HARFORD COUNTY GOVERNMENT

Greetings from the Director: May 2013 Open Enrollment As you review your elections for Open Enrollment this year I wanted to share with you the huge success the BlueChoice Opt Out Plus has been for both active and retired employ- ees. Lower co-pays for both office visits and prescription drugs along with no referrals necessary to see specialists are important features of this plan. I encourage you to visit the County’s webpage to review the Enrollment Guide which contains a summary of coverage for the BlueChoice plan. The representative from CareFirst will be available on May 21st and May 23rd in the Department of Human Resources’ Conference Room from 9a-3p to answer any questions you may have. Scott T. Gibson Director of Human Resources

Benefits with Beth: Inside this issue:

Greetings from the Director th I will be attending the May 28 Retirees’ Benefits with Beth Association Meeting to address any ques- CareFirst Mobile Access

tions or issues that our retirees have with Healthy Drinks this year’s coverage. You are encouraged 5 Biggest Mistakes When Choosing to visit the County’s webpage in order to Workout Shoes review the Enrollment Guide. I will have a Grimm Statistic limited number of guides with me at the meeting. To Snooze or Not to Snooze Citrus Berry Smoothie Recipe

The Dirt on Stress Relief

There’s a whole lot of buggin’ going on

A Day at the Beach

Healthy Recipe

Spring Picks

Top Twenty Places to Walk in Harford County 1 PAGE 2

2 PAGE 3

Healthy Drinks

Alcohol: Alcohol is both a tonic and a poison, and the differ- ence lies in the dose and the person drinking it; moderation is Water is best to key. 5 Quick Tips: Choosing Healthy Drinks quench your 1. Quit the sugar habit. The average can of sugar- sweetened soda or fruit punch provides about 150 calo- thirst. Skip the ries. If you were to drink just one can of a sugar- sweetened soft drink every day, and not cut back on calo- sugary drinks, ries elsewhere, you could gain up to 15 pounds in a year. Cutting back on sugary drinks may help control your and go easy on the milk and juice. weight and may lower your risk of type 2 diabetes. See how much sugar is in your drink. There are many options for what to drink, but without a 2. Go calorie-free naturally. “Diet” drinks with artificial sweeteners may condition our taste buds to crave super- doubt, water is the best choice: It’s calorie-free, and it’s sweet foods. Plain old water is the best calorie-free bev- erage—but if it’s just too plain, try adding a squeeze of as easy to find as the nearest tap. lemon or lime or a splash of 100% fruit juice. Plain coffee and tea are also healthy calorie-free choices, in modera- tion. Read six ideas for low-sugar drinks. 3. If you don’t drink alcohol, there’s no need to start. Drinks that are loaded with sugar are the worst choice: Moderate alcohol consumption lowers the risk of heart They provide lots of calories and virtually no other nutri- disease and diabetes; it also slightly increases the risk of breast and colon cancer. For some people—especially ents. Drinking them routinely can lead to weight gain pregnant women, people recovering from alcohol addic- tion, people with liver disease, and people taking one or and increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. more medications that interact with alcohol—the risks of drinking clearly outweigh the benefits. 4. Save sports drinks for athletes. Sports beverages are designed to give athletes carbs, electrolytes, and fluid Other drinks have pros and cons, but in moderation, during high-intensity workouts that last an hour or more. For sedentary folks,they’re just another source of sugary can fit into a healthy diet: calories. 5. Pull the plug on energy drinks. These pricey concoc- Coffee and tea: These are calorie-free, as long as you tions have as much sugar as soft drinks, enough caffeine don’t load up on the sugar and cream. They are safe for to raise your blood pressure, and an unpronounceable list most people and may even have some health benefits. of herbs and additives whose long-term health effects are unknown. No one needs them. Artificially sweetened drinks: These have no calo- http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-drinks/ ries—a plus—but their long-term effects on weight and health are unknown, so it’s best to limit them, if you drink them at all. 100% fruit juice: Fruit juice has vitamins, but it is high in calories, so stick to no more than a small glass (four to six ounces) a day. Milk: Milk is also high in calories, so there’s no need to drink more than a glass or two of low fat or skim milk a day, and less is fine, if you get your calcium from other sources.

3 Page 4 5 Biggest Mistakes When Choosing Workout Shoes Maybe you shouldn't reach for those comfy old sneakers after all.

By Gina Shaw WebMD Feature Reviewed by Kimball Johnson, MD What’s the one piece of workout gear you can’t live without? Your iPod? A good water bottle? A truly supportive sports bra?

Wrong, wrong, and wrong. The single most important piece of equipment to virtually any kind of exercise program -- running, aerobics, hiking, tennis, basketball -- is the right pair of shoes.

A good pair of shoes can make or break your workout, and it’s easy to go wrong. Here are the five biggest shoe mis- takes people make.

1. Grabbing Whatever’s Handy "The biggest mistake people make when they start running, jogging, or some other exercise program is just reaching into the closet and pulling out an old pair of sneakers," says Tracie Rodgers, PhD, spokeswoman for the American Council on Exercise. An old pair of shoes may no longer have the support you need. And even more problematic, that pair of shoes might be inappropriate for the activity you choose.

2. Choosing the Right Shoe -- for the Wrong Workout You need to choose the right type of shoe for the kind of workout you’ll be doing. And yes, it does matter.

A shoe made for running is very different in a number of ways from a shoe made for basketball or tennis.

Joe Puleo, the author of Running Anatomy, says, "Running shoes have no lateral stability built into them because you don’t move your feet laterally when you run. You’re only going forward. A running shoe is built to give you support and stability as you move your foot through the running gait cycle."

Puleo says basketball and tennis shoes both need to be stabilized laterally. That's because you move your feet side to side a lot when playing these sports. "You can’t build a running shoe that has lateral stability" he says, "and you can’t build a shoe for basketball or tennis that doesn’t have it."

Even walking shoes differ from running shoes.

Catherine Cheung, DPM, a podiatrist and foot surgeon with the Post Street Surgery Center in San Francisco, says runners land more on their forefoot while walkers have a heavier heel strike. "So for running," she says, "you want a shoe that has more cushioning on the forefoot, while walking shoes should have stiffer rubber to support the heel."

Can’t you just get a good cross-trainer and use it for everything? Maybe, maybe not.

"Cross-trainer" shoes never existed before Bo Jackson, who played professional baseball and football (remember the "Bo Knows" ad campaign?).

4 Page 5

Before Jackson, we just called them sneakers," Puleo says. "Then, Nike came up with an ad campaign, and now we have cross-trainers. But there’s no specificity to them -- you can’t do any one thing well. They have some lateral stabil- ity, so you can play a game of basketball with your kids occasionally. You can run a mile or two. But most of them are not very good shoes for any particular activity."

Then again, some people aren’t heavily into running, hiking, tennis, or any one sport. They go to the gym occasionally, maybe play tennis with a work buddy once in a while, or shoot a few baskets with the kids. For them, a cross-trainer might be the best choice.

"A good cross-trainer will allow you to do the treadmill, some walking on asphalt or on a track, and light jogging," Kath- leen Stone, DPM, president of the American Podiatric Medical Association, says. "Not mileage, of course. But I like them for people who are doing a variety of athletic endeavors casually."

To choose a good cross-trainer, Stone suggests you look for: A firm heel Good support (you shouldn’t be able to bend the shoe too easily) Light weight (you don’t want to add a lot of pounds to your feet) But the APMA recommends that if you’re going to participate in a particular sport on a regular basis (two to three times a week or more), you should choose a sport-specific shoe.

3. Loving Them Too Much "Your workout shoes should be your workout shoes and not your running-around-town shoes," Rodgers says. "You’ll break down a pair of shoes standing in them or wearing them to the mall and running errands much faster than when you’re running or exercising."

So buy yourself a pair of casual tennies for running around town, and stow your good workout shoes in the closet as soon as you get home from your run or your tennis game.

"That’s where I buy the shoes I think look nice, but aren’t good for me to work out in," Rodgers says. "Certain brands, I can’t work out in because they hurt my feet, but I love the way they look, so I wear them with my jeans for just hanging around."

4. Loving Them Too Long Another big mistake many people make when buying athletic shoes is not replacing them often enough.

"They think they should replace their workout shoes when they start looking bad," Rodgers says. "But shoes start to break down while they’re still looking good. The support -- the reason you buy the shoe in the first place -- is gone, and you’ll start feeling strange aches and pains in your knees, hip, and back."

Most experts recommend that runners replace their shoes every 300 to 500 miles. If you don’t run enough to have a mile count, or running’s not your sport, you should replace your athletic shoes at least once a year.

"If you’re exercising on a casual basis, you can make your shoes last a year," Stone says. "But if you’re working out every day, six months is pretty much your limit."

You should also have your shoe size rechecked every year. Cheung says, "Foot size doesn’t stay the same; our feet tend to grow bigger as we age."

Do you need orthotics -- the specialized, custom-built inserts designed for people with specific gait problems? For most people, the answer is probably no, Puleo says.

"There are certain foot types and injuries that can be corrected with orthotics. But my opinion is they’re dramatically overprescribed. They work well for some patients, but I’ve been wearing the same brand of over-the-counter generic insoles for years, and they’ve worked great as well and are much cheaper," Puleo says.

5 PAGE 6

5. Doing It Yourself

Unless you’ve been playing your sport for a long time and have learned exactly what shoe is right for you, it’s a bad idea to just walk into a sporting goods store, try on a few pairs of shoes, and walk out with what you think is best.

Instead, go to an athletic shoe specialty store to get an expert insight on the right shoe and the best fit.

"The staff there will do a real fitting, evaluate your foot, and take a history of your athletic activities and what shoes may have worked for you before," Puleo says. "They’ll watch you walk or run on a treadmill or outside."

They’ll take three measurements -- not just one -- on the metal plate known as a Brannock device that we’ve all seen in shoe stores.

"You need to know not just length but also width and arch length," Puleo says. "All three of those numbers together determine what size you should wear. And each shoe can be cut a little differently -- a 10 and a half isn’t a universal 10 and a half in all shoes -- so they’ll start with that number and work from there."

A good athletic shoe specialty store will also have a liberal return policy -- so ask. Some may permit you to return shoes if you’ve only worn them indoors, but not outdoors.

The New Jersey running store Puleo founded allowed customers to return a shoe at any time for any reason. "You don’t like ‘em, you bring ‘em back," he says. "It was on me to make sure you were satisfied before you left. We had a very low rate of return because we spent so much time with every customer; we knew they’d be happy with them. You should never be stuck with a shoe that doesn’t work for you."

Grimm Statistic

Go ahead and enjoy that extra piece of birthday cake! A recent statistical analysis revealed that there is an increase of dying on or around your birthday. The study involving more than two million people shows you’re more likely to die on your birthday, or within a few days of it, than any other day of the year. The odds of dying on your birthday only increase the older you get. By age 60, you’re 14% more likely to die on your birthday or a few days around it than any other day. The researchers believe that the stress that comes from your birthday is the big reason. A birthday makes you think about how old you are, that stresses you out, and it can actually increase your risk of a heart attack or stroke. The study also found that men are more likely to die on their birthdays from accidental deaths and suicides. The researchers think that could be tied to men being more likely to drink heavily on their birthdays than women.

6 Page 7

To Snooze or Not to Snooze

During the sleep cycle, the body alternates between light sleep and deep (REM) sleep. About an hour before eyes actually open, the body begins to “reboot.” The brain sends out signals to release hormones like corti- sol and adrenaline, the body temperature rises, and we enter into a lighter sleep in preparation for wake-up. So that alarm beeping or equivalent noise jolts us awake before the wake-up process is complete, leading to grogginess that sometimes lasts all morning. The snooze button may only exacerbate the situation, especially after a night of too little sleep. Hitting the snooze button won’t make getting up any easier but those five extra minutes in the morning are less restful than five minutes of REM sleep because they take place at the end of the cycle when sleep is lighter.

The secret to an easier wakeup is simple—get more sleep! Set the alarm for the time you actually get out of bed (i.e. the last snooze) and avoid the snooze but- ton altogether. If this behavioral change is too difficult, try placing the alarm clock across the room since it’s much easier to avoid habitual snoozing if it’s not readily available. Die-hard snoozers should try to min- imize the damage by setting the alarm for 10 minutes earlier than usual and snoozing just once or twice. Ten minutes of disrupted sleep isn’t perfect, but it’s better than 30-60 minutes!

For a permanent solution to weekday sleepiness, try to cultivate better long term sleep. Hitting the snooze button may seem like a good idea at 6am, but alarm clocks—and more specifically, snooze buttons—can disrupt the sleep cycle, which leads to less restful sleep. To get some high-quality sleep, try going to bed earlier and getting a solid seven to nine hours of sleep.

Citrus Berry Smoothie: Cooking Directions This meal-in-a-glass smoothie is bursting with berries and or- Place berries, yogurt, orange juice, dry milk, wheat germ, honey ange juice, healthful sources of carbohydrate and powerful anti- and vanilla in a blender and blend until smooth. oxidants. Getting plenty of antioxidant-rich foods makes sense for active people, since free radicals are produced any time the Nutritional Information: Serving: Per serving body’s cells process oxygen. Ingredients: Calories: 432, Carbohydrates: 77g, Fat: 3g,

1 1/4 cups fresh berries Protein: 20g, Dietary Fiber: 7g, Saturated Fat: 2g

3/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt Monounsaturated Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 15mg

1/2 cup of orange juice Potassium: 617mg, Sodium: 250mg,

2 tablespoon nonfat dry milk Exchanges: 3 fruit, 2 low-fat milk,

1 tablespoon toasted wheat germ Carbohydrate Servings: 4 1/2 1 tablespoon of honey

7 Page 8

8 Page 9

Safety Message:

Harford County Government has always strived to safeguard its resources, especially our most valuable....the employ- ee. The safety submissions will strive to take this directive a step further by providing primarily non-occupational in- sight, safety tips and timely information. This resource will further equip the employees of our workforce so that they may better safeguard their individual families and friends. If you have a particular item you think merits attention, please feel free to email Erik Ketelsen ([email protected].)

A Day at the Beach Sun, Surf, & Sand Safety Tips -Always swim near a lifeguard -Never swim alone -Avoid alcohol – even small amounts can impair your judgment, balance, and coordination as well as reduce your body temperature -Don't Dive Into Unknown Water or Into Shallow Breaking Waves – 2/3 of catastrophic neck injuries occur in open water -Keep kids close – Children can get lost quickly on a crowded beach -Be aware that floaties, noodles, and rafts are not life-saving devices -Beware rip currents and changing conditions

*80% of drowning deaths at ocean beaches are from rip currents*

9 Page 10

-Sunlight is most intense from 10 am to 3 pm -Clouds scatter sunlight allowing you to get an unexpected sunburn even on a cloudy day -Some drugs and cosmetics may increase susceptibility to sunburn because they contain substances that cause the skin to absorb more of the sun’s radiation. -The letters S.P.F. stands for Sun Protection Factor. A factor is a number used to multiply another number, in this case your time in the sun before burning. An S.P.F. of 2 means that if you usually start to burn in ten minutes, using the product would, in theory under ideal conditions…let you bask twice as long before you burn. -Use higher SPF on your nose, ears, shoulders and feet. Re-apply every two hours or more often if swimming or perspiring. -Keep all sunblock away from your eyes. Wear sunglasses and a hat!! -Babies under one year of age should stay out of the sun and should not use adult sunblock, as an infant’s skin is sensitive and their system may not be able to “flush out” the chemicals absorbed through the skin. -Water and sand reflect the damaging rays of the sun which can increase your chance of sunburn.

Healthy Recipe Grilled Asparagus

Ingredients

1/ 4 cup KRAFT Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

1 lb. fresh asparagus spears, trimmed

1 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions

Heat grill to medium-high heat

Pour dressing over asparagus in shallow dish; turn to evenly coat asparagus with dressing. Remove aspara- gus, reserving dressing in dish.

Grill asparagus 5 min. or until crisp-tender, turning and brushing occasionally with reserved dressing

Serve topped with cheese.

10 PAGE 11

11 PAGE 12

12 Page 13

13 Page 14

Harford County Retiree Spotlight Suggestions Who would you like to see featured as the next Retiree Spotlight? Submit your suggestions to Beth Griffith at [email protected]

David R. Craig or call 410-638-3202 Harford County Executive

‘Preserving Harford’s past; Promoting Harford’s future’ ●Milestones● Published by Do Harford County you have a Department of Human Resources Scott T. Gibson, Director Milestone Beth Griffith Editor in your life that you would 410-638-3202 like to share? [email protected] New Grand Baby Perhaps! Tamara Simmons, Contributor If so, please let us know. 410-638-4871 [email protected]

14