{"id":88,"date":"2010-07-16T14:47:55","date_gmt":"2010-07-16T14:47:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesoulpitt.com\/health\/?p=88"},"modified":"2010-07-16T14:50:43","modified_gmt":"2010-07-16T14:50:43","slug":"10-tips-for-the-2010-summer-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thesoulpitt.com\/health\/10-tips-for-the-2010-summer-season\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Tips for the 2010 Summer Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>10 tips for the 2010 summer season <\/strong><\/p>\n

By Rhonda Moore Johnson, M.D., M.P.H., Highmark Inc.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

To ensure you are at your best to enjoy all that summer has to offer, consider these 10 tips for a healthy summer season.<\/p>\n

Tip #1.\u00a0 Take action to reduce health disparities. <\/strong>African Americans have higher rates of obesity and certain medical conditions such as high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, cancer, asthma and HIV\/AIDS.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Doctors, hospitals, health insurers and other groups are working together to reduce or eliminate these disparities. We need to do our part, too. This includes being informed, getting preventive care and screenings, maintaining a healthy weight and believing that good health is within our reach.<\/p>\n

Tip #2.\u00a0 Use sun protection.<\/strong> It\u2019s a myth that African Americans don\u2019t need sun protection. We do! Without sunscreen, our skin will age and wrinkle prematurely, \u00a0and we can develop skin cancer from overexposure to the sun. The American Cancer Society advises, “Slip [on a shirt], slop [on some sunscreen] and slap [on a hat].”<\/p>\n

Tip #3.\u00a0 Be safe. <\/strong>Summer brings activities that require extra safety precautions. Wear that seat belt. Never leave children or pets in hot cars. Wear a helmet when biking and motorcycling. Keep kids away from matches, fires, hot coals and fireworks. Be extra careful and always watch babies and youngsters around swimming pools and other bodies of water.<\/p>\n

Tip #4.\u00a0 Catch up on check-ups this summer. <\/strong>Having a regular \u201cmedical home\u201d \u2013 a consistent place such as a doctor\u2019s office, health center or clinic where you receive primary care \u2013 results in better overall health. And take your kids for their well visits and dental check-ups every summer while the pressure of school is off.<\/p>\n

Tip #5. \u00a0Catch up on immunizations.<\/strong> Not sure if your child is up to date? Not sure what immunizations you might need as an adult? I highly recommend contacting the Allegheny County Health Department – Immunization Program <\/strong>in Oakland, 412-578-8060, <\/strong>www.achd.net<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

Tip #6.\u00a0 Enjoy summertime exercise! <\/strong>Take advantage of the great outdoors and the summer weather. Exercise is great for your health. It improves your brain\u2019s functioning and it elevates your mood. Most experts recommend 30 minutes or more of physical activity every day.<\/p>\n

Tip #7. Drink plenty of fluids! <\/strong>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reminds us, \u201cDon’t wait until you feel thirsty to drink water. The human body needs fluids on a regular basis. An adult should drink about eight, 8-ounce glasses of water daily.\u201d And in extreme heat, you may need more to prevent dehydration.<\/p>\n

Be alert for signs of dehydration, including a decrease in urination, a dry mouth and throat and feeling dizzy when standing up. Young children and babies may not show the same signs as an adult, but may additionally cry without tears and become unusually fussy or drowsy.<\/p>\n

Tip #8.\u00a0 Spend time with family and friends. <\/strong>Summertime is an ideal time to enjoy your life with others. Maintaining positive relationships and a healthy work\/life balance has been proven to reduce stress and improve one\u2019s health. Summertime also offers many opportunities that don\u2019t cost a bundle \u2013 free concerts, hiking and biking, picnicking, movies in the parks, festivals, fairs and more.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

Tip #9.\u00a0 Enjoy healthy grilling. <\/strong>Not only is grilling lots of fun, it can also be a way to eat healthier. From the start, it\u2019s a better cooking alternative than deep frying or pan saut\u00e9ing because you add no fat to the food. Then, if you elect<\/p>\n

low-fat meats and grilled vegetables, you\u2019re really cooking in a healthy direction.<\/p>\n

Tip #10.\u00a0 Maintain a healthy outlook and a positive attitude<\/strong>. Even in these challenging economic times, a healthy lifestyle combined with an \u201cI can do\u201d attitude will pay off. Summertime provides evidence that the sun will come out tomorrow.<\/p>\n

For more information about keeping you and your family healthy, visit www.highmark.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Dr. Johnson is the medical director of health equity and quality services at Highmark Inc. She leads Highmark\u2019s efforts to reduce racial and ethnic health care disparities among Highmark members through clinical interventions and improvements in health literacy, language access and health-plan cultural competency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

10 tips for the 2010 summer season By Rhonda Moore Johnson, M.D., M.P.H., Highmark Inc. To ensure you are at your best to enjoy all that summer has to offer, consider these 10 tips for a healthy summer season. Tip #1.\u00a0 Take action to reduce health disparities. African Americans have higher rates of obesity and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-highmark-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thesoulpitt.com\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thesoulpitt.com\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thesoulpitt.com\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thesoulpitt.com\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thesoulpitt.com\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/thesoulpitt.com\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93,"href":"http:\/\/thesoulpitt.com\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions\/93"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thesoulpitt.com\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thesoulpitt.com\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thesoulpitt.com\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}