Back in the summer, I promised readers more ways to save on particular services. As I always try to keep my word, let's take a peek at additional easy ways to save money and protect your body at the same time, thanks to Money magazine.
-An aspirin rather than an apple a day keeps you-know-who away. A man over 40, a woman past menopause, a smoker, one who endures high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, or a family history of heart disease - this simple aspirin method could really lower risk of a heart attack.
(Note: physicians may not prescribe an aspirin for every day of the week. Case in point – I used to take seven pills weekly, but the dosage proved to be too much. I bruised so terribly my poor husband was, I'm fairly certain, silently accused by strangers of knocking me around, although those folks who know me well are laughing out loud as they read this sentence.) My dear doc lowered the dosage to thrice weekly and all's well. Again, your own physician is the prescriber, never you.
At about 20 cents a day versus treating a heart attack, to include hospital, doctor and drug bills is a no brainer. The average cost to traditional health insurers for the first 90 days following a heart attack is $38,501. Moreover, Medicare spends over $14,000 per senior patient on hospital bills in the year after a heart attack, plus additional amounts for physicians and outpatient care. Lotta money, pain, and aggravation!
-Avoid stress. Yeah, right, you're thinking; that's about as easy as not breathing. Good stress and bad, which we all possess plenty at various times in life, can be equally harmful. Plenty of people fall ill following the death of a loved one or the agony of a ferocious migraine headache (bad stress) to the joyous birth of a child or winning the Powerball lottery (good stress). Studies show we visit the doctor between 60 percent and 90 percent of the time because of stress-related factors. I expect if we pause and think of our past five visits and what precipitated them, this truth will become pretty evident. Since a stress-less life is impossible, it's imperative to chill out. Exercise at least 30 minutes a day, take a yoga class, listen to music, or simply meditate 15 minutes daily while visualizing your favorite relaxing spot. Mine happens to be sitting on a deserted beach at dusk, listening to the waves sing against the sand, back and forthback and forth.
-Quit the coffin nails. As an ex-smoker who enjoyed a pack a day for over 30 years, no one is better able to wag a finger in a smoker's face. Even though smokers are now in the minority, a few is still too many. I've watched close friends die needless deaths and also know several who carry oxygen tanks just to drive to the corner grocery store.
In certain states, people can spend as much as $5,000 on cigarettes every year. Over one's lifetime, smoking can cost him or her over $2 million. Smoking is directly or indirectly responsible for over $96 billion in healthcare expenditures in the United States. Finally, just the inconveniences for smokers must be exasperating. No more smoking areas at work and, usually, not even on the company's outside property. Restaurants, bars, airports, lobbies, friends' homes and lots of other places don't allow this vice which helps discourage the habit for many.
And don't think e-cigarettes are much better. According to Science News, students as young as twelve or thirteen are now more likely to vape than to smoke. Many are under the impression that because e-cigs don't contain tobacco, they pose minor risk to health. Wrong! Over the past few months, research has turned up evidence that vaping can pose many brand-new risks. The vapors mess with immunity, some studies show and "smoker's cough" and bloody sores have begun showing up in teen vapers. The hotter a vaped liquid gets, the harsher its effects on human cells. And a relatively new vaping behavior called "dripping" ups the heat and threatens to intensify a teen's risks from those vapors. Some new data even suggest that e-cig vapors may contain cancer-causing chemicals.
-Be careful with consuming tap water. While I drink both at my house, I generally prefer bottle when out simply because I'm uncertain if the outside source has been property treated. Even in this age of government regulations, water treatment facilities often add dangerous chemicals, such as chlorine and too much fluoride as part of the process. Antiquated corroded lead pipes are certainly a significant factor, whether the water is transported within these pipes or the latter is found in older homes. Drugs, including painkillers and psychiatric meds, now show up in most municipal water supplies and, perhaps worse, as many as 56 million Americans drink tap water containing unsafe levels of arsenic, according to liveinthenow.com. Most experts argue the best resource for safe drinking water is a filter. Unfortunately, many of these aren't cheap, although consumers can find a few under $100. (Remember, too, if your tap water is hazardous, so is the water that washes your dishes and clothes.)
-Keep those hands clean. My family would tell you I'm OCD about hand-washing and maybe so. That old better safe than sorry definitely applies to me and, frankly, I'm rarely ill from a germ-related infection. Spending close to $500 yearly on flu and cold treatments seems pretty dumb to me when thoroughly cleaning hands with soap and water is a much sounder and cheaper preventative. Scrubbing for fifteen seconds (the length of time spent singing "Happy Birthday" or "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star") after touching any potential contaminants or before eating or handling food will cut down on lots of sick days. "Contaminants" include everything from picking up the uncooked Thanksgiving turkey to touching a restaurant menu, the latter being one of the filthiest items around.
(To be continued)
Contact Ellen Phillips at consumerwatch@timesfreepress.com