On this day of May 4, 2013 “May
the 4th be with you”…
In the UK 10,000 families have been pushed to the edge of
poverty and homelessness by the austerity budget. And in the United States as
many as five million people have been cut off from the healthcare system since
the recession, because they simply can’t afford it.
Along that line of reasoning, David
Stuckler, who has a book coming out soon related to his research, makes some
rather astute comments on the hidden costs of the austerity/poverty/economic crisis,
and how humanity may react, especially if there is a feeling of hopelessness or
invalidation of their worth as human beings.
So far Europe’s leaders have been in denial about the
human cost of the austerity policies that have been pursued across Europe and
pursued in North America, with the sequester recently passed.”
“What we need to do is take into account the health
effects of economic policies. Had austerity been run like any other drug trial
it would’ve been discontinued because of its deadly side effects.”
Stuckler states in this op ed “US, European leaders in denial about human cost of austerity” which you can find at:’ http://rt.com/op-edge/austerity-death-health-stuckler-605/:
Austerity in healthcare
is a false economy as the immediate savings are outweighed by the huge spending
required to cover the damage to people’s heath in the future, Dr. David
Stuckler of Oxford University told RT.
Scientists at Oxford and
Stanford Universities have brought to light the negative effect austerity
measures have on health. They say spending cuts and mass lay-offs across Europe
and North America are fueling a spike in suicide and depression. The academics
behind the study believe the global financial crisis has caused as many as
10,000 to take their own lives.
Stuckler, who is leading the research into the impact of austerity economics on public health, says that health and education are the best channels to speed up the economic recovery, therefore cuts in the those sectors should be avoided.
Stuckler, who is leading the research into the impact of austerity economics on public health, says that health and education are the best channels to speed up the economic recovery, therefore cuts in the those sectors should be avoided.
RT: According to your theory
countries that did not pursue austerity cuts, like Iceland, should be doing
much better in health terms than those that did, is that the case?
DS: That’s a very good point because Iceland suffered the worst banking crisis in history – all of its biggest banks failed and its debt jumped to over 800 per cent of GDP. But its people voted against austerity and instead shored up support in its health system. No one lost access to healthcare and, in fact, this country, which was once the happiest society in the world, again in 2011 was ranked as the happiest society in the world.
DS: That’s a very good point because Iceland suffered the worst banking crisis in history – all of its biggest banks failed and its debt jumped to over 800 per cent of GDP. But its people voted against austerity and instead shored up support in its health system. No one lost access to healthcare and, in fact, this country, which was once the happiest society in the world, again in 2011 was ranked as the happiest society in the world.
Elsewhere in the news, from a
front page article in the local news yesterday, “Sad statistics: Baby boomers
lead rise in U.S. suicide rates”. It stated
that the most pronounced increases were seen among men in their 50s, a group in
which the suicide rates jumped by nearly 50%.
It goes on to say that there may e something related to their life
issues and choices that make a difference, but even more importantly that it
may stem…from the economic downturn over the past decade. Historically suicide rates rise during times
of financial stress and economic setbacks.
Aside from the other factors of the need to cope with the stress of
caring for aging parents and still providing financial support to adult
children, the boomers had great expectations of what their lives might look
like, but things did not work out that way for them.
So just exactly what is going on
here?
The missing element in my opinion: NUTRITION
What is missing from these news
items, is that the nutritional quality of the food being consumed today is
sadly lacking in the necessary and required nutrients to sustain and maintain
not only cellular/physical health, but mental and emotional health as well. We are also being exposed to toxic chemicals
in the air, food and water, and this places a huge burden to the immune system
and has an cost to the body in being unable to maintain healthy, positive
emotions and mental outlook. Added to
that, the cost of food is increasing (in spite of the spin from the government
that there is “very little inflation”) If you are paying attention when going
to buy food/groceries, it is very apparent that this is simply untrue.
It has been said that the most
obvious difference between poverty and the upper middle class is the quality of
the food eaten.
I agree, and would add a personal
observation…
With the amount of recent
attention placed on GMO foods, obesity, and general malaise in the populace, it
appears that there could be a further correlation between the increased suicide
rates and the quality of nutrition.
Let me explain. Recently, it became very clear to me that I
was “cutting corners” with my own nutrition.
I did not want to consume any food containing GMOs, and many things that
were available to me in the “standard” grocery store produce section, just did
not seem to have any viable life force remaining in them, and the Organic
section items were so expensive, mostly, they just did not fit into my food
budget…let alone any organic, grass fed, free range meat or poultry products…
these were so far away from what I could afford to spend, I just stopped
looking at them. I would read labels and
anything that I was unsure of as I would just pass by.
When I decided I was going to
eliminate gluten and the non organic and GMO foods from my diet, I had an organic garden, several producing
fruit trees and a few chickens that gave me more eggs than I could eat, so I
stopped spending money at the grocery
store for anything other than organic coffee, local honey, and organic dairy
products that were produced from cows not given the rBGH (rBST) growth hormone.
The weather was very unsettled for
a couple of years, and this added the pestilence factor, fleas and mange for my
poor dog, fleas for the cats, and in my house and carpets…To add to the mix,
the animals were so uncomfortable that their distress was keeping me awake more
of the night than I was sleeping. I did not
want to use toxic substances to get rid of the pests, so I resorted to every
natural remedy I could find, and each one would provide some relief – for a
time, but then the little “buggars” would return and it was back to square
one. I was making my own pet foods from
veggies from my garden and raw meats, eggs from the chickens, but as time
progressed, even that was more costly than I could manage, so I would buy the best
pet foods I could afford, grain free and with mainly venison, turkey, chicken
and/or lamb. Finally, I got a book from a naturopathic veterinarian on feeding
raw meat to dogs, that it is their natural diet and what their bodies are
designed for, began this protocol with my dog and saw immediate positive results. Seeing how important diet was for my animals,
yet my own diet being marginal at best was a wake-up call.
I tried to eat mostly my own
garden/orchard produced foods and they were really good and enjoyable. This was
fine for a time, until, due to a couple of “unproductive” garden and orchard
years due to weather and encroaching fir trees and gophers my garden basically
failed, but I just could not make myself purchase the produce at the grocery
store, (it did not look alive) and due to health concerns was not physically
able to walk around and buy produce from the local farmers market. The chickens began to die off of old age, and
with a move planned, it was not the time to start a new batch of chicks so
eventually the eggs stopped coming, now I only have one hen left and she has
stopped laying eggs. Little by little I
would cut out this or that because it was not coming out of the garden or I did
not want to buy it from the store, and eventually I began to actually lose
interest in eating much of anything. Then other financial issues came up,
and slowly I began limiting what I was consuming and was attempting to live on
nutritional supplements, coffee with honey and organic half & half and
cheese as my daily diet…with an occasional meal of rice and garlic or beans and
cheese, and for the big treat with added organic butter or sour cream…sometimes
in the spring asparagus or some broccoli if it looked edible. I was bored with eating, and did not want to
be trying new things, mainly because of concerns over “GMO’s, irradiated
produce, toxic chemicals in the food, gluten, etc., etc., etc.” to say nothing
of the costs… so the result was depression, lack of energy and malaise.
The realization hit, the mega-
realization finally came …It is no wonder that my body is not feeling energetic,
and especially not getting any healthier.
My nutrition, although relatively clean did not have enough of what my
cells needed to make new healthy cells, their only source of building materials
was to try to salvage what they could from those dying, diseased or aging cells
that were being replaced and the poor nutrition I was getting to make new
cells, but certainly not…the optimum that my body needed to create new
perfectly balanced cells. And as for the
mineral content of my food, it was practically nonexistent…
I determined I need to feed
myself better… so began eating more greens, mostly organic salads with grated
carrots and beets, and of course salad dressing… only to discover that my two
favorite salad dressings included soybean oil… so they are no longer an option,
as most of the soybeans being grown are GMO, so now it is make my own dressings…
which I can do, but was being lazy. Now
I am more carefully reading the labels, even though this means I have to pull
out my reading glasses in the store to check the ingredients of EVERYTHING!!!
Anything questionable is put back, which makes for a lot more attention and
time, but necessary for me at least. I am going to the local health food stores
more, but of course their products cost more than conventional stores. I even bought a cookbook for making gluten
free breads – gathering the ingredients required is costly, but the freedom to
be able to have a “bread” treat on occasion is a big plus. I
started consuming liquid vitamins in a juice form (more available to be
utilized and easier to assimilate) another added cost, but am dropping some of
the vitamins in pill form as a compensation, and that have muscle tested as no
longer being required.
Someone I was in communication
with mentioned the problem of soil depletion of mineral content, of which I was
well aware, but this person also was talking about trace minerals and a source
to obtain them, These have 72 trace minerals including all of the ones we all
are familiar with, plus all of these other ones that are extremely difficult to
obtain in our foods. I bought some as
quickly as I could find them, started taking them daily, and noticed a
difference within a week.
The long and short of this is,
that I am slowly beginning to see some results, feeling more positive, a little
more energetic and healthier, just with
an upgrade to my diet (The price is probably 3 to 4 times higher than before,
but worth it.)
As people have fewer financial
resources, and begin to cut back on things that are seemingly less essential,
the one thing that in my opinion from my own personal experience is the most
critical to keep is the quality of your nutrition.
Credit for cartoon to Hilary B.Price from a greeting card... She figured it out and expresses it very well! Click on the graphic to enlarge.
Bonn Appétit and May the 4th
be with you!!!
Til next time.
Merlyn
