By
Jan -
December 31, 2010
Health is an ideology: a set of ideas that establishes goals, creates expectations, and determines our actions. An ideology provides a way to understand the world and ourselves. It’s only natural that we want to exert control over our health, our susceptibility to illness, the length of our lives. Our anxiety about health – amplified by constant discussion in all available media – makes us vulnerable to the latest promise of the rewards of a healthy lifestyle. The obsessive pursuit of health, however, is itself unhealthy.
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By
Jan -
November 8, 2010
It might be thought the height of poor taste to ascribe good fortune to a healthy man with a young family struck down at the age of sixty by an incurable degenerative disorder from which he must shortly die. But there is more than one sort of luck. To fall prey to a motor neuron disease is surely to have offended the Gods at some point, and there is nothing more to be said. But if you must suffer thus, better to have a well-stocked head.
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I have no idea where I’ll be next month. I could be silent. I could be dead. I could be exactly like this. I could be in a variety of stages. But I know, absolutely with certainty – within reason – that I’ll be dead in five years. And that reversal of consciousness means that I am very focused upon life in the next two weeks.
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“Why is it that here in the United States we have such difficulty even imagining a different sort of society from the one whose dysfunctions and inequalities trouble us so?” he asked from his wheelchair.
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The vocal muscle, for sixty years my reliable alter ego, is failing. Communication, performance, assertion: these are now my weakest assets. Translating being into thought, thought into words, and words into communication will soon be beyond me and I shall be confined to the rhetorical landscape of my interior reflections.
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Saul Goldberg, a student of Tony Judt, will be cycling across the country this month to raise money for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and to increase awareness of this devastating disease. Goldberg will travel from Astoria, Oregon to Brighton Beach, New York, leaving on May 25th and arriving on July 25th. Those who would like…
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Source: People’s World Reuters has a terrific investigative piece on WellPoint’s practice of canceling health insurance, a practice known as rescission. When a woman develops breast cancer, WellPoint immediately flags her for investigation to see if there’s some reason her policy can be canceled. Grounds for cancellation can be anything on the original insurance application…
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Source: Dipity The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a new video on health fraud awareness. A worthy topic. It touches on weight loss products, HIV scams, cures for cancer and diabetes. What’s noteworthy about the video is that it’s SO boring. The inflections of the voiceover are totally inauthentic. It has the pacing of…
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By
Jan -
December 29, 2009
Source: Sacramento for Democracy Climate change Copenhagen climate summit: Five possible scenarios for our future climate (The Guardian) Concise summary of what we can expect for each increase of one degree Celcius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in global temperature. Here are a few of the health implications. 1C: “Most of the world’s corals will die, including…
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By
Jan -
October 31, 2009
Source: China View Christopher Beam, writing on Slate, points out that opposition to vaccines unites both ends of the political spectrum. “Swine flu may have an unexpected side effect: political unity. The far left and far right agree that they’re sure as heck not getting vaccinated against swine flu.” The far right objects to the…
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By
Jan -
October 29, 2009
Source: TopNews The questions raised by Dr. Mercola about swine flu vaccinations – such as, Are you willing to let the government experiment on your child? – are simply inflammatory and self-serving. There are some legitimate questions, however. For example: Where is the vaccine manufactured? The current supply of H1N1 flu vaccine comes from US…
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By
Jan -
October 28, 2009
Source: Kitchen Table Medicine A chiropractor for whom I have considerable respect – she’s a scientist, formerly an aeronautical engineer – is handing out copies of an article by Dr. Mercola that recommends against the swine flu vaccine. Another chiropractor told me she knew of no one in her profession who would receive, or allow…
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By
Jan -
October 12, 2009
Source: NAPS Company Most people would prefer to wash their hands in comfortably warm water. And it’s usually available. The scientific question remains, however: Is warm or hot water more effective than cold if we want to prevent spreading the flu? The FDA’s position has been that water hot enough to kill bacteria would be…
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By
Jan -
September 7, 2009
Source: PR Newswire There are a number of things about the H1N1 (swine) flu that are different from the seasonal flu we see each year. For example, adolescents are at a greater risk of dying than younger children. This is just the opposite of what we typically expect. In a normal flu season, at least…
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By
Jan -
September 6, 2009
Source: Feelgood Health Here’s a well-written story by a mother (Brigid Schulte) whose son caught the flu at summer camp. She ended up nursing a houseful of sick patients, including herself. Everyone survived, but it was no picnic. The subtitle of the article is “During the Swine Flu Season, Think Before You Share a Drink…
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By
Jan -
September 5, 2009
Source: The New York Times Click photo for larger view. What with the start of school, the flu season may already be here. Washington State University has already reported over 2000 students with flu symptoms. Public health officials recommend staying three to five feet away from anyone who coughs or sneezes. Also from anyone who…
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Health is an ideology: a set of ideas that establishes goals, creates expectations, and determines our actions. An ideology provides a way to understand the world and ourselves. It’s only natural that we want to exert control over our health, our susceptibility to illness, the length of our lives. Our anxiety about health – amplified by constant discussion in all available media – makes us vulnerable to the latest promise of the rewards of a healthy lifestyle. The obsessive pursuit of health, however, is itself unhealthy. 
