This week, yet other dangerous possible associations between Bis Phenol A (BPA found in most plastic containers) and diabetes and heart disease have been identified. This adds two more risks to those already identified - breast cancer, reproductive health abnormalities and altered cognition as well as neurological conditions.

To be sure, it is hard to make definitive associations as there are many variables to be considered, like are those who drink a lot of corn syrup sweetened soda also the ones who are getting diabetes from plastic bottles? So, is it the plastic bottle or the sugar that they are consuming that puts them at greater risk? Citing these kinds of issues, the FDA is not willing to yank BPA containing products off the market or even put a warning label on them. They say that there is no conclusive proof. But, is it proof they seek or are they buying time for lobbyists and influence peddlers for the chemical industry so that the very last drop of revenues can be “milked” from every last bottle before they might have to come up with something better and possibly safer?

Apparently, the FDA has forgotten the old adage that where there is smoke, there is fire. What exactly is the proof that they seek? 50,000 born sterile? 60,000 with breast cancer? If indeed BPA has even a high index of suspicion then what is the FDA waiting for? The FDA is being very cautious - perhaps because of lobbyist and financial interests, perhaps not, but whatever the motivation, it just might careful us to death.

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!