Why are Americans sicker than most of the World?

Middle-aged white Americans are considerably less healthy than their equivalents in England according to a study in the Journal of the AMA. Americans have a rate of diabetes, heart disease, strokes, lung disease and cancer that is higher despite the fact that U.S. health care spending is twice that of England on a per-citizen basis. I plan to not only inform you of the problems but this blog will also let you know what you can do about these shocking results from healthcare studies. This information is considered stunning by health care experts, although it coincides with the previously noted fact that U.S. life expectancy is fairly low among industrialized nations. The precise reasons for the health gap were not determined by the study. Americans had twice the rate of diabetes as the English, and almost twice the rate of cancer. The health of rich Americans was similar to the health of lowest-income British citizens.

Journal of the American Medical Association May 3, 2006; 295(17): 2037-2045

We Americans have the world's best quality trauma and emergency care. Surgical techniques are refined to a fine art like nowhere else in the world. But when it comes to chronic health care, why are we rated #72 in our quality of health by the world health organization and in worse condition than our friends in England? We Americans spend way more on our healthcare system than any other country in the world. The average American lifespan has decreased compared to that of other developed countries. The great healthcare experts are mystified at all this. Those experts haven’t been paying attention. Americans are manipulated and deceived by drug companies, food companies, the big media and all sorts of folks who look only at their bank account with no concern for what their products will do to their customers. The cigarette companies are no longer the only ones who endanger their customers with their products for monetary gain. Perhaps the tobacco companies' deception tactics were brought over when they bought the country's largest food manufacturers in an attempt to diversify from the dying cigarette industry. However, you, dear readers, are not so easily deceived, because you are actively finding out what you need to stay healthy that is why you have chosen to subscribe to this newsletter. Luckily we can change the course of American health by making some positive changes in our habits of eating and drinking. Okay, lets look at the obvious---We depend way too heavily on fast food and snack food. The art of cooking from fresh ingredients is something that we need to move back into. While I know life is busy and time is short for all of us, we need to know what to demand of those who prepare food for us. Some of the fast food folks are responding to our pressing health concerns. Did you notice that Wendy’s has gone to frying food in healthier oils that are free of transfats? Also they have discontinued the “biggie” size of things. Wendy’s, of course seem to have always been at the start of more healthy trends. If you haven’t watched the movie “Supersize Me” which documents the damaging health effects of eating every meal at another certain well known clown’s fast burger chain for thirty days. Be sure to check out that movie if you doubt anything I am saying. Let me make a suggestion when you must go to that fast burger place, and we all have to from time to time. (And yes, I go about once per month) Don't get that whopper or Big Mac or double or triple decker. Go back to basics. The burger that put all these fast food outlets on the map is a regular hamburger that contains meat, bread, pickle, onion, ketchup and mustard. This one item without the unhealthy plastic cheese option is probably the healthiest item on their menu. Get fries if you must but make it a small one and you can get out of there without paying a major price in deterioration of your health. Remember, besides possible transfats, the fries just end up pure glucose, sugar once you eat them. If you really must have two meat patties, remember that you are inviting bone density problems down the line the more protein-centered your diet is. No I am not a vegetarian but balance in favor of plant foods is the wisest way to eat. If you eat more of the healthy things and cut back on the unhealthy the improvement to your health will be substantial. It is not necessary to go on some dreary draconian diet to be healthy and please don’t follow trends pushed in the media. And PLEASE--- absolutely do not go no-fat or low-fat. They now think that only increases your chances of developing old age brain malfunction (But how that works is another issue coming soon.) Also do not use carb blockers, because they block all carbs, good and bad. Your body needs several carbohydrates to live. One particular set of super carbs found in our foods have been determined to reactivate the immune and repair systems and cause the body to suddenly be able to fight back and improve numerous disease conditions. We find now that 90% of our food budget goes for processed foods. While these foods are fine in moderation, we need to reverse that ratio---spending any more than 10-15% of our food budget for fast or processed food is downright unhealthy and we are all paying the price for our decisions in the grocery store. Consider this: Try buying more of those items around the outside walls of the grocery store. That is usually where the fresh produce, dairy, cheese, meats, and whole grain breads reside. If it comes in a box it gets closer examination of the list of ingredients so I can avoid transfats, high fructose corn syrup, toxins and other things that I wish to avoid for my own health. Even freezing food lowers nutritional value somewhat. We all have been told that if we eat a good diet we will be healthy. That is very true but we simply cannot eat enough of the right food with our present food sources. In future issues we will cover being able to get enough of the right nutrients when many of the most important nutrients are missing from most food today. Also, in future issues we will give you simple logical ideas that you can use to improve your health by eating more of some things, eating less of others. We will try to make you aware of hidden dangers in our food. Avoiding those dangerous toxins alone will make your diet work better to keep you healthy. Even the tiniest amount of toxin we take into our body must be dealt with by our immune system. The root cause of our exploding levels of all major catastrophic disease is our constant overstressing of the immune system that is supposed to protect us from all disease. Getting enough of the right nutrients will build back the immune system. We can protect ourselves from all the nasties out there if we educate ourselves in what our body needs nutritionally and what we need to avoid to not open ourselves up to health problems. So don’t feel sorry for yourself because as an American you will be sicker than those in other countries. Instead, you can take the proactive step and aggressively implement the dietary suggestions and other health tips found in the Wellness Secrets Newsletter. When possible I will give you some of the sources for facts mentioned in this blog so go back near the top and click on the JAMA link if you haven't already. Doug L. Bullock Changing the world one good habit at a time.