Archive for September, 2009

Our system in crisis can be broken down to the choices we make every single day as individuals

President Obama has one heck of an uphill battle to fight.  I really wouldn’t want to be in his situation.  Everyone has their own vested interests in the “health care reform” debate.

Doctors don’t want to get paid any less, heck I don’t blame them, I wouldn’t either.

Insurance companies don’t want their profits cut by generic drugs coming across international borders…I don’t blame them either.

People who are faced with life threatening illness don’t want to be turned away from the BEST POSSIBLE CARE because of a lack of funds.  I don’t blame them either.

As a Chiropractor in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, who’s services are not covered by any governmental assistance (except for those low income who get a small $230/year to go towards their choice of Chiro, Massage, Optometry, Podiatry, or Physical Therapy, Acupuncture, or Naturopathic Care), I see too often how people who are in need of my care can’t afford to have their families come in and get checked on a regular basis for wellness (some call it preventative) care, and opt to go to a medical doctor instead and take pills, or even elect for surgery, because it’s “free”.  These patients don’t end up getting to the root cause of their problems:  Poor lifestyle choices.

It hurts for me to see all this around me, because I see all to often that it’s a lack of understanding of who they are, what their bodies and minds genetically REQUIRE to perform at optimum levels.  And this lack of understanding and ignorance of their lifestyle choices in how they eat, move, think, along with a poorly functioning nervous system over a period of decades leads to major health problems, which become a burden on society.  Of course these sick people need the best care available to them, but look at what these lifestyle choices are costing us.

Our “health care” system is far from “free”.  42% of all provincial taxes goes to fund our system under crisis.  The British Columbia Government’s website says that the spending in this province has gone up to 15.72 billion this year, up from 9.36 Billion back in 2001– which is an increase of 70% in less than ten years.  They’re projecting it should go up to $17.51 billion in 2010/11.  We’re spending more on “health care” and we’re getting sicker.  And what are the main conditions people are seeking medical treatment for?  Obesity, Heart Disease, and Diabetes, Cancers, digestive disorders, mental disorders, and a handful of other chronic illnesses that are becoming more and more common.  And now that our Government is proposing to raise taxes by implementing a new “Harmonized Sales Tax” totaling 12% for all purchases, restaurants and many services, people are getting extremely angry.  My question to those people:  What the heck do you expect?  How are we going to pay for the declining health of our society and the increasing costs?  Do YOU have a better solution?

Deepak Chopra, who is a Harvard-graduated physician, writes a lot about this dilemma that’s happening as we speak to our neighbors in the US.  While he applauds Obama’s desire for change, he’s quite skeptical about how raising taxes and throwing more money into a system that isn’t working won’t really change the state of health of nation who’s health is already on the decline.  While it’s much better to take money that the Bush Administration threw into war and put it back into the well being of the country, his article tells us why Obama’s system won’t reform our health unless Americans take responsibility.

The best, most “funny cuz-it’s true” article in response to all the people demanding the government pay for healthcare is from Bill Maher.  Not very politically correct at all, but you really can’t deny the validity of his sarcastic take on the debate.  Michael Moore should really pay attention to this one.  It’s called “New Rule:  You can’t complain about Health Care Reform if you’re not willing to reform your own Health”.  It’s a gem.

With all the debate, I present you with 3 simple videos that, if properly understood and embraced, and taught to young children in schools, we could raise a new generation of people who take responsibility for their own health, reduce the burden of the tax payer, and take our health and health care system to the next level.

The first is quite an inspiring story of what proper lifestyle choices can do to add a higher quality of life.

It breaks my heart to watch that video, because I see that my grandmother is only a few years older than this woman, but because she didn’t have the same lifestyle choices, she looks and feels much older, is at the doctor’s office every two weeks, has had surgeries and I painfully watch her health decline.

This next story I suggest you take the time to watch was inspired by a book by Dr. John Ratey, MD– who happens to be a psychiatry professor at Harvard.  I’m right in the middle of his fascinating book called “Spark–The revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain”.

A teacher in Saskatchewan with students who had “oppositional defiant behavior”, who half the class was labelled “Attention Deficit Disorder” and put on Ritalin, read this book and decided that before class she was going to put these kids on a treadmill for 45 minutes.  The results were miraculous.  These kids started learning, behaving, became happier, and went off the Ritalin.  Everyone knows exercise is good for you and helps your mental alertness, but when a Harvard Psychiatric professor publishes research on it– now the implications are HUGE, especially now when we are faced with a health-care crisis, which also includes medical treatment of mental disorders.

Click Here to watch Brain Gains

And this documentary is a must watch.  It’s called “Food Matters”. Here’s the trailer.

So it’s pretty clear.  I know.  The debate will continue.  People will get sick, the pharmaceutical industry continues to rake in massive amounts of money hoping that you don’t catch on to what I’m trying to tell you:  You are responsible for your own health– not your doctor.  It is not his job description to teach you how to be healthy.  His concern is more about what he has been trained to do:  To take your symptoms, and categorize them, label them and to come up with a diagnosis.  Often, to help him/her, expensive tests are performed, all to determine which drug/surgery to administer.  This is the nature of our “sick care” system, and as long as you are in that system, you will never result in a higher level of health.

As my mentor, Dr. James Chestnut states, Eat Well, Move Well, Think Well.  I would add that you must make sure you have a clear neurological connection between your brain and body.  If we all just put our focus on these simple solutions, our country would not be under the crisis that it’s in.  I’ve spent countless hours researching ways to help the body not only stay youthful, energized, balanced in mind and body, but to actually “cure itself” of many mental and physical ailments that most people think are only managed through drugs and surgery.  I’ve dedicated my life to helping to educate the world on these methods that the drug companies don’t want you to know about.  Stay tuned for more.

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