Central West Virginia's Guide To Life

TOTAL HEALTH CARE
By Dr. Rick Magly

9/07 Introduction to Nutrition

Let's identify some of the serious problems in the U.S. health care system and suggest solutions to these problems. What? You didn't know there were problems? Well, please read on.

According to the World Health Organization, the U.S. ranks 37th in overall individual health. Right behind Slovenia. In the 1970's we ranked 17th in overall health. Infant and maternal death rates are also higher here, and there are 14 industrialized countries that do better. Clearly we are headed in the wrong direction even though we spend over three times more per person on health care than the rest of the world.

Don't get me wrong. Mainstream medicine has it's strengths. Trauma care in this country is the best in the world as is our treatment of infectious disease. The problem areas are the chronic illnesses; cancer, heart disease, diabetes, various autoimmune disorders such as lupus, multiple sclerosis, fibromy-algia and arthritis. The U.S. has a higher rate of these diseases than any other country on the planet!

These conditions drive up health care and insurance costs and are either leading causes of death or make people miserable while shortening their life spans.

What can you do? Learn more about health! Don't take it for granted that your doctor always knows best. Medical doctors get little if any training in nutrition with their required courses. Good nutrition is a cornerstone of good health along with proper rest, moderate exercise, a positive mental attitude and good body alignment (we all have to deal with the effects of gravity). So, let's focus on nutrition first. (I'll have more on the other cornerstones of health in later issues.)

Keep in mind that health care in the U.S. is usually done on a business for profit model. What's good for the patient's health may not even be brought up at the average doctor visit unless it's profitable. Pharmaceutical drugs, expensive diagnostic tests and in some cases surgery are the treatments of choice. They also happen to be the most profitable.

Most doctors have the best intentions, but are under intense pressure to diagnose, treat, and make a future treatment plan for the patient in ten minutes or less if they want to get paid. This leaves little time for nutritional advise that the doctor may not even be qualified to give.

Thomas Edison said, "Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food." He was a pretty smart feller by most accounts. The book of Genesis states that God gave man all manner of plants bearing seed for sustenance. Even a non-Christian should be able to admit that there is a lot of wisdom in the "Good Book”.

I know. It gets downright confusing. One study comes out praising a food for it's health benefits then six months later another study says the exact opposite. Here's a tip: if you want the truth, follow the money! Who paid for the study? What results would profit them the most? Many registered dieticians are taught at schools that are heavily funded by the processed food industry.

A recent documentary on modern hog farming revealed that the vast majority of pork sold today comes from hogs that are genetically modified to reach full maturity in less than six months. Unfortunately their immune systems are so weak that they will die if they go outdoors. Of course it's more profitable anyway to crowd them together in factorylike barns with slats in the floor to collect the urine and feces in a large pool under the building.

These animals (or protein units as they're called) are pumped full of antibiotics and hormones to keep them alive until slaughter. Yummy! Pass the sausage! Modern vegetable farming uses more pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers than ever before, producing food that lacks important vitamins and minerals while containing cancer causing agents.

Better living through chemistry? Not the way we're doing it.

If you compare the U.S. to countries that eat little processed food and use fewer chemicals in their farming practices, we are the ones with higher rates of cancer, diabetes and heart disease. These ailments are caused in large part by inflammation, which in turn is caused most often by toxic food.

Notice I didn't mention low fat. Recent research shows the low fat craze may be overblown. Good quality monoun-saturated or even saturated fats are needed in a balanced diet for many body functions. Too little fat intake can lead to depression. (Polyunsaturated fats, transfats and hydrogenated oils should be avoided.)

Never eat transfats or hydrogenated oils. By law they must be listed on the ingredients label if contained in the food. These substances are one molecule away from plastic. They cause high blood pressure, heart attack, liver failure and possibly cancer. Transfats are now illegal in New York!

Sound like too much information? Well your life may depend on it. As a country, heart disease, diabetes and cancer are our leading killers. In central West Virginia we are double the national average in the incidence of these diseases.

Let's make it simple. Eat organically raised food or at least locally grown with minimal chemicals. Food that is shipped long distances loses much of it's nutritional value. Fresh is best. Frozen second best and canned is a distant third.

Of course home canned is usually better than store bought. Take a quality vitamin/mineral supplement daily to pick up the slack.

You'll have more energy, fewer illnesses and recover quicker from injury. I promise!

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