Should the Government Regulate Our Health

Should The political relation Regulate Our Health? Posted 01/29/10 1058 AM ET Get legal Living Alerts Sign Up Submit this explanation I was in my late 20s when I walked into a dialysis clinic for the first time. The interior of the waiting atomic number 18a was worn, with beige paint peeling off of the walls. As I waited awkwardly to find out where my patient was my tutelage was drawn to a sign that read, Did you know that a prevalent fast food sandwich contains 1020 milligrams of sodium? Salt toilet be bad. But it sure tastes good.Ask the millions of Americans who consume galactic amounts of salt in their diet, much of it from processed foods. atomic number 11 consumption in excess is linked with a number of wellness problems, including high blood pressure, kidney disease and various forms of heart disease. late Yorkers study late analyseed about the detriments of salt. Mayor Bloomberg has launched an initiative to slim down the amount of sodium that people thwart fr om eating place chains and food producers by asking them to voluntarily cut the amount of this now ill-thought of mineral.When in in the raw York City a couple of weeks ago, my husband and I could tell that restaurateurs atomic number 18 listening to Bloomberg. When eating out, we find that our food was, well, less tasty. But maybe it is worth it. A fresh New York Times article, which summarized findings from The New England Journal of Medicine, suggested that if Americans reduced salt intake by a half a teaspoon a day the nation would save 24 zillion in health care costs. In the flow rate political climate, many of us are shrewdly aware of issues related to the rising costs of health care.But is government intervention the best way to fit? Although a government middleman might be a good option, I wonder wherefore we arent putting more pressure on physicians to send word their patients on dietary strategies to reduce sodium intake. interrogation suggests that American p hysicians are less probably than their European counterparts to discuss behavioral interventions with patients and are more likely to rely on the prescribing of medications. Regarding diet and hypertension, a recent study suggests that physicians offer little counseling on how to lower blood pressure numbers through lifestyle changes.Not only do discussions regarding health behaviors termination in patient satisfaction, such discussions comprise the intact values of doctor-patient relationships. We seek medical care not only for lab results and prescription refills we look to our doctors for advice and support. However, in a day and age in which technology and insurance mandates are interlopers in the patient-physician dyad, we control disconnected the personal connections and source of wisdom that people very much crave.In fact, the relationship between many of us and our physicians is dysfunctional. Doctors are overwhelmed and receive less respect than ever originally in t he history of modern medicine. As patients, we have submitted ourselves to the less personal nature of medical encounters. perchance if we demand redundant support from physicians (and advocate for additional backing of our doctors regarding the freedom to make medical decisions and restricting intrusion by managed care companies) we can get what we need in order to change our behaviors.Of course, we are all ultimately responsible in how we favor to care for our bodies. But maybe if we can learn to trust our physicians again (and they work to earn that trust), we dont have to reduce healthcare issues and healthcare costs in this country to something like eating salt. Greenburg, T. (2010, Jan 29). www. huffingtonpost. com. Retrieved from http// www. huffingtonpost. com/tamara-mcclintock-greenberg/should-the-government-reg_b_441493. html (Greenburg, 2010)