Wellness means making life choices in your diet, exercise and how you care for yourself. Applying general wellness solutions can prevent diseases and slow down the signs of aging.

During this episode of McCuistion Television, Dennis McCuistion discusses the benefits of wellness with his panel of experts.

• Boyd D. Lyles, Jr., M.D. – Founding Director, HeartHealth and Wellness Center
• Jeff Brizzolara, PhD, MBA, MPH, – Chief Operating Officer of Elite Wellness USA
• Todd Whitthorne – President and Chief Operating Officer of  Cooper Concepts, Inc.

There is a decline in people participating in preventative healthcare services. Historically, 15-20% of the population pays attention to wellness; however, 80% of the population takes up the healthcare costs.  The panelists share a common passion for the importance of corporate wellness programs and for preventative methods being more of a focus than traditional healthcare budgets.

Witthorne works with Cooper Concepts, Inc.  The founder, Dr. Ken Cooper, is the Father of Aerobics and he and his staff have been in the business of wellness for years.  The Cooper Center has concluded that for a person to have overall general wellness, they must first change their habits. Witthorne discusses in more detail how the Cooper Center goes about promoting general wellness for their clients.

Panelists agree that if staff wellness programs were implemented, the risk of losing staff hours based on illness and paying deductibles on preventable illnesses would decrease. Companies simply cannot continue to give out double digits in healthcare when general wellness solutions can prevent many illnesses.

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04.26.09 – 1715

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During an interview and follow-up Q & A with T. Colin Campbell, PhD., author of The China Study, Campbell discusses what we should eat, shouldn’t eat and how to eat right in a fast food nation. Campbell, a strong proponent of vegan benefits for health, disease prevention, and longevity of life goes on to further explain details of his research and findings during his China Health Study.

Campbell’s initial research consisted of in-depth lab research focusing on the consumption of animal based foods versus plant based foods and its effect on the rate of disease. In his research, conducted in China, he and his team surveyed 130 villages (6,500 families) taking necessary samples, such as blood and urine, and sited nutrient levels and elements of that nature. They then compared information on their blood health with the rates of disease for 400+ kinds of diseases.

Their findings clearly indicated that to have optimized health, animal products should be eliminated and a strict vegan diet is the healthiest way to prevent disease.

Throughout the course of the interview and Q & A, he continues to compare the China study’s diet with the Mediterranean diet, the myth of animal calcium intake, the role of fat in relation to disease and more.

Following the original airing of this episode, host, Dennis McCuistion tried out the diet to see if it was everything it claimed.  Click here to see his findings on Vegan Benefits to Health.

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04.19.09 – 1714

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In Part One of the two-part series on science and health with T. Colin Campbell, PhD., Campbell discusses his findings on what science is actually saying about health and nutrition and the vegan benefits to health.  Dr. Campell is the author of The China Study, a Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University and the Project Director of the China-Oxford-Cornell Diet and Health Project.

Click here to read how Dennis McCuistion applied the principles of this episode in his vegetarian diet experiment.

There is an obvious health problem in the United States.  While, American citizens spend more on health care than any other country, two-thirds of the country is overweight. Greater than 15 million Americans have diabetes, more than 1 million have high cholesterol and half of all Americans have a health problem that requires them to use a prescription drug.  Dr. Campbell sought to discover what, if any, are the changes that could be made to the American diet to better prevent disease. Partnering with Cornell, Oxford and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, Dr. Campbell conducted his study.

The American diet consists of high quantities of protein. However, the findings of The China Study suggest that there are significant vegan benefits to health.  Disease increases when a person consumes more than 10% protein in comparison to his or her daily caloric intake. The average American has a protein consumption of 17-18%  and 70-75% of that is from animal foods. Through Campbell’s research, it became very clear that there is a direct relationship between animal protein intake and disease increase. The findings showed that as soon as animal protein started to show up in the diet, there was an increase in cholesterol, cancer and heart disease.

Dr. Campbell, closes his conversation noting that his intention in his message is not to push an opinion on listeners, but rather to provide information to the public that unfortunately has not been taught. His concern is that the information the public tends to receive is incorrect, therefore consumers cannot make educated choices on healthy diets.  The facts from his study clearly point toward strong vegan benefits to healthy living.

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04.12.09 – 1713

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Herb Meyer, author of The War Against Progress and former Vice Chairman of the CIA’s National Intelligence Council during the Reagan Administration, joins Dennis McCuistion for this installment of FRTV. With the quickly changing world we find ourselves in today, Meyer addresses the biggest cultural challenges facing America and Western civilization during Part One of a two-part series.

According to Meyer, radical Islam, the demographic downturn worldwide, and the current cultural war are threatening the survival of Western Civilization and traditional culture in America.

Radical Islam - Radical Muslims do not accurately represent Islam as a whole. However, Meyer explains that most Germans were not Nazis, yet when the Nazis were in power, it led to World War II.  History is the story of competing operating systems.  The Middle East operates off of an old operating system and those that operate out of the Western system have drastically different world views.  He elaborates on the exact differences between the two world views and explains why this is a very serious challenge to western civilization.

Demographics - The birth rate is dropping at a greater rate than at any other time in history.  In order to keep the population at the same level, there must be 2.1 births per person in real numbers.  However, across the western world the birth rates are well below  2.1.  The economic implications are staggering.  However, in the non-Westernized Muslim world, there is a 2.1-6.8 replacement rate.  He spends time explaining the specific differences country to country and the various implications to Western civilization if something does not change.

Cultural War – Culture in America is also at risk. Some are calling the current cultural war in America the “second Civil War.”  The war is essentially summarized as Church vs. State or Religious Right vs. Secular Left. The crux of the fight centers around whether or not the family or the government will be the center of American life. Does the American culture desire a big government or a small government?

In part two of this series, Meyers talks about how we should face these challenges.

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04.04.09 -1710

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This is part two of a two part series on pharmaceutical companies and their relationships with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Our focus is on the efficacy of prescription drugs as well as the cost for the consumer.

Jonathan Emord, attorney & author of The Rise of Tyranny and Dr. Charles B. Simone speak on the truth about the FDA.  An enormous amount of marketing dollars are spent by pharmaceutical companies to market their drugs. Thus,  patients learn to demand certain drugs from their doctors.  The problem with this is that often times over-the-counter drugs (i.e. Aspirin) or nutrients (i.e. fish oil) will have the same effect on one’s lifespan as a prescription drug.

Jonathan Emord has defeated the FDA six times and is well-versed in the issues surrounding the corruption of the United States health care system. At the center of the FDA issue is that of accountability. The checks and balances that are in place for government are non-existent for the FDA.  The FDA Commissioner has the authority to create law (regulations), enforce violations, and judge the violation.  The Commissioner of any independent regulatory committee is virtually all-powerful. This means that 3/4 of the laws that are made are not made by representatives in Congress, but they are in fact made by unelected officials.  And because of the controversial nature of the committee issues and the fragile nature of congressional elections, congressmen will avoid making the tough decisions and instead diplomatically mail a letter to the regulatory committee.

Another key component to concerns about the FDA is the way that economics play a role in FDA approvals and rejections. Simply put, the government has censored information for solely economic reasons.  They further discuss the specifics of how and why they do this and the resulting effect on health care.

To learn more about censorship, Dr. Simone’s website will provide more information. He will also provide you with the tools to show you what you can do as a consumer to make a difference in these issues.

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04.05.09 – 1726

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