balanced living: summer 2011

Balanced LIVINGSummer 2011

Ways to go green at home

Turn off the oven with our recipes for cool summer meals

Low-cost activites to keep the kids occupied on a rainy day

Hit the Road!read our tips to make sure your summer vacation is safe and enjoyable pg 4

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Ahh, summer time. Warm weather, barbeques, pool parties... what’s not to love?

Funnily enough, though the season is thought of as one for kicking back and relaxing, it often seems that we’re busier than ever. Between summer vacations, sporting events, weddings, and gatherings with friends and family, the summer months tend to fly by.

We want to make your summer easier, and make sure you have time to enjoy it.

Look further for some tips for your summer road trip, cool meals to keep you away from the hot stove, and easy, low-cost activities for the kids.

As always, we’re here anytime you need us.

- The MINES Team

A NOTe FrOm YOur eAP

2 Balanced Living Summer 2011

BALANced LIVINGSummer 2011

mINeS & ASSOcIATeS10367 W ceNTeNNIAL rd

LITTLeTON, cO 80127800.873.7138

www.mINeSandAssociates.com

credITSKrames Staywell

For Better Posture, Strengthen Your core muscles pg 8

How to develop a can-do Personality pg 9

refreshing Summer meals pg 10-11

Obsessive compulsive disorder pg 14

Wellness Library Health Ink and Vitality communications

Playing it Safe this Summer pg 4-5

Kids Boredom Busters pg 12

Quiz: Germs pg 13

Nolo Legal PressGo Green, Save money pg 6-7

LOOKING AHeAd

Summer 2011 Balanced Living 3

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Vaccinations are important, but can be easily forgotten. read this week’s article, Give Immunizations Your Best Shot, for tips on keeping them up-to-date.

Beat the heat with a cool treat - it’s National Ice Cream Sandwich Day!

Opinions on childhood vaccinations vary, and it can be hard to decipher the truth from myths. Get informed with this week’s article, Childhood Immunizations: Get the Facts.

Think vaccines stop once you’re out of school? Test yourself with this week’s communication, Quiz Yourself: Adult Immunization.

We’ll cover the facts for the third age group with this week’s Immunization Update for Seniors.

For this month’s final communication, we’ll provide resources for keeping immunizations up-to-date in Tracking Vaccinations.

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Get out your red, white, and blue - it’s Independence Day!While multi-tasking is often necessary in our hectic lives, family time should get your undivided attention.

This week’s communication, Making the Most of Family Moments, offers easy ways to be more involved with your children.

dealing with aging parents is hard, both mentally and emotionally. In Tough Issues: Talking to your Parents, we’ll help ensure successful communication when approaching tough topics.

Parents have plenty of things to worry about, and their child’s physical well-being is probably at the top of the list. This week’s communication, Raising Emotionally Healthy Kids, gives some things to think about on the

opposite end of the spectrum.

Joining families together can be tough. read Blending Families: Hints for a Successful Transition for some suggestions to make it easier for everyone involved.

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Indulge your sweet tooth...it’s National Donut Day!

It pays to be prepared. Learn about Protecting Valuable Records in this week’s communication.

This week’s article, Household Chemicals: Safe Use and Storage, provides important information on keeping your home and family safe.

Father’s Day

expanding your family? check out this week’s communication, How to Babyproof Your House, for tips on providing a safe environment for your little ones.

Pour yourself a glass of lemonade, it’s officially the First Day of Summer!

This month’s final article, Tips to Tame Housework, provides some valuable ideas to help you spend less time doing housework and more time enjoying summer!

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Planning on driving your family to a vacation spot this summer? Your chances for arriving safely increase with a healthy respect for the realities of highway travel.

For instance, at 55 miles per hour on a rural stretch of interstate highway, you have less than a 1 per-cent chance of involvement in a fatal crash. Increase your speed just 5 miles an hour, according to Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) statistics, and your chances shoot up to 7 percent.

And did you know that almost three out of four of the nearly 5,400 highway fatalities involving trucks, as reported by the FHWA for 1999, were caused by automobile drivers? Or that even though the leading cause of death for Americans ages 1 to 34 is a highway accident, your chances of surviving increase by almost half if you’re wearing a seat belt?

Follow the following commonsense safety rules to prepare for summer travel.


Playing it Safe this Summer

Want more information?Log onto the employee Services of our website at www.mINeSandAssociates.com. You’ll find more resources related to you and your family’s health, spring activities, and much more.can’t remember your username and password? don’t have online services? contact your Hr department today.


Playing it Safe this Summer

Let’s start with the Driver“Don’t spend all night packing and then jump in the car at 6 a.m.,” cautions Myra Wieman of the American Au-tomobile Association’s Mid-Atlantic Division. “It’s just as important to prepare your body as your car.” Pack the day before you travel and get a full night’s sleep.

Sleep deprivation leads to “micro-sleeps” of four to five seconds. In that time, at 55 mph, you travel 100 feet, notes the FHWA. Some warning signs of sleepiness: You can’t stop yawning or you don’t remember driving the last few miles.

Only sleep will compensate. Pull over and take a 20-min-ute nap followed by a brief walk, says Ms. Wieman.

Don’t Forget to CheCk the CarPrepare the car by checking hoses, belts, and especially tires.

Pack an emergency kit, including a flashlight, batteries, candle, jumper cables, and reflective devices.

You also should have a first-aid kit. The American Red Cross suggests bandages, antiseptic towels, adhesive tape, sterile pads, disposable gloves, scissors, a ther-mometer, analgesics, and pertinent medications.

now Lets hit the roaDDon’t take highway signs and road markings for grant-ed. Be alert for left exits because this is the passing lane. Beware of vehicles exiting ahead of you.

Another potentially dangerous situation is when traffic both enters and exits at the same interchange. Through traffic and exiting traffic have right-of-way over entering traffic.

Road construction areas also require caution. A person holding a red flag has the same authority in a construc-tion zone as an official stop sign.

And while you should look over your shoulder when

changing lanes, don’t linger in another vehicle’s blind spot, especially trucks and buses, whose blind spots are much larger.

Finally, never back up on a ramp. If you find yourself exiting at the wrong spot, exit anyway and get back on the highway rather than risk lives by stopping.

You Can avoiD roaD rage“You never want to incite anger in another motorist,” says Ms. Wieman. “If someone gets on your bumper and flashes lights, don’t say, ‘I’m not going to move.’ Get out of the way.”

The FHWA agrees. “Don’t compete on the road,” it advises. “Don’t take another’s actions personally and don’t react to another’s uncivil behavior.” The bottom line, says the U.S. Department of Transportation, “is fairness and cooperation among drivers sharing the road together.”

keeping the kiDs happY• Pack healthy snacks and beverages.• Bring small toys, books, games, and cassettes.• Mark your trip’s starting point and destination on

a map and point out landmarks along the way so they can follow your progress.

• Ask the kids to see how many different states’ li-cense plates they can spot.

Ready to hit the road?don’t let soaring gas prices put a complete stop to your summer plans!

The following tips from the u.S. department of energy help ensure you get the best gas mileage your car can deliver. See the complete list at www.fueleconomy.gov.

• Observe the speed limit• remove excess weight• use cruise control• Keep your tires properly inflated• use the recommended grade

of motor oil• Avoid aggressive driving

(speeding, rapid acceleration, and braking)

get a home energY auDitWhat better place to start your new green living than at home? After all, it’s probably where you and your family spend most of your time. And a quick walk through the place may clue you in to a few simple changes you can make that will save you cash.

To maximize your savings, you could hire an en-ergy auditor, a professional who comes to your home and evaluates its energy efficiency. The auditor will help you locate weak weatherstrip-ping, ineffective insulation, and more. While en-ergy audits usually cost $300-400, they can pay for themselves over time as your energy costs decrease.


These days, many homeowners are interested in going “green.” But can you protect and preserve the environ-

ment and save money too? Although many eco-friendly im-provements (like buying new energy efficient appliances) can be expensive, there are many ways to “green” your life-style that can actually save you money. While some may involve a small investment upfront, they’ll pay off quickly. Here are some ideas on how to get started.

Even without a pro-fessional, you should be able to do an audit yourself. Here are a few things to check:

Weatherstripping. Re-pair weak and damaged weatherstripping and caulk around windows, doors, and other entry points. (To be effective, weatherstripping should provide resistance when you open and close the door.) This will keep warm air from escaping in the winter and cool air from escaping in the summer.

Light bulbs. Much is made of the difference between traditional and compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs, and the numbers speak for themselves: Accord-ing to the Energy Star website (http://www.energystar.gov), if ev-ery American home re-placed just one light bulb

with an Energy Star qualified CFL, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year and more than $600 million in annual energy costs. CFL light bulbs cost slightly more than regular bulbs, but they use about 75% less energy and can last up to ten times longer.

Electrical outlets. Anything plugged in to an electrical outlet sucks energy even when not in use -- unless you plug everything into power strips that you turn off when you’re not using them. You’ll make up the cost of the strips with your reduced energy bills.

Thermostat. Lower your central air temperature two degrees in the winter and let it go up by two degrees in the summer and you could save up to 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year, all while lowering your energy bills.

Furnace and air conditioning filters. Keeping your fur-nace and air conditioning filters clean will help them function efficiently. An electrostatic filter will cost more up front than a paper or fiberglass one, but can be cleaned and reused.

Water heater. To spend less money heating water, turn your water heater to 120 degrees. Wrap an insulating water heater blanket around your unit to help reduce heat loss by 25-40% (unless it came with its own built-in insulation, as some newer units do, or the manual

Go Green, Save Money


says not to use an insulating blanket). If you have an electric water heater, install a timer that will shut it off when the water heater isn’t being used -- for example, in the middle of the night.

Toilet tank. You can save water with a low-flow toi-let, but it will probably cost you around $300-400. A cheaper option: displace the water (a gallon milk jug with some rocks should do the trick), and you’ll use that much less with each flush.

green CLeaningWe spend a great deal of the energy in our homes just trying to keep the place -- and ourselves -- clean. There are ways to do this while helping the environment and saving money. Here are a few suggestions:

Hang laundry. Skip the dryer and buy a clothesline. Use it particularly during warm summer months.

Wash your clothes in cold water. About 90% of the en-ergy used for washing clothes is used to heat the wa-ter. Modern detergents don’t need hot water to work, and stains that won’t come out in cold water probably aren’t going to come out in hot water either -- in fact, the hot water may set them.

Get rid of fabric softener. Save a little cash by skipping fabric softener (which contains environmental toxins), choosing an eco-friendly detergent with soy-based softener, or throwing vinegar into the rinse cycle to soften your clothes.

Use the dishwasher. Modern dishwashers tend to be more efficient than handwashing, since they use less than ten gallons of water per load. And they’re effec-tive enough that you can feel justified in not pre-rins-ing your dishes, which wastes water. Wait to run the dishwasher until it is completely full, and let dishes air dry if you can.

Get a low-flow showerhead. It will still have good water pressure, but will release (and waste) a lot less water. While you’re at it, shorten your showers and avoid water-hogging baths altogether. If you really want to conserve, buy an automatic shower timer, which will shut off after you’ve used the allocated amount of time.

Make your own cleaning products. Cleaning products can be full of environmental toxins that pollute our air

(according to the EPA, the air inside the typical home is on average two to five times more polluted than the air just outside) and harm the environment. But it can be easy, cheap, and effective to replace these products with homemade varieties. Some common household supplies -- like vinegar, baking soda, and lemons -- work wonders. A quick search on the Internet will give you lots of ideas on how to do this.

outDoor greenBelieve it or not, not everything outdoors is green. Here are some easy and inexpensive changes to your outdoor space that are environmentally friendly.

Go native. When planting new flowers, bushes, or trees, choose native varieties to limit water consump-tion.

Water grass carefully. Watering lawns and gardens ac-counts for 50-70% of home water use. You can eas-ily reduce your consumption by watering early in the morning and keeping grass three to four inches long. This prevents evaporation. Better yet, replace grass with native plants, which will also help you avoid the harmful environmental effects (and cost) of using a gas mower. Instead, enjoy the grass in a local park--after all, your tax dollars are paying for it!

Plant trees. Trees can add beauty and color to your landscape, but they serve another important cost-saving function: they shade your home, reducing the temperature in warm spring and summer months. Deciduous trees will drop their leaves in the fall, too -- letting sunlight in and potentially lowering the heat-ing bill. Visit the Arbor Day Foundation’s website at www.arborday.org-- a $10 annual membership gets you ten free trees.

Mulch. Trap moisture in the soil by covering it with a layer of organic material, such as bark. Mulch will prevent weeds from sprouting, and keep the ground cool in hot summer months.

Compost. Instead of throwing organic materials in the trash, make a natural soil amendment by composting. You’ll reduce waste and enrich and improve soil for little or no cost. Find out more at the Environmental Protection Agency’s website at www.epa.gov/com-post.

Grow your own fruits, herbs, and vegeta-bles. Get the absolute freshest available at low cost. And if you convert lawn to garden space, you’ll help reduce wa-ter waste, too. If you don’t have space, check the neighborhood for a commu-nity garden.

If you implement these few strat-egies, you’ll be doing the planet -- and your pocketbook -- a big favor.

Ready to start?Visit www.energystar.gov for tips on green home improvement, information on eNerGY STAr products, builder listings, tools and resources,and much more.

WeLLNeSS SPOTLIGHT


No matter what your activity -- even standing or sitting with

good posture -- you use your core muscles. And yet, vital as these mus-cles are, most of us aren’t sure what the term means.

“A lot of people, when they hear the word ‘core,’ think only in terms of the stomach, the abdominal mus-cles,” says April Swales, a physical trainer at the Cooper Fitness Center in Dallas. “But when you’re talking about the core, you can’t just isolate one part of the whole system.”

Your core muscles are in your trunk and pelvis. Doing strengthening exer-cising for this area at least three times a week can help protect you from in-juries and improve your balance.

Sit-ups alone won’t work the 29 muscles in the stomach, back, hips, and pelvis that stabilize the spine and make up the “core.” That’s why more and more health clubs offer core fitness classes that use equipment meant to strengthen these oft-ignored muscles. An American Council on Exercise survey found the number of clubs that offer core-conditioning classes more than doubled in one year to reach 64 percent.

Core musCLesThe muscle most people identify with the core is the rectus abdominus at

the front of the stomach. People with prominent rectus abdominus muscles are said to have “six-pack abs.” Other core muscles in the stomach area in-clude the transverse abdominals, also called “nature’s weight belt,” and the obliques.

Studies have shown that millisec-onds before you flex your arm, mus-cles in the core act to stabilize the body, according to Corey Stroderd, a Southern California physical thera-pist. “All movement starts from the core,” he says. “It doesn’t matter how strong your arms and legs are if you don’t have a strong core.”

When the core muscles are weak or out of balance, other muscles try to pick up the slack. That can lead to instability, poor posture, and injury, chiefly in the lower back.

The exercises in a core fitness class are familiar, but with a twist. The classes add special equipment that makes it easier to work all the core muscle groups. These tools seek to get the core muscles going by creat-ing an unstable environment. For example, doing a sit-up on a stabil-ity ball forces many core muscles to make small contractions to keep you level. Proponents say these constant adjustments in all directions work the core more than straight-line move-ments, such as a sit-up on the floor.

“In everyday life, we don’t move in a straight line,’’ Mr. Stroderd says. “We are constantly twisting and bending.”

watCh the gaDgetsNot all equipment that claims to help the core muscles works, though. Be wary of gadgets that claim to make an abdominal workout easy or prom-ise a flatter stomach in 30 days, Ms. Swales says. “The bottom line is if you can’t get on the floor and do the exercise properly, then those ma-chines aren’t going to help you.”

In fact, core training likely won’t give you a washboard stomach. Well-defined abdominal muscles show “a low amount of body fat” and not nec-essarily strength, Mr. Stroderd says.

But core training can do far more for you than give you great abs. A stronger core can advance almost any physical activity -- even those as rou-tine as mopping the floor or picking up a child.

“People come in who suffer from back pain or they can’t perform nor-mal functions, and their quality of life is diminished,” Ms. Swales says. “They really appreciate what core ex-ercise can do for them because they see their body get stronger and move the way it is supposed to move.”

For Better Posture, Strengthen your Core Muscles


Some people handle tough jobs without breaking a sweat. Others seem to give up before they even get going. What’s the difference between a can-do and a won’t-try person?

“It’s usually a matter of bravery,” says Paul Hauck, Ph.D., a psychologist in Rock Island, Ill. “Can-do people aren’t any smarter than anyone else. They have learned not to let fear carry them away from success.”

The most common roadblock is fear of failure, which is closely tied to two other big fears: losing re-spect and approval and losing self-esteem.

Fear of failure takes away one of your most valuable learning tools -- mistakes. “The only way you ever become good at something is by learning where the pitfalls are and how to avoid them,” says Dr. Hauck. “If you never try, you’ll still be bumbling around long after you should have moved on to other things.”

To break the cycle, “choose to become fearless,” he advises.

reCognize FearBecoming fearless isn’t easy. But you can start by recognizing how fear is holding you back from what you want to do by asking these questions:

•Could I accomplish a lot more than I’m doing?•Have I ever passed up an opportunity because I thought I couldn’t handle it?•Do I look for the safest way to do things instead of taking risks?•Do I often wish I had another chance to do things better?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, fear could be keeping you from reaching your goals and living a happier life.

take ControLIronically, the best way to take control of fear is to let go of it. Here are some strategies for loosening fear’s grip on you and your performance:

• Focus on the task, not yourself. It’s easy to become so emotionally invested in something that you start to judge yourself by its success or failure. That’s distracting and could keep you from trying at all.

• Forget what other people think. Instead of worrying about what might win approval, consider what it will take to make the task or project a success. Then, when you do a great job, everyone will rec-ognize it, including you.

• Sharpen your skills. Nothing builds confidence and eliminates fear like capability. Get ahead by learning the skills you expect to need for future projects. When a task is assigned, take stock of what you know already, what you still need to know and where you can go for backup.

•Do it. “It’s far easier to face a difficult task than to avoid it,” says Dr. Hauck. Keep your expectations realistic; don’t try to achieve perfection on your first try.

• Enjoy the ride. Maybe you won’t succeed in everything you do, but that shouldn’t keep you from trying.

How to Develop a


Turn off the stove. Put away the pots and pans. Forget about cooking. It’s time for the cool, easy foods of summer.

There’s a good reason to make the switch, if you haven’t already this season. When the mercury is high, we all crave meals that are cool and refreshing, nutrition experts say. We instinctively turn to meals that have a high water content to replace the steady water loss that we experience in the summertime.

Where to begin? Start with soups. Experts say that buttermilk (with only 2 grams of fat per cup, compared with 3 grams for 1 percent low-fat milk) is the perfect base for whatever you want to add. Puree your favorite fruit with buttermilk, sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon, and you’re done. Or blend leftover vegetables with buttermilk and get creative with seasonings.

Refreshing Summer Meals

tempting transFormationThe art of cooking cool and easy is, in part,

based on the ability to turn a salad into an entree. This dish lends itself to a glorious range of improvisation.

Don’t forget to think “green.” The deeper the green of your salad fixings, the more nutrients they hold, experts say. For instance, iceberg lettuce is not very high in vitamins and minerals, but romaine and spinach are full of them.

To turn that salad into a main dish, you’ll need to add protein. Try cubes of reduced-fat cheese, tuna packed in water, sliced turkey or chicken or low-fat cottage cheese. Other protein sources include nuts (caution: nuts can be full of fat), seeds, chickpeas, and kidney beans.

Add another dimension to your salad by using pasta. Start your salad with noodles, rice, couscous, or bulgur wheat, and begin to build from there.


Don’t spoil your salad by pouring on a creamy, high-fat dressing. Look for the many alternatives. Blend seasoning mixes into low-fat yogurt instead of mayonnaise. Or look for low-fat or reduced-fat salad dressings at the store.

Bread will further add complex carbohydrates to your cool and easy meal. Choose whole wheat for its extra fiber and nutrients. Or try French and Italian bread, bagels, or English muffins.

A good summer dessert can be made by pouring a little orange juice or honey over your favorite fruits. You can also puree raspberries or strawberries with just a touch of honey or sugar as a topping. For company, you could start with an angel food cake and top with pureed fruit.

Here are some cool and easy recipes to try:

Gazpacho

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except chives or green onion tops and the lemon wedges, mix thoroughly. Prepare in advance and chill overnight.

Serve in chilled bowls and garnish with the chopped chives or green onion tops and the lemon wedges.

Makes about 4 cups or 8 (1/2 cup) servings. Each serving contains about 30 calories, 0.2 grams fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 13 mg sodium and 1 gram fiber.

Source: “The Canyon Ranch Cookbook,” by Jeanne Jones and the Canyon Ranch Staff

oriental turkey Salad

For the dressing, crush garlic cloves. Combine with remaining ingredients and stir until sugar is completely dissolved.

For the salad, dice the turkey. Toss the diced turkey with the vegetables. Pour the dressing over the turkey and veg-etables and toss to combine.

Makes 5 servings. Each serving contains about 200 calories, 7 grams fat and 283 mg sodium.Source: Mona Sutnick, Ed.D., R.D

yoGurt parmeSan dreSSinG

Combine all ingredients and allow to stand for an hour or more for flavors to blend.

Each tablespoon of dressing contains about 12 calories, 0.3 grams fat and 40 mg calcium.Source: Mona Sutnick, Ed.D., R.D.

1/2 cup peeled, diced cucumbers3/4 cup diced green and red bell peppers3/4 cup diced onion1 cup peeled, diced tomatoes

2 1/2 cups tomato juice1/2 tsp. garlic powder1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juiceChopped chives or green onion tops2 lemons, cut into 4 wedges each

1 pound cooked turkey (pick up at deli)1/2 cup sliced celery

1/2 cup snow peas1/4 cup diced red bell pepper

1/4 cup sliced scallions

1 cup plain nonfat yogurt2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese

1 small clove of garlic or 1/4 tsp. garlic powder

White pepper, preferably freshly ground, to taste

Dressing:2 cloves garlic1 Tbs. soy sauce

1 Tbs. rice vinegar1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh ginger or 1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 tsp. sugar1 Tbs. dry sherrydash Tabasco

KId’S cOrNer


Summer months are prime time for "informal learning," child development experts say. Brain research shows as children play and pretend, they are re-enacting experiences they've had and trying to make sense of the world.

Here are eight inexpensive summer ideas appropriate for grade school children.

OBStaCle COuRSeCost: Zero

Details: Set up objects to crawl over or walk through in yard or indoor play area. Use lawn chairs, stools, sawhorses, boards, tires or plastic pipes. Pay attention to safety.

KID-SIze teNtCost: About $1 apiece for 1-by-2-inch strips of wood, plus $4 for clothesline.

Details: Lash five poles together into a teepee shape with length of clothesline; drape a sheet around it and fasten with clothespin.

BuBBleS apleNtyCost: $2 for fly swatter

Details: In a washbasin, mix a gallon of warm water with about 4 tablespoons of dishwashing soap and 1 tablespoon of corn syrup. Dip a new fly swatter into soap and swirl through the air to watch bubbles fly.

NeSt BuIlDINGCost: Zero

Details: Pretend you’re a bird and gather enough twigs and bits of string from the yard or park to make a nest.

RaCe CaR BOxCost: Minimal

Details: Find a cardboard box big enough to sit in. Tape a plastic plate to the “dash” as a steering wheel; stick a wooden spoon into a cor-ner as a gearshift.

Hallway BOwlINGCost: $1 to $2 for art supplies

Details: Using markers, tempera paints, and foil, decorate six toilet paper tubes or empty juice cans. Stand them on their ends to form a “V”; knock them over with a tennis ball. Award points for different colors.

BuRIeD tReaSuReCost: Minimal

Details: Wrap a small shoebox and lid in foil and fill with costume jewelry, medals or ribbons. Dress up as a pirate and bury it. Draw a map so you can retrieve it later.

FlyING SauCeRSCost: $2 for packet of premium paper plates, $1.50 for bowls, $1 for glue, $1 for markers

Details: Turn one heavy-duty paper plate upside down on another and glue edges together, then glue on an inverted paper bowl. Use markers to draw doors, portholes and insignia. Send it flying.

Kid’s Boredom Busters: Quick, Fun Activities


QuIZ

GermS: We find them everywhere -- or they find us. It seems we can't avoid them. We spend a lot of time worrying about picking them up, sharing them, and losing them. But what do we really know about germs? Take this quiz to find out.

1. Germs are most likely to thrive in this room of the house:

a. the kitchen b. the bedroom c. the bathroom

2. Cold viruses are more prevalent among: a. Children b. Men c. People over 65 years old

3. The best way to avoid picking up a cold or flu virus is to:

a. take vitamins b. live well c. take antibiotics

4. If a friend has a cold, you are more likely to catch it if you

a. go swimming together b. kiss each other hello on the cheek c. shake hands

5. You face the biggest risk of getting sick if you:

a. eat a cookie that dropped to the ground

b. kiss your child c. share a drink with an ill friend

For answers, turn to page 14...

meNTAL HeALTH AWAreNeSS

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a type of anxiety disorder. It can trap you in a cycle of unwanted thoughts and behaviors. These may cause you great distress and severely disrupt your life. In most cases, treatment can help relieve your symptoms. Talk to a mental health professional who can offer guid-ance and support.

obsessionsAn obsession is a constant, unwanted thought that you can’t control. You may know the thought isn’t reasonable. Yet you can’t seem to stop it. For instance, you might be very clean. Yet you may constantly worry about germs. Obses-sions can make you anxious and un-happy.

who Does oCD aFFeCt?Most often, OCD strikes teens and young adults, but even preschool chil-dren may have the disorder. It affects both men and women. It also affects people of every race and income level.

CompuLsionsA compulsion is an urge to do some-thing to lessen distress. In obsessive-compulsive disorder, you’ll likely feel compelled to repeat certain actions. This may help reduce the concern caused by obsessive thoughts. The most common compulsions are washing, cleaning, and checking. For instance, you might spend

hours each day washing your hands. Or, you might check your stove over and over to make sure it’s turned off. In se-vere cases, compulsions can take over your life.

Common CompuLsions• Cleaning. You may spend hours

each day washing yourself or cleaning.

• Checking. You fear you may harm yourself or others. So you check what you’ve done again and again.

• Repeating. You repeat a word or name over and over.

• Avoiding. You go to extremes to avoid what scares you.

• Hoarding. You may save a large number of useless items.

what Causes it?Doctors once thought OCD was caused by beliefs you learned in childhood. But it’s now known that brain chemistry plays a large role in the disorder. OCD also seems to run in families. Bacterial infections such as rheumatic fever may trigger OCD in some people.

getting heLpYou may try to hide symptoms of OCD from others. You also may be afraid to seek help. Having OCD is nothing to be ashamed of. Treatment with therapy and certain medications can ease your distress.


OBSeSSIVe-cOmPuLSIVe dISOrder

1. The answer is A, the kitchen, and the key is the word “thrive.” Bathrooms generally host more bacteria and germs than kitchens, but most people know that and take proper pre-cautions, such as cleaning with disinfectants. Bedrooms, even those where bedridden chil-dren sniffle from colds, don’t hold the germs for long because cold viruses die quickly, and even viruses that remain “alive” quickly lose their potency once outside the body. Kitchens, however, provide an environment where bacteria can grow, often undetected, says Jacques Carter, M.D., an internist at Deaconess Hospital in Boston. Many bacte-rial intestinal tract illnesses are picked up from cutting boards that are wiped -- not washed -- after being used to cut raw chicken. Dr. Carter says the key to avoiding kitchen germs is to cook at the proper temperatures, disinfect preparation surfaces and wash utensils after handling raw meat or chicken.

2. The answer is C, According to the National Insititue of Allergy and Infectious Dis-esases, colds are most prevalent among chil-dren, probably because of their relative lack of resistance to infection and to contacts with other children in day-care centers and schools. Children have about six to ten colds a year. In families with children in school, the number of colds per child can be as high as 12 a year. Adults average about two to four colds a year. Women, especially those aged 20 to 30 years, have more colds than men, possibly because of their closer contact with children. On average, individuals old-er than 60 have fewer than one cold a year.

3. The answer is B, live well. “You should follow your mother’s advice,” explains ChrisAnna Mink, M.D., a St. Louis pediatrician who spe-cializes in bacterial infections at the St. Louis University Health Sciences Center. “Eat well, get plenty of rest, eat your vegetables and wash your hands.” The goal is to keep the immune system strong so you avoid being susceptible to cold viruses. Doctors say they are unsure about the relationship between vitamins and colds, although they say vitamins won’t hurt. Antibiotics, which fight bacteria, aren’t go-ing to protect you from catching a cold virus.

4. The answer is C, shake hands. Many viruses, especially colds, are transmitted by touch. Doctors say the key to avoiding or spreading colds is to wash your hands frequently. Virus-es don’t live very long on inanimate surfaces, such as phones or tables, but they stay around for up to about two weeks in people. When people sneeze and cough they also spread germs, not only by spewing the viruses into the air but also by stifling the cough or sneeze with a hand and then touching someone else.

5. The answer is B, kiss your child. “Children are the primary ones who spread diseases, espe-cially colds. They are crowded together, their personal hygiene is not as good and they bring the diseases back to their families,” says A. Clinton White, M.D., an infectious diseases expert at Baylor College of Medicine in Hous-ton. The cookie shouldn’t cause you any prob-lems, nor should the soda can. Viruses such as colds live in nasal mucus and not saliva.

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balanced living: summer 2011

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