Not all new diseases are really diseases. Some of them are simply old conditions, rehashed into a disease definition for the purpose of profit. And typically, they are given official-sounding names. But not always. Consider this:
I remember the first time I heard a commercial about Restless Leg Syndrome, I was ROTFLMAO. (If you don't know what that is, let's just say I was more than chuckling.) But it turned out to be not so funny, as it was a sign of much worse to come.
So far, the raft of new diseases being shoved at us includes all levels of consciousness (apparently it's not healthy to be too happy or too sad), every physical sensation (tingles and itches must be treated aggressively), and even the inability to feel something has to be a disease. Everything that used to be a temporary problem is now a disorder requiring treatment. And let's not forget about our right to abuse our bodies by eating destructive junk mistakenly called food. Just take a pill so you don't feel the pain as it ruins your organs. Of course, that creates a disease, and now you have a brand new reason to formulate new pills.
It has to be this way, of course, to fit our current health care system, because the very nature of medical care is based on disease --> treatment --> cure. Similarly, insurance companies only pay for specific cures for specific diseases or conditions. If it doesn't have a name and a drug created for it, chances are the claim will be denied.
Since this has become such big business, the only real solutions are based on business and marketing principles, methods and tactics, none of which has a thing to do with health care.
It used to be said you can't bottle sunshine and fresh air, let alone charge a fee for it, so the industry had to come up with something you can bottle and pay for.
A recent article about the vaccine industry noted that research is already underway to develop yet more vaccines for even more diseases simply because it's so profitable.
As the "medical industrial complex" continues to "discover" new diseases, the list grows in order to feed the need for more vaccines to prevent them.
I have a better idea: Let's prevent these diseases by refusing to invent them. Oh wait, I think I need a pill for my own special disease: Diurnal Maltrichia (Bad Hair Day). Since there is a whole new industry for naming new drugs, here are some suggestions for the pill that could be invented to treat it: How about Follicle Fix? The chemical name could be Eutrichinex, or Eutrichifex, or Maltrichinol, etc. As much fun as this is, the humor is at the expense of the new wave of sufferers yet to come.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Real Food is Not "Alternative" Health Food
Real food is healthy food, not the imitation products that are created to trick us into buying them, thinking we are doing the healthy, right thing.
But what really bothers a lot of people is that real, actual food is often illegal, with chemical-laden ingredients and artificial processing considered the "norm." It may be the norm, all right, but now so are all the health problems that result from their use.
Driven by money, this industry isn't going to change soon, if at all. The pharmaceutical companies provide the money, which gives them the power to decide what is eaten and what is not. Even the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), which is supposed to be looking out for our safety, is under the thumb of "big pharma" and does nothing to protect the consumer from, well, Big Pharma.
Here is a video that explains the problem by spotlighting just one ingredient...blueberries.
What can we do? Just stop buying this stuff. Read the ingredients list!
But what really bothers a lot of people is that real, actual food is often illegal, with chemical-laden ingredients and artificial processing considered the "norm." It may be the norm, all right, but now so are all the health problems that result from their use.
Driven by money, this industry isn't going to change soon, if at all. The pharmaceutical companies provide the money, which gives them the power to decide what is eaten and what is not. Even the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), which is supposed to be looking out for our safety, is under the thumb of "big pharma" and does nothing to protect the consumer from, well, Big Pharma.
Here is a video that explains the problem by spotlighting just one ingredient...blueberries.
What can we do? Just stop buying this stuff. Read the ingredients list!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Will Alternative Health Care Ever Become Mainstream?
About 75 percent of U.S. health workers use alternative healing methods, according to the HealthDay.com News site on August 26. Compare that to 38 percent of the general public using alternative, sometimes referred to as holistic, healing methods. The most striking finding is that doctors and nurses are more than twice as likely to use the services of an alternative health practitioner than health workers in other areas, such as technical and administrative departments.
These statistics arose from a survey conducted in 2007 under the auspices of the National Institutes of Health. Researchers at the Penny George Institute for Health and Healing with the Allina Health System in Minneapolis analyzed the findings and published their study in the journal Health Services Research.
Alternative health care, also referred to as complementary medicine, can include such areas as nutritional supplementation, diet, acupuncture, yoga, massage, chiropractic, herbal medicine, naturopathy, homeopathy and many other areas of interest. The researchers listed 36 types of care included in the study. The most common reasons given for seeking alternative care were back, neck and joint pain.
The study's leader noted that the prevalent belief has always been that alternative therapies aren't as well researched or evidence-based as traditional medical science, but that has changed in recent years. If medical professionals are taking advantage of alternative services more often, it should help people feel more comfortable discussing their needs, concerns and desires with their physicians.
Read the article:
http://consumer.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=656106
These statistics arose from a survey conducted in 2007 under the auspices of the National Institutes of Health. Researchers at the Penny George Institute for Health and Healing with the Allina Health System in Minneapolis analyzed the findings and published their study in the journal Health Services Research.
Alternative health care, also referred to as complementary medicine, can include such areas as nutritional supplementation, diet, acupuncture, yoga, massage, chiropractic, herbal medicine, naturopathy, homeopathy and many other areas of interest. The researchers listed 36 types of care included in the study. The most common reasons given for seeking alternative care were back, neck and joint pain.
The study's leader noted that the prevalent belief has always been that alternative therapies aren't as well researched or evidence-based as traditional medical science, but that has changed in recent years. If medical professionals are taking advantage of alternative services more often, it should help people feel more comfortable discussing their needs, concerns and desires with their physicians.
Read the article:
http://consumer.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=656106
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Supplements Under Attack by the FDA - Again
They keep trying to criminalize the vitamin industry and if current efforts move forward, they may succeed this time. And who are "they?" For one, the FDA, the Food and Drug Administration, along with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill), who has sponsored a bill in Congress that would drive this latest attack down our throats.
If that happens, all supplements formulated after 1994 will be required to undergo the FDA approval process, which typically takes years and costs millions of dollars to complete. That alone would put most vitamin companies out of business, which I believe is the purpose of this proposed legislation.
Since natural substances cannot be patented, there is no way the new requirements would ever lead to any approvals of nutritional supplements. This leaves only one alternative: a pharmaceutical industry takeover of all products, which would necessarily need to be artificial and synthetic.This is nothing short of a complete attack on every individual's ability, freedom and desire to be responsible for their own health.
A very good explanation of this can be found here:
http://www.anh-usa.org/dietary-supplement-labeling-act-a-huge-smokescreen/
If that happens, all supplements formulated after 1994 will be required to undergo the FDA approval process, which typically takes years and costs millions of dollars to complete. That alone would put most vitamin companies out of business, which I believe is the purpose of this proposed legislation.
Since natural substances cannot be patented, there is no way the new requirements would ever lead to any approvals of nutritional supplements. This leaves only one alternative: a pharmaceutical industry takeover of all products, which would necessarily need to be artificial and synthetic.This is nothing short of a complete attack on every individual's ability, freedom and desire to be responsible for their own health.
A very good explanation of this can be found here:
http://www.anh-usa.org/dietary-supplement-labeling-act-a-huge-smokescreen/
Thursday, March 31, 2011
What's up with Gluten-Free?
A lot of people have varying degrees of sensitivity to gluten, a protein found in certain grains, the best known being wheat. The problem can range from a mild intolerance to a major allergy, and even the dreaded Celiac Disease.
This is not a trifling problem, and has been around for a lot longer than many realize. Like other allergies, until it's recognized for what it is, sufferers have had to endure a variety of diagnoses and treatments, often ineffective. I am one of them.
Gluten intolerance wasn't even a topic of anyone's conversations over 20 years ago when I was suffering from an unknown condition that left me with severe stomach and gut pain after eating.
Allergy testing at the time didn't even include gluten, so I was diagnosed (provisionally) with an ulcer. But the usual treatments had no effect at all and I continued to suffer. At times, I was simply afraid to eat and would go for days without a meal.
Finally, a friend casually mentioned that it was ironic that he was a wheat farmer but was allergic to his product!
Once my condition came into focus then, I learned how to deal with it by controlling my diet. Unfortunately, though this condition is becoming better understood now, it's still considered extremely controversial, as the skeptics refuse to accept its existence.
For now, as with all alternative health options, it's up to each of us to do our own research and personal experimentation to find what works best.
I have a chapter on gluten intolerance in my book, Alternative Healing Choices, available as an ebook as well as a Kindle version.
You can also search the Internet for information by using the search term, "gluten free." Many web sites have sprung up on this important topic, and you can find everything you need to know, including recipes.
This is not a trifling problem, and has been around for a lot longer than many realize. Like other allergies, until it's recognized for what it is, sufferers have had to endure a variety of diagnoses and treatments, often ineffective. I am one of them.
Gluten intolerance wasn't even a topic of anyone's conversations over 20 years ago when I was suffering from an unknown condition that left me with severe stomach and gut pain after eating.
Allergy testing at the time didn't even include gluten, so I was diagnosed (provisionally) with an ulcer. But the usual treatments had no effect at all and I continued to suffer. At times, I was simply afraid to eat and would go for days without a meal.
Finally, a friend casually mentioned that it was ironic that he was a wheat farmer but was allergic to his product!
Once my condition came into focus then, I learned how to deal with it by controlling my diet. Unfortunately, though this condition is becoming better understood now, it's still considered extremely controversial, as the skeptics refuse to accept its existence.
For now, as with all alternative health options, it's up to each of us to do our own research and personal experimentation to find what works best.
I have a chapter on gluten intolerance in my book, Alternative Healing Choices, available as an ebook as well as a Kindle version.
You can also search the Internet for information by using the search term, "gluten free." Many web sites have sprung up on this important topic, and you can find everything you need to know, including recipes.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Becoming a Healthy Eater Shouldn't be an "Alternative"
Being a healthy eater requires you to become both educated and smart about what healthy eating actually is. Being food smart isn't about learning to calculate grams or fat, nor is it about studying labels and counting calories.
Healthy eating is all about balanced and moderate eating, consisting of healthy meals at least three times per day. Healthy eaters eat many different types of foods, not limiting themselves to one specific food type or food group.
Healthy eating is a way of life, something that you can do to enhance your body, your health, and your lifestyle, every day, not just during a "diet." If you've thought about making your life better, healthy eating is the place to start.
Healthy eating is all about balanced and moderate eating, consisting of healthy meals at least three times per day. Healthy eaters eat many different types of foods, not limiting themselves to one specific food type or food group.
Healthy eating is a way of life, something that you can do to enhance your body, your health, and your lifestyle, every day, not just during a "diet." If you've thought about making your life better, healthy eating is the place to start.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Fluoride Treatment... This Test Will Reveal if it's Harmful
As a parent, you want to do what is right for your child. Then why not trust your own eyes? Test the situation yourself.
If fluoridation is the correct thing to do, then this test will help to ease your fears. If it is not correct, this test may confirm that, too. In any case, living without fluoride for a week or even a month is not going to hurt anybody. If it is truly preventing cavities, your child will not suddenly develop even one due to the lack of fluoride for just one week, or even an entire month.
The test? By now you have probably figured it out: No flouride for at least a week.
To be certain that fluoride is removed as completely as possible from your diet, or your child's, be sure to monitor the diet religiously for the test period, whether you choose to try it for one week or one month.
Eliminate local drinking water and use either distilled water for drinking and cooking, or find bottled water which you are sure contains no fluoride. Also eliminate soda pop, fruit juices made from a concentrate, mouthwash, tea, fish, and of course, toothpaste. If you cannot find fluoride-free toothpaste, use baking soda.
Now watch your child closely for changes in personality, sleep habits, energy levels, appetite, mental acuity, skin condition, headaches, stomach aches, etc. Basically what you will be watching for is whether any problems disappear.
Don't start staring at your child on the first day. This could make them nervous and color your view of their reactions. Besides, it's too soon to notice anything. Wait a week, then stop and think about the above characteristics. If you are doing this for a month, take a look every week.
If you see absolutely no differences, then drop it and go back to what you were doing before. But watch to see if any changes occur then, too. If not, you may feel fluoride is not a threat in your life. Do what you feel is right.
But if you do see changes after eliminating the fluoride, it is possible this substance is responsible. To test that theory, return to the old routine and watch even more closely to see if symptoms return. If they do, remove the fluoride again. If they again disappear, you can be certain that fluoride is the culprit.
If you decide you now want to permanently eliminate fluoride from your lifestyle, you have to be diligent in selecting consumable products. It can be quite a challenge to find foods, drinks and oral hygiene products that do not contain fluoride.
Good luck.
If fluoridation is the correct thing to do, then this test will help to ease your fears. If it is not correct, this test may confirm that, too. In any case, living without fluoride for a week or even a month is not going to hurt anybody. If it is truly preventing cavities, your child will not suddenly develop even one due to the lack of fluoride for just one week, or even an entire month.
The test? By now you have probably figured it out: No flouride for at least a week.
To be certain that fluoride is removed as completely as possible from your diet, or your child's, be sure to monitor the diet religiously for the test period, whether you choose to try it for one week or one month.
Eliminate local drinking water and use either distilled water for drinking and cooking, or find bottled water which you are sure contains no fluoride. Also eliminate soda pop, fruit juices made from a concentrate, mouthwash, tea, fish, and of course, toothpaste. If you cannot find fluoride-free toothpaste, use baking soda.
Now watch your child closely for changes in personality, sleep habits, energy levels, appetite, mental acuity, skin condition, headaches, stomach aches, etc. Basically what you will be watching for is whether any problems disappear.
Don't start staring at your child on the first day. This could make them nervous and color your view of their reactions. Besides, it's too soon to notice anything. Wait a week, then stop and think about the above characteristics. If you are doing this for a month, take a look every week.
If you see absolutely no differences, then drop it and go back to what you were doing before. But watch to see if any changes occur then, too. If not, you may feel fluoride is not a threat in your life. Do what you feel is right.
But if you do see changes after eliminating the fluoride, it is possible this substance is responsible. To test that theory, return to the old routine and watch even more closely to see if symptoms return. If they do, remove the fluoride again. If they again disappear, you can be certain that fluoride is the culprit.
If you decide you now want to permanently eliminate fluoride from your lifestyle, you have to be diligent in selecting consumable products. It can be quite a challenge to find foods, drinks and oral hygiene products that do not contain fluoride.
Good luck.
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