Dying to Be Free

Big Food, Big Pharma and Big Tech are bankrupting and killing Americans.

Aug 18, 2023

Issue #132

I just finished reading Dying to Be Free: How America's Ruling Class Is Killing and Bankrupting Americans, and What to Do About It (5 stars and a MUST READ) by Dr. Leland Stillman. It's one of the best books I've ever read about health and wellness, and I've already sent two people a copy. It's not a thick book (164 pages), but it's packed with brilliant observations and great recommendations. More than any other book I've read, it explains why even though the U.S. spends by far the most amount per capita on health care, Americans are the sickest they've ever been and their average life expectancy has actually been declining in recent years.

First Stillman writes about the perverse incentives of doctors, few of whom ever recommend lifestyle changes to their patients because “doctors are not rewarded for delivering such messages....It is the only profession in the world where failure is rewarded....We do not make more money if we get our patients better....[insurance companies] are, effectively, paying us to fail.”

The central thesis of the book is that Big Food, Big Tech, and Big Pharma have a symbiotic relationship, the result of which is Slavery 2.0: “Big Food creates diseases, [the symptoms of which] are treated by the drugs made by Big Pharma. Big Tech provides cover and advertising space for both....They control much of our politics, because they shape the narratives around some of our most basic needs as human beings—food, medical care, and interaction with others....They are criminal enterprises [and] parasites....They are sucking this country dry of its health and wealth....”

Stillman served as a traveling doctor near several Indian reservations, which led to this epiphany: “[Indians] receive free food, free healthcare, and free housing, [and] casinos paid for much of their [other] expenses....Despite this, many...live in abject poverty...and [they] are the sickest minority in the country....They do not become educated and go on to enjoy prosperous careers. They struggle with epidemics of drug abuse, alcoholism, and sex-trafficking....the more free stuff people receive, the sicker they are....'Free stuff' is poison....The ethnic groups in America who 'enjoy' the least government benefits also enjoy the best health statistics.”

When politicians talk about “universal healthcare,” that sounds good to a lot of people, but Stillman explains why it's a deadly trap: “Universal healthcare does not mean universal health—it means an endless supply of medical care that does not reverse modern diseases, but perpetuates them.”

How did the pharmaceutical industry become so powerful? Stillman notes that it “outspends every other industry in lobbying our government.” I think it also buys more ads—at least on news shows—than any other industry, so you will never see any critical coverage or investigative reporting.

Stillman points out that “The 1996 Telecommunications Act grants immunity to the telecommunications industry from health effects caused by their products, specifically wireless technologies,” and then asks, “Why would they need immunity if their products were safe?” Stillman mentions a scientific paper that “points out that the pathology seen in severe COVID-19 is identical to that seen with severe exposure to 5G. 5G cell technology was launched in Spring of 2020, at exactly the same time as COVID-19.” The authors believe that “5G contributes to [COVID] morbidity and mortality.”

Stillman writes that “Health insurance is one of the greatest scams in history.” As someone who is very well versed in risk management and insurance, I totally agree. I plan to devote an entire issue to this subject soon.

Regarding vaccine safety, Stillman writes, “How can we even begin to assess this question when the industry that makes them is routinely engaged in criminal activity, and their regulators are drawn from the ranks of the industry itself? How can we evaluate this based on data from clinical trials that is not available to the public? The pharmaceutical industry owns the data it generates—the public has no right to see it. Much of it remains unavailable for scrutiny.”

Stillman's observations and recommendations are in the same vein as those of Mark Sisson, the conclusion of which is that our basic problem is that we have abandoned our primal/ancestral lifestyle that our body expects from us. For example, “...lack of exposure to our natural environment is a health hazard.”

Stillman points out what the book Died Suddenly revealed: “[The number of deaths reported to VAERS shortly after receiving a COVID vaccine] dwarfs the number of vaccine deaths reports in recent years,” which implies that “the COVID-19 vaccine is causing more deaths than all other vaccines combined.”

Stillman writes about health hazards you never hear or really think about: “Air pollution is one of the main causes of disease today....Prioritizing the air quality of your home is truly an investment in your health.” Another problem is “an epidemic of silent hyperventilation” caused by too much mouth breathing.

Light is something else we never think about about and nearly everyone knows nothing about: “Life on earth has a use for every single frequency of light that penetrates our atmosphere, from infrared to UV-B light. This has profound ramifications for our health and disease....Modern lighting has had the red and infrared portions...edited out....our bodies depend upon [this] light for optimal health. This is why ocular diseases are rapidly increasing in prevalence and severity. It is why kids need glasses more today than ever before in history....We have also completely edited ultraviolet light out of life. Glass filters 99% of ultraviolet light. Most people spend 95% of their time indoors. The time we spend outside, little of our skin is in direct sunlight. The result is [an] epidemic of vitamin D deficiency, which...is fueling...epidemics of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and mental and neurological illness. Time outside, in sunlight, is the answer for many modern health problems.”

Stillman points out how we are still relatively ignorant about physiology, disease, nutrition, etc.: “If it has taken us this long to understand how one protein [gluten], from one common food affects our health, how many other diseases are the result of other [substances] in other foods?”

One of the most common health-related recommendations you hear today is to reduce stress. Although chronic, unnecessary stress (such as doomscrolling) is a killer, Stillman points out that “Life organizes itself around stress, and stress is therefore indispensable to life....Health depends upon stress....Every system in your body needs stress to remain healthy....There are two kinds of stress—eustress and distress. Eustress is stress that our bodies respond to positively, by becoming stronger. Distress is stress that has overwhelmed our capacity to respond to it.”

It's clear that Stillman thinks outside the box. For example, he wonders, “What if your life and health insurance were the same thing?....Imagine having a health insurance company that told you how to live your best life.”

Stillman notes that “In October 2020, Twitter censored Dr. Scott Atlas, a physician with impeccable credentials and academic achievements. [A professor at Harvard] remarked, 'After 300 years, the Age of Enlightenment has ended.' Twitter has censored countless medical doctors, scientists, and citizens, all in the name of public health. The scientific progress of the West...has depended upon the free exchange of ideas, no matter how heretical or seemingly erroneous. We are now at risk of falling into a new dark age.”

I agree. And unless people start doing their own research, thinking independently and critically, and exercising their right to free speech, we will descend into a new Dark Age. Do your part by reading this book. You can also follow Dr. Stillman on Substack.

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Dying to Be Free

Big Food, Big Pharma and Big Tech are bankrupting and killing Americans.

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