Enter text4baby, an educational service of the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition and supported by the US Department of Health and Human Services.  This program sends free informational text messages to the phones of moms-to-be and new moms.  The messages, which are timed so they match either where the mother is in her pregnancy or the age of the baby, contain health tips about pregnancy and for caring for a baby up to one year of age.  The texts provide valuable information on birth defect prevention, immunization, nutrition, seasonal flu, mental health, oral health, and safe sleep.  The messages can also help connect women to prenatal and infant care services and other resources.

Being a new mother brings with it a lot of responsibility, but it’s reassuring to know that you can get free, useful information to help you along the way.  If you’re interested in receiving text4baby messages, just text BABY to the shortcode 511411 (or text BEBE to 511411 to get the messages in Spanish).

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality currently recommends that women “have a Pap smear every 1 to 3 years if you are 21 to 65 years old and have been sexually active. If you are older than 65 and recent Pap smears were normal, you do not need a Pap smear. If you have had a hysterectomy for a reason other than cancer, you do not need a Pap smear.”

Routine administration of Pap tests is the most common method of detecting cervical cancer early, although HPV tests are gaining popularity as well since they are able to detect high-risk HPV strains that could go on to become cancerous.  Additionally, recently developed vaccines have the potential to protect women from the disease by targeting cancer-causing types of HPV. HPV is the only known cause of cervical cancer, and two types of the virus, HPV 16 and HPV 18, account for over 70 percent of all cervical cancer cases.

If you have health insurance, a routine Pap smear should be covered by your preventive care benefits.  If you don’t have health insurance, the National Cervical Cancer Coalition provides this list of free and low-cost Pap test resources in the United States.  Just look up your state on the list, and you will see a number to call (and in some cases, a website to look at) to find out if you qualify for a free or low-cost Pap test.  You can also get more information about cervical cancer, HPV and Cervical Health Awareness Month by visiting the National Cervical Cancer Coalition’s website.

What Health Proponent does

Need help finding a medical or dental provider?  Or estimating costs of a treatment or procedure?  Want help understanding or filling out paperwork?  Are there errors on your hospital bill, or did your claim get denied?  Do you need a second opinion?  Were you hit with a large hospital bill that you can’t afford?  Health Proponent can help with these things and more.

Health Proponent’s driving force is a team of Personal Health Advocates.  You will be assigned your own Personal Health Advocate (PHA), who is typically a registered nurse supported by medical directors or a highly trained benefits and claims specialist.  When you call Health Proponent, the PHA will listen to you, evaluate your issue, and will be your advocate while working to resolve the problem.  You’ll get a real person for real help—no endless phone transfers or aggravating recorded messages.

Your PHA can work on a variety of cases for you ($99 per case).  Your PHA can save you time, stress, and money by tackling denied insurance claims, scheduling appointments with hard-to-reach specialists, finding eldercare services for you or a loved one, addressing medical billing errors, securing second opinions, clarifying coverage plans, and obtaining cost estimates.

Another big way that your PHA can help save you money is with Medical Bill Saver, which can potentially save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars.  If you have an uncovered medical or dental bill of at least $400, your PHA can attempt to negotiate that bill at no up-front cost to you.  If your PHA successfully reduces the cost of that bill, Health Proponent will share in 25% of the savings.

Your PHA can also direct you to a variety of online resources available to you as a member of Health Proponent.  Update your Personal Health Record online, complete a Health Risk Assessment to help you understand your risks for various conditions, and use the convenient online trackers to record your blood pressure, list of current medications, and more.

Become a member today

If you want to become a Health Proponent member, or if you wish to purchase a membership for a friend or family member, call 1-866-939-3435 to join.  You can also visit www.HealthProponent.com for more information.  There’s even a 30-day money back guarantee on the membership fee.

•    Go walking…indoors.  Find a safe place to walk, like your local mall.  Some malls even open earlier to accommodate early birds who like to walk the mall in the morning.
•    Just dance.  Turn on your favorite music video channel, plug in your MP3 player, and dance!  Not only can you burn calories, but it’ll help your circulation, too.
•    Exercise, no gym required.  You can do crunches, jumping jacks, and more all in the comfort of your own living room.  Why not exercise throughout the commercial breaks of your favorite TV show?  Also, check with your cable provider–many of them offer on-demand exercise videos that are included in your cable subscription.
•    Get in touch with your inner kid.  Did you used to jump rope on the playground when you were little?  Why not try it again now?  It’s a fun way to get your body movin’.  This is best attempted in your garage or some other room with a higher ceiling and no breakable objects nearby.
•    Reorganize your kitchen cabinets.  Lifting 1-pound cans of food can help you tone your arms!
•    Get squeaky clean.  There are so many cleaning-related activities that can get you up and moving–vacuuming, doing the laundry, washing dishes, changing the sheets/making the beds, moving from room to room to dust various surfaces…  This not only gets you a cleaner house, but it gets you a fitter you!
•    Have a yoga party.  Rent a yoga DVD, or find a yoga video online.  Invite friends to come over and do yoga with you.  Namaste!
•    Stay on pace.  If you’re on the phone, don’t plop down in a chair–instead, pace.  Any extra walking is good for you, even if it’s just back and forth in your kitchen or living room.
As always, if you’re considering starting any new fitness regimen, talk to your doctor first.  Don’t have a doctor?  Consider calling Health Advocate or Health Proponent–these advocacy services can help you find an in-network, local doctor who meets your needs.

• Layer, layer, layer.  Fall days can be cool or warm, and the weather and temperature can change quickly.  Dressing in easy-to-remove layers can help keep you comfortable in varying fall temperatures.
• Ward off the flu.  Talk to your doctor about whether a flu shot is right for you.  There are several low-cost, affordable options–you can get one at your doctor’s office or at certain pharmacies like CVS or Walgreens.  Plus, check into whether your employer offers free or reduced-rate flu shots.
• Eat seasonally.  There are so many yummy fruits and vegetables that are in season in the fall, including broccoli, butternut squash, pear, cauliflower, cranberries, key limes, sweet potatoes, and, of course, a quintessential fall favorite–pumpkin.  Click here to view a full list of seasonal fruits and veggies for fall!
• Prepare your car, too.  Depending on where you live, you might start to see frost on your car windshield in the morning.  Being a safe driver means you take proper precautions for your vehicle, too.  Start looking now for where you put last year’s ice scraper, de-icing spray, and perhaps even a small snow shovel.  Sure, it may be a bit early to use these things right now–but by putting them in your car now, you’ll know you have them when you do need them.
• Enjoy outdoor fitness activities.  You can still walk, hike, bike, and jog in fall weather.  It’ll also give you a chance to enjoy the sights and smells of fall like the brightly colored leaves, the smell of someone’s fireplace, the cool, crisp evening air…
• Wear reflective gear.  Remember that it gets darker earlier, and if you’re outside hiking, biking, jogging or walking, you may not be very visible to people driving cars.  Consider buying some reflective clothing and/or reflectors for your bike so that you can be seen more easily.
• Try out an indoor fitness activity.  Do you prefer to avoid the cold?  Just because it’s a little chilly doesn’t mean you have to give up on your fitness goals.  Have you been looking for a good excuse to take a spinning class, a yoga class, or kickboxing?  “It’s chilly outside” sounds like a great reason to try a new-to-you indoor fitness activity.  (But remember to check with your doctor first before trying any new method of working out!)
• Pick out some fresh food.  Many farmer’s markets are open until November or so; go take advantage of the fresh fall produce they offer.  Also, check out fun fall activities like apple picking or going to a pumpkin patch.  Not only are these fun, family-friendly activities, just think of all the culinary opportunities they present!  Homemade applesauce, apple pie, roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin pie…and so many more!

For more tips on dressing, cooking, and working out for fall, check into whether your employer offers a wellness or a health advocacy program as part of your employee benefits.  A wellness program could provide you with advice on nutrition and workouts, while an advocacy service could help you find a doctor or nutritionist for you.  You may also want to check into whether your employer offers subsidized gym memberships or offers any fitness classes on-site that are free or low-cost for employees.

Of course, it’s best for families to focus on being healthy and fit not just one day of the year, but 365 days.  Read on for some free and low-cost fitness ideas that are fun for the whole family.

• Going somewhere?  Whether it’s shopping, the dentist’s office, or to a restaurant, don’t choose the parking spot closest to the door.  Provided the area is safe and well-lit, park farther away so you and whichever family members accompanied you can get a brief brisk walk in before you reach your destination.
• Encourage your family to take after-dinner walks around the neighborhood on nights when the weather is good.
• Plan a family gardening day.  Place the flowers to be planted, the bucket that will hold pulled-out weeds, and any dirt or mulch or garden stones across the yard.  Those steps you keep taking to walk back and forth to the garden will add up!
• Instead of a family movie night, plan a family fitness night.  Have healthy snacks like cut-up veggies and hummus dip, or cut-up fruit with low-fat yogurt to dip it in, and plenty of water.  Rent or purchase a beginner-level fitness DVD, and do the exercises together.  (As always, it’s a good idea to consult your doctor before starting any new exercise regimen.)
• If you live close to the grocery store, pharmacy, or any other place where you frequently shop, consider walking or biking there in nice weather and if it’s safe to do so.  You can always add a small basket to your bicycle to help you transport a bag or two home.
• Check your local advertisements and see if there are any gyms or fitness centers in your area offering any trial memberships.  (Again, before you begin any type of new exercise, check with your doctor and get their OK first.)
• Scour sites like Groupon.com and LivingSocial.com for discounted yoga classes, gym memberships, and more.
• Don’t be a couch potato!  Watch TV from the floor, not the couch, and do some squats–even if it’s only at commercials, every little bit helps.  And if you are afraid of looking silly squatting while watching TV, don’t worry–your whole family will be doing the same thing, so they can’t judge! 
• Use wanting to be more fit as an excuse to try a new, healthy activity, like rock climbing, training for a marathon, hiking a local state park…there are so many possibilities!
• Make Fido happy–take the dog on an extended walk, and bring the whole family along!

Did you know that advocacy can help you get fit and stay fit?  Services like Health Advocate and Health Proponent can connect you with a Wellness Coach to help you manage your health and fitness goals.  They can also find you a local doctor who can evaluate whether exercise is right for you, or they can help you find a nutritionist who can determine if you should modify your diet to meet your health goals.

SAMSHA resources:

• The main SAMHSA National Recovery Month website
• If you need help regarding an addiction, check out this list of SAMHSA hotlines, a treatment center finder, a therapist locator, and more
• Peruse SAMHSA’s list of resources about addiction, treatment, and recovery

Support groups:

• Alcoholics Anonymous–For alcoholics and recovering alcoholics who are seeking support.  Includes a meeting finder to locate AA meetings in your area.
• Al-Anon and Alateen–For those whose lives have been affected by a loved one’s alcoholism.  Learn what to expect at your first meeting, and find meetings in your area.
• Narcotics Anonymous–For those who are addicted to narcotics.  Includes a meeting finder as well as links to recovery literature.

Other helpful information:

• The National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence–includes resources for people in recovery, for parents, for youths, and news articles regarding addiction and recovery.
• The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism–includes articles about how alcohol affects your health, how alcohol affects teens, college drinking prevention, and more.
• The National Institute on Drug Abuse–features addiction and recovery resources for young adults, parents, teachers, and medical professionals.  Also offers information on clinical trials.

For more free and low-cost health resources, visit www.HealthcareSurvivalGuide.com.  Also, check with your employer to see if your employee benefits package includes an advocacy service such as Health Advocate (if not, you can check out Health Advocate’s consumer division, Health Proponent).  An advocacy service can help connect you to medical providers, such as primary care physicians or mental health specialists, who can help with addiction-related issues.  Click here to learn about other ways that advocacy can help you.

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Check out our sister blog, run by Health Advocate–it’s packed with handy and helpful tips on good nutrition, safe storage of medications, finding eldercare facilities, and so much more!

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute says that high blood cholesterol affects over 65 million Americans; this serious condition can increase your risk for heart disease.  People can have high cholesterol and not even know it.

According to The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, lowering high cholesterol levels can lessen your risk for heart disease and also reduce the chance of having a heart attack or dying of heart disease.  Below, we’ve compiled a list of resources where you can find tasty low-cholesterol recipes so that you can enjoy your dinner and still be “heart smart” when you eat!

• Heart Healthy Living’s website features tasty meals like a low-cholesterol hearty beef & barley stew, beef fajitas, and more.  Their site also offers collections of low-fat and low-sodium recipes, too.
• AllRecipes.com has a comprehensive section on low-cholesterol foods, including recipes (grilled cilantro salmon, marinated barbecued veggies), a guide to low-cholesterol eating, a list of some of the best foods for a low-cholesterol lifestyle, and heart-healthy eating tips.
• MyRecipes.com also has an entire section devoted to those who are looking to lower their cholesterol.  Their site includes resources on heart-healthy eating, a list of heart-healthy meals that can be made in under 20 minutes, and some creative low-cholesterol recipes (Parmesan and Root Vegetable Lasagna, anyone?).
• The Food Network’s website also has lots of low-cholesterol recipe ideas–turkey burgers, salmon kebabs, grilled eggplant pizza, and more!
• Food.com has some scrumptious-looking heart-healthy recipe ideas, too.  Have your cake and eat it, too–they even have a recipe for low-cholesterol chocolate cake!
• Eating Well has compiled an interesting group of low-cholesterol recipes–pineapple-tofu stir-fry, scallops piccata on angel hair, and beer-battered tilapia with mango salsa are just a few of the tasty-sounding offerings listed.
• The American Heart Association has also compiled a list of heart-healthy recipes.  Their list includes breakfast items like a potato and egg scramble topped with tomatoes, side dishes like savory sweet potato fries, main dishes such as Mediterranean seafood stew and lettuce-wrap tacos with black beans and corn…and, yes, even dessert options (the chocolate pudding cake sounds heavenly!).

For the absolute best advice on lowering cholesterol and adopting a more heart-healthy diet, talk to your primary care physician or a nutritionist.  If you’re in-between doctors or don’t have a nutritionist, consider asking an advocacy service for help.  A service like Health Proponent can connect you to a variety of medical providers who can help you achieve your cholesterol goals.

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Check out our sister blog, run by Health Advocate–it’s packed with handy and helpful tips on good nutrition, safe storage of medications, finding eldercare facilities, and so much more!

CNN offers the following tips to help keep your food safe when there’s no power:

• While the power is out, do your best to maintain the refrigerator/freezer’s proper temperatures by keeping the fridge and freezer doors closed.  If the refrigerator door is not opened, it can keep food properly chilled for 4 hours; if the freezer door isn’t opened, food can be safely stored there for up to 48 hours.
• If you have gone more than 4 hours without power, throw out perishables from the refrigerator, such as milk, eggs, poultry, fish, soft cheeses, leftovers, and deli items. 
• Watch out for flood water.  If flood water has gotten into your fridge, throw out any food the flood water has come into contact with that isn’t in waterproof containers.   Also, don’t forget about making sure your kitchen implements are safe from the flood water.  If any metal pans, ceramic dishes, or utensils have come into contact with flood water, thoroughly wash them with hot, soapy water and sanitize them by boiling them in clean water.  If pacifiers, baby bottle nipples, wooden cutting boards, and plastic utensils have been affected, don’t try to sanitize them–in the interest of safety, just throw them out.
• Your freezer/appliance thermometer will become your new BFF.  Use it to check if your freezer is at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or lower.  If so, great news–your food can be refrozen!  (Buy some dry or block ice to help with this–50 pounds of dry ice can keep an 18 cubic foot freezer cold enough to keep food safe for 2 days.)  If you don’t already have that thermometer in the freezer, there’s another way to check if food is safe to keep or refreeze.  Check each package of food to see if it still contains ice crystals.  If so, go ahead and try to refreeze it.
• For food sitting around your kitchen–but not in the fridge or freezer–commercially prepared foods in undamaged all-metal cans or retort pouches (juice and seafood pouches) can be saved.
• If you need water, use bottled water that hasn’t been exposed to flood waters.  If you don’t have any bottled water available, you can use tap water–but first, boil it so that it’s safe to use.
• Last but definitely not least–when in doubt, throw it out!  Don’t gamble with your safety by taste-testing food to try to find out if it’s still good.  If it isn’t good, there’s a good chance you’ll find out in an unpleasant way–from the food tasting bad to the food actually making you ill.

Best of luck to all East Coasters who are still without electricity or otherwise inconvenienced due to Hurricane Irene–here’s hoping your power gets fixed soon and that you can cook yourself a delicious home-cooked meal with food that you’ve been able to keep safe in your freezer!

•  Have more energy to do the things you want to do.
• Keep and improve your strength so you can stay independent.
• Improve your balance.
• Prevent or delay some diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
• Perk up your mood and help reduce depression.

You don’t need to buy special clothes or belong to a gym to become more active. Physical activity can and should be part of your everyday life. Find things you like to do. Go for brisk walks. Ride a bike. Dance. Work around the house. Garden. Climb stairs. Swim. Rake leaves. Try different kinds of activities that keep you moving. Look for new ways to build physical activity into your daily routine.

Four Ways to Be Active

To get all of the benefits of physical activity, try all four types of exercise:

• Endurance:

  Be sure to get at least 30 minutes of activity that makes you breathe hard on most or all days of the week. That’s called an endurance activity because it builds your energy or “staying power.” You don’t have to be active for 30 minutes all at once. Ten minutes at a time is fine. Just make sure you are active for a total of 30 minutes most days.

• Strength:

  How hard do you need to push yourself? If you can talk without any trouble at all, you are not working hard enough. If you can’t talk at all, it’s too hard.  Also, keep using your muscles. Strength exercises build muscles. When you have strong muscles, you can get up from a chair by yourself, you can lift your grandchildren, and you can walk through the park.

• Balance:

  Keeping your muscles in shape helps prevent falls that cause problems like broken hips. You are less likely to fall when your leg and hip muscles are strong.

  Do things to help your balance. Try standing on one foot, then the other. If you can, don’t hold on to anything for support. Get up from a chair without using your hands or arms. Every now and then walk heel-to-toe. When you walk this way, the toes of the foot in back should almost touch the heel of the foot in front.

• Flexibility:

  Stretch. Stretching can help you be more flexible. Moving more freely will make it easier for you to reach down to tie your shoes or look over your shoulder when you back the car out of your driveway. Stretch when your muscles are warmed up. Don’t stretch so far that it hurts.

Who should exercise?

Almost anyone, at any age, can do some type of physical activity. You can still do some types of exercise even if you have a long-term condition like heart disease or diabetes. In fact, physical activity may help such conditions. For most older adults, brisk walking, riding a bike, swimming, weight lifting, and gardening, are safe, especially if you build up slowly. But always check with your doctor if you are over 50 and you aren’t used to energetic activity.

You also should check with your doctor before exercising if you have any of the following conditions:

• A chronic disease, such as diabetes or heart disease
• Any new symptom you haven’t discussed with your doctor
• Dizziness or shortness of breath
• Chest pain or the feeling that your heart is skipping, racing, or fluttering
• Blood clots
• An infection or fever
• Unplanned weight loss
• Foot or ankle sores that won’t heal
• Joint swelling
• A bleeding or detached retina, eye surgery, or laser treatment
• A hernia
• Had hip surgery

Safety Tips

Here are some things you can do to make sure you are exercising safely:

• Start slowly, especially if you haven’t been active for a long time. Little by little build up your activities and how hard you work at them.
• Don’t hold your breath during strength exercises. That could cause changes in your blood pressure. It may seem strange at first, but the rule is to breathe out as you lift something; breathe in as you relax.
• Use safety equipment. For example, wear a helmet for bike riding or the right shoes for walking or jogging.
• Unless your doctor has asked you to limit fluids, be sure to drink plenty when you are doing activities. Many older adults don’t feel thirsty even if their body needs fluids.
• Always bend forward from the hips, not the waist. If you keep your back straight, you’re probably bending the right way. If your back “humps,” that’s probably wrong.
• Warm up your muscles before you stretch. Try walking and light arm pumping first.

Exercise should not hurt or make you feel really tired. You might feel some soreness, a little discomfort, or a bit weary, but you should not feel pain. In fact, in many ways, being active will probably make you feel better.

How to Find Out More

Local fitness centers or hospitals might be able to help you find a physical activity program that works for you. You can also check with nearby religious groups, senior and civic centers, parks, recreation associations, Young Men’s or Women’s Christian Associations (YMCAs and YWCAs), or even area shopping malls for exercise, wellness, or walking programs.