Ever since its link to cancer and lung diseases was established, asbestos has been in the news on a recurring basis. Recently, concerns have been raised about why Canada continues to engage in the trade of this dangerous substance. Why did it take so long to raise suspicion?
Category: Articles
22 Billion Reasons To Make Workplace Stress Go Away
My brother, sharp guy that he is, recently shared a brief article with me that comments on the costs of workplace stress. Today, I came across an article in Forbes about the waste, costs and harm generated in the American healthcare system. The same observations apply in Canada. What’s the connection? Actually, there are several. …
The Most Important Health Goal
Goals can be motivating, especially when they are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bounded). Here’s an example of a SMART goal vs a resolution: Resolution: I’m going to stop smoking. SMART Goal: I’m going to decrease the number of cigarettes I smoke by one each day and then stay a non-smoker when I make it…
Flying Pigs and Affordable Healthcare
Whenever healthcare costs come under scrutiny, there seems to be a coincident increase in the number of “concerns” expressed by the conventional medical community about natural or traditional (read “less expensive”) forms of healthcare. I don’t think that’s a matter of happenstance.
Major Insurance Company Endorses Naturopathic Medicine
Aetna is a large insurance company that provides benefits programs for many companies. Aetna’s CEO Mark Bertolini has publicly endorsed naturopathic care as primary care at the New York Association of Naturopathic Physicians’ annual conference. In his article on Mark Bertolini’s keynote speech, James Maskell, who is CEO of Revive Primary Care, states: “Currently, naturopaths can operate as…
The Reality of “Reality”
I have a friend who is inclined to be negative. This person always sees the glass as half-empty (GHE). Being a glass-half-full (GHF) type, I often point out the upside to whatever situation is being discussed, only to be told that I’m not being realistic. Which brings me to today’s topics – that pessimism and…
The Gratitude Experiment
The pursuit of happiness through the experience of gratitude is one of my pet projects. Gratitude not only improves your level of happiness, it makes a difference in your physical health too. I recently came upon this youtube video by SoulPancake called An Experiment in Gratitude that illustrates how gratitude influences feelings of happiness. It…
Worried Sick: Healing Anxiety
It is often said that everything we feel originates from two basic emotions: love and fear. On an everyday basis, fear tends to manifest as worry. We medicalize this in the condition of anxiety. When you consider the number of people whose lives will be limited by anxiety at some point, the personal and social…
Celebrities, Addiction, Gratitude and Health
Cory Monteith’s death from a drug overdose has resulted in a stew of sadness inside me as I think about the role celebrities play in our society as symbols of things with which we all struggle. In the case of Mr. Monteith, the struggle was with the health issue of addiction and the knots of…
“Better Living Through Chemistry”: The Dark Side
My beloved science is now seeming like a Jekyll and Hyde monster as issues like the over-medication of children, turning conditions into diseases to justify pharmacological treatment and the impact of non-renewable fuels on food security come to the fore.