HEALTH CARE EPIDEMIC As of April 2, 2009, the leading causes of death annually in the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control are as follows; Heart disease: 652,091 Cancer: 559,312 Stroke: 143,579 Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 130,933 Accidents (unintentional injuries): 117,809 Diabetes: 75,119 That is 1,561,034 people last year who died from mostly preventable diseases. That is over 13 times the number of people who die in accidents. It doesn’t include the number of us who have suffered a heart attack or stroke and lived, or who are fighting cancer, respiratory diseases or diabetes. Below is the number of estimated new cases of these diseases in 2008 in the U.S. alone: Heart disease: 650,000 new occurrences + 450,000 reoccurrences of heart attacks Cancer: 1,437,000 newly diagnosed patients It is estimated there are over 11 million people currently fighting cancer Stroke: 700,000 new occurrences + 100,000 reoccurrences It is estimated over 4.6 million people have had a stroke – 30% left with disabilities Chronic lower respiratory diseases: no information for newly diagnosed cases It is estimated over 16 million people have chronic lower respiratory diseases Diabetes: 798,000 newly diagnosed patients It is estimated there are over 16 million people have diabetes The American Medical Association relies on pharmaceutical medicine to treat the symptoms of these diseases despite the fact that these diseases can be eliminated by proper changes in diet and lifestyle. Even the New England Journal of Medicine, a very prestigious medical publication, acknowledges that diet and exercise can completely eliminate many diseases. Yet doctors are still taught to treat symptoms with drugs rather than trying to cure the disease.
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