The Cranky: Health Edition

I’m a serious overconsumer of health news, partially because I’m actually interested, but mostly because of the car-wreck-y goodness of any discussions of disease, health, health care, insurance, and so on.  Nothing brings out the irrationality like health/health care discussions because the argument isn’t abstract: we’re all a bit afraid that we’ll die sooner than we might if the thing were optimized.  The fact that it’s driving us all bankrupt doesn’t help, of course.

Anyway, since Kevin, M.D. is kind enough to host this wonderful collection of medical feeds, I’ve got to give in to my compulsion to go scan through them every now and again.  Good stuff culled from the latest look:

*Amazing research into the genetic basis for seven common diseases.  Sadly, the most surprising part about the article (well, other than that the research is British, everybody knows that the fucking commie British don’t have medical researchers) is that the NYT actually missed the opportunity to point out that the hypertension and the diabetes are still your fault, you fat slob.  Except that they aren’t, necessarily, but just try telling the media that.  Fuckers.

*Ground beef, in a tube?  Bad idea.

*Yet another article good for inducing mommy-guilt.  *sigh*

*Title of the Day: With An Alli Like This, Who Needs Enemas?

*Doh.

*More evidence that Mitt Romney lives in a world all his own.  I’d add that it’s a bit disingenuous to call making it illegal not to carry insurance “covering everybody” even if it did.  Whether or not you like any of the Democrats’ plans, Mitt’s is certainly not some magical solution to all of the insurance ills of the world, at least not in its current form, and I can’t see how it ever could be, quite honestly.  (I will admit to being intrigued by all the extra plans that are being offered here now, though I’m holding off really looking at them until after the final vote on what has to be included.  Because they’re selling the plans, but there are a couple of things that are still up in the air, so far as I know, like whether drug coverage will be compulsory.  The thing that makes me nuts about this is that the government telling the insurance companies what they have to sell and the consumers what they have to buy is not, in any way, a free-market solution and I’m sick of hearing that it is.  Buy a dictionary, blogosphere.) (Also, this sort of thing is why Romney doesn’t have an icicle’s chance in Arizona.  Plus he has this effect on a lot of people.  Including me.)

*You know what the biggest problem with this is?  The definition of “healthy” is by no means settled, consistent, or the same for every individual.  And if you define “healthy” as “produces a ‘normal’ weight individual,” then by definition the overweight can’t be healthy.  If you’re defining “healthy” as “follows the USDA Food Pyramid,” then you’re trying to kill SarahK and I just won’t stand for that.  So until somebody can talk sense about what “healthy” is, lay off, mmmmkay?

1. I won’t stand for it either! And awww, thanks!

   And it’s not just me, it’s roughly 1% of Americans. But the docs and Wonder Bread and the pharmaceutical companies don’t like to tell you that, because there’s no drug they can push for me.

   Posted by sarahk  on  06/08  at  02:35 PM  from  south of hell

2. Amen to that last!

   Posted by caltechgirl  on  06/08  at  03:36 PM  from 

3. It makes me happy that people don’t want me dead.

   Posted by sarahk  on  06/09  at  09:52 AM  from  south of hell
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