Keep Medi-Cal Health Coverage
Making sure your Medi-Cal health coverage stays active is really important. This guide will help you understand and manage the yearly process of checking if you're still eligible.
1. Updating Your Contact Info:
Start by checking or updating your contact details. You can call the Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) at 1-888-999-7671 or use the website at https://benefitscal.com/.
Read MoreDiagnosis of diabetes is determined by a fasting plasma glucose (FPG) test (>126 mg/dL, or a glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) test (>6.5%). In prediabetes, blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes.
The diagnostic criteria for prediabetes are FPG levels of 100–125 mg/dL, or a HbA1c of 5.7% to 6.4%.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people most at risk for prediabetes are overweight, age 45 or older, have a family history of type 2 diabetes, participate in physical activity fewer than three times a week, had gestational diabetes, and/or have polycystic ovary syndrome.
Osteoporosis, or bone loss, affects people of all different ages and backgrounds. Risks factors include:
being female: Osteoporosis is more common in women than in men—about 80% of cases affect women.
being older: As we age, our bones naturally lose some density and become weaker. That doesn't mean that every older person gets osteoporosis, but it does mean your chances of developing the disease increase with age.
having a family history of osteoporosis: Studies show that if either of your parents had osteoporosis, then you are more likely to get it, too.
having a history of broken bones: Even if you've only had one broken bone, it will increase your risk of developing osteoporosis.
• Drinking daily Coffee is protective.
• No addiction from drinking Coffee.
• May have temporary headaches if discontinue.
• Regular Coffee 8oz has 130mg of caffeine.
• Decaf Coffee 8oz has 5mg caffeine.
• Coffee is protective against Alzheimer’s disease
• Coffee is protective against Diabetes.
• Coffee is protective against Parkinson’s Disease.
• Coffee is protective against Liver disease and Gout.
• Cut down the coffee if you have insomnia.
Eat foods rich in antioxidants to help fight free radicals — unstable oxygen molecules that contribute to the aging process.
Antioxidants can be found in colorful vegetables and fruits like berries, beets, and tomatoes.
For a balanced diet and to help you reduce your risk of developing cancer and heart disease, add at least five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables to your diet each day.
Our HIPPA compliant electronic health records (EHR) with Electronic Prescription System and multilingual staff allows us to provide the most up to date medical care of modern age. Our patients can sign up to our secure patient portal and have access to their EHR at www.PatientAlly.com
The consumption of simple carbohydrates is the main reason why many people are overweight. It is best to only indulge in these once in a while in order to avoid weight gain, and other possible health complications.
A list of simple carbs that should be eaten very rarely are, Foods made using white flour eg. cakes, muffins, doughnuts or pies, White rice, Dairy-based foods eg. ice-creams, puddings, chocolate milk or yogurt, cheese, Artificially flavoured fruit products eg. Kool-Aid, frozen juice bar, jello or pop-tarts, Sugar and other sweeteners eg. molasses, corn syrup and honey, Sodas and sweetened juices or teas, Sweetened cereals.
Cut these simple carbohydrates out of your diet now and you will notice the difference in how you look and feel in just a short period of time.
• Whole grain or whole wheat breads
• Fruits and vegetables
• Beans and lentils
• Oatmeal and hot cereal
• Whole grain or wheat pasta
• Brown Rice
• Potatoes
• Whole grain cereals
• Almonds — Vitamin C
• Brazil Nuts — Selenium (100% DV contained in only one nut)
• Cashews — Magnesium
• Hazelnuts — Vitamin E
• Macadamia Nuts — Manganese
• Pistachios — Plant Sterols
• Walnuts — Omega 3 Fatty Acids
Quitting smoking is one of the best things that you can do for yourself. Your heart’s efficiency significantly decreases if you are a smoker. Below is a list of 5 ways in which quitting can be beneficial to your heart.
• Your heart rate and blood pressure drop almost immediately.
• You stop exposing your heart to chemicals that are poisonous.
• Your risk of getting heart disease drops dramatically.
• Your child’s heart becomes healthier.
• The likelihood of being hospitalized decreases.
Start living a healthier lifestyle by quitting smoking now. Your heart will thank you for it!
The way that we eat has been shown to significantly affect our brain’s health and ability to retain cognitive function as we age. Begin adding these to your diet to help keep your brain healthy and, as an added benefit, you may even be able to prevent Alzheimer’s.
The ten food groups that aid in maintaining a healthy brain are:
• Green Leafy Vegetables (6/week)
• Other vegetables (1/day)
• Nuts and Seeds (5/week)
• Berries (2/week)
• Beans (3/week)
• Whole grains (3/day)
• Fish and shellfish (1/week)
• Poultry (2/week)
• Olive Oil
• Wine (1/day)
• Green tea daily
It is a well-known fact that people get sick because of the spread of germs. These simple precautions can minimize the risk of infection.
Cover your mouth every time you cough, will helps keep the germs contained.
Wearing a face mask is very easy with pesistant cough, as it is dificult to cover your mouth constantly
Washing and Scrubbing your hands with warm water and antibacterial soap will kill most of the germs and prevent the infection.
If our normal vision is good, we are able to differentiate between one object and another clearly, and make out the features of all the people we know.
When somebody has cataracts the world starts looking blurry, and sometimes objects and people may merge into one another.
Patients with Alzheimer’s begin to see the world in a hazy or faded way. Objects and people appear dull and may become distorted.
When a person is affected with both (Cataracts + Alzheimer’s) it becomes twice as hard for them to make out people, objects or faces. They now see everything in a blurry and faded way and many things become unrecognisable.
Vascular disease normally leads to another serious heart conditions.
Having a stroke: increases your chances of having a heart attack by 2–3 times and another stroke by up to 9 times.
Having a heart attack: increases your chances of having another by 5–7 times and the likelihood of having a stroke by 3–4 times
Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD): increases your chances of having a heart attack by 4 times and having a stroke by 2–3 times
Chronic Kidney Disease: increases the chances of having a heart attack by 2 times and a stroke by 50%.
High blood pressure is a very serious condition, and is important to control to prevent complications such as Stroke, Heart Attack, Kidney Failure, blindness. Some ways by which you can do this are:
Regular Exercise improves heart muscle’s strength and brings blood pressure back under control.
Maintain a healthy weight with healthy diet, combined with regular exercise, will help you lose weight and bring your blood pressure under control.
Lower salt and fat intake decreases your chances of developing high blood pressure and a decreases the risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
Our health is mainly affected because of our bad habits. Here are some of the worst ones we can start to modify to promote a healthier lifestyle:
Instead of spending hours sitting in front of the TV, take a walk outdoors.
Swap eating fast food and sweets for with fruits and vegetables and eat less simple carbohydrates.
Quit smoking.
Use alcohol in moderation.
These lifestyle modifications will increase your overall health, and can even extend your life expectancy.
Saturated fats are bad for your arteries and heart health, but they can also harm your concentration and memory.
Decreasing red meat, butter, and other such foods, will keep your weight under control and decrease cholesterol levels.
Add more fatty fish and fats from plants, like flaxseed and nuts, are extra benefits for your heart and your brain.
DASH Diet can help lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which is good for your heart.
DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or high blood pressure.
DASH Diet imay help you lose weight because it’s a healthier way of eating.
DASH Diet consists of more nuts, vegetables, fruits, and low-fat dairy products, and less fats, cholesterol, and sweets.
To lower bad cholesterol (LDL) eat meat less than 4 day a week
One serving of meat or fish is as big as your palm.
Load you plate with fruits and vegetables daily.
Eat salmon, tuna, trout, sardines (rich in fish oil) twice a week (as grilled, roasted, baked, broiled) to lower triglyceride levels, but don’t fry it.
Oat meal prevents from overeating by filling you up and keeping you full.
If you need a snack eat nuts a size of you palm.
Vit-C (ascorbic acid) , may shorten or eases cold symptoms.
Is an anti-oxidants, helps remove chemicals that damage your cells.
Your body needs Vit-C to make Collagen Protein, required for ligaments, tendons, bones and muscles.
It is required for the body to make brain hormones like, serotonin, dopamine, epinephrine norepinephrine, and can improve depression.
It may lower risk of cataracts.
