Eating plenty of vegetables is a great dieting strategy. Vegetables have all the essential nutrients and vitamins, they are perfect for healthy living. But, do all vegetables  have equal benefits as a part of Candida diet? Candida diet puts a lot of stress upon what types of vegetables you should eat. To understand which type of vegetables are apt you must first know the basic goal of the Candida diet.

Candida diet provides the best course of action against a health condition known as Candidiasis which is caused by the microorganism Candida albicans. This is a type of yeast that develops in the intestinal system. Candida albicans ideally develop in the intestinal system which has friendly types of bacteria responsible for keeping the body healthy. Some factors such as stress, diet high in processed foods, sugary foods, or overuse of steroids, antibiotics and oral contraceptives can cause a rapid growth of Candida. When there is overgrowth of Candida, the organisms release toxins into the body which leads to many health hazards. With the Candida diet food supply for the organisms is cut off, thus stopping its growth and multiplication. Some of the main culprits for Candida growth are vinegar, sugar, glutinous grains, fermented foods and carbohydrates. Some vegetables having high starch levels and complex grains are eliminated from the Candida diet plans. Though such vegetables do not break into sugar quickly, but in time do turn into sugar and feed the microorganisms. So, which vegetables should you eat when you are on a Candida diet?

• Bulb Vegetables: Vegetables such as garlic, chives, leeks, scallions, onions, shallots and chestnuts are great choices for Candida sufferers. This type of vegetable can add flavour to the meals. Garlic and onions also contain antifungal properties that help combating Candida albicans.
• Inflorescent Vegetables: Broccoli, artichokes, broccoli rabe and cauliflower can be safely consumed.
• Leaf Vegetables: This group of vegetables including Brussels sprouts, arugula, cabbage, collards, chicory, lettuce, endive, spinach and kale can be used to create healthy and delightful salads.
• Fruit Vegetables: Avocados, eggplant, cucumbers, peppers, okra and squash are ideal for yeast free meals.
• Stalk vegetables: Vegetables such as asparagus, chard, celery, kohlrabi and fennels are also ideal for people suffering from Candida.

The Root vegetables and Tuber vegetables should be eaten with care. Most of these vegetables contain starch that can be harmful for your Candida diet.

ABOUT AUTHOR: Olivia Kane  is a freelance content writer by profession. She finds immense pleasure in writing health related article including candida diet.

Image: Piyachok Thawornmat / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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What type of Diet should be taken in Hypertension

Why Plan Diet for Underweight?

Enlarge iStockphoto.com

Sure, gussy it up. But be careful.

iStockphoto.com

Sure, gussy it up. But be careful.

We've all seen those bathtub refinishing ads that promise a glossy new surface on the dingy old tub.

But a solvent used to make that transformation has killed at least 13 people who used it to strip bathtubs from 2006 to 2011, according to a new study. The chemical, methylene chloride, is sold as a solvent and paint stripper both to professionals and in dozens of do-it-yourself products sold at home improvement stores.

"I just went to my local hardware store and saw the same product," says Ken Rosenman. He's chief of the division of occupational and environmental medicine at Michigan State University and an author on the study, which was published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

"The actual product said do not use in a bathroom," Rosenman says. That's because the fumes are very toxic, and it's impossible to ventilate a bathroom well enough to safely use it. That's what killed the 13 people. But that warning comes in very small print, he notes."I think there's a general concept, 'Hey, if I can buy this in my regular hardware store, I can use this.' "

 

All 13 people who died were working as professional bathtub refinishers, using methylene chloride to remove old paint before resurfacing a tub with polyurethane paint. Bathtub refinishing has become a popular home remodeling option, because it costs a few hundred dollars compared with the thousands required to remove and replace an aged tub.

A Michigan man who died in 2010 while stripping a tub had used about 6 ounces of a stripper that contained 60 percent to 100 percent methylene chloride. His exposure to fumes as calculated by the Michigan State researchers was 637 to 1,062 parts per million in the bathroom, and 11,618 to 19,364 parts per million in the tub.

That's way over the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's short-term exposure limit of 125 parts per million, or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's dangerous to life and health level of 2,300 ppm.

Alternatives to methylene chloride as a paint stripper include acetate, mineral spirits and caustic pastes, Rosenman says, but they don't work as quickly.

The deaths highlight a problem with all the cans and bottles in the hardware store, Rosenman says: There are very few requirements for testing and labeling of chemicals sold for the do-it-yourself market.

He discovered the deaths while researching workplace-related accidents for NIOSH. Worker exposure to toxic chemicals is regulated, he notes, but do-it-yourselfers don't get the same protections.

"If you look at your typical whatever in the hardware store, there's no labeling requirement."

So DIY carefully.

Eating plenty of vegetables is a great dieting strategy. Vegetables have all the essential nutrients and vitamins, they are perfect for healthy living. But, do all vegetables  have equal benefits as a part of Candida diet? Candida diet puts a lot of stress upon what types of vegetables you should eat. To understand which type of vegetables are apt you must first know the basic goal of the Candida diet.

Candida diet provides the best course of action against a health condition known as Candidiasis which is caused by the microorganism Candida albicans. This is a type of yeast that develops in the intestinal system. Candida albicans ideally develop in the intestinal system which has friendly types of bacteria responsible for keeping the body healthy. Some factors such as stress, diet high in processed foods, sugary foods, or overuse of steroids, antibiotics and oral contraceptives can cause a rapid growth of Candida. When there is overgrowth of Candida, the organisms release toxins into the body which leads to many health hazards. With the Candida diet food supply for the organisms is cut off, thus stopping its growth and multiplication. Some of the main culprits for Candida growth are vinegar, sugar, glutinous grains, fermented foods and carbohydrates. Some vegetables having high starch levels and complex grains are eliminated from the Candida diet plans. Though such vegetables do not break into sugar quickly, but in time do turn into sugar and feed the microorganisms. So, which vegetables should you eat when you are on a Candida diet?

• Bulb Vegetables: Vegetables such as garlic, chives, leeks, scallions, onions, shallots and chestnuts are great choices for Candida sufferers. This type of vegetable can add flavour to the meals. Garlic and onions also contain antifungal properties that help combating Candida albicans.
• Inflorescent Vegetables: Broccoli, artichokes, broccoli rabe and cauliflower can be safely consumed.
• Leaf Vegetables: This group of vegetables including Brussels sprouts, arugula, cabbage, collards, chicory, lettuce, endive, spinach and kale can be used to create healthy and delightful salads.
• Fruit Vegetables: Avocados, eggplant, cucumbers, peppers, okra and squash are ideal for yeast free meals.
• Stalk vegetables: Vegetables such as asparagus, chard, celery, kohlrabi and fennels are also ideal for people suffering from Candida.

The Root vegetables and Tuber vegetables should be eaten with care. Most of these vegetables contain starch that can be harmful for your Candida diet.

ABOUT AUTHOR: Olivia Kane  is a freelance content writer by profession. She finds immense pleasure in writing health related article including candida diet.

Image: Piyachok Thawornmat / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Related posts:

Candida Infection: Natural Treatment

Some Natural Remedies for Gas and Bloating

Diet Plan for NIDDM

Diet Plan for Hepatitis Patients

Know About DASH Diet

Some Important Points in Cirrhosis Diet

Diet Plan for Diabetes

Diet Plan for Typhoid

What type of Diet should be taken in Hypertension

Why Plan Diet for Underweight?

Enlarge iStockphoto.com

Will it look as good with a scar?

iStockphoto.com

Will it look as good with a scar?

Thinking about getting a body piercing? Who hasn't, right?

Well, one thing to consider is that about 20 percent of the time there are complications from the procedure, such as infection or scarring, a fresh review of the medical literature finds.

Piercings of the bellybutton and upper ear are especially prone to problems.

"I think piercing can be quite dangerous, actually," says Anne Laumann, a professor of dermatology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, who was a co-author of the review. "I would not encourage it in a teenager."

 

Indeed, a 20 percent complication rate with a medical procedure would make many patients think twice.

But given the popularity of piercing, that's a message that might not keep a young person from putting metal to flesh. So Laumann hopes that people contemplating piercings will become educated enough on the health issues that they can avoid the most common problems.

Prevention is paramount. And enemy No. 1 is infection. "You've got an open wound," Laumann told Shots. "You've got germs on your skin, like we all do. That's where the problem comes."

Most piercing-related infections are local and get better with time, the analysis found. Still, it's important to make sure that the person doing the piercing uses sterile equipment and cleans the piercing site, Laumann says. Then it's up to the piercee to keep the site clean.

Bellybutton piercings can take a year to heal, according to the analysis, which was published in the American Journal of Clinical Dermatology. Maybe that's why bellybutton piercings are particularly prone to infection. "Is it terrible? It's not terrible," Laumann asks. "Is it comfortable? It's not comfortable."

The study recommends that during that healing period, owners of navel piercing refrain from sit-ups, and cover the area during exercise or intimate relations to reduce risk.

She's also down on piercing the upper ear, because it's easy for the cartilage there to get infected. That can lead to necrosis, or death, of the cartilage, and collapse of the upper ear. Piercing the earlobe doesn't cause those problems, Laumann says, because there's no cartilage involved.

OK, what else should you know about? Scarring, for one. Some people form large, disfiguring keloid scars after piercing. (The nasty lump on the earlobe in this slide show of problems is a piercing-caused keloid.) Permanent hole marks or bumps are more typical.

Then there's the fact that piercing jewelry needs to be removed before medical procedures, playing contact sports, and other activities. Removing the jewelry frequently for those reasons, or to hide it from bosses or relatives, can slow healing and increase infection risk. When it comes to nipple piercings, the study reports dryly, "The recommendation is to remove jewelry before breastfeeding."

Despite her warnings, Laumann is philosophical about the fact that the fad for piercing shows no sign of abating. And her paper suggests that body piercers take a careful history of their customers to identify factors, such as some allergies, that may predispose someone to have complications.

And she does see some positive applications. Right now she's working on using tongue piercing jewelry to help quadriplegics drive wheelchairs and computer cursors.

What is short term disability insurance?

Short term disability insurance plan pays a percentage (generally in between 40% to 70%) your basic salary if you become sick/disabled and can not perform your duty/work for a short period of time (generally 9 to 52 weeks). You can buy short term disability insurance plan through your employer or you can buy your own directly from a company that provide short term disability insurance.

How short term disability insurance work?

If you have short term disability insurance (through your employer or you may buy on your own), you pay a monthly premium. When you become sick (due to illness or injury) and can not perform your job, you apply for a benefit under the short term disability insurance plan. To be eligible for benefit you must furnish proof of your illness/injury/disability from your treating doctor.

Some employer may require you to use all your sick days before you become eligible for a benefit of short term disability insurance.

How much and how long does short term disability insurance pays?

Typically short term disability insurance pays 40-70% of your pre-disability pay. For example if you earn USD 1000 per week and you buy short term disability insurance plan for 50% coverage, you will be paid USD 500 per week for your sickness duration after fulfilling all the laid down criteria. Generally short term disability insurance pays for 9 weeks to less than a year (52 weeks).

Is there any difference between different short term disability insurance?

There are some differences in different short term disability insurance.

• In short term disability insurance definition of disability is inability to work in your own job, but you may be able to work in other jobs. But in general disability means inability to work in any job.
• Waiting period may vary in different short term disability insurance from a week to up to 6 months. In general the longer the waiting period the lower is the premium. The waiting period for different types of disability may also be different with same short term disability insurance plan.
• Different short term disability insurance plans may have different benefit rates or same short term disability insurance plan may have different benefit rates in different time, i.e. in the beginning few weeks’ higher benefits, but later on the benefit rate may reduce. Some short term disability insurance plans may change benefit rates during the benefits period.
• Different short term disability insurance plans may have different exemptions, for example, most short term disability insurance plans of different insurance companies exempt disability benefits for attempt to suicide, disability due to attempting to commit crime, war, drug abuse etc. Some preexisting conditions may also be exempted from disability benefits. If you buy group short term disability insurance plan through your employer, “on the job injuries” that are covered under workers compensation insurance are also not covered under short term disability insurance plans.

Consider all the above mentioned points before buying short term disability insurance, on your own or through your employer.

Image: Teerapun / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Long Term Health Benefits of Breastfeeding in Infants

Where to Learn About Health Insurance?

iStockphoto.com

The fight over who pays for birth control isn't confined to Congress or the campaign trail. It's burning in federal court, too.

The Obama administration has now officially responded to the lawsuit filed in November by North Carolina's Belmont Abbey College, alleging that the new rules requiring no-cost contraceptive coverage for women violate their religious teachings. Belmont Abbey is a Catholic college founded by Benedictine monks.

The lawsuit charged that the rules "run roughshod over Belmont Abbey College's religious beliefs, and the beliefs of millions of other Americans by forcing them to pay for contraception, sterilization, abortion, and related education and counseling."

The administration's lawyers, however, respond that the rules â€" even before the changes announced last week â€" do nothing of the kind. And not for the reason you might think.

 

The fact is, according to the Justice Department's motion to dismiss the case, Belmont Abbey College's health plan apparently is not now, and was not in November, subject to the contraceptive coverage requirement.

That's because it seems to have been "grandfathered" under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, meaning it has not changed benefits or cost-sharing enough since the act was passed to be considered a new plan. As such, the college's health plan is not subject to the contraceptive coverage rule, either the original or modified one.

"This is simply not a case where plaintiff is 'forced to choose between forgoing lawful activity and risking substantial legal sanctions,'" the Justice Department wrote.

And even if, in fact, the plan has changed and is subject to the rules, as a religious institution it will have at least an additional year to come into compliance under the modifications announced last week. That makes it "not yet ripe" in legal parlance, for a court decision, since no injury is imminent.

That, not surprisingly, did not go over well with the college's lawyers.

"The Administration is taking the remarkable position that announcing future plans at a press conference means the courts should ignore what the law on the books actually says," sais Hannah Smith, senior counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing Belmont Abbey College and several other religious institutions suing over the rule. "Since when does 'Trust me, I'm from the government' suspend the laws of the land?' "

What is short term disability insurance?

Short term disability insurance plan pays a percentage (generally in between 40% to 70%) your basic salary if you become sick/disabled and can not perform your duty/work for a short period of time (generally 9 to 52 weeks). You can buy short term disability insurance plan through your employer or you can buy your own directly from a company that provide short term disability insurance.

How short term disability insurance work?

If you have short term disability insurance (through your employer or you may buy on your own), you pay a monthly premium. When you become sick (due to illness or injury) and can not perform your job, you apply for a benefit under the short term disability insurance plan. To be eligible for benefit you must furnish proof of your illness/injury/disability from your treating doctor.

Some employer may require you to use all your sick days before you become eligible for a benefit of short term disability insurance.

How much and how long does short term disability insurance pays?

Typically short term disability insurance pays 40-70% of your pre-disability pay. For example if you earn USD 1000 per week and you buy short term disability insurance plan for 50% coverage, you will be paid USD 500 per week for your sickness duration after fulfilling all the laid down criteria. Generally short term disability insurance pays for 9 weeks to less than a year (52 weeks).

Is there any difference between different short term disability insurance?

There are some differences in different short term disability insurance.

• In short term disability insurance definition of disability is inability to work in your own job, but you may be able to work in other jobs. But in general disability means inability to work in any job.
• Waiting period may vary in different short term disability insurance from a week to up to 6 months. In general the longer the waiting period the lower is the premium. The waiting period for different types of disability may also be different with same short term disability insurance plan.
• Different short term disability insurance plans may have different benefit rates or same short term disability insurance plan may have different benefit rates in different time, i.e. in the beginning few weeks’ higher benefits, but later on the benefit rate may reduce. Some short term disability insurance plans may change benefit rates during the benefits period.
• Different short term disability insurance plans may have different exemptions, for example, most short term disability insurance plans of different insurance companies exempt disability benefits for attempt to suicide, disability due to attempting to commit crime, war, drug abuse etc. Some preexisting conditions may also be exempted from disability benefits. If you buy group short term disability insurance plan through your employer, “on the job injuries” that are covered under workers compensation insurance are also not covered under short term disability insurance plans.

Consider all the above mentioned points before buying short term disability insurance, on your own or through your employer.

Image: Teerapun / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Related posts:

Four Tips to Buy Right Health Insurance

Should You Get Health Insurance Through Your Employer?

Important Points to Remember While Buying Health Insurance

Health Insurance for Young

Why you should have Health Insurance?

Are you planning to buy Health Insurance?

How to Get Best-Fit Health Insurance Plan for Yourself?

Why Many People Do Not Buy Health Insurance?

Long Term Health Benefits of Breastfeeding in Infants

Where to Learn About Health Insurance?

Enlarge Pierre Virot/WHO

Virologists and other scientists are meeting at the World Health Organization's Geneva headquarters to talk about the bird flu.

Pierre Virot/WHO

Virologists and other scientists are meeting at the World Health Organization's Geneva headquarters to talk about the bird flu.

A closed-door summit on controversial bird flu research starts today, and the newly released guest list reveals that the event will be dominated by virologists.

Erasmus Medical Center's Ron Fouchier, one of the virologists whose experiments with bird flu drew attention in the first place, will be there. So will his boss, Albert Osterhaus, head of the virology department at Erasmus in the Netherlands.

The gathering at the World Health Organization in Geneva also includes one expert on research ethics. And there will be a representative of an advisory committee that recommended keeping certain key details of two bird flu experiments secret, because of fears they could provide bioterrorists with a recipe for how to make a deadly virus that could cause a devastating pandemic.

 

Editors from science journals will also be there, because they want to publish manuscripts describing those studies in some form. And a few government health and science officials will attend as well.

But mostly, the room will be full of virologists from around the world, including directors of the WHO collaborating centers on influenza from the U.S., Australia, the United Kingdom, China and Japan.

One blogger quipped that it reads like a "WHO's Who of global influenza specialists."

The highly anticipated event has been described as a fact-finding session that will focus on understanding how the bird flu studies done at Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands and at the University of Wisconsin were performed and overseen by the relevant authorities.

The study done in the Netherlands, in particular, has raised an international outcry, as some critics charge that scientists took a virus that can be deadly to people and changed it so that it can now spread through the air like seasonal flu. They say the new virus is potentially so dangerous that it should be moved to a lab with the highest security possible, the kind of place that houses smallpox and Ebola.

Experiments using the lab-altered flu viruses are on hold at the moment, because of a voluntary moratorium by the scientists. And researchers have agreed not to create any more viruses like them, for now.

There are major questions left to be answered: Should the papers describing the studies be published in full? If not, how will sensitive details be released to legitimate flu researchers who need them for public health research? Can this line of bird flu research go on after the temporary moratorium ends? If so, under what conditions in terms of lab safety and under whose oversight?

Whether or not this event will produce any answers isn't clear. It's closed to the press, but a WHO official will brief reporters on Friday after it's over and the participants are headed home.

What is short term disability insurance?

Short term disability insurance plan pays a percentage (generally in between 40% to 70%) your basic salary if you become sick/disabled and can not perform your duty/work for a short period of time (generally 9 to 52 weeks). You can buy short term disability insurance plan through your employer or you can buy your own directly from a company that provide short term disability insurance.

How short term disability insurance work?

If you have short term disability insurance (through your employer or you may buy on your own), you pay a monthly premium. When you become sick (due to illness or injury) and can not perform your job, you apply for a benefit under the short term disability insurance plan. To be eligible for benefit you must furnish proof of your illness/injury/disability from your treating doctor.

Some employer may require you to use all your sick days before you become eligible for a benefit of short term disability insurance.

How much and how long does short term disability insurance pays?

Typically short term disability insurance pays 40-70% of your pre-disability pay. For example if you earn USD 1000 per week and you buy short term disability insurance plan for 50% coverage, you will be paid USD 500 per week for your sickness duration after fulfilling all the laid down criteria. Generally short term disability insurance pays for 9 weeks to less than a year (52 weeks).

Is there any difference between different short term disability insurance?

There are some differences in different short term disability insurance.

• In short term disability insurance definition of disability is inability to work in your own job, but you may be able to work in other jobs. But in general disability means inability to work in any job.
• Waiting period may vary in different short term disability insurance from a week to up to 6 months. In general the longer the waiting period the lower is the premium. The waiting period for different types of disability may also be different with same short term disability insurance plan.
• Different short term disability insurance plans may have different benefit rates or same short term disability insurance plan may have different benefit rates in different time, i.e. in the beginning few weeks’ higher benefits, but later on the benefit rate may reduce. Some short term disability insurance plans may change benefit rates during the benefits period.
• Different short term disability insurance plans may have different exemptions, for example, most short term disability insurance plans of different insurance companies exempt disability benefits for attempt to suicide, disability due to attempting to commit crime, war, drug abuse etc. Some preexisting conditions may also be exempted from disability benefits. If you buy group short term disability insurance plan through your employer, “on the job injuries” that are covered under workers compensation insurance are also not covered under short term disability insurance plans.

Consider all the above mentioned points before buying short term disability insurance, on your own or through your employer.

Image: Teerapun / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Related posts:

Four Tips to Buy Right Health Insurance

Should You Get Health Insurance Through Your Employer?

Important Points to Remember While Buying Health Insurance

Health Insurance for Young

Why you should have Health Insurance?

Are you planning to buy Health Insurance?

How to Get Best-Fit Health Insurance Plan for Yourself?

Why Many People Do Not Buy Health Insurance?

Long Term Health Benefits of Breastfeeding in Infants

Where to Learn About Health Insurance?

Enlarge Matthew Scherf/iStockphoto.com

A cesarean section may not be risky for a small preemie than a vaginal birth.

Matthew Scherf/iStockphoto.com

A cesarean section may not be risky for a small preemie than a vaginal birth.

When a fetus isn't growing as expected, doctors get worried. Often they decide to deliver a baby like that early by cesarean section, figuring it's the safer way to go.

But C-sections aren't always best for baby, according to new research.

Preemies who were small for their gestational age did better when they were delivered vaginally, researchers found. The babies delivered by C-section were 30 percent more likely to have trouble breathing, a big problem in preemies.

That runs against current thinking that it's best to get these fragile babies out quickly via C-section, then whisk them off to the neonatal intensive care unit. The study's results, though not yet published, are almost certain to become ammunition in ongoing efforts to reduce the number of C-sections performed in the U.S.

 

"We think that the vaginal delivery process must do something to help those kids' lungs mature, whether it's the contractions or the act of transitioning more slowly from inside to outside," says Erika Werner, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Johns Hopkins. She's the lead researcher on the study, whose findings she presented Thursday at the annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in Dallas.

The researchers looked at the health of 2,560 babies who were small for their gestational age, and who were delivered between 25 and 34 weeks of pregnancy in New York City hospitals from 1995 to 2003. (Birth before 37 weeks is considered preterm). Forty-six percent were delivered vaginally and 54 percent by C-section.

The C-section babies didn't do any better when it came to common complications of premature birth, such as brain bleeds or seizures. And they had a higher risk of respiratory distress syndrome.

Preemies are much more likely to be delivered by C-section than are full-term babies. In 2009, 46 percent of preemies were born by C-section, compared to 29 percent of full term babies, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

Being small for gestational age can be caused by a mother's high blood pressure, problems with the placenta and chromosomal problems like Down syndrome. It increases a child's risk of health and developmental problems. Typically about 10 percent of babies are small for gestational age.

Werner is also studying the effect of C-sections on preemies who weren't small for their gestational age, and says she's found no benefit. "Those kids, besides having more respiratory distress, also were more likely to have a low Apgar score," she told Shots. The Apgar test measures a baby's breathing, heart rate, and muscle tone right after birth, and is used to judge how well the baby tolerated birth.

"These findings overturn conventional wisdom that C-sections have few or no risks for the baby," Joe Leigh Simpson, a senior vice president for the March of Dimes, said in a statement yesterday. The organization has led efforts to persuade doctors and mothers to avoid C-sections when possible. "Although in many instances a C-section is medically necessary for the health of the baby or the mother, this research shows that in some cases the surgery may not be beneficial for some infants."

What is short term disability insurance?

Short term disability insurance plan pays a percentage (generally in between 40% to 70%) your basic salary if you become sick/disabled and can not perform your duty/work for a short period of time (generally 9 to 52 weeks). You can buy short term disability insurance plan through your employer or you can buy your own directly from a company that provide short term disability insurance.

How short term disability insurance work?

If you have short term disability insurance (through your employer or you may buy on your own), you pay a monthly premium. When you become sick (due to illness or injury) and can not perform your job, you apply for a benefit under the short term disability insurance plan. To be eligible for benefit you must furnish proof of your illness/injury/disability from your treating doctor.

Some employer may require you to use all your sick days before you become eligible for a benefit of short term disability insurance.

How much and how long does short term disability insurance pays?

Typically short term disability insurance pays 40-70% of your pre-disability pay. For example if you earn USD 1000 per week and you buy short term disability insurance plan for 50% coverage, you will be paid USD 500 per week for your sickness duration after fulfilling all the laid down criteria. Generally short term disability insurance pays for 9 weeks to less than a year (52 weeks).

Is there any difference between different short term disability insurance?

There are some differences in different short term disability insurance.

• In short term disability insurance definition of disability is inability to work in your own job, but you may be able to work in other jobs. But in general disability means inability to work in any job.
• Waiting period may vary in different short term disability insurance from a week to up to 6 months. In general the longer the waiting period the lower is the premium. The waiting period for different types of disability may also be different with same short term disability insurance plan.
• Different short term disability insurance plans may have different benefit rates or same short term disability insurance plan may have different benefit rates in different time, i.e. in the beginning few weeks’ higher benefits, but later on the benefit rate may reduce. Some short term disability insurance plans may change benefit rates during the benefits period.
• Different short term disability insurance plans may have different exemptions, for example, most short term disability insurance plans of different insurance companies exempt disability benefits for attempt to suicide, disability due to attempting to commit crime, war, drug abuse etc. Some preexisting conditions may also be exempted from disability benefits. If you buy group short term disability insurance plan through your employer, “on the job injuries” that are covered under workers compensation insurance are also not covered under short term disability insurance plans.

Consider all the above mentioned points before buying short term disability insurance, on your own or through your employer.

Image: Teerapun / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Related posts:

Four Tips to Buy Right Health Insurance

Should You Get Health Insurance Through Your Employer?

Important Points to Remember While Buying Health Insurance

Health Insurance for Young

Why you should have Health Insurance?

Are you planning to buy Health Insurance?

How to Get Best-Fit Health Insurance Plan for Yourself?

Why Many People Do Not Buy Health Insurance?

Long Term Health Benefits of Breastfeeding in Infants

Where to Learn About Health Insurance?

Just three days after announcing it would no longer fund cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood, the pink-ribboned breast cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure abruptly reversed course today. But the Komen foundation's actions still leave many questions unanswered â€" not to mention a public relations challenge.

In a brief statement posted on the group's website, Komen founder and CEO Nancy Brinker apologized "for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives." She explained that Komen would revise the criteria that earlier in the week appeared to disqualify Planned Parenthood from receiving almost $700,000 in grants for breast cancer screening.

Komen's original justification for excluding Planned Parenthood from future funding was that the group was the subject of a congressional investigation. But in a conference call Thursday, Brinker insisted that the foundation's new funding guidelines had less to do with that and more to do with the fact that Planned Parenthood doesn't perform mammograms.

"Wherever possible, we want to grant to the provider that is actually providing lifesaving mammograms," she said.

The statement reversing course doesn't actually address the question of what kind of services Planned Parenthood provides; the women's health service does about 700,000 breast exams each year.

But Komen has backed down on how it defines an investigation. Now organizations can only be excluded from funding if those investigations are "criminal and conclusive in nature and not political," the statement said.

 

Komen officials wouldn't elaborate beyond the statement, but Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards told reporters that as far as she's concerned, the organization is back in Komen's funding good graces.

"I've read this Komen statement; I think it's very clear," Richards said. "And I really take them at their word that this is behind us."

Planned Parenthood backers were also happy, but a little more grudgingly so.

"I guess I'm pleased that they've made this reversal, but it's really a shame that they made the decision in the first place," said Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo. "And it seems like the only reason they reversed it is because they came under so much pressure."

But not everyone is convinced that Komen has done a complete 180, particularly the anti-abortion groups that urged the cutoff of funding to Planned Parenthood in the first place.

"The Komen foundation did not say that Planned Parenthood could not seek funds, but that presently they were not qualified for the funds," said Kristi Hamrick of Americans United for Life, which is also a force behind the congressional investigation of Planned Parenthood. "And that has not changed."

Hamrick said that because Planned Parenthood doesn't do mammograms, it still shouldn't be eligible for future funding. "And should they wish to change that and buy mammogram machines and reapply, I'm sure the Komen foundation would consider it," she said.

But whether or not that's the case, the perception is that Komen reversed itself. And given the enormous backlash against the original decision, crisis communications professionals say that was probably Komen's only play..

"The brand has to come above all else," said Patrick Kinney of Connecticut's Gaffney Bennet Public Relations. "The Komen brand is a very well-respected one, and one that's associated with helping women and a leader in breast cancer research and treatment. So I think you need to put your brand and your mission over any criteria that was at the crux of this controversy."

Davidson Goldin, meanwhile, who practices crisis communications in New York, says Komen may have already damaged its brand by making what appeared to be a political decision.

"Just because they fixed the mistake quickly, which was the right and advisable thing to do, doesn't mean they can wipe away the impact of the mistake in the first place," he said.

And Goldin warned that just about the worst thing Komen can do now from a public relations point of view is to deny Planned Parenthood grants in the future, when it appears funding has been restored.

"Perhaps the only bigger mistake that Komen could make than the mistake they made the other day, would be trying to parse words and be cute and continue to deny funding after they've now given the world the impression they plan to restore funding," he said.

Healthcare reform in US brings good news for women. Because the gender based health insurance industry and due to the gender, women are greater sufferers. They used to pay more and get less in return. But with implementation of new healthcare reform and “Affordable Care Act”, hopefully the biased against women in health care will be removed.

In a study it was seen that as many as half of women delay seeking medical advise because they could not afford it, in compare less than 40% men (approximately 39%). Due to women suffering, their children also suffer. Before implementation of Affordable Care Act, women are being charged higher health insurance premiums in compare their male counterparts. Even pregnancy was treated as preexisting medical condition and frequently denied or charged higher health insurance premiums for that.

With introduction of Affordable Care Act by Obama Administration, everybody (men and women alike) can buy private health insurance. Women will be able to avail maternal benefits along with basic health benefits under new law/Act. Under new law men and women will have access to quality, affordable health insurance, even if they loose their job or changes in employment, illness, or relocation.

From start of 2014, Affordable Care Act will help in the following way:

• Under new Affordable Care Act, an insurance company can not deny any woman (or man) a health insurance due to preexisting medical condition or exclude coverage for that preexisting condition.
• Insurance companies can not charge more due to gender or a preexisting medical condition.
• Insurance companies can not charge whatever they want (a cap will be in place) a woman out of pocket and copayments and deductibles.
• For men and women their will be coverage for pediatric,, dental and eye care under new Affordable Care Act.
• There will be no annual upper limit of medical expenses for new plans and existing employer plans.

From 2011, the Affordable Care Act has reduced the gender bias:

• From starting of 2011, all insurance companies must prove that they must spend 80% of insurance premiums on medical expenses and not in non medical expenses such as salaries for executives, marketing etc.
• All insurance companies must justify the increase in premium to State Governments and States can prevent unjustified increase in premiums.

All the above mentioned benefits will hopefully able to remove/reduce gender bias against women, with previous health insurance plans.

Image: Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Susan G. Komen for the Cure/YouTube

Nancy G. Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, explains the group's decision to halt funding for Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation has rejected charges that its decision to discontinue funding for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America was politically motivated.

In a statement posted on its website and a video on YouTube late Wednesday, Komen said its action had been "mischaracterized" so the organization needed to "set the record straight."

In the video, Nancy G. Brinker, who founded and leads the organization, said that the decision was made as part of a broad effort to use donations more efficiently.

The foundation regretted the impact of its new policy on groups such as Planned Parenthood, Brinker said. But she denied politics played any role and called accusations against Komen "scurrilous" and a "dangerous distraction" from the battle against breast cancer.

 

"Susan G. Komen will always fight for and serve the poeple who need us the most. We won't rest until every woman â€" rich, poor, insured or uninsured â€" can face a life without breast cancer," said Brinker, whose sister died from breast cancer. "That was my promise to my sister and my promise to you."

The foundation, known for its pink ribbon campaigns and Race for the Cure fundraisers, is a powerhouse in the world of breast cancer in the United States, raising billions of dollars for breast cancer research, care and advocacy.

"In the breast cancer world, they're huge," said Susan Wood of George Washington University. "They raise lots of money for breast cancer research and access to mammograpy and access to other breast cancer screening and breast health activities."

So Wood and many other women's health advocates are furious about Komen's decision to cut off funding to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

"It was really a shock and obviously distressing and very disappointing," Cecile Richards told NPR's Julie Rovner. Since the controversy erupted, donations to Planned Parenthood have surged, the group said.

But this isn't the first time the well-known breast cancer advocacy group has been the focus of controversy.

"In the past, they've let women down by insisting that the FDA should continue to approve Avastin as an effective treatment for breast cancer when new evidence sadly showed, that it's not," said Cindy Pearson with the National Women's Health Network. "They've also insisted that screening for breast cancer start at a young age and be very frequent when evidence shows it's not that much of a slam dunk anymore."

The latest controversy appears to have begun last month. An evangelical Christian group called Lifeway was selling pink bibles for Komen. But Lifeway discovered Komen was giving Planned Parenthood money.

"As soon as people figured out the link between Komen and Planned Parenthood â€" that there was a funding link there â€" Lifeway pulled all the bibles off the shelves immediately," said Amy Black, a political scientist at Wheaton College outside Chicago who studies evangelical Christians. "This was the kind of thing that captured a lot of activists' attention."

Some critics speculate that Komen was particularly susceptible to pressure from activists because of Brinker's political ties.

"One of the things many women don't understand is that the founder of Komen, Nancy Brinker, has had a long-standing and supportive relationship with the Bush family with the Bush presidencies, with the Republican party and on many occasions has supported policies that most supporters of Komen probably wouldn't approve of," said Judy Norsigian of the Our Bodies, Ourselves, the popular women's health guide.

Norsigian and other critics also pointed out that Komen recently hired Karen Handel, a politician from Georgia who opposes abortion, to serve as a key vice president.

It remains unclear how the move will affect Komen in the long term.

"To continue a partnership with Planned Parenthood would have significant political consequences that would harm them. To end the partnership with Planned Parenthood would have significant political consequences that also would cause harm," Black said. "Because one side or the other is not going to be happy whatever the Komen foundation decides to do."