Why Our Healthcare System Isnt Healthy

Most people are well aware that an estimated 45 million Americans currently do not have healthcare, but is the crisis simply the lack of health insurance or even the cost of health insurance? Is there a bigger underlying problem at the root of our healthcare system? Although the U.S. claims to have the most advanced medicine in the world, government health statistics and peer-reviewed journals demonstrate that allopathic medicine often causes more harm than good.

People in general have always felt they could trust doctors and the medical profession, but according to the Journal of the American Medical Association in July 2000, iatrogenic death, also known as death from physician error or death from medical treatment, was the third leading cause of death in America and rising, responsible for at least 250,000 deaths per year. Those statistics are considered conservative by many, as the reported numbers only include in-hospital deaths, not injury or disability, and do not include external iatrogenic deaths such as those resulting from nursing home and other private facility treatments, and adverse effects of prescriptions. One recent study estimated the total unnecessary deaths from iatrogenic causes at approximately 800,000 per year at a cost of $282 billion per year, which would make death from American medicine the leading cause of death in our country.

Currently, at least 2 out of 3 Americans use medications, 32 million Americans are taking three or more medications daily, and commercials and advertisements for pharmaceutical drugs have saturated the marketplace. Although our population is aging, exorbitantly expensive drugs are being marketed and dispensed to younger and younger patients, including many children who years ago would never have been given or needed medication, for everything from ADHD to asthma to bipolar disease and diabetes. Clearly, the state of health in this country is not improving even though there are an increasing number of medications and treatments. Between 2003 and 2010, the number of prescriptions are expected to increase substantially by 47%. In recent years, numerous drugs previously deemed safe by the FDA have been recalled because of their toxicity, after the original drug approvals were actually funded by the invested pharmaceutical companies themselves.

According to the media, thanks to advances in U.S. drugs and medical procedures, Americans are living longer statistically, but they are living longer sicker, with a lower quality of life, and often dependent on multiple expensive synthetic medications that do not cure or address the underlying causes, but only suppress symptoms, often with a plethora of dangerous side effects to the tune of billions of dollars for the drug industry. Considering that the U.S. is supposed to have the most advanced technology in the world and the best health care system, it is at odds that we spend the most on healthcare, yet are the most obese and most afflicted with illness outside of the AIDS epidemic in some third world countries.

Unless you have an acute emergency that requires emergency room care, being admitted to a hospital environment may be more dangerous to your health than staying out. In 2003, epidemiologists reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that hospital-acquired infections have risen steadily in recent decades, with blood and tissue infections known as sepsis almost tripling from 1979 to 2000. Nearly two million patients in the U.S. get an infection while in the hospital each year, and of those patients over 90,000 die per year, up dramatically from just 13,300 in 1992. Statistics show that approximately 56% of the population has been unnecessarily treated, or mistreated, by the medical industry.

Additionally, as a result of the overuse of pharmaceutical drugs and antibiotics in our bodies and environment, our immune systems have become significantly weakened, allowing antibiotic-resistant strains of disease-causing bacteria to proliferate, leaving us more susceptible to further disease. Not surprisingly, incidences of diseases have been growing at epidemic levels according to the CDC. Now diseases once thought conquered, such as tuberculosis, gonorrhea, malaria, and childhood ear infections are much harder to successfully treat than they were decades ago. Drugs do not cure. They only suppress the symptoms that your body needs to express, while they ignore the underlying root cause. Side effects of synthetic and chemical drugs, which even if they are partly derived from nature have been perverted to make them patentable and profitable, are not healthy or natural, and usually cause more harm than any perceived benefit of the medication.

Where "physician errors" are concerned, these may not be entirely the fault of the doctors, as they are forced to operate within the constraints of their profession or risk losing their license, but doctors have become pawns and spokesmen for the drug companies, and the best interest of the patient has become secondary. In the name of profit, physicians are also under great pressure from hospitals to service patients as quickly as possible, like an assembly line, increasing the likelihood of error.

In conclusion, increases in healthcare costs are not just the result of frivolous law suits, but are primarily the result of a profit-oriented industry that encourages practices that lead to unnecessary and harmful procedures being performed, lethal adverse drug reactions, infections, expensive legitimate lawsuits, in-hospital and physician errors, antibiotic resistance due to overprescribing of antibiotics and drugs, and the hundreds of thousands of subsequent unnecessary deaths and injuries. Many people do not realize that there are healthier natural options, and anything unnatural or invasive we are exposed to is likely to cause either immediate or cumulative damage over time.

For more information on how to help your body heal itself naturally without chemicals, information on drug side effects, and harmful disease-causing chemicals in the foods you eat and your environment and how to avoid them, please visit the NatureGem web site at http://www.naturegem.com.

Deb Bromley is a science and technology researcher and the President of NatureGem Nontoxic Living, an organization devoted to promoting awareness of toxins in our food and environment that can cause disease, and providing access to nutrition information, natural remedies, and alternative health resources. Please visit http://www.naturegem.com for more information.

---

Rezulin Liver Failure Causes FDA to Recall Drug

Rezulin, a prescription type 2 diabetes drug has been withdrawn from the market by the FDA. New drugs have come out which offer the benefits that Rezulin... Read More

Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Simple Self-Help Tips

If you have been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), you will know how difficult it is to treat. Doctors can be dismissive of IBS symptoms such... Read More

Bee Propolis: Synergisitc Health Care for the 21st Centruy

For well over a century modern science has progressed at a startling rate. With this increase in knowledge has come medicinal and healthcare benefits that have seen... Read More

Alprazolam/Xanax ? A Habit Forming Drug

Xanax is a Prescription Drug which is habit forming. You can become physically and psychologically dependent on the Xanax medication. Nevert take more than the prescribed amount... Read More

CRP And Your Heart

Monitoring your CRP level is vitally important because it is one of the best indicators of heart disease. C-Reactive Protein has proven to be one of the... Read More

Traditional Treatments for Back Pain... Which Ones Work and Which Ones Don?t?

When Dorothy followed the yellow brick road, she was told to do so by those who wanted her to get where she wanted go. Well as humans... Read More

The Right Medical Equipment For You Home Or Practice!

Quality, dependable Medical Equipment is an important component of every medical practice. It can't be overstated that while the practice of medicine is an art, Medical Equipment... Read More

High Cholesterol Prescription Medications Can Kill You

The World Health Organization declares that heart disease is the number one killer worldwide. High cholesterol is a major contributor of heart disease. In America alone there... Read More

Buy Lunesta Cheap By Comparing Prescription Prices Online

We all know that there's no such thing as cheap Lunesta. But when compared with the other prescription sleep aids, Lunesta is the best buy if you're... Read More

Lunesta Pregnancy And Breastfeeding

Lunesta is a newly released sleeping pill. Marketed as a revolutionary sleep aid, Lunesta is the only medication approved by the FDA for long term treatment of... Read More

Talking Money with Your Doctor: Drugs and Tests for Less

Would you buy groceries without knowing their prices? I suspect not. You probably compare the costs of different boxes of cereal in order to get the best... Read More

Lunesta For Insomnia: A Guide To Compare Generic Lunesta ( Eszopiclone )

We all know that there's no such thing as cheap Lunesta, but if you'd like to save money without sacrificing quality, you may want to buy Eszopiclone... Read More

Increasing Patient Care and Reducing Liability in Seven Simple Steps

When an unconscious patient arrives in the ED, every hospital agrees that timely next of kin notification is vital. Not only is it important to have a... Read More

Oral Chelation ? Is It Better Than Intravenous Chelation?

Intravenous Chelation was the most common practice until a few years back; however, with the introduction of oral chelation it became the preferred choice of most patients... Read More

Drug Them and Send Them Out

It was around 1986, when my son Lewis was diagnosed of having ADHD. I like using the term "accused" of having ADHD. I really disagree with anyone... Read More

An Introduction to Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a very common condition, but in some ways it is still a mystery. There are many different theories about what causes the... Read More

5 Risks to Avoid When Purchasing Discount Medicines Online

With the increasing price of prescription medications, many consumers are finding it more difficult to afford the price of prescriptions. Due to this, a large number of... Read More

What is Going On With Pharmacies in Canada

There is a large amount of talk lately in regard to Canadian pharmacies, and why not? pharmacies in Canada provide the same identical perscription drugs you would... Read More

Arthritis Pain Relief : Questions To Ask Your Healthcare Provider

A great place to begin taking charge of you arthritis pain relief and prevention planning is by making an appointment with your healthcare provider and finding out... Read More

Death by Fluoride

A wee bit of fluoride makes teeth and dentists happy, we're told. Dr. Happy Tooth's smiley face turns into a frown when his favorite decay buster is... Read More

Food for Thought

Depression is a disorder marked by sadness, low energy, impaired concentration, and feelings of dejection. Some people believe that depression is normal. Hectic daily activities and the... Read More

?So? Which One Do I Use Doctor? Heat or Ice?

Heat has long been used to provide temporary relief of arthritis pain, and is used in many different forms. Contrast baths, whirlpools, electric pads, microwaveable gel packs,... Read More

Thimerosal: Autism and Mercury Poisoning Side Effects?

Thimerosal is a preservative that is added to vaccines (has been since the 1930s) that is almost half (49.6% by weight) mercury. Preservatives are added to vaccines... Read More

Hypertension & High Blood Pressure: How To Improve Life Threatening Weight-Related Diseases

The American Heart Association estimates that one of three Americans have have hypertension. And yet many of us don't know what it is, why it's dangerous, and... Read More

Lunesta Tolerance

Lunesta is a newly released sleeping pill. Marketed as a revolutionary sleep aid, Lunesta is the only medication approved by the FDA for long term treatment of... Read More

Serevent Side Effects Put Serevent in Top 5 Most Dangerous Drugs

Serevent is an asthma inhalation medication, a bronchodilator, that relaxes the muscles in airways. It is preventative and not effective when taken during an asthma attack.Possible side... Read More