Grass Roots Health

I first heard about Dr. Mike Osterholm in March 2020 while on spring break in the Phoenix, AZ area for spring training baseball. After attending a spring training game or two, my son-in-law informed me that baseball was canceled for the year. Initially, I thought he was joking, but he was not. The 2020 preseason and regular season baseball were canceled for all fans.  

That night, we drove approximately 45 minutes to meet some rela...

The U.S. has an Israel problem. The problem is this: The U.S. has supplied weapons to Israel that have been used by Israel in serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law and in a manner that is inconsistent with U.S. law, policies, and values.  The U.S. has supported Israel since the modern establishment of the nation in 1948. There have been atrocities on both sides. However, the atrocities have been grea...

Is climate change caused by humans? Or is climate change a hoax made up by liberals? Is climate change just a naturally occurring phenomenon in the environment? Do over 97% of climate experts believe that humans are causing climate change? Who or what is responsible for the 26% of Americans who deny human-caused climate change and the 14% who deny climate change is happening at all?        

Listen as our host Tim Jordan asks one of...

Of all similar, wealthy nations of the world, Americans pay the most for health care (I call it “sick care”) and receive the least back for their investment.  

Get out your large, foam finger. We are No. 1 in health care!  We're No 1.  USA! USA! USA!  Right? Wrong!  

Infant mortality (death) rate is often used as a proxy indicator of a nation’s health. The U.S. had a higher infant mortality rate than other wealthy countries like us...

We are born, live, get old, and then die. This is the natural cycle of life. One thing is certain, humans have a 100% mortality rate. 

Death is a rite of passage in which we all participate – as a family member, a health care provider, or as a patient.    

Healthcare providers often view death through a biomedical lens and define death as a physiological event. As a result, they often view death very narrowly as a medical failure. ...

We adults have created a plastic pollution disaster for those that will follow in our footsteps. However, you can be part of the solution starting today!  

Microplastics, 5 millimeters or less in size, come from a variety of larger plastics such as plastic bottles, car tires, plastic beads (including those in skin-care products), and synthetic fibers. These larger plastics typically break down into smaller and smaller plastics call...

This past summer, I visited a Native American Museum in the Ozark Mountains. An Iroquois saying on a painting caught my attention: “We should consider the results of every decision on the next seven generations that follow us.” Smart people were the Iroquois!

Unfortunately, we adults in modern times have not been smart. Plastic pollution will be the legacy that we leave our children, grandchildren, and at least, the next seven ge...

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers collectively represent the most common type of cancer and the second leading cause of death from cancer in the U.S. GI cancers account for just under 30% of all cancer deaths. This type of cancer can affect the esophagus, stomach, pancreas and biliary tract, small intestine, liver, colon, rectum, and anus.

 GI cancers share risk factors, including: 

• Occupational exposure to carcinogens 
• Obesity 
• ...

Many citizens of the U.S. think that they have the best health care system in the world. I have bad news for them: The U.S does not. It has one of the worst health care systems in the world. Of similar developed countries, the U.S. has the most expensive, broken, reactive, sick care system that yields some of the worst patient outcomes. Our sick care system has little to do with health.    

Maternal and child death rates are ofte...

People think like this:  If it is not in my “backyard” and not affecting me and/or my family, I really do not pay much attention to it and really do not care. Well, this is an issue that impacts at least 12 million of you. That’s how many of you get your drinking water from the Lake Erie watershed.

Do you care about your health? Do you care about the quality of your drinking water? You should care enough to listen to this podcast...

On October 7, 2024, Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip killed at least 1,139 Israelis and injured many more (Aljazeera News, 2024). Hamas also took more than 250 from Israel to the Gaza Strip, including older people, women, children, and men. According to the Washington Post (2024), 84 hostages are believed to be still alive and in captivity. Since the attack this past October, 112 hostages have been freed. 

In retaliation, the...

In the U.S., informal, family caregiving is on the rise. In 2015, there were 43.5 million, informal care givers. In 2023, there were more than 100 million adults who are informal care givers. The direct cost of caregiving is nearly $44 million dollars, given the loss of 650,000 jobs and approximately 800,000 individuals who report absenteeism from work.

Providing care to others is personally costly. According to research, 70% to ...

Every day in this country, hundreds of patients of all ages receive bad news from their health care providers. What is it like to be diagnosed with a life-threatening illness? What do you think about? What are your emotions? How does you cope with the associated losses such as a loss of energy, function, a job, or a career? How do others treat you?

Many patients in this condition say that it feels like they have a “scarlet letter...

At the end of February 2024, I talked to people in Ohio’s snowbelt region, and they all said the same thing, “I think the snowplow guy maybe came twice.” Only twice! Wow! The snowplow guys probably liked the lack of snow!   

You see, in major parts of the U.S., winter never arrived. According to preliminary data from AccuWeather, this winter was the warmest on record in the U.S thanks to El Nino and our warming climate. 

This p...

Let me ask you a question. Are these things related? Historic redlining, racism, food scarcity, and obesity. Are people who live in previously redlined areas worse off, and do they have worse health outcomes than those who live elsewhere?

In this February 2024 episode, host Tim Jordan explores these questions and more with Anthony Goodwin, the ...

Were you aware that we are literally “swimming” in a sea of chemicals that may be killing us?

These chemicals are everywhere and in everything including our air, food, water, medical devices, medical implants, non-stick pans, personal care products, stain-resistant carpet and furniture, cardboard packaging, building materials, and firefighting foam.

These chemicals called “forever chemicals” or PFAS (i.e., per and polyfluoroalk...

Most Americans do not like to think about or talk about death. Death is like the “elephant in the middle of the room.”  Everyone sees the elephant and knows that it is there, but no one says a peep! We prefer to avoid the topic. We certainly do not want to jinx ourselves! 

Death is viewed negatively as loss. When someone close to us dies (be it a person or a companion animal), we feel sadness and grief.   

But what if death is ...

In this November 2023 episode, host Tim Jordan explores this question with his guests: Why don’t more American adults do this?  Do what? Advance Care Planning. Only about 1 in 3 American adults have done Advance Care Planning. Yet it is free! Why have so few done this?  

Special Guests, Debra Jackson, RN of VITAS Health Care and Kimberly Schmidt, RN of Promedica Health System help Tim answer this very perplexing and important que...

In this October 2023 episode, host Tim Jordan interviews the nieces of Nancy Cruzan: Angela Broaddus and Miranda Lewis. Who was Nancy Cruzan?

She was at the center of the first “right to die with dignity” case ever heard by the United States Supreme Court. Together, Tim and his guests explore this topic:  Who was Nancy Cruzan?    

Resources for this podcast:

• National Institutes of Health (NIH): Advance Care Planning: Advanc...