On Good Health

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ON GOOD HEALTH
Over the years, there have been huge advances in what can be done for sick people. There are many terrific new medications, new diagnostic tests, great advances in surgery and also an enormous amount of proven information on how an individual remains healthy. By nature, people want to live long and well. Indeed, in the U.S. that is happening. The average life expectancy in 1900 was 47 years. Today, it is 76 years and rapidly increasing. Not only are people living longer, they are living better. As a percentage of the population, fewer people today are disabled and in nursing homes, while most people reaching the age of 80 remain active and independent.
What accounts for these good facts? Well, tremendous improvements in public health is one answer. Typhoid, smallpox, yellow fever and widespread tuberculosis are all past history. Adult Americans are smoking less. We generally are probably eating better, although obesity is an increasing public health problem. Our cholesterol levels are dramatically improved compared to 30 years ago. Then a value of 250-270 mg% was considered normal and acceptable. Not now! Alcohol abuse and its liver and brain ravages are down. Adults exercise more. Twenty-five years ago, only the Olympian ran the marathon. Now almost every city has one and 95% of the runners are amateur athletes, people just out for exercise, fun and a good time. Modern medicine also now provides effective prevention for and treatment of all sorts of problems which previously were untreatable. Just to mention a few, there are hypertension, peptic ulcers, coronary artery disease and many forms of cancer.
Having said all these things, many people have an inborn desire, almost an instinct, to combine modern medicine with their own ideas and actions to promote their good health. They accept what modern medicine has to offer but want to take out their own personal good health insurance, often by taking a mix of vitamins, minerals, herbs and supplements. I have been frequently asked about these items. Usually, patients take them without asking advice from anyone except a friend, a TV ad or a sales person at a nutrition store.
This information is designed to provide some insight into that side of health that physicians generally don't spend much time on, all of the vitamin, mineral, and herb supplements to which the media and our friends expose us. Everyone assumes they have some benefits, although if pressed, we cannot be very specific about just what they exactly are. So, I would like to take you through some background so that the vitamin-mineral-herb supplement business can be put in context. For those who want to take supplements of any type, it is worthwhile to have an understanding of the first two topics so you can fit the supplements you take into your overall health program. You may, of course, click to any section below or take them in sequence. Let's begin.

The Scientific Method
The Vitamin-Mineral-Herb Mania, Quackery and the FDA

Then I will get to specifics.

Losing Weight, Healthy Eating and Fiber
The Jackson Fiber Cocktail
Vitamins
Minerals
Herbs
Aspirin, Hormones and Others

Finally, I will outline my own personal recommendations for good health and long life. I modestly call it

The Jackson Fountain of Youth

A Word of Caution on the Internet
As all web surfers know, anyone can say or put anything on it. It can be true, partly true or an outright lie. This is true in the health field as in others. So, a surfer needs to be smart enough to look at the credentials and motive of the person or outfit behind the information. Generally, government, university medical centers, and non-profit and professional organizations can be relied on to tell it like it is in the health care field. Their credibility is at stake. For others, you should always look at the motive for placing the information and especially who wrote the information. I have written this entire essay "On Good Health". Indeed, I have written virtually all the materials in the Patient Education section. Registered dietitians were used for help on the diets, and a registered pharmacist for the drug information. Otherwise, it is entirely my doing. The motive is threefold. First, patients who are knowledgeable about their disorder and treatment do better. Secondly, extensive patient education is good for our practice. Satisfied patients are the best advertising there is. Finally, there is the ego factor. Writing something about which I know a lot for the entire world wide web is an extreme ego trip. This reason far exceeds the fact that I received nothing for it and that it cost a bit to do. Leaving something of value behind for my community and the world at large is not a bad legacy.
There is so much bad, misleading and false information on the Internet that it may be difficult to know fact from fiction. The web links below will provide correct answers to much of the gobbledygook, mysterious organizations, profiteering doctors and outright health lies that are placed on the web every day. The information you get there as well as here on my own site is based on the best medical evidence and science that is available on each topic.
Frank W. Jackson MD
© 1998 fwj
updated 8/2006
fwj@comcast.net

Health Essays: On Good Health | Jackson Fiber Cocktail | Jackson Fountain of Youth
Gastroenterology: Patient Education | Diseases/Disorders | Procedures | Diets | Drugs | Endoscopy Images | Links

		Home \| Jackson Siegelbaum Gastro \| Patient Education

		ON GOOD HEALTH Over the years, there have been huge advances in what can be done for sick people. There are many terrific new medications, new diagnostic tests, great advances in surgery and also an enormous amount of proven information on how an individual remains healthy. By nature, people want to live long and well. Indeed, in the U.S. that is happening. The average life expectancy in 1900 was 47 years. Today, it is 76 years and rapidly increasing. Not only are people living longer, they are living better. As a percentage of the population, fewer people today are disabled and in nursing homes, while most people reaching the age of 80 remain active and independent. What accounts for these good facts? Well, tremendous improvements in public health is one answer. Typhoid, smallpox, yellow fever and widespread tuberculosis are all past history. Adult Americans are smoking less. We generally are probably eating better, although obesity is an increasing public health problem. Our cholesterol levels are dramatically improved compared to 30 years ago. Then a value of 250-270 mg% was considered normal and acceptable. Not now! Alcohol abuse and its liver and brain ravages are down. Adults exercise more. Twenty-five years ago, only the Olympian ran the marathon. Now almost every city has one and 95% of the runners are amateur athletes, people just out for exercise, fun and a good time. Modern medicine also now provides effective prevention for and treatment of all sorts of problems which previously were untreatable. Just to mention a few, there are hypertension, peptic ulcers, coronary artery disease and many forms of cancer. Having said all these things, many people have an inborn desire, almost an instinct, to combine modern medicine with their own ideas and actions to promote their good health. They accept what modern medicine has to offer but want to take out their own personal good health insurance, often by taking a mix of vitamins, minerals, herbs and supplements. I have been frequently asked about these items. Usually, patients take them without asking advice from anyone except a friend, a TV ad or a sales person at a nutrition store. This information is designed to provide some insight into that side of health that physicians generally don't spend much time on, all of the vitamin, mineral, and herb supplements to which the media and our friends expose us. Everyone assumes they have some benefits, although if pressed, we cannot be very specific about just what they exactly are. So, I would like to take you through some background so that the vitamin-mineral-herb supplement business can be put in context. For those who want to take supplements of any type, it is worthwhile to have an understanding of the first two topics so you can fit the supplements you take into your overall health program. You may, of course, click to any section below or take them in sequence. Let's begin. The Scientific Method The Vitamin-Mineral-Herb Mania, Quackery and the FDA Then I will get to specifics. Losing Weight, Healthy Eating and Fiber The Jackson Fiber Cocktail Vitamins Minerals Herbs Aspirin, Hormones and Others Finally, I will outline my own personal recommendations for good health and long life. I modestly call it The Jackson Fountain of Youth A Word of Caution on the Internet As all web surfers know, anyone can say or put anything on it. It can be true, partly true or an outright lie. This is true in the health field as in others. So, a surfer needs to be smart enough to look at the credentials and motive of the person or outfit behind the information. Generally, government, university medical centers, and non-profit and professional organizations can be relied on to tell it like it is in the health care field. Their credibility is at stake. For others, you should always look at the motive for placing the information and especially who wrote the information. I have written this entire essay "On Good Health". Indeed, I have written virtually all the materials in the Patient Education section. Registered dietitians were used for help on the diets, and a registered pharmacist for the drug information. Otherwise, it is entirely my doing. The motive is threefold. First, patients who are knowledgeable about their disorder and treatment do better. Secondly, extensive patient education is good for our practice. Satisfied patients are the best advertising there is. Finally, there is the ego factor. Writing something about which I know a lot for the entire world wide web is an extreme ego trip. This reason far exceeds the fact that I received nothing for it and that it cost a bit to do. Leaving something of value behind for my community and the world at large is not a bad legacy. There is so much bad, misleading and false information on the Internet that it may be difficult to know fact from fiction. The web links below will provide correct answers to much of the gobbledygook, mysterious organizations, profiteering doctors and outright health lies that are placed on the web every day. The information you get there as well as here on my own site is based on the best medical evidence and science that is available on each topic. Frank W. Jackson MD © 1998 fwj updated 8/2006 fwj@comcast.net
		Health Essays: On Good Health \| Jackson Fiber Cocktail \| Jackson Fountain of Youth Gastroenterology: Patient Education \| Diseases/Disorders \| Procedures \| Diets \| Drugs \| Endoscopy Images \| Links