Lifestyle vs. Money for Health

There's an interesting story in 24/7 Wall Street comparing how much countries spend on health care and their resulting longevity. As expected, the United States fares poorly. We spend more than anyone else by a long shot but don't live as long as most other industrialized countries. What makes the article interesting is that it highlights the importance of lifestyle.

Japan was rated as the best and they spend only 8.1% of GDP on health care compared to the nearly 17% spent by the United States. However more important is the fact that just 3.4% of Japan's population is obese compared with 34% in America. In short, lifestyle matters.

As much as we need to change our health care system it's even more important that we change our lifestyle.

First Chapter Plus

The new issue of First Chapter Plus is out and my book is still listed in the Past Releases section. Yeah! One of the nice things about the Internet is you can hang around for a long, long time.

Guess it doesn't hurt that Susan and I will be guest hosting Authors Access on the 21st either. Never hurts to have friends in high places!

GAO Criticizes FDA

The General Accounting Office (GAO) has criticized the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for being too lenient in clearing critical, life sustaining devices. Meanwhile device manufacturers complain the U.S. is too slow compared to other countries.

The GAO told Congress this week that the approvals remain a serious issue even though it was raised more than two years ago. It should be noted that the device manufacturers major trade association, AdvaMed, has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying against any new device regulations.

Senate Aging Committee Chairman Herb Kohl, D-WI, said, "The drive toward getting new technologies to market shouldn't be done at the risk of patient safety."

The Dangers of Mainstream Medicine

Is it ignorance or something more sinister when the medical profession doesn't realize how many mistakes are being made in hospitals today? When a small fraction of medical errors are being caught and reported is it to protect their standing on the pedestal of public opinion or fear of reprisal from the medical profession? These are just a few of the questions resulting from a recent report published in Health Affairs that up to 90% of mistakes are not caught and reported with current patient safety systems.

Using the Global Trigger Tool designed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement to review records at major hospitals across the country 345 hospital errors were discovered from a pool of 795 records. Current reporting systems found between 4 and 35 mistakes. Are doctors, nurses and hospitals really so inept or is this an example of intentionally looking the other way?

In any case this new information should give every patient pause when they consider putting their life into the hands of "modern" medicine. Don't be afraid to speak up if you feel something is wrong! Doctors and nurses can't walk on water, they're human beings prone to fatigue, emotions and many other reasons that cause them to make serious errors that can result in death or permanent disability.

After all, it's your life or the life of a loved one.


Isn't it interesting that so few media outlets even reported this story?

U.S. Life Expectancy Rising But Falling

Recently the media had a wonderful feel-good story about how the life expectancy in the U.S. has increased according to preliminary government figures from 78 years in 2008 to 78.2 years today. They were practically gleeful in their proclamation that a child born today can expect to live longer than ever in U.S. history.

But they weren't telling the whole truth, as usual. I could not find a media story that included the fact that our ranking in the world for longevity continues to fall. While our longevity rate has improved the rest of the world is improving even more and faster. It used to be the U.S. ranked #38 for longevity but according to the CIA's World Fact Book the current estimate would put us at #51, behind Taiwan and ahead of Bahrain. By comparison #1 Monaco has a life expectancy of 89.73 years.

As long as we're on the subject of living longer, did you know that 29% of our population 0r 65.7 people today are caregivers? That number is expected to continue to grow as our population ages. Caregivers spend around $5,500 out of their own pockets every year and out-of-state caregivers will spend even more, about $8,700. Those are serious numbers and the reason many people worry about the impact it will have on their own retirement. Planning for the future was never more important.

The China Study Podcast

You've probably already heard about an amazing book called The China Study. It's one of the most important books ever written about nutrition and health. It's the culmination of a 20-year partnership between Cornell University, Oxford University and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine. Written by T. Colin Campbell, PhD. along with his youngest son Tom, it shows how cancer, heart disease, diabetes and many other health problems are caused by diet. Even former President Clinton has been on national TV saying how this book has improved his health and helped him lose weight.

Dr. Campbell has been at the bleeding edge of nutritional research for more than 40 years and is current Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University. He as authored more than 300 research papers. Listening to him explain his research and the current state of health in America will open your eyes to a new world of better health.

Check out this free, 22-minute interview, the 74th program on UnBreak Your Health.

Medicine for People or for Profit?

If you were one of the 800,000 people each year who suffer a stroke and one of the 2/3 who have trouble walking ... which would you rather do: Have someone come to your home and work with you to improve your walking or go to a physical therapy facility and work with a state-of-the-art treadmill or other bit of technology? Turns out working with someone at home is just as effective.

The largest study ever on stroke rehabilitation was led by Duke University researchers. Their findings were presented recently at a recent American Stroke Association conference.

While high-tech equipment is popular with hospitals, and very expensive, it doesn't necessarily provide any better results. More important, fewer patients dropped out of the home therapy, just 3% vs. 13% for equipment programs. Fancy equipment usually takes 2 or 3 therapists to work with a patient while the at-home therapy requires just 1.

Just one more example showing us that medicine has become big business (nearly 17% of America's GDP) instead of focusing on what's good for patients.