Thinkin About Labor Day

As much as  dreaded starting another semester of grad school, not because of the work involved mind you, but the time management and strict schedule that I have to cede to so that I can get everything done in one day.   It is burdensome sometimes and I get burned out pretty darn fast.  I actually skipped running this evening to cook, blog, and play with my baby, while listening to the birds.  I can’t help but say that I am pretty excited to get my research started up again.  I do things like that on Friday nights. I sometimes have that glass of wine or a nice cold beer too.   Although simple, I am blessed that I am able to do them.  I have a body that lets me accomplish the tasks and enjoyable activities because I have health.  Health is definitely one of those elements that we take for granted and don’t even blink an eye at it until it’s gone or missing temporarily due to the stupid hangover or whatever little bug is floating around.  There might be someday when we do not have the physical capacity to just blow these minor discomforts off. 

And this week, I learned that although we have systems in place to treat any maladies we may have, but not necessarily because of care, but as my instructor says…”It’s a business.”  Unfortunately, prevention strategies are not part of this business although this strategy does not save money and so many policy makers and business people invested in medical treatment and technology are much more interested in making money.  We each walk around with dollar signs on our foreheads. After reading some of the articles I read this week, I really believe that there is money to be made on poor health, which in turn makes the rest of us financially poor. It really is sick and the only cure is to prevent it from happening. No matter how small, anything will work.  According to Stephen Woolf, prevention spending provides much more value with possible net savings, meaning  that prevention strategies give you more health per dollar spent as opposed to just testing and treatment.  A balance of these health strategies would provide us a value that we can swallow.  More  more health insurance companies are jumping on board to give their customers this option, but it can be better and I will remember this the next time I am shopping for health insurance.

So I hope this labor day,  you relaxed ate some salads with all those steaks and thought about how hard you work and how your good health helps you pay more and more to a system that sees you as a dollar sign or two.

Reference:  Woolf, Stephen.  2010. A Closer Look at the Economic Argument for Disease Prevention.  Journal of the American Medical Association. 301 (5). http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/301/5/536.

Your challenge this week….Take a seasonal veggie like cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, or eggplants or peppers and make it into a salad.  It can be your disease prevention salad.

Recipe

Pod Bean Salad

2 pounds of pod beans like green beans

1 can cannellini, kidney, or garbanzo beans (rinsed)

¼ - ½ cup of good olive oil

½ chopped red onion

Juice from 1 or 2 lemons

Zest from half a lemon

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp dill weed

1 tbl chopped mint or fresh oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup of halved cherry tomatoes

1 handful of crumbled feta cheese

Method:

Blanch beans in boiling water for about 1-2 minutes.  They should be bright and still slightly crisp.  Place beans in an ice water bath to stop the cooking process.  Mix dressing everything except beans, tomatoes, and feta in a bowl.  Add beans, tomatoes and feta and mix gently. Place in fridge until ready to serve.