Up & Coming Weekly

OCTOBER 21-27, 2009 UCW 5 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM MARGARET DICKSON, State Representative and Contributing Writer COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or call 919-733-5776 or email MARGARETD@NCLEG.NET THIS WEEK WITH MARGARET THIS WEEK WITH MARGARET A colleague of mine in Raleigh never fails to draw chuckles when he asks for recognition to speak during debate on some convoluted issue facing the House of Representatives, only then to intone, "Mr. Speaker, I'm confused." The chuckles rippling across the House fl oor come, in part I suspect, because life at this point in global history is complex and disorienting. I am often confused as I try to sort out issues both public and personal. Among the issues which keep me consistently off balance and in a quandary is health, in its various aspects from nutrition to exercise to medicine. Perhaps because I have reached an age at which I no longer take good health for granted, I fi nd myself not only interested in but anxious about what I can do to keep myself and those I love healthy. What should we eat and what should we avoid? What should we do physically and what is just too much? What medicines and supplements, both prescriptions and over the counter, should we take and which cause more side effects than they are worth? The problem is that there is just so much information, much of it vague and confl icting, that it is impossible to know what is exactly right for us. The danger is that so much information may lead us to believe that we know more than we really do. I was recently felled by one of the worst allergy attacks I have had in a while. Without infl icting the details on you, just know that it involved swollen eyes and an intense need to rub and scratch at that delicate tissue. The good doctor who has led me out of other such episodes came through once again with two new prescriptions. Ours was a standard doctor-patient exchange, with he giving the advice and my taking it. But there is a new kind of exchange these days, generated by not only the wide and easy availability of all sorts of health and medical information but by the commercialization of it. Who has not seen and possibly reacted to advertisements for prescription medicines on television and radio and all manner of popular publications? This sort of direct-to- consumer advertising, or DTC as it is known in the pharmaceutical industry, is changing health care. Patients now ring up their health care professionals, demanding medicines they have heard about for all sorts of conditions from allergies to incontinence to dry eyes whether they actually need them or not. And then there is the whole issue of what on earth should we eat. When I was a child, I do not remember anyone talking much about fat, and there were not so many fat people. Now, we talk about "good" fat and "bad" fat, and many of us are getting fatter by the day, so fat, in fact, that we are electing to address our fat surgically. Part of the fat debate suggests that we should eat more fi sh and chicken than red meat. But some fi sh contains more mercury than may be good for us, and poultry produced in industrial settings receives all sorts of supplements, including antibiotics which wind up in us as well. Dairy products generate much discussion and confusion. I doubt it ever occurred to my mother when she served my sister and me milk at virtually every meal and eggs as a regular breakfast menu that this might not be a good thing. Ditto for the nuts she set out in bowls for those so inclined to crack and eat. As an adult, some of my greatest pleasures have also become suspect — coffee, wine and chocolate. Each has fallen out of favor, in part because of popular news reports, but, happily for me and millions of others, each is now back in the good graces of some experts. At least for now. Part of the problem, I think, is that while we all read splashy but simplistic headlines about various medical studies, we never really know the designs of those studies to evaluate what we learn. Were the studies big or small, long or short term, sponsored by an independent entity or by an industry with a vested interest in the outcome? Were there actually defi nitive conclusions to the study, or were the fi ndings fi lled with "mays" in all shades of gray? Our mothers and grandmothers probably have the best advice on all this, and I have decided to follow it until something better comes along. Their common sense theory holds that we can do and eat anything we want to as long as we do so in moderation. I interpret that to mean exercise and watch the fats daily, and that a little coffee, wine and chocolate on occasion is not a bad thing. Mothers and grandmothers also say something else worth remembering when we think about health. A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. Conflicted and Confused by MARGARET DICKSON SYSTEL ® is project is supported by the Arts Council in part by contributions from businesses and individuals, and through grants from the City of Fayetteville, Cumberland County and the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Cultural Resources. e Friends of the Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center Storytelling Festival A free one-day festival for all ages! For more information, call 483-7727 ext. 300. Cumberland County Saturday, October 31 from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm Headquarters Library, 300 Maiden Lane Children's Activities Stories and Make Your Own Book workshops throughout the day. Tell Your Story: Teen Open Mic Teens take center stage as they share their own stories during our open mic venue. Open Mic starts at 2:00 pm on the deck behind the library. Top performances will be showcased in the Pate Room at 4:00 pm. Open Mic participants may pre-register by calling 483-7727 ext. 306 or register at the door. North Carolina Storytellers Barbara Braveboy-Locklear Spins tales from her Native American heritage. David Holt Combines music and artistry to depict the rich traditions of the Appalachian Mountains. Donna Washington Performs African-American tales and spooky ghost stories to chill and thrill. cumberland.lib.nc.us This ad paid for by SYSTEL ® +7; SUHVHQWV " DOVRSUHVHQWLQJ-RKDQQHV%UDKPV-RKQ5XWWHU .LUE\6KDZ+RZDUG+HOYH\=5DQGDOO6WURRSH ;I\]ZLIa 7K\WJMZ! "XU )ZZIV4ISM *IX\Q[\+P]ZKP %LQJKDP'ULYH )D\HWWHYLOOH1& :MY]QMU E\*DEULHO)DXUp Proudly supports this project through private contributions and grants from the City of Fayetteville, Cumberland County and the North Carolina Arts Council. 5IZSaW]Z KITMVLIZ[ IVLXTIVWV RWQVQVO][ ,1',9,'8$/&21&(57$'0,66,21 ,63(53(562125%<6($6217,&.(7 678'(1762)$//$*(6$'0,77(')5((2)&+$5*( )25025(,1)250$7,21 ZZZFXPEHUODQGRUDWRULRVLQJHUVRUJ

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