Health, Not Health Care Health, not health care – that’s the debate this country should have. To have a healthy economy, you need a healthy population – a population that can work long and enjoy their lives with family and friends. The UN knows this, and just put out its position paper on world health. […]
24 seconds to roadkill (5/18/11)
Whatever Happened to Pedestrian Rights? 24 seconds – not 24 hours. That’s how long you’ve got on the traffic shot-clock to cross 6 rows of cars on the main street of my home town, Sarasota, if you hope to reach the grounds of our main regional hospital. Before and during those 24 seconds motorists desperate […]
Is sugar poison? (5/5/11)
Villain or Hero? We like our villains simple and singular, whether in politics or food. Our brains crave order, but seeing issues as part of larger systems is too complicated, too effortful and time consuming to seem worth it. Besides, it makes for lousy copy. Better to choose a villain. Recently, patients have been coming […]
Is it a food or a drug? (5/3/11)
The Differences Between Food and Medicine Can foods be drugs and drugs foods? A popular definition of food might include these elements: Nourishment Taste Fuel Energy Materials Appetite Similarly, a popular definition of drug might include issues of: Medical Treatment Decreasing Symptoms Changing Risk Factors of Illness These different arenas sound pretty separable – yet […]
Cheap and sweet (4/08/11)
Literally Guarding Kids From Sugar Parents are now guarding Philadelphia corner candy stores – keeping their kids out. Right now 20% of American children are obese. Are ad hoc “militias” of parents blocking candy stores a smart way to prevent future obesity? This is no way to run a country – or a health […]