What the Healthcare?

By now you have all heard of the murder of the CEO of United Health Group. The rumors speculated that the shooter's mother was turned down for certain medical needs. Neither the shooter nor his mother had coverage with this company. The truth is that the shooter targeted UHG because they are the largest "healthcare" insurance company in the U.S. The shooter alleges in his "manifesto" that they represent corporate greed, and the CEO was targeted as a symbolic takedown. 

I use the term "healthcare" for insurance companies loosely. I call it sick care. Granted, who loves medical insurance companies? Look what a behemoth they have become and who can afford them? How did it get this way? How did insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies take over "healthcare". Fixing this will take a lot of time but we cannot put our hopes on anyone to fix it with a magic wand. We need to be proactive regarding our health. 

 Today’s healthcare system is not about health. It’s about selling a never-ending series of tests, drugs, and procedures to people. “Alternative health” is about selling different tests, supplements, and procedures to people. In order to maximize sales, tests and treatments need to be marketed to the general population, with no consideration about whether or not most people are actually candidates for or can benefit from the services promoted.

Advertising helps to promote all of these ideas. Insurance companies send reminders about “regular checkups.” Billboards in airports promote the idea that testing for a growing list of cancers saves lives. Television ads tell consumers that every negative emotion people experience, however normal or fleeting, is a diagnosable condition and drugs are available to treat it. Symptoms like frequent urination, pain, constipation – these are all things that require intervention by highly skilled physicians who can treat them with drugs.

Being sucked into the medical mill is how the medical establishment generates business, and most important, repeat business. Once taught that every symptom requires intervention, every abnormal biomarker is a sign of disease, and anything even a little unusual means a specialist should get involved, the now "well-trained" consumer comes back again and again. This consumer is hyper-focused on every small sign or symptom, convinced that it is an indication that treatment is needed. Also, the consumer is taught to be grateful that various “conditions” have been successfully diagnosed and treated (NSAIDS or COX-II inhibitors have stopped the pain, SSRI’s have relieved the negative emotions, hormone therapy has stopped the hot flashes, PSA testing or mammography has diagnosed “cancer” early, etc.). Of course, this leads to even more tests and treatments. The main reason that cancer screening remains a booming business is not because it “saves lives,” but rather due to economics. It is estimated that the screening business generates $80 billion dollars in sales annually in the U.S, and screening is the best way to recruit patients for the cancer treatment industry which generates hundreds of billions of dollars for medical centers annually.

The insanity is that while this goes on, the patient usually experiences visible declining health. Over 70% of Americans are overweight or obese. Most are sedentary. Most eat a terrible diet. They don’t look good and they certainly do not feel good overall. And during the never-ending interactions with doctors, there is almost no discussion about these issues, or their cause. Americans are seeing more doctors for more tests and treatments than ever before, while they get sicker. Both doctors and patients seem to be oblivious to the irony of the situation.

The medical establishment knows that humans do not like to experience discomfort, which is why their marketing campaigns work. They promote the idea that people can avoid the hard work of taking care of themselves by signing up for tests and treatments instead. Medical care essentially makes consumers passive participants in their own lives. While it’s a bad idea, it’s an enticing idea, and one that can be difficult to resist. Hence, many people become “addicted” to medical care and can have difficulty “withdrawing” from the hyper-focused, quick-fix mentality. 

I’m not suggesting that people avoid all interactions with doctors or healthcare. If I had a pain in my side that did not resolve in the next few days, I’d have it checked out. This is common sense. But aside from the obvious need for care from time to time, gain some confidence in your body’s ability to achieve health. And gain some resilience for dealing with discomfort. It’s part of life. And it’s certainly part of healing.

What else can we do? What commitments can you make to yourself in 2025 besides the obligatory resolutions like "losing weight" or "getting healthy"? Neither of those have a specific plan of action to accomplish the resolution.

For starters, become an Informed Consumer. Learn how to filter information regarding your health. Learn what the risks and benefits are of any medical intervention suggested by your doctor. 

Stating that you are going to lose weight and get healthy without a strategy leads to failure. Our objective is to help you learn how to remain or to become a healthy person. Optimal health is achieved and maintained when people practice proactive and intentional health care.

We remain committed in 2025 to helping you learn the tools to achieve optimal health and to stay out of the medical mill.



Liz Fattore
Licensed Food Over Medicine Instructor
Wellness Forum Health 



Resources: Wellness Forum Health



Thoughts on Chef AJ's Cancer Diagnosis

I recently listened to Chef AJ's heartbreaking announcement of her lung cancer diagnosis. If you are not familiar with her, she is a renowned plant-based chef and author and created the Ultimate Weight Loss Program. (Learn more at www.chefaj.com) What was even more heartbreaking was that since the original diagnosis in 2022, she delayed sharing the news for fear of backlash from her followers and others in the health and plant-based fields. She is a public figure in the field of health and wellness and the stress of having that hanging over her head while coming forward must have been daunting. 

Her lung cancer was detected during a scan for another health issue. It's what we call an "incidentaloma", something that is found while looking for something else. She was misdiagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis, a chronic disease affecting the urinary bladder.  She was being treated for 100 days when finally, a test revealed that she had a raging UTI. Six months later, a chest scan revealed the tumor on her lung. You can listen to the whole story here (https://www.youtube.com/live/36XThEsfLCg?si=rtDGBNrcYQnhYNIW).

Her fear of revealing her diagnosis and being judged has caused her much anxiety. She also was brave enough to share that anxiety and stress has been a major issue for years. It sounds like she is doing all the right things, surrounding herself with support from friends, especially for her mental health. She is equipped with the resources to get her through the treatments. I was glad to hear that she went to True North Health for a water fast. Water fasting should always be supervised and the recommended 4-5 days fast will put your body in ketosis and put the cancer cells in apoptosis (death).  This process facilitates the job of chemotherapy. 

Her friend Dr. Matt Lederman, who was her guest on the above video, stated that we are all walking around with cancer cells. Our bodies are bombarded daily with toxins from unhealthy food, the air we breathe, the environment we live in, etc. I have talked about this fact when teaching on the immune system. Our cells, when in contact with these toxins, start to mutate and form tumors. This can take years and years. There are an enormous number of mutations that occur. Our cells, however, have numerous mechanisms to repair these mutations. There are over 100 known DNA repair genes.  

Should we all be walking around in fear? Of course not! Knowing the risk factors will help you make decisions about your health. Look at your diet, weight, alcohol consumption, prescription drugs, chemicals/pollution, diabetes, smoking, stress/psychological state, and social isolation. Diseases like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc. don't just grow overnight. They are a result of your diet and lifestyle and the listed risk factors. Diet and lifestyle are the most important thing to do to give yourself the best chance at keeping disease at bay and also to help you get through a diagnosis. If you eat healthy long enough, that becomes your preferred way of eating. It doesn't need to be perfect; it just needs to be consistent. It's the totality, the breadth, of your eating pattern that makes the difference. 

 Chef AJ has a very healthy eating pattern. Her diet is the foundation which will help her get through her treatments. Her self-confessed anxiety could have played a role in her diagnosis, but I am not here to guess what is going on in her life. She is very stressed about her husband being her caregiver. As she said, "anxiety is driving the bus", which is why she is getting counsel for her emotional and spiritual health. 

Our emotional and spiritual health have a profound effect on healing our bodies.  This is a concept that has its roots in early Jewish culture. When the greeting "Shalom" was extended, it was wishing the person total health in body, mind and spirit. They recognized the connection in all three areas. 

I highly recommend Kelly Turner's book "Radical Remission" to anyone with a cancer diagnosis. She outlines the factors that are important in surviving a cancer diagnosis. Not only radically changing your diet, but other factors such as releasing suppressed emotions, increasing positive emotions, deepening your spiritual connection, and having strong reasons for living are discussed. Turner states in her book that the mind leads the body. When you have a strong thought or emotion, powerful hormones are released instantly into your bloodstream; they either have a beneficial or detrimental effect on your immune system, depending on the nature of that thought or emotion.

Stress is a particular emotion that has a negative effect on the body. While stress is a normal bodily function and an inevitable part of daily life, chronic stress and its effects can be destructive. Stress weakens the immune system and can negatively affect every cell in your body. Chronic stress can aggravate inflammation in the body. The body and the mind are not separate!

Speaking of stress and transparency, I have shared with some of you my husband's diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease. It has been over 2 years of doctor's appointments and a life altering experience. He has had other health issues that are Agent Orange (the "gift" that keeps on giving) related. Most have been reversed (cancer) and manageable. But not this. Parkinson's is a neurodegenerative disease for which there is no cure and is "managed" with dopamine agonists, a drug with many side effects. I am not the one with the disease, I am the caregiver, which comes with its own set of stressors. I can understand AJ's concern for her husband's role as caregiver. however, she has the capacity to advocate for herself with her doctors. My husband is in a continuous cognitive decline, which leaves me to manage his healthcare, as well as everything that entails. It leaves me to manage the house and finances. It leaves me to make all decisions for both of us. It is overwhelming and exhausting. I grieve many losses every day. This definitely was not what we had in mind for our "golden" years.  My friends ask me how I am doing all of this. I am not. I can't do it but for the grace of God who gives me strength. It is exactly like AJ said. It is not one day at a time. It is one moment at a time.

I am grateful that I have the tools in my "toolbox" to use to get through the moments. I know that I need to maintain the optimal way of eating for the both of us to keep my immune system strong. I am learning to ask for help. I have caregivers so that I can go to church and to the gym to manage the stress and to give myself some much need respite. I have a wonderful therapist. I have good friends who check up on me. Hearing their voice or reading their text messages lift my spirits. They get me through the moments. The most difficult part lately is getting quality sleep as this is almost a 24/7 job. When I feel the stress, I escape for some deep breathing, for prayer, for scripture reading, and a good cry, 

It is important to stay focused on the connection of body, mind and spirit. Respect your body, walk away from anything or anyone who is toxic in your life (cortisol creators). Become aware of what you are putting in your body and your mind. Look for the incentives to change any bad habits. As Thomas Fuller states "health is not valued until sickness comes".

Liz Fattore
Nurture Your Health
Licensed Food Over Medicine Professional
www.lizfattore.com


Sweet Potato & Carrot Casserole

sweet potato & carrot casserole

Ingredients
  • 6 Large Sweet Potatoes (about 5 lbs.)
  •  1 ½ lbs. Carrots, sliced
  •  ½ cup or 1 cup plant-based milk (depending on the consistency you prefer)
  • 2 Tbsp. Date Paste 
  • Recipe for Date Paste: 1 lb. dates, pitted, soaked overnight 1 cup liquid (water, unsweetened non-dairy milk, or juice) 
  • 1 tsp. lemon zest(optional)
  •  1 tsp. nutmeg
  •  1 tsp. cinnamon
  •  A dash of freshly ground pepper
  • Ingredients for the topping: 4 Tbsps. Maple Syrup, 4 Tbsps. Almond Butter, 4 Tbsps. White or whole wheat flour, 1 Cup Oats or Wellness Forum Health Multi-Grain Cereal, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
Step 1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Bake sweet potatoes for 1 hour or until tender.   
Step 2: Meanwhile, steam carrots until tender. 
Step 3: Process Carrots in food processor and put in a large bowl. 
Step 4: Peel and cube sweet potatoes.  Process in batches in the food processor until smooth.  Add sweet potatoes to the carrot mixture.  Stir in plant-based milk and next 5 ingredients, stirring until blended.   Spoon mixture into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.  
Step 5: For the topping, in a medium bowl whisk together maple syrup and almond butter until smooth.  Add oats and flour.  Toss to combine.  Spoon topping over the sweet potato & carrots.  Lightly press down. 
Step 6: Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (covered). 





The Influence of Paternal Preconception Health on Children

Almost everyone acknowledges the importance of a woman’s health status and diet both before and during pregnancy. But not enough attention is paid to paternal health. Diet and the health status of fathers are important as well.

For example, one study showed that if a father experienced food scarcity during the years preceding puberty, his children had a 58% lower risk of dying of heart disease as adults. On the other hand, a study showed that the opposite was true – too much food and overeating resulted in a four-fold increased risk of mortality due to diabetes in grandchildren. The effect is multigenerational.[1]

The impact is not just based on how much future dads eat, but also which foods are consumed. A study of father rats showed that after 12 weeks of eating a high-fat diet, newborn daughter rats had a 30% reduction in pancreatic beta cell mass. Beta cells produce insulin. When those daughter rats became adults, they had a higher risk of glucose intolerance and lower plasma insulin levels.[2] Birthweight is lower for babies if the father has diabetes and/or eats fast food frequently.[3]

Additionally, data from over 3000 families showed that the father’s weight at conception had a significant influence on the weight of his children after factoring in the weight of the mother. Paternal obesity can also negatively impact neurological development. Researchers looked at data for 3759 single-birth children and 1062 twins and their parents. The risk of impaired social functioning, which includes issues like avoidance of interpersonal relationships and social isolation, increased if fathers were obese; and having two obese parents increased the likelihood of failing for several domains, including fine motor, personal-social, and problem solving.[4]

The mechanisms of action are known. Small RNA molecules in sperm, referred to as mitochondrial tRNA fragments, influence the inheritance of health traits through gene regulation.[5]

The bottom line: A father’s health pre-conception matters and has a profound influence on the health and life of his child. Today, most Americans are overweight and unhealthy, and getting fatter and sicker throughout their lifetimes. This is resulting in generations of increasingly unhealthy people who not only create a financial burden for all of us due to their increased healthcare needs, but also diminished quality of life and reduced lifespan for them.

[1] Kaati G, Bygren LO, Edvinsson S. "Cardiovascular and diabetes mortality determined by nutrition during parents and grandparents’ slow growth period." Eur J Hum Genet 2022 Oct;10:682-688
[2] De Castro Barbasa T, Ingerslev LR, Alm PS et al. "High-fat diet reprograms the epigenome of rat spermatozoa and transgenerationally affects metabolism of the offspring." Molec Metab 2016 mar;5(3):184-197
[3] Moss J, Harris K. "Impact of maternal and paternal preconception health on birth outcomes using prospective couples' data in Add Health."
Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2015 Feb;291(2):287-98.
[4] McPherson N, Fullston T, Aitken R, Lane M. "Paternal obesity, interventions, and mechanistic pathways to impaired health in offspring." Ann Nutr Metab. 2014;64(3–4):231–238
[5] Tomar A, Gomez-Velazquez M, Gerlini R et al. "Epigenetic inheritance of diet-induced and sperm-borne mitochondrial RNAs." Nature 2024 Jun;630:720-727
Wellness Forum Health, Pam Popper




New Guidelines for Vitamin D

From the Desk of Pam Popper, President
Wellness Forum Health

In 2011, the Endocrine Society was one of the first organizations to endorse the vitamin D Hoax, which was invented by Michael Holick. He co-authored the Society’s Clinical Practice Guidelines, declaring no conflicts of interest in the article reporting these guidelines,[1] even though his book, The Vitamin D Solution, had been published just a few months prior, and he had worked as a consultant to Quest Diagnostics, which offers vitamin D tests, since 1979. In an interview, he said that industry funding "doesn’t influence me in terms of talking about the benefits of vitamin D."[2] Right, of course.

Holick’s conflicts were not limited to books and his relationship with Quest Labs. Between 2013 and 2017, he received money from drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis,[3] which makes vitamin D supplements.[4]

Endocrine Society Guidelines are important. They are used by hospitals, physicians, and commercial labs including Quest. Due to Holick’s influence, the Society adopted Holick’s view that vitamin D deficiency was widespread in all age groups, and therefore widespread testing should be implemented. The Society also increased the target goal from 20 ng/mm to 30 ng/ml, which served to label almost 80% of the American population as vitamin D deficient. By 2016, vitamin D testing was the fifth most common lab test that qualified for Medicare reimbursement.[5] And the goal for supplementation continued to increase, with some associations and doctors setting target plasma levels at 75-100 ng/ml. This resulted in the recommendation of higher and higher doses of vitamin D.

It did not take long for health professionals who are critical thinkers to determine that there was no widespread Vitamin D deficiency, that the tests were inaccurate, and that supplementation was not only useless, but sometimes harmful. In 2015, the US Preventive Services Task Force reported that there wasn’t enough evidence to recommend routine vitamin D screening. A 2015 article in the American Journal of Medicine stated that raising plasma levels of vitamin D to 50 ng/ml could increase the risk of death.[6]

For the last 12 years, I’ve covered the vitamin D issue, writing articles and creating workshops to educate people about the hoax. Vitamin D is NOT a vitamin; it’s a hormone. The medical definition of a vitamin is a substance that the body does not produce and must be consumed in food. Vitamin D is at best useless, and in higher doses can be harmful. Lower vitamin D levels are usually a result, not the cause of health conditions, which is why hundreds of studies showed that supplementation has no effect on the prevention of or recovery from any disease.

Finally, the Endocrine Society has partially corrected its error and now advises against routine screening and supplementation for most people. Holick was not an author of these guidelines, which include these statements:
"Based on the absence of supportive clinical trial evidence, the panel suggests against routine 25(OH)D testing in the absence of established indications."
"Further research is needed to determine optimal 25(OH)D levels for specific health benefits."[7]
Additionally, the Endocrine Society no longer endorses specific definitions of vitamin D sufficiency, insufficiency, and deficiency.

The response from many disciples of the vitamin D cult is typical: They are digging in their heels. Evidence does not matter, and the demonstration of ignorance is astounding. Peter Osborne, a diplomate with the American Clinical Board of Nutrition says, "I disagree with the guidelines. Vitamin D is an essential nutrient that plays a pivotal role in multiple functions in the body. It is one of the most common deficiencies we see in the clinic."[8]

The problem is that vitamin D is NOT a nutrient – it’s a hormone produced by the body in response to sunlight. Osborne starts with an incorrect foundation for his statements. Additionally, the only way to diagnose "deficiency" is to use inaccurate tests and guidelines set by the Endocrine Society, which is why the Society changed its recommendations.

The Vitamin D Hoax shows how easy it is for one conflicted doctor to create a multi-billion-dollar industry with almost no evidence in support. It was easy to get medical societies to go along, and almost all branches of medicine readily jumped on board. Now, it’s almost impossible to get advocates to give it up. The scariest part of this is that the Vitamin D Hoax is not an isolated event. This happens regularly in medicine. Consumers MUST learn to take control of their healthcare by becoming INFORMED.  
 

[1] Holick MF, Binkley NC, Bischoff-Ferrari HA et al. "Evaluation, Treatment, and Prevention of Vitamin D Deficienecy: an Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline." J Clin Endocrin Metab 2011 Jul;96(7):1911-1930
[2] Liz Sabo. The Man Who Sold America On Vitamin D – and Profited In The Process. KFF News August 20 2018 https://kffhealthnews.org/news/how-michael-holick-sold-america-on-vitamin-d-and-profited/
[3] https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/
[4] https://www.campaignasia.com/article/case-study-sanofi-aventis-highlights-dark-secret-in-australia/277567
[5] https://oig.hhs.gov/reports/all/2017/medicare-payments-for-clinical-diagnostic-laboratory-tests-in-2016-year-3-of-baseline-data/
[6] Taylor CL, Thomas PR, Aloia JF, Millard PS, Rosen CJ. "Questions About Vitamin D for Primary Care Practice: Input From an NIH Conference." Am J Med 2015 Nov;128(11):1167-1170
[7] DeMay, MB, Pittas AG, Bikle DD et al. "Vitamin D for the Prevention of Disease: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline." J Clin Endocrin Met 2024 Aug;109(8):1907-1947
[8] Sina McCullough. Vitamin D Dilemma: New Guidelines Flip the Script on Sunshine Supplements. Epoch Times Sep 9 2024 https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/vitamin-d-dilemma-new-guidelines-flip-the-script-on-sunshine-supplements-5678747


 
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