Last week on the Amish quilt shop post I mentioned I picked up a copy of Plain and Happy Living: Amish Recipes and Remedies. This is a book written by the quilt shop owner’s aunt. She noted that it isn’t common for an Amish woman to publish something like that (and even less so 20 years ago, when the book first came out). Since the…
I remember the first time I got a sense that Amish might approach medicine a bit differently than the rest of us. I was selling books in Indiana. An Amish woman whom I met at the door casually mentioned that her children were battling whooping cough. “You’ve had your shots, right?” she asked. “Yes…I think?” One of the hazards of the job, I suppose. Well,…
Does the stork make home deliveries? For many Amish families, the answer is yes. Birth at home, or in Amish-oriented birthing centers, is preferred for a few reasons. They include cost, comfort, and closeness to family. Midwives, some licensed, and others not, often handle deliveries in lieu of a doctor. Midwives may be non-Amish, or in some cases come from within the Amish community. In…
The Amish potential-exemption-from-health-insurance-requirement story has shot around the net and become something of a hot sub-story to the health care issue. Frankly I thought it would get some attention but the amount of media coverage surprised me a bit. A scan of commentary reveals some upset at what’s been called a ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ card for the Amish (and, presumably other religious groups who meet the criteria),…
The qualities of being a closed population, as well as good genealogical records, make the Amish an attractive group for genetic and health-related studies. In a recently-reported Ohio State study, researchers theorized about higher rates of cancer, but found the opposite. They discovered that Amish in Holmes County, Ohio exhibit cancer rates only 56% of the national average. The researchers explain that low cancer rates…
People often assume that the Amish, whom we think of as a people ‘in tune with nature’ and ‘close to the earth’ (which to some degree may be true, whatever those phrases actually mean) are strictly all-natural when it comes to the food they raise. In fact, on most Amish farms pesticides are put to use. Organic farming is something that is catching on in…
Siss im blut is PA Dutch for ‘it’s in the blood’. It’s often given as a reason when Amish and Mennonites talk about genetic problems in their midst. Amish and Mennonites have taken a practical approach to an unfortunate situation: a cramped gene pool causing numerous genetic disorders, often popping up with a frequency unseen outside their tight communities. Amish communities have accepted medical help…