids page 6

The Gluten “Epidemic” page 18 A Grade in Health & Treatment page 20

February 2011 — Springfield / Decatur — Healthy Cells Magazine — Page 3

This Month’s Cover Story:Volume 2, Issue 2

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Healthy Lifestyles:Independence and Mobility

Emotional:Body Image and Your Kids

Nutritional:Tasty Ways to Your Heart

Physical:Nurse Becomes the Patient

Environmental Health:HAIL THE MIGHTY PLANT

Restore Your Health:The Gluten “Epidemic”

Patient Care:A Grade in Health and Treatment

Safety and Comfort:Keep Fresh Air Flowing During Dry Winter Months

Easy Aging:Technology Makes it Easier Than Ever to Age Gracefully

Financial Education:Why Tax Season is a Good Time to Check Your Credit Score

Environmental Health:Hospitals Join the ‘Going Green’ Movement

Healthy Eating:Nutrition 101

FEBRUARY 2011

Healthy Cells Magazine is intended to heighten awareness of health and fitness information and does not suggest diagnosis or treatment. This information is not a substitute for medical attention. See your healthcare professional for medical advice and treatment. The opinions, statements, and claims expressed by the columnists, advertisers, and contributors to Healthy Cells Magazine are not necessarily those of the editors or publisher.

Healthy Cells Magazine is available FREE in high traffic locations throughout the Greater Springfield and Decatur area, including major grocery stores, hospitals, physicians’ offices, and health clubs. Healthy Cells Magazine is published monthly and welcomes contributions pertaining to healthier living. Limelight Communications, Inc. as-sumes no responsibility for their publication or return. Solicitations for articles shall pertain to physical, emotional, and nutritional health only.

Mission: The objective of Healthy Cells Magazine is to promote a stronger health-conscious community by means of offering education and support through the cooperative efforts among esteemed health and fitness professionals in the Springfield/Decatur Illinois area.

Healthy Cells Magazine is a division of:

1711 W. Detweiller Dr., Peoria, IL 61615 Ph: 309-681-4418 Fax: [email protected] • www.healthycellsmagazine.com

For information about this publication, contact Becky Arndt, owner at 217-413-1884, [email protected]

I wish to thank all the advertisers for their support of Healthy Cells Magazine’s mission to bring positive health related information to our readers. Because of their generosity we are able to provide this publication FREE to you.

– Becky Arndt

Decatur Memorial HospitalFirst Hospital in U.S. to Receive TapeaseTM page 14


healthy lifestyles

Imagine it’s 1946, you are six years old and on your way back home after a visit with doctors in a big hospital a long way from home. You are not really sure why you had to go, but it is what your Mom

and Dad wanted you to do. Unbeknownst to you, your parents are concerned about you because you don’t walk, run, climb steps, get up from the floor, and other actions the way other kids your age do. Also not known by you at the time, the doctors told your parents you have Muscular Dystrophy and your life will most likely end before you become a teenager. The doctors asked your parents to let you stay with them at the hospital so they could basically use you for research. But your parents would not agree to that and insisted you go home with them where they would care for you no matter what was to come. While on the way back, your parents stopped by to visit your Aunt and Uncle who live in a town about 25 miles from home. One of your

cousins overheard your Mom and Dad tell your Aunt and Uncle what the doctors told them about your prognosis. Shortly after that is when you first learned what the doctors had to say, from your cousin. “You have a disease and probably won’t live to be a teenager” he told you. After a million thoughts race through your mind, you tell yourself “I am going to Rise Above this”. As you get older it becomes more difficult to walk and finally you lose your ability to walk at all. But you are constantly thinking of ways that will help you maintain your independence. With a developing me-chanical aptitude and support from your family you engineer, develop, and build an electric mobility cart powered with batteries. This contrap-tion allows you to regain your mobility and become less dependent on others to help you get around. After a few revisions and improvements the mobility cart was noticed by others who either could benefit from or knew someone who could use one. Slowly, more and more people are asking for you to build them a mobility cart, and the name “Tri Wheeler” becomes known far and wide. By now, with the assistance of your Tri Wheeler you are able to get a job. The next obstacle you face is the desire to drive and take your recent invention along, but you need a way to get your Tri Wheeler into a vehicle and then be able to drive the vehicle. Soon after, you are able to a purchase an old postal jeep, then install a lift on the back to allow you to enter the vehicle with your Tri Wheeler, and some mechanical hand controls to help you drive. As Willie Nelson would sing, you were “On the Road Again, Going Places That You’ve Never Been.” This was the beginning of another product

of an up and rising company that eventually became the Braun Corpo-ration, that will soon celebrate its 50th anniversary. The person behind that corporation and the person I have been describing is Ralph Braun. Ralph is pictured above along with Lu Ann, Charissa, and Gerry Davis taken about a month before his 70th birthday which was December 18th, 2010. Ralph has been and remains at the helm of the Corporation as CEO. Today Braun has 700 employees, over 200 US dealers, and has product sales on four continents. He is married, the father of four children and is a grandfather. In the last year, Ralph has written a book, Rise Above, the story of his life’s journey to date. He also started the Ralph Braun Foundation, whose mission is to help provide accessible transportation for those without the financial resources to purchase BraunAbility products. To help kick off the foundation, Ralph sold two special cor-vettes. They were sold at the world famous Barrett Jackson Auction in Las Vegas last September. To top it off, the cars were bought by a long time Braun dealer and donated back to the foundation. A video clip of the sale can be seen at http://multimedia.foxsports.com/m/video/34410528/bj-81-chevy-corvette.htm. They will be sold again for the foundation at the next Barrett Jack-son Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. More information about Ralph’s book or the Foundation can be found at www.braunability.com or www.ralphbraunfoundation.org. We enjoyed the visit we had with Mr. Braun in October and until we meet again, Happy Birthday Ralph, and congratulations on your Rise Above that teenager thing.

For more information about Personal Mobility/United Access, con-tact Gerry at 888-706-1010 or [email protected].

Independenceand Mobility

By Gerry Davis, Personal Mobility/United Access, Springfield Illinois

“After a million thoughts race

through your mind, you tell yourself

‘I am going to Rise Above this.’ ”

Page 6 — Healthy Cells Magazine — Springfield / Decatur — February 2011

On a diet, you can’t eat.” This is what one five year-old girl had to say in a study on girls’ ideas about dieting. This and other research has shown that daughters are more likely

to have ideas about dieting when their mothers diet. Children pick up on comments about dieting concepts that may seem harmless, such as limiting high-fat foods or eating less. Yet, as girls enter their teen years, having ideas about dieting can lead to problems. Many things can spark weight concerns for girls and impact their eating habits in potentially unhealthy ways: • Having mothers concerned about their own weight • Having mothers who are overly concerned about their

daughters’ weight and looks • Natural weight gain and other body changes during puberty • Peer pressure to look a certain way • Struggles with self-esteem • Media images showing the ideal female body as thin

“Many teenage girls of average weight think they are over-weight and are not satisfied with their bodies. Having extreme weight concerns — and acting on those concerns — can harm girls’ social, physical, and emotional growth.” Actions such as skipping meals or taking diet pills can lead to poor nutrition and difficulty learning. For some, extreme efforts to lose weight can lead to eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. For others, the pressure to be thin can actually lead to binge eating disorder: overeating that is followed by extreme guilt. What’s more, girls are more likely to further risk their health by trying to lose weight in unhealthy ways, such as smoking. While not as common, boys are also at risk of developing un-healthy eating habits and eating disorders. Body image becomes an important issue for teenage boys as they struggle with body changes and pay more attention to media images of the “ideal” muscular male.

What you can do Your children pay attention to what you say and do — even if it doesn’t seem like it sometimes. If you are always complaining about your weight or feel pressure to change your body shape, your children may learn that these are important concerns. If you are attracted to new “miracle” diets, they may learn that restrictive dieting is better than making healthy lifestyle choices. If you tell your daughter that she would be prettier if she lost weight, she will learn that the goals of weight loss are to be attractive and ac-cepted by others.

Body Image and Your Kids:

Your Body Image Plays a Role in Theirs

emotional

“


Parents are role models and should try to follow the healthy eating and physical activity patterns that you would like your chil-dren to follow — for your health and theirs. Extreme weight con-cerns and eating disorders, as well as obesity, are hard to treat. Yet, you can play an important role in preventing these problems for your children. Follow these steps to help your child develop a positive body image and relate to food in a healthy way: • Make sure your child understands that weight gain is a nor-

mal part of development, especially during puberty. • Avoid negative statements about food, weight, and body

size and shape. • Allow your child to make decisions about food, while making

sure that plenty of healthy and nutritious meals and snacks are available.

• Compliment your child on her or his efforts, talents, accom-plishments, and personal values.

• Restrict television viewing, and watch television with your child and discuss the media images you see.

• Encourage your school to enact policies against size and sexual discrimination, harassment, teasing, and name-calling; support the elimination of public weigh-ins and fat measurements.

• Keep the communication lines with your child open.

Information provided by womenshealth.gov.

Many teenage girls of average weight

think they are overweight and are not

satisfied with their bodies. Having extreme

weight concerns — and acting on those

concerns — can harm girls’ social, physical,

and emotional growth.


nutritional

Valentine’s Day naturally brings thoughts of hearts, flowers, sweet-ness and love. But did you know that it also falls during American Heart Month? A perfect time to start taking care of your heart and the hearts of the ones you love. You might think that a heart-healthy diet is boring or flavorless. Actually, eating for your heart can add a lot of flavor, and some of it may come from surprising sources - such as watermelon. Eating watermelon can help maintain cardiovascular health. That’s because the amino acid called citrul-line in watermelon increases free arginine which helps maintain blood flow, the arteries, and overall cardio-vascular function. To get more scrumptious recipes like these, and to learn more about the heart benefits of watermelon, visit www.watermelon.org.

WatermelonseasonisroughlyMaythroughOctober.Butyoucanenjoydeliciousimportedwatermelonallyearround.

Allmaterialscourtesyof:NationalWatermelonPromotionBoard

Watermelon S’moresServes 4

1 cup graham cracker crumbs1/2 cup melted dark chocolate chips4 2 x 4 x 1-inch-thick rectangles of seedless watermelon1 cup mini marshmallows

Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs over the center of 4 plates. Drizzle 1/3 of the dark chocolate over the crumbs. Place a watermelon rectangle over the crumbs and chocolate on each plate. Drizzle 1/3 of the dark chocolate over the watermelon. Sprinkle the marshmallows over the watermelon and drizzle the remaining chocolate over the marshmallows.


Grilled Scallops and Watermelon Mini Kebabs

12 sea scallops4 cups boiling vegetable or chicken broth24 1 x 1-inch watermelon cubes1/4 cup soy sauce1 tablespoon sesame oil1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger

Cut the scallops into halves across the diameter to create half-moon shapes. Place them in a heatproof casserole dish in a single layer. Pour the boiling clear broth over the scallops and let them poach for 5 minutes. Drain and cool the scallops. On each skewer alternate 1 half-moon scallop, then 2 watermelon cubes, then an-other half-moon scallop. Mix together the soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and ginger and brush the kebabs as they are grilled over a medium hot grill for about 90 seconds per side turning once. Serve warm. Serves 12 as an appetizer.

Watermelon Oat CrumbleServes 6 to 8

2 cups rolled or quick cook oats 1 teaspoon cinnamon1/2 cup light brown sugar 1 cup chopped pecans1/8 cup honey 6 cups watermelon balls

Toss the oats, sugar, honey, cinnamon and pecans until mixed well. Spread into an even layer on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Bake in pre-heated 300∞F oven until golden brown. Turn off oven leaving the tray in for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Remove and cool. Break into crumbles. Arrange the watermelon balls in 6 to 8 small bowls or wide stemmed glasses and top with the oat crumble.


physical

Nurse Becomes the Patient:Advice for Productive Conversations with Doctors

As a cardiac nurse, Carol was devoted to helping patients suffering from heart disease. But when she began to ex-perience a subtle pain in her jaw as she walked from her

car to the hospital where she worked, she brushed it aside. She knew it was angina, a symptom of a heart problem, but she ignored her symptoms because she didn’t want to face a diagnosis. Chronic angina affects more than 10 million Americans and is the most common symptom of coronary heart disease (CHD). Angina occurs as a result of reduced blood flow to the heart and can be brought on by exercise, extreme tempera-tures, mental or emotional stress or walking in cold weather, uphill, or after eating. When the heart doesn’t get as much oxygen as it needs, it cannot work properly, ultimately leading to the pain and discomfort of angina. “It started for me as jaw pain, but soon I was experiencing pronounced pain when walking up hills,” recalls Carol, who is from Redwood City, Calif. “I kind of knew what it was, but didn’t want to believe it. As a nurse accustomed to caring for heart patients, being officially diagnosed was the first time I felt mortal.” As with confronting any health condition, the first step in managing angina is acknowledging the symptoms. People experience angina differently. During an angina episode, most people feel uncomfortable pressure or pain in their chest. Oth-ers may feel indigestion, exhaustion or shortness of breath. Even after she was diagnosed, Carol still lived in fear. She kept her fears to herself and quietly structured her life around her angina. She avoided activities which might provoke an at-tack – anything from changing the bed linens to walking briskly across a parking lot. “Patients need to speak with their healthcare profes-sionals about their symptoms and keep an ongoing dialogue even after a diagnosis,” says Kathy Berra, MSN, ANP, FAAN, FPCNA, a board member of the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association. “There are a number of treatment options available to help relieve and control angina to minimize its im-pact on daily life and patients should be aware of all of their options.” As a nurse, Carol understood the importance of com-municating with her cardiologist, but she didn’t want to admit how much her angina controlled her life. It was only when her

symptoms worsened that she realized she needed to tell her doctor. The key to regaining control, she says, was learning to recognize the pattern of her specific angina symptoms and alerting her doctor when that pattern changed. “Communication is a two-way street. To develop a proper treatment plan, your healthcare professional first has to know what specific symptoms you’re experiencing, how often you have them, and are they getting worse,” Berra explains. “The sooner you start having meaningful conversations with your pro-vider, the sooner you can start living your life again.” A new online resource from Gilead Sciences, www.SpeakFromTheHeart.com, includes tools to help patients have a more productive conversation with their cardiologist with a goal of leading to better management of chronic angina. “Having angina doesn’t mean you have to limit your life,” Carol advises. “With the proper treatment you can control angina, instead of angina controlling you.”

Photo courtesy of Getty Images



environmental health

There should be a “take a plant to work” day. And while you’re at it, you should keep one on your desk. Or, better yet, have two or more in your office and for every room in your home for cleaner,

fresher air. Most people spend 90 percent of their lives inside, where the indoor air they breathe contains at least 10 times more pollutants than the out-doors, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Instead of wearing a mask to work or around your home, there’s a natural solution: indoor houseplants. Plants filter the very air you breathe round the clock from common pollutants and continuously re-lease oxygen and moisture in homes and offices. “Plants act as the ‘lungs of the earth’ by giving off oxygen and taking in carbon dioxide,” says former NASA research scientist Dr.

HAIL THE MIGHTY PLANTPlants Naturally Purify Homes and Offices

B.C. Wolverton, author of “How to Grow Fresh Air” and co-author with Kozaburo Takenaka of “Plants, Why You Can’t Live Without Them.” After decades of research, Wolverton asserts that beside aesthetics, research reveals that the mere presence of plants has been proven to “lessen environmental pollution, increase labor productivity and reduce the cost of health care.”

What’s in the air? Modern life depends on technology, but ordi-nary products like paints, tobacco smoke, printer inks and even carpets hold hidden dangers that plants can help reduce. Today, there are over 80,000 synthetic chemi-cals that emit off-gases. Formaldehyde is one of the leading chemical compounds found in indoor air emissions and is a component in paper prod-ucts, paints, upholstery, drapes and pressed wood products, Wolverton notes. A recent study published in the British Medi-cal Association’s journal, Thorax, found that “children exposed to higher levels of VOCs were four times more likely to suffer from asthma than children who were not.”

Plant magic Plants improve air quality through their natu-ral “filtering” ability. Wolverton found that indoor houseplants absorb up to 87 percent of VOCs like ammonia, formaldehyde and benzene found in many homes and offices. And certain indoor houseplants ‘clean’ the air every 24 hours. How? They absorb toxins into the leaves and root zone where they’re turned into nutrients. Some tropical plants actually sup-press airborne mold. Researchers at Washington State Univer-

sity studied the impact of indoor houseplants on dust reduction in office spaces. When indoor houseplants were present, dust particulates were reduced by 20 percent compared to rooms without plants.

Working day and night Some of the hardest working plants are the peace lilies, ferns, palms and spider plants. Mike Rimland of Costa Farms, the largest indoor houseplant pro-ducer in North America, recommends epiphytic bromeliads and or-chids, particularly in your bedroom. These natural botanical air purifiers make perfect bedroom buddies to refresh and beautify your room for a truly healthy, restful night’s sleep.


Rimland’s favorites are anthuriums. “They come in an array of col-ors, with stunning blooms that last up to 13 weeks, are easy to grow, freshen the air and add exotic beauty to your bedroom,” he says.

Bring a plant to work Put a plant on your desk and feel happier, enjoy better health and be more productive. Wolverton recommends office workers should have at least one plant in their “personal breathing space” where most of the work is done to effectively remove indoor pollutants. Wolver-ton suggests two areca palms or lady palms should remove sufficient VOCs to significantly improve the indoor air quality in a room. Snake plants, broad sword ferns and rubber plants are among the top 10 air purifiers recommended by experts. They’re easy to grow, are natural humidifiers and remove airborne chemicals. Other green heroes are chrysanthemums, Gerbera daisies and spider plants.

Location, location, location “Which plant you choose, and where you place your plants is im-portant to reap optimum benefits,” says Rimland. Consider the light, humidity, and temperature of your indoor spaces to determine the best choices for your home. Put a Majesty Palm in your living room, fern in the family room and peace lilies in the kitchen. Add golden pothos or heart leaf philodendron for beauty and maximum air cleansing benefits. In your fast-paced life, plant-filled rooms help keep you in touch with nature and as Wolverton asserts, “Just the ability to view living plants enhances our psychological and physiological well-being.” He recommends that for homes and offices, you should “place as many plants as space and lighting will allow.”

To learn more about the fascinating world of indoor houseplants, visit www.O2foryou.org.

“Snake plants, broad sword ferns and rubber plants are

among the top 10 air purifiers recommended by experts.”

Hate Shaving?


feature story

New Tape That Makes Starting an IV Easier

Invented by DMH Nurses

First Hospital in U.S. to Receive TapeaseTM

Establishing an IV site and securing the IV catheter to the patient’s skin using Tapease™.


Decatur Memorial Hospital is the first hospital in the United States to receive delivery from Medline Industries of a new invention called Tapease™ that makes starting an IV easier.

Tapease™ was invented six years ago by three DMH Obstetric nurses—Sue Hesse, R.N.; Mable Davis, L.P.N.; and Jeania Kitchens, R.N., who thought there had to be a better way to secure the IV to a patient’s skin than using regular medical adhesive tape. The three nurses started out thinking they would invent gloves that didn’t stick to tape, but that idea quickly changed. They switched their focus to tape and devised a way to cover parts of the adhesive making it easy, fast and convenient to apply and remove. The nurses embarked on a six-year development process enlisting the support of retired Orthopaedic Surgeon, M. Joseph Schrodt, M.D., president of Majorus Medical, Inc.; Patent Attorney Alvin Rockhill, and the Millikin University Center for Entrepreneurship.

After seeing many products designed to make the job of the nurse easier, the three DMH nurses decided to create a product to make securing an IV catheter to a patient’s skin easier. Regular medical ad-hesive tape can be difficult to handle while wearing latex gloves. Using regular medical tape also increases the risk of contamination because it is often stuck temporarily to a surface before the nurse applies it to the patient’s skin to help stabilize the IV catheter. “Tapease™ securely holds a catheter in place, reduces the risk of contamination, and offers a simpler, quicker and gentler way to insert and remove catheters,” said Sue Hesse, DMH RN, and one of the product’s inventors. The sterile material and application design minimizes contamina-tion which reduces the risk of infection because it is applied directly from the IV start kit to the patient.

Retired Orthopaedic Surgeon, M. Joseph Schrodt, M.D., president of Majorus Medical, Inc., and Decatur Memorial Hospital Obstetrics Nurse Sue Hesse, R.N., demonstrate Ta-pease™ a new invention that makes starting an IV easier. Sue is one of the inventor’s of Tapease™.


feature story (continued)

Tapease™ is much easier to handle with gloves on be-cause of its “nonstick” ends. This also makes Tapease™ easier to remove. Because Ta-pease™ is sterile and attached to the catheter and skin during a two-step procedure, the risk of contamination is greatly reduced. The adhesive and material have a minimal adherence life of 72 hours, the average maximum recommended life of an IV. The invention can be used with any brand and size of IV catheter. “When they first came up with the idea, my first thought was ‘why didn’t I think of that’” Dr. Schrodt said. “It took four vis-its to the U.S. Patent and Trade-mark Office in Washington, D.C., to convince officials that nothing like Tapease™ had already been thought of. They proved that their invention was one-of-a-kind.” “The U.S. Patent and Trade-mark Office recognized the value of the product,” Hesse said. “The simplicity of the product increased the research time to check for existing products.” Cortape Inc, in Cuyahoga, Ohio, manufactures Tapease™ for the Decatur, Ill., based company Majorus Medical, Inc. Medline Industries in Mundelein, Ill., received the first shipment of Tapease™ from Cortape Inc., and prepared IV start kits featur-ing Tapease™ . These new IV start kits are available through Medline for the first time in the United States. Decatur Memorial Hospital was the first hospital to receive the IV start kits with the Tapease™ invention. “The existing way of secur-ing an IV is not incorrect,” Hesse said. “Tapease™ just makes it easier and faster. It’s really exciting that Decatur Memorial Hospital is the starting place for something that could be very huge in nursing.”

Decatur, IL., based Majorus Medical holds two US patents for Tapease™ and has applied for patents in Canada and Europe. For more information, please visit www.tapease.com

How to Use Tapease™Step 1: Remove a strip of Tapease® medical tape from the IV starter kit and remove its center cover tab. Then, after establishing IV access, slip the strip of Tapease® under the IV catheter hub and apply gentle pressure to adhere the catheter hub to the exposed adhesive in the middle of the Tapease® strip.

Step 2: Remove the cover tab on one end of the Tapease® strip to expose the adhesive on one end of the strip and grasp

the Tapease® strip by the non-adhesive white end tab at the extreme end of the Tapease® strip.

Step 3: Pull the end of the Tapease® strip having the exposed adhesive over one wing of the IV hub and adhere that end of the Tapease® strip to the patient’s skin by applying gentle pressure.

Step 4: Remove the cover tab on the other end of the Tapease® strip and grasp the Tapease® strip by the non-adhe-

sive white end tab at the extreme end of the Tapease® strip.

Step 5: Pull the other end of the Tapease® strip over the other wing of the IV hub and adhere it to the patient’s skin.

Step 6: Further adhere the IV hub to the patient’s skin with a second Tapease® strip.

Step 7: Continue to cover the IV site in accordance with your facility’s protocol.


2/28/11



restore your health

Allergy to gluten and celiac disease have received a lot of press lately. In the last few years I have diagnosed on average 200 people per year with a gluten problem they did not know existed

as they consulted me for other health complaints. The reason is that many people who are allergic to gluten have no serious clinical symp-toms, but their body is silently being damaged behind the scenes, leading to many minute clinical maladies that interfere with normal life. A major issue is that many people don’t understand the difference be-tween gluten allergy and celiac disease. Let me educate you. When you eat food that you are allergic to, it causes negative biochemical reactions in your body, especially in your digestive tract and its immune system. This inflammatory stress also decreases your serotonin level, which can have marked negative impact on your mood, often leading to tiredness, difficulty with sleep, and also depression. Further, food cravings can cause you to seek out and eat sugar and carbohydrates for relief of your cravings. Ingested sugar in turn helps feed any abnormal pathogens that have taken over your intestinal flora which further boosts the inflammatory cycle. The mechanism I use to explain this is that your body’s job is to heal itself, but the healing process takes energy. If at every meal, and even at snack times you ingest gluten you have multiple episodes throughout the day where you damage cells thereby creating an inflam-matory reaction that needs repair. This requires recurrent and chronic expenditures of energy which ultimately steals energy away from the fuel supply we would have to function normally. Daily life becomes a chore - difficult to get out of bed, to get motivated to go to work, let alone exercise, or even enjoy life. As you work to remove allergenic foods from your diet, cravings for carbohydrates will decrease, your mood will start to improve, your weight will start to drop, and your health will start to improve! Gluten is the primary protein found in wheat, rye, and barley, as well as several other grains. The difference between wheat, (which is the major culprit in our society at number eight on the listing of most common food allergens), and other grains such as rice, corn, buck-wheat, quinoa, etc. is the gluten molecule in these grains does not con-tain the GLIADIN molecule. Gliadin provokes the inflammatory reaction in the body. Once the gliadin is ingested, it becomes soluble in water, and then it attaches to cells in the intestines and creates inflammation or an allergic reaction. If you are sensitive to this, you will then make an antibody to gliadin and your immune cells start to attack the cells that the gliadin has attached itself to. It is this autoimmune reaction that differentiates gluten allergy from celiac disease. In celiac disease the cells are treated as foreign bodies and this immune response damages those cells and surrounding tissue and has the potential to cause mul-tiple other health problems in your body by setting up an autoimmune response where other normal cells are attacked. Gluten sensitivity and celiac disease both inflict widespread health deterioration. These can be nutritional deficiencies leading to osteo-

Are You Tired of Being Tired?By Dr. Thomas Rohde, Renew Total Body Wellness Center

porosis from malabsorption, depression, autoimmune disease such as type I diabetes, thyroiditis, lupus, psoriasis, etc. - there are few areas of the body that gluten can’t affect in a negative way! Most people feel a gluten-free diet is a simple answer, but this is really just the first step as up to 30% have persistent gut inflammation. Further, the biggest long-term impediment to health is our human na-ture to cheat on the diet! Amazingly, when we are gluten free we feel well and any major abdominal symptoms that occur with cheating usu-ally improve within days of returning to a strict diet. Poor compliance to the gluten-free diet is strongly associated with persistent intestinal damage and increased inflammation in the body that further damages tissue that is not so readily healed. These urges must be resisted as they steal away your longevity! The importance of healing the inflamed intestine is vital to understand. The next step to restoration of health is to determine what other in-flammatory problems exist in the intestine and correct them. Your good bacteria, known as the microbiome or probiotics, make up much of the intestinal immune system. In gluten intolerant patients this important population of organisms is often insufficient due to the inflammation from gluten and pathogenic organisms. These probiotics must be re-stored to a healthy number or any attempt to achieve a healthy intes-tine will be unsuccessful. With persistent abnormal flora, bad bacteria, yeast, even parasites invade as the normal bacterial flora is destroyed, this is referred to as dysbiosis. These abnormal bacteria and other organisms will then actually start to suppress your intestinal immune system which is a vital defense against further illness. Eighty percent of your IgA immune system lines your intestine. It is vital to understand that not healing the gut completely leads to further disease processes in the remainder of the body, and ultimately can lead to a shortened lifespan or an early death! Finally, we must be able to digest our food properly and to do this we need enzymes - yet our enzymes are made from the nutrients we digest. This circular pattern is dramatically interrupted in the gluten in-tolerant patient. Celiacs in particular suffer from very poor absorption. Therefore it is vital to augment our diet with proper digestive enzymes as a major component of proper digestion restoration. A gluten-free lifestyle can be attained, normal health restored, and longevity improved with diligent attention to food choices. Let me help you restore your health!

For further information please do not hesitate to contact me at 217-864-2700 or review my web site at www.DrRohde.com.


patient care

Ever wonder where your primary care doctor gets the health and treatment recommendations that she or he makes for you? Much of what is recommended comes from medical training,

which can lead to substantial amounts of variation. A doctor-in-training on the West Coast, for example, might be taught to manage conges-tive heart failure somewhat differently than a doctor being trained on the East Coast. Either treatment will work, but one treatment might be more expensive or slightly less effective than the other. This has lead to publicized differences of outcomes and costs in different geographic areas and a call for standardization of treatment. With the expansion of government involvement in healthcare, providing patients with the most effective and cost-conscious care will be increasingly stressed. One of the most widely used sources of patient care recommen-dations is the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (www.uspreventi-veservicestaskforce.org), which is a government agency responsible for testing and rating of health care recommendations. It consists of experts who review research data, medical opinions, and health out-comes to formulate the most up-to-date and accurate recommenda-tions. Every recommendation for a medical intervention is published with a rating, based on the strength of the research data. The stron-gest recommendation is a grade A recommendation, which is based on evidence that the intervention is highly likely to improve health outcomes. An example would be the recommendation that women wanting to become pregnant take folic acid every day, as folic acid can reduce the chances of a certain birth defect. The next best rec-ommendation is a grade B recommendation, which means there is a moderate certainty of a health benefit. Asking patients about potential alcohol misuse is an example of a grade B recommendation. Both A and B recommendations should be carried out, with the A’s having more strength than the B’s.

A Grade in Health and Treatment

By Dr. Scott Sieberg

A grade of C is actually a recommendation against the interven-tion. Such interventions can improve health outcomes but the benefits may not outweigh the risks of the intervention. As an example, routine abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening tests in men aged 60-75 who have never smoked tobacco has been rated a C rating. An aortic aneurysm in the abdomen is an abnormally weakened and enlarged blood vessel that carries the blood from the heart to the organs in the abdomen. It is similar to a garden hose developing a weak spot and having a portion bulge out under the water pressure. If the aneurysm weakens too much, it could rupture. A grade D recommendation basi-cally states that the intervention/test also should not be done, because the potential harm outweighs any benefit or because no benefit has been proven. Keeping with the aneurysm testing, women should not undergo routine screening tests for AAA. This is based on studies and evidence that women are at less risk for the aneurysm and may have an increased risk of side effects from subsequent intervention. There is a final grade of “I”, which stands for insufficient. In this case, there is not enough evidence from research to either recommend or not recommend the intervention. An example of a grade I would be the routine screening of thyroid disorders in adults. There is not enough information available to either prove or disprove the value of thyroid screening. The USPSTF is not without controversy, as witnessed by the re-cent recommendation on mammogram recommendations for women aged 40-49. It has become the standard of care to start ordering rou-tine mammograms when a women turns 40, and the recommendation against this practice has upset many people.

For more information visit www.DrSieberg.com.


safety and comfort

Winter is the season for being cozy, while spend-ing long days and nights inside the comfort of our tightly closed homes. It’s also an infamous time for

feeling dry and under-the-weather. With people spending more time indoors, air circulation is compromised, and the level of contaminants increases. Fleeting freshness and moisture take a toll on our skin, throats, noses and overall health, and can be especially harmful to those suffering from allergies and asthma. Up to 72 trillion microscopic irritants, or allergens, find their way into your home every day. They include dust, pol-len, pet hair and dander, dust mites, mildew, lint, fungus, most tobacco smoke, cooking grease and bacteria. Many of these particles are undetectable by your nose and throat, and can get deep into your lungs. This year, be proactive in creating a safer indoor environment for your family and guests by following these few quick fixes.

Filter your way to fresh comfort. A whole-home air filtration system, like the AccuCleanTM from American Standard Heating & Air Conditioning, can remove up to 99.98 percent of unwanted particles and al-lergens from a home’s filtered air, a benefit that no standard 1-inch throwaway filter or ionic-type room appliance can match. These systems are designed to work as part of your heating and cooling system, meaning they’re designed to clean the filtered air in every room of your home. Air filtra-tion systems work behind the scenes to keep you breathing easier and feeling healthier year-round. Routine maintenance to your heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system is equally - if not more - critical to keeping the indoor air quality of your home safe and systems operating at peak efficiency. Changing or cleaning your filters regularly will minimize the introduction of dust and other contaminants into your home. Check your owner’s manual or contact an HVAC professional to determine the appropriate filter schedule for your system. In addition, an HVAC professional can perform a routine maintenance checkup to ensure all components of your HVAC system are operating properly, and advise you on ways to improve the safety and comfort of your home. To locate an independent HVAC dealer near you, visit www.americanstandardair.com.

Why so dry? The chill of outside air has a relatively low dew point. When we bring that outside air inside and heat it, even more moisture is sucked from the air, making your body uncomfort-ably dry. The addition of a humidifier will restore and balance the moisture in your home’s air, ensuring there’s not too much

moisture that can harbor bacteria and germs, not to mention damage to woodwork on window frames and doors.

Extra tips for a happier, healthier, warmer winter: • Reverse the switch on your ceiling fans so they blow upward, toward the ceiling.

By doing so, you will reduce cooling drafts and force naturally rising heat back down into the room.

• Add a touch of green. House plants are a small, but natural source of oxygen, and will liven up any room.

• On pleasant or mild winter days, hang bed sheets out on a clothesline to dry, for a crisp and fresh winter-wonderland smell that will have you falling fast to sleep at night. Or even open your windows for 15 minutes to break stale or musty air.

• Keep an odor-eliminating air freshener around the house to quickly spray on upholstery, clothes, blinds or carpet before guests arrive.

• Turn the heat down in your shower. Hot water may feel amazing on a cold winter morning, but it contributes to the dryness of your skin.

Now that you’re ready to beat the bummer of cold weather, your family can enjoy spending time together. And before you know it, it will be time to pull shorts and swimsuits out of winter storage.

Keep Fresh Air Flowing During Dry Winter Months


easy aging

Thick-lensed glasses with bifocal lines, dentures that look too perfect to be real and, of course, bulky, heavy hearing aids that just can’t be over-

looked - once, there was no mistaking the signs of age. Many people chose to endure the inconveniences of aging, rather than wear the overly obvious devices that might have eased vision and hearing losses. Technology, however, is making aging less con-spicuous. Advances in optometric science and great de-sign have turned glasses into style statements worn by people of all ages. Products like bifocal contact lenses and virtually invisible hearing aids can make some of the natural bodily changes associated with growing older seem less obvious and reduce their impact on a per-son’s quality of life. “Your eye doctor may start talking about bifocals when you enter your 40s, and by the time you are in

your 50s, you may notice a difference in your hear-ing,” says Dr. Barry Freeman from hearing

aid maker Starkey Laboratories, Inc. “Many people may put off doing something about hearing loss or vision loss because they don’t like the thought of wearing a visible hearing aid or thick glasses, and being thought of as ‘old’ when they still feel young in other ways.” If you’ve begun to experience age-related vision or hearing loss, don’t wait to see your doctor, Freeman advises. “You have plenty of options for doing something about hearing loss and vision changes - options that can help relieve the prob-lems these changes cause, without making you feel old in

the process.”

Technology Makes it Easier Than Ever to Age Gracefully


Modern hearing aids Hearing loss affects more than 31 million Americans, according to the Bet-ter Hearing Institute. People age 55 to 64 make up the largest group with hearing loss. In fact, 15 percent of people ages 45 to 64 have some level of hearing loss. If you’re old enough to need help with hearing, but still young enough - or young enough at heart - to dislike the idea of a traditional hearing aid, there is good news. For people with mild to moderate hearing loss, modern hearing aids not only reduce background noise, cut static, make it easier to hear on the phone and can be controlled remotely, some are vir-tually invisible as well. Because invisible hearing aids are inserted deep into the ear, near the eardrum, they require less power and amplification. And the snug fit makes them more comfortable to wear. Starkey’s new invisible-in-the-canal hearing aid, OtoLens, is invisible when worn because it sits within the second bend of the ear canal. Unlike other “invis-ible” in-canal hearing aids, this one can be removed by the wearer every day; other brands require a visit to an audiologist to insert and remove the aid, or even to change its batteries. Daily removal can promote better ear health. Digital signal processing ensures clear sound in nearly every situation. Log on to www.starkey.com to learn more.

Better bifocals Ben Franklin invented bifocals in the late 1760s, to help relieve the need to carry two pairs of glasses - one for close read-ing, the other for seeing distances. Bifocals have come a long way since then. While many of us may remember seeing the tell-tale line between the dis-tances and reading portions of the lenses in our grandparents’ glasses, modern bi-focal glasses can look the same as single-vision lenses. The line of division between lens powers can be invisible. Another type of lens actually allows the wearer to turn off the reading magnification. And bifocals can now be fitted into virtually any de-signer frame - bulky frames are no longer needed to hold thick lenses. Finally, if you’ve always worn contact lenses, there’s no need anymore to add reading glasses to your vision care equip-ment. Now you can wear contact lenses that also provide a bifocal effect. Thanks to modern technology like in-visible-in-the-canal hearing aid and better bifocals, it’s possible to age more grace-fully than ever.


financial education

Tax season is approach-ing, and while you’re wondering how your

tax return will affect your bank account, you might also want to consider how it could influence another aspect of your financial well-being - your credit score. Although your tax return is not directly tied to your credit report, it can affect your score in indirect ways. For example, if you use your 2010 tax refund to pay down some outstanding credit bal-ances, you could boost your credit score. Or, if you don’t have the resources to pay your entire tax bill up front, you may find yourself in a sit-uation in which it’s difficult to pay other bills too, and slow or missed payments can also affect your credit score. If you better understand your credit, you may be bet-ter equipped to deal with your tax situation if you end up owing, and to better take advantage of your windfall if you’ll be getting a refund. Websites and monitor-ing memberships like FreeCreditScore.com, can help you to check, monitor, read and understand your current credit report or score. Keep in mind that the three major credit bureaus, and several less well-known ones, all have slightly different scoring models. But some common factors can affect your credit score. It’s important to understand how your score works, so keep these factors in mind as tax season approaches: • Your bill payment history - Potential creditors want to know that

you pay your bills on time. If you’ve paid debts in a timely manner in the past, chances are you’ll continue to do so in the future, credi-tors believe. Generally, your payment history will account for a third of your credit score.

• Total amount you owe - Often, the total amount you owe is also considered against how much credit you have available. You may owe $10,000 in credit card debt, but if you pay on time and still have plenty of unused credit available, your score may be better than someone who has half that amount of total debt, but who either doesn’t pay reliably or has maxed out his available credit. The total amount you owe accounts for a little less than a third of your score.

• Length of credit history - Creditors want to know you have experi-ence paying bills on time. The longer you can demonstrate your

Why Tax Season is a Good Time to Check Your Credit Score

financial responsibility, the less you will appear to be a credit risk to potential lenders. That’s why senior citizens often have excellent credit scores, while a young professional who earns more than the senior makes, but who has been using credit responsibly for a shorter time, could have a lower score.

• New credit accounts - Opening too many new accounts, or even just applying for them, could impact your credit score. The idea is that if you obtain a lot of new credit all at once, the temptation to overuse it may cause you to make poor decisions about credit use.

• Type of credit you’re using - Some types of debt that are attached to a tangible asset, such as a mortgage or car loan, are perceived as “good” credit and can actually raise your score. High amounts of un-secured debt, like credit cards, may adversely affect your credit score.

Credit monitoring products can help you better understand the factors that affect your credit score, monitor your credit and obtain your full credit report and scores. At FreeCreditScore.com, you will also find a calculator that can help you estimate how certain financial actions may affect your credit score. While tax season is often a stressful time, you can reduce some of the worry and better understand your credit by checking your credit score and report now, and educating yourself further on how financial decisions impact your credit.


environmental health

Sustainability and the greening of health care facilities have been hot-button topics for many years. For hospitals, “going green” can be a challenge for a variety of reasons, including building

structure, internal functions and even patient needs. However, the health care industry has been tackling these issues and making impor-tant changes so that facilities become not only stewards of patients, but also stewards of the earth. “Because of their 24-hour nature and the need for infection con-trol, hospitals have, historically, been one of the biggest generators of waste and consumers of water and electricity in a community,” says Llora Wonder, vice president of marketing for health care products maker Medline Industries, Inc. “But hospitals are becoming increas-ingly more sensitive to positively impacting their communities, as well as individual patients. Plus, they recognize the long-term cost-savings of green measures. Many hospitals have now launched initiatives to conserve resources, lower their consumption costs and reduce their negative impact on the environment.” Facilities trying to go green are focusing on two main problem areas: reducing waste and curtailing water consumption.

Wasteful ways Hospitals’ waste is not only seen in materials thrown out but also in money spent. Hospitals generate about 6.9 million tons of waste annually, according to calculations by Slate.com’s environmental blog, “The Green Lantern.” Also, a study written by Dr. Martin Markay, a gas-trointestinal surgeon at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, stated the health industry is the second-largest contributor to landfills after the food industry. In terms of cost, although no recent tracker exists, it has been reported that hospitals spent about $44 to $68 per ton on solid waste disposal, according to a commonly cited study from 2000. The cost has spurred hospitals to introduce a number of waste reduction initia-tives such as: • Replacing disposable cups, plates and tableware in cafeterias and

food service with reusable items. • Using rechargeable batteries in equipment whenever possible. • Reprocessing and remanufacturing certain low risk devices such as

elastic bandages, pressure infuser bags, tourniquet cuffs and gen-eral-use surgical scissors.

For the facility, the added cost-savings and increased efficiency improve its overall ability to serve the community. For the community, less waste, especially potentially hazardous materials, will wind up in the local landfills.

Water damage The American Hospital Association (AHA) reports that there are nearly 11,000 registered and community hospitals in the United States. A study on Boston-area hospitals found they used 40 to 350 gallons per patient, per day, according to EnergyStar.gov. “With the water and sewer costs of these facilities averaging over 20 percent of total utility

costs, the more efficient hospitals can deliver quality patient care at lower cost,” EnergyStar.gov points out. Hospitals use the most water in their laundry facilities. From bed linens to patient gowns, textiles are everywhere in a health care facility, making them a great way to create meaningful change and cost sav-ings. Studies show that a hospital with more than 300 beds can use between 21 and 22 pounds of textiles per patient day, which is why doing laundry accounts for most of a hospital’s energy and water use. Eliminating the need to do laundry isn’t feasible in a health care setting, so many hospitals are taking steps to lower the energy, water and chemicals needed to clean textiles and extend the usable life cycle of textile products. While changing the structure of the building can take years of remodeling, changing textiles and other materials within the hospital can immediately take place and effectively help hospitals become greener. Some of the changes hospitals are employing in-clude: • Using surgical gowns, barrier sheets and other products made from

reusable, durable energy-efficient textiles, such as Medline’s Perfor-MAX textile line. Made from next-generation polyester, the fabric is as comfortable as cotton but provides increased strength and durability, better moisture absorbency and wicking properties, is easier to clean, more stain resistant and dries faster. All these qualities mean a hos-pital will spend less energy and use fewer chemicals for cleaning and drying, and will need to replace items less frequently.

• Replacing old single-use underpads - used to protect hospital beds - with high-tech versions that require just one pad to do the job of three old-style ones.

“It’s a big commitment for any hospital to join the green movement that has gained momentum in America,” Wonder says. “But ultimately, the chance to reduce costs, improve efficiency and become better stewards of not just patient health, but the planet’s health as well, make the efforts well worthwhile. In addition, just by changing the products used within the hospital, a big difference is made.”

Hospitals Join the ‘Going Green’ Movement


healthy eating

You’ve probably heard it all before. Maybe the advice has even been so drilled into your head that it’s simply become back-ground noise: Eat your veggies. Choose whole grains. Banish

the trans fats…. Et cetera, et cetera. Well, it may all be old news, but the age-old mantra is still true: “You are what you eat.” So, here’s a brief nutrition review, along with a couple of tips on how to begin making changes.

These are the basics of a healthy eating plan: • Look for a rainbow of fruits and veggies. If you choose

a variety of colors, you’ll get a variety of nutrients – go for orange veggies and dark leafy greens, for example, along with dry beans and peas such as kidney beans, split peas, or lentils. And for the most benefits, choose whole fruits, not juice. Shoot for 5 to 6 serv-ings each day.

• Got milk? Aim for 3 servings. A serving is 1 cup of milk or yogurt, 2 cups of cottage cheese, or 1½ ounces of cheese. If you’re lactose intoler-ant, look for beverages that are free of milk products but are fortified with calcium. Make low-fat and nonfat choices most often.

• Eat the “whole” thing. Choose whole-grain breads, rice, cereals, crackers or pasta. Three ounces is a good daily goal.

• Be lean (not mean). Choose 5 ½ to 6 ounces of lean meats and poultry but mix up your protein choices. If you’re a diehard carnivore, remember that protein is found in plants, too. Include fish, nuts, seeds, and beans in your meal plans.

• Go easy on the extras. The Nutrition Facts label is your friend! Look for foods low in saturated fats, salt (sodium), and added sugars. Nix the trans fats altogether.,

Not many of us are great at keeping track of calories and serv-ing sizes. Check out this nifty, new online calculator that does it for you: www.myfoodapedia. Type in the name of a food you want more information about. With one click of your mouse, you’ll see what food

group it falls into, how much a serving size is, and how many calories are in a serving. You can also compare it with another similar food. For example, if you’re wondering how your cereals stack up with one another, you can quickly find out. You might be surprised to learn that homemade granola has three times the calories of Grape-Nuts. Now, I’m the first to admit that making dietary changes isn’t easy. Rather than trying to change everything at once, choose one change to start with. For example, try adding one more serving of veggies a day. Or, start eating breakfast if you aren’t already. Or switch from snacks with empty calories (soda) to nutrient-rich snacks (an apple with peanut butter). Focus on how much better you feel and how your food choices can improve your overall health. If you’ve made diet changes and are still troubled by weight gain, talk with our pharmacy staff. Perhaps a medication could be causing the problem. Your doctor may be able to change your prescription.

For more information, visit www.healthmart.com and click on “Health and Wellness.” In the Wellness Library, you’ll find a wealth of information about nutrition – from a guide to organic foods to a look at senior nutrition.

Nutrition 101Submitted by Sav-Mor Pharmacy

“It may all be old news, but

the age-old mantra is still true:

‘You are what you eat.’ ”

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February Springfield Healthy Cells 2011