Heart Disease kills approximately 600,000 people
annually (1 in every 4 deaths) and costs $108.9 billion each year according to
the CDC. Most people have heard that this is the leading cause of death in the United
States, followed by malignant neoplasms (cancer) at a close second. Heart
disease is no doubt a major health concern in the United States, but it is NOT
the leading cause of death. The information
you’re about to read comes from peer-reviewed journals and directly out of the
text “Death by Medicine” written by
Gary Null, PhD; Carolyn Dean MD, ND; Martin Feldman, MD; Debora Rasio, MD; and
Dorothy Smith, PhD. Note that 3 of the 5 authors are medical doctors. I encourage
all of you to read their 26-page manuscript because I will only discuss a
fraction of the information provided in the book. It is extensively referenced
and extremely thorough.
Iatrogenesis is a term most of you have never heard before, but it is actually the leading cause of death in America. Iatrogenesis literally means “a disease caused by a medical treatment, exam, or diagnostic test.” Now, I know this article might upset some people, but facts are facts and this information must get out in order for the public to be able to make better and safer health decisions. If these facts upset you, and I am hoping they do, then please take action and do something about it!
Iatrogenesis kills 783,936 people per year, beating
out heart disease for the #1 killer spot by nearly 200,000 deaths annually. To
put this number into perspective, it is equivalent to 6 jumbo jets falling out
of the sky every single day. Can you imagine if every single day a plane
crashed? No one would be flying! To make matters even worse, only roughly 5-20%
of iatrogenic acts are ever reported, which means that the alarming number
represents only a small fraction of cases.
The 783,936 annual deaths caused by iatrogenesis can be dissected even further. Adverse reactions to properly prescribed medications kill 106,000 people and cost $12 billion per year. Medical error kills 98,000 people and costs $2 billion annually. Bedsores alone kill 115,000 people and cost $55 billion. Medically caused infection kills 88,000 people per year and costs $5 billion. Malnutrition due to hospital neglect kills 108,800 people. Unnecessary surgeries kill 37,136 people and cost $122 billion annually. Surgery-related deaths kill 32,000 people and cost Americans $9 billion per year. Outpatient surgery kills 199,000 people and costs $77 billion. This adds up to 783,936 deaths costing Americans $282 billion, per year, all caused by medical intervention. I have attached a table with this summary (Table 1).
What really blows my mind is that Congress will not
have a congressional hearing regarding the actual leading cause of death in the
United States, yet they had one specifically to address lowering ionization of
oysters before releasing them into the market… since consuming toxic oysters
kills roughly 15 people a year. Fifteen people. But they won’t address a
problem killing nearly 800,000? There is something very wrong with that.
Another huge problem is that we, as a nation, are still raising millions and millions of dollars each year to fund research to find the cure for cancer and other diseases. Do you know how long we have been doing this? The Susan G. Komen foundation (breast cancer) was founded in 1982 and raises about $400 million per year. The treatment for breast cancer has not changed since 1982, Chemo and radiation are still the gold standard. Also worth mentioning is the fact that the CEO of this non-profit organization made $684,000 dollars in 2011. What we should be doing instead of throwing money at researching a cure is donating all of this money toward eliminating the cause (which is poor lifestyle choices, pesticides, insecticides, nutritional deficiencies, prescription medications, and toxicities) and encouraging monthly self-examination – but there is no money in that. There is a reason that cancer still kills 553,251 people each year, and that is because we are still trying to find a miracle cure for a disease caused by poor lifestyle choices, pesticides, insecticides, environmental toxins, chronic stress, contaminated water supply, nutritional deficiencies, etc.
Despite these harsh facts, we are all constantly bombarded with medical advertising claiming they can offer you health and wellness through drugs and surgery, even though medical intervention is the leading cause of death. It is quite ironic. Medical intervention should only be used in cases of a crisis – that is what medicine was designed for. Medicine does not offer you health and optimal function; it offers you a second chance to take control of your own health. Everyone should be extremely thankful for that. If you don’t change your lifestyle, chances are you will be back to see your doctor with the same, and more, complaints, only to get prescribed more drugs and more surgery in order to make symptoms go away. It is a vicious downward spiral from there if you don’t make a change.
The first thing that has to happen in order to change this huge problem is to recognize that there even is a problem. Unfortunately, it is like pulling teeth to get the medical profession to accept these facts and make a change. There is just too much money involved for the pharmaceutical companies (Pfizer alone made $52.8 billion in 2012) and large technology companies. Sadly, I think it will take many more deaths and a lot more debt – to the point where our health care system is bankrupt – before a significant change occurs. I really hope I’m wrong.
So, what can you do? Avoid becoming part of this alarming statistic. Don’t just wait around for a symptom to appear before you pay attention to your health. Invest in your health now to avoid needing medical intervention, and putting yourself at risk for iatrogenesis, later. You must be proactive when it comes to preventing sickness and disease, which means: Consuming lots of fresh, locally grown, vine-ripened fruits and vegetables every single day. Make sure you are getting a sufficient amount of probiotics, omega-3’s, whole-food multi-vitamins, vitamin D, at least 30 minutes of exercise each day, and vising your chiropractor to optimize nervous system function. These things are essential for health and optimal function. My previous “The Human Diet” post expands on these suggestions if you are interested in learning more. If you don’t meet your body’s genetic requirements, you are heading toward pathological physiology and it’s only a matter of time before a symptom appears.
“Death by Medicine” is a fascinating book, everyone should read it. It can be downloaded online and is heavily referenced in peer-reviewed literature. I can’t apologize for the harshness of the information presented in this post, as the topic is too important to sugar coat.
As always, please refer to the resources I have
listed below for additional information. If you have questions please do not
hesitate to contact me – atbrady05@gmail.com!
Dr. Brady
References
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