Taming The Health Care Monster...One Bite at a Time Complex Problem -- Simple Solution - Startling Benefits Beyond Health Care by Jim Hicks We constantly hear about our health care mess and the extremely complex & expensive process of managing disease.  What about the process of promoting health instead?  We almost never hear about the proven power of superior nutrition to promote vibrant health and reduce health care costs -- while simultaneously benefiting the world in many other ways.  With a new president promising change, now would be a great time to put some serious energy behind this proven solution to an enormous problem.   We can begin to tame the health care monster simply by moving toward a plant-based diet; all we need is LEADERSHIP.  Let's be clear; we're not talking vegetarian here.  We're talking about moving steadily in the direction of getting most of our calories from whole plant foods.  What does that accomplish?  We know from a great many sources, including John Robbins' well-researched classic, Diet for a New America, that eating  mostly whole plant foods promotes vibrant health and lowers the cost of health care -- while positively impacting environmental things like global warming, energy consumption, forest preservation, and water supply. Moreover, it enables us to tackle world hunger by feeding 20 times more people on the same acreage. We learned from The China Study by Cornell's T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., about the wealth of published research showing that many chronic killers like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease are the result of poor nutrition…not poor genes, bad luck or aging. So why doesn't mainstream medicine take nutrition seriously?  There's no simple answer; the “system” that controls health care and our food supply is comprised of science, government, medicine, industry and media. Lots of money and politics are involved, making change difficult (but possible), given that the solution is so remarkably simple and the potential results so compelling. Our new president can launch this initiative by selecting a single prominent leader, a well-known visionary with the positive reputation of a Warren Buffett.  After a brief education period, he/she invites ten prominent corporate leaders to a two-day conference, where a team of very creditable experts gives them a crash course in the remarkable power of superior nutrition…along with how wonderful it can taste when our best chefs join the process. When greatly respected national leaders like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates learn the truth about nutrition and start influencing government, media and medicine to take notice; amazing things can happen.  And the world will follow our lead as we begin to promote superior nutrition instead of cheeseburgers and KFC. Soon, this initiative will touch hundreds of millions of people throughout the world. When all those people simply start “eating more plants,” big things start to happen: 1.  Immediate health improvement for individuals and lower cost of health care for them and their employers.  In cultures that consume mostly plant-based foods; chronic disease & obesity are almost non-existent.  Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr., M.D., led a Cleveland Clinic study proving that heart disease is nearly 100% reversible with a simple change in diet. There are similar examples for many other diseases that are driving our health care costs to astronomical levels. 2.  Among a host of environmental benefits, more whole plants in our diet lead to less global warming and more abundant water.  A 2006 U.N. Study found that raising livestock causes 30% more global warming than ALL of transportation combined.  Also, the water required to produce just ten pounds of steak is enough to sustain a family of four for a full year. 3.  By growing more plant foods for humans (instead of for animals), we can provide relief for millions of starving people in the world.   With Mr. Obama about to take office, let's challenge him to get serious about delivering some of that “promised change” by shifting our primary health care emphasis to the promotion of health instead of the management of disease.  Certainly, the unsustainable problems that we face in health care are among his top five priorities.  By providing the leadership to address this complex issue with simple solutions, he and a few Warren Buffetts can accomplish some amazing things (well beyond health care) for the entire world. ******************************************* Submitted To:  Op-Ed Department -- The Washington Post From: James M. Hicks -- james@harmonyearth.net   860-535-2212 November 8, 2008 Click Here for Google Project that led to writing this Op-Ed piece.