Archive for November 2nd, 2007
I really like it when someone comes down to my level to explain something. I was reading an article on the 10 best foods to eat and at the end they had this explanation about why antioxidents are a big deal, “The science is clear: Plant foods are good for you. And the credit often goes to chemicals they produce called antioxidants. Just as the name suggests, antioxidants help protect your cells against oxidation. Think of oxidation as rust. This rust is caused by free radicals, which are unstable oxygen atoms that attack your cells, inducing DNA damage that leads to cancer. Thankfully, antioxidants help stabilize free radicals, which keeps the rogue atoms from harming your cells”.
Ok, you want antioxidents to keep from rusting up your cells and getting cancer!! Tell me I don’t understand science.
But back to the 10 best foods. Like any really healthy article, they did their best to scare me away with their very first shot. BEETS!! I would rather have a hot stick poked in my eye than to eat one of those red little fowl smelling slices of beet. They sucked me back in by letting me know that cooking beets essentially ruins them nutritionally, so that got rid of the little red things. I might actually try them once in the salad they recommended. And my heart will be healthier for it.
Another one that caught my attention was Guava. Now I am familiar with the magical guava because of a vacation my wife and I took to St Martin. They have guava berry everything there. Guava coladas was a favorite of mine. I know after 3 or 4 of those drinks I could feel the lycopene coursing through my veins, fighting off all sorts of evil things. Good stuff.
Bottom line. Like any other life style choice, including more of the right foods in your diet is a good thing. Life insurance applications don’t ask about diet, but in most cases they don’t need to. Your lifestyle dictates your health and poor choices speak for themselves.
November 2nd, 2007
Transient Ischemic Attacks (TIA), or mini strokes occur when blood flow to part of the brain is blocked temporarily. With a TIA, the blockage, usually a blood clot, sticks in place long enough to cause symptoms, and then moves on and is absorbed by the body without any further damage.
It’s big brother, the stroke, occurs when the blockage doesn’t pass and blood flow to that part of the brain is suppressed long enough to cause major damage. Depending on the area of the brain that loses blood flow, different symptoms can occur that range anywhere from weakness or paralysis, usually on one side, to trouble or inability to speak, to complete inability to function which can lead to death.
The TIA should be considered a lucky stroke, a shot across the bow so to speak. If ignored, a TIA is usually a precursor to a stroke. The warning should not be taken lightly.
According to the American Stroke Association, symptoms of a TIA:
* One side of your body may feel numb, tingly, or heavy.
* You may not be able to move your arm, your leg, or your face on one side of your body.
* Things may look blurry or dim. You may have double vision or not be able to see.
* It may be hard to speak. You may slur or mix up your words.
* It may be hard to understand words.
* You may feel unsteady, dizzy, or clumsy. You may have trouble walking.
Not much different than the symptoms of a stroke:
* Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arms, or legs, especially on one side of the body.
* Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or trouble understanding.
* Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
* Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, and loss of balance or coordination.
* Sudden, severe headache with no known cause.
Except in the speed of onset and severity. Anyone who has symptoms of a TIA should seek medical attention immediately and begin treatment to prevent a full blown stroke.
From a life insurance underwriting perspective, obviously a TIA is better news than a stroke, but the truth is that both are insurable once the event has passed and a person is being treated to prevent recurrence. The severity of the event and any contributing factors such as smoking will determine the rate class that will be offered.
Bottom line. We get those warning shots in one form or another all our lives. It could be a TIA. It might be chest pains. It could be getting busted for DUI. The whole idea is to take that warning seriously so we don’t have a stroke, a heart attack, or a drinking problem that leads to something more serious like our death or the death of someone else.
November 2nd, 2007
Early stage in situ breast cancer has always been the easiest to underwrite for life insurance, although most companies still levy an extra charge for 1-3 years after completion of treatment.
Now one company has separated from the pack and has taken a bold stance, finally acknowledging that survival (mortality) rate is really what this is all about, and stage 1 or stage 2 in situ breast cancer have extremely high survival rates post lumpectomy.
This is great news because in the life insurance business, if one company has a good idea, other companies are sure to follow. With this change, given the criteria above, better than standard rates can be within reach as little as six months post treatment.
This now puts breast cancer into the same underwriting pool as early stage and low grade prostate cancer.
Bottom line. Life insurance underwriting all comes down to mortality experience. As studies show vast improvements in cancer survivability, underwriting will follow.
November 2nd, 2007
I saw a news program not too long ago about a teacher who had started an informal exercise program before normal classes started. She made it loose and fun and a chance for the kids to walk and talk and walk and walk, and talk and walk.
This was done at 7 in the morning and with each passing week more kids showed up. Kids were having fun and getting fit. Why was it working? Kids were having fun. Even though it was early, it wasn’t required and they didn’t have to follow a curriculum and they didn’t have to be quiet while someone told them what to do. Instructions for the day. Walk, talk and have fun!!!
These children were offered a chance to experience a healthy lifestyle choice on their own terms and they loved it. I suspect many of them became more fit and probably did better in school since it’s a fact that your ability to pay attention post exercise is much higher than without exercise.
Peer pressure. There’s plenty of peer pressure when it comes to weight. Unfortunately, research shows that teens who are concerned enough about their weight to diet, are also twice as likely to start smoking as a way to curb their appetite. Talk about a double edged sword. Fend off one health problem by taking up a habit that causes just as many.
Peer pressure. I applaud this teacher for going the extra mile for kids and showing them how to establish a healthy life habit. The school should have paid her an additional salary, or maybe not. If the schools started paying for informal efforts like this, then they would want to control it, and then it wouldn’t be fun…..
Bottom line. Lifestyle choices impact life insurance rates every time an application is processed. Whether it is smoking or obesity, drinking too much or doing drugs, life insurance underwriters reward the right choices.
November 2nd, 2007
