Family Medical Care Series

Introducing the author
Dr Wright, the author, was running a series of radio shows about health on nearly 100 Australian radio stations. This inevitably led to requests for books. An astute Melbourne company saw the rising wave of free love "glossies" invading the market some years ago, so decided they would counter this with "a high moral ground" book. Big risk! Firstly, one for girls, then one for boys, children, couples and finally a 5-volume "Family Medical Care" for the entire family. Many parents were glad to let their kids read the "factual facts" in simple, non-sleaze words at home. It saved them a bundle of "trying to explain what happens!"

These took off dramatically, with re-writes and revisions, translations, braille and discs (for the sight impaired) around the world. They are constantly being updated. They are unavailable in shops. They are published by Signs Publishing Company who have been printing educational books for over 100 years.

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KEY TOPICS

Reduce Your Risk of Heart Attack by 50% Weight Loss that Really Works! Don’t be a Cancer Statistic! Arthritis—How to Beat the Pain! Live Longer by 10 years!

Recognising a Heart Attack!

The heart is far and away the most important organ in your body. About the size of a clenched fist, it pumps away without you being aware of it – most of the time. If it stops, so do you! So what are the main problems and solutions?
Congenital problems Congenital defects affect about eight children in a thousand, with this figure reducing to about one in a thousand for ten-year-olds. Fortunately, in recent years, surgical treatments have made great advances so that many congenital problems can be corrected early. Family Medical Care, Vol 3 p 93
Watch Rubella! Rubella (German Measles) during the fifth to eighth week after conception is notorious for producing heart defects. But there are ways to avoid this. For details read Family Medical Care, Vol 3 p 91.
Keeping the “pump” working The heart is essentially a pump, with valves operating continually to keep the blood flowing the right way. Sometimes the valves are faulty; sometimes they lose their flexibility and get “tired” causing the valves to leak. Luckily, modern cardiac surgery can do wonders with faulty or incompetent heart valves, including replacement. In fact, over 5000 are implanted each year in Britain with many more in the USA. To find out the whole detailed picture of valves and their importance in keeping a healthy heart, and their treatment, check out Family Medical Care,Vol 3 p 95.

Dr James Wright - Blood Pressure from InFocus Christian News on Vimeo.

Sensible Weight Loss

Being overweight affects nearly 50 per cent of all people in the Western world. Why is this? Well, the answer lies in the way we live and eat. Firstly, we tend to eat more, and often the wrong types of food (which is generally plentiful in our society). Secondly, we tend not to exercise as we should and become “armchair athletes”. Thirdly, today’s society encourages a more sedentary lifestyle, with less exercise.
The Dangers of Obesity For starters, obesity can lead to many serious diseases. Heart attacks and heart disease are more common among the obese. So are arthritis, blood pressure, diabetes, gall bladder and liver disease, and gout. Surgery is more difficulty and healing slower. It’s a handicap to pregnancy, tends to delay puberty and to decrease fertility. That’s some list! So what should we do?
You are what You Eat! It’s handy to know which foods are high in joules and which are low. (On pages 248-249 of Volume 5 are some fascinating tables showing food joule values.) Take a close look at these foods and check out your daily joule needs. There’s a great example in Family Medical Care.Vol 5 p245, which shows the hypothetical energy requirements of a 56kg nurse, ending with the total kilo joules that she would need for one 24 hour period: 10,539.
Avoid Crash Diets! Don’t be foolish and try to crash back to a normal weight overnight. Though successful in the short term, most people tackling such regimes bounce back to a weight heavier than before.
Weight loss, to be successful, needs to be slow and gradually habitual

Avoiding Cancer

Cancer causes 35,000 deaths each year in Australia and 7000 in New Zealand. Early diagnosis and treatment is often difficult, but cancers of the skin are usually visible, suggesting early intervention (though many are missed). The good news is that many tests can detect early signs of cancer so, rather than wondering, and even if you feel foolish, it pays to over-attend your doctor until you are both sure of any diagnosis.
A Word Not a Sentence! The problem with most cancers is that the cause is unknown and for this reason, early recognition is often missed are available and successful early treatment not introduced. So check out the full Cancer Danger Signals table in Family Medical Care, page 235 Vol 5.
Strictly for Women! On the feminine side of the picture, cancer of the uterus and pelvic organs accounts for hundreds of deaths annually in our country. The cancer usually strikes at the cervix at the neck of the uterus. Over 60 per cent of genital cancers occur here with 25 per cent in the larger body of the uterus and the balance in the ovaries.

Coping with Arthritis

Arthritis is a general term indicating inflammation on the surface of the joints. It is a worldwide problem with various forms. The most common is rheumatoid arthritis which is considered to be an autoimmune disorder, where the body reacts against its own tissues.
Who, Where and When? It may occur in either sex, with women being in the majority. It attacks the lining of the joints usually starting in the smaller joints of the hands or feet, progressing to the larger joints. It’s also likely to occur at any age, from childhood (where it’s called Still’s Disease) and in cases of persons as old as 75 when the disease commenced. In fact, the most probable and peak onset age is between 35 and 50 years. It is claimed that about 2 per cent of males and 5 per cent of females may be affected. As age progresses, this tendency increases so that about 16 percent of females over the age of 65 Show evidence of the disease, either past or present. There is no known cause!
Ways to Cope!
Drugs: There has been considerable progress in developing new drugs to combat this disease. None can claim to be a cure. They can slow down progress of the disease, curb the pain and suppress the arthritic activity through dampening the immune system. See Family Medical Care, Vol 5 p 154 for details.
Non-drug Alternatives: About 80 per cent of the world’s population cannot afford Western medicine, so resort to natural drugs, most of which do little harm and many may actually assist in pain relief and a change in the arthritic situation. These include ginger, glucosamine and flaxseed oil. Pineapple is said to relieve inflammation. For more details check out Family Medical Care, Vol 5, p 161.
Occupational therapy: This can help people with arthritis that has advanced to the stage where everyday tasks are difficult. A whole range of mechanical aids are now available, such as toothpaste squeezers, door openers, special scissors etc. See the diagrams on p 154 of Family Medical Care, Vol 5.

The Diet that makes you Live Longer

Recent studies in the USA and Australia have strongly confirmed that there is increased longevity and quality of life if the diet is predominantly vegetarian.
Eating Sensibly Concentrating on vegetables, fruit, high-vitamin and high-protein foods. On the other hand, go lightly on the greasy, high-fat, high-sugar and refined flour foods. You’ll get a all the fat you need when you consume a normal amount of the other.
Eat Fresh Fresh fruit and vegetables are nutritionally superior to cooked ones, for in the process, many vitamins are lost completely or they are transferred to the water — usually thrown out but useful if kept for use as the water in soups etc.
Instead of Meat A meat diet is not necessary for longevity and good health, despite what many people think. So what are the alternatives that offer the same nutritional value – and more? Soya beans and beans, peas, lentils and legumes in general are enormously versatile and high in protein. Nuts have high protein content, but also contain quite a lot of fat. Recent research has shown that they can improve and protect cardiac health. (For a wide range of free recipes for those who are keen on adding more vegetarian foods to their diet, contact the Nutrition Education Service of the Sanitarium Health Food Company.)
What about Eggs and Cheese? Both are excellent sources of protein, and, of course, they can be served in many ways. But be careful not to overuse eggs because of their high cholesterol content. Those who add eggs and cheese to their vegetarian diet are termed ovo-lacto vegetarians, probably the most popular vegetarian diet.
Enough Vitamins and Minerals? These are essential for good health. In Family Medical Care, Vol 5 p 193 is a chapter outlining the basics of the many vitamins that need to be present in your diet.
Vitamin Pills? The best advice is to be careful and prudent. Most nutritionists say added vitamins are unnecessary, but opinion remains divided. Many older people, particularly if they are active, take supplemental (added) vitamins and minerals. Older people tend not to absorb all the goodness in their food, so additional supplies may be beneficial. For a comprehensive list of vitamins and minerals, their usefulness, their depletion factors and where they are to be found is in Family Medical Care, Vol 5 p 210. Anyone interested in food values should read this list.

Family Medical Care in 5 great volumes Up-to-date medical information Easy-to-read and understand Lavishly illustrated Emergency section Lifestyle information All-family interest Your investment in family health! Can you afford NOT to have it in your home?

Volume contents include:
 

• Emergency!
• Recognising a Heart Attack!
• What is Your Heart Score?
• Avoiding Cancer
• Hair Beauty
• Coping with Arthritis
• Avoiding Wrinkles
• Beating Depression
• Asthma
• Sensible Weight Loss
• Your Eyes, Ears, Nose and Throat
• What Others Say...
• The Diet That Makes You Live Longer
• About Family Medical Care
• Smoking — the Present
• Position
• Confident Parenting

Sample topics in the Family Medical Care set include-

Emergency
Everything you need to know about Emergency First Aid is revealed in Volume 5 of Family Medical Care. In this comprehensive and lavishly illustrated 60-page section (almost a book in itself!) there are 70 Emergency First Aid problems listed and addressed in the most readable way. Topics cover most domestic emergencies from nosebleed to poisoning, from choking to heat exhaustion, from bandaging to snakebite – and everything in between. Outside of the home, there are accidents, trauma and stings to name but a few.

Avoiding Cancer
Cancer causes 35,000 deaths each year in Australia and 7000 in New Zealand. Early diagnosis and treatment is often difficult, but cancers of the skin are usually visible, suggesting early intervention (though many are missed). The good news is that many tests can detect early signs of cancer so, rather than wondering, and even if you feel foolish, it pays to over-attend your doctor until you are both sure of any diagnosis.

Beating Depression
Depression can affect 10 per cent of men and 15 per cent of women during their lifetime. This may vary from minor, barely noticeable symptoms, to more serious ones that could lead to suicide if untreated. As there is a social stigma attached to depression, it is rarely discussed and people are reticent to seek medical advice for fear of being labeled a “crackpot.”