Important Video on Swine Flu

Take a moment to make a cup of tea and watch this important film from a former-medical-doctor-turned nun.
Subtitled and comprehensive, so set aside a small bit of time for this.  TERESA FORCADES, doctor in Public Health, reflects on the history, and gives scientific data, of A type flu and lists all the irregularities related to [...]



Much to Like – More to Come

Originally posted at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-weil-md/much-to-like-more-to-come_b_282188.html
—–
I am encouraged.
There was much to like in President Obama’s Wednesday night health care reform speech to a joint session of Congress.
First, he promised to freeze out of the debate those who spew nonsense about death panels and similar claptrap. He thus exiled the bad-faith obstructionists to the outer darkness, where they [...]



A Call to Action: Why Our Health Matters

On the evening of President Obama’s healthcare speech, we stumbled upon this recently posted article by Dr. Andrew Weil.  Originally posted here, we hope it inspires you as it has us in its call to action toward true healthcare reform that starts with a clear understanding of our health and why it matters.
A Call to [...]



Disease Mongering: Good for Big Pharma, Bad for You

By Dr. Andrew Weil
Original Post published at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-weil-md/disease-mongering-good-fo_b_275616.html
In “Should You Get Your Drug Information From an Actor?” I discussed the pharmaceutical industry’s egregious practice of using celebrity-driven, prime time television commercials to promote drugs directly to consumers. Illegal in most of the world — and legal in this country only since 1985 — this kind [...]



Fear, Greed, and X-Rays

By Dr. Andrew Weil       This article originally published at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-weil-md/fear-greed-and-x-rays_b_270828.html

Fear and greed are potent motivators. When both of these forces push in the same direction, virtually no human being can resist. And doctors — despite many expectations to the contrary — are human beings.
This is one reason why medical costs in the U.S. have spiraled [...]



The Question No One Asks About Healthcare

This article originally published at:
By Dr. Andrew Weil
The query gripping the nation: “How do we reform health care?”
But I don’t hear anyone asking a far more essential question: “What is health?”
Given that we all want health and spend trillions to “care” for it, it’s sobering how little thought we give to its true meaning. When [...]



Should You Get Your Drug Information From An Actor?

Sally Field is a talented actor. But what qualifies her to promote Boniva, an osteoporosis drug that is of limited benefit, has worrisome side effects, and for which there are natural alternatives that merit careful consideration?
In “What’s Wrong with American Medicine?” I point out that many high-technology treatments have a shadow side. In most areas [...]



What’s Wrong with American Medicine

This article originally published at
By Dr. Andrew Weil
The latest development appears to be that government-run health insurance programs are, if not off the table, at least sliding toward the edge. Meanwhile, town hall debates rage, Washington lobbyists (outnumbering senators and congressmen by an astounding six to one) hector Congress and the signal-to-noise ratio in the [...]



Why Dr. Weil is a Conversative on Health Care

This article originally published at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-weil-md/why-i-am-a-conservative-o_b_259869.html.  By Dr. Andrew Weil
I appeared on Larry King Live Wednesday night to discuss health care reform with a panel of respected, high-profile physicians. I sounded the themes I wrote about in The Wrong Diagnosis: that Americans must change the content of health care, not just access to it, or [...]



Let’s Take the Stomachache Out Of Healthcare

This article originally posted at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-weil-md/lets-take-the-stomachache_b_257434.html.  By Dr. Andrew Weil

In discussing health care reform, it’s easy to become mired in statistics and abstractions, so let’s examine it in personal terms. Here’s the story of a patient I saw recently that provides a specific example of what medicine does now — and what, in my view, [...]