How Much Does Health Insurance Cost Per Month

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For many non-insured people, the question of how much does a health insurance policy cost today can make or break their decision to pick a plan. It must be emphasized that insurance is a necessity in our times especially with the rising costs of health care.

Even if you have to take the cheapest plan with basic coverage, take it for indeed it is better to have health insurance to help shoulder the costs of medical care than to have no protection at all. Besides, many factors will affect the cost of your insurance plan such that you might be persuaded to think that indeed the premiums you pay are worth every penny.

Factors Affecting Costs

Health insurance plans are not islands unto themselves. Just like other aspects of modern life, it is dependent on varying degrees on the economic and political environment as well as on the applicant’s personal circumstances and preferences.

On one hand, economic and political factors include use of insurance plans amongst people and advances in medical science and medical technology. As modern medicine finds newer and better ways to prolong the lives of human beings, insurance costs will rise to meet the consumer demand. And with the proposed health care reform, we may see a shift towards greater burden on consumers of insurance plans.

On the other hand, personal circumstances will also affect the cost of the insurance policy. These personal factors will include:

– Age – As you age, your premiums will increase.

– Gender – Women will pay for higher premiums than their male counterparts

– Medical history – Your past and present health can either swing the favor of premiums for or against you.

– Lifestyle choices – Alcohol consumption, smoking habits, use of street drugs and obesity will affect the costs of the plan

– Place of residence – Each state has its own insurance laws especially where coverage and caps are concerned

– Types of plan preferred – Comprehensive plans are more expensive to pay for than scheduled benefits plans. Fee-for-service plans, preferred provider organizations, point-of-service plans and health maintenance organizations all have their costs.

The insurance company will evaluate all these factors before providing you with a quote.

Actual Costs

As can be expected, each individual’s insurance quotes will vary depending on the personal factors. If the 2008 figures for the United States is the basis, an average individual will spend around $5,000 while an average family of four will spend up to $18,000 on health insurance policies per annum.

Unfortunately, health insurance rates now cost more than compact cars. However, you have to remember that a compact car will not provide financial protection in times of medical emergencies, unlike the health insurance policy.

It cannot be denied that health insurance costs are on the slight rise. You may grumble about it but the fact still remains that health insurance is an essential part of modern life.

Make health Your Number One Priority

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Ill tell you why. We are focusing on the wrong goal. For whatever reason, we must not perceive our weight loss as being “important enough” to achieve. So what would be “important enough” to stick to our new healthy eating habits? Your HEALTH! Nothing in this world is more important than the state of your health. Think about it, your health affects everything else in your life. Once our health is compromised we automatically change our lifestyle habits. Just look at President Clinton. Not until he had the ultimate health scare did he really change his eating and exercise habits. Lets not wait until our bodies completely have a break down before we decide to take care of ourselves. If you feel lousy, everything you do that day is lousy. Likewise, if you feel great, everything you do that day is great. So this year, lets not focus on just losing a few pounds, lets focus on Health, the #1 thing in our lives.

So ask yourself, “How important is my health to me? How do I want to live the rest of my life? Sick and feeling horrible or healthy and feeling vibrant? Do I want to play golf and tennis in my retirement or do I want to spend it in the hospital?” The answer to these questions will ultimately dictate your weight and your health for the future. Any lifestyle habit that affects your health in a positive way will automatically cause you to lose weight or maintain a good healthy weight.

Follow this checklist towards health and you will see weight come off automatically.

1.Make the time to focus on health.
The number one reason people do not eat healthy or exercise is because they “dont have the time”. But why is it that once we get sick, have a heart attack, are diagnosed with heart disease, diabetes or cancer, we all of a sudden have the time? This doesnt make any sense. We wait until our bodies have become so ill to finally take measures towards taking care of it. This is the equivalent to never getting an oil change or servicing your car and letting it completely break down before doing anything about it. Prioritize your day. What could possibly be more important than your health? Your children, yes, I agree. But guess what? If something happens to you, who will be there for your children? I know that sounds terrible but its true. How many times have we heard stories of young children losing parents to heart attacks and strokes? Choose health not only for yourself but for your children as well. Prioritize your day so that making healthy meal choices and exercising are right at the top.

2.Take a long hard look at what you are putting into your body.
For one week, read every ingredient of every food you eat. This could potentially be a scary experience. Some ingredient labels on packaged foods sound more like a college chemistry class than anything we should be eating. As a golden rule, if you cant pronounce it, chances are you shouldnt be eating it. The majority of the foods you should be eating shouldnt even have an ingredients label. They should be vegetables, fruits, raw nuts, chicken, fish, eggs, meat. If you make 90% of your diet, fresh food, I guarantee you will significantly change your weight and your health. No time to make fresh food? (please refer back to #1). Cook more than one portion at a time when you do cook so that there are always healthy leftovers in the fridge. You can always have for lunch leftovers from the night before. Cook several portions of one meal and freeze some. A good example of this is healthy soup or turkey chili. Put a portion of chili in a small Tupperware and freeze. You can grab this when in a hurry for lunch or dinner.

3. How much are you eating?
In the United States, our perception of one portion is extremely distorted. Restaurant portions are about 3 times more than what we should be eating in one sitting. If we become accustomed to seeing this much food on our plate at a restaurant we tend to do the same when we are at home and serve ourselves. According to a study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, women are eating 300 more calories a day and men 168 more calories than 20 years ago. All it takes is 100 extra calories a day to gain 10 pounds a year.

For one week, reduce your portions at lunch and dinner by half. There is no need to “clean your plate”. Most times whats on your plate is double what you should be eating anyway. If you feel some hunger in the afternoon, add one small apple with a handful of raw nuts as a snack. Your body will quickly become accustomed to the smaller portions and you will eventually not be able to eat as much in one sitting as you did before. Remember, you have access to an abundance of food every day. You dont need to eat it all at once.

3.Drink WATER!
Dehydration has directly been linked to several forms of diseases including colon cancer, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol levels. Many people also mistake thirst for hunger. So it may not be that youre hungry all day, you may just be thirsty and dehydrated. In due time, dehydration will cause a gradual gain in weight from overeating as a direct result of confusion of thirst and hunger sensations.

Take a look at what you are drinking each day.

Coffee or Soda (Diet Coke included)? The caffeine in both will dehydrate you even more and will cause you to feel hungrier during the day.

Diet drinks and sodas? The artificial sweetener actually enhances your appetite and increases food intake.

Orange Juice and other Fruit Juices? The sugar and calories can add up to 10 teaspoons of sugar per drink, which can be anywhere from 150-200 calories. Not to mention the fact that sugar eventually makes you crave more sugar.

Every person should be drinking half of their body weight in ounces of water each day. So if you weigh 150 lbs, you should be drinking 75 ounces of water each day. If you drink coffee or any other caffeinated beverage during the day, the ounces of water needed increases.

4.How much do you move each day?
Your body was designed to move! Your heart is a muscle and must be worked just like every other muscle in your body. You dont have to join a gym to move, you just have to challenge your body and your muscles each and every day.

The two best time saving exercise options I always suggest to clients are:

1.Go for a walk. You can go for a walk anywhere and anytime. No time you say? Please refer back to rule #1.

2. Set up your home with some free weights and an exercise ball. You will be amazed at the number of exercises you can do with just your body, some free weights and a stability ball. If you dont know how, hire a trainer to show you or get a good book. Get into the routine of scheduling your exercise time each and every day. No ifs, ands or buts. Make your exercise time more important than phone calls, laundry, errands or lunch dates.

Make a promise to yourself that this time will be about health, not about short term weight loss. Really evaluate how you are treating your body on an everyday basis. Is that the same way you would treat a highly valuable, expensive piece of equipment? Because thats what your body is. There is no amount of money in the world that will buy you another one, so you might as well take really good care of the one you got!

New Year, New YouStart Looking and Feeling Your Best Self Yet!

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Well, it’s another new year! A new beginning, a fresh start, a new exciting journey to be ventured. It’s no secret that change is not an easy task, but it is possible. It’s not only possible, but you can absolutely do it. You can transform your health and body very easily and very quickly. But the choice is yours.

If your choice is to change, I am so happy for you. Believe me, I know what it’s like to be uncomfortable and not healthy. I felt that way for so long that I began to believe that was just how it was going to be for me. But then I couldn’t take it. A small part of me believed there HAD to be another way. Sure enough, there was.

I started learning about food and what I was putting into my body. I had absolutely no clue that the food I was eating was actually harming me. I mean sure, I understood the basics that eating certain foods can make you gain weight, but I really wasn’t grasping that they can actually harm me.

So I decided to change. And it really wasn’t very hard to do. I simply eliminated any food that was processed, had artificial colors or flavors, nitrates, never ate fast food, and basically avoided the center aisles of the local food store. Instead, I ate fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and shopped the perimeter of the store. I began to learn how to cook and started to enjoy preparing my meals. I planned for the week and always had good choices to choose from for meals and snacks. I increased my water intake as well, and exercised 4-5x a week.

I can’t explain just by doing something so simple can really change so much. It was a complete turn-around for me. When I started to feel better, it became second nature to change. I knew what it was like to feel horrible and stuck. I never wanted to get to that point again.

In addition to making those small changes, I came across all-natural products that help heal and repair our system so our bodies can perform at their absolute best. I was intrigued with these products because after having a baby, I felt stuck again. But even being mindful of everything I ate, I needed additional help to cleanse and repair my system.

Since discovering these products, I am happy to say I am the healthiest and fittest I have ever been. These products support a healthy lifestyle and they give you all the nutritional support and energy you need to perform at your best. Products that feed your body with good nutrition while simultaneously making your body look amazing. Products that tighten and tone your body so easily and so effortlessly, products that provide beauty from the inside out, and products that assist in weight loss. And the amazing part of it all is that these products are all-natural, completely safe, and affordable. They are botanically based and will absolutely make this year a better you from the inside out.

I am excited for you! You are about to discover exactly what you need to do in order to have this year, a new you from the inside out-you are about to change your life! CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE!!

Christine Mazza is a Certified Health Professional. Her mission is to assist you in your health and wellness goals in order for you to look and feel your best. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE!!

Amazing Health Benefits of Bee Products – Royal Jelly and Propolis

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Bees are simply amazing. To date, scientists have not been able to replicate many of bee’s creations. Royal Jelly and Propolis ranks among the top of bee products that scientists have not been able to fully comprehend as they contain compounds that have not yet been identified yet the health benefits of these products are well documented throughout ages.

Royal Jelly — The Queen’s Food

Royal Jelly is a bee product that is manufactured for the nourishment of the hive’s Queen Bee. Royal Jelly is such a powerful and nutritious food that it extends the life of the bee from one to two months, the average life span of a worker bee, to one of approximately five years!

Royal Jelly is rich in natural hormones, minerals, B vitamins, folic acid, fatty acids, acetylcholine (a shortage in our bodies of this makes us susceptible to MS, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other nerve diseases), amino acids, proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates. It also contains aspartic acid, essential within our bodies for tissue regeneration and growth.

This food is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, antibiotic, nutritive, tonic, and anti-aging. It is especially helpful to the respiratory, skeletal, nervous, reproductive, endocrine, cardiovascular, immune, and cellular systems.

Royal Jelly is a hormonal stimulant, and helps to keep the hormones and metabolic functions regulated and normalized. It aids in cell regeneration, a function that deteriorates as we age, and can help maintain skin tone and full hair, as well as treats skin problems. It is an energy enhancer for all ages, making it invaluable in treating chronic fatigue, sexual impotency, and revitalizing the body after a serious illness, surgeries, or trauma.

Royal Jelly is also used in cases of senility, anxiety, and depression of all kinds. It mimics the effect of amphetamines without any of the side effects or problems associated with them. Since this substance stimulates cell regeneration, it is believed to be invaluable in dealing with the brain’s particular chemistry. The jelly has proven to lower serum cholesterol and lipid counts, and can help to prevent arteriosclerosis. It has also been shown to be beneficial to protecting the liver, build tissue and muscle, enhance bone growth and health, aid in sexual vitality, stimulate the memory, to regulate weight, and to support wound healing. It also has serious use for staph infections.

Propolis — The Natural Defense

Propolis is a resinous substance that the bees gather from tree leaves and bark, and combine it with nectar, wax, pollen, and bee bread to make a natural “glue” type substance. This glue is used to seal hive cracks and holes. It is also placed at the entrance to the beehive, where incoming workers have to brush up against it as they enter the hive. This sterilizes the bees from infection, and may disinfect them upon entry as well. Beehives are more sterile than the most modern hospitals. Propolis is also used to line the birthing chamber where the queen lays her eggs, thereby providing a clean, sterile environment for the developing eggs.

A healthy diet for a Pregnant Momma!

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Pregnancy is said to a new life for the momma as well as the baby to be born. This the period where the baby inside the mother’s womb is nourished with flesh and blood and the Mother must take care of the baby inside with healthy diet, exercise, avoid lifting heavy objects or over exertions. Women during their pregnancy feel the cravings for eating strange foods like earth, coal, spicy and sour tasting foods. They may notice breast tenderness, missing periods, morning sickness, nausea, spotting, headaches and frequent urinations. With every passing week woman experiences weight gain and certain physiological changes in them. These are the most common precautions which would be mother must take care of to deliver a healthy baby as well as for a successful lactation of the baby. Women can resort to any kinds of non medicinal approach to reduce nausea type feeling so that the strong prescription medications do not cause any harm to the baby. Pregnancy is the most nutritionally demanding phase of a women’s life. Week by week the baby starts to grow inside the momma’s womb similarly the mother must be very careful with regards to its intake of nutrients and diet.

Pregnant mothers must avoid smoking or consuming caffeine, alcohol, mango, papaya, raw eggs, unpasteurized milk, and unwashed vegetables. These mentioned food items must be avoided completely to avoid any sorts of complications as the consequences are very bad. These foods during pregnancy affect the fetus such as palpitation causing stress on the fetus, sleeping issues, anxiety and nervousness; respiration problems etc. to avoid any sorts of pregnancy complications pregnant ladies must keep this food at baby.

Herbal tea, fruit juices, ice creams, milk, chocolates etc are healthy part of a diet for a pregnant lady. For pregnant women a healthy diet means a balanced diet with a combination of carbohydrates, proteins, fats and vitamins. Frequent and small meals must be taken whenever hungry. Fast foods and processed foods must be avoided. A healthy staple food consisting of cheese, whole grains, cereals and lots of green leafy vegetables. Avoid eating onion, garlic, mustard, ginger and pepper for those who had a history of abortion as that might cause unexpected fetal pain. Rice and wheat are very healthy staples. Jiggery, sweets, curds, milk; butter must be eaten in smaller quantities. Self medication must be avoided in any condition. Meat, fish, eggs, cold drinks, caffeinated drinks can be taken in small quantities. Pregnant lady must drink at least 7-8 glasses of water daily to flush out the toxins out of the body. Saturated fats such as ghee and oil must be limited. Care must be taken if the pregnant woman is anemic as the there has been reported cases of women dying of pregnancy and childbirth since 1995. Hence a balanced diet is extremely essential for mother as well as her baby.