Stats... The State of a Nation...

Today I came across some stats, many of which I'd seen before, but some never in this format.
To say that we have a health care problem in our Nation is an understatement. Not only is there a financial side to it, but rather the cause of the problem itself is a society that has been programmed to believe that more drugs equals more health. Think about it... how many drug ads do you see and hear on a daily basis ? They're everywhere, and as a result our mindset has become more drugs = more health. The ads tell us if we're experiencing this, take that, then of course it's followed by a guy or girl who can speak really well and really fast covering the laundry list of side effects and contraindications...
The truth is that although drugs and medication are a major problem in this country, the real problem has become our mindset.
Consider the following facts:

EVERY 30 SECONDS 1 PERSON WILL DIE FROM A STROKE;
EVERY 40 SECONDS SOMEONE WILL DIE FROM OTHER CARDIOVASCULAR RELATED DISEASE;
IN THE NEXT MINUTE ALMOST 4 PEOPLE WILL BE DIAGNOSED WITH DIABETES;
IN THE NEXT HOUR 8 PEOPLE WILL DIE AS A RESULT OF DIABETES;
IN THE NEXT HOUR 164 PEOPLE WILL BE DIAGNOSED WITH SOME FORM OF CANCER, OTHER THAN SIMPLE BASAL AND SQUAMOUS CELL SKIN CANCER;
IN THE NEXT HOUR 174 PEOPLE WILL DIE FROM A FORM OF CANCER.

Now consider these facts:
TODAY 45 PEOPLE WILL DIE AS A RESULT OF NSAID USE. NSAID'S, OR NON-STEROIDAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUGS ARE UTILIZED FOR PAIN RELIEF, HEADACHES AND ARTHRITIS. THESE INCLUDE BOTH PRESCRIPTION AND OVER THE COUNTER DRUGS SUCH AS ibuprofen, aspirin, naproxen and ketoprofen.

Now consider these facts concerning "the estimated total number of iatrogenic deaths—that is, deaths induced inadvertently by a physician or surgeon or by medical treatment or diagnostic procedures— in the US annually is 783,936.
It is evident that the American medical system is itself the leading cause of death and injury in the US . By comparison, approximately 699,697 Americans died of heart disease in 2001, while 553,251 died of cancer."


Table 1: Estimated Annual Mortality and Economic Cost of Medical Intervention

Condition                              Deaths             Cost                   Author

Adverse Drug Reactions      106,000           $12 billion             Lazarou(1), Suh (49)

Medical error                       98,000              $2 billion              IOM(6)

Bedsores                             115,000             $55 billion           Xakellis(7), Barczak (8)

Infection                                88,000             $5 billion             Weinstein(9), MMWR (10)

Malnutrition                         108,800 -----------                       Nurses Coalition(11)

Outpatients                          199,000             $77 billion            Starfield(12), Weingart(112)

Unnecessary Procedures      37,136              $122 billion           HCUP(3,13)

Surgery-Related                   32,000                $9 billion            AHRQ(85)

Total                                 783,936              $282 billion

As it stands, we are killing ourselves as a result of putting our health concerns in the hands of an allopathic system which is brilliant for crisis based care, however this system is not equipped to help people return or maintain a state of health. Using the analogy of Dr. James Chestnut, if you have a fire in your house, you call the fire department. However if you had fire and water damage, or just wanted to make some home improvements, you'd call a carpenter to help, not the fire department. One is for putting fires out, allopathic medicine for a crisis, and one is for rebuilding or making improvements and that's where holistic and vitalistic health care fits in.
Rather than continue to allow ourselves to slide down the probabilities of disease and morbidity statistics, why not chose to take control and move towards the possibilities of health and wellness in a holistic and vitalistic health approach. After all, if we continue to do the same thing and expect a different result than what we're already getting, then that wold be labeled insanity. If you are looking for a different result, in this case health and well being, then you have to do things differently.
That's what we provide on a daily basis, by empowering individuals and focusing on the tools needed to grow one's health (most of which are inside...) and by nurturing the body, rather than waging war against a diseased body. And that in itself is a topic for another post.

BE WELL !


Some sources for you:
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm

http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/diabetes-statistics/
http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@epidemiologysurveilance/documents/document/acspc-026238.pdf
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/01/050111123706.htm
http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2004/mar2004_awsi_death_02.htm