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Five FOODS TO AVOID... AND WHY - Nurse Practitioner and Tempe Primary Care - Fruit Juice -- Most of us love a big glass of orange juice in the morning. This is one of our biggest mistakes if we are trying to lose weight. Fruit juice contains a lot of sugar and carbohydrates. This is not the best way to start your morning if you are on a diet. Stick with water or vitamin D milk! - Margarine -- Margarine is a man-made product that the body does not know how to use! This type of oil is extracted from different kinds of seeds like rapeseed, soybean, or corn. The only way we can extract the oil from these seeds is chemically. We all know it is bad when we put chemically altered products in our body! Stick with coconut or vegetable oils. - Energy bars -- Be careful choosing a bar to snack on. Most of them are high in sugar and carbs. Try sticking with energy bars that have fruit, whole grains, or nuts and seeds. - All soda- Sugar free soda stimulates sugar receptors, tricking your body into thinking you had sugar. Then you tell yourself you really didn't have sugar so you can go ahead and have another diet soda. The artificial sugar put in diet sodas is not good for your body! Stay away from the regular sodas, too. They just have too much sugar! - Canned Soup -- Many canned soups are loaded with sodium and MSG! If you must get a soup, be careful! Most of the labels will tell you it is low in calories and it may look like one serving, but usually it is two. So, check the label for calories and sodium levels. Know your insurance! Are you getting the most out of your health care and pharmacy coverage? Sometimes it's hard to maneuver through the maze of co-pays and deductibles, medication coverage, whether a generic or trade name should be used, which top notch radiology center will be covered etc...? Additional questions pop up like, "I have pharmacy coverage but it won't cover what my provider wants me to have, how much is it going to cost me and where can I get it for the best price"? Over the past 15 years I've observed health care getting more complex (you really have to be pro-active and know your particular coverage) and often with less coverage and reimbursement. The true issue is what your employer has chosen to cover or not. One suggestion is to comb through your policy, find out when and what is covered on a preventative visit versus a problem visit and what lab and radiology centers you are to use. The representative's number is usually located on your card or go online and create a login account. I will help guide you to reputable and pleasant radiology and speciality services. Secondly, print a copy or know where online you can access your pharmacy benefits. Specifically you need to know what medicines are covered and if there is a mail order pharmacy available. You can usually save 1 of 3 co-pays when a mail order pharmacy is utilized and this is also where some of the bio-identical hormones are made (more on Bio-Identical Hormones in the next issue). It helps me if you bring a copy of the medicine list with you. Lastly, if the particular medicine I prescribe is not present on your list or made at the mail order pharmacy ask your representative if it might be reimbursed to you using a "universal claims form". This means if you pay out of pocket for a medicine at a pharmacy, other than the one you are contracted with because they don't make it, your pharmacy coverage may reimburse you. Sometimes they do but you have to ask!
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