September 2009

Oh, snap.

When a senator uses a “your mom” line, you know she means business. At the Senate Finance Committee debate on maternity care in health reform last Friday, Michigan Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow made the passionate argument that it should be mandatory for insurance providers to give basic maternity care coverage.

This is not a radical concept; pregnancy is the leading cause of death for young women, and proper maternity care can help curtail those statistics. Of course, some might argue—men in particular—that they’re not going to get pregnant, so why have the “unnecessary” coverage added to your premium?

That’s what Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl (doesn’t that look like a pop star name to you?) said on Friday. “I don’t need maternity care,” he said, “so requiring that on my insurance policy is something that I don’t need and will make the policy more expensive.”

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As a mom, I’ve been pretty proud of my kid’s shot records. Though she was born in California and we live in Missouri, I’ve kept a record of every single one—including flu shots, synagis shots against RSV, etc.—all in the same little fold-out shot record.

This was always something I promised to do because I have no idea when I received shots when or where. My mom had three kids to care for, not one—and we had a handful of those accordion-like cards around our house, some half-filled, some with a single shot on them…and some missing.

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Purple Ribbon to End Domestic ViolenceIn the recent health care hoopla we have been hearing a lot about the trouble with preexisting conditions and the insurance companies that shamelessly deprive people of treatment because they refuse to cover anything that is a preexisting condition from serious health problems to simple acne. But you might not have been aware of the fact that several states allow insurance companies to deny health care coverage to women who are victims of domestic violence by considering domestic violence a preexisting condition.

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It literally pains me every time my younger sister and mother talk about “going tanning.” No matter how many studies, facts, figures, and other gruesome details I divulge (either outright, or through menacing articles taped on the fridge and ominous messages left on voicemail). Of course, they think that as a redhead, I avoid the sun at all costs simply because I don’t want to look like Rock Lobster.

I’ve been gradually trying to increase the health of my family’s skin over the last few years. We’ve switched to natural, organic, all-the-bells-and-whistles soap, laundry detergent, shampoo, deodorant, and anything else we lather up in. We’ve also taken to using sunscreen anytime we know we’ll be outside for a while—something I have no recollection of as a child!

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If you’re like many Americans, you may be looking for a good way to lower your blood pressure. Maybe you’re overweight and your heart is working a little harder, literally pumping up the volume. Perhaps you’re just stressed out or born high-strung.

High blood pressure runs in my family, and my mother, her mother, and I all have always had high resting pulses—even as kids. Every time I go to the doctor, to give blood, or anything I’m always asked if I’m nervous because my pulse is a little high. Nope, I reply, I’m just always that way, me and my mousy heart.

If you do have high blood pressure, you know that there are medications out there to control it—many of which suck, restrict you from other meds, or have crappy side effects. As with everything else, I say if there’s a natural way to fix it, try that—but always under the supervision of a doctor.

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October 9 through 16 is Feel Your Boobies Week, a campaign run by the organization Feel Your Boobies, a nonprofit group working towards breast cancer awareness and reminding women all over the world to check their breasts once a month for lumps and abnormalities.

The founder of Feel Your Boobies, Leigh Hurst, was diagnosed with breast cancer only after she’d spotted a lump during a self-exam that her doctors had missed during a routine checkup. Since then, she’s vowed to make it her mission to make women and girls very much aware and in charge of their breast health.

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Did you know that 1 in 6 men will be affected by prostate cancer in his lifetime? 30,000 men die every year from the disease, the most common non-skin cancer in America. 200,000 new cases are diagnosed every year, and most older men are believed to have traces of it within them.

 But there is a lot that can be done to prevent getting prostate cancer. Most doctors believe that it’s caused by a high-fat diet—or, at least, that such a diet contributes greatly to the disease. It’s very prevalent in countries where meat and dairy are staple foods, rather than in countries known to eat mostly fresh vegetables and fruits.

In order to reduce your risk of prostate cancer as much as possible, you can do a number of things:

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Last Christmas, my awesome little sister handed out cards with condoms featuring warming lube on them inside. She wrote the same thing in each one: “Have a warm, safe holiday.”

Now, I’m married and on my own birth control, so I had no real use for her ingenious, delightful little gift. Sure, I could have blown them up and hung them on the Christmas tree, but that might have posed as a fire hazard. Instead, I gave them to a friend who would get good use out of them—and isn’t that what we should all do with our extra condoms? A friend in need—and that includes in need for a bit of protection—is a friend, indeed.

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Negative ions are essential to good health!My research into the health benefits of negative ions was sparked by an ad selling clothing and bedding charged with them. It seemed an obvious hoax to sell another useless product promising magical benefits at a high cost. My curiousity was further piqued while watching a health show in which the host was treated to a detoxing footbath at a spa in San Francisco. The bath was simply a tub of water and a negative ion generator. The generator had a metal needle which gave off a small electrical charge and was placed in the water along with the woman's feet. Within thirty minutes, the clear water had turned to a black, foaming tub of pond scum.

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