AlaskaCare Wellness News | June 2018

Vitamin D

Ever wonder what Vitamin D actually does?
It helps maintain strong bones.

See what else Vitamin D does
for your body, here. 

We celebrate Men's Health Month to heighten the awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys. Whether it's mental, dental, eye, or any other health condition, it's important to encourage the men in your life to take a more active role in the management of their health. Preventive care is key!

We are experiencing a Silent Health Crisis. American men live sicker and die younger than American women. In general, men have poorer health habits and a shorter life expectancy than women. By the age of 100, women outnumber men eight to one. 

Compared to women, men are more likely to:   

• Put off regular check ups for medical and dental care. According to the CDC, women are 100% more likely to request annual examinations and preventive services. 

• Suffer from hearing loss. Men suffer hearing loss at 2 times the rate of women.

• Ignore serious mental health issues. Depression in men often goes undiagnosed and/or untreated and is a key contributor to the fact that men are 3-4 times more likely to commit suicide. 

• Drink and smoke.

• Make unhealthy or risky choices (No helmets, no seat belts, no life jackets).
  
  
• Die at higher rates than women from 9 of the top 10 causes of death and are the victims of over 92% of workplace deaths. 

There are health conditions that affect only men, such as prostate cancer and low testosterone. Many of the major health risks that men face—like colon cancer or heart disease—can be prevented and treated with early diagnosis. Screening tests can help find diseases early when they are easier to treat. It's important to get the screening tests you need. Visiting your physician for an annual checkup is a simple and essential. When it comes down to it, there are no good reasons not to see the doctor, only excuses. Don’t wait. Read the Blueprint for Men's Health: A Guide to a Healthy Lifestyle, and schedule your annual physical today. 

A 5-year-old went out on Alaska waters with his grandfather. They planned to spend the day together fishing in southwest Alaska. Before boarding the boat, the grandfather borrowed a life jacket for his grandson. They were a couple of miles away from shore when their boat capsized. The grandfather was able to grab ahold of the boy, and the boy’s life jacket kept him afloat until they were rescued.

This is just one reported save that was shared with Alaska’s Kids Don’t Float Program office. As of January 2018, 32 children have survived a near fatality due to a Kids Don’t Float life jacket, according to the program’s database.

Drownings remain a critical concern in Alaska. From 2014 to 2016, 91 Alaskans drowned. Ten of them were children under the age of 13, according to the Alaska Section of Health Analytics and Vital Records.

The Kids Don’t Float loaner boards provide thousands of life jackets to prevent drownings like these. This year, more than 600 loaner board sites will be located throughout Alaska. Anyone, kids or adults, can borrow a life jacket. Pick a jacket that fits. Read the label for proper size, and ensure the jacket is U.S. Coast Guard-approved. Look for signs of rips and tears, and check that all straps, buckles, and zippers work.

Alaska Statute requires children under 13 years old to wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket when in an open boat, on an open deck, or when waterskiing. The law only applies to children, but the U.S. Coast Guard and Alaska Office of Boating Safety recommend that everyone of all ages wears a life jacket when aboard a boat. Wearing a life jacket can potentially save your life and helps you set an example for others about safe water recreation.

Father's Day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. It’s a good day for fathers to pass on their wisdom, guidance and 1980’s dance moves, not unhealthy habits. It’s time to BUT IN and have everyone in your household put the BUTTS OUT! It’s time to mind everybody’s business. Call the Quit line! Besides, when you bust out your famous break dance moves at breakfast, you’ll want to include a couple of spins on the kitchen floor to impress the kids, and you don’t want to get winded. That would not be cool.

Smoking is one thing that can shorten your life span and is one of the leading causes of heart disease and cancers. Cigarettes, or devices referred to by a variety of names, including “e-cigs,” “e-hookahs,” “mods,” “vape pens,” “vapes,” and “tank systems,” all deliver the highly addictive substance, nicotine.

Visit the doctor. Eat right. Exercise daily. Stay healthy. Stay strong. Stop smoking.

Alaska's Tobacco Quit Line | 1-800-QUIT-NOW

Health Fact of the Month

For every pound of fat gained, you add seven miles of new blood vessels. New tissue needs blood supply, so your vascular system expands to accommodate it. This also means your heart must work harder to pump blood through the new network, which may reduce oxygenation and nutrient replenishment in other tissues. Lose a pound? Your body will break down and reabsorb the unneeded blood vessels from the previous tissue.​

Recipe of the Month: 
Kamut Salad

GET THE RECIPE >> 

Exercise of the Month:
Heel To Toe Walk

This exercise lifts and tones the hamstrings, ankles, hips and activates the entire core for better balance.

TRY THE EXERCISE >>

Not sure if that cold is worth the trip? 
Call the Aetna Nurse line, 24 hours, 7 days a week.

                           Call (800) 556-1555