POSTSCRIPTS - Cost Containment Research Institute booklet on controlling the cost of medication - this and other items are discussed - Brief Article

Nutrition Health Review, Wntr, 2001

IS YOUR MEDICATION too expensive for your budget? The Cost Containment Research Institute in Washington, D.C., has published a 32-page booklet, Free & Low Cost Prescription Drugs. This revised third edition is now available.

"Many major drug companies provide free or low-cost medication, but rarely, if ever, publicize the programs," says Allen Nichols, director of the Institute. "We've published an A to Z listing of all the drugs that are available to certain qualified groups for free or at very low cost directly from the manufacturer."

Consumers can receive a copy by sending $5 to cover printing, postage, and handling costs to Institute Fulfillment Center, Prescription Drug Booklet No. PB-370, P.O. Box 462, Elmira, NY 14902-0462. Consumers can also contact the Institute's Internet Web site: www.institutedc.org.

A FRUIT AND VEGETABLE WASH, Wash Dem Veggies, is an all-natural produce rinse designed to wash off the harmful pesticide residues that may be present on flesh fruits and vegetables.

According to the manufacturer in Middlebury, Vermont, the rinse is made from renewable vegetable and botanical sources, including saponified (fat made into soap by treating with an alkali) coconut and olive oils, natural essential oils, liquid aloe, and rosemary extract.

Wash Dem Veggies is reported to be flee of artificial colors, fragrances, preservatives, and animal by-products, and it is not tested on animals. It is sold in health food, gourmet, and specialty stores nationwide. A 16-ounce bottle of the wash is $4.99.

For more information, contact Vermont Soapworks at www.vermontsoap.com or 802-388-4302.

FIT FRUIT AND VEGETABLE WASH, manufactured by Procter and Gamble, Cincinnati, is also designed to remove wax, dirt, and pesticides from fresh fruit and vegetables. According to the manufacturer, the ingredients come from natural sources found in foods, including baking soda, citric acid, and grapefruit oil.

Fit is designed to remove 98 per cent of pesticides, 93 per cent of wax, and 95 per cent of handling residues. It can be applied by two methods, a soak and a spray.

It will be sold in three sizes, an 8.5-oz. spray bottle about ($4.99), a 32-ounce soak/refill bottle ($5.99), and a 64-ounce soak/refill bottle ($9.99). A Fit Wash and Rinse System ($12.99) includes an 8.5-ounce spray bottle, a 32-ounce soak/refill bottle, and a bowl and basket set for washing produce. Fit Antibacterial Product Cleaner will also be available.

For more information, contact Procter & Gamble at www.tryfit.com.

AGENET.COM OFFERS ON-LINE DRUG REVIEWS for older adults and caregivers. Web site visitors will find information on specific medications, side effects, costs, and alternatives; they can ask the advice of a pharmacist and receive a geriatric drug assessment to prevent harmful interactions before they occur.

Its Senior Drug Reviews include more than 250 of the most commonly prescribed drugs for older adults, organized by disease category to help users find information easily. AGENET is based in Madison, Wisconsin.

For more information, contact the company at www.agenet.com or 608-256-4242.

THE VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP (VRG), Baltimore, has conducted a poll of 1,181 adults to determine how often they were ordering a vegetarian meal when eating in a restaurant.

More than half of the survey population (57%) said they sometimes, often, or always order a vegetarian item, whereas 39% responded that they never order a dish without meat, fish, or fowl.

Forty-one per cent said they sometimes order a dish without meat, fish, or fowl; 12% often order a such a dish; and 6% said they always order a dish without meat, fish, or fowl.

What this means, according to VRG, is that there are many tastes to which restaurants and food companies must cater. "It's not as easy as offering one item for everybody," it says. "If a vegetarian dish tastes good, about half the population will eat it."

For more information, contact VRG at www.vrg.org or 410-366-8343.

ONE OF TWO WORKING AMERICANS (51%) says sleepiness is affecting his or her job performance, according to a National Sleep Foundation (NSF) poll.

Forty per cent of those surveyed admitted that the quality of their work suffers when they are sleepy, and 19% reported making occasional or frequent mistakes on the job because of sleepiness. NSF's 2000 Sleep in America Omnibus poll queried more than 1,154 adults ages 18 and older.

The poll also found that 24% of participants have difficulty getting up for work two or more days a week, 68% have trouble concentrating, and 66% say sleepiness makes handling stress difficult. Fifty-seven per cent have difficulty communicating because they are too sleepy to listen to coworkers, and 37% have problems relating to their colleagues.

Employees estimated that the quality and quantity of their work decreased by about 30% when they were sleepy, the NSF concluded.

MIGRAINE HEADACHES may respond to large doses of vitamin [B.sub.2] (riboflavin), but most headaches do not, according to Harvard Men's Health Watch (December 1999).