Medical Bankrupticies: What You Can Do To Protect Yourself

First the bad news: about 2,000,000 personal bankruptcies each year are caused by unexpected medical expenses. Of all those people, 1,500,000 have (or had) health insurance before they ran into difficult financial straights.

But wait a minute. Isn't the whole idea behind health insurance - security? The financial security that comes from knowing that you're covered if something goes wrong with your body? You say you're covered, but what if your medical "situation" exceeds your policy limits? Then what?

No one wants that to happen, so the question is: are there other options? For instance, is there a way to "insure" against getting sick in the first place? Most people assume that's not possible, but personally, I disagree.

Several years ago my wife Sandy and I stumbled onto a very unusual health product. We both had our own experiences with it and have seen it work miracles for others.

But before going there, I'd like to explain something. To me, health insurance should be about staying healthy. In China, for instance, doctors used to be paid only if they kept you healthy. That's what I call real health insurance. And although the U.S. has some of the best-trained, dedicated physicians in the world, heart disease, cancer, strokes, and autoimmune diseases are all on the rise.

Clearly, our health isn't being protected - at least not to an appreciable extent. The medical paradigm in the U.S. is mostly about treating symptoms, not fostering health. And while we're all very grateful to doctors for all their efforts, symptom treatment is intrinsically short-sighted.

If symptom treatment was effective in restoring health, people would be getting well and staying well. But that's not what usually happens.

There's a growing movement of people who've recognized the shortcomings of the traditional medical/pharmaceutical "health" model. They're not stupid. For instance: 106,000 annual deaths from properly prescribed prescription drugs sure got my attention when I heard the news. Check it out on the net. It's a fact.

OK. So everyone knows there's a problem. Again, the question is: are there options out there and if so, what are they?

As I was saying earlier, there is an option. I can say that because I have personal proof. Four years ago, I was diagnosed with a heart condition called atrial fibrillation. It wasn't painful per se, but the irregular, spasmodic poundings inside my chest were very disconcerting.

My wife Sandy and I were in Maui when a friend of ours told us about something called glyconutrition. Now, I'm a fairly open-minded kind of a guy and I've been interested in health supplements for a long time, so I decided to try it. (By the way, nothing I was taking before then was helping my heart condition). After a few months, the condition went away. It hasn't returned since.

Sandy also had a positive health reversal. She was in a lot of pain from neck surgery she'd had seven years earlier. She also decided to try the glyconutrients. It took a little longer for her, but her pain subsided and surgery was avoided.

My point in telling you these two stories is that we saved a ton of money and who knows how much pain and suffering by not having to undergo surgery. I don't know if my atrial fibrillation would have led to a worsening condition requiring surgery, but I do know that Sandy was considering a second neck surgery before we heard about glyconutrients.

Since then, we've learned a lot more about the science behind glyconutrients and why this new category of nutrient is turning around so many health conditions for so many people.

Even highly trained medical doctors and surgeons are taking notice. Case in point: Dr. Ben Carson is the department head of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Medical Center. A severe form of prostate cancer led him to discover glyconutrients. Long story short: he attributes to them his complete recovery. He now recommends glyconutrients to all his patients, to his staff and others as well.

Without going into a lot of complicated detail, science now has a pretty good idea about why glyconutrients seem to be helping so many different kinds of health conditions. The bottom line is this: enhanced cell-to-cell communication.

Glyconutrients provide the body with highly specialized building blocks that the body transforms into communication molecules that all cells use. Without an adequate supply of these molecules, communication starts to break down and illness starts to creep in.

The reason glyconutritional supplements are so effective is this: our diets suck. Let me explain. If we got all the nutrients we needed in our diet, we'd rarely get ill. By the way, the scientific evidence to support that statement is huge.

But because 90 percent of the food we eat is processed (devoid of essential, health-promoting nutrients) and for a number of other reasons, we're not getting the nutritional build blocks our bodies need in order to stay disease-free.

Bottom line: understand the powerful relativity between the nutrients we consume and the state of our health.

So to reiterate - there are options for warding off illness and medically related bankruptcy. Just don't look for them in the current medical - pharmaceutical - health insurance paradigm. Look for them in the emerging science of glycobiology - the same science that's starting to describe the cellular mechanisms behind the major health recoveries that thousands of glyconutrient users are now reporting.

David Lear is an independent nutrition researcher and free-lance writer. His main interest is in cutting-edge supplements that improve health and reverse illness. For further information, visit http://www.glycoresults.com

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

President-elect Barack Obama speaks about the economy at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.,  Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)AP - Pushed by fellow Democrats, President-elect Barack Obama agreed to modest changes in his proposed tax cuts on Friday after inviting lawmakers to "just show me" ideas for fixing an economy shedding jobs at an alarming rate. Democratic congressional officials said that Obama aides came under pressure in closed-door talks to jettison or significantly alter a proposed tax credit for creating jobs.



Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich makes a statement  Friday,  Jan. 9, 2009 in Chicago, after he was impeached by the Illinois House on a wide array of offenses including criminal corruption and wasting taxpayers money. The two term Democrat becomes the first governor in the history of Illinois to be impeached. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)AP - Gov. Rod Blagojevich was impeached Friday by Illinois lawmakers furious that he turned state government into a "freak show," setting the stage for an unprecedented trial in the state Senate that could get him thrown out of office.



A Palestinian youth uses a sling-shot to hurl a stone from behind a burning tire barricade during clashes with Israeli troops at a protest against Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip, in the West Bank village of A-Ram, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Friday, Jan. 9, 2009. Israeli jets and helicopters bombarded Gaza Friday and Hamas responded with a barrage of rockets on two cities as both sides defied a U.N. call for an immediate cease-fire. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)AP - Israeli jets and ground troops hammered at Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip and Islamic militants fired barrages of rockets at southern Israeli cities Friday, ignoring a U.N. resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire after two weeks of combat.



AP - Authorities say five people have been sent to hospitals after a reported shooting at a high school on the city's South Side.

This image taken from video, supplied by Magnolia Pictures, shows the Rev. Ted Haggard  preaching in the documentary film 'Jesus Camp'. Speaking out two years after being embroiled in a gay sex scandal, former evangelical pastor Ted Haggard said Friday, Jan. 9, 2009 his sexual identity is complex and can't be put into 'stereotypical boxes,' but that his relationship with his wife is stronger than ever. (AP Photo/Magnolia Pictures,File)AP - Speaking out two years after being embroiled in a gay sex scandal, former evangelical pastor Ted Haggard said Friday his sexual identity is complex and can't be put into "stereotypical boxes," but that his relationship with his wife is stronger than ever.



Texas death row inmate Andre Thomas is shown in this undated handout file photo released Friday, Jan. 9, 2009 in Huntsville, Texas. Thomas, who has a history of mental problems is being treated at a prison psychiatric unit after authorities said he pulled out his only good eye and ate it.  He similarly had plucked out his right eye before his trial in 2004. (AP Photo/Texas Department of Criminal Justice, FILE)AP - A Texas death row inmate with a history of mental problems pulled out his only good eye and told authorities he ate it. Andre Thomas, 25, was arrested for the fatal stabbings of his estranged wife, their young son and her 13-month-old daughter in March 2004. Their hearts also had been ripped out. He was convicted and condemned for the infant's death.



This photo released by Bruce Sherman of Rockport, Texas, shows a Pine Flycatcher photographed at the Choke Canyon State Park, Texas, Jan. 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Bruce Sherman)AP - Birders with binoculars and cameras are flocking to a remote state park in search of a small yellow-chested bird that apparently crossed the U.S. border for the first time from its high-mountain habitat to the south.



In this Nov. 28, 2005 file photo, actor Patrick Swayze poses for the photographers, prior to the premiere of his new film 'Keeping Mum' at a Leicester Square cinema in central London. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, file)AP - Patrick Swayze has checked himself into the hospital for observation after contracting pneumonia, A&E President Abbe Raven announced Friday at a meeting of the Television Critics Association. Swayze was scheduled to appear to discuss his upcoming drama "The Beast."



In this photo released by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, 'George,' a live 20 pound lobster rests on a plate at City Crab and Seafood in New York, Friday, Jan. 9, 2009. City Crab and Seafood has spared the lobster, which is expected to be released Saturday, Jan. 10, near Kennebunkport, Maine, in an area where lobster trapping is forbidden. PETA and the restaurant gauged George's age at about 140, using a rule of thumb based on the creature's weight. (AP Photo/P.E.T.A.)AP - A new lease on life — at 140? That's what a Manhattan lobster got Friday, when the 20-pound crustacean named George was released from a swanky Park Avenue restaurant's tank. City Crab and Seafood agreed to a request from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to let the lobster return to the Atlantic Ocean.



AP - Baseball authorized nearly 8 percent of its players to use drugs for ADHD last season, which allowed them to take otherwise banned stimulants. A total of 106 exemptions for banned drugs were given to major leaguers claiming attention deficit hyperactivity disorder from the end of the 2007 season until the end of the 2008 season, according to a report released Friday by the sport's independent drug-testing administrator.

Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin participates in a panel discussion about Poverty Alleviation at the Clinton Global Initiative, in New York, September 20, 2006. (Chip East/Reuters)Reuters - Citigroup Inc is in advanced talks to sell its Smith Barney brokerage unit to Morgan Stanley, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, in a move that would further dismantle the financial supermarket that has been bailed out by the U.S. government.



Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich speaks during a news conference in Chicago, Illinois January 9, 2009, as he points to Illinois residents that he clamed have been helped by the issues that are now being used as the Illinois House voted to impeachment him. (Stephen J. Carrera/Reuters)Reuters - The Illinois House of Representatives impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Friday for abuse of power, including a charge that he tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat.



Palestinians shout anti-Israel slogans during a protest in the West Bank village of Baqa Ash-Sharqiya, near Tulkarm January 9, 2009. (Mohamad Torokman/Reuters)Reuters - Israel pressed on with a punishing Gaza offensive and Hamas sent more rocket salvoes into southern Israeli towns in a two-week-old war that continued to defy international efforts to stop it.



US President-elect Barack Obama speaks on the economy at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. US economic conditions are Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama and a key Democratic lawmaker revealed plans on Friday to overhaul the government's $700 billion financial rescue fund as a way to aid struggling homeowners and speed the flow of credit.



Reuters - An outbreak of salmonella food poisoning that has sickened at least 399 people and put 70 or more into the hospital has been linked to peanut butter, officials in Minnesota said on Friday.

Employers slashed payrolls by 524,000 in December, driving the unemployment rate to its highest level in almost 16 years, a government report showed on Friday, suggesting that the year-long recession was deepening. (Graphic/Reuters)Reuters - The unemployment rate surged to the highest in nearly 16 years last month as a deepening year-long recession forced companies to axe more than half a million jobs, government data showed on Friday.



Voters fill their ballots during the U.S. presidential election in West Hollywood, California November 4, 2008. (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)Reuters - The U.S. Supreme Court said on Friday it would consider a challenge to a central provision of the 44-year-old voting rights law aimed at preventing states and local governments from making it harder for minorities to vote.



A foreclosed home is seen in Stockton, California in this May 13, 2008 file photo. A top bank industry group said on Friday that it opposes an agreement between financial giant Citigroup Inc  (Robert Galbraith/Files/Reuters)Reuters - A top bank industry group said on Friday that it opposes an agreement between Citigroup Inc and Democratic senators that would rewrite U.S. bankruptcy law to help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure, saying it could make home loans more expensive.



A relative of Palestinian journalist Ihab al-Wihedi and his wife mourns prior to their funeral in Gaza City. Tanks and warplanes pounded Gaza on Friday after Israel defied a truce order from the UN Security Council as the death toll from the two-week-old conflict against Hamas passed 800.(AFP/Mahmud Hams)AFP - Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip was set to enter its third week on Saturday, with both sides brushing off a UN appeal to halt devastating attacks that have claimed over 800 lives.



This US Navy photo shows the MV Sirius Star as it is observed at anchor by the US Navy. Somali pirates said Friday they had freed a Saudi-owned supertanker, whose capture nearly two months ago caused panic in international shipping and spurred the world into tougher anti-piracy action.(AFP/NVNS/David B. Hudson)AFP - Somali pirates said Friday they had freed a Saudi-owned supertanker, whose capture nearly two months ago caused panic in international shipping and spurred the world into tougher anti-piracy action.




How Much Car Insurance Should You Buy?

Car insurance is one of the most dreaded chunks in your budget.... Read More

Why Do You Need Homeowners Insurance?

The biggest single investment most people make in their lifetime is buying... Read More

Should I Buy Rental Car Insurance?

Rental car agencies have a menu of insurance policies they would like... Read More

Types of Life Insurance

There are different types of life insurance policies available. Shop around and... Read More

Cheap Term Life Insurance is Available Everywhere

Cheap term life insurance is easier to get than most people think.... Read More

Finding Auto Insurance Comprehensive Coverage

You can go online to easily find and quote auto insurance comprehensive... Read More

Cheap Health Insurance Rates and Personal Health Insurance

If you've been out of school for a couple of years or... Read More

Vehicle Insurance Online is a Convenient Way to Get Insurance Cheap

Online comparison shopping is a convenient way to get cheap insurance for... Read More

The Need For Life Insurance

A person needs to reexamine their life insurance needs every few years... Read More

Life Insurance Beneficiaries

Naming a beneficiary for your life insurance policy can be a difficult... Read More

What is Consumer-Driven Healthcare?

Consumer-driven healthcare is a label that we've put on a movement in... Read More

Life Insurance Benefits

Life Insurance is a legal contract between you and a life insurance... Read More

Gain An Advantage Over Your Competition By Controlling The Cost Of Your Health Insurance

As many of us expect, the New Year will bring both tremendous... Read More

Eleven Money-Saving Auto Insurance Tips for Senior Drivers

Following a few simple tips and taking these measures will ensure that... Read More

Auto Insurance Basics

Most people only think that insurance is something they need so they... Read More

Term Life Insurance on Your Business Partner

Life insurance is something we often take out to protect our family... Read More

How to Match the Right Insurance Policy to the 4 Stages of Life

As we go through life our needs change. A Young man or... Read More

Cure The Insurance Blues By Lowering The Cost of Your Premiums

Does the current amount that you pay on your insurance premiums keep... Read More

What Type of Doctor Should I See Under My HSA?

You can withdraw money from your Health Savings Account (HSA) to visit... Read More

Sisters Are Insuring Themselves: Finance is the New Feminism

According to a study by LifeSearch, the number of women in the... Read More

What To Do When You Suffer An Injury On The Job?

For over 30 years I have been representing injured workers in workers... Read More

Car Insurance Monitoring for Discounted Insurance Rates - Privacy Devouring Monster Eating Us One Bi

For a price, would you let car insurer along for the ride?... Read More

Auto Insurance for Young Drivers

The biggest worry of most parents today is their children growing up... Read More

Long Term Care Insurance

Long Term Care Insurance is needed in the event that a person... Read More

Car Insurance Online ? Benefits of Applying for Auto Insurance Online

Drivers are applying for auto insurance online not just for the convenience... Read More

Individual or Family Health Insurance Options

As more and more individuals working at home with or without families... Read More

A Guide to Insuring Your Sailing Dinghy

If you've just bought a dinghy or are thinking about changing insurance... Read More

Health Insurance Plans and their Differences

Health insurance plans have changed dramatically over the past ten years, and... Read More

Insurance For All Your Gadgets

Personalisation, Digitalisation, Mobilisation, these 3 words represent your life today. Here in... Read More

Tips For Lowering Your Auto Insurance Quote

Do you have many claims? If so, you should do all you... Read More

Homeowners Insurance Coverage

When deciding on the appropriate amount of homeowner's insurance coverage you must... Read More

Do An Auto Insurance Comparison And Benefit From The Savings

It is very important to do an auto insurance comparison when you... Read More

Choosing Long-Term Care Insurance

A little over sixty percent of the folks who reach 65 years... Read More

Terrorism: Acts of Terrorism: When Will Insurance Respond?

Insurance policies provide financial protection in a broad range of circumstances but... Read More

Used Car Insurance

Every state requires that drivers carry liability insurance. The liability coverage section... Read More

Why Boats Are A Pleasure... But You Still Need Boat Insurance

One of the greatest pleasures that a man can have is owning... Read More

The Immorality of Guarantee Issue Health Insurance

While there are genuine debates about whether privatized health insurance or nationalized... Read More

Life Settlements, More than a Cash Surrender Payout

With a life insurance settlement, seniors now have the ability to receive... Read More

Outside Pressures On The Typical Insurance Adjuster

Insurance adjusters are not without outside pressures they must deal with every... Read More

Medical Bankrupticies: What You Can Do To Protect Yourself

First the bad news: about 2,000,000 personal bankruptcies each year are caused... Read More

Why Should I Go To A Life Insurance Broker?

A life insurance broker is a dedicated person that encourages and listens... Read More

Auto Owners Insurance ? Do You Really Need It?

If you think you don't have any need for auto owners insurance,... Read More

UK Young Driver Motor Insurance - Build Your Own No Claims Bonus or Insure through Your Parents

For may young drivers, affording the costs of motor insurance is an... Read More

Saving on Home Insurance: Tips for Cutting Costs

Everyone is searching for a way of cutting costs, a method to... Read More

Taking The Mystery Out Of Long-Term Care Insurance

Here's the good news: with improvements in medical technology and healthier lifestyles,... Read More

All Auto Insurance is Not Created Equal!

Contrary to what you may have heard all auto insurance is not... Read More

We Dont Need Another Broker: How To Get The Best Liability Insurance Rates Available

Some business relationships are forged through blood and friendship. When you work... Read More