The Healthy Bee

One of the things that you should know is the fact that the reverse part of your body must be constantly toned for you to have a good posture. The flip side part of your body is so important for there are many important muscles that are located on the reverse part of the body. Among these muscles are the trapezius muscles, the latissimus dorsi muscles, and the erector spinae muscles, which are located on the upper, middle and the lower part of the reverse part of our body. Other than these large muscles, there are numerous smaller muscles that are located on the rear part of your body.

These muscles are so important for they give shape to the body. The latissimus dorsi or the lats for instance which is located on the mid section of your rear part is a muscle group that makes up the V shape of your upper body part. The rector spinae on the other hand, which is located on the lower rear part of your body, protects your spinal column. These muscles are important as they do not only give shape and support to your body but they also protect the other delicate parts of your body.

Here are three workout routines that you can perform for the rear part of your body.

The Deadlift - Among the workout for the rear part of your body is the deadlift, which is also considered as one of the best power exercises that you can perform. The deadlift is a workout routine that works on your spinal erector, on your lats, on your trapezius, on your abdomen and many other parts of your body. To perform a deadlift, you need a barbell and lay it flat on the floor, and then you need to position yourself in front of the barbell. To position your body correctly, you need to put your shins near the bar and your feet and shoulder in width apart. Then, you gently grab the bar a shoulder width again on both hands while you keep your arms in straight position and your legs bent. The position is like you are in squat position while you have barbells on your both arms in front.

The Hyperextensions – This workout routine is excellent for your rear muscles like the spinal erectors, the hamstrings, and the buttocks. In this routine, you need a hyperextension station and you need to stand in the middle in a manner that you face toward the large part of the flat pad. Then, you lean forward so that your upper thighs would be touching the pad and your legs placed straight under the smaller part of the pad. Then, you start to lower down your upper body part perpendicularly and then lift your body again and repeat the process.

The Bent Barbell Rows – Like the deadlift, this rear body workout routine works on the three major rear muscle groups. To perform the exercise, you need to bend at waist level and then take a barbell on each side of your hand, which must be positioned at shoulder apart. Then, you need to bend slightly your knees and then lift the bar with your arms in straight position but you need to make sure that you keep your upper body part at 45-degree angle from the floor.



By: Jesse Miller

About the Author:

This interview is an excerpt from Kevin Gianni’s The Healthiest Year of Your Life Program which can be found at http://www.thehealthiestyearofyourlife.com. In this excerpt, Mike Adams shares his personal health transformation and an important look at shopping for and choosing healthy foods.

The Healthiest Year of Your Life Excerpt with Mike Adams, founder of the Consumer Wellness Center and on-line retailer, Better Life Goods. An author and speaker, Mike’s mission is to spread the message of natural nutrition and healing.

Kevin: Here’s what scares me a little bit here and let’s start talking about dairy, because it’s a big argument, or just even like people are almost dogmatically either believe dairy is what they need to eat, or they dogmatically believe that it’s not something that you should eat at all. What are some other things that we should really be cautious about when dealing with milk and cheese and things like that?

Mike: Well, the first thing we should be cautious about is what you hinted at. There’s sort of a psychological momentum. This is a well-known phenomenon in human psychology, which is that tend to find reasons to justify own behavior. So if we are drinking milk right now and we’re enjoying it, we’ll find reasons to support that and if we’re not drinking milk and just avoiding all dairy products entirely, we tend to find reasons to support that and we tend to be dogmatic about that, too. So there are very few people in the center, but the first point is take a very close look at your own psychology and ask why am I supporting this, or not supporting it. What’s behind my decisions? In other words, most people drinking milk should ask themselves why am I drinking milk. Why do we take the liquid from another species that is infant formula? Let’s be clear about this. Milk is infant formula. Why are we taking that and processing it? We’re homogenizing the milk fat. Why are we killing it? We’re pasteurizing it to kill it, so that it can be put in the stores and then consumed by humans, adult humans.

In other words, why are we, as adult human beings, drinking infant formula for a furry, bovine species? That’s the real question. You can honestly ask yourself that question and start investigating it and then you can make some progress into this issue, but if you have resistance to that very idea, because you’re enjoying your milk with your cereal in the morning, then you’re not ready to go down that path yet.

At some point, hopefully you’ll be ready and you can check it out. You can start looking at the issue. Now, here’s the conclusion that I’ve come to. I don’t do any dairy at all anymore, other than fermented raw dairy. I only do that occasionally, but my conclusion is that processed milk is very dangerous for human health. I think the epidemiological studies have really shown that. There’s a book called The China Study that’s a good one to look at it that talks about that.

Secondly, raw milk that fresh, farm milk, right out of the cow, once it’s fermented so that the proteins are more digestible and it’s a living food that can be very beneficial to human health. So you see, you can’t just say milk is this, or milk is bad. You have to look at different profiles of milk. There’s living milk and then there’s dead milk. Dead milk, dead, processed milk to me is just like dead, processed snack food. It’s very dangerous to your health, but living milk is like eating sprouts in a way. It’s alive. It’s got friendly flora in there and it’s more digestible in that way. Those are the conclusions that I came to, but I always invite others to draw their own conclusions. I drank milk most of my life, but I certainly don’t touch it now unless it’s fermented and raw and fresh milk. So how’s that, Kevin?

Kevin: It sounds great. When it comes to dogmatism is just questioning the best way to get through to the answers, or just investigating more, because I see it across the board. I see it from people who eat steak and eggs for breakfast, to people who eat nothing but 100% raw food even to the point where they only eat one specific food at a time and they don’t eat anything else. To me it seems that each side is almost too stiff.

Mike: I think the main thing that I encourage people to do is to be skeptical consumers and always question their own beliefs. So we need to have this philosophical flexibility. Otherwise, we too become stuck in our own ways and we become dogmatic and that drives everybody else nuts. No one likes a vegan that marches around insisting that everyone else has to be vegan just like them.

So I always encourage people to take their own journey discovering things on their own and in the meantime I’m happy to hear some of what I discovered. It doesn’t mean that it necessarily is going to apply to you. The other thing, Kevin, is that we’ve got to be sensitive to what our bodies are telling us. If we are sensitive, then we can experiment with these dietary changes. We can try milk for 30 days, or try no milk for 30 days and see which one feels better. In fact, I used to do something. I would put this on the website and challenge people to a 30 day dairy free diet. Just challenge them. You’re going to live many, many decades. Take 30 days and go without milk and see what happens. Find out if it’s better, or worse and people would write me after the 30 days and say, “Wow. My sinuses cleared up. My constipation went away. My joints feel better. I have more energy. My acne disappeared.” It’s just one benefit after another and my answer back to them would be, “That’s great. Now that you discovered that, which way do you want to live the rest of your life?” It’s pretty simple at that point for those people. They chose to live without milk. There might be others out there who are immune to the negative effects of milk for some reason, so maybe they have no benefit and that’s fine, too.

The important thing is to listen to your body and be aware of what kinds of effects you are getting. It’s that feedback mechanism. If you have a health goal of where you want to get to, how do you know if you’re getting there? You know by paying attention to what your body is telling you and then you can just start experimenting with your diet, or with nutritional supplements, or super foods, or exercise, or sunlight, or meditation, yoga, Pilates. You name it. You can put all these things in and find out what’s working for me and that becomes the basis for personal growth.

Kevin: I think you’ve done a good job at providing information to people who don’t necessarily have the time, or have not been able to justify the time to being able to really learn about their health and you have a few different resources. I just want to talk about them now, The Herb Reference Resource. Just why don’t you run down a few of those where people can go? The Drug Side Effects Resource, as well that you’re putting together. Let’s just run down those and just tell everyone what they can see when they go to each one of those.

Mike: Oh, yeah. Well, there is a lot of information out there, but we’ve tried to condense it as much as possible. Herbreference.com gives you look at all the benefits of various herbs, all the health benefits and this is taken from dozens of different books. I’ve studied herbs. There are probably 10,000 scientific studies in all behind that information. Newstarget.com is the main website where we put up daily news about super food nutrients and how to prevent and reverse and even cure degenerative diseases. We also talk about the dangers of pharmaceuticals and the dangers of Western medicine and actually, if you go to newstarget.com it will actually be naturalnews.com. That’s what we’re shifting to. That’s our long-term URL, naturalnews.com. You can find a lot of resources there. So I just encourage people to go there, register for the free e-mail newsletter and they’ll be kept informed of what we’re working on and I’ve approached this, by the way, Kevin, I want to mention I approach this from kind of a nonprofit standpoint.

I made my fortune in the software industry. I started a software company in 1993 and it earns millions of dollars a year. I took that money and the benefits from that and I put it into creating newstarget.com several years ago and so I do this without taking any money from supplement companies. I don’t sell vitamins. I don’t sell supplements, or herbs, or are herbs, or anything like that. I don’t ask for money from these companies to write about their products. So that means I approach this from a really independent viewpoint and when I make a recommendation on a product out there that I really like, like Ron Teeguarden’s Dragon Herbs, you know I’m making that recommendation with 100% objectivity. It’s an honest, independent, genuine recommendation and that’s why people like the website, because they know they can trust it. They may not always agree with everything I say and that’s fine, but they know I’m not taking a bribe to push some junk product out there. I wouldn’t do that just for my reputation. I wouldn’t even think about pushing a junk product out there.

Kevin: We’re shifting gears into supplements now. How do you know? There are hundreds out there and I know how easy it is to make a supplements lie. What kind of knowledge can you impart to everyone to explain the whole process and what it takes to make something really good?

Mike: Okay. I’m going to reveal a secret here and this is one of my little industry secrets of how I know who to trust and who to recommend. First off, you’ve got to look at the ingredients, but that’s obvious. You look at what goes into the supplement. A lot of supplements are junk. The form of vitamin B12 they use, for example, is cyanocobalamin, which is a cyanide molecule combined with a cobalamin.

Kevin: Okay.

Mike: Not a good thing. So I can look at a label and see what level of quality they have for that supplement. The other is the source. If you’re looking at herbs, like Chinese herbs in particular, you don’t want them to be sourced from China probably, because I’ve been to China. I speak Chinese and I know what goes on over there and it’s some scary stuff.

Kevin: Really? With mercury and lead right? That’s two of the big issues.

Mike: Not only that, but I’ve even seen cases where, for example, black sesame seeds were not really roasted sesame seeds. They were just white sesame seeds that were coated with black ink. The stuff I’ve seen, you would not believe it.

The third thing is, this is a secret part. This is why I go to trade shows, because I can meet the person and when I see that person I’m assessing their health. That is, the founder of the company, the CEO. Are they healthy? Are they vibrant? Are their eyes clear? What is their level of health and if they’re not healthy, I don’t recommend their product. I’m looking for really healthy people with fantastic ingredients.



By: Kevin Gianni

About the Author:

First of all you should know that the prime rule from which the best workout routines are based is that the workout routine itself should not be aimed to lose weight, but rather to lose fat. The “beginner” and “intermediate” workout routines are pretty decent (although, like other reviewers, I am a bit skeptical about the 6 day workout schedule and its potential for burnout). Pilates workout routines are different in that they are exercises that promote strength and sculpture of the body without over stressing the joints.

If your problem is trying to decide which workout routine is right for you and you cannot navigate the website jungle, then read on !

How Long Do Workout Routines Last ?

For better results train 2 times per day, because all workout routines are approximately 20 minutes long this is sufficient when you want just to tone your body. Benefits from home workout routines :- Train when you want. For example, it’s not wise to weight train everyday, unless you’re trying to build muscle and following split bodypart workout routines. The optimal workout routines include a combination of weight training and cardio.

What About Weight Training?

Weight training improves the performance of our muscles. Weight training covers exercises that work on muscular strength and muscular endurance. Weight training is not just for the body builders, it is important for all of us. Weight training is a very effective way to lose fat, but, when combined with cardio, it becomes a LOT more effective. One rule when making weightlifting workout programs is to make sure to split it so that you aren’t overtraining.

What About Cardio Workouts?

Cardio workouts are becoming important for those who want to enjoy life even until their twilight years. While everyone has their own preference of workouts, the best cardio workouts are the ones you enjoy because they are the workouts you will actually complete. If you are looking for the one piece of fitness equipment that gives you the best cardio workouts, elliptical cross trainers are an ideal choice. If you are ready to get on the road to the best cardio workouts, choose a workout you actually enjoy and you’ll be on your way to a much healthier life.

What About Losing Fat ?

When you were born, your parents did not get to choose your size. Many athletes and regular exercisers would love to lose body fat and improve their overall body composition. The most you should weight train as part of a fat-loss strategy is 3 times a week. During a fat-loss plan, each weight training workout routine should be limited to 20-30 minutes, in order to maximize the calorie burning effect. While your diet and nutrition plan is important, exercise gets your metabolism revved up and into an optimal fat-burning state. Too much exercise might also cause burn out and fatigue.

Choose The Right Workout Routine

Home workout routines are the best opportunity if you are short in time and want to stay at home with your children. You need very little equipment to practice home workout routines. Home gym workout routines are convenient, easy and reduce the hassles of driving and spending time away from home. With the advent of modern technology like the Internet, these workout routines are now available online.

Look at the link below for a selective range of workout routines.



By: Robert William Locke

About the Author:

If you are in the market for a good health insurance company in Florida, then you should consider yourself lucky since there are so many of them available. With increasing competition there are many Florida health insurance companies, fighting for their share of the market. Choosing the right one can be quite a daunting task indeed. The internet thankfully is a useful aid in your quest for the right Florida health insurance plan.

There are many online Florida health insurance companies that come to you with a host of offers and options for your entire family. The internet is one good source to learn about Florida health insurance plans and the different options available to you. Go through as many web sites as possible. There are scores of web sites which give comprehensive information. Moreover it is very convenient to get rates through online resources once you have decided to go in for a Florida health insurance plan, you should make sure that you thoroughly analyze your needs. This would also mean a hassle free health insurance experience.

Consider as many Florida health insurance companies as possible during your initial search phase. One person who can help you out with your search would be your insurance agent advisor. They may be in touch with several insurers and may be able to guide you in your search for the right Florida health insurance company. They would also offer your honest and valuable advice on the various Florida health insurance plans that are available.

Make sure that you obtain all the available cost information from your Florida health insurance company. Analyze your paying capacity and find out what is that you can afford as a premium for your Florida health insurance and find out in detail about every kind of cost involved in a health insurance plan. Get to know all the possible information from the different insurers and agents you may be dealing with. This enables you to compare and then arrive at the best Florida Health Insurance Company and plan.

Ask relevant questions and clarify all your doubts. You should be able to elicit proper answers to his/her queries from the Florida health insurance company. Try and find out from each insurer the list of present plans and find out which is the most popular plan going around currently.

Choose a Florida insurance company which meets your needs and circumstances the best, since you will be dealing with the home loan company for a reasonably long period of time. It is always best to go through referrals as far choosing a reputed Florida health insurance company is concerned. A good health insurance company would have been in the business in Florida for a substantial period of time. They should be enjoying a great deal of goodwill in the market among people of Florida. Make sure that your Florida health insurance company is licensed to operate in the state. This is a good way to find out about the credentials of a Florida health insurance company.

Another good source that can help you out with your Florida health insurance plan would be some of your friends or even family members. They may have already availed health insurance plans from different health insurance companies in Florida and therefore be in a position to offer you honest advice.

If you are going to shop for an insurance plan on the Internet, be sure to check out www.FloridaHealthInsuranceWeb.com. They were voted the #1 health insurance consulting firm in the beautiful state of Florida.

Florida Health Insurance Broker can help you!

Florida Health Insurance Agency



By: Morgan Q. Moran

About the Author:

It’s not easy making healthy food choices. Constantly we are being bombarded with commercials parading the benefits of eating unhealthy and giving good reasons for doing so. Thats the American way of life. Work hard and fast, eat bad and fast and the heck with the consequences. We’ll deal with that when the time comes.

The consequences can vary from bad to worse. For me it was a trip down the highway with the sirens blaring, the lights flashing and the paramedic feeding me nitroglycerin. That trip was not fun, as a matter of fact, it was down right scary. But it did get my attention!

Being a young man of sixty five I wasn’t ready to pilot a rocking chair just waiting to die. I wanted to live, be productive and enjoy life. So I decided that if I wanted to live - I’m working on Methuselah’s record - I needed to make some changes in my life.

What I needed to change the most was what I put in my mouth. They say you are what you eat. Eat junk and you will have an unhealthy body. Unless I have a good reason to change, I can be very stubborn. So here’s a list of the reasons I came up with to make healthy food choices.

1}Say Goodby To All The Chemicals

Read the label of that food you are about to serve your family. Look at all the preservatives that are used to keep it from spoiling and better yet look at all those ingredients you can’t even pronounce let alone know what they are.

I have always wondered why they use a name for sawdust that we don’t understand if the stuff is so good for us. You don’t suppose they don’t want you to know they’re putting sawdust in your food do you?

That is one reason I am all for making healthy food choices. All the different preservatives and chemicals that are contained in processed foods couldn’t possibly be good for you.

2)I Want To Savor The Flavor

One of the biggest reasons for making healthy food choices for myself is the flavor. I like to taste food! I like the robust flavor of fresh fruits and vegetables. Canned vegetables don’t have much taste, they tend to be pretty bland thats the reason for all of the recipes that have them swimming in mushroom soup or cheese sauce. You need something to add flavor.

Try some fresh green beans. They are loaded with flavor, delicious to savor and best of all they are loaded with good for you nutrients.

Take an acorn squash, wash it and stick it in the microwave for two to three minutes. When the skin is soft, split in two, scrape out the seeds, add a little butter to each half and you have a food that is so good for you and the best part is it tastes fantastic.

3}I Choose To Eat To Live Longer

Reports of obesity and all the health problems it causes are all over the news these days. From children to adults this problem is getting worse as people turn to fast food for their lunches and dinners.

Obesity puts a terrible strain on your heart, making it work twice as hard to function properly. Causing high blood pressure and all sorts of complications that cannot be reversed unless you lose that weight. Obesity is also directly related to diabetes, which is also on the rise here in America.

Eating healthy makes me feel better and have more energy. If you eat healthy, studies show that you can live longer and have less health issues than someone who does not.

I would like to live to enjoy my grandchildren and one day, their children. I choose to eat healthy. If eating healthy can make you live longer, I choose to eat to live longer.

4}I Choose To Eat To Be In Health

If making healthy food choices helps me to stay in vibrant health then I choose to make healthy food choices. All around me I can see the evidence of making bad food choices. You can too. Just go people watching at any mall or a busy street corner and you’ll be overwhelmed at all the results of making bad food choices.

The great thing about making healthy food choices is that you can start anytime. Like right now! I didn’t until that ambulance ride got my attention. Making healthy food choices is now an everyday occurrence. Every day it gets easier to make those choices, to say no to unhealthy food and to live a healthy life style.

5)I Want to Enjoy My Family

If Making healthy food choices allows me to live longer and be in healthy so that I can enjoy my family then I choose Healthy Food. I have eight children, eight grand children so far and a fantastic wife.

Whats important is being able to spend lots of quality time with my family to let them know I love they so.

I want to be able to spend a lot of time with my wife. When you both work and you’re taking care of the kids you don’t get to spend a lot of quality time with your spouse. By making healthy food choice now I hope, The Lord Willing, I’ll get to spend a lot of quality time with her.

Those are five reason that I choose to make healthy food choices. There are more reasons but you get the idea. Making healthy food choice is a matter of life and death. I choose life! I want to live! What better reason could there be for making healthy food choices!



By: Terry Schierer

About the Author:

You have decided it’s time to buy health insurance and it can be a very daunting task to figure out everything. Here are 10 of important factors you should consider when you choose your next health care plan.

Learning about things is what we are living here for now. So try to get to know as much about everything, including health insurance whenever possible.

Make the best use of life by learning and reading as much as possible. read about things unknown, and more about things known, like about health insurance.

1. Let’s start with the most important one first, doctors are the backbone of any health care plan and you will have to consider a few things before you grab that health care plan. If you have a family doctor that you have had for many years or someone you really trust than you will have to be sure that an continue seeing him or if you have to chose one from the listed health care providers who are on the plan you are considering. You may also have to consider whether there is a doctor close enough to where you live.

2. Pre-Existing Conditions can cause a lot of confusion because a lot of times people take this part of the health care plan for granted. Many times people don’t realize they must check and make sure how the plan deals with pre-existing conditions or they could be left out in the cold. Every insurance carrier has different pre-existing conditions that are covered so checking into that will be very important for you to do.

3. Specialists for certain medical conditions are another very important factor you may want to look into. If you use a specialist now you will want to see if he or she is in the network of approved specialists. If not, you may have to look for new one. Not every health care network will cover this in their insurance.

Thinking of life without health insurance seem to be impossible to imagine. This is because health insurance can be applied in all situations of life.

4. Emergency Care is probably one of the most important things you will need to check out. In today’s fast paced world more and more people are using emergency rooms instead of visiting their doctors. The word emergency can also get you into some trouble with your health care provider. Not every person and health care plan define emergency the same way so finding out what is covered is crucial.

5. Check ups and Physicals are usually given yearly but sometimes more often. If you getting these done often most health care plans cover them but some don’t so be sure to check into that. If you have kids you will want to make sure they are covered for checkups too.

6. Exclusions can be a gray area if you don’t have a list to go over from your health care provider. Exclusions can vary by carriers so finding what is in your plan will be very important.

7. Costs are another very important factor to compare. Once you have all the plans in front of you comparing the costs of each plan and what they offer could be the most important decision you make about your health care future.

Saying that all that is written here is all there is on health insurance would be an understatement. Very much more has to be learnt and propagated bout health insurance.

8. Prescription Drug Coverage has become one popular part of any health care plan. In today’s world prescriptions can get very expensive so coverage for this kind of medicine is extremely important. Most health care providers have co-pay for prescription drugs and some are free or at a very reduced rate. Some will pay for generic medicine and some won’t, all these all very important factors for you to consider.

9. More services are given under certain health care plans. Some of these extra services will be of no use to you; however some of them are ones that you will want to have. Some of these are mental health, nursing homes, and drug treatment to just name a few.

This is the counterpart to our previous paragraph on health insurance. Please read that paragraph to get a better understanding to this paragraph.

10. OB-GYN coverage is another important part of any health insurance plan especially if you see an obstetrician often. If you’re also considering fertility treatments you will also have to look into that when you go over your coverage. Finding out how much you will have, as an out of pocket expense is very important when you are considering OB-GYN coverage.

Even if you are a stranger in the world of health insurance, once you are through with this article, you will no longer have to consider yourself to be a stranger in it!

We find great potential in health insurance. This is the reason we have used this opportunity to let you learn the potential that lies in health insurance.

When you look at health insurance coverage there are a lot of factors you will have to consider before you can make that decision. Never rush into any decision without getting all the information you can get. Take your time and you will make a good health care decision.



By: Jimmy Chuang

About the Author:

Many Americans rely on their automobiles to get to work. No automobile means no job, no rent or mortgage money, no food. A single parent, struggling to make ends meet in the suburbs with 100,000 miles on the odometer, would presumably welcome the guaranteed opportunity for low-priced insurance that would take care of every possible repair on her auto until the day that it reaches 200,000 miles or falls apart, whichever comes first. Especially if the insurance is valid regardless of whether she even changes the oil in the interim.

So why aren’t the auto insurance companies writing such coverage, either directly or through used auto dealers? And given the importance of reliable transportation, why isn’t the public demanding such coverage? The answer is that both auto insurers and the public know that such insurance can’t be written for a premium the insured can afford, while still allowing the insurers to stay solvent and make a profit. As a society, we intuitively understand that the costs associated with taking care of every mechanical need of an old automobile, particularly in the absence of regular maintenance, aren’t insurable. Yet we don’t seem to have these same intuitions with respect to health insurance.

If we pull the emotions out of health insurance, which is admittedly hard to do even for this author, and look at health insurance from the economic perspective, there are several insights from auto insurance that can illuminate the design, risk selection, and rating of health insurance.

Auto insurance comes in two forms: the traditional insurance you buy from your agent or direct from an insurance company, and warranties that are purchased from auto manufacturers and dealers. Both are risk transfer and sharing devices and I’ll generically refer to both as insurance. Because auto third-party liability insurance has no equivalent in health insurance, for traditional auto insurance, I’ll examine only collision and comprehensive insurance - insurance covering the vehicle - and not third-party liability insurance.

Bumper to Bumper

The following are some commonly accepted principles from auto insurance:

* Bad maintenance voids certain insurance. If an automobile owner never changes the oil, the auto’s power train warranty is void. In fact, not only does the oil need to be changed, the change needs to be performed by a certified mechanic and documented. Collision insurance doesn’t cover cars purposefully driven over a cliff.

* The best insurance is offered for new models. Bumper-to-bumper warranties are offered only on new cars. As they roll off the assembly line, automobiles have a low and relatively consistent risk profile, satisfying the actuarial test for insurance pricing. Furthermore, auto manufacturers usually wrap at least some coverage into the price of the new auto in order to encourage an ongoing relationship with the owner.

* Limited insurance is offered for old model autos. Increasingly limited insurance is offered for old model autos. The bumper-to-bumper warranty expires, the power train warranty eventually expires, and the amount of collision and comprehensive insurance steadily decreases based on the market value of the auto.

* Certain older autos qualify for additional insurance. Certain older autos can qualify for additional coverage, either in terms of warranties for used autos or increased collision and comprehensive insurance for vintage autos. But such insurance is offered only after a careful inspection of the automobile itself.

* No insurance is offered for normal wear and tear. Wiper blades need replacement, brake pads wear out, and bumpers get dings. These aren’t insurable events. To the extent that a new car dealer will sometimes cover some of these costs, we intuitively understand that we’re ‘paying for it’ in the cost of the automobile and that it’s ‘not really’ insurance.

* Accidents are the only insurable event for the oldest automobiles. Accidents are generally insurable events even for the oldest autos; with few exceptions service work isn’t.

* Insurance doesn’t restore all vehicles to pre-accident condition. Auto insurance is limited. If the damage to the auto at any age exceeds the value of the auto, the insurer then pays only the value of the auto. With the exception of vintage autos, the value assigned to the auto goes down over time. So whereas accidents are insurable at any vehicle age, the amount of the accident insurance is increasingly limited.

* Insurance is priced to the risk. Insurance is priced based on the risk profile of both the automobile and the driver. The auto insurer carefully examines both when setting rates.

* We pay for our own insurance. And with few exceptions, automobile insurance isn’t tax deductible. As a result, the fear of increasing insurance rates due to traffic violations and/or accidents changes our driving behavior and we sometimes select our automobiles based on their insurability.

Each of the above principles is supported by solid actuarial theory. Although most Americans can’t describe the underlying actuarial theories, most everyone understands the above principles of auto insurance at the intuitive level. For sure, as indispensable automobiles are to our lifestyles, there is no loud national movement, accompanied by moral outrage, to change these principles.

Unsustainable Market

In contrast, similar principles are routinely violated in health insurance. To demonstrate this, let’s return to the same suburban mother from the opening paragraph. She’s busy working, driving to and from work, and driving her kids to school and activities. She ends each day exhausted, sitting on the couch with fast food. She’s obese, has a sedentary life, a bad diet, and hasn’t taken the time to go to the doctor in years. After a simple injury doesn’t heal for weeks, she turns up at the emergency room and learns she has type II diabetes. Although type II diabetes is controllable, changing diet and exercise habits and properly tracking her condition takes time and effort and she’s never quite successful in implementing the necessary lifestyle changes.

So the initial emergency room visit is only the first of a long list of health care related to non-controlled diabetes and other problems associated with obesity. Whether she has individual or group insurance, her insurance pays for each episode of care, without singling her out for a premium increase, and without charging her any more cost sharing than is charged to the healthiest and most medically diligent insureds. Her coverage continues until she voluntarily changes insurance companies and/or employers or becomes eligible for Medicare. If she’s covered under group insurance she may not even pay any premium. Her insurance continues unabated, even though the disease was caused by neglecting her body and she maintains her poor lifestyle even after the disease becomes known.

This just wouldn’t happen in auto insurance. This scenario is the auto insurance equivalent of guaranteed access to low-priced auto insurance that takes care of every possible repair, including damage already done, until the day the car falls apart so completely it’s unsalvageable (death) or reaches 200,000 miles (Medicare), regardless of whether she even changes the oil (takes care of herself) in the interim.

As a society, we don’t expect this in private-market auto insurance, but we expect it in private-market health insurance. Furthermore, there’s a chorus of national and state interests, which continuously pushes us further away from the auto insurance principles.

The current private health insurance market isn’t sustainable. Prices have been consistently increasing faster than inflation for decades. Each year, insureds use more health care than ever before and more people have no insurance at all. Most actuaries and other people in the private health insurance market don’t want national health insurance with its bureaucracy and one-size-fits-all benefits. Yet, we’re trying to sustain a private insurance system, which violates the very principles we know are necessary for private insurance markets.

Yes, health insurance involves the sacredness of human life and is therefore different from auto insurance. But if we’re to sustain a private-market solution to health insurance, actuaries need to explain to the larger society, in terms that society understands, the rationale for the following principles:

* As sacred as health care is, it’s still an economic transaction that has to be balanced by individuals and societies, against other economic choices. It can’t be unlimited. Sometimes it will be secondary to other choices. On a given day, for example, the mother in our scenario may value her car more than her health.

* Insurance premiums should be paid by the individual and tied to controllable risk factors. This will provide the best incentive for the control of risk factors.

* Although it’s hard to draw the line between abuse, neglect and ignorance, self-abuse shouldn’t be insured and we need to draw that line somewhere.

* The private market can’t provide unlimited, self-directed health insurance.

* Routine care and ongoing treatments of chronic conditions can be pre-funded, can even be subsidized, but they don’t constitute ‘insurable events.’

* Insurance can’t be expected to keep every human body in pristine condition. No amount of health care will prevent everyone’s ultimate death.

* Comprehensive, unlimited, non-subsidized private-market coverage isn’t possible for people with severely impaired health.

* The private health market can provide limited non-subsidized health insurance, such as protection from accidents, to even health-impaired individuals.

* Individuals who can afford to do so and who take good care of themselves should be able to ‘buy up’ to better coverage. People have the option of buying up for everything else in life.

Discussion of these principles is lacking from most of the current health insurance debate. If society can intuitively understand how similar principles apply to health insurance, then they should be able understand the principles in the health insurance context. We need to initiate the debate.

This commentary is solely the opinion of its author. It does not express the official policy of the American Academy of Actuaries; nor does it necessarily reflect the opinions of the Academy’s individual officers, members, or staff

Contingencies, Jan/Feb 2007



By: Melih Oztalay

About the Author:

If you want to have and keep a healthy well-toned body, a good gym or health club can offer you a variety of equipment and services to help you meet your goals. But remember that not all fitness clubs are equal.

You want a fitness club that’s in it for more than your cash. It should be fully committed to health and quality service so that you see positive results as quickly as possible. It should offer an informed professional staff that can guide you through your workouts and show you how to use new equipment. And it should offer a variety of programs that focus on different aspects of fitness and health. Having a professional nutritionist on staff is another important feature you should look for.

One health and fitness club you can count on is 24 Hour Fitness, with have five types of clubs to meet your unique needs. The Ultra Sport club offers all the amenities and is set up for every type of workout you can imagine, from basketball and volleyball to saunas and spas. You can even sharpen your rock climbing skills. There’s a kids’ club, so you won’t have to hire a baby-sitter and a complete juice bar for dietary health. After your workout, you can get a wonderful massage or visit a tanning booth. 24 Hour Fitness’ Super Sport Clubs include many of the same amenities, without the massage or rock climbing. Similar to the Super Sport, the Sport Club doesn’t offer tanning. The Active club type focuses on the basic - weight training, cardio workouts, sauna, steam room, and a kids’ club. Finally, the Fitlite club offers a complete cardio workout and some group classes.

Operating since 1983, 24 Hour Fitness is the biggest privately owned and operated fitness center chain in the world with over 385 clubs. For years, they’ve maintained a expert staff to help their clients get the most out of their exercise program, and they use qualified nutritionists to complement working out with great advice on the foods you should - and should not - eat.

Signing up to a new club only to find that they have incomplete facilities and gaps in their equipment offering is a real disappointment and a waste of time and money. You won’t be disappointed at 24 Hour Fitness. They maintain state-of-the-art fitness equipment for every workout need. You’ll never have to stop your workout because the equipment broke down, and you won’t have to wait until a machine becomes available to get the exercise you need.

They offer team sports facilities and group classes to help you learn new skills and enjoy your friends at the same time. 24 Hour Fitness classes cover a wide range of exercise interests, such as pilates, strength training, aerobic workouts, yoga, and water workouts. Their worldwide instructor team includes over 7000 professionals, and 24 Hour Fitness keeps them up on the latest techniques by offering in-house training for Group Trainers.

You can choose from a range of membership types to meet your schedule and your budget at 24 Hour Fitness. Four types of all-club memberships give you privileges at facilities everywhere, and three different one-club options allow for savings, great workouts, and short-term fitness programs.

Since they have facilities all over the world, travelers will want to take advantage of the Passport Program, where you can workout at other private fitness centers as part of your membership in 24 Hour Fitness. All you need is your 24 Hour Fitness Passport Program ID and a reasonable fee to get a great workout at any Passport Program member’s facility.

In 2000, 24 Hour Fitness made a bold move when they entered into partnerships with five world-famous athletes to advocate fitness and make fitness a way of life for all of us. Representing the qualities 24 Hour Fitness values (determination, hard work, persistence, and a positive attitude), these sports super stars are role models and living proof of the benefits of exercise and good health. Lance Armstrong, Shaquille O’Neal, Magic Johnson, Andre Agassi, and Jackie Chan signed on to represent 24 Hour Fitness and bring good health to the people.

In 2004, 24 Hour Fitness became the first official fitness center sponsor for U.S. Olympic Teams, offering grants to help Olympic hopefuls follow their dreams and upgrading Olympic Training Centers across the country. Their commitment to good health is clear.

Your workout at 24 Hour Fitness will be fun, easy, and personally rewarding. You’ll find a wide range of exercise options and equipment, complete modern facilities and amenities, and a professional staff to help you achieve your goals in record time.

If you’re shopping for a health club, you owe it to yourself to check out 24 Hour Fitness.



By: Abhishek Agarwal

About the Author:

In a perfect world we would all be eating the right food, exercising, sleeping well and just generally enjoying life.

In the real world most of us manage a percentage of the healthy lifestyle and muddle through as best we can with the rest of it. Part of the problem is we are encouraged to think, mostly by the media, that we should be doing everything possible towards a healthy lifestyle, all of the time. For most of us this is just not possible.

Constant concern about what we should or shouldn’t be doing causes our stress levels to go up and that negates any good work that we’ve done. Yes, we should certainly try for a healthy lifestyle, but the two key words are “moderation” and “balance” By applying these criteria to achieving a healthy lifestyle we won’t be beating ourselves up for failing another diet or dropping out of the latest exercise regime.

A common mistake that many people make when they decide to adopt a healthy lifestyle is to try to do too much too soon. They then give themselves a guilt complex when it all falls apart. It is also easy to be influenced by others, when we should only be adopting a healthy lifestyle plan to suit ourselves.

Ah! Did I say lifestyle plan? Do you have one, or do you just try the next thing that is in your magazine or Sunday supplement? By all means read these articles and take them into account as you plan how you want your healthy lifestyle to take shape.

Leading a healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean you have got to run a mile before breakfast, eat seeds and think pure thoughts. Great if that’s what you want, but for most of us “healthy” means being in reasonable shape, eating our fruit and vegetables and generally having a feeling of vitality.

Decide on your definition of a healthy lifestyle, and then plan a strategy that works for you.

As part of my health plan I decided I wanted to walk in the mornings before breakfast, but there was no way I wanted to get up at the crack of dawn to do it. So I planned a ten minute circuit that includes a short flight of steps and a not too steep incline. I power walked that route every day and felt really good. Sure l wouldn’t make the City to Surf marathon, but I compromised and made it work for me.

Today, much is made of organic foods, but the reality is that organic food is generally more expensive and well out of the range for most budgets. Yes organic is probably the best option, but it doesn’t mean that if you’re not eating all organic you are not eating right. If you’re concerned about general produce, be a bit discerning when you shop. Look for fruit and vegetables that are fresh and unblemished. You should also buy product brands that you can trust. If you shop wisely, you can have a well-balanced healthy diet that won’t break the bank.

Basically living a healthy life means looking at your lifestyle as a whole, it is not just about diet and exercise. It is not always necessary to make major changes. Most people know their weak spots, and are happy if they can make a few changes that show results.

A friend of mine was drinking several cans of soft drink a day. She was feeling tired and generally under the weather. When I read an article about the health risk of soft drink I copied it and gave it to her, whereupon she decided to give up the soft drink there and then. A week later she got back to me and said she couldn’t believe the difference, her energy levels were up and she was feeling great. Just that one change was able to make a difference and she feels good about the healthy choice.

Sleep and leisure time play a big part in a healthy lifestyle, and for the most part people underestimate the value of good sleep. Our bodies aren’t designed to operate at peak performance twenty four hours a day. Anyone in industry knows that machines that have to work continuously need a lot of maintenance. When we are sleeping our body is healing and regenerating itself and we should wake up feeling refreshed and revitalized.

We can go without sleep for extended periods, but we can’t do it indefinitely. The amount of sleep an individual needs varies a great deal, and there is no such thing as the right time to sleep. Obviously most people sleep at night, but if you are one of those folk that comes alive in the small hours, you might need to catch up with your sleep during the day.

A big part of healthy living is being comfortable with yourself. Don’t be pressured into trying to attain a certain look, or push yourself down a career path you are not suited to. Constant worry about what you are doing will only have the opposite effect on your health. Don’t get paranoid about your diet, about what toothpaste you should use or about expensive exercise equipment you need to buy.

Allow a common sense approach to dictate when you are making lifestyle choices, and remember, there is nothing wrong with compromise if it means your healthy lifestyle plan will work for you.



By: Trish Powell

About the Author:

A central concern of the society in which we live is health. People are getting more and more conscious about living a healthy life. Eating healthy food is of course a great way to improve your health and stay healthy. A common misconception among people is that healthy food refers to bland and boring food that is widely available as a natural food co-op. However, healthy food is actually what you eat every day, only it is prepared in a slightly different way.

Healthy food as well as healthy eating habits is pleasant for the palate. Closer the food is to its natural state; the healthier it is for you. You can improve your eating habits by cutting down on packaged food. This kind of food, although convenient, is filled with preservatives and artificial ingredients. Healthy food can be convenient too, once you get into the habit of preparing them.

It is very easy and inexpensive to prepare and eat healthy food. Here is an example: grill some lean hamburger patties until they are well cooked. Once this is done, place the patties on whole grain all natural hamburger buns. The burgers can be served with a tossed salad as well as a side of steamed green beans. Follow it up by serving fresh fruit for dessert. This entire meal can be prepared within half an hour and includes a variety of healthy food.

Grilling lean meat, fish, or chicken does not take a long time. While the meat cooks, you can easily toss up a salad of greens and vegetables. You can also round out the meal by using frozen or fresh vegetables. You can bring in variety into your meals by using healthy foods that you have never tasted before. Be sure to check the produce section of the local grocer, which will be stocked with a whole range of exotic fruits and vegetables. Some produce sections also offer recipes on how to cook the vegetables with which you are not familiar. This is a great way to introduce your children to healthy foods. You can also experiment with fresh herbs that can add new flavors to your meal.

Preparing healthy food on a regular basis will help you to make fast health nutrition meals. If you get the time, try using healthy food in exotic recipes. Healthy food can be prepared before hand and frozen for later use. When you prepare your own frozen food, you can be absolutely sure that there are no artificial additives or preservatives.

Encourage your children to get involved in the preparation of healthy foods. This will create a time that you can share with them. Eating healthy food does not cost you much of your time or money and most certainly, it is a better option for you.



By: Ranju Kumar

About the Author: