The healthcare budget ... what savings we could make ...

If you follow my blog you’ll know that my work over 30 years is all about foundation preventive healthcare and that my Healthy Parents Healthy Baby program could save health departments unquantifiable sums of money! It’s just a question of an enlightened government funding the education, subsidising the supporting products and mandating for a baby-bonus that is dependent on prospective parents following the program! A tall order you may say, but then surely anything would be better than the cost of the present statistics. 

• 1 couple in 6 is infertile
• 1 woman in 4 will suffer a miscarriage 
• 1 baby in 10 is born prematurely
• 1 baby in 30 is born with a congenital abnormality
• 1 baby in 15 is low birthweight (indigenous babies twice as likely to be affected)
• 1 woman in 3 has a Caesarean section
• 1 woman in 7 suffers from post-natal depression
• Only 1 woman in 10 breastfeeds beyond her child’s first birthday
• 1 child in 10 has a learning or behaviour problem 
• 1 child in 5 suffers from asthma 

In fact metabolic, immune, neurological and digestive (MIND) disorders are at epidemic levels and rising. The subtle and not-so-subtle disorders that make up the MIND spectrum require concerted and ongoing effort from health professionals, parents, caregivers and teachers and represent a huge loss of potential throughout the sufferer’s lifetime. A recent blog highlights the fact that 10 percent of Australians now suffer from a “rare disease”!

But the Australian statistics pale into relative insignificance alongside those of the USA. Americans spend twice as much on health care per capita than any other nation on the planet, yet still rank dead last in terms of quality of care among industrialized countries.

• In 2013 Americans will spend approximately 2.8 trillion dollars on health care, projected to rise to 4.5 trillion dollars in 2019
• If the US health care system was a country, it would be the 6th largest economy on the entire planet
• Approximately 60 percent of all personal bankruptcies in the US are related to medical bills
• Since 1998, the US health care industry has spent more than 5 billion dollars lobbying politicians in Washington DC
• The US. ambulance industry makes more money each year than the movie industry

What would it take for governments around the world to promote a fundamental health-promotion measure that lies at the heart of improved health for future generations?

Protection from sun damage? Nutrients can help...

New research from the UK confirms that supplementation with omega-3s could help to protect against skin cancer.

If those scary skin-cancer TV ads still have you running for cover despite the need for a moderate amount of sunlight exposure for vitamin D production, then listen up. Skin cancer isn't just about sun exposure, nor is it's prevention just about staying out of the sun or slathering on the sunscreen.

Readers of previous posts will know how important omega-3s are for the formation of your baby’s brain and eyes and that omega-3s can also help prevent pre-term birth and post-natal depression. You’ll also know something about the best sources of these well-researched, marine-based products and their sustainability or otherwise.

Now the research tells us that omega-3s can also protect against skin cancer! YAY - for years I’ve been saying that the skin-cancer story isn’t a simple equation of too much time in the sun. Now here’s some proof that nutritional status is a fundamental part of that story. Omega-3s, anti-oxidants, phytonutrients, trace minerals ... robust, comprehensive, balanced supplementation, but most important of all - an abundance of fresh vegetables and fruit, fish, legumes, healthy oils, nuts -  easy on the red meat and dairy. Click on the images for my previous posts on the value of the Mediterranean diet!