Who’s your keeper?

When you go on vacation you give a key to your home to someone. You may even have a neighbour that keeps an emergency key for you. And you trust them not to go through your stuff; just water the plants and bring in the mail. Who does this for your health information?

When you are travelling do you have enough information with you about your health? Can you get your health information? What if you are unconscious, perhaps your spouse or travel partner can convey the information needed.

Of course your family doctor has your health information, right? So is your doctor your keeper? Can they provide this info when you are out of town? When you are in the waiting room of a hospital in another city or country, when you can’t speak for yourself, who is your keeper?

Medic Alert has a great message; “we speak for you”. Their service includes more then allergy alerts it includes health information. Other services provided phone support for medical emergencies.

As a Scuba Diver my wife and I belong to Divers Alert Network(DAN), along with travel insurance DAN provides a 24-7-365 phone services in case of medical emergency. But they don’t have my medical record.

Perhaps all you need is a sheet of paper folded up in you pocket, with a list of numbers, perhaps drug prescriptions and contact details. Is this enough?
With my bank card I can go to any ATM almost anywhere in the world and withdraw money. I may not be able to deposit a physical cheque but with ATM access and internet access I can do almost all of my banking anywhere I go.

Clarity Health Journal

Yes the same is possible with my health information. A smartcard with PIN access, that can be read in any computer in a hospital of doctors’ office. And you can use the internet to access what you need. Of course you will still need a neighbour to water you plants and feed the cat.

Manage your diabetes

Old country comfort food

In the last century the poor farmer folk of my mountainous region of Italy would take a stale piece of dry bread, wet it with olive oil, smear some tomato on it, sprinkle some sea salt harvested from the local Adriatic, and perhaps garnish with some wild weed like oregano or basil. Now this is my comfort food.

Bruschetta

In a restaurant, this folk dish has become bruschetta. Growing up it had no name, just “pane é pomedori” (bread with tomato).

Much of what was derived from necessity becomes a cultural artefact. In Canada there has been a lot of press regarding the seal hunt. This week the Governor General participated in an Inuit ceremony gutting a seal and taking a bit of the heart. Some would feel disgust, but it is a traditional food source and one we can not just disregard because of sentiment.

Making the Grade

How do we measure up?

Internet Usage

There are many ways for us to rate and measure; Population, GDP, resources, even internet usage. The Worldmapper.org site gives you different views of the world that you may not have considered.

For example; where are the majority of internet users, not surprising North America is over represented in this regard. But look at how China and India are growing, soon we will have a majority of sites in Chinese only content.

http://www.worldmapper.org/animations/internet_users_animation.html

Consider the income in the world. We have mass sections of the globe that earn less then $2 a day. Consider how our income is in North American comparies. What will happen as developing countries implement minimum wage?
http://www.worldmapper.org/animations/income_animation.html

What will the future hold as billions of people living in underdeveloped countries see how the west and developing countries live?

“Out of every 100 persons added to the population in the coming decade, 97 will live in developing countries.” Hania Zlotnik, 2005

Can we hope to survive with the growing trends? Is there enough resources to sustain the population of the world. We have serious issues ahead of us, climate change is only a small part.

Age of Death

The earth will survive; the question is will we?

Hunter-Gatherer Diet

Can we eat like our ancestors? Our diets have evolved from hunter-gatherer to modern diets. What we eat makes us who we are. Nature has pure foods. Meats, fish, nuts and berries provide the entire nutrient we need. Over time our diets have changed, some would say not for the better.

Today any number of different diseases such as Diabetes, Hypertension and Cancer have been linked to our diet and lifestyle. So why do we still eat the foods that make us ill?

This site talks about the pre-neolitic diet we currently have. http://www.earth360.com/diet_paleodiet_balzer.html

Around the world there are dietary laws and rules that restrict food consumption. Pork is forbidden by some religions. Hindis have restrictions on beef consumption. The Jain sect has a vegetarian diet as well as restricting some plants (figs, onions and garlic). The control and restriction of food consumption seems to be part of our evolution.

We are what we eat. Civilization could not have advanced to where we are without the domestication of animals and agricultural farm production. It seems unreasonable for us to return to a hunter-gatherer diet and reverse the civilization advancements made. Yet, perhaps that is what we must do. Food production, manufacturing and science has got us to his point, where else can it take us?

Finding what we can live with, how we can eat right and the best diet to suit our lifestyle is important to our survival. We have over 6.5 billion people in the world, I believe we can provide and sustain this population with the food resources on the planet; we need a means of making it possible to distribute and share the abundance of the earth. I don’t believe we can do this by returning to a hunt-gatherer diet, perhaps we can look at alternatives like the Jain Buddhist diet. We may even come up with a more modern equivalent.

Zimbabwe home of the Bantu

I have slept on the grounds of Great Zimbabwe; waking up to wild monkeys at sunrise in one of the most wondrous walled cities in Africa.

While Europe was in the dark ages, the Bantu people of Africa constructed a walled city in what is now Zimbabwe. The nation formally called Rhodesia under colonial rule was named after this ruin of stone houses which is what Zimbabwe translates as.

Africa is our homeland, the origin of our species. The oldest human fossils come from Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania, truly the cradle of civilization. All that we need to survive is found on this wondrous continent. We were raised in the sun and soil of this land.

From Egypt to South Africa, Cape Verde to Djibouti the wonders that is Africa resonates in our bones. As much as this is our home, many of us have been cast out of Eden or stolen from our lands. We can not return except as visitors.

Today the nation of Zimbabwe represents something different from the great civilization represented by the stone walls. Perhaps the ruins are a reminder that all great civilizations leave their mark and are remembered by the artefacts, they leave behind.

Health and Wealth

If you want to live a long and health life the evidence shows the best way to do so is to be wealthy.

Statistically those who can afford to pay for healthcare tend to live longer and better. Much has been said about this, are the wealthy better at staying healthy? Can they afford better care? Or are they healthier because of the lifestyle? “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” is a quote attributed to Ben Franklin, a man who was healthy, wealthy and wise.

Is the cost of care the most determinant factor in health? Do we need to have healthcare cost paid for, is healthcare a right? Universal healthcare is needed to ensure the most vulnerable of our society can lead a healthy life. Good wealth should not be a factor of health.

I believe staying healthy and preventing hospital and medical interventions is the most cost effective way to provide healthcare. The goal of the medical profession should be on keeping patients out of hospitals, avoiding surgeries and minimizing pharmaceuticals.

We have learned a great deal from research in healthcare. Since the time of Florence Nightingale we have known that the best way to avoid spreading germs is to wash your hands. Yet most health professionals still do not do it. In fact recently medical journals have reported that the best way to avoid spreading germs is to “wash your hands”. Isn’t that what your mother told you? There is more that we can do ourselves to prevent disease, much of it is wise advice that has been communicate through the ages. Eat healthy food, natural ingredients and less processed foods. Get a good night’s sleep. Spend time with friend and family. Keep active, play, laugh and dance.

The Days are Numbered

Each and every day has a number; 01/01/09 is JD 2454832.50000. My approximate birth date is JD 2437187.79167. Taking the common time that I’ve been told I was born. Although I was home birthed by a mid-wife and don’t think anyone really recorded the actual time of birth.

Today’s date using the USF Stardate is 62463.0. If you are interested, see http://www.sector001.com/info/stardate.shtml for more details.

I won’t go into any explanation of how these dates work or even if they make sense. My interest is only in the concept of time. Dates, calendars and even time clocks are abstract concepts created by us humans, a means of measurement that is all man-made.

We are not products of time, time is our product. Yet we don’t control time and often it becomes our master. Time keeping and time management have become part of the human condition. We measure time passing and time spend, as if it is a commodity.

Of course it is not, time is fleeting, time is passing, and time is lost. Each day has a number, make it count.

Future of healthcare

Are you healthy? Stay that way if not, do something about it because your future depends on it.

Personal health may be the number one factor to your longevity and success. Don’t wait until you get sick. Prevent it. Look for a way to increase your activity and participate.

I am not a doctor and I don’t provide medical advise. By observation you can see who lives a long and healthy life. They are the folks that walk daily or ride a bike even when they get older. You don’t need to be an athlete, just keep moving.