.:. gotblogua .:.

Amazing that they are doing such high tech (expensive) research to remind ourselves that it might be safe, good, and healthy to slow down, breath more, exercise lightly, eat better…. i mean its even to the point that we need a special letter to say that these things are safe:

from:
http://edge.org/3rd_culture/ornish08/ornish08_index.html

In 1995, I had a conversation with the Administrator (director) of Medicare at the time. In that meeting, he said, “Dean, before I’ll consider doing a Medicare demonstration project, you first need to get a letter from the director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health stating that your program is safe.”

“You mean that it’s safe as an alternative to bypass surgery or angioplasty?”

“No, just that it’s safe.”

I was incredulous. “You want me to get a letter saying that it’s safe for older Americans to walk, meditate, quit smoking, and eat fruits and vegetables?”

“That’s right.”

So we did. I met with the director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the time, and his colleagues, and we reviewed the medical literature. Not surprisingly, we found that these are not high-risk activities—especially when compared with having your chest sawed open for a bypass operation. In our earlier research, we found that the older patients improved as much as the younger ones, whereas the risks of bypass surgery and angioplasty increase in older patients. So, our program was especially beneficial for older patients in the Medicare population. When you’re doing something that doesn’t fit the conventional wisdom, it’s often held to a different standard.

These approaches are not only medically effective, they are also cost effective.