The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. For many years, Americans have been dying at younger ages than people in almost all other high-income countries. This health advantage prevails even though the U.S. spends far more per person on health care than any other nation. To gain a better understanding of this problem, the NIH asked the National Research Council and the IOM to investigate potential reasons for the U.S. health disadvantage and to assess its larger implications.
No single factor fully explains the U.S. health disadvantage. It likely has multiple causes and involves some element of inadequate health care, but certainly unhealthy behaviors. Public policy and social values shape those conditions. Without action to reverse current trends, the health of Americans will probably continue to fall behind that of people in other high-income countries. Public policy regarding nutrition in this country has allowed our food chain to be filled with too many unhealthy choices. Eating organic food is not necessary for better health. What is important is to question recommendations made by our own USDA and FDA regarding food and medications. Consuming a modified Mediterranean Diet, leaving out the whole-grains and sugar, would immediately impact our overall health. We take too many prescription medications. Quality of life measures are most improved with better nutrition of which all could derive benefit.
LongevityMed follows a Functional Medicine Approach that limits and defines better nutritional guidelines as part of our overall wellness strategy. Eating a low-glycemic diet and eliminating unnecessary prescription medications has been a huge success in our patient population.
