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Apple and Aetna hold secret meetings to bring the Apple Watch to millions of Aetna customers

Apple and Aetna have been holding talks in secret. According to CNBC, the two giants have been in talks to bring the former’s health and fitness smartwatch to millions of Aetna’s members.
 
About 50,000 of Aetna’s employees already get an Apple Watch as part of its corporate wellness program, but the insurer covers about 23 million people, and the two companies are reportedly discussing ways in which a free or discounted watch can be given to them as a perk.
 
Sources speaking with CNBC told the network the discussions had taken place in California late last week, and were attended by hospital chief medical information officers from around the country. The talks were supposedly led by Apple’s Myoung Cha; the move is apparently an effort by Aetna to increase consumer interest in healthier lifestyles and diets.

Aetna made a major push in this area several years ago with CarePass, which integrated a number of health and fitness apps and devices into a platform designed to help their customers and others maintain healthy lifestyles. But CarePass was abandoned after a few years, and Aetna has laid low in the digital health arena since then.
 
Health is now the primary use for the Apple Watch, and the wearable has recently overtaken the Fitbit as the nation’s top-selling health-centric wearable, shipping 22 million units in the first quarter of this year. The next version is reported to have wireless connectivity that doesn’t first need a synced iPhone.
 
One of CNBC’s sources said Aetna is pushing for the move to happen early next year.

Read the original article here by Christina Farr  and Jeffery McCracken.

9 Ways to Eat More Probiotics Every Day

Here’s how RDs say you can get way more good-for-your-gut probiotics in your diet.

Probiotics — those good-for-you live bacteria and yeasts — are everywhere in the news these days. And for good reason: Science shows they’re a great way to support a healthy gut and may help treat some digestive problems, such as constipation and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). They may even improve immune function. And a pilot study accepted for publication in May 2017 by the journal Gastroenterology found that probiotics may reduce depression in people with IBS.

So which foods are best if you want to load up on good bacteria? Here are nine RD-approved tips.

1. Start Your Day With a Parfait

Simply top a bowl of yogurt with your favorite granola (the lower in sugar the better) and some antioxidant-rich berries, says Stefani Pappas, RD, a clinical dietitian at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, New York. Yogurt is cultured or fermented milk that has been soured and thickened by adding live active cultures that promote the growth of good bacteria in the gut.

For convenience, make it the night before so it’s ready and waiting for you in the morning, she adds. “I start with my favorite Greek yogurt, add two tablespoons of organic granola, and then top that with frozen organic berries. Place that in the fridge and, when you wake up, the berries will be perfectly defrosted.” If you like your granola crunchy, store it in a separate container and add it just before serving.

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2. Make Yogurt a Kitchen Staple

Plain yogurt with live active cultures can be transformed from a breakfast food into a key ingredient in salad dressings, dips, and cold sauces, says Kit Broihier, RD, a nutrition consultant in Portland, Maine.

Just remember that any recipe that requires heating the yogurt in any way is going to kill off its good bacteria. So stick to no-cook recipes for the most gut benefits, Broihier says.

3. Broaden Your Sauerkraut Savvy

Sauerkraut isn’t just for that ballpark hot dog. Try raw krauts made with the traditional cabbage, or other veggies, too, to give any meal a whole lot more flavor. Danielle Gill, RD, a nutrition supervisor at NYC Department for the Aging, says she prefers getting probiotics from her diet, not supplements. “Fermented daikon radishes, turnips, cucumbers, okra, and string beans make a great condiment, snack, or zesty add-on to any salad,” she says.

4. Add Kefir to Your Smoothie

“Kefir, a tart and tangy cultured milk drink, is packed with various strains of beneficial probiotics and live cultures,” Pappas says. She drinks four ounces of it each morning with breakfast, but if it tastes too tart alone, she recommends adding it to a smoothie for a nutritious (and good-bacteria) boost.

5. Take a Kombucha Break

Kombucha is a probiotic-rich fermented drink made with tea, sugar, bacteria, and yeast — making it a great vegan alternative to other probiotic-rich foods, such as kefir or yogurt, Pappas says. Or swap the refreshing probiotic drink for your afternoon coffee or happy hour cocktail, she adds.

6. Experiment With Kimchi

According to a study published in January 2014 in the Journal of Medicinal Food, this super-spicy Korean condiment is packed with healthy bacteria called lactobacilli, giving it a probiotic boost. “The reddish fermented cabbage is a tasty topper for your tacos or an accent for sandwiches and burgers,” suggests Sherry Coleman Collins, RDN, a nutrition consultant in private practice in Atlanta.

7. Try Tempeh

Seek out recipes that incorporate tempeh — a preparation of probiotic-rich fermented soybeans. Tempeh is also a great source of protein, fiber, antioxidants, and amino acids. Its hearty texture makes it a great meat-alternative (like in this Smothered Tempeh Sandwich with red-wine-braised mushrooms).

8. Put Miso Soup on Your Menu

Miso soup is easy to make with hot water and miso paste and adds a probiotic punch. “Miso is fermented soy that contains healthy bacteria,” says Gabriella Vetere, RDN, a personal health coach in San Jose, California, and a performance dietitian at Exos, a tech company that focuses on health and human performance.

Just remember that high temperatures can kill probiotics (eliminating their health boost). Add the miso paste just before serving and avoid super-hot temperatures to preserve as many beneficial microorganisms as possible.

9. Don’t Forget Prebiotic-Rich Foods

Prebiotics are nondigestible components found in some fruits, veggies, and other foods that promote the growth of good-for-you bacteria in the gut. Raw apples, bananas, asparagus, beans, artichokes, garlic, onions, and leeks as well as whole-wheat foods and soybeans are all good sources, Vetere says.

Read the original article by By  Medically Reviewed by Kelly Kennedy, RD.

FDA to evaluate children’s cough medicine containing opioids

federal committee will meet in three weeks to consider whether cough medicine containing certain opioids should be prescribed to children, the Food and Drug Administration announced Monday.

The agency already warned in April that drugs containing codeine, which is an opiate, “should not be used to treat pain or cough” in children under 12. The warning must appear on those drugs’ labels. At the time, the agency said that codeine, along with tramadol, an opioid found in some pain medications for children, “carry serious risks, including slowed or difficult breathing and death, which appear to be a greater risk in children younger than 12 years.”

The upcoming Sept. 11 meeting of the agency’s Pediatric Advisory Committee will consider medicines containing codeine, as well as medicines containing hydrocodone, an opioid derived from codeine.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has made it a priority of his agency to reduce opioid abuse. This upcoming meeting “will focus on the use of prescription opioid products containing hydrocodone or codeine for the treatment of cough in pediatric patients, including current treatment practices and benefit-risk considerations,” Gottlieb said in a statement.

An FDA spokesperson declined to provide more information about specifically what the committee will discuss, but said that discussion questions will be made available online before the meeting.

In advance of the September meeting, the FDA held an “expert roundtable” attended by representatives of health organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics. The participants agreed that it is not appropriate to give opioids to children to treat their cough, according to an FDA summary of the meeting.

Read the original article by Ike Swetlitz.

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