Costco Connection - January 2010

for your health

Buyer’s pıck Susan Hudson Health Buyer

FRANCE FREEMAN

PHOTODISC

MANY STRAINS of bacteria live in our bodies, and the body’s natural bacterial balance can be disrupted by travel, stress, infection, antibiotic use and other causes.

Quit smoking NOW

No ifs, ands or butts

That’s why the use of probiotics makes sense. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that aid digestion. They help strengthen the body’s natural defenses and support an appropriate balance of healthy bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract.

WHETHER YOU DECIDED to quit an hour ago, or have been planning this for weeks, the time to quit smoking is now! Here are some tips, courtesy of Commit, NicoDerm and Nicorette, to help increase your chance of success.

recommended treatment duration. Using enough medication each day, and staying on medication for a long enough period of time, can increase your chances of quitting successfully.

1. Remind yourself why you want to quit. Write the reasons down on a piece of paper you can carry with you.

2. Identify your barriers to quitting. Think about what has kept you from quitting before. Use past attempts to quit as a reference.

7. Plan for cravings. Situations that have been associated with smoking—such as being around people smoking, having a drink or being upset— have the power to trigger powerful cravings. If you have a plan that can get you through the situation without smoking, the craving will usually fade in a matter of minutes. Many people find that thinking of other things (like that memorable vacation, or the one coming up) or just leaving the situation for a little while can help. Oral nicotine medications such as gum and lozenges can also help you deal with these cravings as they come up.

Align^™ is a probiotic intended for people with healthy digestive function who are looking for help with occasional digestive upsets or who are interested in promoting their digestive health. It comes as an easy-to-swallow capsule that you take once daily.

3. Tell friends and family that you are quitting. Research shows that support from others can make quitting more successful. “Support” is the key word—positive support is helpful, but nagging is not, so let them know they’re there to encourage you—not to be the “smoking police.”

You’ll find Align on the shelves in all Costco

4. Use your state’s Quitline. This free service (1-800-Quit Now; www.quitline.com) has trained coaches to offer advice and support.

8. It’s possible you may slip. Most people do. The trick is to stay with the program and overcome the slip. Slips can be learning opportunities (see tip 2).—T. Foster Jones

5. Get rid of smoking cues. Out go the cigarettes, ashtrays, lighters, etc. Stay away from places you associate with smoking.

locations at a savings of more than 30 percent over other leading retailers. C

6. Consider using a medication. Therapeutic nicotine products—patches, gum or lozenges—have been shown to double the chances of quitting. They are meant to be started on the day you quit. Nicotine patches, gums and lozenges are available over-the-counter, without a doctor’s prescription, so they should be easy to get when you need them.

Hand-washing IQ answers

QUIZ ON PAGE 43

HERE ARE THE broad strokes for effective hand washing: Wet hands under running water; scrub hands with enough soap to create lather; rinse under running water; dry thoroughly.

1. g) All of the above

2. b) 20 seconds

3. a) True

Be sure to use these medications as directed. If you’re using nicotine gum or lozenges, be sure to use the recommended number of pieces per day. For all types of therapeutic nicotine products, it’s important to keep using the medication for the

The lather created when scrubbing with soap captures the dirt and germs in suspension, and the rinsing removes what was captured. If soap and water aren’t available, reach for a hand sanitizer or hand wipes. Germs love moist environments, so thorough drying is also important.

4. Experts don’t agree. While many believe that warm or hot water might melt soap faster and make it more effective, the time frame of 20 seconds is too brief for the temperature to make much difference.

5. a) Under running water

The Costco Connection Costco carries a variety of smoking-cessation products, including nicotine gum, lozenges and patches in the warehouses and on Costco.com.

When you consider that an estimated 36,000 people die from the seasonal flu each year, and factor in the added impact that H1N1 could produce, putting some effort into hand-washing awareness could save lives.—David Wight