{"id":19047,"date":"2016-04-12T00:38:43","date_gmt":"2016-04-12T04:38:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/2016\/04\/the-power-of-preventative-medicine.html"},"modified":"2017-11-29T08:06:20","modified_gmt":"2017-11-29T13:06:20","slug":"the-power-of-preventative-medicine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/2016\/04\/the-power-of-preventative-medicine\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Preventative Medicine"},"content":{"rendered":"
Last week, I In 2013, the True Chronic diseases –including heart The Best Technology to Remedy Results Can’t In a recent Obesity and poor-quality diet The data from the latest CDC report Many studies Normalisation of both beta cell In an Food for Your Bones<\/b><\/p>\n In a recent study, Eating a Mediterranean diet may at The Importance of Social Connections Beyond diet One recent In an impressive analysis based on On the other hand, the authors found Interesting, Summary:<\/b><\/p>\n As Benjamin A Free Summit to Learn More <\/b><\/p>\n
\ndiscussed How
\nIntegrative HealthCare May Save Medicine<\/a>. <\/i>Specifically, I reviewed how diet, lifestyle,
\nand supplements can modulate disease risk, yet they still seem to get the back
\nseat to conventional methods. This is unfortunate considering our current medical
\napproach is not producing a healthy America. In fact, our healthcare system ranks
\nlast overall among many other industrialized nation, according to a recent
\nanalysis published by the Common Wealth Funds. In regards to health care
\nspending, supply, utilization, prices, and health outcomes. The report states:<\/p>\n
\nU.S. spent far more on health care than these other countries. Higher spending
\nappeared to be largely driven by greater use of medical technology and higher
\nhealth care prices, rather than more frequent doctor visits or hospital
\nadmissions. In contrast, U.S. spending on social services made up a relatively
\nsmall share of the economy relative to other countries. Despite spending more
\non health care, Americans had poor health outcomes, including shorter life
\nexpectancy and greater prevalence of chronic conditions.”
\nThe analysis reported health care spending at 17.1 percent of the U.S. GDP,
\nmaking our country devote at least 50 percent more of its economy to health
\ncare than other countries.1<\/sup><\/i><\/p>\n
\nprevention is not about utilizing more screenings and diagnostics to find the
\ndiseases earlier. This ignores the lifestyle processes that caused the
\nimbalances to begin with.2<\/sup> It is well-known that many chronic
\ndiseases are preventable through lifestyle. Harvard T.H. Chan of Public Health
\nreports:<\/p>\n
\ndisease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer– account for some of the most common
\nhealth problems in the United States, according to statistics from the Centers
\nfor Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Yet many of these chronic diseases
\nare preventable, as they’re linked to poor diet and lifestyle choices including
\ntobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, and inadequate physical activity.3<\/sup><\/i><\/p>\n
\nEffect Cause: A Short Look at Diet<\/b><\/p>\n
\neditorial in JAMA, <\/i>Dr. Lustig commented on the decline in our lifespan and
\nquality of life in relationship to diet:<\/p>\n
\npredispose to all of the major chronic diseases, but these risks have been
\nmitigated over the past few decades by an increasingly powerful and expensive
\narray of treatments. To delay disease progression, millions of individuals in
\nthe United States depend on medications to lower levels of cholesterol, blood
\npressure, and blood glucose; surgical procedures to open or bypass blocked
\narteries; and dialysis.<\/i><\/p>\n
\nsuggest that a tipping point has been reached beyond which technological
\nadvances may no longer compensate. Indeed, higher-resolution data show that
\nthis trend has probably been under way for years.4<\/sup><\/i><\/p>\n
\nhave shown how diet impacts many chronic disease outcomes.5-6<\/sup> One
\nstudy even reported on the reversal of diabetes type 2 in a small study of 11
\nindividuals:<\/p>\n
\nfunction and hepatic insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetes was achieved by
\ndietary energy restriction alone. This was associated with decreased pancreatic
\nand liver triacylglycerol stores. The abnormalities underlying type 2 diabetes
\nare reversible by reducing dietary energy intake.5<\/sup><\/i><\/p>\n
\nupcoming two-part article series on the Natural Path<\/i>, I review specifically
\nhow diet and lifestyle can modulate health outcomes in more detail. <\/p>\n
\nreported in Health Day, the Mediterranean Diet was linked to lower hip fracture
\nrisk in women. This is important because many women fear osteoporosis and many chronic
\ndiseases impact bone strength. Health Day reports:6<\/sup><\/p>\n
\nleast slightly lower an older woman’s risk for hip fracture, a new study
\nsuggests. Women who most closely followed a Mediterranean diet — one high in
\nfruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and whole grains — had a 20 percent lower
\nrisk for hip fractures compared to women who didn’t follow this regimen, the
\nresearchers found.<\/i><\/p>\n
\nand Access<\/b><\/p>\n
\nand lifestyle,
\nsocial connection and one’s environment has been found to impact disease
\nprocesses<\/a>. Unfortunately, this is often ignored, yet social isolation and
\ndepression have been shown to be independent risk factors for death from cardiac disease.7-8<\/sup><\/p>\n
\nstudy in JAMA<\/i> reports:<\/p>\n
\nmortality data and deidentified tax records with more than 1.4 billion
\nperson-year observations and nearly 7 million deaths among individuals living
\nin the United States during the 15 years between 1999 and 2014, Chetty et al
\nconfirm the long-observed association between higher income and longer life
\nexpectancy, as well as the recent increase in the gap in life expectancy between
\nthe richest and poorest 5% of the US population.1<\/a><\/sup>
\nLooking specifically at the lowest income quartile, Chetty et al also found
\nlittle association between life expectancy and various measures of access to
\nmedical care, physical environments, employment conditions, or levels of income
\ninequality.<\/i><\/p>\n
\nsignificant geographic variations in life expectancy among those in the lowest
\nincome quartile, including significant disadvantages conferred by the
\nprevalence of unhealthy behaviors, such as tobacco use and obesity, and
\ncommunity characteristics, such as government expenditure levels and the
\nproportions of college graduates and immigrants. In this low-income group, life
\nexpectancy variation by community ranged from a high of about a 4-year gain to
\na low of a more than 2-year loss in life expectancy during the 15-year period.
\nCommunity is powerfully associated with life expectancy.9<\/sup><\/i><\/p>\n
\nthe authors also state, “in the aggregate, medical care is not a strong
\ndeterminant of the health of populations.”9<\/sup><\/p>\n
\nFranklin is quoted for saying, “An
\nounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Therefore, it is time to
\nlook at how our choices and lifestyle can impact our health by preventing the disease
\nprocess to begin with. This could save our nation from the downward health spiral it is
\nheaded using the same ineffective approach. It is time for a truly integrative healthcare system. It can start with our own choices.<\/p>\n