Everyday we hear about the rising costs of healthcare and how out of control the cost of drugs are. I couldn't agree more...the cost of medical care is phenomenal. But, in my mind there's an alternative: let's get to the "root" of what's making us sick and stop it. Cut it off in it's tracks. When the root of the problem is addressed, we will be able to solve the problem. Healthcare could be available to more people at much lower costs when we TREAT THE CAUSE rather than the symptoms. So, what are the root causes?
The root causes are the lifestyle choices we make each and every day...what we eat, how we respond to stress, whether or not we smoke, how much we exercise and what kind of relationships we have in our lives. We don't need a new drug or high-tech medical breakthrough, we simply need to practice what we already know.
According to CNN, a study of 23,000 people showed that walking for just 30 minutes every day, not smoking, eating a reasonably healthy diet, and keeping a healthy weight prevented 93% of diabetes, 81% of heart attacks, 50% of strokes and 36% of all cancers, (statistics now show 1 out of every 2 people will get some form of cancer). Bigger changes in diet and lifestyle can DO EVEN MORE!
Think about this, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, two of the biggest killers in the US are COMPLETELY PREVENTABLE by making lifestyle changes. NO DRUGS, NO SURGERIES. As I say repeatedly, lifestyle changes often REVERSE chronic diseases.
Dr. Dean Ornish, world-renowned physician, practices "medicine" in California. He founded a lifestyle program that REVERSES HEART DISEASE, and Medicare pays for it!! That is unheard of....why? Because Medicare only pays for doctors, hospitals, testing, drugs...etc. However, after years of "proving" what lifestyle changes can do to prevent, stop and reverse disease, both the Republicans and Democrats supported this program. This is MAJOR! Believe me, without all kinds of scientific evidence, Medicare doesn't pay for it. Now, because Medicare is supporting this program, other health insurance companies are following suit.
For example, according to CNN, Highmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield found that overall health care costs were reduced by 50% in the first year when people with heart disease or risk factors went through Dr. Ornish's lifestyle program. Mutual of Omaha found that it saved $30,000 PER PATIENT in the first year for those who went through the program.
Recent studies have shown that angioplasties and stents DO NOT PROLONG life or prevent heart attacks in stable patients, costing $60 BILLION per year. Type 2 diabetes will affect half of Americans in the next 8 years at a projected cost of $3.3 TRILLION. Lowering blood sugars with drugs does not fully prevent the human costs of diabetes, including heart attacks, strokes, amputations, impotence, kidney failure and blindness. However, lowering blood sugars with lifestyle prevents ALL OF THESE from happening.
Changing your lifestyle can change your genes. It turns on genes that keep you healthy, and turns off genes that promote heart disease, cancers, and diabetes.
The GREAT NEWS is, we can take control of our health without costly medical bills and drugs that come with all kinds of side effects....all we need to do is choose the food we put in our mouth carefully, keep moving, and work on your relationship with others.... and this is a proven fact. Really, how much would that cost?
The root causes are the lifestyle choices we make each and every day...what we eat, how we respond to stress, whether or not we smoke, how much we exercise and what kind of relationships we have in our lives. We don't need a new drug or high-tech medical breakthrough, we simply need to practice what we already know.
According to CNN, a study of 23,000 people showed that walking for just 30 minutes every day, not smoking, eating a reasonably healthy diet, and keeping a healthy weight prevented 93% of diabetes, 81% of heart attacks, 50% of strokes and 36% of all cancers, (statistics now show 1 out of every 2 people will get some form of cancer). Bigger changes in diet and lifestyle can DO EVEN MORE!
Think about this, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, two of the biggest killers in the US are COMPLETELY PREVENTABLE by making lifestyle changes. NO DRUGS, NO SURGERIES. As I say repeatedly, lifestyle changes often REVERSE chronic diseases.
Dr. Dean Ornish, world-renowned physician, practices "medicine" in California. He founded a lifestyle program that REVERSES HEART DISEASE, and Medicare pays for it!! That is unheard of....why? Because Medicare only pays for doctors, hospitals, testing, drugs...etc. However, after years of "proving" what lifestyle changes can do to prevent, stop and reverse disease, both the Republicans and Democrats supported this program. This is MAJOR! Believe me, without all kinds of scientific evidence, Medicare doesn't pay for it. Now, because Medicare is supporting this program, other health insurance companies are following suit.
For example, according to CNN, Highmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield found that overall health care costs were reduced by 50% in the first year when people with heart disease or risk factors went through Dr. Ornish's lifestyle program. Mutual of Omaha found that it saved $30,000 PER PATIENT in the first year for those who went through the program.
Recent studies have shown that angioplasties and stents DO NOT PROLONG life or prevent heart attacks in stable patients, costing $60 BILLION per year. Type 2 diabetes will affect half of Americans in the next 8 years at a projected cost of $3.3 TRILLION. Lowering blood sugars with drugs does not fully prevent the human costs of diabetes, including heart attacks, strokes, amputations, impotence, kidney failure and blindness. However, lowering blood sugars with lifestyle prevents ALL OF THESE from happening.
Changing your lifestyle can change your genes. It turns on genes that keep you healthy, and turns off genes that promote heart disease, cancers, and diabetes.
The GREAT NEWS is, we can take control of our health without costly medical bills and drugs that come with all kinds of side effects....all we need to do is choose the food we put in our mouth carefully, keep moving, and work on your relationship with others.... and this is a proven fact. Really, how much would that cost?
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