January Canadian Pharmacy News

Your Medisave experience - tell us what's on your mind! Share your comments and feedback with us.  

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Pharmacy Checker.com: 'More Savings in Canada'

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'Losing Business to Canada '

The same companies that sell prescription drugs in the U.S. also sell them in other countries around the world, including Canada. The U.S. is the only industrialized country with no regulations limiting drug prices, so the same pills are much more expensive here. As a result, by the summer of 2004, at least 1 million people living in the U.S. were filling their prescriptions in neighboring Canada , at a considerable saving.

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Your Best Interests at Heart

Consider the Following:

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Top 5 Ways to Feel Full and Eat Less

The majority of the weight you gain this year will probably be over the winter holiday season! Americans gain an average of 0.4 to 1.8 pounds each year during their adult lives, with an average gain of about one pound during the winter holiday season. This extra weight accumulates through the years and may be a major contributor to obesity later in life.

It's a common complaint: how can you lose weight if you're hungry all the time? The solution may be easier than you think. Many acts of overeating, in fact, may have less to do with appetite than the sheer amount of food we have on our plate, says Dr. Barbara Rolls, a nutrition expert at Penn State University and author of The Volumetrics Eating Plan.

So rather than just eating less, Rolls and others say, there are ways to feel full without giving up all that much. For hunger pains that don't go away-here's what the latest studies suggest:

Super-size filling foods
Fruits and vegetables contain a lot of water and fiber, which can quickly fill you up and are low in calories. Ross suggests super-sizing these foods much like you would fast food. Try a variety to a keep your diet interesting.

Eat your protein
The latest diet craze has helped reveal that protein-rich foods are possibly more filling. In a recent study conducted by Dr. David Weigle, he followed 19 people who kept to a 2,000-calorie diet for several months. Compared to the weeks they ate less protein, volunteers reported feeling more full when they ate 30 percent of their calories from protein. They also lost more weight. As long as the protein is lean, Rolls says that including such foods in your diet may help you eat less and lose weight.

Limit fatty foods, can the soda
Cakes and other fatty foods pack a lot of calories without adding much substance. Foods laden with sugar and fat may taste good, but they do little to fill you up. Indeed, researchers at Tufts University found that nearly two-thirds of adults got more calories from soft drinks than any other specific food. As a whole, they were also more obese than those who stuck to fruit juice and low-fat milk.

Snack "smart"
A little snacking may not only keep your hunger in-check between meals, but may also leave you less tempted to overeat at dinner. Instead of cookies or chips, nibbling on nuts or cheese, which are high in protein, may leave you fuller than snacking on foods that are high in carbohydrates or calories. To make sure snacking doesn't become just another big meal, try picking out different foods that are low in calories and keep them handy for when hunger strikes.

Eat until you're hara hachi bu
Translated from Japanese, this literally means "eat until you're 80 percent full." Residents of the Japanese island of Okinawa, who are among the oldest and healthiest people on the planet, have perfected this practice over the years. In general, Okinawans eat 10 percent to 40 percent fewer calories than Americans. Try eating until you feel mostly full, then wait 20 minutes. Research suggests that many people are satisfied after following the 80 percent rule, even though they eat less.

Your Comments

"Your service is great. I feel the same as you stated that these plans do not solve the issue of the high cost of drugs in the USA . If these drug coverage plans would allow us to get our drugs from you it would save both the insurance co. and the Medicare patient money. Thank you for your good service."
W.H.