Blog

Pay the Farmer or Pay the Pharmacist: Why America Spends the Most on Healthcare but Isn’t the Healthiest

Liz James · March 9, 2026 ·

If spending more money on healthcare actually made us healthier, the United States should be leading the world in life expectancy.

See the United States out there in front? That’s not a good thing at all.

Note that the data has been adjusted for inflation and differences in costs between countries.

No other country is even close.

Now, take a look at life expectancy….. you’d think, that with all that spending we do on “health care” there would be the added benefit of a longer life. ….. you’d think.

Reality: The United States spends outrageously on health care for a very mediocre lifespan.

Health expenditures here do not include

gym memberships
eating quality whole foods
using herbs, essential oils, tinctures, and homeopathy to support optimal health

and yet, so many people say they can’t because these items are out of their budget.

The reality is that you can pay for prevention or you can pay for outcome “repairs”. Either way, there is a cost.

I choose to pay the farmer, not the pharmacist.

PS: It’s interesting that Costa Rica’s lifespan is slightly longer than the United States, and yet their medical costs are a fraction of ours (even adjusted for cost of goods ($1,565 vs $12,023)

https://ourworldindata.org/…/life-expectancy-vs-health…

If you are interested in spending less time and money at the doctor’s office….. let’s talk!

xoxo~ Liz

Turmeric For Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)? What I Learned In Pharmacist CE — And How To Spot Bias

Liz James · February 17, 2026 ·

Working my way through Pharmacist CE’s this month for licensing renewal. It tests me…. not because of difficulty, but because of industry bias and study references that have pharma ties, and quiz questions must be answered as they want them answered, not because of the full truth.

Not all CE’s are like this, but the vast majority are. It’s pharma after all.

Thankfully, I subscribe to a CE and pharmacist education program (NatMed Pro) which focuses on “natural med”…. their words, not mine. Tho I do agree wholeheartedly. I don’t always agree with some of what is said even in these CE’s because there is still some pharma industry bias that shines thru. You’ll never see them cite “Adaptogens in Medical Herbalism” by Yance, “Herbal Medicine, Healing and Cancer” by Yance and Valentine, “Botanical Medicine for Women’s Health” by Romm…. because if they did, there would be more truth in the CE’s than what is portrayed in the watered down version we get in NatMed Pro. Doing this type of CE in between the hardcore pharma CE’s at least lowers my pulse rate and blood pressure and lessens my desire to yell at the screen .

All this to say…. It’s good to stay abreast of all things. To learn what is being said about a product, to parse out the pieces of truth as well as the pieces of fluff or even outright gaslighting (which I see in CE’s quite often. Heavy sigh . )

I’m reading back through this post now, and you can probably see how my brain ping pongs between the two worlds of pharma and herbalism/ natural healing.

I took a couple of screenshots (shared here) of one of these CE’s that I DID actually learn something in. It was quite good…. covering turmeric, elderberry, cranberry, ashwagandha, and a few other herbals. For the most part, I’d give it 4 out of 5 stars (high rating in the pharma CE world when you’re a pharmacist with strong leanings towards the natural! )

Thought you might appreciate this info on turmeric. We tend to think about turmeric as fantastic for supporting proper inflammatory response. I did not know it held some pretty amazing properties benefitting those with NAFLD (non alcoholic fatty liver disease), so bonus points for this particular CE .

Not all turmeric is equal. Do your research…. deeply. Know your sources and understand how THEY (the people you follow) learn what they know. Know your product too….. the supplement world is a tricky one…. just as tricky as pharma in many cases.

I’m here for you if you’ve got questions. xoxo~ Liz

Interesting Journal Article

Liz James · January 19, 2026 ·

Such an interesting journal article….. Did you know that this particular journal (Oncotarget) was the target of massive cyberattacks last week after it released a really interesting (and revealing) article/study?

This is what happens when you are over the target and “they” don’t want the general public to know the truth.

Glad to see it’s back up. This isn’t the article that caused the attack, but if you are a fan of lemongrass as I am, you might find it interesting too!

xoxo~ Liz

The Truth in Our Blood – Episode 459 The Highwire with Del Bigtree

Liz James · January 16, 2026 ·

The Highwire always brings truth to the table!

If you don’t have time to listen to the entire episode, The Blessed By His Blood segment with me starts at the 50:30 mark.

This week, Del opens on the media backlash to the CDC’s shift toward shared vaccine decision-making. Is the panic really about safety, or about empowering Americans with choice? Jefferey Jaxen delivers a wide-ranging investigation into COVID vaccine injury data, exposing massive underreporting through VAERS and V-safe, new polling that shows widespread harm, and even admissions from legacy vaccine leaders that current safety science is insufficient. Then, he reports on Florida’s discovery of mercury and other heavy metals in baby food, the presence of PFAS “forever chemicals” in popular bottled water brands, and the accelerating impact of artificial intelligence as it displaces white-collar jobs and pushes universal basic income into the political mainstream. Finally, a deeply personal and powerful conversation about medical freedom at its most fundamental level — blood — as Del recounts his own near-fatal medical emergency and the extraordinary effort required to secure a transfusion aligned with informed consent, while families share how the right to directed blood donations saved their children’s lives and how that right is now under threat.

Guests: Liz James, Tanya Lair, PA-C

AIRDATE: January 15, 2026

mRNA-Free Blood Donations

Liz James · January 16, 2026 ·

If mRNA injections could negatively impact the blood supply, would you want the ability to choose to receive uncontaminated blood? Thanks to the efforts of Liz James and the organization she founded, that option is a reality. Join Liz and “An Informed Life Radio” host Bernadette Pajer as they discuss this network and its relation to the medical freedom movement as a whole.

Hosts: Bernadette Pajer, Xavier Figueroa, Bob Runnells, Lisa Templeton

*The opinions expressed by the hosts and guests in this show are not necessarily the views of Children’s Health Defense.