Insights

<p>An <a href="http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ben/cnf/2009/00000005/00000004/ar…; title="Nutrient Content of Lettuce and its Improvement">article</a> in Current Nutrition &amp; Food Science has pointed out that "open leaf" type <a href="http://www.healthaliciousness.com/vegetables/lettuce.php&quot; title="Information on Lettuce">lettuces</a> such as romaine are much richer in nutrients than crisp head types, like ice-berg. The main reason for this difference is the ability of the leaves to absorb light, and thereby synthesize more vitamins.

Here’s what we’re checking out today:

<strong>Painkillers:</strong> Popular (and highly addictive) painkillers Darvon and Darvocet – prescribed to an estimated 10 million Americans in 2009 – <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/sc-dc-1120-fda-darvon-we… be pulled from the market</a> because they have been linked to potentially fatal heart rhythm problems, reports Andrew Zajac for the Los Angeles Times.

<p>Doctors looking for a business model to help them stay profitable in tough economic times should consider the sure-fire plan cooked up by <a href="http://www.relianthospice.com/">Reliant Hospice</a> in Columbia, South Carolina.</p>

<p>Today's <em>Daily Briefing </em>is a bit behind schedule but is all about pushing health and health care forward.</p> <p><strong>Politics:</strong> Politico's Glenn Thrush has a <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/45181.html">great lead here</a>: "A conservative Maryland physician elected to Congress on an anti-Obamacare platform surprised fellow freshmen at a Monday orientation session by demanding to know why his government-subsidized health care plan takes a month to kick in."</p>

<p>Here’s what we’re checking out today:</p> <p><strong>Rehab:</strong> Can the hallucinogen <a href="http://www.pitch.com/2010-11-18/news/ibogaine-helps-addicts-heroin-meth… help drug addicts kick the habit</a>? Keegan Hamilton reviews the evidence on ThePitch.&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="http://www.consumersunion.org/">Consumers Union</a> invited me to speak at its Safe Patient Summit in Austin last week. The group of patient advocates, health care providers and reporters engaged in a fascinating discussion about how health care might become a more transparent industry and a less frightening and frustrating experience for those who are the victims of medical error or negligence.

<p>Here’s what we’re checking out today:</p> <p><strong>Gimme Insurance:</strong> Writing in the Columbia Journalism Review, Trudy Lieberman <a href="http://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/the_education_of_congressman-elect_and… the astonishing case of a newly elected doctor-Congressman</a> who was irked because his new health insurance didn’t start on the very first day of his new job. Welcome to the rest of America, Rep. Andy Harris.</p>

<p>Health reform may go under the knife when Republicans take control of Congress in January – but reform-related scams likely will remain <a href="http://health.usnews.com/health-news/managing-your-healthcare/insurance… and well</a>. Here are some resources for reporting on these scams should they crop up in your community.</p>

<p>What does it mean to be a “good girl” or “bad girl,” and who is making the wiser sexual choices? This was a topic discussed at the <a href="http://www.breakingthesilenceevent.com/BTS_Home.php"><span style="color: #99338a;">Breaking The Silence: Black and Latino Women Taking Care of Ourselves while Building Healthy Relationships with Men</span></a> conference Saturday, November 6th.</p>

<p>Here’s what we’re checking out today:</p> <p><strong>Alcohol Tax:</strong> Doubling the current tax on alcohol could <a href="http://inews.idsk.com/viewer/story.php?CLIENT=INFOMAILER&amp;NEWSID=imn… alcohol-related deaths by about 35 percent</a> and deliver other public health benefits, according to new research released at the American Public Health Association meeting in Denver.</p>