Miscellaneous, Philosophy
A Different Kind of Sickness
It’s a despicable human who preys on people to defraud them of money. What kind of sickness drives a person to such lows? It’s a sad fact that every year, millions of seniors fall victim to fraud. They are prime targets because they tend be trusting, have savings and good credit, and struggle to identify scoundrels posing as government agencies, tech support, repair people, or even family members. Another tragic group of victims are the thousands of international students seeking an honest education abroad. Perpetrators raise false alarms about their visas or take money for fake scholarship applications and non-existent accommodations. What a horrible opening experience for the very people the world needs as global ambassadors. What drives a person to have no...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Cancer, Diabetes, Infection, Medicine, Philosophy
The Original Medicine of Stingless Bees
The American poet Emily Dickinson understood the profound gifts of nature. She wrote, “The lovely flowers embarrass me, They make me regret I am not a bee –” If bees could speak, they might add, “Let me do my work, so that you may live.” Bees are vital pollinators, ensuring the success of a wide variety of the world’s most nutritious agricultural crops grown for human consumption. Most people associate bees with painful stings and the tasty product of the Western honeybee. Being “busy as a bee” is a homage to the industrious nature of this pollinating insect that collects nectar in a dozen or more foraging trips each day. A small percentage of people who are stung by a bee or other insect...Read More
Philosophy
Québec Set to Assist Alzheimer’s Patients
How ironic that Québec, the most Roman Catholic province in Canada, is proposing progressive legislation for Alzheimer’s patients. It’s time for other Canadian provinces and American states to show similar humanity. Québec’s Health Minister, Christian Dubé, has tabled Bill 38 that would allow patients with severe Alzheimer’s disease to receive an assisted death by allowing written consent to be given before they are mentally and physically incapable of doing so. Under the proposed rules, a doctor would have to be certain that the patient was requesting death without pressure from any other people. Moreover, patients would be able to reverse this request at any time including at the time of the procedure. To provide extra precaution, the patient must choose a trusted third party...Read More
Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Philosophy
Bend So You Don’t Break
Getting older takes a toll. Weakening bones, increasing aches and pains, and failing balance, flexibility and strength can make the body feel like worn-out baggage. But there’s a curious truth in an ancient Hindu text that states, “Everyone else is conquered by the body, but the body is conquered by yogis.” For centuries, yoga has been practiced by people all over the world for religious, spiritual rehabilitation or fitness reasons. The older set may see the neighbourhood yoga studio as a place for the young and nimble, but there is ample evidence that aging seniors benefit physically and mentally from instruction in the “sun salutation”, “tree pose”, or amusingly named positions like the “chair pigeon” or “cat-cow pose”. Yoga combines movement (asana)...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Pain, Philosophy
Common Sense in End-of-Life Choices
Few want to think about it. But there are choices to make about death. Doing nothing is one option. Life will, inevitably, one way or another, come to an end. But making common sense decisions about personal preferences for end-of-life should not be taboo or disallowed. And politicians should get out of the way. In Canada, the would-be “just society”, the vast majority of citizens, about 80%, have repeatedly affirmed support for people who wish it to have the option of medical assistance in dying. In the U.S., over the past decade, polls have ranged from 55-75% in support. But why are there still restrictions on who is eligible? In the U.S., there is a hodgepodge legislation, as only some states have...Read More
Miscellaneous, Philosophy
Decarbonizing Healthcare
Last week we wrote about the environmental disaster of plastics choking the world’s oceans and the consequences for human health through the food chain. This week let’s look through a different lens at another environmental disaster of our own making – the carbon footprint of healthcare itself. Here’s something you may not know. If the global healthcare sector were a country, it would be the fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitter! A report from Health Care Without Harm calculated that the environmental impact of healthcare amounts to 4.4% of global net emissions – the equivalent of 514 coal-fired power plants. So far, North Americans are among the main culprits. By way of example, the report notes, “The United States health sector, the world’s number one...Read More
Miscellaneous, Philosophy
Plastic Soup a Disastrous Meal
Why is humankind so bent on destruction? Why so apathetic in the face of annihilating warfare, repeated massive oil spills and choking urban smog? Equally awful is the “Plastic Soup” in our oceans. A picture of a Hawaiian beach reveals the folly of humans. It shows a huge amount of plastic washed ashore – an insult to a beautiful beach. Such ocean garbage is a serious hazard for sea life. Don’t believe the rest us are immune to this environmental disaster. Our lives, too, depend on our oceans. Small planktonic organisms, through photosynthesis, transform carbon in air and seawater into organic compounds, an essential element of Earth's carbon cycle. They generate about half the atmosphere's oxygen, as much per year as all...Read More
Miscellaneous, Pediatrics, Philosophy
How Much Longer Can Parents Take It?
Remember the movie, “Network”? Howard Beale, the TV news anchor, encouraged viewers to go their windows and yell out, “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” How many parents feel that way about school closings? Uncertainty about openings and closings is bad enough. But now schools face severe staffing shortages. Entire classes may be disrupted because teachers are falling sick or required to isolate. Substitute teachers are nothing new, but the scale of the problem is concerning. Just as hospitals can shut down due to insufficient workers, so too can schools. School boards are scrambling to figure out what options they can offer students for online learning. Some offer synchronous learning (in real-time). Others offer asynchronous learning...Read More
Gynecology, Pediatrics, Philosophy, Surgery
The Changing Nature of Birth
We said goodbye to a beloved 17-year-old dog this week. She had rapidly lost quality of life. As sad as it was, few would have any qualms whatsoever with the vet’s provision of humane, painless, and sensible euthanasia. But what’s going on with medical interventions at the great miracle of birth? It’s no secret that humans commonly push the boundaries of scientific possibility – for better or for worse. Traditionally, interruptions in the natural birthing process have been overwhelmingly in the “for better” category. Caesarean sections may not have been a desirable option for women prior to the advent of modern surgical techniques – uterine suturing, for example – not to mention anesthesia. But in the modern era, there can be no...Read More
Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Philosophy
The Ultimate Disease: Too Many Rats in a Cage
What catastrophic event could end all lives on this small planet? Some say nuclear war; others, another pandemic worse than the current one that’s caused over 700,000 deaths just in North America. Still others, the failure to tackle the problem of climate change. But here’s a surprise. The ultimate disease is a population time bomb that keeps ticking every second of the day – and we all ignore it. It took 123 years for the human population to grow from one to two billion people. Then, only 40 years to reach six billion, and now the population is 7.8 billion. This year, 82 million people will be added to an already packed planet. It’s like adding another city the size of...Read More
Philosophy
Finding Truth in Science is a Moving Target
Having a good debate about matters of your health is not a bad thing. As has been said, “It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.” But recently, having a difference of opinion has become too closely associated with the polarized politics that is endemic in many countries. People have lost their sensibilities amid noisy pundits arguing nonsense about facts and fake news. So if you do not know who to turn to for the “truth”, you are not alone. And maybe you are chasing in the wrong direction. In the old days, there were fewer authorities holding credible and accessible medical knowledge. Research was bound in books, and it was the...Read More
Lifestyle, Philosophy
Good Health Includes Healthy Financials
Vaccines are now reaching the wider community, and Spring is near. As we emerge from isolation, there are predictions for the “Roaring 20s” ahead. But is this a good time for an assessment of your financial health? If you reach your 90s and are in good health, congratulate yourself. You are among the fortunate. In fact, more and more North Americans are living longer. In Canada, between 1921 and 2011, average life expectancy at birth increased from 57.1 years to 81.7 years, a gain of nearly two and a half decades. In the U.S., the Population Reference Bureau reports that the number of Americans ages 65 and older will more than double from 46 million today to over 98 million by 2060,...Read More
Miscellaneous, Neurology, Philosophy, Psychiatry
Stay with the happy people
This year, the holidays aren’t what they should be. At least the vaccine’s roll-out brings anticipation that 2021 will see a return to normal. Until then, what would be our health advice to cooped up readers in this unusual holiday season? Here are a few suggestions: Say hello. Connecting with extended family by phone is our best option for now. It’s a great time to reach out to old friends too. Behavioural scientists at the University of Chicago and UC Berkeley report we underestimate the positive impact of connecting with others for both our own and others' well-being. Their research shows that we tend to abhor a conversation with a perfect stranger until we have it. So when the pandemic subsides,...Read More
Philosophy
Why Do Health Inequities Persist?
There’s an old adage that “when white folks catch a cold, black folks get pneumonia.” The COVID-19 epidemic has made it deadly clear. Throughout North America, wherever data is tracked, people of African heritage have higher coronavirus infection rates, higher death rates of COVID-19, and are carrying an inequitable burden of many other diseases to boot. In 1984, the US Department of Health and Human Services commissioned the Heckler Report, a landmark study of racial and ethnic minority health. Heckler declared the lack of progress on racial injustice and health care was an “affront to our ideals and to the genius of American medicine.” Since then, very little has changed. For instance, research studies to this day still identify Black populations as...Read More
Philosophy
What Needs to Change for Society’s Health?
This week, the second of a two-part column. Last week W. Gifford-Jones shared his perspective on race relations and health and this week are the view of his daughter, Diana Gifford-Jones. Last week’s column focused on how racial and gender inequities can impact medical access, diagnosis, treatment and follow up – even when the health professional involved is deliberately intending to offer high quality care equally to every patient. Implicit bias, built on unconscious racial and gender judgments, continue to shape the medical care people receive. But it is not just the healthcare system that determines our health. It is every other aspect of society as well. Where we live. Where we work. How much we earn. How much our food costs. ...Read More
Philosophy
Does Your Doctor Have Harmful Bias?
This week, the first of a two-part column – this week from W. Gifford-Jones and next week from Diana Gifford-Jones – offering our perspectives on race relations and health. Racial inequities have been a sore on society for as long as I remember. During my youth, racism was endemic, systematic and blatant. Two occasions stand out from my time at Harvard Medical School, where I had two black classmates. One lived in Atlanta, and when planning a road trip to Florida, I said I’d drop by to see him. He replied, “Don’t do it. This will cause trouble for me.” On another occasion, travelling by train to Boston, I asked a black student to join me for lunch. He replied, “I’m...Read More
Diabetes, Obesity, Philosophy
Who’s Fighting the Obesity and Diabetes Pandemics?
Day after day, health officials stress that the best way to fight the coronavirus is by staying home, keeping our distance from others, and practicing good hygiene. But human isolation is crippling the world’s economy. So, does this approach make sense when other devastating pandemics have been raging for years and killing more people? The number of coronavirus deaths is changing daily. To date, 200,000 people have died worldwide, over 52,000 in the U.S, and over 2,300 in Canada. But the World Health Organization reports that obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, killing 2.8 million people annually, or 7,671 people per day. Diabetes and high blood glucose annually kill 3.8 million people worldwide, or 10,411 per day. So, what is the difference? The...Read More
Pain, Philosophy, Vitamins
Why Are Families So Polite When Loved Ones Are Suffering?
Robert Burns, the Scottish poet, was right when he wrote, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” I recently planned to attend a recent health meeting in Vancouver, traveling there by train. But the trip ended abruptly when protesters blocked the rail lines. What is the relevance, you might ask? I’ve given considerable thought to what happened. To me, it is a matter of societal complacency – and it is affecting our health. So, here’s a question for readers. Why are family members so damn polite and so silent when they see loved ones suffering? Why do medical support organizations react the same way? And, why do civilians continue to be so passive when elected politicians delay and...Read More
Infection, Philosophy, Vitamins
More Research Is Killing COVID-19 Victims
Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, wrote “There is a stupid corner in the brain of every wise man.” The best current example is the appalling lack of action by the Chinese government to fight COVID-19 with high doses of vitamin c – both as a clinical treatment for those who are infected and as a preventative measure to help halt the virus. I applaud the doctor in a Wuhan hospital who announced the start of a randomized, triple-blind clinical trial to assess the effectiveness of 12-24 grams/day of intravenous vitamin C (IVC). But the results won’t be known for months. Meantime, people die needlessly. Why do Chinese health authorities not know that we’ve already got enough research? Why does the WHO, with its...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Cancer, Miscellaneous, Pain, Philosophy
The Saga Continues: Rotten Law, Rotten Politicians, and Rotten Eggs
How long will patients, those dying in pain, have to endure the political nonsense surrounding the law, Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID)? The government has announced it will conduct yet another survey to determine if Canadians want to modify its incomplete law. Why another survey, another expense? The current MAID law has horrendous and painful consequences. For instance, a signed “Advanced Directive” of a patient diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or, another type of dementia, has no bearing once a patient has lost capacity to give consent. It’s lunacy to expect a patient to reconfirm consent when their brain is comatose, they’re incontinent of urine and feces, and living in diapers. Why won’t MPs and Senators realize this is unspeakable cruelty to...Read More
Lifestyle, Medicine, Miscellaneous, Philosophy
Why It’s Important to Sign Up at docgiff.com
What do newspaper editors do if they don’t agree with what you write? They fire you. I’ve annoyed some editors by expressing an opinion on controversial subjects. Or by stressing that natural remedies can be safer, less expensive, and more effective, than synthetic drugs. Today, drugs kill 100,000 North Americans every year and are responsible for sending hundreds of thousands to emergency departments because of adverse drug interactions. I have often said that in the next life I want to own all the newspapers, as freedom of the written word is only enjoyed by those who control the media. But I’m still alive on this planet and have been fired, basically for fighting the establishment. So editorial truth is under attack. Newspapers,...Read More
Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Philosophy, Surgery
The Greatest Gift to Give at Any Time of the Year
This holiday season there will be joy, intimacy, and affection around many family dinner tables. But for some families it will be a difficult time with little laughter. They know that next year a family member may be missing. They are waiting for the donation of a kidney, heart or other vital organ to keep a loved one alive. But it may not arrive in time. So here’s a story of compassion from a man who gave the ultimate gift to a perfect stranger. I recently came across an article written by Naazneen Karmali, Asia Wealth Editor and India Editor for Forbes Asia. She relates the story of a wealthy Indian tycoon, Kochouseph Chittilappilly. He acknowledged that, as his 60th birthday...Read More
Dental, Nutrition, Pediatrics, Philosophy
Halloween Should Scare Up a Big Boooo!
If you are looking for a holiday tradition that has lost any semblance of common sense, look no further than Halloween. Today, it has few redeeming qualities. Let’s focus on only the health issues associated with children consuming ridiculous quantities of junk. Halloween candy comprises the lowest quality food on the market – cheap, sugary chocolate bars, chewy treats, hard candies, salty chips, soft drinks, and who knows what else – all questionably packaged, and gleefully handed out to unsuspecting youngsters as if it were the best thing on Earth. What a crock! Mary Poppins sang that a “spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down”, but that should be a rare occasion. Today, I see children spooning far more than that...Read More
Philosophy
Gun Response Proves Politicians Have the Wrong Answer
A recent column argued that gun deaths in North America could only be stopped by following Singapore’s strict gun laws and severe penalties. This resulted in many responses now posted at docgiff.com/reader-mail-on-the-rule-of-law. They reveal an utter loathing by the public of politicians who are too weak-kneed to tackle this cancerous social problem that’s undermining society’s well-being. From P.P., “My little city of 100,000 has now become the most criminal and dangerous city in Canada in the last few years. It’s no longer the same city I loved. I plan on moving.” This sad reaction was echoed by several people who have become afraid of being in large public places. D.O. replies, “Finally someone talks about the impact of gun violence on one’s...Read More
Pain, Philosophy
Rotten Law, Rotten Politicians, Rotten Eggs
Months ago, I wrote a bracelet could be worn by those opposed to medical assistance in dying (MAID). The bracelet would protect those individuals, and the law’s restrictive, now seemingly unconstitutional, conditions could be relaxed for those who want access to MAID. I sent a letter and the column to every Member of Parliament (MP) and Senator in Canada urging a rewrite of the law. I’ve delayed writing another column on this topic so our elected and appointed leaders could respond. So what happened? First, there was an avalanche of mail from readers in response to my initial column. From JR – It’s a brilliant solution to a difficult problem. Congratulations for your efforts to ensure human rights for all. SW says – Your...Read More
