LegendaryLife Blog

There is a growing trend in the medical field, as people get more and more obese, the products need to properly take care of them need to grow larger and stronger to handle the extra bulk.

Case Study: Calgary

Calgary has just received an ambulance that can carry people who weight up to a thousand pounds! Yes, a thousand pounds! The new ambulance features a remote lifting system, air mattress that blows up under the patient and wider work rooms in the back.

We got it backwards!

Paramedics are increasingly having problems getting some patients to medical rooms because they simply cannot handle the bulk of some people who choose through daily actions to let themselves go. These super-morbidly-obese people then have the gull to call 911 and request medical services. I simply do not get it, I don’t know of any medical condition that is able to get somebody up to these atrocious weights while eating a normal diet and exercise regimen. Being super-morbidly-obese is a choice and I don’t really care as to the cause. These people have problems, big ones (no pun intended) and by serving them, we are only making things worse for the medical industry, the staff and ultimately, the health conscious patient themselves. A paramedic is a very precious commodity, if they throw out their back carrying somebody who obviously doesn’t care about themselves, this is going to put able-bodied people who do care for themselves at risk. I think we need to step back a little in the medical field and revise certain oaths taken by people in the medical field to essentially say:

Take care of yourself, we will help take care of you.
Neglect yourself, we will help dig a hole.

Live with your choices

If you choose to live a life of unhealthy habits, you are responsible for your own health care. 911 will come pick-up your body should you have a heart attack at 700lbs but don’t expect them to use a moving crane to get you into the Operating Theater in order to save the life you have chosen to throw away. If you choose to smoke your entire life and end up with lung cancer, then you have to drag your own butt into the Hospital, purchase your own unsubsidized Oxygen and drag your butt back home… you want a lung transplant? I don’t think so, healthy people have first priority. I believe health is the ultimate personal responsibility. Getting hit by a bus while your healthy which causes medical conditions is one thing, choosing to neglect your body which causes medical conditions is quite another.

The Bottom Line

Health is a choice more often that not, it cannot be ignored.

References

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2007/06/21/obese-ambulance.html

Last week, in an article, I reviewed a documentary about how the United States population of Elderly is about to explode but this didn’t review the costs associated with such a large change in demographics. (Documentary Review -> Living Old: Our Aging Society)

Scary Statistics

Well, right now, the United States spends more than 300 Billion Dollars taking care of its elderly population, this accounts for 10 million people. From my previous article, I reviewed that seniors are, in the next few decades, going to swell to well over 70 million. In other words, 7 x 300 Billion = 2.1 Trillion Dollars annually!

The problem is that governments around the world have done little to save up or deal with the ramifications that this poses on the generation of people who will be paying for this increasingly large burden as Seniors live longer lives due to improved medical treatments and prescriptions. Who is going to pay for all this? Well, it will be the children (if they have any) as the ratio of Seniors to Workers is about to undergo a very dramatic correction.

ABC News / USA Today Discoveries

• a third of the 300 billion dollars spent annually is done for “free” by family members
• taking care of one elderly person requires an investment of at least 25 hours (paid by somebody or free by a family member)
• 70% of caregivers are women and 50% work full time already
• most seniors have less then 10K in assets by the time they need caregivers
• cost of a “paid” caregiver is 19$ an hour NOW (this will only increase as demand skyrockets)
• only 10% of seniors have long-term care insurance

Ramifications

If you are smart and have some money, getting into the managed care industry now and establishing yourself is a sure bet to financial freedom in the future. Otherwise, if you have Elderly parents, expect to have to make large modifications in your life as their health declines with age… not only that… expect them to live longer in poor health as well which increases your cost both financially and time wise. If you are a baby boomer without children, the future ramifications of this decision (willing or not) will have an enormous impact on your future plans once your health begins to decline.

My biggest concern about all this is that we are seeing an exponentially growing epidemic in diabetes, cardiovascular related and obesity issues already across the board. The complications from livelong poor lifestyle choices only get more severe, this means that the upcoming baby boomers will be even more of a burden on the medical services industry then the current crop of seniors!

Solutions?

Well, I have resigned myself to accept the fact that when I get old and frail, the government will most likely not take care of me with a guaranteed pension nor medical access. Think about it, after a few decades of spending well over 2.1 trillion dollars a year, where will the money be for poor old me? Draconian solutions such as sending the Elderly on a one way trip to an island won’t work neither, they have too much voting power The only solution I can think of is the global community does a 180 degree switch, stop all investments in defense which makes up the largest proportion of expenditures in most government coffers and reallocate this towards medical research.

Procedures that now cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and have month long waiting lists just won’t cut it, we need to develop alternative technology that cuts this down to a simple doctors visit. I also see a lot of hope in genetic manipulation and treatments at the cellular level. For instance, if you have diabetes, inhale this product 3x a day for a week and you are cured or injection of nano-bots to repair and heal arterial hardening or blockages.

I also think that governments around the world should ban outright all recreational alcohol products, tobacco products, junk foods and institute mandatory exercise programs from early childhood to old age. If you don’t with to participate, no big deal, when your sick – you don’t get any medical care. You have lung disease from years of smoking… well… tough luck! You are a morbidly obese person who grew to 400 lbs eating junk food and need a new hip and knees… well… tough luck to you too! Sounds harsh? Well, if you choose to treat your body like shit all your life, don’t come to me when there is a problem to fix it. Yes, what I am suggestion is revolutionary but the problem coming up that my generation will have to deal with is HUGE. Being old AND healthy will save trillions of dollars.

If you think my policy suggestion is crazy, feel free to propose where you plan on finding the hundreds of trillions of dollars that will be needed worldwide to take care of our Elderly populations?

The Bottom Line

Elderly care will become a MAJOR issue, even bigger then Global Warming over the next few decades as countries around the world try to sustain their baby boomer generation.

References

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/LifeStages/story?id=3307546&page=1

We had a booming little supplements business to help fund further development of myfoodcount.com but we had a few dragons to slay so I decided to take it offline as a temporary measure. Well, those dragons are now dead and as a result, shop.myfoodcount.com has been re-launched!I figure people are going to buy supplements regardless of the science out there (some good, some bad) so why not help people save up to 60% off retail pricing all while supporting myfoodcount.com! It’s a win for you as much as for us! I am a customer of shop.myfoodcount.com myself and look forward to stockpiling a few essential supplies for the Extreme Health road that lays ahead of me.

Thanks for your support ahead of time!

Modifying kids behavior in order for them to fit inside of a “one size fits all” mold is never a good idea but sometimes, this is all that can be done because of lack of resources (financial, chronological and emotional).

Background

ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and begins in childhood in which the child is difficult to control due to lack of attention, hyperactivity and other behavioral problems. ADD is simply the condition without the hyperactive aspect being expressed by the child. It is mostly treated with medication and neither the cause nor ways of preventing it are known.

Summary

I encourage you to view this video but here is a summary in the meantime:

• children failing preschool, being told they suffer from brain disorders and need psychiatric medications to control behavior in schools
• each class within a school in the United States have 2-3 kids consuming behavior modification drugs and this is only increasing
• 4x more psyciatric medication prescribed to Americans kids then what is prescribed around the world combined
• Family A
  • their child was misbehaving, impulsive, unfocused and to his teacher, he needed medication to “fit in”
  • 6 million school kids diagnosed with ADHD / ADD in the United States
  • diagnosis based on list of 28 multiple choice questions, child, which is three and a half, was diagnosed with ADHD by psychiatrist and being told he needed medication to calm him down
• Family B
  • child takes 3 tables in the morning, some more during lunch then later in the day to help child concentrate
  • parents told child needed medication based on teachers assessment, such as talking with others and being social during classes
  • Retalin is being sold as the safest medication to help a child get over ADHD
  • child approached parents to get on the medication to help develop focus in school
  • child went from failing to great achievement in school, helped athletic performance and had a dramatic difference in personality traits
  • in 7th grade, child had doubts as to effectiveness of taking Retalin and decided to stop medication against wishes of school, psychiatrist and family
  • teachers noticed changes in childs behavior during 7th grade even when they didn’t know she was diagnosed with ADD
  • after a month off Retalin, child returned onto drugs, making teacher happy that the student can once again focus
  • half way through 7th grade, Retalin was replaced with Adderall
• medication prescribed so child is within a normal range of behavior
• in the 50s and 60s there wasn’t a need to have 6 million children medicated for ADD / ADHD, so what changed?
• ADD / ADHD is considered a fraud by Scientologists and they pushed school boards to stop pushing for medication of their student population
• ADHD is a lifelong condition, neurological and inherited which can only be “cured” via medication
• ADHD drugs cannot be advertised directly to patients so “public talks” about ADHD used to open “awareness” about the problem and the drugs that can sure it
• ADD / ADHD is a billion dollar a year industry, diagnosis is a booming industry
• Shire Richwood, drug maker of ADHD drugs, advocates under the association CHADD
• CHADD pushed for children to be eligible under disability act, so they can have less homework, extra services and classes for their child paid by school
• in the 1980s ADD / ADHD incidences where stable but diagnosis boomed in the 1990s after the United States made this condition eligible under the disability act as parents found out about the advantages of such a program
• lawsuits flying all over the place that there is a conspiracy between Novaris (Retalin manufacturer), Shire Richwood (Adderall manufacturer) and CHADD to over-prescribe ADD / ADHD drugs to children to help their bottom line
• Family C
  • diagnosis of ADD / ADHD is complex as it co-exists with other psychological problems such as depression, self-esteem and other factors
  • child is very sensitive and depressed
  • child had problems hanging out with the wrong crowd, suffered from peers making fun of him due to weight and other insults
  • child became overly concerned about future (in negative way)
  • child brought to church where a therapist thought he suffered from suicidal tendencies
  • child attempted suicide after being put on medication for several months, was tired of his life no matter how much medication was prescribed
• ADHD linked with depression in 18% of cases, additional drugs prescribed which also helped him loose some weight (child is morbidly obese)
• scientists have a tough time finding out more about ADD / ADHD as to cause after close to 20 years of study
• stimulants (Retalin, Adderrall etc. ) are effective against ADD / ADHD, it’s seen as a disorder of efficiency which may be due to size of cerebellum (being smaller in ADD / ADHD vs normal child)
• CCHR, association funded by Scientologists, doesn’t recognize psychiatric industry, says medication for psychological conditions is nothing but witchcraft
• Family D
• child diagnosed with ADHD in grade two, put on Retalin and by the time child was in 6th grade, was on a host of drugs to control behavior but no drugs seemed to work
• parents got court order to put child on Adderrall against his wishes, his condition lead to breakup of family

My personal views about ADD / ADHD debate

I believe that ADD / ADHD in 95% of the cases is based on environment and diet, there is nothing wrong with a child who is inattentive nor hyperactive, we are all different.

Most people have an atrocious diet, this does nothing to help both mental and physical development. The main reason that medication is being pushed is to help teachers better perform their jobs, these children are simply BORED with where they are and methods being used to teach them. Kids (and adults) of course have no problem focusing on things they LOVE to do. I was bored in University and most of high school, I had a few exceptions when the teacher that taught had a real passion for their courses, others simply treated us like robots to memorize and spit out results. Of course, it’s always easier to simply prescribe medication for all involved (including parents) then to make a drastic change in environment. Maybe your kid isn’t meant to learn via school, throw them on a boat and travel around the world, I believe the symptoms you see would quickly disappear.

I also believe a steady diet of television in the formative years aggravates the condition. Think about it, your brain adapts to the environment around it, if you are watching television, your brain is being taught that something new and exciting is always but a few seconds away… that’s why it’s entertaining. Go from this to a static class room for up to 8 hours a day and no wonder the brain over-reacts (hyperactivity or depression). Think about it.

Of course, there is that 5% of cases where medication may be required, but treating children with drugs while the brain is still developing should be avoided at all costs. To summarize, I believe ADHD / ADD is very similar to cancer, in which environment and lifestyle choices play an enormous role in its development.

The Bottom Line

Real or not, ADHD is here to stay because the alternatives to medications are simply too much of a perceived burden.

References

http://www.myfoodcount.com/healthylife/whatis/adhd.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/medicating/watch/

Looks like Mannatech is at it again, this time, revolutionizing water!

Background

I reviewed the company Mannatech a few weeks ago for their successful attempts at circumventing laws, selling nothing but useless overpriced sugar pills and telling those taking them it will cure their cancer, aids and a host of other outrageous claims.  (Mannatech: Overpriced Sugar Pills)

Well, I guess they are on fire now, apparently, they have discovered something new, truly revolutionizing… water! I have to give them credit though, they admit they are selling nothing but sugar pills, now they are selling water, at least they got some honesty (however perverse).

Enhanced Water Technology

You got to be kidding, people actually believe this bull shit? Water, is made by two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, forming H2O. If it was H3O or HO3 then it isn’t water, it’s something else! Their new line of revolutionizing skin care product, dubbed “Optimal Skin Care System” is free of preservatives, fragrances and colorants… their marketing worked overtime on this one folks because the secret behind being able to do this is Enhanced Water Technology! WOW….

Tensa Water

I though this was a joke but apparently Mannatechs incredible water technology uses proprietary filtration and enhancement systems that creates a new form of water called Tensa Water. What is Tensa Water? Well, it’s like glyconutrients, a catch phrase that only exists in marketing departments as opposed to scientific ones. Tensa means Heavenly. So, to put this another way, Mannatechs Water Technology, the thing they spent so much R&D developing via prayer produces Heavenly Water.

Clinical Studies?

Mannatech is as synonymous to a clinical study as a boat is to an orange tree. They did a study that showed by using this incredible heavenly water called Tensa that people had increased skin moisture, smoothness and hydration… no shit… they are putting water on it! They even point to the fact that this study found out that radiance (incredibly subjective word that is scientifically useless) grew by 75% and skin moisture improved by 100%! Mannatech has to be laughing all the way to the bank on this one.

Ultra Pure Water

Well, apparently Tensa is a revolution and they have also invented Ultra Pure Water as well, with a mix of other naturally sourced ingredients such as trehalose, iris florentina root extract with isoflavone, yeast extract, amino acids, vitamins, minerals and artemia extract.

What’s Next?

Well, I am convinced that in a few months Mannatech will be selling dirt, after water and sugar, this has to be the next logical step… no? 75% of the Earth is covered by water, they got that market covered so the next 25% must come from the land itself as they have also cornered the vegetation growing on land. I think they may even be crazy enough to sell Holy Air which you add via compressed canister to all your meals to help triple it’s nutritional content. I can see the headline now “Mannatech Revolutionizes Air and Dirt with proprietary technology that infuses the Holy Spirit in every atom, leading to a total rejuvenation of mind and spirit”.

The Bottom Line

At least people buying overpriced water to put on their skin isn’t going to cause death or serious injury, unlike their sugar pill that some people take instead of sound medical knowledge. This company is a joke, ripping people off all while laughing all the way to the bank.

Mannatech sends me a Cease and Desist

References

http://news.corporate.findlaw.com/prnewswire/20070405/05apr20070507.html