Currently viewing the category: "wellness"
Been getting lots of flak on a recent post about health care costs, and you know how much I love that. But one thing that comes up time and again, because people just can’t seem to see past the political brainwashing, is that my message is NOT about whether people should have, get, or pay (or not pay) for health insurance. No, that’s what the politicians talk about…that’s not my message.

My message is this: Health comes from within. It’s what you do for your body, regularly, that determines whether you will experience wellness or not. Absolutely no medicine will give you health. No organ removal will give you health. Either one may help you get over a hump, but none will provide you with health–only YOU can do that.

The western medical system is necessary for, and outstanding at, saving lives–it’s crisis care, or more aptly, sick care. As far as saving lives goes, nothing is better then western medicine. But let’s not mistake that for health. The reality is that the medical system has been the dominant system for over a century; and in its desire to protect the public (and retain full and absolute power economically, politically and as the cultural authority), it has infused its sick-care paradigm into every facet of the cultural psyche. The predominant view of “health care” is of going to the doctor for a check-up and then getting medication.

Except for one little problem: What medical doctors provide for the public has nothing to do with good health. Now let me explain, because certainly, saving lives preserves health in the most fundamental sense. Yes, I will give you that. But is health merely the absence of illness or disease? No! No logical person believes that today. In fact the World Health Organization’s (WHO) definition is just that:

Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Duh.

Worse yet, we see now how irresponsible use and/or overuse of the medical system actually makes people sicker. Why the hell are people fighting for more of that? Everybody in the U.S. has access to emergency care, so nobody is ever left out in the street to die because they have no medical insurance–nobody.

Do not fool yourself into thinking that the current health care debates are about that. Nobody gets turned away from crisis care. No, what some people and politicians are so desperately fighting for is for medical care to continue as the predominant form of “health care”, beyond crisis care, in illness or in health.

And the medical industry sits well in the paradigm it has created, with many people never really thinking about their health until it goes awry.

It’s the I-can-neglect-my-health-and-then-be-saved-by-medical-care syndrome; the “just give me the statins, it’s too hard to change my lifestyle” mentality; the “I just can’t get myself to exercise and change my diet, so I think I’ll get a stomach staple” way of thinking, just perfect for the elective-c-section,-run-to the-doctor-for-every-sniffle,-and-undergo-multiple-cosmetic-enhancements crowd.

Yes, today’s medical care has very little to do with health–it’s the sickness paradigm imposed onto the public perceptions of health. And you wonder why the U.S. ranks so poorly in health status for a developed nation that spends a large portion of its economy of medical care? Duh.

No, medical care ain’t health care–it’s sick care. And it’s foolish to so adamantly demand it as an inalienable right. You want the drug addiction and the poor health that comes along with the reliance on modern medicine and it’s prehistoric “health” paradigm? Then be my guest. But not me…I’ll take my chances taking care of my health. And if I have a crisis, well I know the best place to go, insurance or not.

Here’s a sure-fire multimillion dollar money-maker for anyone wanting to enter a growth industry in an area of high need.  Consider opening health food stores, fitness clubs, yoga studios, healthy foods restaurants, and mind or bodywork practices in the American South.  The southeastern region of the United States is ripe for the health and wellness industry, as it is currently labelled the Stroke Belt due to the high incidence of cerebro- and cardiovascular diseases.

The 11-state cluster of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia share risk factors that researchers believe are to blame for the increased chance of cardiovascular events and cognitive decline.  Risk factors have been hypothesized to include increased rates of hypertension, low socioeconomic status, high fat diet, cultural lifestyle, quality of health care facilities, smoking, and infections.

The term Stroke Belt was coined in 1965 in response to 50% higher stroke mortality rates in the southeastern U.S.  A new study, called The Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS), looked at 30,000 U.S. adults aged 45 or older from 2003-2007, following them for stroke and cognitive decline.  Participants included 56% from the Stroke Belt states and 44%  from the remaining states in the continental U.S., including the District of Columbia, which researchers collectively termed “non-Belt” states.

For their report on cognitive decline, the investigators included 23,913 REGARDS participants, made up only of African-Americans (38 percent) and European-Americans (62 percent) who reported no history of stroke at baseline and had normal cognitive status at the first assessment.  Researchers assessed brain function using the Six-item Screener (SIS)—a test of global cognitive function that includes item recall and temporal orientation.  Results showed Stroke Belt residents had a greater likelihood of cognitive impairment (18% higher) than non-Belt residents after adjusting for the influences of age, sex, race, and education level. The research team suggests that future studies should examine the impact of migration patterns, urban versus rural residence, socioeconomic factors, and educational quality on cognitive decline.

No doubt, a typical southern lifestyle is not conducive to great public health.  This doesn’t mean there are no healthy people in the south (sometimes I feel I have to say that).  What it does mean is that eating a diet high in fried foods, heavy drinking, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, and unsafe sex will lead to increased illness and shortened lives.  For sure these behaviors happen all over the country, let alone the world.  But the southern U.S. is plagued with high poverty rates; and regional lifestyle differences–like certain foods and activities–could account for the differences in cerebro- and cardiovascular disease rates.

So back to my business idea: The southeastern U.S. is ready for some healthy-choice businesses just like the ones we have on every street corner in the North.  Now I don’t mean to be offensive to my brothers and sisters in the south–I’m not suggesting you ain’t with it.  It’s just that–as an industry–the wellness trade hasn’t yet exploded in the south like it has in the rest of the country.  The explosion and the movement will occur concurrently.

Trust me, if you are an entrepreneur and are looking for an exciting new venture–wellness in the South is it!  Showing people that there is a better way, and then giving them the resources, the choices to live it…well that’s what I find super-exciting!  C’mon, the next John Mackey is ready to arise.  Start in the U.S. south–in my estimation, it’s a goldmine!

Here’s to another great year of health and wellness news and information in 2009. Thank you to all my readers for your support. Let’s recap the best of the year:

We started the year off by talking about health care reform, and what direction I thought the country should take. I agreed with then Health and Human Services Secretarial Nominee, Tom Daschle, when he proposed that we need to make illness prevention “hot,” and wellness “cool.” Indeed! But Daschle failed to pay his taxes, and we got stuck with a Secretary who decided to focus on the swine flu. Harrumph–another lost opportunity.

All-time greatest NFL wide receiver, Jerry Rice, plugged chiropractic. So did Philadelphia Phillies pitcher, Cole Hamels! Chiropractic was shown to improve high blood pressure.

Seasonal flu, the most over-hyped illness on the planet got bumped in banality by…SWINE FLU! Interestingly, the former was pegged for years as the next “great epidemic,” and vaccinations were being touted as the only savior. But just like I said in ’07 and ’08–not! Flu is flu is flu is flu…people listened, and flu shots were way down in ’09.

We had a lot of fun with some stories:

I talked a lot about chiropractic and adjusting my children. Lot’s of pics and videos.

I was NOT a fan of socialized health care, and gave lots of reasons why here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here).

Lots of celebrities died in ’09–Danny Gans, Billy Mays, DJ AM, and Brittany Murphy. I only focused on possible drug overdoses, purposely staying away from Michael Jackson’s.

A few notable non-celebrities also died–Ashtanga yoga guru K. Pattabhi Jois, abortion doctor George Tiller, Pulitzer prize winning author Frank McCourt,

I talked about some of my health practices–dietary, fitness, and physiological. And I touted the many health benefits of feeling sick.

My favorite health story of 2009: Dads Are Key to Making us Human

Story that pissed me off the most: Chiropractic Left Off Health Care Reform

Most hysterical: Heroin Best Treatment for Addiction

Least hysterical: Drug Deaths New Number One Killer

Thank you for making Optimal Health one of the premier health and wellness blogs on the net. Thank you for the many comments and participation from my readers here and on Facebook! 2010 promises to be another exciting and interesting year in the world of health. Remember it’s your health, better understand it.

Some people have no idea of what goes on in a chiropractic practice. “Cracking bones” is what the typical non-chiropractic person says a chiropractor does. But there is no truth to that. Cracking bones is not something we do, neither intentionally nor unintentionally–bones are pretty strong; I haven’t met a chiropractor, yet, strong enough to do that.

In my Los Angeles chiropractic office we focus on pain relief, rehabilitation of injured areas like shoulders or knees, and then we place a major importance on using chiropractic care in a wellness sense. By freeing up stuck spinal joints (subluxations), the nervous system is allowed to function unimpeded, with no restrictions, which allows the body to operate at its most optimal level, and thus enhancing health.

Check out the video to get a better understanding of how I use chiropractic care to help people from Hollywood stars to athletes to accountants get the most out of their bodies, their health and their lives. If you are ever in the Beverly Hills or West Hollywood areas of Los Angeles, and you need a chiropractic adjustment, please come visit my office for highest quality chiropractic care available.

“Cool” wellness and “hot” prevention is it. So says incoming Health and Human Services Department Secretary, Tom Daschle. President-elect Obama’s new health secretary says that the real answer to the current health care crisis is, well…wellness.

That’s right. About time somebody in government gets it. Duh! What’s costing the country big bucks right now is the high price of “sick care.” And what do illness and disease come from, primarily? C’mon, what do you think? Random chance? Roll of the dice? Tough luck? George W. Bush? C’mon, what?

That’s right, the most common cause of illness and disease is not taking care of one’s health. Very good. Give yourself a gold star.

And give a gold star to Daschle, too. According to the former U.S. Senate Majority Leader, getting people to focus on wellness will be all about marketing. “Wellness has to be cool,” he said, “And prevention has to be a hot thing. And we’ve got to make prevention hot and wellness cool.”

Yup, T.D., that’s what I’ve been saying for a long time–hot wellness and cool prevention. Or was that cool wellness and hot prevention? Either way, here’s what I propose:

  • Jennifer Aniston, nude yoga, televised
  • Nationwide Guitar Hero geek battles in gym class every week
  • Barack Obama 3 on 3 White House Basketball Tourney every summer
  • Jonas Brothers aerobics (oh sorry; we were talking about cool, weren’t we?–my bad)
  • Matthew McConaughey swingin’ sac boot camp (instructional video not to be missed–definitely not for the squeamish)

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.

This is a picture of an advertisement that is on a billboard in my neighborhood near the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).As you can see, the advertisement is suggesting that the product, which is a pomegranate juice, can extend life.This is a great example of the type of “wellness marketing” I speak of in my podcast, the Dr. Nick Show, Episode 6.

What I find interesting is that, on the one hand, you’ve got a contingency that is trying to attach the wellness label to all health and food products; while on the other, you’ve got a group of mainstream scientists trying to disprove many of the claims made by the first group.Case in point: A recent study claims that antioxidants do very little to extend life.
So what’s the truth?I’m certain it falls somewhere in the middle.Antioxidants are not useless.On the contrary, there are plenty of studies showing them to be effective.Antioxidants scavenge for free radicals—substances that can cause degenerative diseases like cancer—so, in theory anyway, they should provide some protection against developing chronic diseases.Without a doubt fruits and vegetables have anti-cancerous properties, and they are chock full of antioxidants, so there’s got to be something there.
But, of course, food and beverage manufacturers take things a little too far.They take a fact and stretch it so much that you question the validity of the concept altogether.Pomegranate juice cheats death?Please.Even with a slew of antioxidants, it’s very doubtful that it does that.More likely, antioxidant rich foods and beverages add to one’s overall health level, but whether this translates to longer life is debatable.I would argue that it might cheat illness, or weakness, or dysfunction, but death?
Anyway, I’m amused by the influx of wellness products hitting the market today. Decades ago there was breakfast cereal; then came vitamin-fortified cereal; today, there’s “heart-smart” cereal. Even Kaiser Permanente has jumped on the wellness bandwagon with their Thrive campaign. Anybody who has ever dealt with Kaiser in any capacity can certainly share in that humor. The bottom line is that we all want wellness. But are we aware enough to separate the fact from the fiction? Keep reading this blog.
Earlier in the year I wrote a post titled, Are Chiropractors Real Doctors? It has been, by far, my most popular post. The responses were overwhelmingly negative. Aside from the “quack” comments, much was written that I couldn’t keep up–it was nasty, vulgar, insulting, and worst of all, posted entirely by Mr. and Ms. “Anonymous”. That led me to write this post. I, frankly, would have been happy to leave up the nasty comments, and would have loved to respond to them had any author claimed them with a name; but I wasn’t going to get into a debate with a hidden identity–not interested in that.

So what was all the hullabaloo about? The main gist was that chiropractors are NOT real doctors! “Quacks, that’s all,” according to one poster. Well, I think I made my points rather concisely in the blog post, and especially in the concurrent podcast [The Dr. Nick Show (Episode 5)]. But to put a little more weight behind my argument, why not listen to what President-elect Barack Obama has to say on the subject.

In his position statement to the chiropractic profession, he stated:

  • As you know, chiropractic care is low-cost, drug-free, noninvasive, and has been shown to have a positive impact on patients’ health.
  • I believe steps should be taken to acknowledge the important care chiropractors provide, and knock down unreasonable barriers of access and discriminatory insurance coverage that stand between so many patients and the care they need.
  • I have a plan to support doctors of chiropractic. I support expanding the range of chiropractic services covered by Medicare.
  • I support commissioning doctors of chiropractic as officers in the Uniformed Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service…to deliver the nation’s public health promotion and disease prevention programs and advancing public health science.
  • My health care plan also prioritizes preventive care, and chiropractors play a significant role in this effort. As we shift our health care delivery system towards a culture of wellness and disease prevention, I believe that chiropractors must play an integral role in expanding access to preventive care and strengthening our public health system.

Booyah! There you have it…from the President-elect. To honor this great health-promoting statement by what’s promising to be a great leader, I will leave all comments up on this one, so fire away, Anonymous.

You know how I feel about yoga: I think it’s at the very top of the physical and mental wellness spectrum. From flexibility to strength to mental focus, yoga is the practice of uniting the mind, the body and the spirit. Well, now yoga has been shown to help women ease the symptoms of menopause.

According to research conducted the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana in Bangalore, India, 120 menopausal women aged 45-50 years old were randomly assigned to yoga practice or simple stretching and strengthening exercises five days a week. The yoga group also listened to lectures on using yoga to manage stress and other yoga-related topics. The non-yoga group listened to lectures on diet, exercise, stress management, and the physiology of menopause. After eight weeks of this routine, the yoga group showed significant reduction in hot flashes, night sweats, and sleep disturbances, as well as improved attention and concentration.

My only criticism of these findings is that the study was conducted in India, where people are generally more exposed to the practice of yoga in their lifetimes. Even if not everybody in the population practices yoga, they have at least a working knowledge of the discipline. What I would really like to see is the same study done in the U.S., or any other country where yoga is not a part of the general culture. I’m certain that the results will be the same, but it’s the only way to know that cultural factors aren’t at play here.

That said, I know the immense power of a regular yoga practice. I know it personally and professionally. Whether you’re pre-menopausal or menopausal, whether you’re male or female, whether you’re old or young, yoga will enhance your life significantly. Try it for six months and you’ll see what I’m talking about–life changing.

This month on the Dr. Nick Show (Episode 6) I discuss the boom in the wellness industry. Wellness as a concept–and as a way of life–is a good thing right? Yes, of course, but you’ve got to watch out for for the snake oil salesmen or the pretenders. Listen to this month’s episode for a better idea of where they’re trying to get you–and it may not be wellness at all; just a good ol’ jump on the bandwagon.

Here is a quick list of celebrities who are attaching themselves to the wellness industry:

A well-known television psych dabbling in the weight-loss game.

A mega-millionaire motivational guru who pushes all wellness, all the time.

A convicted conman whose made millions with the best selling health book of all time.

A former prime-time diva whose now pushing anti-aging and HRT.

Hey, maybe this stuff is your thing. Cool! Just beware. The term wellness increases the price tag significantly, so buyer beware.

Here are a few celebrity-endorsed products I’m waiting for:

  • 50 Cent’s 9 Bullets Liquid Diet.
  • Lindsey Lohan’s Hollywood Diet….snorrrt!
  • Roger Clemens’ Three Shots in the Ass (but thought it was B12) Workout.
  • Eddie Murphy’s new book on sexual wellness: Screw Anything that Moves.

Now that I’d like to see.

Have you heard? Kids who see doctors regularly get the proper care less than half the time. Huh?! That’s right–a new study conducted by the Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute and the nonprofit research group, the Rand Corp., found that children received the right care only 47% of the time. As the first comprehensive test of its kind, this study looked at the health care quality for American children. What was especially disturbing was that every one of the 1,536 children in the nationwide study had medical insurance, dealing a serious blow to the notion that a lack of health insurance is what’s leading to diminished health for our nation’s youth. All this on the heels of governmental debate on expanding children’s health insurance.

Although the study did find children’s doctors to fare moderately well in the assessment and treatment of acute medical problems–they got these right 68% of the time–they did poorly when it came to evaluating and treating chronic conditions (53%), and abysmally when it came to recommending preventative care (41%). According to Dr. Joeseph Hagan, a Vermont pediatrician, “They got an ‘F’.” “It’s sad,” he went on to say, “but I think it reflects some unpleasant realities about our current health care system or, I might say, non-system.”

Basically, what the study found was that there was such a wide variance in how doctors treated some of the most common illnesses, and especially how they “promoted health”. Who would think it to be otherwise? Haven’t you heard me say over and over again that our current medical system is based on a paradigm of fighting illness and saving lives, not promoting health and wellness? There’s certainly nothing wrong with that, except that when one industry pretty much monopolizes the entire health care arena, it’s pretty hard to understand the game (health) outside of what that industry tells us it’s supposed to be. And they aren’t yet focusing on the basics of health and wellness, which is all too apparent from this particular study.

My feeling is that it would be wise for American society to restructure the health care system and put everything in its proper place. The medical industry should focus on treating disease and saving lives–it’s what it does best. The task of teaching and directing the public’s health and wellness, though, should come from where it’s has been coming from over the last several decades: chiropractors, acupuncturists, fitness experts, nutritionists, massage therapists, yogis, hypnotherapists, meditation experts, and every other profession that focuses on health and well being. These professionals are in the best position, and have the expertise, to teach our children the aspects of good health. Leave the medical doctors to do what they do best; and open the doors for the new wave of health experts–real health experts. Kill the monopoly. It’ll be OK–form governing boards and create doctorate programs. You’ve got it!–yogic doctors, doctors of exercise physiology, doctors of nutrition, and such–why the heck not? It’ll guarantee competency and weed out the scheisters. That’s the government initiative I’d like to see debated real soon.

Welp, they almost got it right. Medical science is working very hard to jump onto the wellness bandwagon. There was a time when the term prevention was considered an “alternative” concept – that is, medical science placed very little stock in the idea of practicing preventative measures. But not anymore. Oh no. Not only is it very hip (medically speaking) to promote prevention, but now mainstream medicine is trying to form the term to fit within its own paradigm.

Imagine my excitement when I caught the headline, Preventive steps could save 100,000 U.S. lives: study. What? Do my eyes deceive me? Is the mainstream medical information machine really going to push the same agenda as I do with The Six Keys To Optimal Health? Wow, cool man. Let me check it out.

Hmmm. Not quite. But I guess it’s a start. The premise of the article is that if people were to take preventative measures, such as taking an aspirin every day, quitting smoking, getting more colorectal exams, getting more mamograms, and getting annual flu shots, then many life threatening diseases could be averted. OK, that’s true. But is that the gist of prevention? What about health, I mean, that surely can’t be all there is to it, can it?

Heck no. And the problem lies within the philosophy of our current health paradigm, which is: you are fine until you have symptoms, and when you do, you’re sick, and then you’ve got to be treated for your particular illness. All right, we know that one. It’s been in place for at least a century, so we’ve all been there, done that. And we ain’t gettin’ any healthier, now, are we? No, but we do have an overloaded medical system, which creates quite a problem.

I’m not going to go into all the details of why our current system doesn’t work and how we can change it into something more useful. Let’s save that for my upcoming book, The Six Keys to Optimal Health. You’ll find that I do a very thorough job of dissecting the current health paradigm and how we can now take our understanding of health to the next level. And based on the studies coming from our current health authorities, I can assure you the change isn’t going to come from that camp any time soon.

Instead, if I were to rewrite this study, it might read something like this:

Increased use of just five preventive services would save more than 100,000 lives every year in the United States, and they are:

These tips are just a small taste of what you’ll find in my upcoming book, and I’ll provide the information to prove them. You better believe that. When you’re done, you won’t even think about prevention, because if you do things right, there will be nothing to prevent.

Greetings and welcome to Optimal Health – Dr. Nick Campos’ blog on health and wellness news and information.

I will be posting regularly and will discuss some aspect of health, be it tips or news.

My purpose is to bring you health news and information from a slightly different perspective than what you may be used to.

So, come back daily and find out what’s really happening out there in the world of health and wellness.

Dr. Nick Campos
www.drnickcampos.com

Copyright © 2013 Dr. Nick Campos - All Rights Reserved.