You are Here

Month: May 2020

Food & Diet

5 winning ways for kids burn energy

1 min read

Could your kids power the electrical grid, if you could only figure out how to tap that energy? Someday, all the hours spent cooped up at home will be a memory, not a daily reality. But if your children are bouncing off the walls with schools and day care still closed and summer coming, here are five active ideas to safely channel their energy. Pandemic or not, preschoolers benefit from active play throughout the day, and children ages 6 to 17 should rack up at least 60 minutes of activity daily, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And since regular activity boosts health and lifts mood, everyone stands to benefit.

Pick a card

Annelieke Rietsema, an employee health coach and fitness specialist at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, suggests this simple strategy. Take a pack of playing cards and assign different exercises to each suit. For example, hearts could … Read more

Food & Diet Health Alliance Health Article Health Excercise Health Plan Men's Health Mental Health Woman Health

As COVID Cuts Deadly Path Through Indiana Prisons, Inmates Say Symptoms Ignored

1 min read

Scottie Edwards died of COVID-19 just weeks before he would have gotten out of the Westville Correctional Facility in Indiana.

Edwards, 73, began showing symptoms of the disease in early April, according to the accounts of three inmates who lived with him in a dormitory. He was short of breath, had chest pain and could barely talk. He was also dizzy, sweaty and throwing up.

Edwards was serving a 40-year sentence for attempting to kill someone in 2001. He would have been released to home detention on May 1 but died on April 13. The next day, the Indiana Department of Correction sent out a statement that indicated Edwards’ symptoms came on suddenly: “The offender, a male over the age of 70, who did not have indications of illness, reported experiencing chest pains and trouble breathing on Monday.”

Edwards’ fellow inmates dispute the statement and say he had been seeking … Read more

Food & Diet Health Alliance Health Article Health Excercise Health Plan Men's Health Mental Health Woman Health

Must-Reads Of The Week

1 min read

The Big News

It was a short work week for those still able to work, but there was a considerable amount of health care news. That hasn’t changed.

The story that probably got the most attention was that the death toll in the United States from COVID-19 passed 100,000 people. It can be hard to get a handle on what that means. The Washington Post looked at the people who count the deaths and track the deaths.

There will be more. The Texas Tribune noted how the coronavirus was a threat to people living in homeless shelters. Nursing homes continue to be a major hot spot in this pandemic. Same goes for areas where poorer people live.

The Reopening

But another source of infections just might be the crowds of people who think all danger has passed and it’s time to frolic in close proximity with others.… Read more

Food & Diet

Can forest therapy enhance health and well-being?

1 min read

The beauty of the outdoors naturally encourages people to go outside, inhale fresh air, listen to the birds, take a walk, or watch the wind animate the branches of the steadfast neighboring trees. The pull toward the natural world is present even in normal times. Now, as we’re confined indoors by the coronavirus pandemic, often spending hours in front of inanimate screens, the urge to be outside is ever more acute. One way to satisfy these urges while improving our health and well-being is forest therapy, a practice growing in popularity around the world.

What is forest therapy?

Inspired by the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing,” forest therapy is a guided outdoor healing practice. Unlike a hike or guided nature walk aimed at identifying trees or birds, forest therapy relies on trained guides, who set a deliberately slow pace and invite people to experience the pleasures of … Read more

Food & Diet Health Alliance Health Article Health Excercise Health Plan Men's Health Mental Health Woman Health

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Still Seeking A Federal Coronavirus Strategy

1 min read

Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on SoundCloud.

The Trump administration sent its COVID-19 testing strategy plan to Congress, formalizing its policy that most testing responsibilities should remain with individual states. Democrats in Congress complained that the U.S. needs a national strategy, but so far none has emerged.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump, noticing that his popularity among seniors has been falling since the pandemic began, unveiled a plan to lower the cost of insulin for Medicare beneficiaries. However, while diabetes is a major problem for seniors in general and for Medicare’s budget, only a small minority takes insulin.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of Kaiser … Read more

1 2 3 … 15