Twelve-year-old Brett Nasuti’s multiple severe food allergies have brought him unexpected fame in recent months. He is the first person to successfully complete a treatment that appears to have eliminated the threat of dangerous reactions that he and his family have …[read more]

Yesterday, on March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law; H.R. 4872 – Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010, (commonly referred to as “The Health Care Bill”).

While claims of “Medicare death squads”, “Government Takeover of Health Care”, and pundits claiming the bill will force employers to layoff or fire existing employees, (and make it unaffordable for them to hire anyone new), there does not appear to be …[read more]

FRAMINGHAM, MA — February is American Heart Month, and the Framingham Board of Health will be sponsoring their annual Healthy Heart Program on Tuesday February 10, 2009 at the Framingham Public Library.
Heart Disease is the number one killer of women in the US, but research shows that eighty percent of cardiac events in women could be prevented if women make the right choices for their hearts, such as changing their eating habits, getting regular exercise, choosing not to smoke and managing their cholesterol and blood pressure.

Dr Naomi Hamburg of BU School of Medicine and the Framingham Heart Study will speak about heart health. There will also be brief presentations on local heart healthy activities. Attendees will be able to get cholesterol, blood pressure, BMI, and bone density tests done and gather information from many community agencies.

The program is free and everyone is encouraged to attend.

For more information contact the Board of Health at 508-532-5470.

FRAMINGHAM, MA — A roundtable discussion about how to keep children with food allergies comfortable and safe at school will be the topic of the Metro-West Allergy and Asthma Educational Support Group meeting on Wednesday, January 20 at 7:00 p.m. at Allergy & Asthma Treatment Specialists, 475 Franklin St., Framingham.

The program is free; pre-registration is not required.

Support group leaders Lori Brockway and Linda Drews will share their years of experience as parents of children with food allergies and as a teacher, and moderate a discussion of how parents can work most effectively as an advocate for their child.

AAFA New England organizes educational support group programs throughout the region, publishes a newsletter, and runs a telephone resource and referral line for people coping with allergies and asthma. For more information, or a free copy of the AAFA New England newsletter or parent checklist for managing food allergies in school or child care, call (781)444-7778 or see www.asthmaandallergies.org

My feet need a lot of cushioning.  I stand and walk a lot on hard surfaces.  Some years ago I discovered MBT’s (Masai Barefoot Technology shoes.)  My bad knee stopped bothering me.  My plantar faschiitis cleared up.   I met people who raved about them.

Recently when I needed to replace  my shoes, I decided to see what else is available that might be a bit less expensive but would give me good cushioning and support.  (My MBTs ran about $ 225.)   Before MBTs I pretty much bought New Balance or Nike or such on sale for $ 40 or under so the MBTs were a leap.

I tried Good Feet on Rt. 9.  The shoe that I liked is $ 160, but for the support needed, there’s a patented orthotic type insert that goes for about $ 260.  Yikes!  But that it has a 3 year warranty is a selling point.  Then there is a cushioned insole for about $ 28, but they would throw that in.  And the shoes were non-returnable.   

Nordstroms in the Natick Collection was having a sale, and I asked about MBT’s because a friend told me they carried them.  The answer was that I can order them, but they didn’t have them in the store anymore.

Then I noticed that Nordstroms had Skechers Shapeups, which had a similar cushioned sole to the MBTs.  The style I liked, which would transition from work to play was $ 99, but they didn’t have my size in black.  The helpful sales clerk told me I could order them, but I am leary of buying shoes without trying them on.

I found the same style up the way in the Skechers store in the Natick Collection, but they didn’t have my size and they were $ 110.

After checking the Skechers website, where the price was also $ 110, I found the same pair at DSW Shoe.  They had my size, my color, and the price was $ 99.    Sold!

But I was surprised that Nordstroms was less expensive than I would have expected.  I will have to check them out more often.