Currently viewing the category: "medical paradigm"

I Have High Cholesterol

By On · Add Comment · In blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, health care crisis, LDL, medical paradigm, statins

I want to share with you a personal story about my health, which I think will be a great illustration of the conundrum facing the modern medical paradigm.

I just got my annual physical results from my doctor. He told me that my numbers all came back perfect. All except one: You have high cholesterol. Yawn. OK, how high. 270. This is high despite your HDL being pretty high also. And your LDLs, which are your bad cholesterol are 181. In the absence of other factors–like you are not 40 lbs overweight, and your blood pressure is good, and you don’t smoke–it probably won’t go down with diet and exercise alone, so…you’ll probably want to get that treated.

And my HDLs are at what number? 89.

And my total/HDL ratio? Oh…hmmm….well, that’s actually pretty good. It’s 3.1.

For those who don’t know, HDLs are “good” cholesterol; they remove the so-called “bad” cholesterol (don’t know how a substance produced by the body, and needed to break down and digest fats can be considered bad, but, whatever). HDLs in the 40 range are considered “normal”. 89, might I say, is outstanding…thank you very much.

The total cholesterol to HDL ratio is a good determinant of the risk for cardiovascular disease. Just for a little perspective, 5.0 is “average” risk. Anything under 3.4 is “very low” risk. I’m 3.1.

Here’s the problem: My caring doctor–bless his heart–knows damn well that I’m at a low risk for cardiovascular disease. I’m 41-years-old and in the best shape of my life. I’m 155 lbs, have stellar blood pressure (120/70), don’t smoke, don’t drink, don’t do drugs; I’m on no medications; I do not partake in risky behavior. Why the bleep is he recommending treatment* (which is prophylactic statin medication, if you didn’t know)?

I’ll tell you why–for liabilities sake. He knows that if he doesn’t tell me that I have high cholesterol, and he doesn’t recommend “treatment” (frickin’ treatment, lol), and I drop dead of a heart attack, even if it’s because I snort a gram and a half of cocaine! he’s liable. That’s right–tort litigation! Just ask Billy Mays’ doctor. Coroners found cocaine in his system; but nooo, his family insists it was high blood pressure that killed him. Not saying that they are seeking damages; but it’s the potential I’m talking about. Every doctor is afraid of being sued. Medical malpractice insurance is one of the highest costs facing doctors today. So what do they do to keep their premiums down? Order every frickin’ test humanly possible. Cha-ching.

And they “treat” 41-year-old males in great health with statins, otherwise known as, “the best selling drugs of all time.“

It’s not doctor greed, I tell you–it’s attorney greed. And public ignorance. There I’ve said it. Nobody is talking about that part of the health care crisis.

*Just so you know: I’m not taking them.

Baby Born to Comatose Mother

By On · Add Comment · In birthing, cesarean section, coma, heart attack, human, innate intelligence, medical paradigm

If you are not fully aware of the amazing intelligence of the human body, let me fill you in: A 40-year-old woman who fell into a coma while 13-weeks pregnant gave birth to a healthy baby 22 weeks later in a German hospital, sources disclosed this week. The incident occurred one and a half years ago, but was withheld until Friday to keep the astounding results from setting off a media circus.

The mother suffered a heart attack early in her pregnancy and remained in a coma throughout. Doctors did not disclose whether the baby was birthed naturally or by cesarean section. The baby is now 1 1/2 years old and healthy. Matthias Beckmann, a director at the hospital in Erlangen, Bavaria, said: “We wanted to keep the spectacular case secret for as long as possible to demonstrate that we’re not experimenting on people and that the child is still healthy.”

Anyone else in awe of the body’s incredible innate intelligence? The body knows what to do and when to do it. The current medical/physiological paradigm perceives the body as highly fragile and fallible. There are some, it believes, that have “good genes,” and are therefore strong and resilient. But for some poor folk–those cursed with “bad genes” or those that have simply gotten the short end of the stick (whatever that’s supposed to mean)–medical science believes their bodies can’t produce proper amounts of cholesterol, or that their brains are dysfunctional in their regulation of neurotransmitters; and that somehow they needs a lifetime of medical intervention to function properly and sustain life.

You know, if this was the rationale behind some medical cases, then I might not scoff. But this paradigm is the prevailing belief system in nearly all of health care and medicine. It’s false.

The human body has an innate intelligence governing it, and the source is not simply genetics. The body knows what it needs and to what degree in development, maintenance and healing. It produces enough cholesterol, serotonin and dopamine for its particular host, even if that amount is outside “medically determined” norms. The innate intelligence of the body is smarter than man; it knows how to regulate a system better, within a wider range of variabilities, than man-made pharmacology does.

Don’t believe me? Ask a German-born child who spent 22-weeks developing in the womb of a comatose mother, who was delivered healthy, and remains alive and well one and a half years later. In a few years ask that child what he or she thinks about innate intelligence.

Let me know what you find out.

Elderly Drug Addicts

By On · Add Comment · In adverse drug reactions, drugs, health, medical paradigm, prescription drugs, wellness

Americans aged 75-85 are some of the country’s biggest drug addicts. That’s right, 68% of surveyed adults who take prescription medications were found to also take over-the-counter medications and dietary supplements. The problem with this practice is that many drugs and supplements have adverse reactions with each other.

Here go some more elderly drug-abuse facts:

  • more than half of U.S. adults aged 57 to 85 are using five or more prescription or non-prescription drugs
  • one in 25 are taking them in combinations that could cause adverse drug reactions
  • adults over 65 make up more than 175,000 emergency department visits a year for adverse drug reactions
  • commonly prescribed drugs accounted for a third of these visits

Wow! Does anybody else find this scary? The reason for this inordinate drugging of our elderly citizens is simple: We live in a drug-worshiping culture. Our current medical paradigm is all about the drugs, man. Foolish, very foolish. Don’t get me wrong, drugs are useful. I’ve said exactly that, here, and in The Six Keys To Optimal Health. But why more than 50% of all people over 57 (that’s too young, in my opinion) need to be on 5+ drugs is dumbfounding. Frankly, it blows my mind.

But, I get it; many others don’t. You see, drugs are the main weapon in the arsenal of the current health care authority–the medicos. Drugs fit into the current “health” paradigm, which the medical education is based specifically around. Neither situation alone–the use of drugs to treat, or medical domination of the health care system–is necessarily a problem. It’s the two together that cause a dangerous situation.

My answer to the problem:

  1. Medicine stay the dominant force in health care, but alter their paradigm by adding health and wellness to a far greater degree than what they are doing now.
  2. Recognize other health disciplines as allies in this quest to improve health care.
  3. Take responsibility in determining all medications a patient is on and managing the patient accordingly.
  4. Recognize that conservative, non-drug treatment is always, ALWAYS, superior to medicating when that option exists.
  5. Understand when that option exists.

Until these simple steps are adopted by the medical industry, expect more of the same: Too many elderly people (and people, in general) addicted to prescription meds, and way too many people getting sick or dying from adverse drug reactions.

Get Smart!

By On · Add Comment · In alternative, alternative therapy, calcium, conventional wisdom, cow's milk, health practices, medical paradigm, mommy, natural health, phytates, soy, soy milk, tooth decay, vitamin D

My wife told me today of a mommy she met at the park. The mommy asked my wife if she gives my daughter soy milk. My wife said no – we don’t drink it so she didn’t really see the point in starting my daughter on it. The mommy then said she only gives her child soy milk, and never cow’s milk, although she has been noticing her child’s teeth were decaying.

Now, pediatricians will o.k. a child’s drinking soy milk instead of cow’s milk if the soy product is fortified with vitamin D and calcium. That’s because soy milk is not as great a source of these two nutrients. Furthermore, soy milk contains compounds – called phytates – that decrease the absorption of calcium and other minerals. Vitamin D is necessary for proper bone development, immune function and cell growth. Calcium is necessary for healthy bones, muscles, blood vessels, and nerves. Both nutrients play a major role in tooth development and health. Deficiency in either can cause weakened or underdeveloped bones and teeth, including tooth decay.

O.k. here’s my problem with what my wife told me. I think there is a major cultural shift happening in this country, and it’s towards natural health. I’m all for natural health – heck, I’m a chiropractor, for crying out loud (and I did write a book about it – The Six Keys To Optimal Health) – however, I think that if you are going to do things naturally, you’ve got be smart about it.

You see, the medical paradigm is actually the safest alternative for people who do not want to think for themselves. On a purely statistical basis, medical wisdom is the safest, lowest maintenance way to care for your body. Do what your doctor tells you and, for the most part (probably around 75% – I’m pulling this number out of my keester, but it’s more for illustrating a point, anyway), you should be o.k. True, for the minority of people, following the conventional wisdom might be harmful, useless, or minimally beneficial at best. So for these people, thinking outside of the box is often necessary.

That’s where “alternative” health practices originated (and in this case we’re discussing natural, but it can just as well mean any other alternative therapy – magnets, leaches, exorcisms, whatever); they came from man’s desire to heal himself outside of what he was told worked, but, unfortunately, hadn’t for him (or his parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, etc.). As the alternative therapy began helping more people, it began to rise within the mainstream, moving closer, itself, to becoming conventional wisdom.

Here’s the point: if you are going to practice natural or alternative health methods, be informed. Don’t give your child a product without knowing everything about that product, and definitely do not substitute a well-known health product (vitamin/nutrient) for one of today’s latest health-food flavors of the month. I know, I know, soy is safe – I just said it, didn’t I? However, if you notice your child’s teeth decaying – WAKE UP! Either look it up and educate yourself, or call your pediatrician or dentist and find out if there’s a vitamin deficiency causing it.

The bottom line is this – if you are going to be the master of your own health, then you gotta know the way to do it: read the instructions, watch the demonstration video, take the weekend seminar. If you don’t have the time to buck up, then just do what conventional wisdom (read: modern medical science) tells you – it’s simply the safest way to go.

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