Senate Hearing on Integrative Medicine
by Jo delAmor
Integrative health, wellness, natural nutrition, disease prevention and common sense are working their way into Washington!
President Obama has asked the senate to craft a health care reform bill that includes prevention as a means to improve the health of Americans and reduce health care costs. As part of this endeavor, Senators Barbara Mikulski and Tom Harkin recently lead a Senate hearing to examine integrative care focusing on a pathway to a healthier nation. Integrative medicine experts, Dr. Mehemet Oz, Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Dean Ornish, and Dr. Andrew Weil were invited to share their knowledge and ideas for health care reform with the committee.
Senator Harkin stated that it is time to end the discrimination against alternative health care practices and to include them in an integrated approach for the prevention of diseases and the improvement of the health of Americans. He then invited the panel guests to share their testimonies.
All four of the doctors on the panel have extensive experience in integrative and/or functional medicine. Against cultural and governmental adversity they have each proven in their own right that patient centered care, involving diet and lifestyle improvement, is the most effective and least expensive way of preventing, treating and reversing the major chronic diseases that are plaguing this country. Dr. Andrew Weil shared high opinion that high tech expensive medical interventions are only appropriate for a very small minority of cases and yet they are currently being used on everyone that walks in the door.
The testimonies each focused on the importance of addressing the cause of disease rather than treating the symptoms. This basic medical paradigm shift was the prevailing theme throughout the hearing. Dr. Andrew Weil advocated for education to be a major part of health care reform, both for the public and for a new generation of health care providers. The need for health coaches and health advocates in our schools and communities was mentioned throughout the conversation. The importance of changing insurance reimbursement to reflect these values was advocated strongly by Dr. Dean Ornish.
Children's health, school food reform, health education and the need to offset junk food marketing to children was a major topic of discussion.
Concerns about federal food subsidies were also covered. While discussing the diabetes epidemic, Dr. Weil hit the nail right on the head. He stated that High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and refined soybean oil are the two major culprits in insulin resistant diabetes. He said that they are ubiquitous in manufactured food because they are so cheap and that the only reason they're so cheap is because they are subsidized by the government.
In response to this Senator Harkin shared that subsidies for "specialty crops" (a.k.a. fruits and vegetables) were included in the latest Farm Bill for the first time ever! (it may be a baby step but it's pointing in the right direction) He also shared that the budget for a program that brings free fresh fruits and vegetables into underprivileged was recently increased from 5 million dollars to I billion dollars. He said this program has been a great success at getting kids excited about eating foods they would otherwise have no access to.
Senator Mikulski expressed her enthusiasm for this opportunity for reform and the momentum behind it. She called it "the Obama effect," stating that the commitment that he and his wife share for a healthy lifestyle is a great inspiration and example for families and policy makers throughout the country.
Watch the video coverage to hear the whole story.
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