Samuel D. Benjamin, M.D. received his Medical Degree from the Universidad De Guadalajara Facultad De Medicina in Mexico and was awarded another M.D. from the State University of New York. He trained in a Fifth Pathway program at New York University Medical Center and then did his residency in Pediatrics and Social Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center Hospital, the University Hospital and Academic Medical Center of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and served as a Chief Resident during his last year.
Later, Benjamin served as a Medical Director of a model primary care program for urban inner cities that was funded jointly by the federal government and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He later became the Medical Director for the Western Hemisphere Region of the International Planned Parenthood Federation where he focused on maternal/child health.
In 1982 Dr. Benjamin moved to Phoenix and helped establish a pediatric and family practice medical group. He served as Medical Director of the then nation’s largest PPO and joined the advisory board of Humana’s local HMO. He trained in Medical Acupuncture at the UCLA Medical School of Medicine and then formed the Arizona Center for Health and Medicine for Catholic Healthcare West which was the nation’s first mainstream, hospital system affiliated large scale integrative medical facility. The center and his activities were featured in Life magazine.
He returned to New York for several years as a professor and Director of the Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the State University of New York at Stony Brook School of Medicine.Leaving academics, he served as Corporate Medical Director of Integrative Health Strategies for Humana Inc. and as radio talk show host of the Dr. Sam Show for six years.
Dr. Benjamin is a licensed allopathic (Western) physician, a licensed homeopathic physician or MD (H) and a certified acupuncturist. He hosts ‘Primary Care‘ on News/Talk KTAR 92.3 FM Saturdays at 2 PM MST.
Whilst many complain that a national health system might result in a rationing of health care services and decreased accessibility to the newest of high tech (which by the way will happen ANYWAY I promise - regardless of who is elected this fall), in a sense, I would not mind rationing at all. Let me explain.
In the last month a family member (now in the hospital) and I (several weeks ago) have been exposed to needless tests and technology. I will discuss our experiences on the air this coming Saturday.
My family member got a test for a pulmonary embolus that he could not possibly have had on a clinical basis and when I explained to MY doc that I had not just treated my problems but REVERSED them - not requiring the lifelong drugs (with lots of side effects) that he prescribed was incredulous, and left our call with the warning that I WILL require the drugs - I would not escape them.
He was concerned that I was taking high doses of fish oil as opposed to the drug he wanted me to take with an enormous number of side effects. When I reminded him that what I am taking is like having a couple of portions of mercury free fatty fish a day and no one has died from this yet, he shrugged off my logic and stuck to his guns.
Most physicians do not think and they offer no hope. They look for disease - not well being. The glass is ALWAYS half full. They are fanatically closed minded to any option to conventional care that has not been sanctioned by the same authorities that encouraged Vioxx, Hormone Replacement Therapy, Orlistat etc. They are either ignorant of or oblivious to the fact that we have one of the worst and the most expensive health care systems in the world - regardless of the incredible amount of technology that we implement every day. They have TOO MUCH available to them so they think LESS! That is why although people do indeed wait for care in England and Canada, they have better health when measured by World Health Organization standards.
Now, some would argue that a free market health care system such as we have now allows freedom of choice. Well, a free market system might, but what we have now is NOT free markets.
Bush has allowed pharmaceutical companies to charge insane prices to Medicare by ELIMINATING bidding processes - NO free trade. The FDA has done everything it can do to squelch cheaper drugs from coming into the US from Canada. You and physicians are bombarded by disinformation - promises of “miracle” therapies with modern technology which RARELY pans out to be true. Insurance companies foolishly reimburse PROCEDURES over thought so that they encourage doctors to ACT not to THINK. Medical schools have failed us and facilitate all of this - forgetting to reinforce compassion, positive thinking, spirituality and the value - the extraordinary value of LISTENING to the patient before ordering technology. Medical students are not trained enough to realize that “common things are common and rare things are rare.” Instead they are rewarded for finding the needle in the haystack - the rare disease in everyone - spending needless technology that benefits almost no one. We add drugs and then treat the side effects with other drugs. We assume that people are stupid and unmotivated and give them little if any REAL information so that they can make choices and take control of their health. We lay on study after tainted study to “sell” physicians on technology that is actually unsupported by data and yet we criticize “unproven” alternative therapies which have NEVER killed as many as does conventional medicine.
This is RESTRAINT of trade - not FREE trade and as such, we could be better off with a national health system which could limit certain technologies and that may not be a bad thing. We might actually get healthier!
1. Why your doctor does not think. Who makes the decisions? How can you take control?
2. Safe alternatives to treating arthritis.
3. As always, open phones.
This election year, politicians will pontificate about the economy, the energy crisis, global warming, the immigration issue, Iraq and the Middle East, Terrorism, etc. BUT, none of them will talk about the REAL issue which is global overpopulation. Why? Because it hits on issues too sensitive to Americans which might adversely affect the election of one party or another.
For some, the world is not overpopulated. This is most unrealistic. Why do you think that Mexicans are willing to risk everything to reach the U.S.? Because they have no food, money or shelter! There are more than 25 million souls in Mexico City alone and the economy can’t support them!
There is an inverse relationship between income and the number of births in a family - less money, more kids. Maybe this is because families see children as “insurance policies” who will care for their parents who have no social security or health insurance when they grow old.
There, in fact, may be a number of reasons which I do not intend to touch on. Here is what we do know, overpopulation brings war, disease, destruction of the environment, economic ruin and much more.
We also know that abstinence programs are a TOTAL waste, family planning is of some value and economic development is key. The World Bank has developed a micro development program that shows great promise. Is all of this merely an esoteric discussion, unrelated to your day-to-day health?
I do not think so because if we do not control world population we will face (as we are already), infectious disease spreading rapidly and without control - AIDS, Hepatitis, Malaria (it’s in California!), polio etc.
We will face a dramatic increase in global pollution and a possible decrease in available water, oxygen (yes, oxygen) and disasters like the fact that the earth’s fish (such as tuna) may be nearly extinct within five years.
Now do you see why this could affect your health?
1. Why population issues are paramount to health and why the politicians don’t want to talk about it.
2. Toenails yellowing? Whiten them safely. This and many more health and beauty tips.
3. Open phones: Sam Benjamin’s approach to health care.
1. What happened to me when I was in the hospital last week?
2. Just how expensive is health care?
3. I LOVE being a doctor.
4. Open phones.
So, the show was preempted last week for a sports function and as fate would have it, just about the time that I would have been on the air, I ended up in the Scottsdale Health Care emergency room on Shea.
My care was outstanding - pleasant, efficient and caring. I ended up being admitted to the hospital. I was fortunate to be discharged the next day - about 36 hours after having shown up in the hospital. I had tests, treatment, etc. quickly and efficiently. No gripes about the care BUT my gastroenterologist (specialist), with whom I had an established relationship and was on the admitting sheet as one of my doctors, NEVER came to see me.
He did not call, his staff did not call me and there were NO apologies. I THINK he spoke to my primary care physician but I am not clear on this - incredibly inappropriate and POOR care. I needed his input, his help and he let me down. What do you think? What would you do? We will discuss this on my upcoming show.
From the outset, I prefer products and beverages that are healthy and do NOT require a sweetener. Now, this is hard (I know because I crave sweets.) But, there are, for example, teas that make it easy to consume and enjoy. For example, Green Tea with Jasmine or with Moroccan Mint are simply GREAT. I like them unsweetened, but they are also sold with a LITTLE honey that barely registers on the carb or calorie scale.
As for low or no-calorie sweeteners, remember that Aspartame and Sucrolose have never really been tested for safety in the long run with humans and there are some studies suggesting that weight actually INCREASES with their continual use! Here are options that I believe to be better:
Tagatose: which is natural and about 1/3 the calories of sugar was recently approved by the FDA.
Stevia: can be bought in health food stores but there is a bit of a bitter aftertaste when used a lot. It is natural. There has been some issue as to whether Stevia might be carcinogenic, but, the data is NOT reliable in this regard and it has been used safely in Asia and Latin America for decades.
Erythritol: you should be able to get this at health food stores.
Truvia: should be selling in Phoenix stores soon which is derived from parts of the stevia plant and made by Cargill and Coca Cola Co. I can’t comment on it yet but it looks REALLY promising and will be in Coke products as well. I expect to see comparable and natural sweeteners from Pepsico as well. This does not mean that I endorsing their soda products (I am not), but, the sweetener will be made available in their food products as well.
1. I come out of the closet on health care
2. Clinical updates
3. Open phones
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