Category: Health

While consumers search for affordable health insurance, they have priced in their mind as the top priority. A general conception among the consumers is that cheap health plans should not be costly the cheapest health plan available in the market is their target. However, this approach is not good. Sometimes, paying for a cheap health insurance plan but still not getting the required level of coverage results only in wastage of money.

With the implementation of the affordable care act, the reach of affordable health plans is set to increase. Or at least, this is what is believed to be the objective of healthcare reforms. However, lots of consumers are still in confusion about how things would work. In this article, we will discuss some detailed options that consumers can try while looking to buy affordable health plans.

To get a hand on affordable health insurance plans, consumers need to take of certain things. First among them is about knowing the options in the particular state of the residence. There are lots of state and federal government-run programs that could be suitable for consumers. Knowing the options is pretty important. Next would be to understand the terms and conditions of all the programs and check the eligibility criteria for each one of them. Further, consumers should know their rights after the implementation of healthcare reforms, and something within a few days, they may qualify for a particular program or could be allowed to avail a particular health insurance plan. If consumers take care of these steps, there is no reason why consumers can’t land on an affordable health plan that could cater to the medical care needs.

Let’s discuss some options related to affordable health insurance plans state-wise:

State-run affordable health insurance programs in California

While considering California, there are three affordable health insurance plans that are run by the state government. Consumers can surely get benefitted by these if they are eligible for the benefits.

• Major Risk Medical Insurance Program (MRMIP)

This program is a very handy one offering limited health benefits to California residents. If consumers are unable to purchase health plans due to a preexisting medical condition, they can see if they qualify for this program and get benefits.

• Healthy Families Program

Healthy Families Program offers Californians with low-cost health, dental, and vision coverage. This is mainly geared to children whose parents earn too much to qualify for public assistance. This program is administered by MRMIP.

• Access for Infants and Mothers Program (AIM)

Access for Infants and Mothers Program provides prenatal and preventive care for pregnant women having low income in California. It is administered by a five-person board that has established a comprehensive benefits package that includes both inpatient and outpatient care for program enrollees.

Some facts about affordable health insurance in Florida

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandates that health insurance companies pay for preventive health visits. However, that term is somewhat deceptive, as consumers may feel they can visit the doctor for just a general checkup, talk about anything, and the visit will be paid 100% with no copay. In fact, some, and perhaps most, health insurance companies only cover the A and B recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

These recommendations cover such topics as providing counseling on smoking cessation, alcohol abuse, obesity, and tests for blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes (for at risk patients), and some cancer screening physical exams. BUT if a patient mentions casually that he or she is feeling generally fatigued, the doctor could write down a diagnosis related to that fatigue and effectively transform the “wellness visit” into a “sick visit.” The same is true if the patient mentions occasional sleeplessness, upset stomach, stress, headaches, or any other medical condition. In order to get the “free preventive health” visit paid for 100%, the visit needs to be confined to a very narrow group of topics that most people will find vert constrained.

Similarly, the ACA calls for insurance companies to pay for preventive colonoscopy screenings for colon cancer. However, once again there is a catch. If the doctor finds any kind of problem during the colonoscopy and writes down a diagnosis code other than “routine preventive health screening,” the insurance company may not, and probably will not, pay for the colonoscopy directly. Instead, the costs would be applied to the annual deductible, which means most patients would get stuck paying for the cost of the screening.

This latter possibility frustrates the intention of the ACA. The law was written to encourage everyone – those at risk as well as those facing no known risk – to get checked. But if people go into the procedure expecting insurance to pay the cost, and then a week later receive a surprise letter indicating they are responsible for the $2,000 – $2,500 cost, it will give people a strong financial disincentive to getting tested.

As an attorney, I wonder how the law could get twisted around to this extent. The purpose of a colonoscopy is determined at the moment an appointment is made, not ex-post facto during or after the colonoscopy. If the patient has no symptoms and is simply getting a colonoscopy to screen for colon cancer because the patient has reached age 45 or 50 or 55, then that purpose or intent cannot be negated by subsequent findings of any condition. What if the doctor finds a minor noncancerous infection and notes that on the claim form? Will that diagnosis void the 100% payment for preventive service? If so, it gives patients a strong incentive to tell their GI doctors that they are only to note on the claim form “yes or no” in response to colon cancer and nothing else. Normally, we would want to encourage doctors to share all information with patients, and the patients would want that as well. But securing payment for preventive services requires the doctor code up the entire procedure as routine preventive screening.

The question is how do consumers inform the government of the need for a special coding or otherwise provide guidance on preventive screening based on intent at the time of service, not on subsequent findings? I could write my local congressman, but he is a newly elected conservative Republican who opposes health care and everything else proposed by Obama. If I wrote him on the need for clarification of preventive health visits, he would interpret that as a letter advising him to vote against health care reform at every opportunity. I doubt my two conservative Republican senators would be any different. They have stand pat reply letters on health care reform that they send to all constituents who write in regarding health care matters.

To my knowledge, there is no way to make effective suggestions to the Obama administration. Perhaps the only solution is to publicize the problem in articles and raise these issues in discussion forums

There is a clear and absolute need for government to get involved in the health care sector. You seem to forget how upset people were with the non-government, pure private sector-based health care system that left 49 million Americans uninsured. When those facts are mentioned to people abroad, they think of America as having a Third World type health care system. Few Japanese, Canadians, or Europeans would trade their existing health care coverage for what they perceive as the gross inequities in the US Health Care System.

The Affordable Care Act, I agree, completely fails to address the fundamental cost driver of health care. For example, it perpetuates and even exacerbates the tendency of consumers to purchase health services without any regard to price. Efficiency in private markets requires cost-conscious consumers; we don’t have that in health care.

Australians already know that health coverage can provide security for individuals and families when a medical need arises. Many, however, do not know how to find the best value when comparing health insurance policies.

Below are 10 tips everyone should read before shopping for private health coverage.

1. Choose coverage that concentrates on your specific health needs or potential health needs.

The first thing you should do before comparing your health plan options is determine which policy features best fit your needs. A 30-year-old accountant, for instance, is going to need very different coverage than a 55year-old pro golfer, or a 75-year-old retired veterinarian. By understanding the health needs that most often correspond to people in your age and activity level group – your life stage – you can save money by purchasing only the coverage you need and avoid unnecessary services that aren’t relevant. For instance, a young family with two small children isn’t going to need coverage for joint replacement or cataract surgery. A 60-year-old school teacher isn’t going to need pregnancy and birth control-related services.

Whether it’s high-level comprehensive care you’re after, or the least expensive option to exempt you from the Medical Levy Surcharge while providing basic care coverage, always make sure you’re comparing health insurance policies with only those services that make sense for you and your family.

2. Consider options such as Excess or Co-payment to reduce your premium costs.

When you agree to pay for a specified out-of-pocket amount in the event you are hospitalized, you sign an Excess or Co-payment option that will reduce your health insurance premium.

If you choose the Excess option, you agree to pay a predetermined, specific amount when you go to hospital, no matter how long your stay lasts. With a Co-payment option, you agree to pay a daily sum up to a pre-agreed amount. For example, if Joanne has an Excess of $250 on her medical coverage policy and is admitted to hospital, regardless of how long her stay turns out to be, she will pay $250 of the final bill. If Andrew has signed a $75×4 Co-payment with his provider, he will pay $75 per day for just the first the first four days of his hospitalization.

For younger individuals who are healthy and fit with no reason to expect to land in the hospital anytime soon, either of these options is great ways to reduce the monthly cost of your medical insurance premiums.
Keep in mind that different private insurers have their own rules when it comes to Excess and Co-payments, including how many payments you will need to make annually on either option. It is important to read the policy thoroughly and ask questions in advance in order to have a clear understanding of what you are paying for, and what you can expect coverage-wise in the event that you are hospitalized. Also, make sure you choose an Excess option greater than $500 if you’re purchasing an individual policy, or $1,000 for family coverage, in order to be exempted from the Medicare Levy Surcharge.

3. Pay your health insurance premium in advance before the cost increases.

Each year insurance providers increase their premiums by approximately five percent sometime around the first of April, a practice approved by the Minister of Health. By instituting these annual increases, your health insurance provider retains the ability to fulfill their obligations to policyholders despite increasing medical costs.

Most private medical policy providers allow policy holders to pay for one year’s premium in advance, which locks them into the previous year’s rate for an additional 12 months – a great way to save money. In order to take advantage of the savings offered, most insurers require payment in full be made within the first quarter of the year, between January and March.

4. Lock in to low cost health insurance at an early age.

The most obvious advantage any Australian can take when it comes to saving money on your insurance premiums is to buy in early to the least expensive rate available. And by early, we mean before age 31. Everyone who is eligible for Medicare will receive at least a 30 percent rebate from the government on the price of their health care premium, no matter what age you are. However, by purchasing hospital coverage before the July first following your 31st birthday, you can be ensured the lowest premium rate available.

After age 31, your health insurance rate is subjected to a two percent penalty rate increase for every year after age 30 that you did not have health insurance. Therefore, if you wait to purchase private health coverage until your age 35, you will pay 10 percent more annually than you would have if you had purchased it at age 30.

There are exemptions for some people who were overseas when they turned 30, or for new immigrants, and certain others under special exception status. However, if you purchased private insurance after age 30 and are paying an age loading penalty on your health coverage, you will be relieved of the excess penalty after 10 years of continuous coverage.

The earlier in life that you lock into a private health plan, the more money you will save both immediately and over your lifetime.

Why are Americans so worked up about health care reform? Statements such as “don’t touch my Medicare” or “everyone should have access to state of the art health care irrespective of cost” are in my opinion uninformed and visceral responses that indicate a poor understanding of our health care system’s history, it’s current and future resources and the funding challenges that America faces going forward. While we all wonder how the health care system has reached what some refer to as a crisis stage. Let’s try to take some of the emotion out of the debate by briefly examining how health care in this country emerged and how that has formed our thinking and culture about health care. With that as a foundation let’s look at the pros and cons of the Obama administration health care reform proposals and let’s look at the concepts put forth by the Republicans?

Access to state of the art health care services is something we can all agree would be a good thing for this country. Experiencing a serious illness is one of the life’s major challenges and to face it without the means to pay for it is positively frightening. But as we shall see, once we know the facts, we will find that achieving this goal will not be easy without our individual contribution.

These are the themes I will touch on to try to make some sense out of what is happening to American health care and the steps we can personally take to make things better.

A recent history of American health care – what has driven the costs so high?
Key elements of the Obama health care plan
The Republican view of health care – free market competition
Universal access to state of the art health care – a worthy goal but not easy to achieve
what can we do?
First, let’s get a little historical perspective on American healthcare. This is not intended to be an exhausted look into that history but it will give us an appreciation of how the health care system and our expectations for it developed. What drove costs higher and higher?

To begin, let’s turn to the American civil war. In that war, dated tactics and the carnage inflicted by modern weapons of the era combined to cause ghastly results. Not generally known is that most of the deaths on both sides of that war were not the result of actual combat but to what happened after a battlefield wound was inflicted. To begin with, evacuation of the wounded moved at a snail’s pace and this caused severe delays in treating the wounded. Secondly, many wounds were subjected to wound care, related surgeries and/or amputations of the affected limbs and this often resulted in the onset of massive infection. So you might survive a battle wound only to die at the hands of medical care providers who although well-intentioned, their interventions were often quite lethal. High death tolls can also be ascribed to everyday sicknesses and diseases in a time when no antibiotics existed. In total something like 600,000 deaths occurred from all causes, over 2% of the U.S. population at the time!

Let’s skip to the first half of the 20th century for some additional perspective and to bring us up to more modern times. After the civil war, there were steady improvements in American medicine in both the understanding and treatment of certain diseases, new surgical techniques and in physician education and training. But for the most part, the best that doctors could offer their patients was a “wait and see” approach. Medicine could handle bone fractures and increasingly attempt risky surgeries (now largely performed in sterile surgical environments) but medicines were not yet available to handle serious illnesses. The majority of deaths remained the result of untreatable conditions such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, scarlet fever and measles and/or related complications. Doctors were increasingly aware of heart and vascular conditions, and cancer but they had almost nothing with which to treat these conditions.

This very basic review of American medical history helps us to understand that until quite recently (around the 1950’s) we had virtually no technologies with which to treat serious or even minor ailments. Here is a critical point we need to understand; “nothing to treat you with means that visit the doctor if at all were relegated to emergencies so in such a scenario costs are curtailed. The simple fact is that there was little for doctors to offer and therefore virtually nothing to drive health care spending. A second factor holding down costs was that medical treatments that were provided were paid for out-of-pocket, meaning by way of an individual’s personal resources. There was no such thing as health insurance and certainly not health insurance paid by an employer. Except for the very destitute who were lucky to find their way into a charity hospital, health care costs were the responsibility of the individual.

The United States is facing the largest shortage of healthcare practitioners in our country’s history which is compounded by an ever increasing geriatric population. In 2005 there existed one geriatrician for every 5,000 US residents over 65 and only nine of the 145 medical schools trained geriatricians. By 2020 the industry is estimated to be short 200,000 physicians and over a million nurses. Never, in the history of US healthcare, has so much been demanded with so few personnel. Because of this shortage combined with the geriatric population increase, the medical community has to find a way to provide timely, accurate information to those who need it in a uniform fashion. Imagine if flight controllers spoke the native language of their country instead of the current international flight language, English. This example captures the urgency and critical nature of our need for standardized communication in healthcare. A healthy information exchange can help improve safety, reduce length of hospital stays, cut down on medication errors, reduce redundancies in lab testing or procedures and make the health system faster, leaner and more productive. The aging US population along with those impacted by chronic disease like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and asthma will need to see more specialists who will have to find a way to communicate with primary care providers effectively and efficiently.

This efficiency can only be attained by standardizing the manner in which the communication takes place. Healthbridge, a Cincinnati-based HIE and one of the largest community-based networks, was able to reduce their potential disease outbreaks from 5 to 8 days down to 48 hours with a regional health information exchange. Regarding standardization, one author noted, “Interoperability without standards is like language without grammar. In both cases, communication can be achieved but the process is cumbersome and often ineffective.”

United States retailers transitioned over twenty years ago in order to automate inventory, sales, accounting controls which all improve efficiency and effectiveness. While uncomfortable to think of patients as inventory, perhaps this has been part of the reason for the lack of transition in the primary care setting to automation of patient records and data. Imagine a Mom & Pop hardware store on any square in mid-America packed with inventory on shelves, ordering duplicate widgets based on lack of information regarding current inventory. Visualize any Home Depot or Lowes and you get a glimpse of how automation has changed the retail sector in terms of scalability and efficiency. Perhaps the “art of medicine” is a barrier to more productive, efficient and smarter medicine. Standards in information exchange have existed since 1989, but recent interfaces have evolved more rapidly thanks to increases in standardization of regional and state health information exchanges.

History of Health Information Exchanges

Major urban centers in Canada and Australia were the first to successfully implement HIE’s. The success of these early networks was linked to an integration with primary care EHR systems already in place. Health Level 7 (HL7) represents the first health language standardization system in the United States, beginning with a meeting at the University of Pennsylvania in 1987. HL7 has been successful in replacing antiquated interactions like faxing, mail and direct provider communication, which often represent duplication and inefficiency. Process interoperability increases human understanding across networks health systems to integrate and communicate. Standardization will ultimately impact how effective that communication functions in the same way that grammar standards foster better communication. The United States National Health Information Network (NHIN) sets the standards that foster this delivery of communication between health networks. HL7 is now on it’s third version which was published in 2004. The goals of HL7 are to increase interoperability, develop coherent standards, educate the industry on standardization and collaborate with other sanctioning bodies like ANSI and ISO who are also concerned with process improvement.

In the United States, one of the earliest HIE’s started in Portland Maine. HealthInfoNet is a public-private partnership and is believed to be the largest statewide HIE. The goals of the network are to improve patient safety, enhance the quality of clinical care, increase efficiency, reduce service duplication, identify public threats more quickly and expand patient record access. The four founding groups the Maine Health Access Foundation, Maine CDC, The Maine Quality Forum and Maine Health Information Center (Onpoint Health Data) began their efforts in 2004.

In Tennessee Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIO’s) initiated in Memphis and the Tri-Cities region. Carespark, a 501(3)c, in the Tri-Cities region was considered a direct project where clinicians interact directly with each other using Carespark’s HL7 compliant system as an intermediary to translate the data bi-directionally. Veterans Affairs (VA) clinics also played a crucial role in the early stages of building this network. In the delta, the Midsouth eHealth Alliance is an RHIO connecting Memphis hospitals like Baptist Memorial (5 sites), Methodist Systems, Lebonheur Healthcare, Memphis Children’s Clinic, St. Francis Health System, St Jude, The Regional Medical Center and UT Medical. These regional networks allow practitioners to share medical records, lab values medicines and other reports in a more efficient manner.

THURSDAY, Sept. 15, 2016 (HealthDay News) — In case you’re a center-elderly sofa potato in severe want of boosting your coronary heart health, is it better to exercising or food regimen?

New research says weight-reduction plan, workout or a mixture of the two can all get the task done about equally nicely so long as you lose some weight.

But the examine authors brought that exercising in tandem with weight-reduction plan might be the excellent manner to head.

The researchers designed the three examine interventions so people participating could drop approximately 7 percent of their body weight — through any method — over a roughly three-month length.

The have a look at confirmed it did not appear to remember which intervention humans chose to lose weight. Members in all 3 corporations noticed their lifetime cardiovascular hazard drop from 46 percentage to 36 percent.

“workout and a low-calorie healthful weight loss plan are both known to improve chance elements for cardiovascular ailment, even within the absence of weight reduction,” said observe lead author Edward Weiss. He’s an associate professor at Saint Louis University’s branch of nutrients and dietetics, in Missouri.

“In light of this, we predicted the aggregate of eating regimen and workout to have ‘additive effects’ on danger elements, and consequently anticipated more upgrades inside the mixed-intervention organization, in comparison to eating regimen or exercising alone,” he stated.

Rather, the study observed that “the magnitude of gain does not rely upon whether food plan, exercise, or a combination of weight loss program and workout is used to sell weight loss,” Weiss stated.

What without a doubt regarded to count number became that people slimmed down.

For the look at, investigators divided 52 obese men and women into one in every of three organizations: a food plan institution; an exercising institution; and a combined food plan and workout organization.

Dieters were instructed to cut 20 percentage in their caloric consumption, at the same time as exercisers have been advised to boom pastime degrees through 20 percentage. The mixture organization turned into advised to do both with the aid of 10 percent.

Weiss described a 20 percentage caloric cutback as “modest for the majority,” equaling a drop of about three hundred to 500 calories consistent with day — kind of the equal of two sugary sodas.

But “increasing calorie expenditure with the aid of 20 percentage in step with day is greater difficult,” he said. “In particular for the non-exercising ladies and men who have been recruited for this take a look at. This interprets to taking walks three to 5 miles, six to seven days in step with week, for someone who turned into no longer exercising once they began the study.”

In the end, all three corporations registered the identical degree of improvement in terms of blood pressure, cholesterol levels and coronary heart fee, and the same amount of heart disorder risk discount, the observe findings confirmed.

But Weiss although suggested that a blended technique can be best.

The mixture group misplaced weight more fast and these people have been additionally more likely to paste to their desires, he cited. approximately 30 percent of study Participants from the diet or exercising corporations dropped out, However only five percent of the aggregate institution cease.

weight loss program and exercise collectively may additionally have “additive benefits for other elements of fitness,” Weiss said. For example, a bigger cut in type 2 diabetes threat changed into visible among those who embraced each tactics.

And for reasons not absolutely clean, including exercise to weight-reduction plan appears to specially confer a cardiovascular advantage, he added.

“If two humans have the same blood strain, cholesterol, circle of relatives records, age, etcetera, But one person sporting activities and the other does now not, the non-exerciser is -to-three instances more likely to expand coronary heart disorder,” Weiss said.

Registered dietitian Lona Sandon agreed that “both healthy eating and exercising are crucial given what we recognize from preceding studies demonstrating the gain of every.”

Sandon defined that “a healthful diet offers key nutrients for most reliable functioning of the frame and ailment prevention. workout can’t offer nutrients, But may additionally help us make use of nutrients more correctly.”

And she or he stated that the important thing to fulfillment is selecting delight over pain.

“If walking or strolling on a treadmill seems like punishment, locate something else to do. Possibly weight training, Zumba, or strolling inside the park is a higher option,” suggested Sandon. She is an assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the College of Texas Southwestern Scientific Middle at Dallas.

“equal factor applies to eating,” she delivered. “If ingesting kale smoothies looks as if punishment, don’t trouble. Have some carrot sticks dipped in light ranch dressing Rather, or hold dessert to just one time consistent with week.”

By Mary Elizabeth Dallas
Thursday, September 15, 2016,
THURSDAY, Sept. 15, 2016 (HealthDay Information) — Almost 10 million U.S. Adults seriously thought about committing suicide last year, federal health officers suggested Thursday.

Fees of suicide are at traditionally high tiers, having jumped 27 percentage due to the fact 2000, in keeping with a report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Fitness Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Nearly 3 million adults made a plan to take their very own lifestyles. And 1.4 million adults tried suicide but were not successful, in line with the record.

Universal, the proportion of adults taking into consideration suicide has remained stable over the last 8 years. however, growing numbers of teens are considering taking their very own lives.

The modern-day SAMHSA document discovered a growth in suicidal mind amongst 18 to 25-year-olds — from 7.five percentage in 2014 to 8.3 percentage in 2015.

More and more young girls have made failed suicide tries — up from 1.5 percentage in 2014 to 2 percentage in 2015, the report showed.

Every year, extra than forty-two,000 People die from suicide. It’s the 10th main reason of demise within the United States, the U.S. Facilities for Sickness Control and Prevention reviews.

September is National Suicide Prevention Recognition Month.

SAMHSA stated It is asking for $88 million in investment to assist save you suicides amongst Individuals of all age agencies and demographics.

“We ought to keep to raise Consciousness that suicide is preventable and offer effective, science primarily based Offerings to absolutely everyone who desires it,” SAMHSA Essential Deputy Administrator Kana Enomoto stated in a corporation Information release.

“SAMHSA and others have applications in location to store lives and lead human beings towards a brighter destiny. all and sundry — the circle of relatives, friends, instructors, religious community leaders, co-workers, and health care carriers — can shop lifestyles By reaching out to a person in crisis and assisting them in getting the help they want,” she stated.

The new document discovered variations in suicidal thoughts and behaviors among sure companies. teens had higher stages of serious suicidal mind than every other age organization — twice as high, for example, as humans aged forty to 54 (eight.three percentage as opposed to 3.five percentage, respectively). people 65 and older had much decrease ranges of suicidal mind in the beyond year — at 1.8 percentage.

Suicidal mind and actions are also greater accepted among adults who abuse capsules or drink closely. The record located that approximately 10 percent of individuals who abuse those substances had critical thoughts of suicide, in comparison to four percent of all other adults.

Folks who abuse methamphetamines are at in particular high danger — Almost 22 percentage considered suicide at some point of the past yr, the enterprise started.

Main bouts of melancholy also are related to better Fees of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Almost 30 percent of adults who faced despair over the last yr significantly taken into consideration suicide, 10 percent made a suicide plan, and 4 percentage attempted unsuccessfully to take their very own lifestyles, in keeping with the document.

Even greater troubling, the report showed that most effective about half of-of those who taken into consideration suicide or acted on these thoughts had acquired Mental fitness treatment or counseling.

human beings ought to be aware of warning signs that a person is at the excessive chance for suicide, SAMHSA said, adding the symptoms can encompass:

Speaking about wanting to die or dedicate suicide,
considering approaches to committing suicide,
Speaking approximately feeling hopeless or having no purpose,
Speaking approximately feeling trapped or being in unbearable pain,
Speak about being a burden to others,
Abusing capsules or alcohol,
Feeling traumatic, agitated or undertaking reckless behavior,
Having problem napping or dozing too much,
Acting withdrew or feeling isolated,
Experiencing extreme mood swings.
The Countrywide Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-Talk (Lifeline), provides instant assist to humans in disaster. The Lifeline also can be contacted via TTY for the deaf and listening to impaired Through dialing (800) 799-4889.

THURSDAY, Sept. 15, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Many people locate sad tune relaxing but to people who are very empathetic, exposure to melancholic melodies is an excessive but effective and deeply transferring enjoy, in keeping with a new look at.

Researchers in Finland and England determined that human beings’ personalities should assist are expecting their reaction to music.

The researchers noted that their findings may want to have an effect on song therapy and rehabilitation strategies.

For the take a look at, the researchers requested one zero one males and females between 20 and 67 years vintage to listen to an unfamiliar piece of unhappy, instrumental track and describe their emotional response to what they heard. Their response to the track became categorized into one among 3 principal businesses: feeling comfortable, feeling moved and feeling nerve-racking.

 

individuals who felt moved described they enjoy as very sad but additionally intense and fun, in line with the look at, which changed into posted on Sept. 15 in Frontiers in Psychology.

“It has formerly been recognized that human beings experience paradoxical pride while engaging with tragic artwork, however, this seems to be more mentioned in the ones who have a heightened ability to engage with different human beings’ emotions,” lead researcher Tuomas Eerola stated in a journal Information launch. He is a professor of track cognition at Durham College in England.

“Conversely, people with low empathy do not document feeling moved after listening to an unhappy track,” he brought.

The researchers mentioned that the individuals’ personalities helped are expecting which people could have an emotional response to the track. folks who were empathetic and more touchy to how others experience regularly pronounced sturdy high-quality feelings and being moved by means of the sad instrumental piece.

“through using unusual, instrumental sad song in our test, we had been able to rule out maximum different feasible resources of emotion including particular reminiscences and lyrics. Therefore, members’ emotional responses have to have been added approximately through the tune itself,” stated study co-author Jonna Vuoskoski from the University of Oxford.

“The reality that extraordinarily empathic listeners felt extra moved by using the unhappy tune shows that they were able to immerse themselves into the feelings expressed by the song via a shape of empathy,” she said.

Katie Overy is director of the Institute for the song in Human and Social Development at Reid College of music at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She said, “This charming, authentic examine takes us a step toward understanding how feelings of disappointment can be shared, skilled and launched in an intimate way thru track.”

Overy, who became now not involved inside the take a look at, delivered: “The findings additionally exhibit the quantity to which track may be conceived of as a social sign — even simple musical sounds represent human motion and emotion, which different humans can apprehend.”

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 14, 2016 (HealthDay Information) — You would possibly want to reconsider that nightly glass of wine (or beer, or liquor) due to the fact new studies indicates that alcohol won’t be as healthful for anybody’s heart as previously believed.

Long-term consuming even mild amounts of alcohol can also increase some human beings danger of stroke with the aid of inflicting the heart’s left atrium to get bigger, the researchers said. The left atrium is the higher left chamber of the heart.

This expansion of the left atrium can make contributions to a coronary heart condition referred to as atrial traumatic inflammation, wherein the heart beats irregularly, stated senior researcher Dr. Gregory Marcus. He’s director of scientific studies at the University of California, San Francisco, Department of Cardiology.

Atrial fibrillation causes blood to pool and clot in the left atrium. If a clot breaks free, it can block a blood vessel in the mind, inflicting a stroke. About 15 percent of humans who have a stroke have atrial traumatic inflammation first, in keeping with the U.S. Country wide Institute of Neurological Problems and Stroke.

“This new records must mood any consuming that may be going on due to the fact human beings think it’s top for their coronary heart,” Marcus stated.

However, he also noted that these findings may not follow to all of us. a few humans may additionally have a genetic predisposition for atrial fibrillation, and alcohol just makes matters worse, he said.

Till now, docs have largely taken into consideration atrial fibrillation an electrical disease of the heart. But Marcus and co-workers suspected that atrial traumatic inflammation also might be resulting from physical changes to the heart, as a minimum in a component.

Lengthy-time period heavy drinking has been proven to reason heart failure with the aid of enlarging the decrease chambers of the coronary heart, which are known as the ventricles, Marcus said. Other lab research has decided that the atria are even extra vulnerable to alcohol-associated damage than the ventricles.

The brand new have a look at checked out records on five,220 members from the Framingham Heart examine. This takes a look at is an ongoing Lengthy-time period mission tracking the health of residents within the metropolis of Framingham, Mass.

The contributors’ average age became 56 and barely extra than half of had been ladies. The common observe-up time was six years, consistent with the report.

members had everyday electrocardiograms (EKG) to degree electrical activity of the heart. Of nearly 18,000 EKG scans taken over six years, researchers detected almost 1,a hundred incidences of atrial traumatic inflammation.

The evaluation revealed that an average 24 percentage of the affiliation among alcohol and atrial fibrillation risk may be explained with the aid of enlargement of the left atrium.

Even though the examine wasn’t designed to show a cause-and-effect hyperlink, ordinary ingesting appeared to boom a person’s threat for atrial traumatic inflammation, the findings confirmed. Each 10 grams of alcohol-fed on in step with day — About one drink an afternoon — extended the danger of developing atrial traumatic inflammation via About five percentage.

The researchers also located that Each extra 10 grams of alcohol daily become linked to a 0.16-millimeter boom within the length of the left atrium. As the atrium enlarges, it becomes much less capable of preserve an everyday heartbeat.

Researchers said the connection between atrial traumatic inflammation and alcohol intake remained even after factoring in Other coronary heart fitness risk factors such as high blood stress, diabetes or smoking.

those findings run counter to, But don’t necessarily contradict, Different studies that have shown some people may also benefit from a tumbler of wine each day, Marcus stated.

“It could be that if we should simply apprehend a given person’s danger, both from their genetics or from a deep information in their behaviors and exposures, we might be able to hazard-stratify them appropriately to counsel them regarding their most useful alcohol consumption,” he stated.

“You can identify a person at threat for alcohol-prompted atrial traumatic inflammation, and You might tell that individual to avoid alcohol,” he persevered.

“someone else may benefit from a little of alcohol. I’d genuinely endorse if there’s no proof of addiction or abuse, one or liquids a day,” he stated.

American coronary heart affiliation spokesperson Dr. Mariell Jessup agreed that these consequences ought to prompt a few humans to rethink their ingesting, specifically if they assume it is assisting their heart health.

Folks that drink every day have to speak with their physician About the heart health risks, even if it is only one drink an afternoon, said Jessup, who is also a professor of cardiology at the Medical institution of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

The ones who have Other coronary heart risk factors — which include excessive blood stress or a circle of relatives records of heart sickness — ought to take their drinking even extra seriously, she stated.

On the other hand, humans free of risk factors who eat right and exercise often should not fear an excessive amount of About a regular drink, in step with Jessup.

“If the lot else in your existence is really ideal and also you revel in a tumbler of wine Each night, then this is Adequate,” she stated.

“On the other hand, there aren’t many Folks that can say that,” Jessup noted. “inside the affected person who is at danger for atrial fibrillation for Other motives, this is useful records because they possibly already have a truly dilated left atrium.”

Beauty is Infinite, Beauty is Health, Beauty is Truth, Beauty is Power

What is the Personal Power of Beauty?

Beauty is the power of radiance, and your personal beauty has the power to illuminate your world to a more radiant and bountiful experience. There is abundance, joy, passion, sensuality, and pleasure to be had in your beautiful life, and working with your personal power of beauty is a strategy for claiming even more. Your personal power of beauty is a treasure to behold, a way to be bold and a powerful journey for you to unfold. Beneath the surface of your skin is the story of your beauty, and this is the story that is meant to be told.

The personal power of beauty is a magical tool that enhances all aspects of your existence to a more majestic and magnificent experience. Beauty is the source of your personal magic; it is the essence of who you are, it connects you to others and to the plenty of this planet.

What is beauty? Where does it come from? Who has it?
When you think of beauty is it something you know you have within you? Or does beauty seem like something elusive and outside of you?

All people are beautiful, and it is our essential nature to radiate this beautiful truth.

The Beauty is on the Inside

Years ago, I saw an ad that I loved for Burt’s Bee’s products. The photo was of a group of Harley-type bikers, you know, heavy set men, grimacing, hairy and looking kind of scary. The caption on the ad said, “The Beauty is on the Inside”. It couldn’t be clearer, beneath the packaging is where you will find true Beauty, it’s on the Inside. This ad cracked me up, just thinking about it still makes me smile; the message was so clear, powerful and beautifully stated. Beauty comes from within, it emanates through the skin and vibrates around us.

Each of us has our own personal beauty, it is the unique essence of who we are, like our signature or thumbprint, it is exclusively our own. Our personal beauty or inner beauty stems from the heart, our center of love. Our center of love is the vital force of our spirit, and the vital force of our spirits spring from the source of all life: Whether it be God, Goddess, Great Spirit, Energy, Vibration, the Creator, Nature, the Divine or the Force it is all the same source. Whatever you believe to be the divine spark of life within you; whatever you equate to the magic of your existence; however you understand life with its complexities and perfections and which ever way you account for the air that is your breath and the fire of your spirit all stems from the source of life, and the beauty within you is a part of the package. Our beauty is a divine light that sparks through each cell of our being. You truly can never be anything but beautiful, for you are life and life itself is a beauty.

When you understand the source of beauty within you, you then have access to its potential for your greater abundance, power, and ability to manifest change. The power of your beauty is already embedded in your essence, ready to glow. However, it is harnessed through your beliefs about yourself and the actions you take in the name of truth, beauty, and love. You are born with the tools to become a channel for this very compelling and influential vibration. You are the vehicle for this sacred source to shimmer and shine.

Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty

“Beauty is the truth, truth beauty. That is all ye know on Earth, and all ye need to know.” -John Keats.
We live in a world where our concepts of beauty are decided by the collective consciousness, the standards of our society. Many of us, especially women, are victims of what is known as the ‘beauty myth’. The world where fashion rules, perfect body types are most desired and our ways of looking and being are all meant to sell or consume products: beauty products, fragrances, diet pills, hair color, fashion magazines, douches etc. But that is not what true beauty is made of. The truth is we are already whole and complete beings, we are all perfect because we are each perfectly ourselves. What is true is that beauty is everywhere and within everything. For everything on earth and in the universe is the divine source. Unfortunately, many of us were not taught to honor our own beauty in this way. We were warned against being too conceited or told we were not beautiful enough and sadly so many beautiful people have never had their own precious nature reflected back to them. We hide our beauty in the shadows, even the super models complain about places within themselves that they find hideous. In subtle and not so subtle ways we have been disempowered and misdirected by the media to see ourselves as less than the ideal of beauty. Every commercial on television is an assault, telling us what we need to do to be better, happier and more beautiful. This is the beauty myth and it can destroy our sense of self-esteem and even destroy the joy in our lives, it already has for so many people.

As adults, we need to re-teach ourselves where true beauty comes from. We need to re-connect to the radiant source of life within us and teach this to our children. True beauty comes from the heart and soul and spirit of who you truly are, it is your divine right to resonate with self-love and allow your beauty to take the stage. Your authenticity is buzzing with beauty. Life is love, love is truth and truth are beauty. All of life is sacred and all of life is beautiful. Beauty and truth are hands in hand, one does not exist without the other.

Elizabeth Stahl B.A., N.H.C., is the creator and facilitator of “My Goddess Party”, Star of Aphrodite Mentoring and Life Coaching, Girls of Power and The Girls and Goddesses Parties – for girls ages 10 and up.

Elizabeth has 16 years of experience in the Natural Health Field specializing in Women’s Health and Wellness. She combines her practice as a Natural Health Consultant (NHC), with her Life Coaching practice, Goddess Parties, and Sacred Women’s Circles. Elizabeth infuses Girls and Women with the essence of their divine feminine spirit and encourages their growth towards the women they want to be.

She is available for private sessions, group work, classes and Virtual Goddess Parties.