The following list of ten most famous surgeries of all time is listed from the earliest known procedure to current robotics. This list depicts a mini-timeline of the successes and mistakes (which seem glaring when conducted on celebrities) that have formed what is perceived today as modern surgery.

1. Trepanation (or Trephination): Noted as the earliest form of surgical operation, this procedure dates to Neolithic times when flint scrapers were used to cut circular holes in a living person’s skull. Hundreds of trephined skulls have been found the world over and many show bone regrowth, which indicates a successful operation. It is unknown why these operations were performed during ancient times, but the procedure is used today to treat health problems related to intracranial diseases.
2. First Appendectomy: Although an appendectomy — or removal of the appendix — is a common procedure today, the first appendectomy reportedly was performed in 1735 without anesthesia. The next fully recorded appendectomy occurred a century later, when English surgeon H. Hancock performed and appendectomy on a patient with acute appendicitis. An inflamed appendix will likely burst if not removed, but it is now recognized that many cases can resolve when treated non-operatively.
3. Lord Nelson’s Arm (or lack thereof): Although amputation, or the partial or full removal of a limb, has a long history, perhaps the most famous amputation of all time was that of Lord Horatio Nelson’s arm. Lord Nelson was hit in the right arm by a musket ball shortly after stepping ashore on the Spanish island of Tenerife in July 1797. After unsuccessfully trying to save his arm, surgeons removed it on August 1, and Nelson resumed issuing orders to his men a mere thirty minutes after that surgery.
4. First General Anesthesia: Although general anesthesia was not used in full force until surgeons used it on the battlefields of America during the Civil War (1861-1865), it is well known that a Japanese physician, Seishu Hanaoka (shown here), used anesthesia on a sixty-year-old woman to excise a breast cancer in 1804. Today, the mortality rate for general anesthesia is about three to five deaths per million anesthetic administrations. Mortality rates are most commonly related to surgical factors or preexisting medical conditions.
5. Blood Transfusions: Surgeon James Blundell created a huge breakthrough in surgical techniques when he first provided blog to women who had massive hemorrhages after childbirth in the early 19th century. While the practice fell out of favor when other patients died, Karl Landsteiner discovered during the early 20th century that the reason behind these deaths was the lack of blood typing into groups O, A, B and AB. By the 1930s, blood was separated into plasma and red blood cells, which could then be stored for long periods of time. The first blood banks were established during World War II.
6. The First Sterile Surgery: Joseph Lister read an article written by chemist Louis Pasteur that suggested rotting and fermentation could occur if micro-organisms were present. In 1867, Lister tried surgery with a treatment of carbolic acid solution to eliminate those micro-organisms (germs) and found the results remarkably successful in eliminating infection. He also made surgeons wear clean gloves and wash their hands before and after surgery. His methods were the foundations of the then-new “germ theory” which led to sterile surgeries worldwide. Listerine mouthwash was named in honor of this man’s work in antisepsis.
7. First Heart Transplant: The thought of transplanting a good heart for a bad one was not new when South African surgeon, Christiaan Neethling Barnard (pictured here), conducted the first heart transplant on Lewis Washkansky on 3 December 1967. Records of transplanting a heart were found in documents as early as 400 AD in China. While Barnard’s surgery was a success, Washkansky died eighteen days after surgery at age fifty-three from double pneumonia.
8. Michael Jackson’s Face: Through a series of plastic surgeries that occurred between 1984 and 2004, this famous pop singer altered his nose, his skin color and his entire appearance several times over. It was difficult not to notice the transformations in this highly public figure. Despite his obviously altered look, the singer only ever admitted to two nose jobs and blamed his progressively paler skin on the condition, vitiligo. His cosmetic surgeries helped people to question the connections between plastic surgery and mental and emotional health issues.
9. Julie Andrews’ Throat: Millions of fans were heartbroken to learn that a botched throat surgery in 1997 prevented this diva from singing. However, she discovered a new “sing-speak” technique and plans to perform at her first concert since her surgery this next summer in London. Andrews filed a malpractice suit against her surgeon in 1999, providing a highlighted case of health practices that often are less than satisfactory, even for celebrities and the wealthy.
10. Robotic Surgery: In May 1998, Dr. Friedrich-Wilhelm Mohr performed the first robot-assisted heart bypass, using the DaVinci robot at the Leipzig Heart Centre in Germany. This robot has four arms, which are manipulated remotely by a surgeon. These arms allow for more precise movements, less contamination and less invasive surgical methods. However, the success of this procedure still depends upon the surgeon’s ability for preciseness and ability to use the robot.

Each blog within the categories is listed in alphabetical order by blog title. This method shows our readers that we do not favor one blog over another. All blogs were updated within December 2009.

Various Surgical Procedures

1. Annals of Surgical Innovation and Research: A journal-based site, you can read frequently updated open access articles on all aspects of research in surgery related disciplines.
2. Archives of Surgery: Sponsored by the magazine of the same name, this site provides full-text articles, case of the month, a CME course, video supplements and more for those interested in all surgical methods.
3. Dr. William Barrett’s Blog: If you want to learn the latest news about joint replacements, visit this blog provided by an orthopedic surgeon currently in practice in the Seattle, Washington, area.
4. Images of Surgery: View photo-essays that combine description, allusion and narrative, updated monthly.
5. Inside Surgery: Learn more about all types of surgical procedures and alternatives through this blog.
6. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery: Read peer papers, learn about industry news and network with others on this site for surgeons.
7. Laser Eye Surgery Blog: A blog that supports anyone who wants to learn more about laser eye surgery.
8. Naples Orthopedic Surgeon: Learn more about how to fix what’s falling apart on your body through this updated orthopedic blog.
9. OpNotes: This blog features informal discussions about new surgical procedures, products and ideas in the operating room.
10. Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Blog: Dr. Howard J. Luks provides news and insights into a variety of joint surgeries and recovery methods.
11. Orthopedics Blog: Dr. Cluett provides all the information you might need to learn about orthopedics and orthopedic surgery.
12. SurgeXperiences: This blog represents the “Grand Rounds” of the surgical world, where various surgeons share their experiences.

Heart Surgery

13. Adam’s Heart Valve Surgery Blog: Adam Pick, a former patient and auther blogs about heart valve replacement and heart valve repair.
14. CTSNet: The Cardiothoracic Surgery Network home page contains links to a wide variety of online reading materials, including the Congenital Litarature Watch and the Annals of Thoracic Surgery.
15. Scarlett’s Heart Blog: This blog is about a child who underwent heart surgery when she was one week old. Learn more about her experiences with Tetralogy of Fallot with Pulmonary Atresia, also called Pulmonary Artesia VSD with MAPCAs.
16. Science Blog Heart Surgery: This link leads to the heart surgery section at the Science Blog. Learn the latest in scientific news on this field.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

17. Dental Implant Center Blog: Learn about the latest news and perspectives on dental surgery and maxillofacial construction from this blog.
18. Dental Implants, Oral Surgery, and Dentistry Current: Dr. Kazemi, located in Bethesda, Maryland, offers information on contemporary oral surgery techniques in this illustrated blog.
19. Dental News & Technology Blog: Dr. Mary Jablow provides a dental blog filled with the latest dental news and technology for other dentists.
20. Dental Professionals Blog: Learn more about oral and maxillofacial surgery techniques from this Chicago-based group of dentist bloggers.
21. Drkam’s Blog: Dr. Kam specializes in a variety of oral and maxillofacial surgical procedures. His blog discusses these topics along with illustrations.
22. Goma Dental Clinic: Located in India, this blog provides easy-to-understand and illustrated blog entries on various oral surgery methods.

Surgeon Blogs

23. A Chance to Cut is a Chance to Cure: A perspective on medical issues and other topics of interest from a general surgeon.
24. Buckeye Surgeon: Follow the ruminations of a non-academic general surgeon who operates from the heart of the rust belt.
25. Cut on the Dotted Line: A blogger in quest of a career as a Christian surgeon shares thoughts on that journey.
26. High Tech Surgeon: A “simple commentary” on areas of interest to this surgeon.
27. Other things amanzi: The thoughts of a surgeon who is located in the “notorious province” of Mpumalanga, South Africa.
28. Reflections in a Head Mirror: Dr. Campbell, faculty member of the Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin and an expert in head and neck surgery, blogs his personal observations on this site.
29. Respectful Insolence: The “miscellaneous ramblings” of a surgeon/scientist on “medicine, quackery, science, pseydoscience, history and pseudohistory.”
30. Surgical Diversions: A trauma surgeon, husband and father shares his perspectives on life in this blog.
31. Surviving RT School: This blogger’s experiences lie in medical/surgery, ICU, orthopedics and trauma among several other specialities.
32. Suture for a Living: A plastic surgeon who resides in Little rock, Arkansas, sews up quilts as well as people in this blog.
33. The Angry Medic: The Angry Medic is “an idiot who got into Cambridge University by virtue of his unusually attractive eyelashes.” Now, this angered medic is situated in a top London teaching hospital.
34. Throckmorton: A blog that lays its foundation on the transparency afforded by Throckmorton’s radiographic sign. The focus is medicine, the thrust is political.

Plastic Surgery

35. CosmeticSurg Blog: Learn more about the world of board-certified plastic surgery through this blog offered by Dr. Rodriguez.
36. Explore Plastic Surgery: Dr. Barry Eppley leads this expedition into the world of plastic surgery and anti-aging strategies.
37. Gastric Band and Tummy Tuck Surgery Blog: Although based in the UK and focused on surgeries in Europe, this blog sheds light on this surgery and alternatives.
38. Paces Plastic Surgery: Enjoy a ‘before and after’ gallery as well as advice from pros in reconstructive and cosmetic surgeries.
39. Plastic Surgery 101: Dr. Rob Oliver Jr. is a double board-certified plastic surgeon “armed with useless trivia and too much time on my hands…”
40. Truth in Cosmetic Surgery: Dr. John Di Saia has blogged about cosmetic surgery for years, and he continues to write about progress in this field.

ER Docs

41. ER Stories: A practicing emergency medicine doctor shares graphic tales from the hospital.
42. Movin’ Meat: An ER doc and administrator shares thoughts about health, Shorin-ryu karate, general aviation, Irish music, Apple computers, and progressive politics.
43. Ten out of Ten: This ER doc shares medical cases, jokes and more on this blog.
44. The KnifeMan: Emergency room drama from a “man who wallows in nostalgia, and secretly wishes he were a Victorian KnifeMan.”
45. WhiteCoat’s Call Room: A blog from inside the emergency department, spiced with some dark humor.

On the Other Side

46. Notes of an Anesthesioboist: Voted the best literary medical blog of 2008, this anesthesioboist is a doctor armed with an oboe.
47. Nurse Anesthetist’s Blog: Visit the world of anesthesia care providers through this blog, written by a nurse anesthetist.
48. Occupational Therapy: Learn more about conditions at a hospital’s acute care setting from a recent male OT graduate.
49. Seanesthesiology’s Blog: This blog, maintained by the Southeast Anesthesiology Consultants, offers a wide range of health topics for readers.
50. The Sterile Eye: View life, death and surgery through the lens of a Norwegian medical photographer.

Granted, you may not need nor want some of these procedures done, and a board-certified surgeon may not want to touch a few of them; However, the possibility of how a person can change his or her physical appearance can boggle the mind. While some procedures can save lives, others are conducted to either enhance appearances or to fulfill a dream…

The seventeen astonishing plastic surgery procedures below are listed in alphabetical order for your convenience and to show that we do not favor one procedure over another.

1. Acupuncture Facelift: While not a dramatic change, some women swear by using acupuncture as a way to rebuild collegan and to erase fine lines, reduce deeper lines, eliminate sagginess, lift droopy eyelids and clear or reduce age spots. This option is open to men as well.
2. Barbie Dolls: This is not so much a procedure as a lifestyle made famous by Cindy Jackson. At age 33, after receiving an inheritance, Cindy went through more plastic surgeries than anyone in the world to look like her early-childhood Barbie Doll. Since then, at age 53, Cindy has gone from Barbie to Brigitte Bardot. Other women have followed in her former path.
3. Belly-Button Surgery: You can change an “outie” to an “innie.” But, why be bothered with an “innie” or an “outie” when you can have nothing at all? Have the umbilicoplasty your way and enjoy viewing some re-sculpted results at this link.
4. Boob Jab: Why get a breast implant when you can increase the fullness of your breasts by a full cup size with an injectable filler? This procedure is expensive, though, and lasts only from one year to eighteen months. But, this procedure may be a good way for a woman (or man) to learn if a larger breast size is suitable.
5. Creative Cat: This transformation includes several procedures, including bifurcation (splitting) of the upper lip, surgical pointing of the ears, silicone cheek and forehead implants, tooth filing, tattoos, and facial piercing – to which whiskers can be attached. Only one person has had this life-altering transformation, and his name is CatMan, formerly known as Dennis Avner.
6. Gummy Bear Implants: This was the only silicone gel breast implant that did not receive FDA re-approval in 2006. Already in wide use throughout the world, women (or men) can now get them in this country. If you want to know how they feel, buy a bag of gummy bears and roll them around in your fingers. Push them, and they won’t lose their shape.
7. Hymenoplasty: Also called, “revirgination” or “hymen reconstruction,” this procedure repairs a woman’s hymen so she can be “like a virgin” again. According to the linked site, this surgery is perfect for women who value “religious, social, and even economic reasons.” We won’t question any one of those reasons…
8. In-Home LASIK Surgery: No, the surgeon does not come to your home – you do the surgery yourself. LASIK@Home was founded in 2004 by Dr. Amir Khadim, M.D., Ph.D. A pioneer in the field of LASIK surgery. After you operate on your own eyes, then Dr. Khadim suggests you donate your old eyeglasses to your local school, Lions Club, or other charity.
9. Leg Lengthening: This is a painful, complex and costly surgery that requires long recovery times. But, it now is performed on children to correct disproportional leg lengths and for people who claim Constitutional Short Stature and who are in the bottom fifth percentile of height in their region.
10. Lizard Love: Erik Sprague had his teeth filed down to points and Teflon implanted on his forehead to create horned ridges above his eyes. He also had his tongue cut in two to resemble a snake and underwent 600 hours of tattoo work to cover his body with ’scales.’
11. Moebius Syndrome Help: This is a congenital disease where one symptom includes facial expressions that are limited or nonexistent. In some cases, surgeons have designed living devices, composed of muscle and tendon transplants combined with reinnervation procedures that have restored at least partial control of the facial musculature.
12. Pointed Ears: You may want to emulate Dr. Spock from Star Trek, but the real promotion behind pointed ear surgery is to enhance music listening. This is a one-day elective surgery that involves local anesthesia, careful dissection of the structures at the upper pole of the earlobe and reshaping.
13. Poland’s Syndrome Repair: This rare birth defect is characterized by an underdevelopment or absence of the chest muscle on one side of the body, webbing across the armpit, a shorter arm and sometimes webbing of the fingers, the breast on that side is also small and may even be completely absent. Plastic surgery can repair many of these problems with breast reconstruction and “web release.”
14. Rib Removal: Want to achieve an ultra-small waistline? Try having a few ribs removed. PS – the ribs don’t grow back.
15. Tissue Engineering: Unlike tissue expansion (see below), tissue engineering involves growing more tissue to help build ears, noses and other body parts that have been damaged or that never existed. This technique was named in 1987 and uses stem cells, a matrix (or scaffold for support), a bioreactor and cytokines to grow – for example – an ear for a child who was born without an ear. This process also is used to enhance wound healing.
16. Tissue Expansion: In cases where the patient needs more skin for breast reconstruction, burn surgery and pediatric plastic surgery, tissue expansion has revolutionized the plastic surgery industry. Think about how the skin expands and grows with pregnancy and other growths…doctors place a balloon under the skin, gradually fills it with air and – in the process – can gain up to 50 percent more skin surface area to use in surgeries on that person. This process can provide skin with a near-perfect match in color and texture and that creates minimal donor site morbidity and scar reduction.
17. Toe Shortening: Otherwise known as “aesthetic foot surgery,” this is an elective procedure that surgically straightens and shortens the length of the toes by removing portions of the bone. Don’t forget to get the doc to add ‘toe cleavage’ while he’s shortening those toes – this is the cleavage that shows at the top of a low shoe vamp, similar to breast cleavage. Financial guru Suze Orman states it is “the only cleavage that should be shown around an office.”

The only way to lose weight is by eating less food than your body needs on a daily basis. John Walker, the author of The Hacker’s Diet, went from 215 pound to 145 pounds in less than a year and has kept the weight off without drugs or gimmicks. Walker, a programmer (he developed Autodesk, Inc. and is co-author and author of several AutoCAD books), used spreadsheets to learn how to lose weight and he offers those tools for you to use as well; but, you can use his same methods with pencil and paper.

While the term, “hacker,” may bring negative connotations to mind, Walker’s states that the true essence of a hacker is “Any person who derives joy from discovering ways to circumvent limitations.” Walker uses this quote, extracted from a comment made in a Bob Bickford article, to help people understand that hacking is a liberation from tyranny. The hacker dieter is in command of his or her health and weight.

As for exercising, Walker believes that exercise is good for two things only – living longer and feeling better. You do not exercise to lose weight. But, you may want to exercise once you begin to lose weight through counting calories and by tracking body fat percentage. Walker’s approach reflects his career as a programmer, as he approaches this dieting solution as an engineering problem, and exercise is part of the solution to the overweight problem. Although Walker doesn’t mention this issue, exercising may help retain and build muscle that could be lost through dieting.

Walker models the body as a “rubber bag” that the dieter fills with less calories than that rubber bag needs (more calories makes that rubber bag expand, less makes the rubber bag shrink). This diet provides a format for control system and feedback on that rubber bag through Excel spreadsheets (Excel also can be used in Open Office’s Calc program). The spreadsheets allow users to concentrate on long-term visualization, which can encourage people who fail to lose weight over a short period of time, the inability to lose weight because of water retention or other factors that may slow down weight loss.

Since Walker is not trained in medicine or nutrition, he prefers to concentrate on monitoring intake, weight loss and configuring the desired proportional adjustments in a control system environment. So, if you are a geek, if you’re into logistics and spreadsheets or if you simply like to work outside the box, this diet may fit your temperament. But, it may not work for everyone, simply because it may seem too confusing.

If you’re game to try Walker’s approach, the following links can provide more information. These links are listed in alphabetical order and compiled under categories to help you find the tools you need to succeed with the Hacker’s Diet.

Advice

1. 5 Things You Need to Know About the Health Risks of the Hacker’s Diet: Learn more about the Hacker’s Diet through Lance Armstrong’s site, Livestrong.com and author Wendy Melton.
2. 10 Pounds in 10 Days Thanks to LifeHacker, Hacker’s Diet, and DailyPlate : Some advice from the What We Think blog.
3. Diet – nuwen.net : Stephan T. Lavavej provides his insights into how he used the Hacker’s Diet.
4. Hacker’s Diet a long-run geek ‘best seller’: This article talks more about the longevity of this diet (which Walker first penned in 1991).
5. How to Compare the Hacker’s Diet to Other Diets: The eHow method of diet comparison, which may make this process simpler for some folks.
6. How to Lose a Daffyd: Scroll down to learn more about how two folks lost weight through a variety of efforts – including the Hacker’s Diet.
7. What Do 300 Calorie Meals Look Like? If food portions confuse you, then Walker isn’t much help. While he provides all the logic and spreadsheets, he doesn’t tell you what to eat for a balanced diet. This site provides pictures and ideas for meals that range between 300-400 calories.

Testimonies

8. Diet Tips or How To Lose Weight with a Spreadsheet and a Web Site: Jeremy Zawodny talks about his weight loss on the Hacker’s Diet and other methods.
9. Hacker News: This page holds comments about the Hacker Diet that may interest readers.
10. How I lost 105 lbs. with diet, exercise, and a spreadsheet: One man’s testimony to losing weight with the Hacker’s Diet and more.
11. Losing Weight for Geeks and Nerds: Brad Howland used the Hacker’s Diet to lose weight, and he shows a chart that he used that indicates weight loss over time.
12. The Assayer: A review by a user who lost fifty pounds and counting through the Hacker’s Diet.

Tools

13. Eat Watch: Walker talks about the Eat Watch in his book, and Palm addicts can use this watch to record weight and plot changes to a weight and exercise goal with this app. Walker also talks about some Palm utilities on his site.
14. Hacker Class: This blog entry has comments that point to the Hacker’s Diet as an app for iPhone.
15. Hacker’s Diet Screenshots: Use these screenshots for visual clues on how to use the Hacker’s Diet online.
16. Online Google Account: Use your Google account login information to use the online Hacker’s Diet Tracker.
17. The Calorie Counter: Although Walker includes a calorie counter sheet in his downloads, you can use this easy site to find the calorie count for anything you choose to eat.
18. The Hacker’s Diet Plugin: Use this plugin to lose weight – but only if you’re using WordPress.
19. The Hacker’s Diet with OpenOffice.org: Jon Thysell created a conversion of Walker’s Excel tools for Open Office.

Exercise

20. Geek Diet and Exercise Programs: Jeff Atwood offers some interesting exercise routines to go along with the Hacker’s Diet.
21. Royal Canadian Airforce 5BX Fitness Plan: This is the plan that Walker uses as a foundation for his fitness objectives, or his fitness ladder.
22. Royal Canadian Air Force X BX Plan for Women [PDF]: This PDF contains ten exercises for women.

Support

23. The Hacker’s Diet Group: Offered through the Daily Plate.
24. PhysicsDiet.com: This Web site offers charts, forums and more for dieters, with a heavy leaning toward the philosophy behind the Hacker’s Diet. Read the “Getting Started” articles for some great advice.
25. Yahoo!: Hackersdiet is a Yahoo! group for anyone who is on the Hacker’s Diet.

The following fifty blogs focus on issues such as health care insurance topics, Medicaid and Medicare, long-term care (LTC), the reform debate and more. These blogs are written by doctors, medical personnel, anonymous bloggers who want to protect an identity, unions, and pro- and anti-health care reform advocates. The blogs are listed in alphabetical order within each category, as this method shows our readers that we do not favor one position or blog over another. If you know about any other blogs that address the current or upcoming health care crisis, please feel free to leave a link in the comments after the article.

Health Insurance

Health insurance is a major issue in the current U.S. health crisis, because few people can afford insurance outside employers who offer this benefit. Learn more about this topic through the following blogs:

1. About: Health Insurance: Kelly Montgomery is a health policy expert who worked as a health policy analyst and consumer advocate for the American Diabetes Association in Alexandria, Va. She’s covered health insurance issues since 2005 at this blog.
2. California Insurance Lawyer Blog: Although this blog focuses on California insurance disputes, it also addresses forefront issues in health insurance, insurance bad faith, long-term care insurance and more. This blog is offered by Kantor & Kantor LLP, Attorneys at Law.
3. Consumer’s Health Insurance Blog: Jonathan Pletzke is a consumer who wrote a book and is writing a blog on his efforts to find affordable health insurance for his family.
4. Healthcare-NOW! Healthcare-NOW! is an all-volunteer, highly decentralized organization with 300 very active volunteers spread all over the country. Their focus is on obtaining a single-payer, guaranteed, and universal health care system.
5. Healthcare Soundoff: Healthcare Soundoff provides tips and ideas to get a better bang for that extra buck you will probably be paying for health insurance. Ask questions, receive answers in this two-way dialogue blog.
6. InsureBlog: This is a plain little site that is updated constantly with information about insurance issues, principles and solutions. Contributors include insurance consultants who work for various companies.
7. PHNP: Physicians for National Health Program is a nonprofit organization that supports single-payer national health insurance. This group has been advocating health care reform since 1987.
8. The Alan Katz Health Care Reform Blog: Katz is a past president of both the National and the California Associations of Health Underwriters and an advocate for agents and the role they play in America’s health care coverage system.

Managed Care

Managed Care is a broad term that generally refers to a system that manages the quality of health care, access to that care and the cost of that care. Managed care plans range from Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), which require enrollees to select from a network of doctors, to Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs), which are more specifically designed to meet a patient’s individual needs (but at a higher cost). Current issues include rising costs related to profit motives.

9. Disease Management Care Blog: This blog provides a forum for information and insights into the world of disease management, the medical home and the chronic care model, the patient-centered medical home, informatics, pay-for-performance and other topics surrounding managed care.
10. DMGMA Blog: This blog is about managed care in Delaware, and it is provided from the perspective of the Delaware Medical Group Management Association.
11. HCPro Managed Care: HCPro, Inc. provides information and consulting products and services to help with health care regulation and compliance. Their blog provides articles and blog entries from this perspective.
12. Managed Care: This section of the Business Exchange (BusinessWeek) talks about managed care issues from a business and political perspective.
13. Managed Care Contracting & Provider Payment: Robin Fisk and the Fisk Law Office publishes this blog that addresses health care providors, practitioners, insurers and managed care companies.
14. Managed Care Matters: Joseph Paduda is the principal of Health Strategy Associates and this is his blog on managed care for group health, workers compensation and more.

Medicare and Medicaid

Medicare is health care for the aged provided by a federally-administered system of health insurance available to persons aged 64 and over and to the disabled. Medicaid is the United States health program for eligible individuals and families with low incomes and resources. The current issues with both programs include a lack of funds and overspending.

15. Care about Medicare: Use this site to learn more about the latest Medicare news.
16. Getting Your Medicare Records in Google Health: A recent article by the Official Google Blog that informs readers on Google’s work with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaide Services in Arizona and Utah.
17. MedicaidFrontPage (Ppb): This blog is dedicated to identifying, monitoring and communicating innovations in quality, finance and access to health care services for persons eligible for Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Programs.
18. Medicare Part D Blog: Learn more about Medicare D from Q1Medicare.com, one of the nation’s private Internet resources for Medicare Part D information. They are operated by Q1 Group, LLC in partnership with National Insurance Markets, Inc.
19. Medicare Supplement Center: Learn more about Medicare supplements and Medigap coverage as it applies to various states. This is a business site that is not connected with or endorsed by the United States government or the Federal Medicare program.
20. Medicare Update: Stay up to date on Medicare with Michael Apolskis, an attorney who has worked with health care providers, suppliers and companies on a variety of legal and regulatory matters, including Medicare compliance, reimbursement and enforcement matters.

Long-Term Care

Long-Term Care, or LTC, provides a variety of services to meet needs of people with chronic illnesses or disabilities, no matter the individual’s age. Current issues include lack of funds, which raises some demand for incentives for individuals who can save for future long-term care needs. Also, suggestions to expand Medicare to include long-term care have been considered.

21. Advance for Long-Term Care Management: This blog and news site provides information and strategies for nursing homes, SNFs, assisted living and senior housing facilities and personnel.
22. Blog LongTerm Care: A writer who faced the difficult decision of long-term care for an elderly loved one brings this blog to help others understand the difficulties involved in this process.
23. Complete Long Term Care: Complete Long Term Care .com is run and maintained by LTC Global, which owns and operates a national group of Long Term Care agencies. Their blog addresses LTC issues.
24. Elder Law Answers Blog: Harry S. Margolis practices elder law with Margolis & Bloom based in Boston, with additional offices in Framingham, Woburn and Dedham. He edits The ElderLawReport and is the founder and President of this blog site.
25. Cancer Action Network Health Care Reform Blog: This blog is in this category as it is maintained by the Cancer Action Network, an organization concerned with all issues surrounding chronic disease and long-term care.
26. Info Long-Term Care: Laurie Blanchard, B.A., MLS, provides a current awareness service for health care practitioners in long-term and geriatric care.
27. Long Term Care Review: Duane Lipham, a Certified Long Term Care consultant, provides a blog that updates readers on news and opinion about long-term care treatment.
28. Long Term Living: The LTL Blog is open to all readers interested in creating constructive discussions focusing on the long-term care industry.
29. McKnight’s Long-Term Care News and Assisted Living: This is a business news magazine that serves the intitutional long-term care community. The news, articles and blog entries are geared toward addressing assisted living managers to help them improve operations based upon regulatory and business changes in the marketplace.

Health Care Debate

The following blogs address the current political climate surrounding health care issues today, including health care reform and possible solutions.

30. AFL-CIO Health Care Blog: This site carries a number of resources from the American Federation of Labor – Congress of Industrial Organizations’ perspective.
31. DB’s Medical Rants: Dr. Centor from the Academic Hospitalist Academy offers his perspectives on current medical care, its problems and the possible solutions.
32. EGMN: Notes from the Road: The staff of the Elsevier Global Medical Network writes this blog, which focuses on hundreds of medical meetings each year held across the U.S.
33. Health Affairs: The staff of Health Affairs, the policy journal of the health sphere, offers opinion and information and contributing voices validate or offer contradictory opinion and information in this blog.
34. Health Beat: Maggie Mahar, a fellow at The Century Foundation and author of Money-Driven Medicine: The Real Reason Health Care Costs So Much, brings her insights to a blog that addresses various and current health care issues.
35. Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review: Bob Laszewski’s review of the latest developments in federal health policy and marketplace activities in the health care financing business in Washington D.C.
36. Health Populi: Jane Sarasohn-Kahn is a health economist and management consultant who has worked with health care stakeholders for over twenty years. Jane’s projects focus on: scenario, strategic and business planning, forecasting, health policy analysis.
37. Healthcare in America: Dr. Fisher believes that health care reform can work, but only if the costs are addressed first.
38. Inside View on the Business of Healthcare: Corporate Research Group has been serving the managed health care marketplace for over 14 years as the industry’s leading source for breaking news, strategic intelligence, market research and custom consulting. Their latest news tackles the health care crisis.
39. Let’s Talk Health Care: Charlie Baker, President and CEO, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, started this blog to help readers stay informed about health care changes.
40. Pharma Strategy Blog: A woman who helps market pharmaceuticals writes this blog. After seven years in the UK, her outlook has changed on the U.S. health care environment, so her perspective makes for interesting reading.
41. Susan Shargel’s Healthcare Reform Blog: Susan started this blog to help inform her clients, other business owners and concerned citizens on health care reform issues. The focus is on small business.
42. The Health Care Reform Debate Blog – cmhmd: This is a mysterious blog, as the writer remains anonymous. The focus is on the American Medical Association and the writer’s opinion on health care reform.

Helping Others to Address the Debate

How can average Americans address the health care crisis? The following blogs may provide some answers and support for those who have questions in this changing environment.

43. HealthBlawg: David Harlow from The Harlow Group LLC is a health care lawyer who addresses issues facing health care providers, vendors and payors.
44. Healthcare Law Blog: This blog focuses on healthcare law issues affecting Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico.
45. Saving Money and Surviving the Healthcare Crisis: Davis Liu, M.D. is a practicing board-certified family physician and author of the book, Stay Healthy, Live Longer, Spend Wisely – Making Intelligent Choices in America’s Healthcare System. He shares his knowledge on how to survive the current crisis in his blog.
46. The Future of Aging Blog: The members of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) present a blog that covers topics including the way we age in this country. They hope to inspire engagement and participation in a movement that will change current problems.
47. The Health Care Blog: The Industry Insider stated that you can learn more [about the health care industry] in ten minutes with this blog than you can with your local paper for a week.
48. The New Health Dialogue Blog: The posts included in this blog site address current health issues that affect patients and health care personnel. Join the dialogue to learn more and to receive answers to your questions.
49. The Users’ Guide to the Health Reform Galaxy: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s goal is to improve health care for all Americans. Their blog addresses current health care reform in language that is easy to comprehend.
50. The White House Blog: This link is connected to a search for “health care reform” topics within the White House blog. You can ask questions about health care reform and receive answers to those questions here.

Fortunately, you have choices. You can begin by learning about nutrition and diets, then look at options such as organic foods, vegan or vegetarian diets or even opt for raw foods if you want to go to extremes.

The following list includes the top fifty healthy eating and nutrition blogs on the Internet. The blogs are categorized, and then listed alphabetically within those categories. This method shows that we do not favor one blog over another.

Nutrition Blogs

The following blogs concentrate on basic nutrition facts and data. The bloggers include doctors, trainers, advisers, schools, clinics, industry experts and more.

1. About: Nutrition: Shereen has a master’s degree in human nutrition and she was previously certified as a Certified Nutrition Specialist. She now is a health and nutrition writer and a member of the American Dietetic Association. She also is co-author of Superfoods for Dummies.
2. Balanced Health and Nutrition: Rebecca Scritchfield balances healthy living with nutrition in a blog that focuses on the latest food, nutrition and exercise information for maintaining health or for reaching a health goal.
3. Better Living with Whole Foods: Alexander Morentin is well known in Southern California as an expert in fitness and whole foods nutrition. He is a living example of how to turn an unhealthy life into a healthy goal.
4. Brad Pilon’s Nutrition Help: Brad Pilon is a nutrition professional with over seven years experience in the nutritional supplement industry. He also is the author of Eat Stop Eat.
5. Dr. Michael R. Eades: Dr. Eades is the author of Protein Power and a health care expert in nutritional science, low carb diets and other health issues.
6. Fresh Squeezed Living: Learn how a fitness, health and wellness coach advises busy professionals in the arts of healthy living, well-being and vitality.
7. Integrative Nutrition Blog: The Institute for Integrative Nutrition, the largest nutrition school in the world, sponsors this blog. The blog provides a platform for the writers to discuss health, healthy food and empowerment. Look for blog entries by Deepak Chopra and Dr. David Katz.
8. Nutrition and healthy eating: This blog, provided by the Mayo Clinic, is written by Mayo Clinic nutritionists Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D. and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.
9. Performance Nutrition Blog: This blog is a collaboration of fitness and nutrition experts located in the New England area. While most of the contributors are affiliated with existing industry businesses, they strive to provide unbiased information for health and fitness.
10. The Nutrition Data Blog: The information in Nutrition Data’s database comes from the USDA’s National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference and is supplemented by listings provided by restaurants and food manufacturers.

Diet Blogs

If you’re seeking a diet blog, you can find hundreds of those type of blogs on the Internet. The following list is a sampling of diet and fitness blogs, communities, single dieters and a pair of men who are trying to lose weight together. This short list provides a taste of what you can find online for yourself.

11. Daily Diet Blog: This blog covers a lot of territory, including herbal supplements, hypnotherapy, fat reduction and more. They also talk about nutrition and include health and fitness tips.
12. Diet & Fitness: This blog, sponsored by eDiets, actually is a community for dieters who want to get in shape as well. The audience includes menand women and the information includes recipes, videos and more.
13. Diet Blog: This blog covers body image, fast food, diet pills and much more in a blog that is easy to read. They also host a forum.
14. Diet Tired: This blog approaches dieting with advice on how to diet. From their perspective, it takes more than eating better and more exercise to lose weight – they also tackle the feelings that come with the diet-binge cycle.
15. Diets in Review: This blog reviews various diets, including news about how these diets failed or succeeded.
16. Do You Have an Extra Large in This? A young woman, who calls herself Marshmallow, is on a journey to lose weight, to get fit and to fall for the occasional ice cream or two.
17. Get Fit Slowly: J.D. Roth and Mac Smith are close friends, and they’re both fat. This blog chronicles their efforts to get thin and fit.
18. Healthy Eating and Diet: This blog is sponsored by WebMD, and it offers nutritional information for dieters, fitness facts and food and cooking ideas for a healthy lifestyle.
19. The Diet Naked Blog: This housewife lost over 60 pounds since she began a low-glycemic diet. The “naked” part of this site translates to transparency, honesty and “no-hiding” philosophy.
20. The Token Fat Girl: Tipping the scales at 320 pounds, this 25-year-old woman is on a mission to lose weight and to gain a healthy lifestyle. In the process, she shares food (not literally), recipes and her struggles.

Vegetarian and Vegan Blogs

Eggs or no eggs? That’s the question…no matter if you’re a full-fledged vegan or a vegetarian on the edge, the following list includes some of the hottest blogs around:

21. About: Vegetarian Food: Jolinda has been vegetarian for over 17 years and made the transition to a vegan diet seven years ago. She provides easy recipes, cooking tips, food and product reviews on her blog.
22. Almost Vegetarian: A writer and a cooking school student learns how to eat without meat – sometimes. But, this blog moves forward as a predominately healthy, vegetarian food with a side order of green, healthy, and organic lifestyle topics.
23. Eat Air – A Vegan Food Log: Chris and Darlene lead readers into voyages that include vegan restaurants, sites and recipes for stay-at-home health fiends.
24. Get Sconed! Jess lives in Portland and is a huge fan of farmer’s markets and seasonal produce. She’s the author of StumptownVegans Podcasts and she shares her love of healthy food on her blog.
25. Nourish Me: This Australian woman is an artist who loves fennel and who wants to grow her own fruits and vegetables. Her greatest achievement? Teaching her step-sons to love bitter greens.
26. The Blooming Platter: A baker offers a growing collection of recipes for creative appetizers, beverages, snacks, soups, salads, sides and entrees with a tendency toward ethnic fusion dishes, lightened-up comfort foods and updated classics with a twist.
27. Urban Vegan: Vegan life in the big city. And, this blogger is totally vegan – down to her bath scrub. Her cookbook, The Urban Vegan: 250 Simple, Sumptuous Recipes, From Street Cart Favorites to Haute Cuisine, will hit the bookstores in late 2009.
28. Vegan Lunch Box: A stay-at-home mom, cookbook author, and blogger shares new and exciting ways to eat your vegetables. She won PETA’s Proggy Award for Blog of the Year 2005; the 2006 VegWebby Award for “Best Family Blog” from VegNews magazine; and the 6th Annual Bloggy Award for Best Food Blog.
29. Vegan Planet: Robin Robertson has worked with food for 25 years as a chef, vegan cookbook author and a food columnist.
30. Vegan Yum-Yum: Lolo quit her day job and is busy writing a cookbook. Although not a chef, her artistry and her vegan knowledge both go a long way in this blog – and on a Martha Stewart show as well.

Organic Blogs

You can eat organic and include meat and fish in your diet. The blogs listed below cover organic eating, but they also broach food policies and sustainable living.

31. American Feast’s Sustainable Food Blog: Enjoy recipes, shop for foods, learn about food policies and catch up on the latest sustainable news at this blog.
32. ChewsWise: If you want to learn more about organic and sustainable food, read this blog. Samuel Fromartz, a long time journalist, grows food, speaks at industry-sponsored events and provides factual information as well as strong opinion. Enjoy.
33. Civil Eats: This site focuses on sustainable agriculture and food systems in an effort to build economically and socially just communities. Although this blog may appear way too serious, you also can expect humor and conversational topics as well.
34. Eat. Drink. Better. Incredible recipes, notes about restaurants, information on what to watch for and what to embrace for a healthy and organic diet. This is a Green Options site.
35. Home Grown: Farm Aid created this blog as a place to connect to the land and to each other. Start here to learn how to live a simpler, healthier and more “home grown” life with other people who love to eat, grow and cook good food.
36. Organic To Be: Learn more about everything from how to eat your flowers to the answer about whether sex is better on a farm at this blog. Entertaining, educational and eye-candy pretty, this site can make you yearn for the hills.
37. Smitten Kitchen: Start simple with a blog that presents food that is not fussy and that does not contain pretentious ingredients. Food is accessible – even organic food – and Smitten Kitchen provides a warm place to learn how to cook and eat.
38. The Daily Table: This blog is an extension of the Sustainable Table Web site, and the focus is on local harvests, organic growing methods and community building.
39. The Ethicurean: A freelance writer, a farmer/school lunch activist, an engineer, an activist, a nonprofit research analyst, a former newspaper reporter, a former lawyer, and a librarian all contribute to this blog, which includes something for everyone – except processed food freaks.
40. The Green Fork: The blog is for those who want to stay on top of food policies, and the rest of the site is for research. The writers believe that ecologically sound, community-based food choices are essential to solving environmental degradation, climate instability, economic inequality and the myriad adverse health effects of industrialized food production.

Raw Food Blogs

The raw food movement is growing, and the blogs listed below show the wide range of professionals and families who have become involved in this food preparation method:

41. Adventures of Raw Goddess Heathy: Scroll quickly through this blog to get an eyeful of gorgeous food that couldn’t possibly be raw – but it is.
42. Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen: Ani’s the host of the award winning most popular uncooking show on YouTube, Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen Show, and is the author of internationally acclaimed best-seller Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen: Easy, Delectable, Living Food Recipes.
43. Awesome to be Rawsome: A baby boomer gets healthy and loses weight with raw foods – learn about her adventures at her blog.
44. Choosing Raw: A book editor who currently works as a raw foods lifestyle coach blogs about her life as a faw foodist in New York City.
45. Julie’s Raw Ambition: Julie Kalivretenos was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 2003, and since then has become an advocate for raw foods. She shares her recipes, travels, restaurant experiences, culinary events, inspirations of any kind, and my amateur photography in this blog.
46. My Raw Food Blog: This site is about becoming, maintaining, and thinking about being a “rawfoodist.”
47. Raw Food, Right Now! Helping people go raw since 2006, RFRN is for health conscious people who are passionate about raw food. This site offers information and inspiration to help you easily bring raw foods into your lifestyle in a way that works for you.
48. Raw Food with Jessica: Savor the photos and snatch the recipes available on this raw food blog.
49. Rawdorable: Join a 32-year-old wife and mom who enjoys working out, preparing raw foods, spending time with my family and sharing her healthy lifestyle with others.
50. We Like it Raw: Dhrumil Purohit is a 26 year old blogger and entrepreneur who’s all about raw food and the present moment. He leads the team in this blog and at Give it to me Raw, a community site.