Post about "nutrition"

Health Insurance in the Real World – What to Do After Graduation

Graduation from college is a vibrant and exciting time, full of adventure and yes, fearfulness. So many new choices and changes can be stimulating and thrilling but leaving some pieces of the past can be very scary. One of the things you leave behind when graduating is health insurance. Those great plans that the university offered or extended coverage from Mom and Dad’s policy helped you put off the insurance crisis for 4 years. But now you are in the “real world” and you have to find insurance. There are no Cliff Notes or Dummies books that are going to solve this problem for you. But there are people, like the professors who guided you through years of academia, who can navigate the world of health insurance and find the right health insurance for you.With 7% to 8.2% of recent college graduates unemployed one year after graduation it may be time to consult a health insurance specialist. If you are still unemployed or under employed six months after graduation you may not be able to count on the possibility of an employer sponsored health plan soon. But that doesn’t mean you are out of luck. There is a big world of insurance out there and most of it doesn’t depend on employer offered health insurance.A dedicated and committed health insurance specialist can help you find coverage that will meet your needs and stay within your budget. These professionals have experience with a wide variety of insurance products and companies. They know where to go to get the best rates and can advise you on the right coverage for you. Don’t worry about them passing judgment on you-they have worked with the entire spectrum of clients and there is nothing to be sensitive about if you haven’t found the right job yet. You are demonstrating good judgment and adult common sense by pursuing health insurance options.A good health insurance specialist will guide you through the various options and weigh higher premiums for lower deductibles and higher deductibles for lower premiums. Perhaps a catastrophic health care plan that will cover major illnesses is the best route to take. Your medical history and current health will be a major consideration and your health insurance specialist will guide you to the carrier that has the right plan for you. After all, the health insurance specialist’s career and success depend on building a satisfied customer base, not a one time sales commission. Health insurance specialists have made a career out of guidance and finding just the right coverage for you. They have researched, studied, and written about the world of health insurance and are not simply sales people. The difference is commitment, dedication, and passion to a seamless experience in obtaining health insurance. When you had trouble in Calculus you didn’t go to your Accounting professor for help. When you locked yourself out of your dorm room you didn’t go to Campus Health Services for help getting back in. Going to the right person for the right help is one thing a college graduate knows best, so use this knowledge to go to the right person for health insurance help. Don’t go to your best friend, or the newspapers, or the yellow pages. Do your research and find the best health insurance specialist you can and let them help you navigate Health Insurance 101. With the right information, direction, and guidance you will pass with flying colors and make the passage into the insured adulthood in a way that will make Mom and Dad proud!

Foods With No Nutritional Value

The purpose of food is to nourish our bodies with the vitamins, trace minerals, protein, carbohydrates, enzymes, and fats it needs to function. To support health we need to keep our caloric intake in the range that we do not gain weight but also supplies our bodies with nutrition. Unfortunately there are many, many foods available that supply no nutritional value whatever.Eating food with no nutritional value would not be so bad, if it did not also mean that you were consuming many, many calories, high fat, high levels of sodium, and cholesterol, all of which clog our arteries and may lead to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.I am providing a list of some of the biggest offenders. Some of them will be the expected culprits but others may surprise you. The purpose of the list isn’t to make these foods taboo, but rather to help you make more informed food choices. If you know the food does nothing to nourish you and you still choose it at least you are making an informed choice.Foods with very little/no nutritional value:Cotton Candy: This is nothing but colored bits of sugar, no nutrition.
Frozen Waffle: An example of empty calories, especially when you add in the margarine and syrup which add more calories and Tran’s fat.
Potato Chips: They are fried and have many preservatives.
French Fries: They do have potato but by the time they are fried and loaded with salt all the nutritional value is gone.
Pork Rinds: Fried pork skins and salt, that explains it all.
Twinkies: The creamy filling is fake whipped cream and the rest is sugar, flour and flavoring, no nutrition.
Doughnuts: One glazed doughnut has 200 calories and 4 grams of Tran’s fat which is more than twice the daily recommended amount.
White rice: The fiber and nutritional value have been removed, a very highly processed food.
Red Bull: Energy drinks containing a small amount of vitamin B but loaded with chemical, calories, caffeine and sugar.
Fruit snacks: Gummy fruit snacks are low in fat but packed with fructose corn syrup, and chemicals. They may have a minimal amount of vitamins.
Vitamin Water. Water with vitamins may sound like the greatest value, but one bottle has more sugar and calories than a can of cola.
Canned vegetables: Processed or canned vegetables lose almost all of their nutritional value; additionally they are high in sodium.
Hard Candy: This includes lollipops, after dinner mints, and jawbreakers. The only ingredients in these addicting snacks are sugar and chemicals.
Chewing Gum: Flavored from natural or synthetic gums and other ingredients which form an insoluble mass for chewing.
Soda: This is one drink that has absolutely zero nutritional value, but on average a 20 ounce bottle has 240 calories, 65 grams of sugar and zero vitamins. An eight ounce serving has 100 calories and 27 grams of sugar of course no vitamins. Soda is equal to drinking water with sugar and caffeine.This list is not all-inclusive of all zero nutritional foods, just some of the more common ones. Additionally there are many more products available that do offer minimal nutrition but also contain high levels of fat, calories, and sodium.