Hospitals and Health

Most people, over the course of their lives, are likely to spend time in a hospital. What many may not realise is that the risks of a hospital stay can outweigh the benefits. Sometimes hospitalisation is essential - for trauma, life-threatening emergencies or complex surgical procedures. But despite the benefits of modern medicine, hospitals harm thousands of patients each year and many more suffer serious or fatal drug side effects. Learn how to protect yourself!HOSPITALS AND HEALTH looks at how hospital care got on the wrong track, from historical and economic perspectives. It then offers suggestions for minimising the risks of a hospital stay and ways to improve your own experience. Good nutrition is the key - to boost your immune system, speed recovery from illness and reduce your need for drugs.And you'll learn how to become your own health-care advocate. The book provides tips for choosing the best hospitals, nursing care, doctors and surgeons. You'll be armed with the knowledge you need to demand the best treatment possible. By asserting control of health decisions, you can steer clear of unnecessary risks and, if hospital treatment is unavoidable, increase the chances of success. Take charge of your health care with HOSPITALS AND HEALTH.

I have lived a full, interesting and creative life supported by my family and many friends and irritated and spurred on by the hostile criticisms of a group of psychiatrists representing APA and NIMH. I was born on a farm in Southern Saskatchewan in 1917, completed High School in a rural school, my PhD at University of Minnesota and Medical degree at University of Toronto. By the time I got my first job I was 33 years old, had three children and was totally fed up with being a student. The last thing in the world I wanted to do was to become a psychiatrist, then the lowest branch of medicine. My wife Rose put up with these long student years while she brought up our three children. Bill became one of the world’s best antiquarian book experts. He died 6 years ago from lung cancer. John is a Professor of Medicine at McGill University in Montreal a great clinician and researcher into nutrition, and Miriam is dietitian at Women College hospital in Toronto and recently published her very good book Fueling Body, Mind and Spirit. Rose died in August 2001 and since then I am alone but absorbed with my family and my work. I have the support of remarkable friends and scientists and all of us working together will eventually overhaul medicine back to its interest in nutrition and in nutrients. Since they did not know me personally I never took it personally although I must admit I would have preferred had they been supportive. I give my critics full credit for having delayed the full introduction of orthomolecular medicine into the medical world and for having denied life, health and happiness for innumerable patients. Supporters of old paradigms never realize how much damage they do by their remarkable rigidity and adherence to old theories. Andrew W. Saul, M.S., Ph.D., is editor-in-chief of the Orthomolecular Medicine NewsService and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine. Has published more than 180 peer-reviewed articles and has written or coauthored 12 books. Steve Hickey has a B.A. (math and science) from the Open University, membership of the Institute of Biology by examination in pharmacology, and is a chartered biologist and a former member of the British Compute Society. He did research into ultra-high-resolution computerized tomography (CT) body scanning, leading the physics team in Europe's first clinical magnetic resonance (MR) imaging unit at Manchester Medical School. He has over 100 scientific publications, covering a variety of disciplines. Currently, he is a member of the biology department of Staffordshire University.