Search Results for: blog guess i should have read the label first

Health Insurance Will Soon Come With Labels

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Part of the health care reform laws include the creation of “coverage fact labels” that will describe what each health insurance policy will cover. These labels are being worked on right now by a group of state insurance regulators, industry representatives, and consumer advocates. The labels are supposed to make it much easier for consumers to compare one health insurance policy against another. When I go grocery shopping, I read absolutely everything on the ingredient label of every food I buy. I do this for health reasons. There are a lot of foods that I am allergic to, and I … Continue reading →

Do I Need To Measure My Food?

Almost everyone knows that 3,500 calories equals one pound. In other words, if you want to lose one pound of weight you would need to take in 3,500 less calories to do this. The key to all of this is counting your calories and exercise. Although I do not add in my calories burned while exercising (I guess I just figure it as bonus calories subtracted), I do count my calories. If I did not count my calories, I would be in serious trouble. The great thing about dieting is that once you start losing a few pounds your self-esteem … Continue reading →

When sharing isn’t a good Thing…

We spend a lot of time teaching our children to share. However, there are many items they shouldn’t share, such as personal care items. It’s important to make sure small children understand the difference and know that it’s okay (in fact, preferred) that they do not share some things. Something else we don’t want to share is germs. Unfortunately, that can be a little tough when the weather keeps everyone inside, the doors and windows are closed, and a family member is sick. My youngest has been very sick. We’re trying to keep the other kids from catching it and … Continue reading →

Is Your Home Office Making You Sick?

Home office. Corporate office. Any office. In my opinion they are all environments that can compromise our mental health (slave driver boss, mandated overtime, etc.), but what about our physical health? In a previous blog Aimee detailed research that found some laser printers emit what is considered as “dangerous” levels of ultra-fine toner particles into the air. The study went on to say that people exposed to high levels of these particles are at risk of suffering respiratory irritation, severe cardiovascular problems, even cancer. Unfortunately, even if you don’t work near one of these types of laser printers there are … Continue reading →

Kids + Shopping Carts = Stomachaches

A few years back numerous studies were done to detect how much bacteria covered grocery store shopping cart handles. The studies confirmed that shopping cart handles had more germs than public restrooms. Researchers made their rounds on TV news programs claiming that shopping carts were one of the worst public places for germs and that shoppers should take precautions. Now, it seems some grocery store customers are getting help from the government (well, at least residents in Arkansas are) to stay healthy while shopping. State lawmakers are trying to pass a law to get stores to clean their carts. The … Continue reading →

Combating Hotel Room Germs

No traveler takes delight in knowing he or she is sharing a mattress with bed bugs. But frankly, if you believe germ experts bed bugs are the least of your worries when you are spending the night away from home. Warning: Hotel rooms are not as clean as you might think. At least that’s what doctors at the University of Arizona contend. The germ experts recently tested several hotel rooms and found they are teaming with bacteria. (Yes, again!) Researchers found germs on the carpets and the bedspread, and clusters of bacteria on the rooms’ light switches. And this was … Continue reading →

Recall: Hasbro Easy Bake Oven

Kids love to imitate their parents. They love to do all the grown up stuff we do. Well, they like it until they actually have to do it, but pretending to do all that stuff is fun. That is why many of us grew up “cooking” with our Easy Bake Ovens, just like Mom. I had one. Did you? I also bought them for my girls over the years, but thankfully, I think we are beyond the fascination of the Easy Bake Oven. It was a cool idea and we had fun with it, but I am glad to be … Continue reading →

What Do the Dates on Your Canned Foods Mean?

Are you unsure about how long a can of tuna will last? What do the stamps printed on the cans mean? Can the stamped dates tell you how long an item will store? Those codes sure can be confusing! Here are some things to keep in mind when storing canned foods: First, you may be able to get some information from the product codes printed on the cans, but not much. Cans that list a “use by” date or a “best if eaten by” mean more than random numbers or dates without labels. Other codes or dates printed on cans … Continue reading →

Hotels–How Clean Are They?

I love to travel… but I hate to pack. I enjoy flying… but I dread the boarding process. And, I treasure staying at hotels… as long as they are clean. I have touched on the issue of hotel cleanliness in prior blogs, but this new finding warrants additional coverage. A new study, released just a couple of days ago, reveals that many hotel rooms are havens for germs. Initially, I wasn’t that surprised. After all, I saw the “20/20” investigation on filthy hotel mattresses and unsanitary bedspreads (by the way, experts did conclude that on items like bedspreads, cloth dries … Continue reading →

Who Needs Fancy Cleaning Products?

While many of today’s cleaning products come in a vast array of packages and offer as many promises for the amazing things they can do, you might be surprised to find that a large percentage of them are made mostly of water. Water is the best cleaning solution around and we all have plenty of it at our fingertips. Hot water will clean nearly any mess. Soaps and other ingredients are generally nothing more than lubricants added to make scrubbing easier. Other ingredients may include germ killing agents, but in most products, there is nothing special about the ingredients, except … Continue reading →