February 2012 Newsletter
What´s New at Savon
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Quote Of The Month: It‘s better to have loved and lost than to have to do forty pounds of laundry a week. (Laurence J. Peter, 1919 – 1990)
Congratulations To:
J. De Herrera of Avondale, AZ Winner of our January 2012 early payment drawing for 1 free additional year of membership.
Congratulations to our winner and thank you to everyone that entered the drawing.
Keeping Fit With Jourdin Hendershot:
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Coffee Vs. Your Health
The best way to wake-up, is to the smell of that delicious coffee brewing! As we all know, many Americans drink coffee every morning or all through the day, but did you know that there are many pros and cons about drinking coffee?
PROS:
*Diabetes: In 2005 researchers found that people who drink 4-6 cups of coffee a day lower their chance of type two diabetes by 30 percent.1 These are some ingredients in coffee that help our bodies fight off diabetes:
- Magnesium: helps body use carbohydrates
- Chronic Acid: antioxidant that lowers glucose levels
- Quinides: improves insulin sensitivity and glucose control
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*Mental Performance: People who drink coffee in the morning perform better than non coffee drinkers. Why? Coffee is a stimulant unlike alcohol which is a depressant. The caffeine in the coffee works by blocking the adenosine receptors and increases the activity of the central nervous system, which improves mental alertness.2
There are many other pros in drinking coffee such as:
- Helps with Parkinson‘s disease
- Helps protect the liver against liver cirrhosis
- Can lower the risk of gallstones and kidney stones
CONS:
*Causes Osteoporosis: Coffee can cause the body to excrete calcium in urine. You do not want to lose your calcium because this can cause osteoporosis. To counter balance your calcium intake you can eat calcium rich foods or you can add one to two teaspoons of milk to your cup of coffee.
*Heart Rhythm disturbance: Coffee can cause irregular heartbeats also known as (Artial fibrillation)
Other Cons of drinking coffee can consist of:
- Dehydration
- Cholesterol problems
- Heartburn
1 Green Living
2 (Nehlig et al. 1992., Fredholm et al. 1999., Davis et al, 2003., Daly et al. 2004; Fisone et al. 2004., Tieges, 2007)
Other information obtained from Positively Coffee
If you have questions you would like to discuss with Jourdin, feel free to drop her an email by clicking here.
Grandma‘s Kitchen With Grandma C.:
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Slow Cooked Italian Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 or 2 pkg‘s skinless chicken thighs
- 1 can stewed or petite diced tomatoes
- 1 can chicken broth
- 1 small can mushroom stems and pieces
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- ½ tsp Italian Seasoning
- ½ tsp Tarragon (fresh or dried)
- ¼ tsp Basil (fresh or dried)
- Garlic Salt
- Salt and Pepper
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Season chicken thighs with garlic salt, salt and pepper to taste. Place in slow cooker. Add ½ can of Chicken broth.
Stir canned tomatoes, tarragon, basil and italian seasoning together with a spoon. Add mushrooms, celery and chopped onion. Stir.
Pour tomato mixture over chicken. Cover. Cook on low heat for approximately 4-6 hours.
Serve over rice or noodles. Garlic toast or Garlic bread sticks are a great addition to this meal!
Variation: You can use chicken breasts if you aren‘t a fan of dark meat, but remember, when chicken breast is cooked for too long it tends to get dry on the inside.
If you have a recipe that you would like to share with Grandma C., drop her an email by clicking here.
To Your Health: with Meri Osborne
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10 Products You Don‘t Need To Buy!
We all know that household cleaners are loaded with harmful chemicals. Not to mention the cost of certain household items, such as cleaning supplies and medicines, are enough to break anyone‘s budget. Here are some tips and tricks that will limit your exposure to harmful ingredients and save you some money at the same time! Check this out:
- All Purpose Cleaner- Don‘t waste your money on expensive name brands. A can of Coke will clean your toilet. A grapefruit and salt will scrub your tub. A few tablespoons of wine will clean your counters and rubbing alcohol will give your windows a streak free shine!
- Anti-Itch Cream- Got bit by a mosquito but have no Benedryl? Put some Vicks Vapor Rub on it. Scotch tape or Alka Seltzer work great too!
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- Metal Polisher- Make your dull metal shine bright again without exposing yourself to harsh chemicals! For your silver: use baking soda or a banana peel. For chrome: use Coke or baby oil. For stainless steel: use plain old flour.
- Bug Traps- Vinegar gets rid of fruit flies. Baby powder will keep ants away. And veggies on the counter will keep ants out of your kitchen!
- Unclog Your Drain- A backed up toilet can be fixed with a little laundry detergent and a cable tie! Baking Soda unclogs plugged drains!
- Soft Screen Cleaner- This is simple. A soft cloth and some water is all you need. Don‘t have a soft enough cloth? Use a coffee filter instead.
- Fabric Softener Sheets- Instead of wasting them to fluff the wrinkles out of your clothes every morning, just throw a clean tennis ball in there with your outfit.
- Sticker Remover- Peanut butter works great for getting labels off jars. Lighter fluid and vinegar work just as well.
- Deodorizers- Baking Soda is the ultimate “foul-smell” killer. Vinegar works too. But if you‘re looking for a quick way to make your house smell amazing, pop some vanilla in the oven.
- Stain remover- To remove grease stains: try rubbing it out with a stick of chalk, dabbing it with white shaving cream, or soaking it in some vinegar. Use asprin to get sweat stains out. Corn starch is great to spot clean stains on furniture. Hair spray will get ink out of a shirt.
Although I have not personally tested all of these, they seem worth trying. Not only will you be saving your money but you won‘t be exposed to harsh chemicals!!
This article was summarized and condensed. For the full article, please visit Top 10 products you already have them in your home!
The above health material is provided as an information service. It should not be used for diagnostic purposes nor is it intended to take the place of the important relationship between you and your doctor.
News You Can Use: News From Inside Your Dental Plan
New Schedule of Benefits
The new Schedule of Fees and Benefits will become effective on February 16, 2012. The last time our schedule was adjusted was April of 2010 and with the changes in the economy we delayed adjusting the fees as long as possible.
With this new fee schedule we do not anticipate adjusting fees again until late 2013 or early 2014.
Thank you for your trust and understanding and rest assured that we are doing everything possible to keep the price that you pay for your dental care as low as possible without sacrificing quality.
Fun Facts:
Crazy, Zany Facts We Bet You Didn‘t Know
- The ancient Romans celebrated the Feast of Lupercalia on February 14th in honor of Juno, the queen of the Roman gods and goddesses. Juno was also the goddess of women and marriage.
- In 1537, England‘s King Henry VII officially declared February 14th the holiday of St. Valentine‘s Day.
- Casanova, well known as "The World‘s Greatest Lover," ate chocolate to make him virile.
- Over $1 billion worth of chocolate is purchased for Valentine‘s Day in the U.S.
- 73% of people who buy flowers for Valentine‘s Day are men, while only 27 percent are women.
- 15% of U.S. women send themselves flowers on Valentine‘s Day.
- Approximately 110 million roses, mostly red, will be sold and delivered within the three-day Valentine‘s Day time period.
- Teachers will receive the most Valentine‘s Day cards, followed by children, mothers, wives, sweethearts and pets.
- In addition to the United States, Valentine‘s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, France, Australia, Denmark, and Italy.
Come back for more in next months issue!
Dental Talk - A Member Blog Forum:
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Come blog with us! Dental Talk with Savon is a fun forum to post your interesting topics! Your comments are welcome, it‘s free to use and no membership is required.
Some of the topics include;
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These are just a few of the topics. Our blog site contains many other interesting topics. Please join us!!
Insurance Insight: - With June Shaffer
from Arizona Life Lines
Understanding Insurance Language - Part One Of An Eight Part Series
When I first started working in the insurance industry, my area of interest was health coverage. No way was I going to enter the confusing, conniving and contorted world of life insurance. To me, health insurance seemed easy. (In retrospect, I‘ve heard many agents say they would sell anything but health coverage!)
As my education grew (and continues to grow), it was inevitable that I did eventually start selling life, disability and other forms of personal insurance. These areas are challenging and - without a doubt - confusing. The only things conniving or contorted, however, are those random, unscrupulous agents who will say anything to sell everything. And everyone who has ever bought any kind of insurance has a horror story (or two) to tell.
Sadly, there is very little consumer literature written with the purpose of explaining the basics of health insurance. For me, the concept of insurance was a block, a wall over which I was hesitant to leap; I felt I would be inundated with all kinds of unsortable information, selling services I [then] knew little about, hoping all the while that the carrier I represented was honest and offered a truly good product, and that I wouldn‘t be awakened at two in the morning by an irate client yelling that the policy did not cover bedpans....)
So, for the uninitiated, here‘s a breakdown of some of the more commonly misunderstood phrases and definitions encountered in the search for adequate health coverage. You may already be familiar with several, but please read on - some of these definitions go beyond the written word.
- DEDUCTIBLE: no, this is not that amount of money which you must pay before the insurance company starts to pay. It is simply that portion which the insurance company is not going to be responsible for, period. If you have a $1,000 deductible and a $2,000 medical bill, on what is called an 80/20 plan (whereby you pay 20% and the insurance company pays 80% of the first $5,000 after the deductible), the insurance company does not pay $1000 (your deductible) and it does not pay 20% of the rest of the charges: you do, and it pays $800. How and when you pay your portion (i.e., the remaining $1200) is between you and the health care provider.*
- DEDUCTIBLES AS THEY RELATE TO PREMIUMS: the higher your deductible, the lower your premium. The more the carrier doesn‘t have to pay initially, for your medical expenses, the less it is going to charge for coverage. If the difference between two deductibles is 10% or less, you might want the lower deductible. If the difference is greater, consider: in the course of a year, based on your current health, is it likely that you will be hospitalized or make use of the deductible? Don‘t pay an extra $900 per year in premium to protect a $500 difference in deductible – and the person who would, should never gamble.
- Most 80/20 plans utilize $5,000 (beyond the deductible) or $10,000 as the maximum, but not all of them. If the annual difference in the two premium amounts is more than the difference between the two deductibles, get the higher deductible. 80/20 to $10,000 incidentally, means the carrier pays 80% and you pay 20% OF the first $10,000 after the deductible, not until you have paid the $10,000 yourself! It is a shared cost, which is why it is called “coinsurance.”
Join us next month when we cover Premium Rates • Co-Insurance • Co-Pay • Stop Loss • and Calendar Year Deductible.
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