Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Consumer Reports Gives Chiropractic a Thumbs Up


Consumer Reports survey shows hands-on therapies as top-rated treatments:

April 10, 2009 — A study in the May issue of Consumer Reports shows that hands-on therapies were tops among treatments for relief of back pain. The study, which surveyed more than 14,000 consumers, was conducted by the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center.
According to the report, the survey respondents tried a variety of different treatments and rated the treatments on how helpful and satisfied they were with the results. The report concluded that hands-on therapies were the top-rated.
The report states that, “eighty-eight percent of those who tried chiropractic manipulation said it helped a lot, and 59 percent were ‘completely’ or ‘very’ satisfied with their chiropractor.”
Source: Consumer Reports, www.consumerreports.org

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Harvard Medical School Faculty Called Out on Biased Medical Information


Just read this New York times article on events occurring at Harvard Medical School. Faculty with financial interests in pharmaceutical companies have been accused of giving biased information to the future leaders in the medical community. The students have fought back, fearing that these interests deteriorate the reputation of the prestigious school and quality of care. Read More here.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Food Irradiation: Is this really a "safety measure?"






I recently received an email warning me to check the packaging of my food for the logo depicted on the right. This logo indicates that your food has been irradiated to kill unwanted organisms that are living on the food. I was in disbelief when I first saw this. Is it safe to irradiate food? Does it change the nutritional value? What are the risks associated with ionizing radiation? This is almost as ridiculous as when the FDA approved the addition of live viruses on deli meats to kill off unwanted bacteria, several years ago. It makes me wonder, how does ionizing radiation know the difference between the "bad bacteria" and the "good bacteria"? Certainly the brains behind this operation know that bacteria are essential for proper digestion and elimination. They must know that the human body contains trillions of microorganisms, and that these organisms outnumber our cells.

Having been trained in the use of x-ray technology for the diagnosis of disease, it is common knowledge that ionizing radiation can alter DNA in humans. I believe it is safe to assume that ionizing radiation will alter vegetables and fruits as well. Since our food ultimately will become part of us, I am sure that I don't want fruits and vegetables that have been damaged by radiation to enter my body. Would you want all of the materials in your house to be irradiated before you lived in it? Remember we are products of our environment and what occurs outside our bodies most likely is occurring inside.
One more note: Beware of food that says it is "cold pasteurized." While this seems like a much better option for our food, it is a misleading way of saying that food has been irradiated. Certain groups are pushing for this term to be widely used since most Americans are alarmed when they hear the term irradiated food.

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