We Don't Have a Health Care System, we have a disease care system and it's not working. Americans spend more than any other country on health care and have the worst outcomes of any major industrialized country. The medical system in not only an economic disaster but has been fundamentally corrupted by its financial ties to the drug and insurance industries.
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Death By Medicine
By Gary Null, PhD; Carolyn Dean MD, ND; Martin Feldman, MD; Debora Rasio, MD; and Dorothy Smith, PhD
"Something is wrong when regulatory agencies
pretend that vitamins are dangerous, yet ignore published statistics
showing that government-sanctioned medicine is the real hazard.
...It is now evident that the American medical system is the leading cause of death and injury in the US. The full article
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I am always dismayed at seeing the 50 something new patient who comes
into my office already taking 5 prescription drugs, none of which
would be necessary if he or she had a good diet, exercised and had some
modest, non-toxic interventions. I have seen where it goes from
there. - Dr. Manlove
American medical schools do not teach health, they teach disease care.
This would be reasonable if we suffered mainly from infectious
diseases, but what we die from are the chronic degenerative diseases:
cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis. These all are
clearly related to diet, exercise, and stress. We know how to modify
these risk factors.
Doctors who do the right thing and practice preventive, non-toxic
medicine risk their careers for ignoring "standards of care," which are
typically 5-15 years out of date.
Do You Remember the Story of The Emperor's New Clothes?
"Health care" is now the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United states.
In 2007, total national health expenditures were expected to rise 6.9 percent — two times the rate of inflation.1 Total spending was $2.3 TRILLION in 2007, or $7600 per person.1 Total health care spending represented 16 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
U.S. health care spending is expected to increase at similar levels
for the next decade reaching $4.2 TRILLION in 2016, or 20 percent of
GDP. From the National Coalition on Healthcare
What No One Is Saying:
Finding a way to pay for this mess is NOT health care reform.
The system is broken at it's foundation. We have taken a wrong
turn. The system is morally, intellectually and finanacially
bankrupt. The crisis in funding is only a symptom of a much deeper
problem.
The American Medical System has been thoroughly corrupted.
The medical journals are supported by drug advertising, and can no longer be trusted.
The FDA supervision of drug safety is a well known joke.
Drug companies are regularly allowed to continue to sell drugs which kill people and willfully suppress negative studies.
The medical schools are supported by drug research and are stuck in a drug model of disease.
The insurance companies and managed care tell your doctor what to do.
The media is dependent on drug advertising and is selling junk food to our kids.
Yet no medical or political leaders are speaking out.
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"When
I went to medical school in the early fifties, I embraced all heartily
the noble oath of Hypocrites “Prima non nocere [first do no harm]” and so did all who
preceded me and some who followed. What has happened in the past half
century to make conventional Physicians dispensers of death rather than
Health?" -
Serafina Corselo MD, in a review of Carolyn Dean's book Death By Moder Medicine
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If you don't understand the seriousness of this problem you are destined to become it's victim.
According to Dr. Mark Houston, MD,
director of the Vanderbilt University Hypertension Clinic, every drug
given to treat cardiovascular disease in the long term will increase
the risk of cardiac failure. And he also says quite clearly and
unequivocally that the cause of cardiovascular disease is not
cholesterol or saturated fats, it is insulin and blood sugar
dysregulation. And this is caused by the epidemic of obesity fueled by
high fructose corn syrup and a high carbohydrate diet. We know how to
prevent these diseases.
The American Medical System has traditionally treated
patients as children. Our whole society promotes mindless trashing of
our health, in the hope that medicine will offer a miracle cure when
the inevitable disease state arrives. It's time we, as a society, grew
up and took responsibility for our health. You can be a leader in this
movement.
Americans are already spending more out of pocket on
alternative health care than they spend out of pocket on conventional
care.
This Can't Go On
And where does the line go as the baby boom generation reaches old age.
What about the thousands of wounded men and women coming home from Iraq
and Afghanistan. The healthcare system is an impossible burden on our
economy. It might be tolerable if it were delivering health, but
America, in spite of having the most expensive healthcare system in the
world, ranks very low in health.
"Compared with five other nations—Australia, Canada, Germany, New
Zealand, the United Kingdom—the U.S. health care system ranks last or
next-to-last on five dimensions of a high performance health system:
quality, access, efficiency, equity, and healthy lives." The Commonwealth Fund
"Although the U.S. can now celebrate its' highest life expectancy in
history (77.9 years), 43 other countries still have life expectancies
"The overall health of the nation declined over the past year, despite
progress made in several key health indicators, according to a report
launched today by United Health Foundation, the American Public Health
Association (APHA) and Partnership for Prevention(TM). ... Life
expectancy in many countries are higher than the U.S., including Japan,
Sweden, France, Canada, Italy and Australia. In fact, a baby born today
in Japan has a life expectancy of 82.0 years and a baby born in the
U.S. has a life expectancy of 77.9 years." 2007 America's Health Rankings
Are YOu Old Enough to Remember the Berlin Wall?
Before the Berlin Wall came down, communism seemed like an impenetrable
monolith. It was impossible for most of us to image that it was
crumbling from within.
When I drive by Duke North, I think of the Berlin Wall.
This system is crumbling under it's own weight. Things can't go on this
way. It is not possible to imagine healthcare without massive change.
There is a Better Way
Take charge of your health. Be informed. Use your
common sense. The body is meant to heal and be healthy. We need to
work with the body, not against it. Drugs are a last resort --
occasionally necessary but neither to be trusted or relied upon except
in an emergency.
Health often requires behavior change and there are many exciting new technologies to help.
Taking charge of your health is going to require that you stand up for
yourself because no one else can or will take responsibility for your
health. I know it's not fair. You don't have a medical degree. But
your doctor doesn't know much about nutrition either.
"The importance of nutrition to the practice of medicine
is supported by numerous studies that clearly illustrate the vital role
of nutrition for optimum human health, disease prevention, and medical
nutrition management.
Despite this knowledge base, nutrition as a required
stand alone-course is offered at only 22% of US medical schools nationwide.
This percentage has dropped from a peak of 36% in 1982." Citation
And what medical doctors learn is both insufficient and out of date.
Most medical textbooks are 5 - 10 years out of date by the time they
are published according to the New York Times.
With the advent of the internet, there is a strong possibility that you
will know as much about some aspects of healthcare as your medical
doctor. That may be a scary thought. But it is the truth and it is an
important truth to fully take in
A Modest Proposal
We can afford real heal th care. I believe this is the future of health care:
Structural - Proper exercise and the care and maintenance of the human frame.-
Nutritional
- Good diet including appropriate supplements to make up for the
deficiencies of an industrialized food supply. Non-toxic and natural
therapeutic supplements.
- Emotional - Effective stress relief; handling change and our own resistance; nurturing the spirit.
- Energetic - Understanding and utilizing electromagnetic and acupuncture level energies for prevention and treatment.
Three Levels of Care
- Lifestyle - Eating a good diet, getting exercise, handling stress.
The best way to health is through living a healthy lifestyle.
- Noninvasive and Natural Therapies - chiropractic and body therapies, herbs and nutritional supplements, acupuncture, help with handling emotional stress.
Safe, non-toxic help is sometimes
needed to help your body overcome disease, stress or injuries, and to
cope with the physical, environmental and emotional challenges of
living in the 21st century.
Crisis intervention can be important
and life saving. For the best outcomes it should be supported by
lifestyle and natural therapies when possible.
The Good News: The Future is Here
I offer the information you need to make wise decisions for yourself and your family's health
Related Articles:
The Triangle of Health
Solving Chronic Health Problems
Is It Science?: Mainstream Medicine vs Alternative Healthcare
Convincing Skeptics of the Efficacy of Complementary Medicine
