Smart Health Shop Forum Blog: January 2014

Friday, January 31, 2014

Report: Childhood cancer cases up, but deaths down - WDEF News 12

ATLANTA (AP) — A new report says childhood cancer cases continue to increase, but death rates have fallen by in half.

The American Cancer Society report — released Friday — is being called one of the most comprehensive looks at the types of cancer that most commonly affect children and adolescents.

Childhood cancer is considered rare, especially compared with cancer in adults. Still, it's the second leading cause of death in pre-adolescent, school-aged children.

It is growing more common. New diagnoses have been inching up each year, led by some types of blood and lymphatic cancers.

The good news: Childhood cancer death rates dropped more than 50 percent since 1975, to 24 per 1 million kids and adolescents in 2010.

©2014 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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5 Crock-Pot Recipes For Massive Muscle!

It's 2013: Why isn't my food ready the instant I want it? As a busy working parent, I wish I could just snap my fingers at mealtime and thereby summon a magic genie to whip up something healthy and delicious. I can't rely on my wife—she's as slammed as I am!

I don't want a repeat of my earlier years, when I lived off canned tuna and boiled eggs for months at a time. During one bout of contest prep, I ate the same thing every damn day: a head of lettuce, a pound of chicken, a dozen boiled eggs, and veggies all mixed into one big bowl with salsa. That was it … for 12 … straight … weeks.

When I got married, some kind soul bought us a Crock-pot. What a revelation! This gadget works quick and easy: All you do is throw all the ingredients into the pot and let it do its thing. You're a lousy cook? Ha! You couldn't screw this up if you tried, especially because cooking times have a ton of leeway. Most meals might be ruined if you cooked them for an hour too long, but your only penalty in a Crock-pot is that your meat becomes more tender.

Sold? Ready to get pot-trained? Try these five Crock-pot recipes for massive muscle.

The Carnivore

I love a hearty breakfast, but half the time I just make a protein shake and head out the door unsatisfied. That's why a Crock-pot omelet is freaking magical. I can prepare the meal right before I go to bed and awaken to a killer breakfast that's ready to go, even if I'm not. Now if I could only get that automatic coffee-maker working!

6 Eggs

10 oz diced Potatoes

4 oz cubed Ham

2 oz chopped Turkey Bacon

3 oz Chuck Steak, sliced

1/4 cup Onions

1/2 Green Bell Pepper

1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese

Pepper

Dice or chop all of the meats and vegetables. (Here's the neat trick; use a food processor and all of this chopping can be done in less than a minute.

Dump meats and vegetables into the Crock-pot.

In a small mixing bowl, mix eggs and spices and pour that into the bowl too.

Turn the Crockpot to low heat and leave it on while you go to sleep. You can thank me in the morning. (That's what she said. Right?)

Top with cheese a few minutes prior to serving.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size

Amount per serving

Calories 341

Total Fat13.4g

Total Carbs24.25g

Protein32.4g

The Carnivore PDF (153 KB)

Loco Moco

Prepare to have your mind blown. My brothers at Lift Big Eat Big posted this the other day, and it has changed the course of history. Unlike our College Boy (see below), this meal requires a little bit of prep work, but it is more than worth it. It is a great way to start your day toward packing on the beef, and will give you a genuine mouth-gasm.

1 1/2 lb Lean Ground Beef (you can use patties if you prefer)

2 cups White Rice

3 Packets Herb Brown Gravy Mix

1/4 cup chopped Onions

3 cups Water

6 Eggs

Cook the beef and prior to loading them in your Crock-pot.

Add cooked beef and onions to Crock-pot; add rice, gravy mix, and water to the pot.

Press the rice down firmly to stop the eggs from running through; crack the eggs on top of the rice one at a time.

Slow cook all night or set it on high for half the night. Set a timer so the pot turns off when it is done.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size

Amount per serving

Calories 448

Total Fat24.6g

Total Carbs15.2g

Protein38.2g

Loco Moco PDF (101 KB)

The Make-It-Bacon Paleo Chicken Classic

Our prehistoric kin probably never ate anything like this, but there is a reason they gave up hunting and gathering—pigs and chickens are delish! This in-the-pot recipe will leave you licking the bottom for scraps. I throw this together a few hours before dinner.

1 lb cubed Chicken Breasts

1/3 lb chopped Bacon

1 small White Onion, thinly sliced

1 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Garlic Powder

Salt

Pepper

2 tbsp Chipotle Sauce

Place uncooked bacon pieces in the Crock-pot. Stir bacon in among cubed chicken, onion, and seasonings.

If you like, give it a light olive oil glaze. It will taste good and help keep your chicken from sticking to the pot.

Cook your bird on high for 3-4 hours.

Top with your chipotle sauce upon serving.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size

Amount per serving

Calories 594

Total Fat37.7g

Total Carbs1.8g

Protein56.2g

The Make-It-Bacon Paleo Chicken Classic PDF (101 KB)

The College Boy

I call this the "College Boy" because of its simple preparation. No chopping, dicing, slicing, or any real work is needed. You need only be able to use a can opener and get the top off the jar, and several hours later you will end up with some high-quality belly stuffing.

4 boneless Chicken Breasts

1 can Black Beans

1 can Corn

Salsa (pick your poison)

8 oz Cream Cheese

Place chicken breasts in the Crock-pot. They can still be frozen if that is your style.

Drain cans of black beans and corn and add them into the cauldron.

Top it with your salsa, stir it up, and let it go!

Slow cook for 7-8 hours on low, or 4-5 hours on high.

Save cream cheese until the food is nearly done; let it melt on top prior to serving.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 4 Servings

Amount per serving

Calories 679

Total Fat35g

Total Carbs50g

Protein45.8g

The College Boy PDF (101 KB)

The Classic

Everyone should be able to make a good roast. It is a great classic that should be familiar to every dinner table.

3 lb Chuck Roast

1 lb Yellow Potatoes

1 lb baby Carrots

1 cup thinly sliced Onion wedges

3 cloves Garlic, crushed

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

2 tbsp Vegetable Oil

1 (10 3/4-ounce) can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 tbsp Beef Bouillon granules

2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

Chop carrots, onion, and potatoes and put them in the pot.

Mix the garlic, pepper, and salt together into a small bowl. Rub this mixture onto both sides of your roast.

Combine the vegetable oil, cream of mushroom soup, Worcestershire sauce, and beef bouillon into a bowl. Pour this onto your roast, and add water (or low-sodium beef broth) until the roast is covered.

Cook on high for four hours, or roast on low for eight. Either way, it will be delicious.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size

Amount per serving

Calories 536

Total Fat20.2g

Total Carbs28.4g

Protein57.6g

The Classic PDF (102 KB)

About The Author

Matt is the Training and Nutrition Specialist for Bodybuilding.com. He has studied Exercise Science and is a competitive strength athlete.

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California college to offer non-approved meningitis vaccine

By Sharon Bernstein

SACRAMENTO, California Fri Jan 31, 2014 8:44pm EST

 SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - Students at a California public university where meningococcal disease broke out in the fall will be offered a vaccine not approved for use in the United States, public health officials said on Friday.

Officials in the most populous U.S. state had sought permission from the federal government to use the European vaccine, which inoculates against a strain of the disease that has struck four students at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

The outbreak, which resulted in a student having his feet amputated, is similar to the one that struck eight students at Princeton University in New Jersey, where students won approval to use the same foreign vaccine in the fall.

Bexsero, made by the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG, is the only vaccine to protect against serotype B of the meningococcal bacteria, which can attack the nervous system as meningitis or cause a deadly blood condition.

California health officials sought access to the vaccine for the Santa Barbara students in December amid renewed concern about meningococcal disease, which is highly contagious among people who live in close quarters, such as college students.

Most strains of the bacteria can be controlled with a vaccine that is widely available in the United States.

But Bexsero has not been submitted for approval for use in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Students at Princeton began receiving that vaccine after the CDC intervened on their behalf. But when the California outbreak was announced, the CDC said it wanted to wait, in part to see if the disease spread to more students.

In a statement released to students, parents and employees on Friday, officials at UC Santa Barbara said they would make the vaccine available to students free of charge next month.

No additional cases have been reported at the university, health director Dr. Mary Ferris said in the statement.

Novartis said in a statement that it would coordinate with the CDC, the university and the California Department of Health to make Bexsero available to the students.

The company said it had submitted to U.S. officials documentation from its European studies to show that the vaccine was effective and safe, and was working on a version for eventual use in the United States

(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Mohammad Zargham)

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Two Obamacare exchanges see more health insurer competition

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON Fri Jan 31, 2014 8:36pm EST

U.S. President Barack Obama takes the stage to deliver remarks on the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, at an Organizing for Action grassroots supporter event in Washington, November 4, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - At least two U.S. states running their own Obamacare health insurance exchanges expect new insurers to enter their marketplaces and bolster competition in 2015, officials said on Friday.

Kynect, which is Kentucky's marketplace, and the Rhode Island Health Benefits Exchange have had separate talks about 2015 with health insurers that could opt to join the online marketplaces set up under President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law. Kentucky also expects an expansion of physician networks available within current plans.

Increased competition would increase consumer choices and tend to put downward pressure on health insurance cost trends. It could also help ensure the future of Obama's Affordable Care Act, which depends on the success of new online marketplaces.

Kentucky and Rhode Island are among states with the most successful Obamacare launches. Obama himself highlighted Kentucky's performance in his State of the Union address on Tuesday.

Each state also has only a small number of insurers. Kynect currently has three insurers and has enrolled more than 44,000 people in private plans since its October 1 launch. The Rhode Island exchange, with two insurers for individual consumers, has enrolled about 12,000 people.

It was not clear whether more competition would be in the offing for other states with their own exchanges or the federal government, which runs a marketplace for 36 states that have chosen not to operate their own.

"We expect our number of carriers to certainly grow and our networks to become more robust," said Audrey Haynes, a one-time aide to former President Bill Clinton who is now secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

Christine Ferguson, director of the Rhode Island exchange, predicted an expansion would result from insurer interest in individuals and small-business employees. "We are definitely in conversations with other carriers to come in. And I think we'll be successful with that," she said.

Both women were speaking to reporters at an event hosted by the nonprofit Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which tracks healthcare trends.

Healthcare marketplaces, which began operating in all 50 states and the District of Columbia on January 1, allow consumers who lack coverage to purchase private health insurance, often at federally subsidized rates.

But a botched autumn launch of the federal marketplace and lagging enrollment among younger adults have raised concerns about the success of the marketplaces, with critics predicting big increases in costs down the road.

Haynes said officials in Kentucky had spoken to managed care plans owned by larger national insurance companies. "We've heard that they want to come into the market," she said.

California, which operates the nation's largest state-run healthcare exchange, has 13 insurers and has enrolled more than 625,000 people through private plans since October 1.

The state has barred new insurers from entering its marketplace in 2015, but officials say they are confident about the current roster of insurers.

"All of the plans with Covered California are really recognizing that this is a long-term play and are looking at things like benefit design, how do we improve the benefits," Peter Lee, executive director of the California exchange, told the same forum.

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Tom Brown)