Amy Lansky has written an insightful article to address some of these concerns, here is a link.

Also why do we need (allow) these individuals to decide if we want access to medical freedom, choices and options in our health care? Medical freedom is a necessity, not an option.

Help for High Blood Pressure

Enter the Polypill.  Researchers want to create a pill a 3 in one that can reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and high blood pressure in one.  article here
Truth is it has been created or should I say they have been. When we eat whole foods, contained therein is a synergistic blend of vitamins, proteins, amino acids, flavonoids, solar and lunar energy and maybe even (hopefully) love from the gardener. We cannot get this from a pill.

Run This Way

Instead of running from nature, run to nature. Nurture yourself with learning how to live in balance. It’s free. It’s the healthiest choice for yourself and the planet. Give it a try. Polypill? Try basking in the sun, or hugging a dear friend, cook yourself a meal with a big dose of love in it…you’ll be glad you did, for benefits no Polypill could ever provide.

At Continuum Wellness we offer homeopathic care and wellness coaching to promote wholeness, health and well-being.

A few years ago a commercial for a meat product, I think it was for beef. Well, there were two families sitting together for dinner and it was at the end of the meal. A cake was bought out. A young smiling girl glowed as she eyed her cake. The fathers gathered around. The father who was depicted as eating vegetables could barely blow out the candles. The burly looking meat eating father came over to blow out the candle. And wouldn’t you know it, his mighty breath not only blew out the candles but blew a hole in the wall which also sucked out the “weakly veggie dad.”

The motto for men, eat meat be strong, gr-r-r-r. The commercials aim was to appeal to men to eat meat so they can stay strong. According to some recent finding out of the University of Chicago,“heavy meat eaters claim that they eat meat because it tastes better than other foods, such as meat substitutes.” But in a recent study male participants ate a vegetable substitute and deemed it acceptable in terms of taste because they thought it was meat.

The researchers concluded that one’s personal beliefs influence what one tastes.

Symbolically many men view meat as a source of power, strength and virility. Vegetables are not viewed as powerful. Whoever heard of ‘mighty carrot’! However all it took was to have the study participants think they were eating meat and then the veggie burger was well received.

The mind is powerful and thoughts do much to create one’s reality. Probably not every veggie burger would pass this taste. However since it is mainly the spices and seasonings that contribute to the taste and flavor of a burger, be it a meat or veggie burger, making healthy food taste good will make it easier for any recalcitrant eater.

Rates of the disease, fueled by obesity and sedentary lifestyles, have risen unchecked in the United States, with diabetes now affecting about 7 percent of the population. That’s an estimated 20.8 million adults and children, according to the American Diabetes Association.

Federal projections estimate that by 2050, some 48 million Americans will have type 2 diabetes. And the disease will bring with it complications such as blindness, hearing loss, kidney disease, nervous system disorders and amputations of extremities.

“Studies have suggested that for the first time in history, the generation of people born in 2000 is probably going to have shorter life expectancy than their parents,” said Dr. Sue Kirkman, vice president of clinical affairs for the American Diabetes Association. “That’s attributable to obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Is that what we want for our children?”

What’s worse, one of the most promising medicines for treating type 2 diabetes — Avandia — now appears to increase a person’s risk of heart attack and heart failure, according to recent studies.

Still, medical experts say the fight against diabetes can be won — if everyone decides to do what’s best for themselves and their families.

That fight will get its yearly boost on Tuesday when the American Diabetes Association will “sound the alert” about diabetes on the 20th annual American Diabetes Alert Day. It’s a one-day “call to action” to encourage those at risk for developing type 2 diabetes or those with loved ones at risk to take the Diabetes Risk Test and, if they score high, to schedule an appointment to see their health-care provider. The Diabetes Risk Test is available in English and Spanish by calling the association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or online at www.diabetes.org/alert.

But the finding on Avandia calls into question the safety of the entire class of drugs known as thiazolidinediones. For now, Avandia — and other thiazolidinediones such as Actos — remains on the market. But last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration mandated stricter labeling, including “black box” warnings, for the medications.

Medical experts recommend that each person discuss with their physician the risks and rewards of using Avandia.

“Every patient is different,” said Kirkman. “Every patient has different risk factors. Every patient has reasons why one medicine might be better for them than another.”

But medicines are only part of the solution. A better response would be drastic changes to American lifestyles, starting with improved diets and more exercise, to avoid type 2 diabetes in the first place.

“The statistics are pretty gloomy, but we also know people who are at risk for diabetes can do a lot to prevent it from coming on,” Kirkman said. “There’s a lot people can do to try and control their fate.”

Diabetes comes in two types.

The most common form, type 2, or what used to be called adult-onset diabetes, occurs when either the body does not produce enough of the hormone insulin or the cells ignore the insulin. The body needs insulin to transport sugar in the blood to cells for energy. Being overweight, an unhealthy diet, and lack of exercise are common contributors to this form of the disease.

Type 1 diabetes, usually diagnosed in children and young adults, occurs when the body isn’t capable of producing insulin.

Researchers reviewing data from the National Health Interview Survey found that from 1990 to 2005, cases of diabetes increased 4.6 percent each year. They rose from 26.4 cases per 1,000 people to 54.5 per 1,000 people in the most recent year available.

The diabetes epidemic has grave implications for America, said Martha Funnell, a clinical nurse specialist for the University of Michigan and a past president of the American Diabetes Association. Health care costs are expected to soar as more people with diabetes complications fill doctors’ offices and emergency rooms.

Even the U.S. economy will be affected as potentially healthy people find themselves unable to work. “You’re losing folks in the prime of their years, and that has an impact on society and our economy,” Funnell said.

Fortunately, there are steps that can be taken, both large and small, to help fight diabetes.

On the large-scale side, Kirkman said, governments should spend more money on physical education in schools and on public transportation, instead of new road construction.

“We know people who take public transportation are more physically active,” she said. “Do we choose to encourage that?”

On a more personal level, people can make healthy lifestyle choices and help pass those choices along to their children, Funnell said.

But is anyone listening and willing to try?

“The messages are those same old ‘eat healthy and exercise,’ and we hear those to the point where we think, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, everybody knows we need to do these things,’ ” Funnell said.

However, even small measures — standing more often during the day or walking during a lunch break or eating an apple instead of ice cream — can help make a difference.

“Maybe it would seem to outsiders as a small step, but it’s just taking that one step and the next step and the next,” Funnell said. “Like global warming, it’s saying, ‘What can I do for myself and my family this week, this month, this year, that will make a difference?’ “

STAVANGER, Norway (AFP) – Tears streak Rita’s cheek as she recalls what it was like trying to figure out what was wrong with her son more than a decade ago, but she breaks into a smile when she explains how changing his diet made all the difference.

“I could tell something was wrong with him as soon as he began eating solids as a baby. It was if the food was draining him,” says Rita, 50, describing how her son Christoffer had yoyoed between passive and hyperactive behaviour until she had removed several staples from his diet including milk and grains.

Christoffer, today a normally developed 14-year-old, is one of 23 children suffering from hyperactive disorders who were put on milk-free diets in 1996-1997 and whose development has been tracked ever since by a small group of educators and researchers in the southwestern Norwegian town of Stavanger.

The group set out to prove a theory by Oslo-based scientist Karl Ludvig Reichelt that a metabolic disorder making it difficult to break down certain proteins, including casein (the protein in milk that makes it possible to make cheese), could cause mental problems like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

“One of the kids I worked with started on the diet on Wednesday and by the weekend his parents said they saw a huge positive change in his behaviour,” says special educator Magne Noedland, who helped spearhead the diet project.

All 23 children, who were between four and 11 years old when the project started, were suspected of having ADHD and had been shown to have abnormal levels of peptides in their urine.

The accumulation of peptides, which are short compounds containing two or more amino acids, is an indication that the enzyme needed to fully break down certain proteins is inhibited or missing, and can have an opium-like effect on the brain, according to Reichelt.

Much international research has been done linking such protein disorders to cases of autism and schizophrenia, and a growing number of studies also hint that some cases of ADHD are connected with the digestive problem.

There is however a lot of scepticism to the theory in medical circles, with many doctors believing medication like Ritalin is the best way to treat the condition.

Noedland acknowledges the Stavanger project does not meet all scientific standards, claiming the main problem is the lack of comprehensive studies on how many ADHD children suffer from peptide abnormalities.

“There is no reason to put everyone with ADHD on a diet if only 10 percent of them have protein imbalances,” he says.

The children in the Stavanger project all followed a strict casein-free diet the first year, and the results were overwhelmingly positive, Noedland says, pointing out that 22 of the 23 families reported clear improvements in their child’s behaviour and attention-span.

A number of the children have since stopped following the diet for different reasons and some were put on medication, but after eight years six were still strictly avoiding all milk products and several had also cut out gluten, which is found in wheat, rye, barley and to some extent oats.

“We see a clear difference between those who stopped and those who stayed on the diet,” Noedland says.

“Seeing these kids going from one day not being able to learn a thing to the next day being receptive; as a teacher that’s a wonderful feeling,” says Kristine Fosse, one of the educators involved in the project.

To illustrate her point, Fosse pulls out a writing test by a six-year-old boy who took part in the project.

The boy was asked to write his numbers after involuntarily breaking his diet and ingesting milk on September 22, 1996. The result was a confused and jumbled mess of squiggly lines. Just two days later, again strictly steering clear of casein, he repeated the exercise, this time writing four clearly legible numbers in an even line.

“It’s incredible. We’ve seen intelligence tests that had gone steadily down suddenly turn around and go back up” after a change of diet, says Ann-Mari Knivsberg, who covers the research end of the Stavanger project.

One of the children who still avoids milk and gluten, 17-year-old Sigbjoern, says any lapse in his diet affects his performance in school.

“I can tell right away when I’ve eaten something I shouldn’t. It’s really hard to concentrate. I’m always careful before tests,” he says, taking a big bite of gluten and milk-free carrot cake.

Considered a hyperactive problem child with retarded development in nursery school, Sigbjoern today ranks among the best students in his class.

“He had a slow start and a lot of trouble learning to begin with, but by secondary school he was really doing well,” says Sigbjoern’s mother Grete, 52.

Both Grete and Rita asked that their families’ last names not be used for fear of stigmatisation.

“It is considered shameful to have ADHD,” Grete says. “When they’re on a diet they’re just like everyone else. Just look at them. We have two normal, great kids. I’m eternally grateful that Sigbjoern was included in the project.”

Hundreds of other Norwegian children with ADHD, mainly in and around Stavanger, have in recent years been put on milk-free diets to help deal with their condition, but Fosse complains many doctors don’t inform parents of the option.

“We want to get the word out that this can be an alternative. Parents have to do a lot of searching before they get this information,” she says.

“The scepticism is infuriating. I’m glad I have a good education and can stand up for myself when I meet doctors who ridicule what I’m doing,” says Grete, putting her arm around Sigbjoern’s shoulder.

“I mean, as a parent, wouldn’t you want to at least try switching your child’s diet before medicating him?”

Copyright © 2008 Agence France Presse