What’s In That Sugar or Waffle Cone/Cup?
Nearly 100 years ago, a Lebanese immigrant named Albert George purchased second-hand cone baking machines and founded the George and Thomas Cone Company. Today, that company is now named the Joy Ice Cream Cone Company and is the largest ice cream cone producer in the world, manufacturing more than 1.5 billion cones a year for retail consumers and food service companies. Based in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, the company is still owned and operated by the George family along with the employees. Read more 
Why Health Insurance Should Not Be Tied to Employment
On our nation’s birthday, we have much to celebrate in the 238 years since our country was founded: we’ve come a long way with regards to religious freedom and equal rights but we still have a long way to go. This past week the US Supreme Court voted 5-4 that the government cannot require for-profit, closely held companies to provide certain birth control drugs and devices because the provision goes against the owner’s religious beliefs. Whether you agree or disagree with the Supreme Court ruling, this case never should have been entertained by the high court because health insurance should not be tied to employment, and here are the three reasons why: Read more
Bariatric Surgery for Kids?
The Wall Street Journal ran an article this week entitled “As World’s Kids Get Fatter, Doctors Turn to the Knife” by Shirley S. Wang who reported that children as young as 3 years old are being considered for weight-loss surgery in Saudi Arabia. Seems that the rates of overweight and obese children age 5 and under are rising in much of the world but rising faster in developed countries, including Saudi Arabia. Why? That’s the million dollar question with the answer alarmingly apparent. Read more
The Happy Herbivore
When my daughter set upon being a vegan, I was often perplexed at how to make flavorful, healthy meals that the whole family – carnivore man, vegetarian me, and vegan daughter – would enjoy. I initially consulted Forks Over Knives – both the original book and the cookbook – but often found the recipes time-consuming. I wanted quick, easy recipes with a lot of flavor which I found in The Happy Herbivore Abroad followed by The Happy Herbivore by Lindsay Nixon. Nixon, a lawyer by education who switched careers to follow her passion for food and her love for animals. When someone asks her why she is a vegan, she replies “for my health, the animals, the environment, my pocketbook…and for you.” Read more
Don’t Blame CVS For Mandatory Health Screening
This past week, Rhode Island based CVS announced its 200,000 employees will be required to participate in a health screening or pay $600 more in annual health insurance premiums. The health screening will be paid by CVS and will assess employee weight, height, BMI (body mass index), cholesterol, blood pressure and glucose levels. This information will be submitted to a third-party administrator (not CVS affiliated) who will review the data and assess healthcare risks. Read more
The Health Insurance Exchange – What’s the Big Deal?
The governor of Arizona let the federal government know the state does not plan to set up a Health Insurance Exchange by October 1, 2013 – the deadline to have the exchanges operating to allow consumers time to purchase policies for 2014 coverage. 17 states and the District of Columbia plan to create their own health insurance exchanges and the remaining states have until December 14, 2012 to decide what they are going to do. For those states that decide not to set up a Health Insurance Exchange themselves, the task will be left to the federal government who has the authority to step in and create the exchanges. Read more
“Forks Over Knives”
A few weeks ago, my friend, Kathy recommend a book called “Forks Over Knives” and also the movie of the same title. Her 13-year old son had decided several years before that he wasn’t going to eat anything that had eyes and became a vegetarian. In her search for information on a vegetarian and vegan lifestyle, she came across this book and movie. Read more
Nordic Walking
While living in Switzerland, I noticed that many people used nordic poles to walk vigorously. Their posture was excellent and yet their movements seemed so fluid, fast and effortless. More popular in Europe than the US, nordic walking is a sport that has yet to be recognized or “gone viral” as my daughter would say. She calls nordic walking an “old ladies sport” but there couldn’t be anything further from the truth. Read more
The Individual Mandate to Buy Health Insurance
Few topics spark strong opinions like health insurance – and the individual mandate to require the uninsured to purchase health insurance is at the center of the controversy. In 2010 before the Obama administration in conjunction with Congress and the Senate overhauled the US healthcare system, there were estimates of 40-50 million of uninsured Americans which equates to approximately 15% of the population. Read more
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