Against The Grain: Reflections of a Rogue Health Educator

This is a no-holes barred publication from a seasoned Certified Health Education Specialist. Michael F. Edwards, reflects on what has happened to the US Healthcare system, with emphasis on the last several generations, and what we need to do to protect ourselves. He attempts to answer the question-"If our healthcare is the most expensive in the world, why is everyone so sick?". At over 200 pages, broken into over 40 easy-to-read chapters on as many topics, the reader will question, from the author's dozen years of promoting Preventative Medicine through Health Education and Health Promotion, why there is such resistance-if not an outright backlash from the establishment-for real prevention efforts, and real improvements in health and wellness. Repeated promises, "breakthroughs", and substantial reductions in sickness and diseases are only a pie in the sky.The book begins with a personal journey into natural health, after discovering the hidden world of "prevention". We examine how the "search for the cure" has eroded into a plea for more money to produce more expensive "treatments" providing life-long "disease-management".Each chapter is designed to enlighten, educate, motivate, and make the reader wonder why things are as they are. There's enough humor mixed in with the wealth of information to make it anything but a dull read! You will question the goals of the FDA, USDA, AMA, and other government or government-subsidized organizations in a way that helps to understand how important it is for each and every one of us to take care of our health. We are tricked into believing that "free" insurance and more drugs will make us healthy. Quite frankly, in the present system, no one gives a damn about our health more than we do!How can pharmaceutical companies fast track a dangerous chemical combination through the FDA, only to be removed from the market in a year or two because of patient deaths or hospitalizations or receive only a "black box warning" that patients rarely read? Why do doctors rarely, if ever, discuss dangerous side-effects, or educate patients how to cure their ailments without the use of drugs? Doctors' offices are loaded with magazines filled with drug ads, yet, herbs and other more human-friendly cures used for hundreds-if not thousands of years successfully, (from which numerous pharmaceuticals are made), are regularly condemned or prohibited by the medical establishment.You will question if some major players who make up the rules in the current system actually want us to get sick and stay sick. Our system has evolved into an unquenchable monster that thrives on the sick, diseased, fat, frustrated, confused, lazy, and the ignorant. Individuals who question our broken system or promote natural cures are often condemned, fined, hauled into court, and even barred from practice! Don't misunderstand the message-not all medical professionals are out for the money, many are sincere, caring, and are close to Sainthood, but some are so inept one has to question today's medical schools.This book has taken over ten years to complete and it's been revised and edited dozens of times through the years. The question was, should it be published or wait and see if things would change for the better. Unfortunately, over the years, the situation has gotten even worse and the stakes to keep the status quo are even higher. The author tries to do his part to inform and educate-that's what Health Educators do. The rest is up to you. It's now time to share, bringing to mind one of the most heartfelt quotes of all time, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!", and neither should you.