Did you know? Bell’s Fast Facts Fridays – Your Health

The great health-care debate has been raging for months. Politicians in Washington D.C. hope to overhaul America’s health care system with the overarching goal of making affordable care more accessible. While there are major disagreements about the government’s role in regulating  health care, one of the main components of all health-care legislation, from both Democrats and Republicans, is aggressively pursuing preventative care. This means that the government would have a role in educating and urging Americans to exercise, eat healthy, and give up bad habits. Here are a few facts about preventative care, and examples of what you can do to stay healthy.

1) According to the American Heart Association, about half of all deaths from heart disease are sudden and unexpected, so there’s little opportunity for treatment. For people at risk of sudden death, prevention is the key. The AHA believes that more effort must be focused on preventing heart disease by addressing and educating people on the major risk factors, including tobacco smoke, high blood pressure, and physical inactivity. (AmericanHeart.org)

2) The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) offers a Pocket Guide to clinical preventative services which includes recommendations on screening, counseling, and preventive medication topics. Recommendations are organized for quick reference and easy searching. One section matches recommended preventive services to patients—men, women, pregnant women, and children. AHRQ’s Clinical Preventative Services Guide was created (and is continually updated) by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force which is the leading independent panel of private-sector experts in prevention and primary care. (AHRQ.gov)

3) Preventing child obesity has become a focus of first lady Michelle Obama , and she has recently launched Let’s Move – an ambitious initiative to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation. Let’s Move will provide healthier food in schools, help kids be more physically active and make healthy, affordable food available in every part of the country, among other things. (LetsMove.gov)

4) SparkPeople.com is a web site dedicated to making healthy living fun and easy with tools, content and a community of like minded people looking to get fit. The site offers great resources, tips, and suggestions on nutrition, fitness, motivation, wellness, and diet, as well as a streaming online video section and recipes section (SparkRecipes.com) with more than 217,000 healthy and delicious recipes. Be sure to check out Health A-Z, a medical reference section created by the faculty of the Harvard Medical School, for information on specific conditions. (SparkPeople.com)

5) According to the Cycling Resource Centre (Australia), the health benefits of cycling have been shown to be a primary reason why many people choose to cycle.  They say that cycling has been shown to significantly reduce the chance of developing obesity, diabetes  and other types of disease. Integrating cycling into everyday life, by using the bike as a form of transport has been shown to be a very sustainable method of regular physical activity. (CyclingResourceCentre.org)

The consensus is in, and an active lifestyle is likely the best way to prevent major health problems. We suggest strapping on a Bell helmet, hopping on a bicycle and pedaling your way towards better fitness.

Looking for products and resources  to compliment your active lifestyle? Be sure to check out Savasa – The Unique Fit. They offer unique women’s fitness products (their Ankle Weights were recently awarded Best Weights for Women), a Tips For Busy Women section, a Savasa Personal Trainer section with quick, 15-minute workouts in audio, video and guide format.

What forms of preventative care do you use to stay healthy? What is your favorite form of exercise? Do you have any useful examples of things you do in your life to stay fit? Let us know by leaving a comment below!