Smart Patients Know Science, Not Pseudo-science

      The internet is considered by most to be a good source of information. I don't believe that. Yes, almost all actual information can be found on the internet but most of what you are likely to see is something that is for sale. You have to dig a lot to find the good stuff. The rest is fads, phonies and scams. Here is some actual science that tells about one of them: the myth that calcium and vitamin D is good for your health and your bones. 6 Health Risks of Calcium and Vitamin D

Ladies: You Can Double Your Risk Of Dying With This! Long term studies show that these supplements that have been pushed for 30 years don't work and actually cause more trouble than they are worth. There was no counter to all the advertising pushing them. This deception started 80 years ago with the discovery of vitamin C. The marketers discovered right away that if they extracted vitamin C from the plants it was plentiful in they could dry it and make pills out of it. This reduced the effectiveness of it dramatically but the public didn't know that so a pseudo-wonder pill was born!

     That principle applies to all vitamins and all minerals. Your body is designed to utilize them in the form of food... not in their food extracted chemical form. In that form they aren't absorbed well and they can't get through cell walls easily to do what they are needed for. Most doctors don't know this and most supplement store customers have never heard about it. NOTE: Certain important minerals are especially troublesome in this way. Zinc, iron, copper, iron, calcium are VERY POORLY absorbed and utilized unless wrapped up in food complexes.  The only company that has ever done the studies to prove this is called Foodform. (Intracell Nutrition) They don't advertise but here's the link. Foodform Manna



    

Have You Met The The "Chargemaster" ?

     The Chargemaster is the biggest revelation of "The Bitter Pill" by Steven Brill.

This a long read, but well worth it!

 

 

Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/20/bitter-pill-why-medical-bills-are-killing-us/#ixzz2LmFvH7xO

 

John Stewart from the Daily Show had Steve Brill on his show last week, here is the episode:

The interview is basically the last 10 minutes of the 30 minute show.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/thu-february-21-2013-steven-brill

     If you don't have 1st class health insurance you need to understand how that big shiny hospital complex (formerly known as 'the hospital' got to be the biggest business in town before you become a victim.

If you are too lazy to read this very long but well written expose' then here is the bottom line: Medicare makes sure it only pays about 6% over cost for healthcare but for everyone else the whole idea is to charge as much as possible for everything. 10 times cost, 100 times cost and even 1000 times cost are typical for these charitable, non-profit institutions. And the more they see you the more money they extract! And the drug companies are doing the same thing. You just won't find out about it til it's too late. As for the politicians, they are so pumped full of money by these companies they just keep pretending that everything is FINE!

Let's Get Some Lights On In Here!

     70 years ago is about when the current PAYMENT FOR SERVICES medical model began. That model has now reached an extreme stage because new scientific knowledge and advances in technology have made more and more medical services available to be sold. My little town has an MRI machine (that it doesn't need) for people who get claustrophobic lying in an enclosed tube. You get the same MRI for a higher price. I'm sure a lot of people who use it find out their insurance company expects them to pay the extra $250 or so for the added comfort.

     The whole subject of MRI's illustrates the this point in another way. Thanks to massive advertising by General Electric and Siemens patients have been demanding MRI's for the past 15 years under the false impression that an MRI can diagnose and cure almost anything.  If you are paying into this system you should wince a little every time an MRI that wasn't needed is done. My wife needed an MRI a few years ago. We found out we had 3 choices: $2000, $1300 or $760. We spent the $760 and were very happy. Insured patients usually don't get to make those choices and probably never see the price. The Mystery Of Health Care Prices (this article gives good insight into this racket)

     My grandparents (dad side) were healthy into their late 80's and died of natural causes. The only high tech medical thing I know of them ever needing was his hearing aids. I'd like to know what their lifetime medical care bill was because I'm sure you and I would be astounded at how low it was. The next generation (my mom and dad) was completely different. Countless hospital admissions, weekly doctors visits, multiple specialists, annual trips to the Mayo Clinic. (All covered by insurance)
This resulted in basically the same long and happy lives but the cost was waaay more than I've made in my whole working life. They never worried about the cost because it was all 'covered'.

    In these days of very high unemployment you better worry about it because an 'uncovered' medical bill means you will be hounded to the ends of your meager wages or savings and a lien put on your humble abode.

     Those previous generations in my family had 2 main things in common: Good genes and good food. I know because I ate with them and shared their stories. They never went to Burger King because they knew that wasn't food. They always ate 3 square, healthy meals a day cooked with great care and on time. It didn't need to be expensive or fancy, just wholesome and fresh. They got 8 or 9 hours sleep every night and enjoyed good friends and a drink or two. (Maybe you should too!)

When You Don't Have $30,000 For Your Back Pain

      It may not surprise you to hear that back problems are very common and often times become chronic. There have been big improvements in diagnosis and treatment in the past 20 years but it hasn't reduced the number of people who keep getting the problem and not getting rid of it. If you suddenly develop back pain that doesn't clear up in a few days I have a few words of warning for you.

1. Don't expect your doctor to know exactly what it is or how to fix it unless he has training and experience.
2. Start thinking about what you can do to help yourself. For instance, stop lifting and bending or any other activity that makes it worse. Start finding positions that relieve it. Try gentle heat.

     

     A couple years ago a woman called me because she had developed back and leg pain over a period of weeks. It had progressed to the point where she could barely get around the house. She had gone to a massage therapist and gotten only a few hours pain relief. Then she went to a chiropractor who suspected she had degenerative disc disease and confirmed it with an MRI. He suggested a surgeon but she had no money or insurance for that and called me. At that point I had never heard of Egosque but I have experience with back pain. I looked into their approach and recommended that she try it. I did that because I could tell that it would not harm her and it made sense with what I know about anatomy and physiology.
The Egosque Method For Chronic Pain

   It was not a short story, but her improvement started with the people at Egosque and her diligently following the posture exercises at home. When she improved enough, the chiropractor was able to work with her. 9 months later she was pain free and able to everything she could do before the problem started. Egosque is very reasonably priced compared to disc surgery and she was able to negotiate a 50% price reduction from them. Perfect results for a very bad condition of 2 degerated discs and severe nerve (sciatic) pain and inflammation leading to one sided weakness.

   Her pain medication over this time was minimal though at first she needed a lot of it.

     Since then I have recommended a number of patients try Egosque. The criteria is chronic pain. Most health insurance doesn't cover it but auto insurance will. I spent 5 years operating a strengthening and conditioning program for people with back injuries and really enjoyed it. But this is much better. You might wonder why your doctor has never heard of it and most health insurance won't cover it? I don't know but I suspect it is simply because it works to well. If you can fix a clearly surgical back problem with simple exercise you do at home there is a lot of high priced surgery that wouldn't need to be done. Igosque helps lots of patients after they have successful surgery also. The goal of both is to get you back to being able to use your back as normally as possible.

    This woman spent about $7000 cash to get a good back again. If she had surgery it would likely have been closer to $50,000. Only $2800 of that $7000 went to Egosque. To her it was a bargain!

     So if you would like to discuss ways to get better results with your medical problems let's talk! Just follow the easy contact instructions.