Do Some People Just Like Being Miserable?

photo by cliff1066 at flickr

This is a really important question. You can read my answer by going to my book at:
http://turning60consciously.blogspot.com/2011/06/day-248-do-some-people-just-like-being.html

We Need to Talk About End-of-Life and its Costs

"The soaring cost of health care is the greatest threat to the country’s long-term solvency, and the terminally ill account for a lot of it. Twenty-five per cent of all Medicare spending is for the five per cent of patients who are in their final year of life, and most of that money goes for care in their last couple of months which is of little apparent benefit."

 From the New Yorker:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/02/100802fa_fact_gawande#ixzz1JeLEuFd9

Delicious Way to Prevent Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Here is where you can read about and see it better!
http://turning60consciously.blogspot.com/2011/04/day-186-delicious-way-to-prevent-age.html

Dr. Young

America is Due for its Annual Chiropractic Check-Up

Dr. Eve Venturi treating Dr. Young

It’s a simple idea; maybe so simple as to be overlooked or misunderstood; but the annual chiropractic check-up is not only a concept whose time should have already come in America, but should have arrived at least 39 years ago.

Chiropractic was founded in America in 1895. In 1972 the US Congress voted to make chiropractic care available under Medicare. Chiropractic was clearly determined to be of value, for at least our elderly, 39 years ago. Recognizing that those under 65 years of age also have spines, and that degenerative diseases don't begin at 65, one might conclude that all American's would be benefited by chiropractic care.

We all know that it is wise to see our dentist each year, and we do so because of 4 factors: 1) we have teeth, 2) teeth  are known to become unhealthy and painful, 3) dentists specialize in treatment of the oral cavity, and 4) preventive care is less expensive and results in better oral health than that achieved by repairing damaged teeth.

The situation with chiropractors (doctors of chiropractic – DC) is a bit more complicated, because while we do specialize in treatment of the spine, we are also licensed as general practitioners, treating virtually all conditions, and being limited only in regard to the use of drugs and surgery. But, for the moment, let us focus on chiropractic expertise in spinal function and spinal health.

It would be reasonable for all Americans to have annual spinal check-ups provided by a spinal health expert; a chiropractor. The same 4 factors that drive the annual dental check-up, drive the need for the annual chiropractic check-up: 1) we have spines, 2) spines are known to become unhealthy and painful, 3) chiropractors specialize in the treatment of the spine, and 4) preventive care is less expensive and results in better spinal health than that achieved by repairing a damaged spine.

It is important to additionally consider that while dental problems can be very serious, their effect on our society, compared to the effect of spinal (back and neck) problems, is minor. Back pain is the second leading cause of lost work time, and was estimated to have cost America $100 billion in 1998.

Do you get at least one spinal check-up per year?

I am suggesting that our culture needs a chiropractic check-up, and a wake up to spinal health.

PS – I know that there are some doctors, other than chiropractors, that can provide excellent spinal evaluation. If you have one, then see her/him at least annually.

The Fox that is Guarding the Drug House May be Offshore

For a very long time it has been hard to feel a sense of trust in drug companies. This is true because there is so much money (imagine billions) to be made in drug sales, and because there has been so much evidence against, and conviction for fraud in the prescription drug world.

Things are not getting better, they are just going "offshore". Check out this Vanity Fair article that an MD friend sent me, about how the testing and safety of your drugs are becoming less tested and less safe.

http://m.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2011/01/deadly-medicine-201101?currentPage=all

So, what's the moral? It might be, to start learning about and practicing health, so that you have less need for drugs.

Our Commitment to Health 2011

You care about your health.

You care about your family's health.

Knowledge about health, taking care of yourself, and lifestyle are more important and more powerful than treatments or medical insurance.

Would you give 90 minutes each month of 2011, in Ventura, on the second Thursday of each month, from 7-8:30 PM to join with others in a commitment to learning about and practicing health? Would you pay, in advance, $2 per gathering?

We would be talking about food, pain, depression, sleep, relaxation, family, cancer, allergy, vitamins, behavior, and more.

Please take a moment and let me know if you would join this group? Other thoughts also appreciated. E-mail me at: kychiro@pacbell.net

Every Child Needs a Chiropractor

Every child deserves, and needs evaluation and treatment from a knowledgeable doctor of chiropractic (DC).

Proper function of the spine, and the muscles, nerves and connective tissues of which it is comprised, are critical to a child’s health and vitality. The most common spinal dysfunction that affects children is a gradual loss of motion and flexibility in the spinal joints. This loss can be a major factor in, or cause of back or neck pain. A knowledgeable DC is trained to diagnose this loss of mobility, often before pain occurs and before damage is detectable on an x-ray.

Back pain in children is very common. A 1994 Scandinavian study, by Trousler, showed that 51% of 1,174 school children had experienced back pain.

For most families in America, the two choices of practitioners to treat childhood spinal pain or spinal conditions are a DC and an MD (family practice or pediatrician). In my opinion, the best choice is a knowledgeable DC. DCs specialize in treatment of the spine, while neither family practice nor general pediatricians do. Additionally, MDs rarely address prevention of spinal problems, while prevention would always be a primary focus of a knowledgeable DC.