Making the right Health choices:
Modern Western medicine offers powerful ways to ease pain and treat disease. Newfound openness to natural methods and effective self-help strategies further widen the vista. The challenge comes in choosing what's best for you.
Have you shopped for apples lately? As fruit shops get bigger and bigger, so does the variety of apples they stock. Gala. Delicious. Jonathan. Fuji. Granny Smith. Once upon a time, an apple was an apple. Now, eating an apple has become an art and science.
Or how about exercise shoes? Once, you went out and bought plan white joggers. Now, you have running shoes, walking shoes, hiking boots, cross-trainers, tennis shoes, basketballs shoes, with high tops and low tops, velcro, snaps,safety devices, replaceable inserts, colour variations--and that's just for one brand. There are many brands. Be prepared to spend hours shopping.
This range of choice applies to almost anything you buy today. From spaghetti sauce to televis ons, from a pair of socks to the water you drink--the options are often complex and over whelming. One writer coined a nice phrase for this dilemma: the tyranny of choice. We want to feel informed, we want to make the right decisions, but it has become nearly impossible in the face of too many options. we can't all be experts at everything. So what do we do? We look for what's on sale, we ponder the brand, we prod and poke to get a sense of value, we make sure we like how it looks and then we shrug our shoulders and head to the cash register.
The health-care dilemma
Over the past 20 years or so,this tyranny of choice' has swept through the world of health. It has done so with the little things--like the seemingly endless variations of vitamin C to be found at the local chemist--as well as big things---like the number of treatment options you face when stuck with a chronic disease.
Deep down, we all know that choice, particularly when it concerns your health, is a good thing. First, there are many paths to healing and we rarely know which is the single best one for any given person; and second, we have personal preferences that must be respected.
The only problem with lots of choice is that ultimately, we have to choose. Either that or have someone choose for us. And therein lies the rub.
Health is perhaps the most precious thing we have. Will all the changes in the words of medicine and health insurance in recent years, how much do we want to hand over control of our decisions to others? Even doctors will say you are in charge of your own health, not them.
So we set out to educate ourselves. We can newspapers, read magazines, buy books. We talk with our families and friends and then we go online and seek out information and like-minded communities As a whole, the general public is stunningly savvy about health. To the point that in many ways they are leading the world of health care, rather than the other way around. It wasn't the demand of hospitals and doctors that got mass-market stores to stock more herbs and nutritional supplements; it was public demand.
As a whole, we have become highly astute health-care consumers. We ask doctors tougher questions and we know a fair amount about the new healing ways. But the odd thing about coice is that it seems to beget even more choice. New supplements, new diets, new medical break-throughs get announced everyday. Who can keep up with it all?
I am introducing know your medical on the premise that each of us at some point encounters health situations in which we need to know pretty fast what is going on with our bodies and what choices there are to get things right. Dr. David Edelberg notes that when a patient is first told of a health problem by a doctor, a typical response is to freeze up and stop listening. And rightly so-emotions run high when one is told of a disease or injury. But what then, a few hours later, when the emotions have settled, the reality has set in, and the hunger for understanding and advice takes hold?
It is precisely at that moment that this book is most valuable.
We assembled a team of top-notch health journalists to consult hundreds of health-care experts and to research the full gamut of health remedies. We then distilled the information into simple, clear entries that offer the full range of viable healing methods.
What is it that a doctor would most likely recommend? Is that a sensible recommendation? What would other experts tell you? what can you do on yhour own that the doctor might not have mentioned? What is controversial and what is tried and true?
Doctor is perspective:
In all this discussion about health we have yet to include the fundamental health choice in the equation--that of your primary care provider. Unlike many overseas countries, here in Australia and Newzealand you have the option of shopping around to find somebody who will fulfil your requirements. While factors such as rapport and how easily you find you can talk to this doctor.
Once you have established a good relationship with your primary care proovider you should stick with them. Research has shown that health outcomes are better in people who have a single health-care provider as opposed to people who visit
someone different each time they nee professional help.
All who have worked about this believe that doctors do an outstanding job and we strongly recommend that your primary care provider be your main partner in healing and health. You will find throughout the discussion that the treatment options presented are the time-tested ones your doctor is most likely to recommend.
But again, don't shirk your own responsibility. It is reasonable and appropriate to question your doctor, to make some independent decisions, to research solutions that go deeper or beyond what he or she might recommended
The decisions you make about your health often have to take in factors other than just doctors advice, such as cost,availability of services and other commitments----some of which you can't control. But whatever you can control, you should. This means working in close partnership with your doctor and deciding for yourself if the car and recommendations that are offered are sufficient. If spending a little money outside your insurance cover gets you the care you truly want, it is money well spent.
Choose your doctor wisely:
Whenever you move to a new location you will be faced with choosing a new primary care provider for you and your family. Of all your health decisions, this is one of the most crucial.
The biggest reason, of course, is that this doctor will be a major player in every single health issue that arises from this point forward, be it a cold or cancer. If you choose well now your decision-making burdens will be easier later.
Less obvious is that this is the one important health decision in which you usually have no time pressure, no inherent emotional fallout, no strong-willed outside influences. Just think about it: Most encounters with a doctor occur at times of injury or illness; usually, there's no time to shop, to ponder, to explore. You will be
emotional and vulnerable. It is exactly the wrong time to decide that you really don't like your doctor's approach.
So pick your doctor with care. 'we recommended you apply the same shopping savvy you would for any big ticket purchase:
Modern Western medicine offers powerful ways to ease pain and treat disease. Newfound openness to natural methods and effective self-help strategies further widen the vista. The challenge comes in choosing what's best for you.
Have you shopped for apples lately? As fruit shops get bigger and bigger, so does the variety of apples they stock. Gala. Delicious. Jonathan. Fuji. Granny Smith. Once upon a time, an apple was an apple. Now, eating an apple has become an art and science.
Or how about exercise shoes? Once, you went out and bought plan white joggers. Now, you have running shoes, walking shoes, hiking boots, cross-trainers, tennis shoes, basketballs shoes, with high tops and low tops, velcro, snaps,safety devices, replaceable inserts, colour variations--and that's just for one brand. There are many brands. Be prepared to spend hours shopping.
This range of choice applies to almost anything you buy today. From spaghetti sauce to televis ons, from a pair of socks to the water you drink--the options are often complex and over whelming. One writer coined a nice phrase for this dilemma: the tyranny of choice. We want to feel informed, we want to make the right decisions, but it has become nearly impossible in the face of too many options. we can't all be experts at everything. So what do we do? We look for what's on sale, we ponder the brand, we prod and poke to get a sense of value, we make sure we like how it looks and then we shrug our shoulders and head to the cash register.
The health-care dilemma
Over the past 20 years or so,this tyranny of choice' has swept through the world of health. It has done so with the little things--like the seemingly endless variations of vitamin C to be found at the local chemist--as well as big things---like the number of treatment options you face when stuck with a chronic disease.
Deep down, we all know that choice, particularly when it concerns your health, is a good thing. First, there are many paths to healing and we rarely know which is the single best one for any given person; and second, we have personal preferences that must be respected.
The only problem with lots of choice is that ultimately, we have to choose. Either that or have someone choose for us. And therein lies the rub.
Health is perhaps the most precious thing we have. Will all the changes in the words of medicine and health insurance in recent years, how much do we want to hand over control of our decisions to others? Even doctors will say you are in charge of your own health, not them.
So we set out to educate ourselves. We can newspapers, read magazines, buy books. We talk with our families and friends and then we go online and seek out information and like-minded communities As a whole, the general public is stunningly savvy about health. To the point that in many ways they are leading the world of health care, rather than the other way around. It wasn't the demand of hospitals and doctors that got mass-market stores to stock more herbs and nutritional supplements; it was public demand.
As a whole, we have become highly astute health-care consumers. We ask doctors tougher questions and we know a fair amount about the new healing ways. But the odd thing about coice is that it seems to beget even more choice. New supplements, new diets, new medical break-throughs get announced everyday. Who can keep up with it all?
I am introducing know your medical on the premise that each of us at some point encounters health situations in which we need to know pretty fast what is going on with our bodies and what choices there are to get things right. Dr. David Edelberg notes that when a patient is first told of a health problem by a doctor, a typical response is to freeze up and stop listening. And rightly so-emotions run high when one is told of a disease or injury. But what then, a few hours later, when the emotions have settled, the reality has set in, and the hunger for understanding and advice takes hold?
It is precisely at that moment that this book is most valuable.
We assembled a team of top-notch health journalists to consult hundreds of health-care experts and to research the full gamut of health remedies. We then distilled the information into simple, clear entries that offer the full range of viable healing methods.
What is it that a doctor would most likely recommend? Is that a sensible recommendation? What would other experts tell you? what can you do on yhour own that the doctor might not have mentioned? What is controversial and what is tried and true?
Doctor is perspective:
In all this discussion about health we have yet to include the fundamental health choice in the equation--that of your primary care provider. Unlike many overseas countries, here in Australia and Newzealand you have the option of shopping around to find somebody who will fulfil your requirements. While factors such as rapport and how easily you find you can talk to this doctor.
Once you have established a good relationship with your primary care proovider you should stick with them. Research has shown that health outcomes are better in people who have a single health-care provider as opposed to people who visit
someone different each time they nee professional help.
All who have worked about this believe that doctors do an outstanding job and we strongly recommend that your primary care provider be your main partner in healing and health. You will find throughout the discussion that the treatment options presented are the time-tested ones your doctor is most likely to recommend.
But again, don't shirk your own responsibility. It is reasonable and appropriate to question your doctor, to make some independent decisions, to research solutions that go deeper or beyond what he or she might recommended
The decisions you make about your health often have to take in factors other than just doctors advice, such as cost,availability of services and other commitments----some of which you can't control. But whatever you can control, you should. This means working in close partnership with your doctor and deciding for yourself if the car and recommendations that are offered are sufficient. If spending a little money outside your insurance cover gets you the care you truly want, it is money well spent.
Choose your doctor wisely:
Whenever you move to a new location you will be faced with choosing a new primary care provider for you and your family. Of all your health decisions, this is one of the most crucial.
The biggest reason, of course, is that this doctor will be a major player in every single health issue that arises from this point forward, be it a cold or cancer. If you choose well now your decision-making burdens will be easier later.
Less obvious is that this is the one important health decision in which you usually have no time pressure, no inherent emotional fallout, no strong-willed outside influences. Just think about it: Most encounters with a doctor occur at times of injury or illness; usually, there's no time to shop, to ponder, to explore. You will be
emotional and vulnerable. It is exactly the wrong time to decide that you really don't like your doctor's approach.
So pick your doctor with care. 'we recommended you apply the same shopping savvy you would for any big ticket purchase:
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