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4A Daily News – Tuesday, January 21, 2014 Vitality health & fitness Obamacare: Free flu shots a shock to many Exercise without This weekend, Ding Yuan got a flu shot -- for free. The 25-year-old San Jose, Calif. software engineer is among 156 million Americans whose employers pay for their health insurance. But like many of them, Yuan was surprised to find out that as of Jan. 1, the annual flu shot at his CVS pharmacy wouldn't cost him anything because of the new federal health care law. So was Terry Woo, a 53-year-old San Jose father of five who was getting his inoculation at a Walgreens a few miles away. "That's great," said Woo, who also receives his health insurance through work. "I fully supported Obamacare, but I didn't know that." After months of controversy and angst following the rocky rollout of the Affordable Care Act - from the initial meltdown of the federal health exchange website to the shock of many consumers told their old policies were being canceled-some of the law's most tangible perks are finally in place. And amid a potentially deadly swine flu outbreak across the country, one potentially lifesaving service -- free flu shots -- could represent the first positive experience millions of average Americans have with the new law. The law, signed by President Barack Obama in March 2010, now mandates that most health plans cover a set of preventive services, including shots and screening tests, with no co-payment -- regardless of whether someone has met his or braving the cold her yearly deductible. "It's a great example of how having insurance can make a lot of difference and may reduce a barrier for people," said Dr. Jeffrey Rideout, senior medical adviser at Covered California, the state's health insurance exchange. A common misunderstanding is that the health care law's free preventive services are available only to people who bought their plans on the exchange. Not true, said Roy Kennedy, a Covered California spokesman. "These are part of the essential benefits that are now included in all plans," he said. The law's requirement to cover preventive services at no cost applies to all "non-grandfathered" private plans -- including individual, employer and self-insured plans in which employers contract with a third-party payer, said Cynthia Cox, a senior policy analyst at the Menlo Park-based Kaiser Family Foundation. Grandfathered plans are those insurance policies that were in effect before the health reform law was passed almost four years ago -- and they are exempt from some of the law's requirements. "As long as your employer plan isn't grandfathered," Cox said, "then you should be able to get a free flu shot.'' Cox added that it's a good idea to check with your doctor to make sure he or she correctly bills the flu-shot visit as a preventive service. Otherwise, consumers might get a bill for the service. Consumers should also find out from their health insurer where they can get their free shots. Kaiser Permanente, for example, will only cover a flu shot administered at a Kaiser facility or by Kaiser staff. But a company spokesman said Kaiser customers can get the shots with no appointment. Those without health insurance can still get flu shots at pharmacies such as Walgreens and CVS, spokesmen for both chains said. But it will cost them about $32. Meanwhile, flu shots continue to be fully covered under Medicare Part B, a benefit that was in place before the Affordable Care Act. In many states, county public health departments also offer low-cost or free flu shots. The new health law offers more than just free flu shots. At least a dozen other free preventive health services -from diabetes to HIV screening, programs for weight loss and smoking cessation -- are available to most American adults. Women can get free annual check-ups, free breast and cervical cancer screenings and free contraception. "People should take advantage of the preventive and wellness services," said Covered California's Kennedy. "It makes a lot of sense.'' So you resolved to lose weight, get stronger or maybe just fit in those recommended 30 minutes of daily activity. January always brings a rush of motivation but also colder temperatures a strong urge to stay indoors. Is it possible to stay on track while enjoying the warmth and comfort of your own home? We asked trainer Tim Bruffy, owner of Atlas Fitness in Washington, for a few ideas. 1. Make commercial breaks count It's tempting to sit down in front of the TV when you get home. Who says you can't watch your favorite show while getting a workout ? Put together a circuit workout of simple strength exercises: squats, push-ups, sit-ups, etc., and "make it a commitment every commercial break to knock out a circuit," Bruffy says. Choose a number of repetitions that's comfortable for you (five to 10) and see how many sets you can do in a commercial break. A 30-minute show will probably have less than 10 minutes of commercials, so keep the intensity up. 2. Cardio doesn't have to mean running Your cardio routine at the gym might be limited to the treadmill or elliptical machine, but there are more ways to give your heart a workout. "I would think of cardio in terms of heart-rate zones," Bruffy says. Regardless of the activity, if the intensity is high enough, you're working your heart, too. Combine strength exercises (planks, push-ups, dips, crunches) and more traditional cardio exercises such as jumping jacks or running in place. 3. Get creative Most people don't keep barbells at home. So if you want to add resistance training to your workout, you might have to think outside the box. A gallon of milk weighs about eight pounds. A can of soup? About a pound. What other strength-training tools do you have lying around the house? 4. Practice your I's, T's and Y's After sitting all day at work, this exercise can help fix that hunched posture while strengthening your shoulders: Lie on your back, starting with your arms by your sides. Then use your arms to make the letters I, T and Y (sort of like the "YMCA" dance). The American Council on Exercise recommends holding each position for 15 to 30 seconds and performing two to four cycles. It's another good one for a commercial break. Sugar: A guide to the sweet stuff in all its forms Sugar is sugar, most science now agrees: a simple carbohydrate that almost all of us in the rich world eat to excess. The same goes for "natural" sweeteners such as honey or maple syrup – but they may have other elements that are good for you, or help you absorb the sugar that travels with them in a more healthy way. Here's a guide to the terms and types of sweetener in the great sugar debate. Sucrose Pure sugar: one molecule of glucose and one of fructose – the latter accounts for the taste we call "sweet". We eat three times as much of it as our grandparents did. Fructose The new bad guy in the sugar debate. Fruit juices 20 Antelope Boulevard Red Bluff 530-527-2403 www.myears4u.com Lic#7575 "Have you been missing the play by play ? Do you want to get the punch lines during halftime? Stop on by and let us gear you up to score better hearing before the Big Game!" Lic#8981 WE HAVE EXTENDED HOURS AT OUR COTTONWOOD CLINIC Now open Saturday's 9am-5pm 20833 Long Branch Drive, Cottonwood (530) 347-3418 contain higher fructose levels, and, if the juice has no fibre in it, the fructose may damage the liver and other organs. American endocrinologist Robert Lustig, the scientist behind the "sugar is poison" furore, claims excessive fructose is the key factor in soaring levels of diabetes and obesity and also stimulates over-eating. Labelling legislation doesn't yet require manufacturers to list fructose levels. High-fructose corn syrup A cheap sugar made from maize in the US, commonly used in fizzy drinks and cheap processed foods. Fructose levels may be as high as Ask about our new UNBEATABLE Rent Specials & Free Rent Specials too! 55%. Table sugar White sugar is 50% fructose, 50% glucose and made from cane or beet. 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'No added sugar' Often seen on "healthy" fruit juices, five-a-day drinks and fruit snacks. A loophole in labelling regulation means that sweet, concentrated fruit juice can be used – which is, of course, a high-fructose sugar. Naturally sweet fruit juice with the fruit fibre removed is now thought to be as harmful (or worse) than a cola – but the "with bits in" juice with the fruit fibre retained is better for you. Agave nectar, maple syrup, honey Natural sugars are still sugar – claims of "unrefined" don't alter the basic fact that they are all largely the same simple chemical. In some plant-derived sugars, like agave, fructose levels can be very high – but the label doesn't tell you how high. Beneficial trace elements and minerals can be in the mix, too; maple syrup is claimed to contain antioxidants that may help with heart disease. Artificial sweeteners Some, like "plantderived" stevia, saccharin, sorbitol and xylitol (used in chewing gum) are chemical relations of sugar's saccharides, and so they act on the body in the same way. But because they are many times sweeter than sugar, fewer calories are involved. Non-saccharide sweeteners such as aspartame are the basis of Nutrasweet and many low-cal soft drinks. Questions have been raised about their health benefits, but aspartame is currently judged safe. www.redbluff.mercy.org See a doctor without the typical emergency room wait or expense. www.lassenmedical.com redbluff.mercy.org Volunteer with the St. Elizabeth Auxiliary 4 hours a week can make a difference in the lives of others and give back to your community. Call Eileen at 529.8037 www.redbluff.mercy.org