Huckabee says health, not health care, problem in U.S.

Article from Gazette Online, Mike Huckabee talked with health care officials at St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids on Monday. Mike Huckabee puts emphasis on health prevention before health care.

• CEDAR RAPIDS - It's not a health care crisis that worries Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, but America's health crisis.
• ``The best health care in the world is in America,'' the former Arkansas governor said during a visit to St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids on Monday. ``People come to America to get health care.''
• The problem is Americans' health, he said. Eighty percent of health care dollars go toward chronic disease -- most of it the result of overeating, too little exercise and smoking, he said.

More:

• As a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, Huckabee said he worries about the economic consequences of poor health.
• He referred to a Harvard study that found 60 percent of the work force lacks the energy and mental alertness to perform at 100 percent capacity because of health and nutrition issues .
• ``What do you think that does to our capacity to compete?'' Huckabee asked. ``They only way the American economy to survive is for other nations to get as sick as we are.''
• Health care costs … 17 percent of the Gross Domestic Product and rising … threaten to bankrupt the nation. Most European nations spend 10 percent or less of their GDPs on health care, he said.

More:

• ``We need a new lifestyle program,'' he said. ``We have to tell ourselves this is permanent. I have to do this forever.''
• Huckabee called for employers, insurance companies and educators to promote healthy living, putting more emphasis on wellness.

I agree with him. There is too much junk food available to be grabbed off the grocery shelf. This also includes ready made meals, or pre-marinated and spiced meat. People need to learn to be able to make their own meals, from scratch. Even when ya buy frozen meals that have names like healthy choice or lean cuisine, there is still preservatives and chemicals in it. Plus it costs twice as much, even three or four times as much as buying the individual ingredients and making it from scratch.
Who knows what is in those pre-made meals. Those could be the things that are causing cancer and other diseases and illnesses. I just made pancakes for breakfast. I like to warm up my syrup in hot water. After I cleaned up the kitchen I could smell plastic from the warm syrup container. When I went to pour out the water that was in the pan I could smell plastic. Just think, I am eating plastic with my food. That can't be good.
I found a recipe to make pancake syrup in my cookbook. There are no preservatives in the recipe. I think I will try that from now on. Plus, if I was to put the leftovers in a glass jar, next time I heat it up I won't be eating plastic.
I think one of the reasons Europeans are healthier than Americans is they make everything from scratch. If they don't make it themselves they go to a bakery and buy fresh made breads and pastry. Until I started blogging, I was on a Czech message board for a while. Czechs and Europeans who have been to the states say that over in Europe there is hardly any pre-made candy and chips over there, like there is here. Americans are amazed by the lack of candy and chips over there. Europeans do make sweet goods and snacks, but they are made in the home, thus being healthy. They also eat these things in moderation.
Another thing is American meat. American meat is injected with steroids to make them fatter and mature faster. Then, after the meat is packaged it is injected with more chemicals for a longer shelf life and to look fresher, even when it is not. I try to buy most of my meat from the local butcher. Sometimes it costs a little bit more. But hey, if it is preventing me from getting sick, it is cheaper in the long run. At least I know where my meat is coming from and I know that they are being grain fed only, not other dead animals.
Here is an interesting article I found about a month ago about cloning animals for food, Fruit of our Sirloins It's about Elvis, a calf who was made from a side of beef. The article talks about how the same Republicans who are against cloning of humans have no problem with it. And the Democrats who have nothing against cloning of humans are against it. Both sides are presented in this article. To me, both types of cloning are freaky. Scientists need to stop playing God.

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!