To Your Good Health
By Paul G. Donohue, M.D.
Salt Holds on
to Fluid
DEAR DR.
DONOHUE: I’ve been told that if you ingest
more salt than your body requires, the body can
slough off the excess if you increase your water
intake. Is that true? -- G.S.
ANSWER:
That’s false. In fact, the extra salt holds
onto fluid. The kidneys are excellent chemists,
but they can do only so much. If a person
overwhelms them with too much salt, they
can’t get rid of it all. Much of it stays in
the body and holds onto fluid.
DEAR DR.
DONOHUE: What happens to artery buildup when one
stops eating trans fats? -- M.C.
ANSWER: It takes a
lot of work to reverse artery buildup, but it can
be done if a person carefully watches the amount
of saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol
eaten. You have to do other things too. You have
to keep blood pressure in the normal range. You
have to exercise regularly. You can’t smoke.
DEAR DR.
DONOHUE: Is it better to drink diet pop or
regular pop? -- B.
ANSWER: It’s
OK to drink either if you do so in moderation --
one or two cans a day.
Regular pop has a
hefty supply of calories, around 150 for 12
ounces. You don’t get any other nutrients
with those calories -- no minerals, no vitamins,
no fiber. Sugar in regular pop promotes tooth
decay.
Diet pop has no
sugar, so that’s something in its favor.
Caffeine in either
form of pop puts women at risk for coming down
with high blood pressure if they drink four or
more cans a day.
FROM START TO
FITNESS
By Andrea Renee Wyatt, M.S.S., C.S.C.S.
Don’t
Sweat It
You have just
finished a 55-minute spinning class that would
give Lance Armstrong a run for his money. Your
shirt, shorts and hair are dripping with sweat.
As you eye your classmates, you determine that
you must have worked much harder than them since
they are not sweating nearly as much as you. Your
drenched T-shirt has become a well-earned trophy
from an intense fat-burning aerobic workout,
right? Maybe ... but not necessarily.
Using sweat as a
gauge of exercise intensity and effectiveness is
often misleading. The amount you sweat does not
directly correlate to calories burned, strength
gained or flexibility achieved. It is simply a
response to the rise of your core body
temperature while completing your exercise
routine. There are many factors involved in why
and when the sweating process occurs.
The process of
sweating involves the development of moisture
coming through the pores of the skin from sweat
glands as a result of a rise in environmental
temperature, physical exertion or emotion. As
your temperature rises, the body can utilize
sweating to cool the skin and maintain a proper
core body temperature of 98.6 degrees F. This is
why you may find it easier to sweat in the summer
while exercising, when the outside temperature is
helping raise your body temperature, compared
with winter, when you may have to wear extra
layers just to maintain your body temperature.
Many exercisers
believe they have not really worked out unless
they break a sweat, but sweat mechanisms are
highly individual. Climate, fitness level, type
of activity and exercise training style all
factor in to your potential to sweat. I know ...
mentally it feels good to finish a workout and
have physical evidence of your hard work, but the
success of your exercise program should be
tracked with measurable goals.
So forget the
sweat and instead establish goals that focus on
improved cardiovascular endurance, increased
muscular strength and flexibility. For example,
if you are not able to walk a mile without
stopping, set a goal to walk a little farther
each day until your goal is achieved. Once your
current goal is reached, extend it, and remember,
whether you sweat or not, you are making
progress.
Please consult a
physician before beginning an exercise program.
DOLLARS AND SENSE
By David Uffington
When You
Can’t Pay Your Taxes.
Have you filed
your 2007 tax return yet? If so, you probably
have a refund coming. Many wait until the last
minute, however, if money is owed.
If you’ve
done the math and realize that you don’t
have all the money you’re going to owe,
there’s still time. Your best bet is to get
the money anywhere you can, as quick as you can.
Places to look for
money:
Credit cards --
Interest rates are likely to be less than the
amount you’d owe the Internal Revenue
Service, once they tack on interest and
penalties.
Sell something.
Equity in your
house.
Borrow from
relatives.
If April comes
around and you still don’t have all the
money you owe, send in what you have with your
tax return. Don’t fail to file, no matter
what, because the penalty is high.
You’ll soon
receive a bill from the IRS (with penalties and
interest added on) for the balance you still owe.
If you absolutely don’t have it and know you
can’t get it in one lump sum, consider
filing an Installment Agreement Request (Form
9465). This is an agreement between you and the
IRS that you’ll make regular monthly
payments of a set amount until the debt is paid.
There are some
caveats here. By entering into an installment
agreement, you promise you won’t be late on
next year’s taxes. The fine print says that
you’ll make your estimated taxes on time,
too.
How much can you
pay? The IRS wants you to pay off the debt in 36
months. Line 11 of Form 9465 asks you to put in
an amount that you can pay every month. The risk
here is that you won’t be able to if
something comes up. If you default on the
agreement, the IRS can file a lien or levy on
your bank accounts. If you leave line 11 blank,
the fine print at the bottom of the instruction
page says that an amount will be calculated,
spreading the debt out over 60 months. Remember,
though, that the interest and penalties also will
be accruing that long, and the interest rate can
change quarterly.
To take a look at
the Installment Agreement Request form and
instructions, go to the IRS Web site at
www.irs.gov and do a search for Form 9465.
Moments In Time
The History Channel
On Feb. 17, 1801,
after one tie vote in the Electoral College and
35 indecisive ballot votes in the House of
Representatives, Vice President Thomas Jefferson
is elected the third president of the United
States. The confusing election exposed major
problems in the presidential electoral process.
On Feb. 14, 1842,
fans of Charles Dickens organize the Boz Ball, an
elite party for the celebrated writer.
(Dickens’ earliest works had been published
under the pseudonym Boz.) Only members of New
York’s aristocracy were invited, and tickets
were priced at the then-outrageous sum of $10.
On Feb. 11, 1858,
in southern France, Marie-Bernarde Soubirous, a
14-year-old French peasant girl, claims to have
seen the Virgin Mary. The apparitions, which
totaled 18 before the end of the year, occurred
in a grotto of a rock promontory near Lourdes.
On Feb. 12, 1924,
the first network radio program to be sponsored
by advertising debuts. The show, "The
Eveready Hour," was sponsored by the
National Carbon Company and broadcast in New
York, Washington, D.C., and Providence, R.I.
On Feb. 16, 1959,
Fidel Castro is sworn in as prime minister of
Cuba after leading a guerrilla campaign that
forced right-wing dictator Fulgencio Batista into
exile. Castro replaced Miro Cardona as head of
the country’s new provisional government.
On Feb. 15, 1965,
jazz singer and pianist Nat King Cole dies of
lung cancer at age 46. In 1991, his daughter,
singer Natalie Cole, released the album
"Unforgettable With Love." Electronic
recording and mixing technology allowed her to
record duets with her father, using his old
tracks.
On Feb. 13, 1989,
Leona Helmsley, nicknamed the "Queen of
Mean" by the press, receives a four-year
prison sentence and a $7.1 million tax fraud fine
in New York. For many, Helmsley became the object
of loathing and disgust when she quipped that
"only the little people pay taxes."
VETERAN’S
POST
By
Freddy Groves
Stop, Thief!
Want a real thrill
to make your day? Do an online hunt for cases
involving those who’ve stolen money from
veterans and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Here are a few
samples of what you’ll find.
Montana: Guy No. 1
stole VA checks while working as a desk clerk at
a motel while the veteran was in jail. He forged
the signatures and gave them to Guy No. 2 to
cash. They split the money. When caught, Guy No.
1 got six months in jail. Guy No. 2 was facing
maybe 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to
theft of government money and conspiracy. The
judge reportedly said that it appeared to be an
"isolated incident." Guy No. 2 was
sentenced to -- brace yourself -- probation. An
isolated incident? It went on for 11 months.
Texas: A grandson
cashed benefit checks made out to his deceased
veteran grandfather. The VA did not know the
grandfather had passed away and continued to send
checks. When caught, the grandson was sentenced
to six months in prison plus probation.
Ohio: A
husband-and-wife team cashed VA pension checks
and even applied for more benefits using the
identity of a deceased veteran roommate. They
managed to keep this up for 19 years, to the tune
of more than $156,000. Punishment: The husband
got one year and a day in prison, plus probation;
the wife got probation.
Massachusetts: The
director of a boarding house kept depositing VA
benefit checks long after the veteran died. He
claims he didn’t know that the veteran (who
went into rehab) had passed away and that he was
just keeping the room available. At this point,
there’s been a preliminary hearing on
larceny charges, and a plea of innocence.
I’ll be keeping an eye on this one.
Department of
Revenue Files Extension of Real ID.
(News Release)
JEFFERSON CITY- The Missouri Department of
Revenue (Department) today announced that the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has granted
Missouri’s request for an extension to the
May 11, 2008, deadline for complying with Real
ID. The extension will provide the Department
additional time to review the 284 pages of Real
ID regulations to determine the impact on all
Missourians.
"We have made
great strides with the Lawful Presence measures
in place already," said Omar Davis, Director
of Revenue. "We will continue to review the
Real ID regulations, but our highest priority is
the safety of our citizens."
The Department
filed its request for an extended Missouri’s
deadline for compliance with the Real ID Act
until December 31, 2009. This extension ensures
that all Missourians can travel on commercial
aircraft and enter federal buildings with
presently acceptable forms of identification.
Details of the
rules on the Real ID can be found at www.dhs.gov.
More on Real ID
(From the Department of Homeland Security’s
web site)- REAL ID refers to minimum standards
for state-issued driver’s licenses or
personal identification cards that will allow you
to board a federally-regulated airplane, access a
federal facility or nuclear power plant.
These standards
are part of the requirements of the REAL ID Act
of 2005, which Congress passed to make it more
difficult to fraudulently acquire a drivers
license or ID card, as part of the effort to
fight terrorism and reduce fraud.
The 9/11
Commission endorsed the REAL ID requirements,
noting that "For terrorists, travel
documents are as important as weapons … All
but one of the 9/11 hijackers acquired some form
of identification document, some by fraud.
Acquisition of these forms of identification
would have assisted them in boarding commercial
flights, renting cars, and other necessary
activities."
Letter to the Editor.
Opinions expressed are those of the writer and
not necessarily those of the Mornin’ Mail.
Members of the Carthage Chamber
of Commerce, If you are a small business that has
found it difficult to provide health insurance
for your employees, the Joplin Chamber of
Commerce may have a solution for you. The Joplin
Chamber is creating a "Health Insurance
Association" that allows an association of
small businesses to act as one large employer
group, instead of separate ones, to buy
competitively priced employee health insurance.
Representatives of the Joplin
Chamber will present this concept on Wednesday,
February 13th at 9:00am at the Carthage Chamber
office for any chamber members that are
interested. If you could call and let us know you
are planning on attending the meeting, we can
have resources available for all in attendance. -
John W. Bode, President of Carthage Chamber of
Commerce.
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