72 THE QUEENS COURIER • WELLNESS • OCTOBER 12, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
wellness
Feeling stressed? Have some salt
Stress. No one wants it, but we all
experience it from time to time. Higher
levels of stress can cause problems at
work and at home. But stress is not just
hard on your mental well-being; it is
also hard on your body and can lead to
many negative health outcomes.
Stress levels can also increase signifi
Charitable help provides access to life-saving care
Elaine could be described as a woman
with great determination and patience.
She experienced kidney failure seven
years ago and faced the reality of life with
a chronic illness. She began receiving dialysis,
a four-hour treatment three times a
week, and anxiously awaited news of a
kidney match. Th is miracle call happened
earlier this year and Elaine was successfully
transplanted on March 22, 2017.
Elaine’s journey to receive a kidney
transplant gradually unfolded thanks to
her determination and the support of
many people. She received care from
her family and loved ones, who looked
aft er her and shuttled her to and from
many dialysis visits. She underwent gastric
bypass surgery and worked closely
with a dietitian to help her hit the target
weight necessary to be eligible for transplant.
She was a fortunate recipient of a
donated kidney. Lastly, for seven years
Elaine received fi nancial support from a
charity to aff ord her insurance premiums.
Th is fi nancial support, known as charitable
assistance, is a vital safety net that
Elaine and approximately 15 percent of
all dialysis patients need to maintain coverage.
Due to the signifi cant amount of
time required of dialysis, many people
with kidney failure are unable to continue
working. Many patients rely on charitable
assistance to help cover insurance premiums
and other health-related expenses.
For patients like Elaine, charitable
assistance helps ensure continuous care
and allows them to choose the insurance
coverage they think is best for them at
this most critical time. Without it, many
patients may lose their private insurance
coverage and with it, a number of other
benefi ts, including access to the specialists
they need to see.
Recently, a number of insurance companies
have waged an attack against charitable
assistance. In fact, thousands of
patients have been pushed out of their
health insurance plans, facing the horrible
reality of having their coverage taken
away when they need it most.
Access to insurance, quality care and
continuity of coverage for everyone, especially
those with severe health issues, must
be protected. If not, one group consistently
loses: patients. Patients like Elaine.
For more success stories like Elaine’s,
there is an equal and signifi cant need for
transplant donors - living or deceased.
Th ere are 97,000 people on the kidney
transplant waiting list and the average
wait time for a kidney donor match is
three and a half years. Nineteen thousand
people received a kidney transplant
in 2016; however, that still leaves many
more people on the list, waiting to receive
the phone call that they have been successfully
matched with a donor.
As the health care conversation continues
in this country, there should be honest
discussions about how patients access
high-quality care, are able to visit the doctors
and specialists they need, and are
allowed to choose the insurance option
that best meets their needs. Most importantly,
patients in fi nancial need should
be able to get assistance, with appropriate
guardrails, to help aff ord the costs.
To learn more, visit DaVita.com/
Transplant.
Courtesy BPT
cantly when economic times are
tough. In England, the British Health
and Social Care Information Centre
found that stress had increased by 47
percent during that country’s recession
and that stress was the single biggest
cause of sickness in the UK, aff ecting
20 percent of the population. Professor
Cary Cooper of Lancaster University, an
expert on stress, was alarmed and told
Th e Independent, “I have never seen fi gures
like this before. Stress is a trigger
mechanism for a whole range of conditions,
from heart attacks to immune
system disorders, mental illness and
depression and anxiety.”
Everyone is familiar with comfort
foods, but the key comfort foods that
have been shown to actually reduce
stress all contain salt. Stress is characterized
in the human body by high levels of
the hormone cortisol, referred to as the
“stress hormone.” Scientifi c research has
shown, in animals and in humans, that
increased levels of salt consumption are
eff ective in reducing levels of cortisol.
Research from the University of
Haifa, published in the science journal
Appetite, confi rmed the relationship
between salt and stress in humans.
Researchers found an inverse correlation
between salt and depression/stress,
especially in women. Craving salty
foods may very well be a biological
defense mechanism we evolved to cope
with daily stress.
Th e researchers reviewed data from
the U.S. National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey (NHANES) using
10,000 individuals and demonstrated
that depression and stress were higher
in individuals who consumed less
salt, a trend more prevalent in women
than men. Th ey noted that the relationship
of higher depression with lower salt
intake in humans was consistent with
the results of other animal studies. Th ey
also found that young people, up to the
age of 19, selectively choose foods that
are higher in salt, indicating a natural
feedback mechanism driving them to
consume higher salt foods and rewarding
them with more vigorous growth.
Other good stress-relieving tips
include getting a good night’s sleep and
taking time off to focus on relaxation
and regular exercise, which has added
health benefi ts. Of course, with exercise,
another benefi t of salt becomes apparent,
as this vital nutrient is necessary to
remain properly hydrated and healthy.
When you sweat, you lose not just water
but also electrolytes (including sodium)
which need to be replenished.
Th e fact remains that whether they
are called comfort foods or mood stabilizers,
research indicates salty foods
are eff ective at making us feel better
and reducing our heightened stress levels,
a common condition in today’s
ever-changing world. So, the next time
you fi nish a stressful day and want to
wind down and relax, don’t be surprised
if you instinctively reach for a
salty snack.
Courtesy BPT