Some favorite finds the past year

Here are some things I came across of note this past year worth mentioning.
Favorite movie - Man on Wire
Favorite book - "The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos-Humanity and the New Story" by Brian Swimme
Most played music - probably the soundtrack to "Into the Wild" by Eddie Vedder
Favorite physical activity - doing an Egoscue menu followed by hiking with my hiking buddy Greg
Favorite food this past year - Mostly vegetarian Indian(been going to a place called Sarovar in San Antonio)
Favorite getaway spot - New Years at Padre Island(a full moon on the beach!)
Favorite home garden feature - winter lettuces
Favorite topic to contemplate - health care debate(see previous posts);close second-the horrible economy

More on the health care debate

There have been a few more items that I have looked at that help round out my views on the health care issues being debated. To my mind I think it is important as I said earlier to look at the general health of the people in the US and determine probable causes. So when we look at the general markers of our "ill health" in comparison to other countries that actually are developed but have a lesser economic perch compared to the US we get a disturbing picture. Our rate of obesity and related chronic conditions (diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and so on) is off the charts and continuing to trend upward. Infant mortality rates compare to the third world. Our food system facilitates processed foods over fresh and vital food. We are generally a sedentary people in a car and technology dependent culture. So in addition to bad food that promotes obesity we are not moving enough to maintain the integrity of our bodies. That, to me, is the context of the debate.

Today I heard Andrew Weil weigh in on all these issues on the Diane Rehm show. Please check it out(click here - then click link to show at 11am Sept 15). I think he places the debate in the proper context in like fashion to the op ed piece by Michael Pollan (see previous post).

Another placed to get a larger context is the piece by Matt Taibbi from Rolling Stone called Sick and Wrong

His piece is a bit on the harsh side and uses some profanity but his points are well taken.

Finally there is a piece I came across by this guy Paul Craig Roberts who was in the Regan administration in the Treasury department. His piece called Health Care Deceit
rakes the insurance companies over the coals.

A Different Take on the Health Care Debate

Like many of my friends in the alternative health care industry I am befuddled by the narrow terms of the health care debate. I feel most effort has been on how to fund an already broken system and insure more people into that system. I have been more concerned about what are all the factors that have lead the country into the disease abyss. I am talking about diabetes, obesity, stress related disorders, all the different chronic muscular problems and so on.

On that score probably the single most important factor is WHAT WE EAT! So I would encourage you to look at the op ed piece by Michael Pollan where he delves into the disconnect going on between the views on health care reform and food industry reform. He surveys the landscape of what goes into the rise of eating related health issues, how policy can and needs to be affected away from where we have been to where we need to go toward:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/opinion/10pollan.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2&emc=eta1