Your Health
Halt the salt
If someone calls you "salt of the earth," that's a good thing. But it also shows how salt is so ingrained in our culture that we don't realize how much of it we're eating. and that's a bad thing.
The American Heart Association recommends taking in 2,000 to 2,300 milligrams of sodium daily to avoid high blood pressure and cardiovascular problems. Most Americans eat about twice that much.
To reduce salt, try:
• Eating fresh whole food, such as vegetables.
• Reading food labels to check the amount of sodium.
• Taking in more potassium, which mitigates salt's unhealthy effects.
• Eating low-fat dairy products, which contain less salt.
• Using strong flavors like lemon juice, garlic, black pepper, chilies and dried herbs instead of salt to make food tasty.
Free asthma screenings
Ever have a cough that bothers you at night, shortness of breath or colds that go to your chest?
These can be symptoms of asthma, a chronic inflammation of the airways in the lungs.
You can get a free screening from the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology at these times:
• 9 to 11 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. May 14 at Good Samaritan Health and Wellness Center, 3551 Highland Ave., Downers Grove.
• 7 to 9 p.m. June 11 at the Deerfield Public Library, 920 Waukegan Road, Deerfield.
The screening involves answering about 20 questions. Adults and older children can answer the questions themselves, and parents can answer for children up to age 8.
Information will be available about avoiding asthma triggers and managing asthma through medications.
This is yucky, kids
If your baby makes it through childhood without tasting the soap, consider yourself lucky. But if your child ingests something bad, immediately call the Illinois Poison Center hot line at (800) 222-1222.
The poison center lists its top 10 substances involved in a poisoning:
• Pain relievers
• Cosmetics and personal care products
• Cleaning products
• Sedatives/hypnotics/anti-psychotics
• Foreign objects such as coins or buttons
• Cough and cold preparations
• Topical creams
• Pesticides
• Antidepressants
• Bites or stings
The poison center has medical personnel specially trained in toxicology to help callers. They're available 24 hours a day.
-- Pam DeFiglio