Last week we discussed the difficulty of knowing what is and is not in the nearly 2,000 page House Healthcare bill. Here is a really bizarre example. Some commentators noted that the House bill provided for jail time of up to five years for anyone who failed to buy mandated insurance and also did not pay the financial penalty. Reference was also made… Continue reading Update on Last Week’s House Healthcare Bill Story
Author: ANHUSA
Comment Period for NCCAM’s Five-Year Focus Ends Nov 19
Until that date, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine seeks input on its strategic plan. A column by journalist John Weeks in Integrative Practitioner, “Why we should seek to influence NCCAM’s next 5-year strategic plan” should spur you to voice your opinion.
Obesity Causes 100,000 Cancers Annually in the United States
Two recent, jaw-dropping epidemiology reports barely made a ripple in the sea of healthcare information. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, every year obesity causes more than 100,000 cases of cancer in the United States; and the Gallup-Healthways Well-being Index reported that more than 11 percent of Americans are diabetic and, given that… Continue reading Obesity Causes 100,000 Cancers Annually in the United States
Conventional Doctors Claim Integrative Therapies Lack Research, Study
The Associated Press recently betrayed its bias in a series denouncing CAM/integrative medicine. Many who value integrated medicine were outraged by the following comment, which preceded each of four articles about complementary and alternative medicine published by AP: “EDITOR’S NOTE: Ten years and $2.5 billion in research have found no cures from alternative medicine. Yet… Continue reading Conventional Doctors Claim Integrative Therapies Lack Research, Study
Coca-Cola to Bring You Advice From One of America’s Largest Doctor Groups!
Incredible as it sounds, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has announced a six-figure alliance with the Coca-Cola Co. to fund educational materials about soft drinks, to be posted on the academy’s consumer-health and wellness website. Although the AAFP’s CEO, Dr. Douglas Henley, insists the deal will not influence the group’s public-health message, nutrition… Continue reading Coca-Cola to Bring You Advice From One of America’s Largest Doctor Groups!
The House Has Passed Its Healthcare Legislation by the Narrowest of Margins
What is and what isn’t in a bill that is nearly 2000 pages and weighs nearly 20 pounds?
Privacy, Science at Risk
In 2006, then President George W. Bush signed into law the dietary supplement and OTC bill dealing with reporting on adverse events. Now, the French food safety agency, AFSSA (Agence française de sécurité sanitaire des aliments), has launched a program to monitor the consumption of dietary supplements and any adverse events.
FDA’s Lax Ways
Despite increasing calls for transparency at the FDA, the agency’s sloppy performance continues to put consumers at risk both medically and financially.
Your Body—Your Right to Choose!
The Massachusetts Public Health Emergency Preparation and Response Act (H4275) passed the House on 10.08.09. This piece of legislation articulates the authority granted to the Commissioner of the Department of Public Health during a ‘declared emergency’ and is companion legislation to S2028, which passed in April of this year. The two bills will now go… Continue reading Your Body—Your Right to Choose!
News vs. Opinion
The natural-products community and nutritionally oriented practitioners are very familiar with media bias. For example, the press often reports that “dietary supplements are not regulated.”