Recently, there’s been a lot of news on the
promise of a healthier nation. In fact, the good seems to outweigh the bad!
In this blog, I report on some of the
highlights of hope and some areas that still need some uplifting.
The
Good
1.
President Proclamation- Public Health Week
President Obama proclaimed April 6-April 12th
as “National Public Health Week,” calling on all people and groups to join in
activities to improve the health of the United States. The President stated in
his proclamation:
We
are shifting the focus of our country’s health care system from sickness and disease
to wellness and prevention. First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative
is working to make it easier for parents and children to make healthy choices
about the food they eat and the exercise they get every day. With partners
around the world, the United States launched the Global Health Security Agenda
to help prevent, detect, and respond to outbreaks before they become epidemics.
And my Administration is taking aggressive, coordinated actions to slow the
emergence and prevent the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. 1
2.
GMO Free Bill Up In NY
GMO
Free NY has allied with Food & Water Watch, Northeast Organic Farmers
Association-New York (NOFA-NY), Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, Natural Resources
Defense Council (NRDC), New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG),
Consumers Union, Catskill Mountainkeeper, Fire Dog Lake, Good Boy Organics,
Green Party of New York, and Brooklyn Food Coalition to form the NY GE Food Labeling Campaign. We are
advocating for the passage of bill A.3525 (Rosenthal)/ S.3835 (LaValle) in 2015, legislation that would require the labeling of genetically modified
(engineered) seed, seed stock, and food offered for retail sale in New
York.
The safety of GMOs is still under question and
this bill provides an opportunity for people to make an empowering choice and
speak up about our food supply.. 2-3
3.
The NIH on the Reality of Herb-Drug Interactions
The director of the of the NIH’s National
Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), Josephine Briggs,
reported on the,how the”misplaced fear” about herb-drug interactions is keeping many
practitioners from recommending potentially beneficial botanical medicines.” Therefore, a major initiative is in the works
to re-evaluate herb-drug interactions.
Holistic UpShots reported in March:
The new Center will develop “rigorous standards for
herb-drug interaction testing.”…
The new project will begin by studying test cases
of five widely used herbal products and their interaction with five common
meds, and then to begin to establish clinically validated criteria for
identifying and quantifying interactions.4
3.
Expansion of Nutrition’s Role in Curricula and Healthcare (ENRICH) Act (HR
1411)
Another politician is speaking out on transforming
health in American. He is asking for support in a petition to educate the
nation’s doctors in nutrition and lifestyle tools in order to better serve their
patients. Congressman Ryan writes:
Our country is Sick!
In the next few years half of our citizens will have either diabetes or
pre diabetes. We see increased rates of sickness that will cost us $1.7
trillion in the coming years.
About 75% of these
health care costs go to pay for chronic diseases that are largely preventable.
With changes to our food system, our diet and approach to nutrition we can
reverse these trends. So help me fix this problem!
I have a bill that
will get our nation’s doctors educated on the importance of eating healthy food
and exercising, so they can teach their patients. Many doctor’s feel
unprepared to teach healthy eating habits. Currently less than 15 percent of
primary care visits include nutrition and physical activity counseling. We can
change that!!
Please sign this petition to help me pass the
ENRICH ACT which would provide grant money to medical schools to create
innovative nutrition and physical activity curriculum for our future doctors.
With a little common sense, and your help, we can improve our nations health
and reduce health care costs. Join us! 6
4.
The 4 Types of Breast Cancer May Help Better Determine Effective Treatment
For
the first time, researchers have used national data to determine the incidence
of the four major molecular subtypes of breast cancer by age, race/ethnicity,
poverty level, and several other factors. These four subtypes respond
differently to treatment and have different survival rates. The new data
will help researchers more accurately stratify breast cancer by clinically
relevant degrees of risk and potentially have an impact on breast cancer
treatment. Moreover, armed with this information, women will be able to better
understand the implications for their health based on their breast cancer
subtype. 7
5.
A New Test For Herbicide For the Public
Want to know if you have glyphosate in your
body? According to Feed the World’s press release:
“The project with specific focus on women and
children in the U.S. is offering the first ever validated public LC/MS/MS
glyphosate testing for urine, water and soon breast milk. This could lead to a
ban on the sale and use of glyphosate, the world’s number one herbicide.” 8
Glyphosate has been linked to various health
conditions including hormone disruption, immune deregulation, neurological
issues, gut bug damage, and more. 8-9
6.
Kraft To Get Rid of Synthetic Chemicals
According to the Huffington Post:
Kraft
Foods Group Inc on Monday said it is revamping its family-friendly macaroni and
cheese meal, removing synthetic colors and preservatives from the popular boxed
dinner. The move comes at a time when Kraft is battling sluggish demand as
consumers shift to brands that are perceived as healthier, including foods that
are organic or less processed. 10
Some
Mishaps
1. Sugar
Industry Spinning Around the Harmful Truth
A recent paper reviewed the sugar industry’s interaction
with the NIDR (National Institute of Dental Research) to alter the research
priorities of the NIDR NCP (National Caries Program), not in the public’s best
interest. The authors finding reads:
We used
internal cane and beet sugar industry documents from 1959 to 1971 to analyze
industry actions related to setting research priorities for the NCP. The sugar
industry could not deny the role of sucrose in dental caries given the
scientific evidence. They therefore adopted a strategy to deflect attention to
public health interventions that would reduce the harms of sugar consumption
rather than restricting intake. Industry tactics included the following:
funding research in collaboration with allied food industries on enzymes to
break up dental plaque and a vaccine against tooth decay with questionable
potential for widespread application, cultivation of relationships with the
NIDR leadership, consulting of members on an NIDR expert panel, and submission
of a report to the NIDR that became the foundation of the first request for
proposals issued for the NCP. Seventy-eight percent of the sugar industry submission
was incorporated into the NIDR’s call for research applications. Research that
could have been harmful to sugar industry interests was omitted from priorities
identified at the launch of the NCP. Limitations are that this analysis relies
on one source of sugar industry documents and that we could not interview key
actors. 11
2.
Cost of Overdiagnosis From Mammography Reported
A new report on mammography reported on the
cost of overdiagnosis:
Population
wide mammography screening has been associated with a substantial rise in
false-positive mammography findings and breast cancer overdiagnosis. However,
there is a lack of current data on the associated costs in the United States.
We present costs due to false-positive mammograms and breast cancer overdiagnoses
among women ages 40-59, based on expenditure data from a major US health care
insurance plan for 702,154 women in the years 2011-13. The average expenditures
for each false-positive mammogram, invasive breast cancer, and ductal carcinoma
in situ in the twelve months following diagnosis were $852, $51,837 and
$12,369, respectively. This translates to a national cost of $4 billion each
year. The costs associated with false-positive mammograms and breast cancer
overdiagnoses appear to be much higher than previously documented. Screening
has the potential to save lives. However, the economic impact of false-positive
mammography results and breast cancer overdiagnoses must be considered in the
debate about the appropriate populations for screening. 12
An expert video debate reports on both sides.
You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxbMRubIVx8
The tide is turning, medicine is really
becoming about health verses disease care! Exciting, isn’t it?
Leave your thoughts below.
Sources:
(1) Obama B. Presidential
Proclamation — National Public Health Week, 2015. The White House.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/04/06/presidential-proclamation-national-public-health-week-2015
(2) GMO Free NY. http://gmofreeny.net/nygelabelingcampaign.html
(3) For New Yorkers- An opportunity to get your voice heard about
GMOS…go here: https://lnkd.in/eMkuGJ9 https://lnkd.in/en9hzGN
(4) Goldman E. NIH Center to Confront Fears Of
Herb-Drug Interactions. Holistic UpShots. March 26, 2015.
(6) Integrative Practitioner. Support Health
& Wellness In Congress. March 27, 2015.
http://www.integrativepractitioner.com/article.aspx?id=20738&utm_source=Informz&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=eNewsletter
(7) CDC. New analysis of breast cancer subtypes
could lead to better risk stratification: Annual Report to the Nation shows
that mortality and incidence for most cancers continue to decline. CDC website.
March 30, 2015. http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2015/p0330-breast-cancer.html
(8) Rowlands H. World’s First Validated Public Testing Set to Increase Pressure for Ban
on Glyphosate. Organic Consumers Association. April 22, 2015.
(9) Feed the World. Glyphosate: Health. http://feedtheworld.info/glyphosate/#glyphosate-and-health
(10) Gilliam C. Kraft To Remove Synthetic
Colors & Preservatives From Its Mac And Cheese. Huff Post: Reuters. April
20, 2015. http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=42&utm_source=feedly&utm_reader=feedly_reader&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_feed
(11) Kearns CE, Glantz SA, Schmidt LA. Sugar Industry
Influence on the Scientific Agenda of the National Institute of Dental
Research’s 1971 National Caries Program: A Historical Analysis of Internal
Documents. PLoS Med .2015; 12(3):
e1001798. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001798
(12) Ong MS, Mandl KD. National expenditure for
false-positive mammograms and breast cancer overdiagnoses estimated at $4
billion a year. Health Aff (Millwood). 2015 Apr 1;34(4):576-83. doi:
10.1377/hlthaff.2014.1087.