Good News–Bad News. Cholesterol down but kids still fat

Posted on 08/26/2012 by J. Morris Hicks

And their rates of type 2 diabetes remain way too high.

In a recent TIME article (See link below), scientists reported that the proportion of children with high cholesterol had dropped 28% over the past two decades. For 16,000 kids aged 6 to 19, the  percentage with high cholesterol dropped from 11.3% (1988 to 1994) down to 8.3% for 2007 to 2010.

The article also reported that type 2 diabetes was still too high and the obesity rate of 17% remained steady. This study does lessen the fear that we might start doing cholesterol testing on all children, as was discussed in 2011:

Late last year, a government-appointed panel recommended cholesterol screening for all children aged 9-11 in order to identify at-risk kids and get them to make diet and lifestyle changes early on. The advice was controversial, however, because of concerns that widespread screening would lead to increased prescription of powerful statin drugs.

Cholesterol numbers improve, but obesity and diabetes rates still high.

The problem with good news is that it breeds complacency. (See more blogs below if you’re feeling complacent.) They didn’t mention the number of overweight kids, but according to my ongoing informal survey, it remains way too high. So what caused the cholesterol numbers to improve?

The authors suggested that it may have been something as simple as the ongoing efforts to remove trans-fats from our food supply.

The scientists can’t say for certain what caused the decreases, but they think lifestyle and environmental changes — like declines in teen smoking and reductions in trans fats in processed and fast foods — had something to do with it. “We know that dietary intake of saturated fat and trans fats and exposure to secondhand smoke are related to blood cholesterol, so changes aimed at limiting these may have contributed to the changes that we observed,” study author Dr. Brian Kit, a pediatrician and epidemiologist at the CDC, told HealthDay.

Ticking bomb. But with obesity and diabetes rates still high, we know we’re sitting on a time bomb as those kids head off to college, put on the “freshman 15” and then move into adulthood with chronic disease just waiting to happen. So what are we going to do about this continued deadly situation among our children?

I would like to think that change was right around the corner and that soon our nutritional scientists, medical doctors and the USDA would get it right with regards to what we should be eating. But I think we’re many decades away from that happening. In fact, I think it’s going to get worse before it gets better. And ultimately, it may take some kind of disaster to jolt our totally ineffective “system” into taking the appropriate action.

Dr. Don Wagner is no longer accepting patients who don’t agree to shift to a plant-based diet. We need more doctors like this man.

Earlier this week, I appeared on the Dr. Don Radio Show in Arizona. It was my third appearance on his show and we spent the time talking about the health and the environmental effects of the food choices of the human race. At the very end of the show, Dr. Don implored his listeners to think of their children and urgently begin to make the appropriate changes in their homes.

The Bottom Line. It really is all about the children. Lately I have been blogging about the longterm ability of our planet to sustain human life. In one blog, I suggested we don’t need to worry about “saving the planet;” rather we need to worry about doing our part to help mother Earth sustain the human race indefinitely. The lives of our great grandchildren depend on it.

Attention Responsible Parents. Want to do the best thing for your own health, the health of your children and all of their descendants? For less than $50, you can be well on your way to learning exactly what you need to do. Unless you have a doctor like Dr. Don, you don’t have time to wait on her to tell you what you should feed your children.

Handy 4-piece take-charge-of-your-health kit—from Amazon.com

Want to find out how healthy your family is eating? Take our free 4Leaf Diagnostic Survey. It takes less than five minutes and you can score it yourself. After taking the survey, please give me your feedback as it will be helpful in the development of our future 4Leaf app for smartphones. Send feedback to jmorrishicks@me.com

International. We’re now reaching people in over 100 countries. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter or get daily blog notices by “following” us in the top of the right-hand column. For occasional updates, join our periodic mailing list.

To order more of my favorite books—visit our online BookStore now

J. Morris Hicks, working daily to promote health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.

For help in your own quest to take charge of your health, you might find some useful information at our 4Leaf page or some great recipes at Lisa’s 4Leaf Kitchen.

Got a question? Let me hear from you at jmorrishicks@me.com. Or give me a call on my cell at 917-399-9700.

SHARE and rate this post below.

Blogging daily at hpjmh.com…from the seaside village of Stonington, Connecticut – Be well and have a great day.

—J. Morris Hicks, board member, T. Colin Campbell Foundation

Posted in Children | 2 Comments

High rates of “burnout” and suicide in the medical profession

Posted on 08/25/2012 by J. Morris Hicks

A sad turn of events for careers that began with the noblest of intentions.

A recent article in Business Week caught my attention; entitled “Almost Half of Doctors Burned Out.” Before even reading the article, I was thinking about what it must be like for medical doctors in general.

Most of them chose one of the noblest careers for the noblest of reasons — to help people and to make a difference. Then, after a grueling decade of medical school, interning and getting started, they gradually realize that they’re really in the “disease care” business.

They spend their days in a mind-numbing series of 10 or 15-minute sessions with their patients, many of whom are only there to get a prescription for a drug that they heard about on television.

It actually makes me sad to see these articles about “doctor burnout” and the high suicide rates among doctors. In Chapter 8 or our book (Why did no one tell you this before?), I touched on the difficult road for most doctors after medical school, when they discover that they’re trapped in a system that doesn’t promote health. A few paragraphs from our book:

Without a doubt, every doctor wishes to see every one of his or her patients cured of their disease and healthy.Unfortunately, our system doesn’t provide the doctor with the tools needed to make that happen.

After spending many years and a small fortune on their education, those well-intentioned doctors work in a system whereby they earn a living by doing what they have been taught—diagnosing problems, writing prescriptions, and conducting procedures. Teaching patients how to take charge of their own health was never a part of their curriculum; nor would they be able to earn a living if they advocated it in their own practice.

Please understand that this chapter is not about blaming doctors. Rather, it takes a hard look at a system that evolved over the past century. Understanding how this system emerged will help you develop the conviction you will need to successfully chart your own course. (from Chapter 8 of Healthy Eating, Healthy World, BenBella, 2011)

Back to the article regarding doctor burnout. “The number of doctors reporting feeling burned out is surprising and troubling, said Tait Shanafelt, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic and lead study author. He said the trend may cause physicians to quit or reduce their workload just as demand for doctors is increasing with the aging population. The issue may get worse as 32 million Americans are expected to get health insurance by 2014 under a new U.S. law, increasing the number of people seeking medical care, he said.

“Right at a time when we are trying to provide care to people who are uninsured and projecting workforce shortages we are seeing this burnout rate creep in, which may cause physicians to reduce workloads and consider early retirement,” Shanafelt said.

A grim situation. I can only imagine what it must be like to be a medical doctor today. Every day they see a steady stream of sick, overweight patients who are typically looking for prescriptions. And they’re supposed to go through a healthy-living check-list with each patient—a message that probably falls mostly on deaf ears. People go to the doctor with problems for which they want a cure—or at the very least, some relief.

My guess is the at the reality of medical practice in the United States bears almost no resemblance to the vision that the future doctors imagined while they were in high school or college. Sadly, some of them may now feel like they’re in a hopeless situation. They’ve probably invested a great deal in their lifestyle and probably pay more for malpractice insurance than most of pay for housing. From the Psychology Today article on suicide in the medical profession (See link below):

For many years now, physicians have had the highest suicide rate compared to people in any other line of work. Is this surprising? Does this happen because doctors are continually exposed to other people’s problems? Because of something about a physician’s lifestyle? Looking at these suicides more closely provides some answers.

The Bottom Line. Most of our medical doctors are in the “disease care” business. They don’t see any patients unless they have a disease. And, in the case of some diseases, like cancer, the patient may not visit the doctor until it’s too late. And, in the case of heart disease, the patient’s first symptom is oftentimes a heart attack.

So, how can a medical doctor develop a practice of promoting health? About 500 MDs a year are now earning continuing medical education credits (CMEs) by taking the online Plant-Based Nutrition course at the T. Colin Campbell Foundation and eCornell. (See link below my signature for details.)

My Certificate in Plant Based Nutrition — Nov. 2009

After earning their certificate, many of these doctors may become interested in expanding their practice to include health promotion in addition to the traditional “disease care,” for which they were trained and on which they depend for their livelihood.

Once more doctors take this step and really start seeing positive results with their patients, perhaps our sad statistics of burnout and suicide will improve. Sounds like a Win-Win for all concerned.

  1. Source article from BusinessWeek. “Almost half of doctors burned out”
  2. Source article. The occupation with the highest suicide rate | Psychology Today.
  3. Source article. When Doctors Kill Themselves – Newsweek and The Daily Beast
  4. An earlier blog. Projected “doctor shortage” driven by new health law.
  5. An earlier blog. What percent of our MDs know how to promote health?
  6. An earlier blog. Medical doctors of the future
  7. An earlier blog. Finding an MD that appreciates plant-based nutrition

Having trouble finding a doctor who knows how to help you promote health, avoid or reverse chronic disease, I recommend that you take a look at my blog (#7 above) on that topic. Soon there will be many more but, for now, they are few and far between. In the meantime, you’ll be amazed at what you can do on your own.

Handy 4-piece take-charge-of-your-health kit—from Amazon.com

Want to find out how healthy your family is eating? Take our free 4Leaf Diagnostic Survey. It takes less than five minutes and you can score it yourself. After taking the survey, please give me your feedback as it will be helpful in the development of our future 4Leaf app for smartphones. Send feedback to jmorrishicks@me.com

International. We’re now reaching people in over 100 countries. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter or get daily blog notices by “following” us in the top of the right-hand column. For occasional updates, join our periodic mailing list.

To order more of my favorite books—visit our online BookStore now

J. Morris Hicks, working daily to promote health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.

For help in your own quest to take charge of your health, you might find some useful information at our 4Leaf page or some great recipes at Lisa’s 4Leaf Kitchen.

Got a question? Let me hear from you at jmorrishicks@me.com. Or give me a call on my cell at 917-399-9700.

SHARE and rate this post below.

Blogging daily at hpjmh.com…from the seaside village of Stonington, Connecticut – Be well and have a great day.

—J. Morris Hicks, board member, T. Colin Campbell Foundation

Posted in M.D.s---Health-Promoting, Medical Experts | 1 Comment

Todd Akin, David Letterman and the dearth of true leadership

Posted on 08/24/2012 by J. Morris Hicks

Better talk about Todd Akin now; cause he’s gonna be old news soon.

Congressman Todd Akin, Missouri

Republican Congressman Todd Akin is getting a lot of heat these days—for apparently stating how he really felt about the abortion issue. The problem was that he said it on national television, where he and all other politicians (regardless of party) are supposed to stick to their well-crafted, often-phony, script of talking points.

Since then, he has spent the rest of the week on his “apology tour” for his gaffe—which is anther word for telling the truth in public.

Of course, the comedians always have a heyday whenever this happens. And with Hurricane Isaac taking dead aim on the site of the Republican National Convention next week, they’ve all joined in the fun.  On Letterman Wednesday night, they reported that the approaching hurricane is no cause for alarm for the convention. That’s because, according to Representative Todd Akin,

“Florida rarely suffers damage from a legitimate hurricane.”

Neither candidate for President is talking about the most important issues in the world.

As for leadership. What’s the state of our leadership in this country? Not that great and not likely to get much better. That’s because our process doesn’t attract true leaders.

At a recent dinner party, somehow the discussion got around to politics—despite the best efforts of the hostess to keep the conversation on less controversial topics. Unfortunately, one of my friends felt victimized as she was the only one among the after-dinner lingerers who was supporting a certain candidate for President.

While walking down the street toward our respective homes, she told me how uncomfortable she was and that she really didn’t like to argue. Since I had been relatively silent during her “roasting,” she wanted to know what I thought. I told her that I was a registered Independent and that I made my decision based on my assessment of each candidate’s readiness, leadership skills, and integrity. Ultimately, I usually choose the  candidate with whom I would place the most trust. I voted Republican in 2004 and Democrat in 2008.

Not very many people would like to see either one of these two guys become president.

I added that unfortunately none of the candidates are talking about any of the truly major issues—in my opinion. Things like world hunger, global warming, the obvious answer to our health care fiasco or my favorite topic of late—the long-term sustainability of the human race.

As I told her, forget saving the planet, it’s the human race that’s in trouble. My friend was delighted with my assessment and said that she would sleep better because of my sharing it with her.

I went home that night thinking more on the topic of the evening. Presidential candidates always argue about the same short term issues that affect the most Americans: gas prices, health care reform, unemployment, social security, unpopular wars, and abortion. And that brings up poor old Representative Akin. As far as trust goes, I’ll just say that I wouldn’t trust him very far—and leave it at that.

Promoting health, hope and harmony on planet Earth

Promoting health, hope and harmony on planet Earth—and the longterm sustainability of the human race.

For me, I’m trying to stay on point. As for the presidential candidates, I’m not revealing my choice today—mainly because I try to keep politics out of my blog. Shortly after I started this blog 566 days ago, I heard from a reader in the UK, saying that my daily blog was like a “relentless drumbeat.” I took it as a compliment and have been beating that same drum ever since.

And as long as I am alive, my drumbeat message will continue to be about promoting health, hope and harmony on planet Earth. And there is no doubt in my mind that a whole foods, plant-based diet for humans is a huge part of that process.

It works for our health, for the environment, for our ability to feed a projected 9 or 10 billion people by 2050, for fossil fuel conservation and for the two billion innocent animals that we torture and kill every single week for our dinner tables. It could also lower our cost of healthcare in the United States by around two trillion dollars.

You show me a candidate with that kind of message and he or she will get my vote. Unfortunately, my candidate wouldn’t get elected because that platform would not interest the short-term thinking masses whose support he/she must have to win. So where is the leadership that we need going to come from? It must come from people like you and me—people who are not afraid to take a stand. It’s starts by being the change you want to see in this world (Gandhi).

Meanwhile, life goes on in the wacky world of American politics. One ridiculous, relatively insignificant firestorm after another.  Yesterday, I heard the latest on the Mr. Akin story:

Akin apologized again in multiple television interviews on Wednesday for his earlier comments, but said he intended to remain in the race to be able to promote his staunch anti-abortion beliefs and to respect the wishes of Missouri voters.

“The people of Missouri chose me, and I don’t believe it’s right for party bosses to decide to override those voters,” Akin said. “It makes me uncomfortable to think that the party bosses are going to dictate who runs, as opposed to the election process.”

Blah, Blah, Blah!

By the time our elected officials get it right about what we should be eating, you’ll probably be long gone. But you don’t have to wait for the politicians of the world. You can take charge of your health now.

Handy 4-piece take-charge-of-your-health kit—from Amazon.com

Want to find out how healthy your family is eating? Take our free 4Leaf Diagnostic Survey. It takes less than five minutes and you can score it yourself. After taking the survey, please give me your feedback as it will be helpful in the development of our future 4Leaf app for smartphones. Send feedback to jmorrishicks@me.com

International. We’re now reaching people in over 100 countries. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter or get daily blog notices by “following” us in the top of the right-hand column. For occasional updates, join our periodic mailing list.

To order more of my favorite books—visit our online BookStore now

J. Morris Hicks, working daily to promote health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.

For help in your own quest to take charge of your health, you might find some useful information at our 4Leaf page or some great recipes at Lisa’s 4Leaf Kitchen.

Got a question? Let me hear from you at jmorrishicks@me.com. Or give me a call on my cell at 917-399-9700.

SHARE and rate this post below.

Blogging daily at hpjmh.com…from the seaside village of Stonington, Connecticut – Be well and have a great day.

—J. Morris Hicks, board member, T. Colin Campbell Foundation

Posted in Activism & Leadership, Celebrities, Sustainability | 9 Comments