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ContentsSagicor AdviceInvesting in financial security

Dietary AdviceMaking healthy living a lifelong habit

Cover FeatureSigma Run: $17 million still to go!

My FitnessMy first Sigma Corporate Run

My FitnessHow I prepared for Sigma Corporate Run

Health News

Family HealthMeatless Mondays: the healthy alternative Healthy HomeNatural cleaning products for a healthy home

Ask the doctorHypertension: examing the silent killer

Health card focusWhat you need to know about your Sagicor card

Welcome!Welcome to your first Wellness eZine by Sagicor, here to help Jamaica lead a healthier life both physically and financially. We are publishing this issue after the annual PanCaribbean Sigma Corporate Run, which was a great success. You turned out in your thousands and we are grateful for your support, but we still need to raise more towards our target of $50 million to help save lives at the Bustamante Hospital for Children. Details on how you may contribute can be found inside, alongside some regular features.

Among them, for your own wellness, we have some handy dietary tips and a family feature on Meatless Mondays, which is growing in popularity in Jamaica, while also reducing a few waistbands! Also for the family, we have suggestions for using green products in the home. There is also valuable information about using your Sagicor cards and advice on how to maintain a healthy investment portfolio.

Please know that we greatly value your feedback. Send us your health questions and we will find a qualified medical practitioner who can provide the right answer within these pages. To contact us, send your questions and suggestions to: sagicorwellness@joinemedia.com

nvestments can provide financial freedom for those willing to learn and commit to an investment strategy. Under-standing how to organise your financial portfolio allows

for sound investment decisions.

There are di!erent factors that help to determine your choice of investment. Knowing your risk appetite is one such factor. Depending on how keen you are for returns, your financial ad-visor might label you as being conservative, moderate or risky.

First begin by determining your risk appetite. Ask yourself the following: am I conservative, moderate or aggressive? It is im-portant to know your risk level, so that you’ll know what invest-ments to choose and what strategy will be most in keeping with your risk appetite.

Establishing investment goals or objectives will help when decid-ing what type of assets you want to invest in. If your goals are more short-term, then you should consider more liquid invest-ments like Sagicor’s Guaranteed Investor and Premium Saver.

If you have more medium and long-term goals, say 10 to 20 years, you may wish to consider Sagicor’s Solid Investor and Sagicor Lifestyle. It is important to understand that usually short-term investments tend to o!er a lower interest rate, es-pecially if the risk level is low.

Some investment gems to take into consideration when choos-ing an investment option are compound interest (interest re-ceived on your principal and previous interest earned) and tax-free benefits.

As we face harsh economic times you must always remember that budgets are your friend, as it is not wise to invest more than you can a!ord to lose. That said, wise investing and committing to a sound investment strategy can help provide patient inves-tors with the financial freedom they desire.

Loeri Robinson Sagicor Financial Advisor

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stable interest rate, which usually results in lower returns.

they tend to strike more of a balance in their investment portfolio.

investments. While the risk of loss is definitely higher, it is important to note that the riskier the investments the higher the returns.

Sagicor Advice

Investing infinancial security

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Making healthy eatinga lifelong habit

any people look to fad diets that will help them lose weight. Diets are a temporary solution that involves giving up certain

foods. When the diet is over, a lot of people tend to gorge themselves on the foods that they had cut out. It is quite likely for one to overeat after a diet and end up regaining the weight lost and then some.

The key to getting to a healthy weight and maintaining it is not getting caught up in fad dieting. Eating healthy is the best solution for achieving your ideal weight and small changes are best to incorporate new habits into your lifestyle. Once these small changes have become a part of the routine, then you can work on making other healthy choices part of your everyday lives. Healthy eating will ensure a balanced diet full of vita-mins, minerals and other essential nutrients, which will help you have more energy and feel better overall.

Everyone knows that exercise is very important for a healthy lifestyle, but many overlook the benefits of healthy eating. Numerous studies are being conducted showing the growth of preventable diseases such as obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol and cancer, which are reportedly attributed to dietary choices.

This shows us how the choices we make can a!ect our lives in the long term.

To incorporate healthy habits into your life, it is best to make small manageable changes. Once you stick to eating healthy, these changes will become habits and it will be a lot easier to know what dietary choices to make. When you start to feel the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, you will be less inclined to eat the wrong things. The e!ects of these changes show people why it is important to take care of their bodies both with exercise and a healthy diet.

If you can stick to these adjustments, you will be well on your way to a healthier you. Planning meals ahead of time will ensure that you don’t make the wrong food choices. Include foods that you love, because if you like what you are eating, then you will stick to your plan. Lastly, don’t skip meals. You might think it is beneficial to cut out those calories, but it leads to overeating, which hurts you in the end.

POSITIVE CHANGES TO YOUR DIET:

switching white rice, white bread and all other white flour products for whole-wheat or brown versions.

ensure that you are getting the recommended serving each day.

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Dietary advice

ebruary’s latest staging of the 13th annual Pan-Caribbean Sigma Corporate Run has so far been a resounding success, with the Jamaican private

sector and employees uniting to raise more than $33 million so far for Chain of Hope Jamaica. The funds will go towards improving the cardiac unit at the Bustamante Hospital for Children

With more than 16,000 registered participants this year, donations will remain open until the end of March with the ultimate goal of reaching a fundraising target of $50 million towards a lifesaving cause.

“The parent company Chain of Hope UK established Chain of Hope Jamaica five years ago and the aim is to build a sustainable cardiac centre of excellence at the Bustamante Hospital for Children,” said Dr Charmaine Scott, chairperson of Chain of Hope Jamaica.

A global charitable organisation devoted to helping chil-dren su!ering from heart diseases, Chain of Hope aims to raise a total of US$5 million for the centre, which is in need of infrastructure, trained sta!, an operating theatre and an expanded intensive care unit.

Dr Scott, who expressed pleasure at the overwhelming support for the event, said that proceeds from Sigma will go towards equipping Bustamante’s intensive care unit, which despite belonging to the English-speaking Carib-bean’s only children’s hospital, currently has just five beds.

“That serves any child who needs critical care, so you can see it’s giving us more beds but it’s also allowing other children access to the limited space already in the intensive care, so it’s a far-reaching e!ect,” she said.

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Sigma Run:$17 million still to go!

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Cover feature

(L-R) President and CEO of PanCaribbean Financial

CEO of Sagicor Life Jamaica, Richard Byles.

The desperate situation at Bustamante was also inspired Olympic champion Usain Bolt to become a patron of the event, alongside Lady Allen and Sagicor Life Jamaica founder R Danny Williams. Bolt, who donated more than $2 million through his foundation, indicated that it is important to support events that benefit the nation’s children.

“I always say the kids are the future. Chain of Hope is doing a very good job to support the Bustamante hospi-tal and to save hearts. For me it’s key. I always do a lot of charities to give back to Jamaica because Jamaica has given me a lot, so it’s an e!ort for the country,” said the world’s fastest man. “I think it wasn’t just OK to be a part of it, but to also give, so we gave because I want to help to get to the target.”

Alfred ‘Frano’ Francis, who has been working as race di-rector for the event since its inception, highlighted that planning has become easier over the years, because of the committed and passionate team of persons who

work in the di!erent organisaitons.

Francis also noted the importance of businesses recog-nising and acting on their corporate social responsibility. “For 50 years of Jamaica, this participation today reaf-firms my belief where humanity is concerned...We must seek to popularise it [positive stories] and also illustrate how great a corporate citizen PanCaribbean is and let them be a leader in this way. I think they deserve all the praise for having stuck with it.”

Horace Burey, who won the male event, said he prepared by exercising and was pleased with his winning time of just over 14 minutes. With the added pressure of being the defending champion, Burey said he was committed to putting in the hard work needed to win.

“I did a lot of running. In the morning I do a six mile, in the evening I do a 10 mile running, come back and do some abs and push ups. I really wanted to win again,” said Burey.

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chairperson of Chain of Hope Jamaica and Mark Chisholm, executive vice-president, Individual Life Division at Sagicor Life Jamaica.

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must admit I was terrified when I heard that my company was signing up for the Sigma Corporate Run. I was never an active child, preferring the company of a book in a quiet corner to the fields of sport. I didn’t

do so well in high school Physical Education either, pretty much failing my way through, because of my clumsiness and laziness. I call myself a profes-sional spectator, watching other people sweat while I cheer or yell from the couch.

I worried a sedentary lifestyle would come back to haunt me, especially as I didn’t even begin to train for the event. But come race day, I was psyched and ready for action. My only goal was to finish on my two feet, not in one of the patrolling ambulances. I didn’t plan to finish dead last, either!

I didn’t have any kind of strategy in mind as the group of walkers (what, you thought I ran?) set o!. I had a walking partner, a friend of a friend, and she helped me keep pace. I tend to walk kind of fast naturally, so I was able to maintain a brisk rate throughout. I didn’t stop once, never cramped up or felt unable to continue. I told myself I could finish in less than 90 minutes and that’s exactly what I did. I finished in just over an hour – 1:02:56, to be exact. Awesome!

There were a few times on the route that the sea of people before me was kind of intimidating, but I found myself wondering how many of them I could pass on the way. I began to target people – the little old ladies (come before me? Never!), mothers pushing babies in strollers (ditto), kids (no matter how much energy you all have, I’m passing you!) and people from other companies.

As we came o! Ruthven Road unto Half Way Tree Road and I could almost see the end, I sped up even more but, unfortunately, so did everybody else. Some of the people I had passed power-walked past me, but I was un-daunted. I rank the moment I crossed the finish line, arms outstretched like I had won, right up there with my college graduation. I am extremely proud of myself and I wear my souvenir Sagicor ‘Finisher’ dog tag with all the pride of an Olympic gold medal.

Of course, by the time I got home, all the tension had set in, meaning every-thing on my body that can hurt is still in pain.

This event marks a turning point for me. I actually drag my aching bones out of bed at 6:15 in the mornings to walk and after a rough patch, I feel pretty good! I’m also thinking ahead to next year’s event. I’m not too keen on run-ning, but I should be able to start jogging by the end of March. If I’m at the place I hope to be next February, I’ll definitely be taking my place on the runners’ side of Knutsford Boulevard.

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How I prepared forSigma

My fitness

Tracey-Ann Wisdom

By Tracey-Ann Wisdom

How Iprepared to run

mong the thousands of par-ticipants in the annual PanCa-ribbean Sigma Corporate Run

are many regular, everyday people who turn out to support charitable causes. Others are amateur athletes who enjoy the thrill of competition. Here several finishers share how they prepared for the big day:

Bruce James, First place, open walk race

“I’ve been [preparing] for five months. I go to Gymkhana five days a week and I’m much fitter than I was last year. I have a trainer named Damian at Gym-khana and he works me hard. I try to eat well and just do everything I have to do to get ready. I expected to win and I’m glad I did.”

Naomi Cowan, Second-time participant

“I’m not an endurance athlete, so I wanted to challenge myself. I mentally prepared. I really didn’t practice. I’ve been really busy so I just ran. I go to the gym but I don’t really like to run.”

Rochelle Thomas, Second-time participant

“This morning I had chips and I did the soca warm up and that’s about it. I do dance sometimes, so I guess I thought that could carry me through. I thought wrong.”

Jemel Sterling, First-time participant

“I’ve been running 5ks when they have the periodic events and it’s always a good thing to support. I’ve been researching the benefits of running and it’s really good… In the mornings I normally run. I try to eat healthy, but I still love junk food. I still run just to ensure that I have some sort of stamina so I can run these races. I drank a lot of water just to make sure I’m hydrated.”

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My fitness

Health news

STUDY: EXERCISING DURING PREGNANCY WON’T HARM BABY

A new study has found that women who exercise while pregnant aren’t putting their unborn babies at risk. Re-searchers at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, assessed women in their third trimester for 30 minutes and found that there were no changes in the baby’s heart rate and blood flow. The results corroborate earlier sug-gestions by doctors that pregnant women should main-tain a healthy exercise routine.

SAFER SEX WEEK: TEK CHARGE

The 2012 Safer Sex Week was celebrated from February 12 to 18 under the theme ‘Tek charge! Condom: check. HIV Test: check. Less Partners: check.’ This year’s theme is an urgent appeal for individuals to take charge of their sex life by limiting the number of sexual partners, taking an HIV test and using condoms. It’s important for indi-viduals to take charge because an estimated 32,000 Ja-maicans are living with HIV & AIDS, and half don’t know.

STUDY: DAILY DIET SODA MAY INCREASE RISK OF HEART ATTACK, STROKE

A study conducted by researchers at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine, which appeared in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, revealed that persons who drink diet soda on a daily basis are more likely to develop heart disease and stroke. They found that adults who drank diet soda every day were 44 per cent more likely to su!er a heart attack. The research, however, did not prove that diet sodas alone were to be blamed for this increase.

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Health news

eatless meals may sound daunting to those of you who really appreciate a good steak, but there is no better way to introduce healthy habits into your diet

than by taking small steps to achieve a healthy lifestyle. This is what the worldwide Meatless Monday initiative is all about. Ac-cording to the Meatless Monday Campaign, along with the John Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health, the initiative aims to reduce meat consumption by 15 per cent in order to improve personal health and the health of the planet.

Getting your family to eat meatless one day a week will definitely be a step in the right direction. Youth is no longer an excuse to make poor dietary choices as many have done throughout the years. As we see a rise in childhood obesity and other prevent-able diseases, we realise how important these choices really are.

as everyone will be introducing these positive changes into their lives at the same time.

There are many health benefits associated with a meatless diet, such as reducing your risk of preventable diseases including obe-sity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Essentially, this diet will increase your intake of fibre and lower that of saturated fats. The increase in foods such as vegetables and legumes will be beneficial because they contain antioxidants, vitamins and miner-als, which are good for overall health.

Meatless Mondays can be a small step towards getting your family to live a healthy life. One day of good choices may even influence the choices you make for the rest of the week.

For great recipe ideas, visit meatlessmondays.com

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Meatless Mondays:the healthy alternative

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mproving the overall health of your family should be at the top of your list of changes to make this year. Outside of eating well and exercising, it is also important to create a home environment that fosters good health.

The products that you use in your home are key to ensuring a healthy environ-ment.

Commercial cleaning products contain ingredients that might be toxic to your health. To safeguard the health of your family, you should consider using all-natural or ‘green’ cleaners that have fewer harmful chemicals.

Natural cleaners generally contain ingredients you might remember your mother or grandmother using. That is, everyday ingredients that can be found around the house. Here are some natural cleaning agents that you should con-sider using in your home:

1. BAKING SODA: Also known as sodium bicarbonate, it can be used in many places around the home including kitchen, floors and bathrooms. Baking soda is a great cleaning agent and is one of the main ingredients in expensive commercial cleaning products. It is recommended that for tough stains, you allow the baking soda to sit for a minute on the surface. Also, put a box in the refrigerator to absorb odour.

2. WHITE VINEGAR: There are many uses for vinegar, especially when you want to deodorise and disinfect. Because of its acidity, ensure that it is properly diluted. Vinegar works like an all-purpose cleaner and is tough on dirt while being eco-friendly. It is e!ective in killing mold, bacteria and germs and can be used to clean counters, shine chrome, remove grease splatters and get rid of lime deposits.

3. LEMON JUICE: If you have a problem with soap scum, then you should

lemon juice can be used to remove hard water deposits.

4. OLIVE OIL: Outside of being good with food, olive oil also functions as a great cleanser. It can also be used when cleaning metals such as cast-iron pots and pans, sink nozzles and other metallic items around the home. Use it to pol-ish wood, since it gives a nice sheen and won’t destroy the surface.

5. RUBBING (ISOPROPYL) ALCOHOL: Besides cleaning cuts and scratches, diluted rubbing alcohol also acts as a great glass cleanser. When mixed with water and vinegar, it is safe to clean windows, mirrors and chrome fixtures.

For more information, visit housekeeping.about.com

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Natural cleaning products for a healthy home

Healthy home

ypertension (high blood pressure or “pressure”) is known by both prac-titioners and the public as the silent killer. This is because those who are

either developing the condition or already have it but it is worsening, will have no symptoms or awareness of it, whilst the condition is already damaging the body. Unfortunately but fre-quently, the first time the problem is revealed is when an a!ected person visits the doctor with other concerns and the routine blood pressure check is done. This again reinforces why even patients in good health must go to their private practitioner at least once a year for a check-up.

Yes, it is true. Black people are predisposed to having hypertension, and scientists around the world are trying to discover why. In some Jamaican families, almost everyone has this di-agnosis and is often unaware of the devastating e!ects that it is causing.

HOW IT WORKSThe human heart is basically a pump, and it works by generating pressure to move fluids (in this case, blood) through a series of pipes (blood vessels). Our ‘pumps’ are set to work

-ever, as an a!ected person’s pressure starts to rise, the pump has to work harder and harder to meet the needs of the body. This explains why patients with uncontrolled blood pressure for a long time can develop heart failure, which

means the heart is not able to meet the de-mands of the body. In addition, the higher pres-sures over time can damage the vessels sup-plying essential parts of the body, in particular the brain (causing stroke), the retina (causing blindness), the kidneys (causing renal impair-ment or worse kidney failure) and the lower legs (causing peripheral arterial disease that in severe cases requires amputation). There is even a connection between hypertension and the development of endometrial cancer.

PREVENTIONObesity, high salt intake, excessive stress and a sedentary lifestyle all predispose to the de-velopment of this disorder, so preventing these situations reduces the risk of hypertension. If you have a medical condition that predisposes you to hypertension, like thyroid disease and other hormonal disorders, diabetes, and certain medications, please ensure that they are being managed correctly. Also, if you develop ‘pres-sure’ under the age of 40 years, your medical practitioner should investigate to ensure there are no underlying medical conditions.

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Hypertension:examining the silent killer

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Ask the doctor

By Dr. Andrea Gardner Carey

TREATMENTNine out of 10 people will have no underlying cause of hypertension. This is called ‘essential hypertension’. If you have it, you need to treat any modifiable problems as mentioned above. Lose the weight, de-stress, reduce your salt intake, and start low intensity exercise like walk-ing, swimming, and even cycling to actually improve your heart and cardiovascular health. But if your practitioner believes you need medication, you need to take it, every day. In addition, you need to ensure that you have repeat prescriptions to cover when the previous pills are running out. The primary goal in the management of high blood pressure is to normalise it and keep it normal. Very im-portant as well, is to make sure that you see your doctor at least every three months to ensure that no changes are required.

PREGNANT WOMEN AND HYPERTENSIONOne of the most common complications that a!ect preg-nant women in Jamaica is Pre-eclampsia. This is the de-velopment of high blood pressure after 20 weeks (five months) of pregnancy with associated protein in the

urine. This can be a particularly devastating disorder be-cause it can place both the mother and her unborn child at high risk for disability and even death. If you are at high risk for its development (previous pregnancy compli-

-betic patient prior to pregnancy, obesity, placental prob-lems in previous pregnancies), please see your doctor if you suspect you are already pregnant or contemplating pregnancy.

Let me know how you are doing!If you have a medical question you’d like answered in an upcoming issue, email DrAndreaGardnerCarey@gmail.com

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Accessing your benefitsAs a card holder, you should be familiar with your Sagi-cor benefits cards, which have your name, policy num-ber, list of benefits, the amount covered by the plan, where applicable and the basic limits on some of your most frequently used benefits. Your swipe card, on the other hand, gives you immediate approval at pharmacies and other health facilities. It also helps to identify you to your health provider and will also display your name, birth date and gender, so it is recommended that you always travel with your cards in the event of an emer-gency.

An important tip is to familiarise yourself with your ben-efits and take note of your expected co-payments and limits. The easiest way to access your benefits is to use one of the many providers that will extend credit to you, on presentation of your card. These providers will only ask you to pay for any amount in excess of the benefit limits stated on your card.

Remember, if you do not have your health card with you when you visit the doctor, you will be asked to pay for the service in full.

Submitting your claimFrom time to time, you may have to pay in full for your service and would like your reimbursement to be set-tled quickly. There are some some things you can do to speed up the process.

For quick settlement, submit your claim forms promptly after receiving service. If there are delays, ensure that the forms are sent in within 90 days of receiving the service.

If you have to do a surgery or a major diagnostic proce-dure, it is a good idea to seek pre-approval to confirm that the type of service you require is covered under your plan, and also to confirm if you will have to pay some of these charges out of your pocket.

Q: Where should I submit my claims?A: With Sagicor, you have the convenience of submitting claims to any Sagicor business centre or branch, located in Kingston, Spanish Town, Ocho Rios, Mandeville and Montego Bay. If you are a part of your company’s health plan, submit your claim to your personnel or human resource admin-istrator.

Q: How long does it take to get paid? A: We are usually able to reimburse you within 10-15 working days. If you sign up for electronic reimburse-ment, your payment will be deposited to your bank ac-count within one to three business days of the claim be-ing paid.

If your claim form is not properly completed, it will slow down the process significantly as you will be asked to provide the information required to verify and settle your claim. Therefore, as far as possible, ensure that your claim form is properly completed before they are submitted.

What you need to knowabout your Sagicor card

Health card focus

For speedy processing of you claims. Ensure that your claim form is competed with relevant information and that:

Sagicor Life Jamaica Limited28-48 Barbados Avenue

Kingston 5, Jamaica.

Phone: 1-888-Sagicor (724-4267)Fax: (876) 929-4730

www.sagicorja.com

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