The Right To Be Healthy

Sooner or later the right to be healthy takes precedence over the right to an unhealthy lifestyle but it may take waiting for the 2 to 5 year old children to grow up. People want to feel better but they have trouble resisting temptation. Perhaps the little children can lead them. Let's hope so.

Commonly Held Assumptions In Health

It dose not take long to recognize that many commonly held assumptions about health are not accurate. Two examples are mammograms and vitamin supplements. In the past there was not enough information to counter such practices and the assumptions were extrapolations based upon reasonable facts. In health there is great pressure to do something but cause no harm. Physicians are especially susceptible to such pressure. A technology oriented world places value on the latest technology and it is often widely distributed before it can be fully evaluated. But in some cases utilization of technology becomes the evaluation. Not to be overlooked is the business side of medicine creating pressure to maximize utilization and revenue. Direct advertizing to the public by pharmaceutical companies comes to mind but hospitals and health professionals are also caught in this web. Some of this will be countered by the increased use of sophisticated information systems and data bases. The cost of business as usual prevents continuation of business as usual, especially when many previous practices do not lead to better health.   

What We Eat

People eat what they are accustomed to eating. Furthermore, salt and sugar have a way of capturing the taste people desire. Preparing food may be time consuming and convenience plays a major role in what we eat. Did anyone think it was going to be easy?

Nutrition Is Confusing

Nutrition is confusing because nutrition, life, metabolism and health are complex. There are a multitude of factors to be considered and putting them all together is difficult. One problem with understanding is the various theories professing to provide a magic bullet. But there is reliable evidence indicating pathways to weight control and better health. American society has made it difficult to follow some of the pathways but that may be slowly changing.