Start By Taking Care Of Business With Your Own Health
by Michael D. Hume, M.S.
The government forced through sweeping “reform” of the American health care system early this year, and though most Americans are not happy about it, it seems the “new normal” in U.S. health care is here to stay – at least for a while. Unfortunately, while the legislation may have been born of good intent, the prevailing thinking is that, over time, if not repealed, it will lead to mediocre (at best) government health care forced upon all Americans. The time is not too distant when you may not be able to get outstanding medical care in the U.S. at any price.
As a portent of things to come, consider the recent FDA decision to ban a breast-cancer medicine solely on the basis of its cost. Have you heard about this? Seems a major pharmaceutical company sank big bucks into creating this solution, and were successful in coming up with a medicine that was shown in all its trials to arrest the development of breast cancer.
It ain’t cheap, though… over seven thousand dollars a month. Now, some people can still afford something like that… and there are charitable organizations which specialize in subsidizing use of medicines like this for those who can’t. Despite this, the government seems to have decided that “if everyone can’t have it, then no one can.” How does that not amount to rationing of health care, despite the government’s repeated promises that any talk of rationing by opponents of its reform plan was just political lunacy?
This is just a taste of what’s coming. The economic incentives offered by the free market that have inspired generations of people to go to medical school and to become brilliant pharmaceutical researchers have been removed.
If the “reform” is left in place, it’s hard to imagine great new medicines and brilliant new surgeons being produced in America any time soon.
What does this have to do with your personal health? What can you do about it?
There are two things you can do to help prepare for the future of limited health care in the United States: get serious about your daily health habits (so you will postpone and diminish your personal need for medical attention), and think about starting a business related to health and vitality (to help others take personal responsibility for their own health habits).
I’ve discussed in previous articles the five key daily health habits I call The NEWSS: Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sleep, and Supplements. Ideally, you should follow a good basic nutrition program that works well for you – in my case, the low-carb approach has worked best of the many approaches I’ve tried. You need at least five good workouts a week, raising your heart rate to its aerobic target (around 80% of 220 minus your age) and keeping it there at least 15-20 minutes. It’s easy enough to keep track of the water you drink each day, and to make sure you get two liters (or about 64