Salubrious Life

Online Pharmacies - Are Cost-Savings Worth The Risk?

comScore Networks released key findings from a study focused on the opinions, attitudes and observed behaviors of visitors to on-line pharmacies. The study revealed that despite safety concerns, a significant percentage of visitors to on-line pharmacies believe the sites provide an affordable and appealing alternative to traditional methods of buying prescription drugs.

Attitudes and Opinions Related to Online Pharmacies
	Agree	Neutral	Disagree
Very concerned about the safety of drugs available on-line	54%	16%	30%
Online pharmacies are providing healthy competition to regular pharmacies	66%	21%	12%
Some prescription drugs that have been proven effective should be available to the public despite secondary effects, under direct supervision of a healthcare professional	62%	18%	21%
Source: comScore Networks, April 2005

While more than half of all respondents reported concerns about the safety of drugs available on-line, almost 40 percent said that they would buy drugs that are not FDA-approved, but that work well for them.

Attitudes and Opinions Related to the FDA
	Agree	Neutral	Disagree
The FDA should regulate all drugs that are consumed in the U.S.	51%	20%	30%
If I could buy drugs on-line that are not FDA approved, but work for me, I would	38%	17%	45%
Source: comScore Networks, April 2005

In addition:

• 61 percent of the respondents did not inform their physicians of their last on-line prescription purchase.
• 45 percent of visitors to on-line pharmacies reported that they visited in order to compare prices.  Among those consumers who reported purchasing drugs on-line, nearly two-thirds said that they did so to save money. 
• Only one out of every three respondents using an on-line pharmacy was concerned about the lack of face-to-face communication with a pharmacist, despite safety concerns

Granted, not everything can be regulated.  The consumer needs to inform him or herself on the safety and side effects of any drug taken without guidance from their GP.  I can't help thinking that the combination of rising pharma prices, in-effective health care plans and open access to drugs via the web will end up with more than a few people getting hurt.

The question is;  does an OTC marketer have a responsibility to include safety awareness and education in their marketing message or does the responsibility for this kind of activity rest solely on the consumer?

Spit test to detect Ovarian Cancer?

"If you consider the eyes the window to the soul, then spit is a window to the body. It is a part of circulation. It came from it. It doesn't have the color of blood, but it's less sticky. A saliva test will be totally noninvasive."

These words from a dental convention?  Could your Dentist possibly hold the key to your physical health?

The theory behind testing spit (more medical term being saliva) been around awhile. But it would appear that the time is right to move the theoretical into practice.  Medical experts have long known that whatever is in blood is also in saliva. It is, in fact, a reflection of our blood; it's a blood filtrate. So the content of saliva might include many molecules that can be used in diagnosis.

In fact, anything present in blood is also in spit - though in much smaller quantities. The problem was, there was not the means to detect most of it until recently. And knowing exactly what's in there is critical because Doctors need to know if it changes when somebody is sick.

And, the medical profession needs to understand how salivary proteins change when someone is sick. Now being developed are "disease profiles" for breast cancer, oral cancer, diabetes 2, Sjogren's syndrome and ovarian cancer. If one can get a picture of what saliva looks like in these diseases and get to compare it to that of healthy people, there might have the basis of a test.

Saliva tests are in use right now for H.I.V. and substance abuse.

Think about this scenario: Two years from now, when you go to a dentist, before they clean your teeth, they'll take a drop of saliva and put it into a little machine. At the end of the visit, you will get a printed chart that will tell if you're at risk for Disease A or Disease B and if you should have a follow-up with a medical doctor. The dentist in the very near future may become a triage doctor. That's going to change dentistry.

So three cheers for that most suicidal of professions - the Dentist may now be the first person you'd like to see when you suspect an illness.  Less invasive than blood tests and you can have your teeth cleaned at the same time.  How about that for productivity?

The Art of Drinking Water

When I want to lose weight or simply cleanse my system, I remember the age old rule - "Drink a lot of water"  I know this to be a staple of a healthy life.  I also know that I don't drink enough of it.  Like all things, it seems so simple - it can't possibly work.  Right?

I'm told that people should drink an 8 oz. glass before every meal. "Drink the entire glass of water before you touch a bite of food".  This is a healthy practice.

Most people simply don't drink enough water to begin with. They're afraid of feeling bloated or having to go to the bathroom too often. Again I am warned "If you're not going to the bathroom far more frequently than you think you should be, you're probably not drinking enough water."

Don't like the taste of water? Filter it. Refrigerate it. Make it ice water. Add some lemon. Do whatever you have to do, because nothing is more important to your health than drinking water.

I start tomorrow.   I will drink enough water to see all of the public toilets within my weekly travel route.  I will stave off unecessary hunger pangs and make my system run like a Porsche 911.   I will report back.

Rolfing. Aligning the Body for Mental and Physical Health

"Rolfing's foundation is simple: Most humans are significantly out of alignment with gravity, although we function better when we are lined up with the gravitation field." [The "Online Boulder Guide"]

Rolfing is a kind of deep massage and "movement  education" developed by Ida P. Rolf (1896-1979), a biochemist and therapist.

When I first heard of Rolfing, I thought it sounded like something one did after eating a bad batch of shell-fish, but actually Rolfing is the name given to Dr. Rolf's method of deep massage.  The practice goes beyond traditional massage in that it is predicated on the thought that emotional as well as physical health depends upon being properly aligned. In Rolfing, proper alignment goes beyond just the spine. The practice incorporates the alignment of head, ankles, hips, thorax, pelvis, knees, shoulders, ears, etc.. The thinking is that by being properly aligned you are enhancing personal energy leading to a healthy body and emotional state.

Another school of structural integration is Hellerwork, which will not only align and integrate your body parts, it also claims to do the same for your mind and soul.

A month ago I wrote about Good Feet.  The custom arch support for proper alignment of the body.  I can report that since using them in sports activity, I'm ready to spend another $300+ on a pair for daily use.  Less extreme in their arch support, the daily use orthodics can be used in street shoes, sandals, any shoe which is not going to be used in athletic pursuits.   My alignment is better.  My lower back pain is reduced.  I will go so far as to take my husband along with me to have him fitted for a pair as well.

BUT.....is my emotional state improved by proper alignment?  Well, I'm not cranky when lower back pain strikes, I stand taller and feel great.........but I think that practitioners of services such as Rolfing and Hellerwork play on the popular desire of "well-being" and emotional serenity when they mix these messages into their program descriptions.

And.......I still think the term Rolfing is evocative of something far less pleasant than massage.

Combat Stress by Creating An Oasis

Orange.  It represents vibrancy, energy and power.  I used this color to create my oasis from the madness - my yoga room.  I feel so at home around orange. In this room on the top floor of my home I can escape. I can practice my yoga, meditate, nap and invert.(I swear by my inversion table as do the many I've made try it.)

Stress and anxiety can prematurely age the mind and body. If not dealt with effectively, chronic stress and worrying can place undue strain upon the cardiovascular and immune systems. It can also lead to mood disorders and negatively affect cognitive functions. "Having a safe and comfortable place where we can relax and unwind can help improve our well-being and produce feelings of peace and tranquility" says Monique N. Gilbert, B.Sc. Personal Health & Wellness Coach.

"Ideally, creating an atmosphere that induces calmness throughout your home is best" says Ms. Gilbert. "However, if space is limited, you still can create your own oasis, even if it is only in a corner of a room or in a cubical at work".

I like to take control of personal surroundings, whether they are just a desk at a client's office or a hotel room in a strange city. I often travel with my favorite scented candles - the very same ones I burn in my office and long baths. I've been burning the same Cote Bastide Fig Tree candle since 1998 and they evoke such strong and positive memories that I relax almost as soon as the first whiff hits my nostrils.

By creating a personal oasis, I am better able to relax and rejuvenate. A few changes may be all that is needed to be calm, peaceful, energized and inspired.

Why is US Health Care So Costly?

I'm a transplanted Canadian.  Granted I've been out of the country for 15 years, but I still remember fondly the healthcare system I left and the kind of services I was able to get, essentially for free.

I've often wondered why it is that I continually get bills from my medical providers even though I have what is arguably the best coverage one can get here, Blue Cross Blue Shield.  Here are some numbers I came across to answer that question:

In 2002, the latest year for which comparable data are available, the United States spent $5,267 on health care for each man, woman and child in the population. Of this, $2,364, or 45 percent, was government spending, mainly on Medicare and Medicaid. Canada spent $2,931 per person, of which $2,048 came from the government. France spent $2,736 per person, of which $2,080 was government spending.

Amazing, isn't it? U.S. health care is so expensive that our government spends more on health care than the governments of other advanced countries, even though the private sector pays a far higher share of the bills than anywhere else.

What do we get for all that money? Not much.

A 2003 study published in Health Affairs tried to resolve that puzzle by comparing a number of measures of health services across the advanced world. What the authors found was that the United States scores high on high-tech services - we have lots of M.R.I.'s - but on the number of doctor's visits and number of days spent in hospitals, America is only average, or even below average. There's also direct evidence that identical procedures cost far more in the U.S. than in other advanced countries.

Why is the price of U.S. health care so high? One answer is doctors' salaries: although average wages in France and the United States are similar, American doctors are paid much more than their French counterparts.

Above all, a large part of America's health care spending goes into paperwork. A 2003 study in The New England Journal of Medicine estimated that administrative costs took 31 cents out of every dollar the United States spent on health care, compared with only 17 cents in Canada.

No wonder I run into so many fellow Canadians at the dog park.  They are all Doctors and hospital administrators enjoying the higher salaries here in generous U.S.A

Socially Conscious Companies. Good for The Environment & and Shareholders Alike

Investment analyst Winslow Management Co. is awarding its first Green2 Awards on Earth Day, April 22, 2005 to honor companies that make positive contributions to both the environment and to their shareholders.

Winners are Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, The Timberland Company, and Trex Company all of which are listed on the Winslow Green Index of 100 green-screened companies. GMCR stock has increased from $3.50 a share on July 31, 1999 to $25.10 on Dec. 31, 2004.

Timberland stock has tripled from $20.33 to $62.67 during the same period and is recognized for its ‘urban Peace Corps’ program and its increasing use solvent-free glue to produce its footwear.

Trex stock has increased from $28.25 to $52.44 on Dec. 31, 2004.  Trex makes commercial and residential decking material from recycled plastic grocery bags, reclaimed pallet wrap and reclaimed hardwood sawdust.

So,who says that you can't do well by doing good? These are the times when consumers will reward a company with their loyalty because they admire their corporate values.

It really does pay to "do the right thing".

Alternative Medicine, 70% of The Over 50 Crowd Use It

A study by Dr. Gong-Soog Hong of Ohio State University concluded that more than 70% of adults aged 50 or older use some type of alternative therapy. Hong and her team interviewed 848 people aged 50 and above about their use of chiropractic medicine, acupuncture, massage therapy, breathing exercises, herbal medicine and meditation. 71% of respondents said they had tried at least one of the six types of alternative therapy. The most popular remedy was chiropractic, used by 43% of older adults. The least popular remedy was acupuncture, likely because few insurance companies cover it, Hong noted.

L'Oreal, The Men's Expert?

I was one of the lucky few (10,000 of us) to receive a pre-release sample of L’Oreal’s new “Men’s Expert” anti-aging skincare line which is set to launch next month. The marketing material enclosed in my small white corrugated cardboard shipping box was unremarkable. Remove the L’Oreal brand name and I could be looking at any mass market hair, skin, or cosmetic product. This was my first disappointment.

I’ve been eagerly anticipating the expected launches of several new men’s brands that will attempt to prove a market for $6-$11 men’s products in stores like CVS and Duane Reed. I’d love to be a fly on the wall at L’Oreal and listen to the demand forecasting that supports a $50 – $60 million dollar spend on a massive national launch. Sure, everyone’s talking about the men’s market, but the last thing the market needs is another unmemorable mass-brand. What makes it even more surprising is the branding - “the first comprehensive men's anti-aging line to hit mass market retailers nationwide.”

Men may demand anti-aging and moisturizing, but they sure don’t want “comprehensive.” Carol Hamilton, the president of the division launching this brand must know something we don’t. Acronyms like ADS (Active Defense Mechanism) are scattered through sentences such as “apply Hydra-power morning and or night over the entire face, massaging energetically to stimulate your skin.” By cutting out the most masculine aspect of male grooming, the daily shave, L’Oreal is positioning this brand squarely in the gay market. A gay male household provides double the potential trial and sales with the same advertising, yet Gillette and SC Johnson (Edge brand) say that the marketing rationale for these types of products is the same for the gay community and the general market because skincare is a universal need . Which marketing strategy would you bet on?

L’Oreal is an expert in cosmetics, but “Men’s Expert” does not draw upon the expert branding power of this cosmetics superpower.

Shift from Believing to Knowing

The Buddha once said:

Do not believe what you have heard.
Do not believe in tradition because it is handed down many generations.
Do not believe in anything that has been spoken of many times.
Do not believe because the written statements come from some old sage.
Do not believe in conjecture.
Do not believe in authority or elders.
BUT after careful observation and analysis, when it agrees with reason and it will benefit all, then accept it and live by it.

Believe = to consider/accept as true.
To Know = to experience/to distinguish

To Know is very challenging, as it often times forces us to overcome our beliefs. Often we accept ideas, notions, or situations based on what has been told to us and therefore it becomes “this” way. This is an easy way to make choices, decisions, and opinions about scenarios we face in life. Doubt, hesitation, and maybe fear appear when we consider abandoning these beliefs. Buddha does not say to abandon these beliefs necessarily. But rather, to understand that there is great value and wisdom in acknowledging the beliefs handed down to us, and THEN assessing the situation based on how we personally make sense of it through our own actual experience. This is the inspirational shift from Believing to Knowing…and a more fulfilled way of being.