The Health Kick

Now here’s a contentious issue. I know it's just because I've always lived in a country that has a government run national health service  but I really don’t understand this huge problem  the vast majority of Americans seem to have with the prospect of President Obama's health care reforms.  The bottom line seems to be Americans don’t want affordable health care for all – they certainly don’t want tax increases to pay for it and they definitely don’t like the thought of money they’ve earned being used to support anyone else.  And what would Ty Pennington and the producers of TV's Extreme Home Makeover do if they couldn’t go around helping those poor unfortunate families whose houses are literally falling down around them because they have bankrupted themselves spending their very last penny on medical bills for their sick children……

Health insurance over here isn't cheap and it certainly isn't a bottomless pit - all schemes have their limits.  So,  if you have to pay your own medical bills doesn’t  that mean you start looking after yourself a bit better? Well in California the answer is a resounding yes – and it’s very easy to get yourself on a health kick out here. 

I remember those mornings back in the UK, waking up in the dark when it's grey, wet and windy outside, all you want to do is pull the duvet back up over your head.  What is there to get up for? I’ll have another cup of tea and chocolate digestive please….

 

Here you wake up, jump out of bed with a spring in your step, have a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, grab a granola bar and get out there and feel that sun on your skin  (not for too long though otherwise you’ll end up like a wizened up old prune.)  The weather out here is an instant pickup. And yes people really do all they can to keep themselves fit and active and away from the doctor’s surgery and the $20 they have to fork out just for the appointment….

For a start Americans carry on working as long as they possibly can – people don’t want to retire here  and it’s not because they love their jobs, it’s because they don’t want to lose their company’s medical insurance.  And when they do retire and have to go onto Medicare, then they do all they can to keep fit and healthy - so they “volunteer”. Very admirable – you certainly don’t want things seizing up through lack of mental or physical activity.  Of course this is all well and good until you realize that lots of American public institutions rely on these elderly retired volunteers to perform what really ought to be paid jobs –  are your hospital notes truly safe in the hands of a couple of 90 year old filing clerks who really should be sat at home playing dominoes…

Anyway, back to this continuous strive to stay healthy.  Americans can appear just a little obsessed with their health - there is definitely an air of neurosis out here which must stem from this fear of visiting the doctor - well not actually visiting the doctor but the bill that will come afterwards.  I'd say self diagnosis is widespread and there are all kinds of aids available for the prevention of all things nasty and infectious.  Sales of antiseptic wipes and disinfecting handwash must be huge, and as for the market for vitamin and mineral supplements....well that's a winner!

I thought we could do with some multi-vitamins to keep us going this winter.  Our daughter had been a bit under weather and with the colder temperatures looming I thought we should be doing a bit more to boost our immunity so I set off to the pharmacy hoping to spot a recognisable general  multivitamin suitable for the whole family.  Could I find one? No this is America.  I was totally overwhelmed by  shelf after shelf of vitamins, minerals and supplements for absolutely every condition you’ve ever heard of and plenty that you haven’t heard of as well, and whilst I could find vitamins disguised as gummy bears and chewy sweets for the very young, and vitamins designed specifically for teenage boys, and others specifically for teenage girls, and  a variety of supplements for pre-menopausal women, post-menopausal women and men having a mid life crisis, could I find one designed for all of us? Of course not!! Why make do with one vitamin and when you can create a sales pitch for thirty three?!

What a great country! I’d give up now Mr Obama – it’s a lost cause.