February 2010

Your Health

February is Heart Health month according to the American Heart Association (another great reason to wear red!). To honor all our attempts for good health, I wanted to bring to your attention an alarming situation that doesn’t seem to be making the main stream media but could cause you and those you love great harm.

Please do your own research and make your own decision, but weigh this out please:
Pfizer Pharmaceutical just got slapped with a 2.3 billion (yes that is a “b”) dollar criminal fine for marketing a drug called Bextra, which was denied FDA approval because it dramatically increased the chances of heart attacks and strokes. The FDA found that the benefits did not out weight the side effects, yet Pfizer proceeded with the drug and sold it as a pain killer instead, which is not what it was designed for. Bextra was found to double the risk of heart attack and stroke.

This is not the first time Pfizer has been found guilty of fraud. And please understand my position…not all drugs are evil. Drugs save lives. However, we must been keenly aware that pharmaceutical companies are businesses out to make a profit and are not looking out for your best interest or well being. That job is ours.

Along with the suit, Pfizer was caught with paying medical professionals cash and paybacks for writing prescriptions for their drugs. The more the doctors gave out, the more money “on the side” they made. So before you accept your doctor’s orders as “law,” do some homework of your own. It’s your body and health…take ownership! Ask a lot of questions so that you can make the right decision for your long-term health.

Your Life

I’m not against technology, but I remember telling a friend 20 some odd years ago to mark my words…that all this technology that was supposed to make us paperless and save our lives would only cause us pain and loneliness. I wish I had put money on those words, because here we are in 2010, and even though we have gadgets galore, we are lonely. Research is finding that our youth are not developing those deep, fulfilling and life-sustaining relationships that come from spending quality time together. Sure, college kids may have 2,000 Face book “friends,” but can they call someone in the middle of the night for help? In the midst of all the noise, is anyone really listening?

We aren’t paperless, and in many cases, we are actually slaves to technology rather than it serving and helping us. I love the line in He’s Just Not That Into You when Drew Barrymore gets dumped by her date…seven different ways through technology! It’s out of hand!

I’m not saying we should throw all of our Blackberries into the sea (although we had great success with tea at one point in our history), but we must manage and control them so that they aren’t controlling us…and creating a huge wall of loneliness.

I’m gravely concerned for our youth. Isolation, loneliness and hopeless feelings are not a good combination. And, it really is impacting us all. In my house, our cell phones are turned off every evening and weekend (unless we are traveling and have them for an emergency). This time is protected for relationship building. Getting a text from your kid isn’t the same as sharing a meal together face to face and talking. Protect those times!

Try setting some parameters with technology so that you determine how it best serves you. And with your extra time, reach out to someone…have coffee, go for a walk, share stories. At the end of all this madness, what will matter are not the twitters we sent to the masses but the moments we made with the few.

JUST FOR FUN
My mother taught me well.
…My mother taught me religion: “You better pray that comes out of the carpet!”
…My mother taught me logic: “Because I said so, that’s why!”
…My mother taught me irony: “Keep crying, and I’ll give you something to cry about!”
…My mother taught me stamina: “You’ll sit there until all that spinach is gone.”
© LORRAINE BOSSÉ-SMITH, Author/Speaker/Life Coach/Fitness Professional