Health, Politics, and You: A Blog by the authors of A Return to Healing Page 2
Health, Politics, and You: A Blog by the authors of A Return to Healing Page 2
The Infection Deception—Unanswered Questions about the Swine Flu Controversy
Fri, 11/20/2009 - 13:22 — BBelitsos
[By Len Saputo, MD, and Byron Belitsos] On Friday October 23, President Barack Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency, plunging the H1N1 controversy ever more deeply into an Orwellian world of disinformation, fear, and confusion. The government’s program of swine flu vaccination was already the most ambitious of its kind since the anti-polio campaign of the 1950s. And now, this surprise declaration from the president raised anxiety levels by giving federal health officials much greater powers in the face of a supposed pandemic.
Seven Tips to Boost Your Immunity against Swine Flu / By Dr. Len Saputo
Tue, 11/17/2009 - 15:26 — BBelitsos
• Eat a healthy diet and avoid sugar
We know that without the raw materials our bodies need, we simply cannot make the nutrients required to boost our immunity; we also know that refined sugar impairs the ability of our white-blood cells to fight infection. That’s why it is crucial to avoid processed foods and consume plenty of fruits and vegetables each day to maintain a strong immune system.
• Stay fit—exercise often!
People who exercise moderately but consistently build stronger immunity; and, if they get an infection, they are more likely to recover quicker. Exercise every day!
Truth (and Consequences) for the American Cancer Society—Regarding Controversial Cancer Screens
Fri, 10/23/2009 - 00:16 — BBelitsos
Sometimes, in those rare moments—before the spin takes over—the unvarnished truth can escape from the mouths of genuine scientists who are otherwise ensconced in politicized medical bureaucracies. To his great credit, Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society (ACS), made one of those refreshing slips in a conversation with the New York Times that was published on October 21. Brawley admitted that certain screening practices formerly endorsed by the ACS actually create more cancer patients than there needs to be.
Avoid the Swine Flu Vaccine—And Boost Your Own Immunity (Updated Oct 22)
Thu, 10/22/2009 - 17:34 — BBelitsos
[Authored by Len Saputo, MD and Stacia Lansman, MD, with Byron Belitsos—October 22, 2009.] Our nearly sixty combined years of practicing medicine has taught us this, if anything: Be wary whenever “big pharma” is part of any health campaign from which it stands to profit. And this is all the more true when it comes to emergency immunizations like the swine flu vaccine, the most ambitious program of its kind since the anti-polio campaign of the 1950s.
SWISS HEALTH CARE: AN INSPIRING MODEL
Wed, 10/21/2009 - 11:16 — BBelitsos
Alpine mountain air, it seems, does wonders for health care policy. In fact, it turns out that if you live among the Alps in Switzerland, you can get health care that is superior in virtually all measures when compared to the U.S.
Healing Circles and the Future of Medicine
Wed, 10/21/2009 - 01:51 — healthmedicine
I helped coin the term “Health Medicine” in 1992. Health medicine is a new style of healthcare that blends integrative, holistic, person-centered, and preventive perspectives into health care. Its highest expression is the “Healing Circle,” as we explain in chapters 7 and 8 of A Return to Healing. When you begin to understand Healing Circles, you’ll appreciate that it is possible to blend the wisdom of indigenous healing systems (or traditional medicine) with the wonders of modern biomedical science and technology.
Obamacare and New Legislation Are Based on the Wrong Diagnosis
Thu, 10/08/2009 - 12:41 — BBelitsos
Not too surprisingly, the Senate Finance Committee’s pro-corporate health-care reform bill received a financial thumbs up this week (on October 7) from the Congressional Budget Office. The committee's unambitious proposal insures another 29 million Americans—while leaving 25 million still uninsured. (Let 'em tough it out in the streets, I guess.) To its credit, the bill meets Obama’s pledge to not add “one dime” to the deficit, and in fact may save money over time through better management of Medicare cuts and special new taxes.
Ten Commandments of Health Care Reform—A Patient’s Perspective
Thu, 10/01/2009 - 11:56 — BBelitsos
A GUEST COLUMN BY SUZIE KIDDER
1) Access to good health care is a human right.
No one in the United States should lose a home or have to file bankruptcy because they get sick. None of us should be denied access to healthcare because we have experienced an illness in the past. Those of us with a “pre-existing condition” need more care—not less care.
2) I am my brother’s keeper.
The Agony of Irony: Baucus's Alleged Health Reform Bill Flops
Wed, 09/23/2009 - 12:34 — BBelitsos
America’s tepid response so far to Senator Max Baucus’s $776-billion health-care reform bill also points to the many bitter ironies facing “centrist” reformers. Here are just a few...