by Mike Barrett
Based on findings presented in a
report titled U.S. Health in International Perspectives: Shorter Lives,
Poorer Health, Americans have a higher chance of dying from
all causes than people living in 16 other developed nations. Further, the
United States ranked 2nd to last when focusing just on deaths from
noncommunicable disease, which includes ailments like diabetes mellitus,
endocrine disorders, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, and
digestive diseases, to name a few.
America is Lagging Behind - as the Very Sick Nation
Despite spending more on
healthcare than any other nation, America is being outranked by every other
compared nation when it comes to health. The report shows how The U.S. ranks in
the following four categories:
- Deaths from All Causes –
U.S. is ranked last.
- Deaths from Noncommunicable Disease – U.S. is ranked 2nd to last.
- Deaths from Injuries
– U.S. is ranked 2nd to last.
- Deaths from Communicable, Maternal, Perinatal,
Nutritional Conditions – U.S. is ranked 4th to last. (One problem with this category is the inclusion of
nutritional deficiencies; any nutritional deficiency can help lead to
illness and diseases that help lead to death).
Check out the integrative chart here for more in-depth reports:
And this isn’t the first
report to come up with these findings. In June, 2011, researchers from the
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of
Washington and Imperial College London found that 80% of U.S. counties have dipped
below the average life expectancy of the top 10 nations globally.
The authors wrote:
“When compared to the
international frontier for life expectancy, US counties range from being 16
calendar years ahead to more than 50 behind for women. For men the range is
from 15 calendar years ahead to more than 50 calendar years behind. This means
that some counties have a life expectancy today that nations with the best
health outcomes had in 1957.”
Additionally, a 2011
report found that even while life expectancy of American’s is rising
(even if that means being hooked up to a hospital bed for the last years of
one’s life), the U.S. is still rank 50.
Why is the U.S. so
behind on health? The chair of the panel that wrote the first report mentioned,
Steven H. Woolf, a professor of family medicine at Virginia Commonwealth
University in Richmond, said:
“We were struck by the
gravity of these findings. Americans are dying and suffering at rates that we
know are unnecessary because people in other high-income countries are living
longer lives and enjoying better health. What concerns our panel is why, for
decades, we have been slipping behind.”
While Woolf and others
don’t seem to know why Americans are sick, the answers are a bit obvious to
some of us.
Why Americans are so Sick and Die Sooner
The answer as to why
Americans are so sick could easily fill up an entire book, but it really boils
down to a few basic truths. Here are just a few things ruining the health of
the nation.
** Consuming Garbage Food, Not Healthful Foods and Beverages
How do some fruits and
veggies sound? If you’re anything like the majority of Americans, you’ll choose
a McDonald’s burger over an apple any day. Fast food, along with processed
foods and prepackaged foods, make up a great deal of the average American’s
diet. These foods are full of harmful and questionable ingredients that provide
no real nutritional value. To make matters worse, the meat is often derived
from injected animals fed antibiotics and genetically modified grain while the
fruit are drenched in pesticides and are often genetically modified.
Additionally, the
average person is consuming 300% more sugar daily than recommended. This
over-consumption is fueling illness and diseases like gout, blood pressure,
kidney damage, diabetes, inflammation-related issues, obesity, heart disease,
and much more.
The facts are, 2/3
of Americans are overweight with 1/3 being obese, almost
1/10 have diabetes, and 79 million adults have prediabetes.
Unfortunately, these figures aren’t improving.
** Exercising Very Little or Not at All
The statistics given
above are fueled not only by a poor diet, but by inactivity as well. Actually,
sitting too much in of itself has been shown to strike 92,00 individuals each
year with avoidable cancer. An inactive lifestyle—not achieving 150 minutes of
moderate exercise a week—is a major contributor to major diseases like heart
disease, Type 2 diabetes, and breast and colon cancer. One study in The Lancet even goes on to say
that physical activity is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO),
about 31 percent of adults aged 15+ were inactive in 2008, with 28 percent of
that figure being men and 34 percent being women. The WHO also states that
inactivity is tied to 3.2 million deaths each year. However, if the link was
more appropriately tied in with all illness and disease, that number would
likely be much higher.
Being Exposed to an Incredible Amount of Health-Compromising Toxins
Toxins are everywhere,
from within the air we breath to the water we drink. And unless you’re
incorporating various methods and habits for detoxing your body regularly,
these toxins are building up and wreaking havoc on your health and overall
well-being. According to Dr. Edward Group III, DC, ND, the average person
is taking in way more toxins than able to be
expelled. Some of these toxins are:
- Smoke
- Dust
- Mold and mildew
- Arsenic
- Fluoride
- Chlorine
- Pesticides
- Soy
- MSG
- Parasites
- Paint fumes
- Pet dander
- Alcohol
- Aluminum
- and much more
It is absolutely
essential to detox and cleanse your body to rid yourself of
these toxins – as they are one of the primary factors in the cause of illness.
In addition, Americans
are also:
- Dealing with massive amounts of stress, which is a critical factor in overall health.
- Receiving up to 30 health-compromising vaccines before the age of 6
- Turning to pharmaceuticals more than any other nation
America may be the sick
man of rich nations, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Continue to
seek truth and engage in natural healing and physical activity. Teach children
along with your friends and family of the importance of living a healthy
lifestyle. Much of the illness we see today is self-perpetuated, and that means
you have the power to turn it around.
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