Last May I started receiving "Healthbeat", Harvard Medical School's email newsletter. I'm not sure how I come about finding it. I wanted some reliable, current medical information. At first it seemed that the content was sufficient. However they always left me wanting more about the topic. So if you wanted to get more information lets say about "Cholesterol" than "Just click Here" to buy their $16 pamphlet on the subject. It's overpriced. Oh yes Harvard Medical School is prestigious name. But it's still overpriced. I sought out a booklet from my local library and found out that they too thought it was too much and they didn't buy the booklets. Lately "Healthbeat" gives very little information on the topic but a full description of the related pamphlet and it's table of contents. And then when you visit their web site the only health information there is about their publications. Both the email newsletter "Healthbeat" and Harvard Medical School web site are nothing more than an extension of their marketing department.
Last month I was searching for some health information and found the Mayo Clinic web site. I found all of the medical information I was seeking. They too have an email newsletter called "Mayo Clinic Housecall". I subscribed to it. The first edition arrived in my inbox yesterday Feb. 6. It is a very well designed newsletter. It contained 11 brief descriptions of articles ranging from new research about Drug-eluting stents:Do they increase heart attack risk, stress and end of life issues. Included were 4 recipes for healthy eating and a link to the Healthy Recipes Center . Here are some of the articles that provided sufficient analysis and practical ways to use the information: "Prevent Stress Setbacks", "Time Management:", Stress Center (contains several stress related articles) and "Cholesterol Test:Sorting Out the Lipids". The Cholesterol piece provides information to understand the test results provided by the doctor. Often times the doctor will tell you whether your numbers are in the acceptable range and that's about it.
I'm looking forward to next week's Housecall.
2 comments:
Great information. I will be checking out the Mayo clinic links you have posted. I agree the Harvard site is nothing more than an extension of their marketing dept. "health and wellness" is big in advertising right now and it seems everyone, including universities want a piece of the pie (ie. money). I can't believe Harvard is charging 16 bucks for a PDF download on cholesterol!!
Appreciated your comments about health letters. I subscribed to a number of different newsletters, each of several, a year at a time, rotating them over a several year period including these two. I currently receive John Hopkins newsletter and may stay with it for a while longer.
Found your blog at the Ageless Project.
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