Health Care or "Sick Care"?

The United States spends over 70 percent of its health care budget to treat people suffering from diseases like cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure and mental illness. This is according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

This sounds more like “sick care” rather than “health care.” That’s why health experts are now agreeing that a massive and on-going “healthy living” campaign must be launched in every neighborhood and city in the U.S.

Sure, a person can have angioplasty to unclog fatty arteries, receive radiation to kill a tumor, and take a multitude of medications to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, but these haphazard “solutions” come with a heavy penalty that often includes uncomfortable—and sometimes dangerous—side effects and a less enjoyable, lower quality of life. What American’s need is a real solution—a lifestyle of prevention.

“We need to do a better job of making people realize that chronic conditions are preventable,” says Janet Collins, director of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. “You can have an angioplasty, but it doesn’t equate to the same quality [as preventing heart disease].”

On a community level, part of the solution could be to provide preventive testing and assign a health worker to follow up with patients who tested poorly for things like blood pressure and cholesterol screenings. By educating people on how to naturally improve their health through simple diet and exercise choices, we’ll start to see a smaller amount of people suffering with chronic and often deadly diseases.

What can YOU do to prevent disease in your own body? Start by monitoring the foods you eat. Avoid trans fats and other fatty, processed foods. Everyday, eat fresh vegetables and fruits. Make time to exercise—even if it’s taking the stairs instead of the elevator, every bit of exercise counts. And empower your body to fight off disease by maintaining a healthy spine through regularly scheduled chiropractic adjustments.

[Source: The Commonwealth Fund, “Prevention Key to Nation’s Health Care Future, Experts Say” 11-30-07]