‘Political correctness gets votes, so they enact laws to please their constituents, never mind the detrimental effects to society.’
IN the United States, in a 12-month period ending in January 2022, there were 107,375 people who died from drug overdose and drug poisoning, according to the CDC. About 67 percent of the deaths involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl, many of them in multiple color gummies/tablets to attract children.
More than 200,000 Americans have perished from fentanyl overdose since 2015, since this dangerous substance is 100 times stronger than morphine. Most victims’ ages ranged from 18-45, more than any other causes of deaths in 2020, greater than from suicide, car accidents and COVID-19. The open southern border is the major way for entry of these killer drugs and other killers. Why the government refuses to close the border shut is insanity.
Cannabis babies
The use of cannabis in the United States and around the world is massively increasing, thanks to our legislators who thought people needed another recreational drug besides alcohol, etc. Do we really need more illegal drugs and more suffering and deaths? Political correctness gets votes, so they enact laws to please their constituents, never mind the detrimental effects to society.
Studies now show at the Washington University in St. Louis that children exposed to cannabis while in the womb “show increased symptoms of psychopathology such as depression and anxiety in early adolescence…and elevated psychopathology symptoms during adolescence can make a young person more vulnerable to developing psychiatric illness and substance misuse.”
While the medicinal value of cannabis is real, recreational marijuana is best avoided, because of the following bad side effects: brain development issues in young people; greater anxiety problems; depression; paranoia, schizophrenia; problems with memory and cognition; damage to lungs; hyperemesis (vomiting) syndrome; cardiovascular damage; diminished testosterone production; and, addiction and behavioral disorders.
Bivalent booster
The reformulated, redesigned anti-COVID-19 vaccines are aimed against Omicron and its various subvariants, the predominant viruses today. CDC recommends everyone to opt for this new “more universal” shot in the face of the predicted wave in the fall and winter. The updated Pfizer/BioNT booster is authorized for 12 and older, and Moderna for 18 and older. It is anticipated that COVID-19 will be with us in the future and an annual (if not every six months) anti-COVID-19 vaccination might be the norm, like the annual flu vaccines we get. Hopefully, they will develop one which is a combination of the anti-COVID-19 and anti-flu vaccine, 2 in 1, one needlestick less.
Get your bivalent booster while it’s available and free.
Blood test for cancer
It would be wonderful if there was a blood test for every type of cancer, instead of a volume of tests, some unpleasant, time-consuming, and inconvenient, including scans, MRI, endoscopies, biopsies, etc.
A bit of good news: Scientists have designed “a blood test for cancer that looks at the methylation of cell-free DNA.” Called the Gallieri test, it is used in a large-scale trial to determine if this test will help in shortening (expediting) the time to diagnose cancer. In cancer, as everybody knows, early diagnosis is vital, if cure is to be achieved for greater survival. So far, in this early stage in the research, the test shows a high rate of false positive but a low rate of false negative.
Nightshades
Nightshades (claimed to be bad for those with arthritis) include eggplant, tomato, potato, pepper, paprika, etc. Inflammation is the trigger of most, if not all diseases. Imbalanced gut microbiome could cause havoc to our body. Proper diet is vital and accounts for most of our organic illnesses. Regular physical exercises are also very important in boosting our immune system, besides our muscles and cardiovascular system. If God wants us to be couch potato or sedentary, He would have given us roots instead of feet.
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Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/author, Health Advocate, newspaper columnist, and Chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian foundation in the United States. Websites: FUN8888.com, Today.SPSAtoday.com, and philipSchua.com Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com
