Although Donald Trump has promised to repeal Obamacare, an article on The Huffington Post suggests that if you currently have health insurance through the ACA, keep paying your premiums. Even if the ACA is repealed, it’s not clear how quickly health insurance would actually change. Miriam Laugesen, an associate professor at Columbia University and the author of a book on medical pricing, told The Huffington Post, “Changes to benefits may be difficult due to the fact that 2017 contracts are already defined in terms of the benefits covered. Benefits are not so easy to change overnight.” Even though president-elect Trump says he’ll repeal the ACA, Laugesen recommended signing up for ACA coverage if you’re uninsured and don’t have coverage through your employer. “There’s always the possibility of grandfathering people already signed up but closing the enrollment after January 20,” she explained.

We originally published this article in our newsletter in 2007. It is fitting to share it again because of this year’s presidential election. Not too many of our health concerns or the statistics have changed since Steven wrote this article – America is still being treated as a nation of disease care and not health care. On October 31, 2015, Drs. Oz & Roizen answered a question regarding an elderly person whose family was concerned that she wasn’t getting any pleasure from life. Excerpts included this: “Life expectancy in the U.S. today is at an all-time high of 76 for men and 81 for women; in Canada it’s 80 for men and 84 for women.” “But according to new data from The Global Burden of Disease Study, while people are living longer, they often have to contend with disabilities or illnesses. And that’s as true in the U.S. as anywhere. HEALTHY LIFE EXPECTANCY is only 67 for men and 72 for women. And the main causes of this discrepancy are obesity, smoking, dietary risks and alcohol.” 

We Need Health Care, Not Disease Care

By Steven Horne – October 2007

As we’re coming into a presidential election year next year, one of the issues that are being debated is how to fix the national healthcare system. Does our healthcare system really need repair? Well consider the following:

Americans spend more money on health care than any other nation on the face of the planet (over 15% of our entire nation’s expenditures). While we comprise only 5% of the world’s population, half of all the drug prescriptions in the world are taken by Americans.

This wouldn’t be so bad if we were the healthiest nation on the planet, but we aren’t. A report by the World Health Organization in 2000 ranked the U.S. 37th out of 190 nations in health care services. France was rated No. 1.

In terms of life expectancy, America ranks 42nd. Two decades ago we ranked 11th. Experts tell us that American life expectancy is continuing to decrease and our children won’t live as long as we will. France, Spain and Japan rank on top in terms of life expectancy, and they all spend less money on health care than we do. What is wrong with this picture?

More than 1.7 million Americans die of a chronic disease each year. Chronic disease accounts for about 70% of all deaths in the United States. Most of these deaths are caused by three diseases—heart disease, cancer and diabetes.  These diseases aren’t just caused by old age, either. They are striking younger and younger people every year.

The American medical system also has one of the worst track records for making mistakes of any health care system in the world. Medical mistakes are ranked as the 6th leading cause of death, and that’s just the information that gets reported.  Most errors aren’t reported.

Whatever the solutions offered by the candidates are, they will probably ignore one critical issue—Prevention.

You see, what we have is a disease-care system, not a health-care system. We eat poorly, fail to exercise, don’t get enough sleep, live high stress lives and then go to the doctor looking for the “magic” answer for the health problems our lifestyle has created.

It’s not a popular message, so it’s unlikely that anyone is going to champion the cause of prevention, but the truth is, if we don’t start taking some responsibility for our own health, we’re going to continue to be one of the sickest industrialized nations on the planet. If you’re ready to stop taking care of your diseases and start taking care of your health, here are a few things to consider.

Start by upgrading your food choices. It’s not that hard to start eating more whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables and other healthy foods.

Continue by getting some physical activity. You don’t have to go to the gym; you just have to get off the couch and take a walk, or go dancing or participate in any activity that gets you moving.

Get a good night’s sleep is next on the list. Most people are getting short-changed on sleep, and your body needs sleep in order to heal itself.

Finally, instead of relying so much on drugs that just manage the symptoms of your disease, consider taking a few supplements that might actually improve your health. Here are a few that most people benefit from taking:

A high quality multi-vitamin and mineral supplement can be thought of as a nutritional health insurance policy. It’s a way to make insure that you’re getting most of the major nutrients your body needs even when your diet is less than perfect.

s more and more research demonstrates that chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, dementia, arthritis are linked to free radical damage and chronic inflammation, the importance of antioxidants in the diet is becoming firmly established. The primary source for these nutrients is fresh fruits and vegetables, which is why many experts say that the best way to protect yourself from chronic diseases is to eat 7-9 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables every day. Since few people do this, taking an antioxidant supplement is the next best thing. A good antioxidants supplement can reduce pain and inflammation, promote faster healing and overall health, slow the aging process and help prevent chronic disease.

Omega-3 essential fatty acids are lacking in modern diets and they are essential for cardiovascular health and managing inflammation and pain. If you want to protect your heart and blood vessels or are suffering from any kind of chronic inflammatory disease you should consider adding omega-3 to your diet.

Super Trio – Stock #222-7–  60 packets that contain all three groups mentioned above: Super Supplemental Vitamins & Minerals, Omega-3 EFA, and Super ORAC Antioxidant.

These are probably the most important supplements you should consider, but there are a few others you might want to try if you do not get enough in your everyday diet.

Fiber is lacking in most diets and is necessary for bowel health. Fiber can reduce cholesterol, improve blood sugar levels in diabetes and protect against colon cancer and other diseases of the intestinal tract.

The bowel also benefits from probiotic supplements, which replace the friendly bacteria in the colon that are destroyed by antibiotics, chlorinated water and many drugs. These friendly bacteria are essential to the function of the immune system and help prevent both bacterial and yeast and fungal infections, as well as make certain nutrients available to the body.

Speaking of the digestive tract, raw and naturally fermented foods contain enzymes that take stress off the digestive tract. Since most of us eat very little raw food, a good enzyme supplement can improve digestion, prevent gas and bloating, enhance immune function and even reduce inflammation and pain.

Finally, modern agricultural methods have depleted mineral content in our foods, so most of us aren’t getting the trace minerals we need, even if we’re eating healthy foods. So, a trace mineral supplement can also be beneficial for many people.

It’s time we stopped waiting until we are sick to do something about our health. We need to stop thinking in terms of disease care and start creating a genuine health care system in our lives. It’s something neither the medical profession nor the government is going to be able to do for you. Start caring for your health today by taking steps to integrate a health-care system into your life today.