You can receive Featurettes by e-mail daily, weekly or monthly by request. We can e-mail by your choice of topic or all stories as you may prefer. To make it even more convenient for editors to use our stories, NAPS has added an RSS syndication feed to our Web site. Simply hit the RSS button on our site for automated updates on available content. Please contact us to arrange to receive Featurettes in the format that works best for you at (800) 222-5551 or e-mail your request to us at printmedia@napsnet.com. We can provide Featurettes on CD-ROM or you can download it online at www.napsnet.com. Gary Lipton Media Relations Manager Phone: 1-(800)-222-5551 Fax: 1-(800)-990-4329 Web site: www. napsnet .com e-mail: printmedia@napsnet.com #2617 North American Precis Syndicate, Inc., 415 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017 Dim A Little, Save A Lot New Benefits May Help Keep Seniors Healthier (NAPSA)—Staying healthy just got a little easier if you’re 65 or older. That’s because Medicare now covers many wellness and preventive services free of charge. Older Americans can get important screenings, immunizations and an annual “wellness” checkup without spending a dime, under provisions in the Affordable Care Act that took effect in January 2011. “These services have the potential to add years to your life—and the life of your loved ones,” said AARP board member and geriatric specialist William J. Hall, M.D. “We urge older Americans to get all the preventive services their doctors recommend.” For the first time, Medicare will pay entirely for a host of vital screenings—for colon and other cancers, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis and other chronic conditions. On top of that, Medicare now covers a yearly “wellness” exam that can spotlight steps you need to take to take charge of your health. As part of this checkup, you can work with your doctor on developing your own prevention plan. These new benefits can make a difference in people’s lives, because they enable older Americans to get the preventive care they need without worrying about cost. Research has shown that individuals are less likely to get health screenings when they have to pay for them. Many older Americans have not been getting important preventive services, according to the (NAPSA)—Rising energy costs and recent legislation—called the Energy Independence and Security Act—are encouraging many homeowners to reduce energy consumption. This means new, energy-efficient light sources are more popular than ever. It also makes dimming the lights more than a way to set a nice mood. It’s a way to save electricity. Dimming an incandescent or halogen light just 25 percent can save you up to 20 percent in New wellness and preventive services, such as screenings and immunizations, have the potential to add years to seniors’ lives. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For example, millions of older people at risk for diabetes and colorectal cancer have not been screened for those illnesses. Similarly, millions of older Americans have not received a vaccine for pneumococcal disease, even though research shows that the risk of developing the diseases increases with age and the presence of chronic conditions. When it comes to staying well, most people know they should eat right, get exercise and keep their weight in check. Now, many can add a new item to the list by taking advantage of Medicare’s new benefits for preventive services. Such services could save your life. To learn more about preventive services in Medicare, click on www.aarp.org/healthscreenings. And for more information about the health law, visit www. aarp.org/getthefacts. A dimmer switch can help you save energy while setting the right light level to improve mood and ambiance. energy—and makes your lightbulbs last up to 20 times longer. Though compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and screw-in lightemitting diode (LED) bulbs use less energy than typical incandescent and halogen bulbs do, historically, they’ve not been compatible with light dimmers. Lights have been known to drop out, not turn on and/or turn off unexpectedly. To help, there’s the new CL dimmers from Lutron. They work not only with incandescent and halogen bulbs, but also with dimmable CFLs and LEDs. Learn more at www.lutron.com/ cflled. Introducing Solid Foods ( N A P S A ) — H e r e ’s f o o d f o r thought for many parents: Introducing solid food is not just about what babies eat but how they eat. Babies need solid foods so they can start developing the necessary oral motor skills for chewing, biting and transitioning to more highly textured foods. “It is important to take your own baby steps when adding solid food to your baby’s diet,” says Angela Haas, MA, CCC-SLP, pediatric feeding and swallowing specialist. “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Haas explains, “It can take as many as 10 to 20 attempts for your baby to not make a funny face or seem to be spitting out everything you’re putting in. Eating is a learned skill that takes practice, patience, respect and a big smile from Mom or Dad with each successful bite.” But what if your infant has already struggled with a food allergy, such as milk? When you have a baby with this condition, the transition to solid food can be even more stressful. “How do I avoid another allergic reaction?” and “How do I make sure the baby’s getting enough to eat?” are common questions. Here are some important things to remember: 1. It’s best to wait until your baby is 6 months old to start solid foods; this will allow the immune system to mature a bit more. 2. Introduce the foods least likely to cause allergic symptoms first, such as bananas, oatmeal and applesauce. 3. Introduce only one new food every few days and watch for an immediate or delayed allergic reaction. 4. Allow your baby to get used Introducing solid food into your infant’s diet can be less stressful than many parents fear if you use practice, patience and respect. to the taste and texture of solid foods, as well as feeding from a spoon. This may take multiple attempts. Avoid force-feeding. 5. Introduce new textures in three stages: • Stage 1: thin and smooth • Stage 2: thicker but still with consistent texture (avoid irregular lumps and bumps mixed in with puree) • Stage 3: finger foods (soft or meltable solids). 6. As the first birthday approaches, solid foods should provide most of your child’s nutritional needs. If you are concerned about allergic reactions but want to start on solid foods, you can check out Neocate Nutra from Nutricia North America. It’s a hypoallergenic, amino acid–based, semisolid medical food you can give to children over 6 months old. The texture is similar to yogurt and it can be eaten by itself or mixed with other foods. If you’d like to learn more about food allergies in children, visit the Food Allergy Living blog at www.foodallergyliving.net.
