Metagenics, Inc. Launches StopChronicDisease.com Online Social Networking Community to Combat Lifestyle-Related Chronic Illness

First online health information and social networking community to connect people with chronic illness with a diverse network of therapeutic lifestyle change (TLC) specialists

February 25, 2009 – San Clemente, CA – Metagenics, a global life sciences company focused on reversing chronic illness and improving health and wellness, announced today that it has launched StopChronicDisease.com, a social networking and online health information community dedicated to helping patients with chronic illness connect with health care professionals who specialize in lifestyle medicine. Metagenics is the only company in the world to provide a certification program for health care professionals who are committed to combating chronic illness using these methods.

Lifestyle-related chronic illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and metabolic syndrome are among the country’s most prevalent and costly health problems. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic illnesses affect nearly half of all Americans, cause 7 out of 10 premature deaths, and consume 75 percent of health care expenditures. Leading public health organizations have long advocated the use of TLC programs—which help patients develop healthy behaviors such as better nutrition and fitness—as the first line of defense in preventing, managing, or reversing many common chronic illnesses. But despite the proven effectiveness of TLC, most doctors lack the training or systems necessary to provide their patients with meaningful lifestyle solutions.

“It’s one thing to tell patients to eat right, exercise regularly, and manage their stress. It’s something else entirely to show them how to do it, let alone on a long-term basis,” said StopChronicDisease.com medical advisory board member and Metagenics medical director, Robert H. Lerman, MD, PhD. “The idea behind StopChronicDisease.com was to create a trusted, online health information network that features the most highly trained TLC practitioners in the United States and Canada. While there are a number of peer-to-peer and health-focused social networking sites that do an excellent job of connecting patients with other patients, no other online community exists where people suffering from chronic illness can meet such a diverse and proven network of lifestyle medicine specialists in a social networking environment.”

According to Lerman, Metagenics has trained and certified thousands of health care professionals in its TLC methods so far. While Metagenics-certified medical doctors, osteopaths, nutritionists, and alternative medicine practitioners currently make up the bulk of the network, all health professionals who have demonstrated an acumen for and strong commitment to lifestyle medicine are encouraged to join and participate in the StopChronicDisease.com social networking site.

In addition to connecting patients suffering from chronic illnesses with TLC-certified providers, StopChronicDisease.com members can gain an understanding of how lifestyle medicine can help them overcome their health challenges through the following tools offered on the StopChronicDisease.com social networking site:

• Connecting with other members who share their interests

• Joining community groups, blogs, and forums; or

• Watching video posts from other patients enrolled in TLC programs.

“Nearly everybody knows someone who has been affected in some way by chronic illness,” said Lerman. “Metagenics is sponsoring this site so that the millions of people who have been affected by these conditions can have a trusted resource for TLC-related information and, most importantly, connect with a specialist in their local community who can make a real difference.”

About StopChronicDisease.com

The mission of StopChronicDisease.com is to reverse chronic illness using therapeutic lifestyle changes (TLC). StopChronicDisease.com is the only online community where people with chronic illness can find a network of health care providers with experience, training, and insight in helping patients regain their health using TLC. Additionally, StopChronicDisease.com members can gain a better understanding of the impact of TLC on their health, through community groups, blogs, forums, and videos. Membership at StopChronicDisease.com is free. To join the StopChronicDisease.com community today, visit www.stopchronicdisease.com.

About Metagenics, Inc.

Metagenics, headquartered in San Clemente, CA, is a global life sciences company focused on reversing chronic illness and improving health. Founded in 1983, the company serves tens of thousands of health care professionals and more than a million patients throughout the world and holds more than 40 propriety formula patents for use in nutraceucials, medical foods, and pharmaceuticals. Today, Metagenics continues its leadership role by successfully merging the disciplines of nutritional genomics, functional medicine, and therapeutic lifestyle change programs to find solutions to society’s most pressing health concerns. For more information, please visit http://www.metagenics.com.

####

Company contact:
Joseline L. Davison
Corporate Communications
Metagenics, Inc.

josiedavison@metagenics.com
949-369-3406

Fun With Photomosaics

Body Burden and Detoxification

According to the body burden study of the Environmental Working Group, our children are born with over 200 foreign chemicals in their body from the toxins that we take in.  Obviously this is becoming a pandemic issue where children are literally born toxic.  It stands to reason that all of these toxins in our system are likely affecting our health.

 

So what do we do about it? 

 

If you are into complimentary alternative medicine, the Textbook of Functional Medicine has an entire chapter dedicated to the topic of helping the body clear toxins out of the body.  The takeaway message from the textbook is that your liver processes the toxins in your system and should be working as well as possible in order for you to detoxify properly.  A suggested way to help the process of detoxification is to go through a 10 or 28 day metabolic detoxification program where you modify your diet to cut out many of the toxic-contributing nutrients.  During this program, supplement your diet with nutrients that are formulated specifically to support and balance your liver function while providing the low-allergen potential macronutrients that your body would need to power the detoxification process. 

 

Does it work?

 

Well there is still a lot of debate.  However, there are a few published studies out there that point to a clinical benefit.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9359760&dopt=AbstractPlus

 

Overall, I am a great fan of detoxification and go through the ten day detox program, with the medical food that was used in the above study at least twice per year. 

  TAGS:  Detoxification, functional medicine, IFM, body burden, medical food, environmental working group, liver, 10 day detox, 28 day detoxification

New Study Shows Dietary Supplement Usage Could Save $24+ Billion in Healthcare Costs

This study came out a couple of weeks ago and I have not had a chance to post it on this blog.   However, when you read it, you can see that some very simple actions can result in a lifetime of good health.

“New Study Shows Dietary Supplement Usage Could Save $24+ Billion in Healthcare Costs 

2007-05-03 15:52:00A new study commissioned by the Dietary Supplement Education Alliance (DSEA) shows that over the next five years, appropriate use of select dietary supplements would improve the health of key populations and save the nation more than $24 billion in healthcare costs. The study updated research conducted by The Lewin Group in 2004 and 2005 that included a systematic literature review of the most rigorous scientific research available.
 
“Rapidly escalating healthcare costs in the U.S. have severe implications for our society as a whole,” said Jon Benninger, president of DSEA. “This study provides valuable data that may lead to preventative healthcare solutions and address the budgetary problems facing federal and state health insurance programs, corporate healthcost managers and individual families.” Key study findings include: 

•    Calcium with Vitamin D: Appropriate use of calcium with Vitamin D for the Medicare population shows potential avoidance of approximately 776,000 hospitalizations for hip fractures over five years, as well as avoidance of stays in skilled nursing facilities for some proportion of patients. The five-year (2008-2012) estimated net cost associated with avoidable hospitalization for hip fracture is approximately $16.1 billion. •    Folic Acid: If just 11.3 million of the 44 million American women who are of childbearing age and not taking folic acid began taking 400 mcg. of folic acid on a daily basis neural tube defects could be prevented in 600 babies, saving as much as $344,700,000 in the first year. Over five years, taking into account the cost of the supplement, $1.4 billion could potentially be saved.

•    Omega 3 Fatty Acids: The estimate of the potential five-year savings in health care expenditures resulting from a reduction in the occurrence of coronary heart disease (CHD) among the population over age 65 through daily intake of approximately 1800 mg of omega 3 is $3.2 billion. Approximately 374,301 hospitalizations and associated physician fees due to CHD could be avoided.

•    Lutein with Zeaxanthin: Through daily intake of 6-10 mg of lutein with zeaxanthin, it is estimated that $3.6 billion could be saved over 5 years by helping people with age-related macular degeneration avoid dependency. Across the five-year period, approximately 190,927 individuals could avoid the transition to dependence either in the community or a nursing facility that would accompany a loss of central vision resulting from advanced AMD. “

“The impressive results of the study provide clear evidence of the benefit of dietary supplements,” said Mr. Benninger. “As an industry, it is important that we fund studies like this and publicize results, so that consumers and legislators realize the value of supplements.” 

TAGS: Chronic disease, lutein, zeaxanthin, omega 3 fatty acids, folic acid, neural tube defects, CHD, macular degeneration, hip fractures, vitamin D, calcium

links for 2007-05-24

• Survey shows women know about probiotics but arent trying them
  Growing research on probiotics shows that they may be an effective way to manage irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) which affects a large number of people and presents more often in women. Hopefully, the usage trend will change and people will start taking p
  (tags: Probiotics, DanActive, NCFM, Women, IBS)

Finally, a political organization that shares my views

I received a press release last week heralding the announcement of a new political group dedicated to stopping the chronic disease epidemic.  This new group, The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease has a mission that is similar to Metagenics in that their entire aim is to create a movement to fight the onslaught of chronic disease that is threatening the welfare of the public at large.     Here is a copy of their press release, and a link to their site.  Please visit their site and find out how you can start leveraging your political clout to make a change in management of chronic lifestyle disease.   

“WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 15, 2007) – Leading experts and organizations in the health care, business, and labor communities came together today to launch the Partnership to FightChronic Disease (PFCD), a coalition committed to making the issue of chronic disease the keyhealth care issue in the 2008 presidential election. The PFCD is led by Richard H. Carmona,M.D., M.P.H., FACS, the 17th Surgeon General of the United States (2002-2006) and Ken Thorpe, Ph.D., Chair, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and a former White House health policy advisor. “We have a ‘sick care’ system, not a health care system in this country. That’s why this diverse coalition is sounding the alarm and calling for action,” said Carmona. “Despite any differences we may have on other issues, we all agree on a single, undeniable fact: 130 million people suffer from chronic diseases in our nation, and costs are skyrocketing because of preventable and poorly managed chronic diseases. We can – and we must – do something to stop it.” “Americans suffering from chronic diseases, such as diabetes, asthma, and heart disease can and do have devastating effects in terms of lives lost, quality of life lost, and tremendous financial burden. The good news is that the benefits of action could be the opposite,” Carmona added. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), chronic diseases are responsible for seven out of every 10 deaths in the U.S. – killing more than 1.7 million Americans every year. Chronic diseases are also the primary driver of health care costs, accounting for more than 75% of the $2 trillion dollars spent each year on health care in the United States. 

“Any serious proposal to reform our health care system must address preventable chronic disease,” said Thorpe. “Our nation’s premier business, labor, health care, and community organizations are dedicated to making chronic diseases like asthma, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer the number one health care priority for policymakers and presidential candidates.” Thorpe, along with other high-profile health policy experts, including formerAdministrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Mark McClellan, M.D., announced the broad-based effort that aims to change the way our nation approaches chronic disease at a panel discussion today. Representatives from more than 50 organizations attended the event, which was held at the National Capital YMCA, a critical partner in the effort. Leaders from such organizations as the American Academy of Family Physicians,
America’s Agenda: Health Care for All, American Hospital Association,
America’s pharmaceutical companies, National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations, National Health Council, and Service Employee International Union joined Thorpe and McClellan on the panel. 

During the event, Thorpe and McClellan delivered a keynote presentation titled “An Unhealthy Truth” – an overview of the crisis of chronic disease and the lack of awareness among the majority of Americans about the problem and potential solutions. Key facts in the presentation included: *30% of the increase in health spending since 1987 is due to doubling of the rate of obesity during that time;  *Two-thirds of spending over the past 25 years is attributable to the rise in rates of treated chronic disease; and * Only a small fraction of Americans, fewer than one in six, comprehend the magnitude of the problem: that chronic diseases represent more than 70% of the deaths in the U.S. and more than 75% of health care costs. “There is a lot of debate about how to pay for health care, but there is a lot of agreement about the need for better prevention and management of chronic diseases that can yield better results for patients and overall cost savings,” said McClellan. “With the presidential election coming up, we intend to do all we can to put the focus on the critical need to reduce the burden of chronic disease. It’s essential for our health and for the sustainability of our health care system.”  In order to bring the issue of chronic disease to the forefront of the national dialogue on health care, the PFCD is modeling its outreach strategy and tactics after a modern-day presidential campaign. Thorpe and other national partners will participate in the launches of state chapters over the next few days and weeks in high-profile presidential primary states, such as Iowa, New Hampshire, and
South Carolina. The launches of state-based PFCD campaigns will jump-start the PFCD’s grassroots campaign, which includes voter and candidate education and media outreach. While the initial phase of the campaign targets early presidential primary states, the PFCD will continue spreading its message through the 2008 presidential election and beyond. Paid media is a critical part of the PFCD’s awareness-building efforts. Print, radio, billboard, and other highly visible outdoor advertisements aim to educate consumers and policymakers on the issue of chronic disease. The ads will explicitly ask voters to hold presidential candidates responsible for addressing the issue.”

TAGS:  Partnership to fight chronic disease, political group, Washington, awareness, healthcare coalition, obesity

links for 2007-05-17

• Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease
  New political organization dedicated to stoppping the chronic disease epidemic.
  (tags: organization, political group, chronic disease, www.fightchronicdisease.org, corporate wellness)

Something’s got to change

 

A new report released by the Commonwealth Fund ranked the
United States healthcare system last in a comparison to six other westernized nations:
Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom.  This is in spite of a per capita expenditure that is nearly double that of the other nations. 

The summary of the findings are as follows:

“Quality: The indicators of quality were grouped into four categories: right (or effective) care, safe care, coordinated care, and patient-centered care. Compared with the other five countries, the U.S. fares best on provision and receipt of preventive care, a dimension of “right care.” However, its low scores on chronic care management and safe, coordinated, and patient-centered care pull its overall quality score down. Other countries are further along than the U.S. in using information technology and a team approach to manage chronic conditions and coordinate care. Information systems in countries like  Germany, New Zealand, and the U.K. enhance the ability of physicians to identify and monitor patients with chronic conditions. Such systems also make it easy for physicians to print out medication lists, including those prescribed by other physicians. Nurses help patients manage their chronic diseases, with those services financed by governmental programs. 

Access: Not surprising—given the absence of universal coverage—people in the U.S. go without needed health care because of cost more often than people do in the other countries. Americans were the most likely to say they had access problems related to cost, but if insured, patients in the U.S. have rapid access to specialized health care services. In other countries, like the U.K and Canada, patients have little to no financial burden, but experience long wait times for such specialized services. The U.S. and Canada rank lowest on the prompt accessibility of appointments with physicians, with patients more likely to report waiting six or more days for an appointment when needing care. Germany scores well on patients’ perceptions of access to care on nights and weekends and on the ability of primary care practices to make arrangements for patients to receive care when the office is closed. Overall, Germany ranks first on access. 

Efficiency: On indicators of efficiency, the U.S. ranks last among the six countries, with the U.K. and New Zealand ranking first and second, respectively. The U.S. has poor performance on measures of national health expenditures and administrative costs as well as on measures of the use of information technology and multidisciplinary teams. Also, of sicker respondents who visited the emergency room, those in Germany and New Zealand are less likely to have done so for a condition that could have been treated by a regular doctor, had one been available. 

Equity: The U.S. ranks a clear last on all measures of equity. Americans with below-average incomes were much more likely than their counterparts in other countries to report not visiting a physician when sick, not getting a recommended test, treatment or follow-up care, not filling a prescription, or not seeing a dentist when needed because of costs. On each of these indicators, more than two-fifths of lower-income adults in the
U.S. said they went without needed care because of costs in the past year. 

Healthy lives: The U.S. ranks last overall with poor scores on all three indicators of healthy lives. The U.S. and U.K. had much higher death rates in 1998 from conditions amenable to medical care—with rates 25 to 50 percent higher than Canada and Australia. Overall, Australia ranks highest on healthy lives, scoring first or second on all of the indicators.”

Obviously there are many factors that contribute to the lagging
U.S. performance, but I think the overall message is clear.  It is time to change healthcare.

TAGS: healthcare, Commonwealth Fund, mirror in mirror, health survey, US ranking, healthcare Australia, healthcare England, healthcare Canada, healthcare New Zealand, healthcare Germany

Just a thank you for your support

I have been web surfing quite a bit over the last couple of days.  Let’s just say that Mother’s day was very quite around my house.  I came across a few blogs that mention Metagenics products, and I wanted to thank them for their support. 

The first blog is from Laura who has been struggling with a thyroid condition for some time.  Our prayers and well wishes go out to her. 

The other blog is Sandra and Stephanie’s who have some great commentary on nutritional supplements in their Supplements 101 post.

Continuing mission to Stop Chronic Disease

I wanted to share the announcement of this new study with you because it does show that there may be a way to manage chronic lifestyle diseases.  The study was commissioned by the Dietary Supplement Education Alliance; which admittedly is a political group for the dietary supplement and nutrition industry.   But regardless of the group that financed the study, the outcome points to a great opportunity for people who are on the path of poor health and heading for a lifetime of chronic lifestyle diseases.   

The study points out that just by taking a few key nutrients, the baby-boomer population can successfully combat the onset of brittle bones, macular degeneration, and even heart disease.  Personally, I would much rather take a tablespoon of fish oil every day than a drug with side effects.  

Here is a link to the press release of the new study.    New Study Shows Dietary Supplement Usage Could Save $24+ Billion in Healthcare Costs