Healthcare Reform

I had one of those warm and fuzzy moments this afternoon. I was part of getting five eight year-olds to eat all of their fruits and vegetables for lunch today. We live in the midst of a crisis. 1/3 of all children will be diabetic adults. 1/2 of kids in this country are overweight or obese. Today's kids will not outlive the generation before them.

Largely this is due to nutrition. So often I hear parents say, "My kids won't eat vegetables." Then how did I get five of your kids to do it in a matter of minutes? And guess what, they enjoyed it.

I went to my son's school today to have lunch, and sat with him in the cafeteria. As we quietly enjoyed our packed lunches of natural peanut butter and jelly with some fruit we were joined by five second graders. They all were eating the gourmet selections of the day from the old school lunch trays.

The first thing I noticed was the presentation. Any good chef will tell you its half the battle. The vegetables were your standard mixed stuff, wearing some of the blandest colors I've ever seen. The broccoli was that dark olive color it gets when steamed way too long. So wilted, so soggy, it appeared they were melting together into some cafeteria nightmare tannish color (maybe a new Crayola for 2010). The pears were clearly right out of the can, sort of a soggy gray.

The next section contained some of the most crisp, golden brown chicken-like nuggets the world may ever see. They were putting off a golden gleam, so plump, so tasty. I haven't had one of these toxic mixtures of who-knows-what in 5 years, but part of me wanted to trade my banana for one. I was able to resist.

No wonder our kids don't eat healthy. The bad stuff looks great. I was thinking, it can't take much extra effort to leave the nuggets in the fryer for an extra 10 minutes and serve them soggy and gray, the way they make you feel when eaten. Let's then get some healthier looking veggies, like the stuff I see at every farmer's market, on every Saturday. Cut them into really cool shapes and steam them just right. I imagine giving these gifts of nature the respect they deserve would light up that tray. I suspect some kids would choose them over the gray mush of manufactured protein.

The poor "vegetable" medley and embalmed pears sat lonely on the trays of these five kiddos and recess was about to start. So I asked what the deal was. "How could you guys leave the best part of the meal there?" The overwhelming response was, "They're nasty." "Nasty?" I replied. "How on earth do you expect to have energy for recess and to get through the rest of the day without your fruit and veggies?" So one brave boy took a big bite. "Holy cow, guys. Did you see that? His brain just got a little bigger." Another bite. "Oh man. Now he will be able to beat anyone in a race on recess." And one by one, they all dug in. No faces, no wincing. Just American kids eating the stuff God has provided us. Every single one of them cleaned their trays to high fives and "knucks", all the way out to recess.

That's all it takes parents. Teaching them why it's important. Getting excited when they do something truly good for themselves. Modeling the behavior you desire of them. And it wouldn't hurt to provide them with some prettier looking options.

Kids eating produce in the school cafeteria. Now that's a national healthcare reform policy.

Obama IDs the Key to Healthcare Reform!

"When it comes to food, one of the things that we are doing is working with school districts. And the child nutrition legislation is going to be coming up. We provide an awful lot of school lunches out there and -- and reimburse local school districts for school-lunch programs. Let's figure out how can we get some fresh fruits and vegetables in the mix. Because sometimes you go into schools and -- you know what the menu is, you know? It's French fries, Tater Tots, hot dogs, pizza and -- now, that's what kids -- let's face it, that's what kids want to eat, anyway. (Laughter.)

So it's not just the schools' fault. A, that's what kids may want to eat. B, it turns out that that food's a lot cheaper, because of the distributions that we've set up. And so what we've got to do is to change how we think about, for example, getting local farmers connected to school districts, because that would benefit the farmers, delivering fresh produce, but right now they just don't have the distribution mechanisms set up. So, you know, Michelle set up that garden in the White House? One of the things that we're trying to do now is to figure out, can we get a little farmers' market -- outside of the White House -- I'm not going to have all of you all just tromping around inside -- (laughter) -- but right outside the White House -- (laughter) -- so that -- so that we can -- and -- and -- and that is a win-win situation.

One of the things that we're trying to do now is to figure out, can we get a little farmers' market -- outside of the White House -- I'm not going to have all of you all just tromping around inside -- (laughter) -- but right outside the White House -- (laughter) -- so that -- so that we can -- and -- and -- and that is a win-win situation. "  Barack Obama http://tinyurl.com/l225ab

It gives suddenly D.C. more access to good, fresh food, but it also is this enormous potential revenue-maker for local farmers in the area. And -- and that -- those kinds of connections can be made all throughout the country, and -- and has to be part of how we think about health.

Imagine a community where local farmers work with your child's school to provide nutritious, fresh, natural foods on a daily basis. Imagine your child spending days in the school garden learning biology, geometry and nutrition. Probably actually less overall cost than shipping the highly processed, sugar-laden meals they eat today. I hope he is serious about this type of legislation. Then he can make healthcare as much of a debacle as he wants to in my mind, this would change the paradigm for generations.

Big Pharma Going to Poor Counties for Sales

Big Pharma Going to Poor Countries for Sales

Maybe this is the way we can increase America's health compared to the rest of world...

Last year there was a report showing that 51% of Americans were on at least one prescription drug. Astounding!

Imagine what that number would be if we started cooking from scratch more, exercising regularly and had a healthcare system that supported and educated us on these principles. Sure, there would still be prescription drugs, just significantly less.

There is an entire book on Drug Induced Nutrient Depletion, outlining all of the nutrients (ie. B vitamins and magesium) being depleted by our commonly used medications. So in chronic illness the question becomes are we seeing complications like diabetic neuropathy because the diabetes is uncontrolled or because we created B12 deficiency with our intensive drug program.

I just hope the physicians and healers of poorer countries can balance lifestyle improvement and the promotion of health with Big Pharma better than we have.

Beware of the PPIs

http://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/news/20090702/stopping-ppis-causes-acid-reflux-symptoms?src=RSS_PUBLIC

A recent study shows that being the powerful acid-suppressing medications like Nexium and Aciphex for a couple months increase the chances of reflux upon stopping them.

I see this all the time. Folks are put on these meds for any type of GI symptom, asthma (which recently was not supported in the literature, but is still used),  or chest pain. They take them for a couple months and when they stop them, instant reflux. So they go back on them, convinced they have reflux and happily go about their life. Unfortunately, they promote increased intestinal permeability (leaky gut syndrome), osteoporosis,  and other vitamin/mineral deficiencies.

These can have huge ramifications on health, all from an innocent 2 month trial on "The Purple Pill".

In my clinic, if one of these meds is on the list, our first goal is to get off of it. My experience, supported by this new study is that it's not easy. Generally, big diet change is needed: elimination of gluten, more real foods like fruits and vegetables. Starting probiotics and maybe aloe or DGL licorice can often allow people to wean off the acid-suppressing meds, a huge victory in health promotion.

Moral of the story: If you need a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) like Nexium for a reflux-like symptom. Take it for 6 weeks. Meanwhile, take the message from your body that something is not right. Cut out smoking, alcohol, caffeine, processed/refined foods and adopt solid whole foods nutrition and regular exercise. Stop the PPI and enjoy your health.