38 THE QUEENS COURIER • WELLNESS • SEPTEMBER 21, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
wellness
6 simple steps to avoid distracted driving
Mobile phones have become an essential
part of life for most people, helping
them stay connected and increase productivity.
However, this technology can
also be a distraction when driving, which
puts everyone on the road at risk.
More than one-quarter of all car crashes
involve phone use, both with handsets
and hands-free, the National Safety
Council reports. Considering many states
and countries don’t yet compile and
report data on cellphone use following a
crash, this number is likely much higher.
Distracted driving isn’t just an issue for
young adults. High technology use means
this is a problem across generations. For
professionals in particular, the expectation
to stay productive and reachable
means a constant temptation to use cellphones
when driving.
Recognizing the ethical and liability
issues that arise when employees drive
while distracted, employers across the
country have begun implementing distracted
driving policies. Typically, these
policies prohibit employees from using
mobile phones while driving on company
time.
In January 2017, the NSC reported
that Cargill was the largest privately held
company to prohibit the use of mobile
devices, including hands-free technology,
while an employee is driving on behalf
of the company. Cargill’s Chairman and
CEO David MacLennan just marked the
one-year anniversary of following the
policy.
“I had to try the policy myself fi rst,” says
MacLennan. “Once I knew what it would
take to go completely cellphone free in
my car, I could then make it work for our
entire company.”
Based on his experience, MacLennan
off ers these six simple steps for anyone
looking to eliminate distracted driving
yet stay productive and responsive to
your job.
1. Auto response
Use a free automated response app to
let callers know that you’re driving and
can’t take the call. You can personalize
the response so incoming calls or texts
receive a text message saying you’re on
the road.
2. DND
If you’re driving a vehicle outfi tted with
communication technology, use its “do
not disturb” feature to unplug from calls
and texts while behind the wheel.
3. Block drive times
Just as you schedule meetings, use
shared calendars to block times you’ll be
driving. Th is alerts anyone else connected
to your calendar when you’ll be out
of touch.
4. Out of sight, out of mind
A study by AT&T found that 62 percent
of drivers keep their phones within
reach in the car. Put yours where you
can’t see or reach it, such as in the back
seat.
5. Pull over
If you must take a call while on the
road, let it go to voicemail and pull over
in a safe location to return the call. Plan
pull-over “cellphone stops” along your
route if needed.
6. Avoid all distractions
Cellphones aren’t the only cause of distracted
driving. Eating, grooming and
reading are activities people try to tackle
while driving. Be smart and simply stay
focused on the road.
Driving safely should be everyone’s top
concern when behind the wheel. Th ese
simple steps can make it easier to resist
the temptation to pick up the phone or do
another activity that can wait until you’ve
arrived, safely, at your destination.
Courtesy BPT
The key to personalized vitamins: Understanding
medication and nutrient interactions
Technology, science and research are
turning our world into a personalized
powerhouse at our fi ngertips, including
products made specifi cally for us delivered
to our doorsteps. We wear personal
fi tness trackers to track our steps,
sleep and heart rates. Personal trainers
are commonplace to design fi tness routines
that are made just for us. Today, we
understand that our family history, lifestyle
choices and even genetics are predictive
of our health needs and this information
is integrated into our health care
plans. With all of this personalization, our
nutritional supplement options still deliver
the same cookie-cutter solutions found
in store aisles.
According to New Nutrition Business
and its report “10 Key Trends in Food,
Nutrition and Health 2017,” personalized
nutrition is the next big nutrition movement,
as people want individually tailored
diets. Personalized or precision nutrition
is nutrition health care that considers
the uniqueness of an individual to provide
recommendations that are tailored
to their needs and specifi c goals. When
creating a personalized nutrition plan,
it’s important to take into account holistic
well-being; however, deciding what is
truly right for you can be confusing.
“Personalized nutrition shouldn’t be
taken lightly. It’s not a catchy-named
pack of vitamins or nutrition plans curated
from a few questions about how you
want to feel, it needs to include everything
that makes you unique, down to
the medications prescribed by your doctor,”
said Michael Roizen, MD, chief
wellness offi cer at the Cleveland Clinic,
co-author of the new book “Age-Proof:
Living Longer without Running Out of
Money or Breaking a Hip” and Vitamin
Packs science advisory board member.
“Technology is creating amazing advances
in personalized nutrition, but it’s only
as good as the data it can collect and the
information you are willing to share.”
Medication and Nutrition
Interactions
Nearly 50 percent of the U.S. population
is taking prescription medications,
according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, and 68
percent of Americans are taking dietary
supplements, based on the Council for
Responsible Nutrition (CRN) estimations.
With several new personalized vitamin
subscription services launching, it’s
important to select one that takes into
account your diet, physical fi tness, sleep
patterns, lifestyle habits and family health
history as well as your medication use.
Some drugs can deplete nutrients while
other medications add nutrients to the
body. One subscription service, Vitamin
Packs, delivers customized vitamins and
nutritional supplements in daily packs
based on what it learns during a free
Nutritional Assessment. Its technology
cross-examines more than 650 possible
medication interactions and recommends
only what an individual’s body needs.
Mixing Meds and
Nutritional Supplements
• Taking a statin? You will want to add
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) because
the average blood concentration of
CoQ10 in blood plasma decreases
within 30 days by an average of 50
percent.
• Taking a medication for allergies or
infl ammation? Consider adding vitamin
D and calcium. Th ese types of
medications may reduce the absorption
of calcium, which can lead to
unnecessary bone loss. Supplementing
with vitamin D and calcium may support
bone health and adding vitamin
D with calcium can have a greater
impact on calcium absorption.
• Taking a blood pressure medication?
You should know that taking an iron
supplement two hours before or aft er
taking this type of medication can
decrease its absorption rate.
• Taking a synthetic thyroid hormone?
Look at your supplement facts to be
sure you’re avoiding soy, iron and calcium.
Soy, iron and calcium, if taken
within four hours of taking a synthetic
thyroid hormone, may reduce the
absorption rate.
Personalized nutrition, while exciting
and impactful, should be focused on the
whole person. Be sure to consult your
health care practitioner before starting
any dietary supplement regimen.
Courtesy BPT