Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Bloating Causes

Every day people come to my web site searching for information like, causes of bloating, bloating causes, causes of abdominal bloating, stomach bloating causes, and what causes bloating. Based on the number of searches, these are very common questions. So I plan to devote several of my next posts to this topic.

To start with, let me point out that the most common symptom of malnutrition is abdominal bloating. If you have ever seen pictures of people starving in underdeveloped countries, I'm sure you have noticed all the people are swollen and have their stomach bloated.

I can hear you asking, "What's that got to do with my bloating? I don't live in a country that is suffering from famine. There is plenty of food here." But, the fact is you too are suffering from bloating stomach just like they are. Why is that?

I contend that even, here in the midst of plenty, a major segment of our population is malnourished. We are a country that is overfeed ,and at the same time undernourished. So how can that be?

Stay tuned for my next post.

Doug B.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Take Control Of Your Health

The US has the biggest medical system in the world and spends way more on health care than many other countries combined but is still statistically very low in many of the measures of true health.
  • We are 2nd to last in overall health (according to JAMA)
  • We are last in potential life lost (according to JAMA)
  • We are second to last in healthy longevity (according to Dr John Abramson)
  • We are last in infant mortality rate (according to JAMA)
  • We are last in neonatal mortality (according to JAMA)
  • We are #1 in depression.
These statistics show our health care system is broken. Managing the effects of disease with drugs and surgery has become the main focus of the medical community, rather than working to prevent disease from occurring in the first place.

As a nation we are also #1 in degenerative illness such as cancer and heart disease (according to the CDC). Cancer is the biggest killer in the US and it has been statistically proven that drugs, chemotherapy and radiation DO NOT work to eradicate this disease, yet it is still being touted as the only cure.

Sadly, many of these degenerative illnesses are
due to lifestyle choices, that is, if we changed our lifestyles and embraced healthy choices, we could eradicate these conditions.

It is time we take control of our own health, rather than relying on the medical community to dictate how we manage our illness. We are the ones that are ultimately responsible for how our bodies function. We each have an amazing body. When we give it the right tools, often it can regain health on its own.

Let's start the New Year out right, by making a resolution to reclaim our health and make a plan for wellness in 2009!


Doug B.