In This Issue:n The Growing E-Cigarette Trend

n Seasonal Allergies and Your Eyes

n Just for Laughs

n Healthy Recipe: Hummus

n Heartburn Drugs Can Cause Vitamin B12 Deficiency

n Protect Your Online Identity

n Caring for Plants Harmed by Winter

n Customer Service Center

Health NotesPublished Quarterly for our Valued Reserve National Policyholders

601 E. Britton Rd.Oklahoma City, OK 73114

Summer 2014

RESERVE NATIONAL

A Kemper Life & Health Company

Reserve National Insurance Company

The Growing E-Cigarette TrendPeople of any age can buy them, and they come in hundreds of flavors that range from fruity and sweet to traditional tobacco.

An e-cigarette is a cartridge filled with a nicotine solution. It has a battery to power a coil that heats the solution into vapor. The tip glows blue instead of red. The nicotine is the same as found in cigarettes and nicotine patches.

The e-cigarette was invented in the 1960s, but it didn’t really take off until the last decade. It is estimated that roughly four million Americans use the e-cigarette.

Recently there has been growing alarm about public health concerns associated with these trendy alternatives. At the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, the rise of e-cigarette use is being discussed.

Because they want to have their nicotine back, and the urge to smoke satisfied, former smokers might switch to e-cigarettes even though there’s no long-term research about health risks. According to some analysts, there could be an increase in the number of Americans who smoke.

For some people, including the younger age group, it may serve as a gateway product. It may encourage them to develop the nicotine habit, which would lead back to regular cigarettes.

Teenagers may be the biggest concern. With regular cigarettes, first experiences include dizziness and coughing, and

smokers have to learn how to inhale, which is not the case with e-cigarettes.

While not inhaling smoke reduces the risk of lung cancer, e-cigarette use brings other problems. Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor that narrows blood vessels and drives up blood pressure. It’s hard to predict the long-term health effects. Further, no one knows what inhaling those “generally recognized as safe” glycerin and propylene glycol additives, will do to the lungs over time.

Under former mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York expanded the ban on smoking in public places to include e-cigarettes. In Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel did the same thing, and now Los Angeles has followed. In Brazil, e-cigarettes are banned outright.

Call your agent or Reserve National at

800.654.9106

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Healthy Recipe:

Mediterranean HummusWith the help of a food processor, this recipe couldn’t be easier! Hummus is a staple of the Mediterranean diet, and is packed with healthy fiber. Serve it as a dip with carrots and other raw vegetables, or with crunchy pita chips.

1 can (15 oz.) garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas) 2-3 cloves garlic 1 tsp. salt 1/2 c. tahini 1/4 c. fresh lemon juice

Cook garbanzo beans in liquid until heated. Pour off liquid and reserve. Mince garlic with salt in food processor, add beans and pulse 10 times. Add tahini, lemon juice and reserved bean liquid. Process until mixture is consistence of creamy paste. Spoon into a serving bowl and drizzle with a little olive oil.

Garnish with olive oil, toasted pine nuts and/or paprika. Makes 2 cups.

Doctors call it allergic conjunctivitis, an inflammation of the conjunctiva (the membrane covering the white part of the eye) due to allergy. It causes red, itchy, watery eyes. The rest of us call it hay fever.

When pollen comes in contact with an allergic person’s eyes, it causes cells known as “mast cells” to release histamine, which causes swelling and wateriness, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

The first step in treatment is the avoidance of trees and grasses that cause the symptoms. Not everyone can stay indoors, but you can avoid activities that keep you outdoors for long lengths of time.

Treatment with antihistamines is generally effective. Using over-the-counter medications, such as Claritin or Zyrtec, will usually clear up your symptoms. Antihistamines also are in nasal spray and eye drop form.

If you have asthma, or if over-the-counter medications don’t work well enough, you should see your doctor for a prescription.

A condition known as “dry eye syndrome” can occur any time during the year when you don’t produce enough tears to lubricate your eyes. Sometimes dry eye is caused by working long hours at a computer without blinking occasionally. If you do this type of work, purposely blink your eyes so they will remain lubricated. Some medications, like decongestants, can also dry out your eyes.

You can also treat dry eyes with over-the-counter preservative-free artificial tear solutions. Some people find that taking an omega-3 fish oil capsule each day prevents dry eyes.

Seasonal Allergies and Your Eyes

“You may experience

irritability and pain in the hands and wrist... and

that’s just from trying to get the cap off.”

Just for Laughs...

Celebrate Freedom!Caring for Plants Harmed by WinterMany homeowners watched in vain for the appearance of their tulips this spring. Gardeners across the country are likely to find many plants harmed by severe conditions this past winter.

With prevalent late cold snaps, it is best to be patient with perennial shrubs. The worst thing you can do to a perennial shrub is to prune when there are signs of frost bite. It’s best to wait at least four to six weeks for signs of new growth, which could take some plants into the first weeks or middle weeks of June.

Do not fertilize any flowering trees such as magnolia, flowering cherry, crab apple, or lilac if they have signs of frost bite. In fact, many flowering trees, if frost bitten should not be fertilized until next winter. The nitrogen in fertilizer will force the tree to leaf out and cause it more stress.

You can trim off small areas of dead foliage, but trim modestly. A seemingly dead branch on an evergreen could show new growth with time and water. Clip off decayed branches and leaves in hostas to encourage new growth.

If you are planting perennials in June, look for an overcast day with mild temperatures. New plants do not tolerate direct sunlight and dry conditions. Wait until the temperature no longer drops sharply overnight.

Hardier perennials can be planted through the summer months and into the fall. Stop the month before a full frost.

To replace your tulips, or any perennial bulbs that bloom in spring, plant in the fall months. They need time to establish a strong root system before winter.

Protect Your Online Identity

Identity protection has been in the news lately,and with good reason: cybercrime incidents are on the rise and show little sign of slowing down. It is important that you do everything in your power to protect yourself while reading your email and browsing online.

Your first line of defense is a good anti-spyware software and firewall for your computer. Beyond that, your best defense involves a few common sense best practices.

Use an alternative identity, with a second email address, for public sites. If your information gets in the hands of spammers, you can delete that identity and create a new one.

If an email link looks suspicious, it probably is. If a link in an email does not look suspicious, it still may be. Don’t click on anything that you are not absolutely certain is a legitimate link.

Share personal details about yourself only with trusted sites and people or companies that you know. When filling out forms, only give the basics that are required to submit the form.

Check with your credit card company to see if they offer an online pay service that will give you a one-time card number. More companies are looking at this option as credit card theft increases.

Change your passwords often. The suggested number of characters: 14. The most often-used password: password. Don’t be an easy target.

Heartburn Drugs Can CauseVitamin B12 DeficiencyProton pump inhibitors (PPIs), such as Prilosec and Nexium, can interfere with the absorption of calcium and iron. Now, the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that vitamin B12 be added to the list.

They find that people with B12 deficiencies are significantly more likely to have taken PPIs for at least two years than people without the deficiency.

Heartburn drugs called H-2 blockers, such as Zantac and Pepcid, were also linked to elevated risk, but less so.

Doctors at the University of California, Berkeley, say those who take these drugs regularly should have their B12

levels measured. B12 supplements are available in pill form, but for a serious deficiency, shots are recommended.

Certain foods can also help increase Vitamin B12 levels. The National Institutes of Health say the richest source of B12 is beef liver, which has eight times the recommended daily value (DV) requirement; three ounces of clams have more than five times the daily value. Trout and salmon also contain high amounts. Fortified foods and supplements use a form that is more easily absorbed.

Left untreated B12 deficiency can lead to nerve damage, anemia, dementia and other complications.

Published Quarterly forReserve National Policyholders

Health Notes

Customer Service Center We’re Here to Help!

Change of Address?Please let us know!

To better serve you as a policyholder, we must keep your current address and phone number in our records.

If you have moved or changed phone numbers recently, please call our Customer Service toll-free line at 800.654.9106. You may also email us at CustomerService@ReserveNational.com. To ensure that we update your records correctly, please include your policy number(s).

If you change addresses in the future, you will also need to fill out a Change of Address at your local United States postal facility. Before submitting your Change of Address card, please discuss your planned change with a U.S. Postal Clerk and have them examine your change on your card. Incorrect Change of Address submission can be a big irritation for you – and a problem for us.

Copyright ©June 2014 by Reserve National Insurance Company. Reserve National Health Notes is published quarterly for the policyholders of Reserve National Insurance Company, located at 601 E. Britton Rd., Oklahoma City, OK 73114. Any medical information in this publication is meant to complement the advice and guidance of your physician, not to replace it.

Reserve National Insurance Company

601 E. Britton Rd.Oklahoma City, OK 73114

A Kemper Life & Health Company

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