Issue Date: June 24, 2007
Help for teen drivers
The road is wet, the curve is sharp, and suddenly your teen's car is spinning out of control. Does he know what to do? Probably not. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, vehicle collisions are the leading cause of adolescent deaths.
Ex-race-car driver Jeff Payne began a special program in 2002 to teach kids behind the wheel and combat this statistic. The non-profit Driver's Edge tours the country offering free four-hour courses taught at racetracks by professional instructors (check locations and sign up online at driversedge.org). Teens learn how to handle dicey driving situations like skids, sudden lane changes and panic braking. Payne says 82% of students contacted after taking the course report that the lesson helped them avoid collisions.
4 musts to ensure your teen's safety
Jeff Payne's top tips:
1 For your teen's first car, you shouldn't compromise safety to save money. And don't encourage buying a flashy hot rod, which invites high-speed driving.
2 Even the best kids can make poor decisions, and many are afraid to call their parents when they've had too much to drink. Stress this: "You can call us anytime. We won't ask questions."
3 When she goes out, know her destination, and tell her she needs to call you if she heads to a new location.
4 For six months after getting a license, make sure your teen drives alone. Having friends in the car, especially if they're rowdy, is a dangerous distraction.
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Losing weight decreases diabetes risk
An estimated 20.8 million American children and adults have diabetes. Research has shown that physical activity can greatly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, as well as the complications associated with it. Yet a recent study published in the journal Diabetes Care revealed that those with type 2 diabetes, and those at the highest risk of developing it, don't exercise regularly.
There is a simple formula to follow to reduce the chances of developing diabetes. "Studies show that exercising for 30 minutes a day, at least five days per week, along with moderate weight loss, can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by nearly 60%," says Elaine H. Morrato, assistant professor of pediatrics and preventive medicine at the University of Colorado at Denver. See the American Diabetes Association's website at diabetes.org for more information on reducing risk.
Exercise also helps cut the risk.
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Antioxidants may boost cancer treatment
There is some controversy over whether patients on chemotherapy should take antioxidants. The main concern: Do supplements like vitamins E and C, beta carotene and selenium counteract cancer treatment?
A new review of 1,500 patients found that taking antioxidant supplements with chemotherapy actually might increase survival rates, tumor shrinkage and the patient's ability to tolerate chemotherapy. Discouraging antioxidants is not scientifically valid, suggests the study, which was co-authored by Robert Newman, Ph.D., of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and Keith Block, M.D., medical and scientific director of the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Care.
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You can borrow money online, but is it safe?
Prosper.com is reinventing the small loan business.
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Three websites are helping borrowers and lenders find each other on the Web. Prosper.com is up and running; Lendingclub.com, for Facebook members, launched May 24; and Zopa.com, a U.K. website, is due to start here later this year.
Here's how Prosper.com works: You post the amount you need (up to $25,000, depending on your state's laws), often with details about why you're asking for the loan. Lenders bid on the loans that look good. You avoid the hassles of bank paperwork while lenders often get a far higher return on their money than the average CD fund. Prosper.com acts as the middleman. It structures the loans and payments and gives a credit grade to each borrower. (It charges you 1% to 2% of the loan, and lenders pay a 0.5% to 1% service fee.)
But is it safe? Almost always yes, for the borrower. Prosper.com follows your state's lending laws. And because lenders bid against one another, they often bid the interest rate to a lower number. Person-to-person lending could be a good way to get out of a jam without resorting to high-interest credit cards or, worse, payday loans and other abusive schemes, says Jean Ann Fox of the Consumer Federation of America.
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