When I visit hospitals I am often amazed at how many people are treated. Though I do not have the statistics on how many people actually go through the hospital process but once visiting a friend I noticed they had three different roommates for the week that they stayed. Are we a nation that doesn’t take care of ourselves? Even getting an appointment can take a few weeks because offices are booked up. Could all these people actually be sick enough to be admitted into hospitals or are these the orders of overzealous family practitioners? Am I in the wrong business? Should I have studied to be a doctor? I have only been to a hospital one time in my life for a health problem.

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"There is one thing that organized religion is not qualified to teach and that is an individual's purpose."-GOD

I think we are, indeed, and unhealthy nation. There are several apects to it, poor eating (not just fast food, but food fast-even at home), lack of exercise (lots of tv and electronic toys to use instead), drug resistant virii, and general laziness of our population. However, I don't think that the people in the hospital wouldn't be there if they were not ill enough to be, in this day of managed care. Many who probably should be in the hospital are sent home early or are not admitted becuase drs do not feel insurance would cover it. These days, being a dr is not such a great thing, they pay a huge amount of malpractice insurance (one surgeon here reitred this summer because he was close to a retirement age and his malpractice insurance was due, so he just decided to give it up.) They also face large cuts in insurance reimbursement, and write-offs for non and underpayment. Do I think they are poor? Not even close, but healthcare costs keep rising due to a lot of this. That also accounts for some of our poor health, because we are doing less routine maintenance--many don't even have a family dr any more. That's what I have seen in my little community of 2-3000 people!

What I see is that the US has one of the most over medicated societies in the world. Part of that seems to be driven by drug manufacturers who want to make money. But part of it also seems to be because for a very long time, Medical doctors in this country have ridiculed alternative medicines, while these have been used to very good benefit overseas for many years. Only gradually are alternative doctors in this country becomming accepted.

I don't know, but the only times in my life I have ever been to the hospital has been when I was giving birth or undergoing surgery (NECESSARY surgery!)

That includes when I was HIT BY A TRAIN... I had head injuries and a bunch of staples and stitches, but since I didn't have a concussion or INSURANCE I was sent home, and that was fine by me...

I think the more you go to the doctor, the more you need to go to the doctor. I think we should all give our bodies an opportunity to heal itself, and have faith that it will... and when it doesn't, THEN go to the doc.

Jeesh, don't even get me started on doctors and insurance! I'm not a fan of either....

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I'm here to learn, but I may just give you an opinon!

I think that is a good and healthy attitude. It always amazes me when nature provides a medicine cabinet out in the woods, valleys, and fields, and yet only a relative few take advantage of those things. People will buy sleeping pills much more quickly than drinking a cup of chamomile tea, or go to the doctor to get a shot for recurrent headaches rather than trying to determine the actual cause, or buy oodles of dollars of cold medications rather than using lemon juice and honey or horehound tea. Of course, that is exactly what the drug companies, and far too many medical doctors, want. But that definitely doesn't mean that is the best thing for us, or for our bodies.

Both Rev. Rex and Arkansaslegs have brought up good points about meidcations and doctoring! I think I need to read up more about these homeopathic methods....AND I need to get away from my computer more to get a bit more exercise....

You aren't alone, Lizskid. There are a LOT of people that would be a lot heathier with just a little bit of work. Some things are really very simple. For instance, using olive oil instead of vegie oil...this will help your arteries and heart.

As time permits, I will be posting hints about different herbs in the health forum...I posted there yesterday or today (I don't remember which) regarding cold treatment using both lemon/honey and horehound tea. Part of the Shamanic path is the use of herbs and wild plants. So I have a tiny amount of information I can share in that regard.

one of my pet pieves is figuring out when to exercise - if exercise is so good (and I beleive it too) and I would be a better worker then perhaps work should allow me time to exercise. You go through school with exercise, seems like it should continue. Instead the poor are relatively excluded - only the relatively rich (or at least middle class) who have time off to spend money on a spa or drive to a park and such can afford the leisure of excercise. And the pull of spending money on more jazzed up things is always a counter force to "just exercise".

For me - I have an hr commute each way, and work for a k12 school system (which means at once not being paid a lot and giving more time because there is never enough money to hire enough people to do the work properly.) In particular as I work on computers my fingers and mind get a good amount of exercise but my butt only moves when I have to go down the hallway. You might think I'm well off as an IT person but my family is just reaching the top of lower-middle class economics. I almost always eat while working because again, there is never enough time to get things done. I have a new toddler (adoption) at home so I generally have to relieve my wife and what little time I have free I spend posting to places like this(!) ;-)

I'm glad that I don't live in the city, for exactly that reason. Where I live, a person can go for a walk pretty much anytime, and it is a very short drive to get out into the woods where they can walk as much as they want. There is a nature trail about 5 blocks from my house, that is about 1/2 mile long and interesting. Or I can walk right up over the hill and I'm overlooking a very beautiful little river, with plenty of wildlife around. It makes the exercise of walking very pleasant. But poor, rich, or between, not many people take advantage of it.

In fact, I've gotten the most and best exercise when I've been the poorest, and I've enjoyed it the most.

I've managed it only when I was unemployed - I suppose that is a way to get some time!