A physician in the U.K. recently made the case that modern, mainstream medicine is a major threat to public health. And I wholeheartedly agree.
In fact, the way I see it, mainstream medicine is failing you in four profound ways…
1.) It doesn’t practice what it preaches
Modern mainstream medical experts demand that clinical practice guidelines (the recommendations your doctor makes when you visit them) should be based on hard scientific evidence.
But in reality, the vast majority of recommendations doctors give to their patients aren’t backed by current science. Especially in the field of cardiology, dealing with the most common cause of chronic disease and death.
In fact, just 8 percent of current cardiologists’ recommendations are actually based on randomized clinical trials—the gold standard of science.
It’s really rather shocking.
And it’s no wonder why patients with heart disease do better in areas where there are fewer cardiologists practicing…and why patients who suffer urgent heart events do better admitted to the hospital when a cardiologist isn’t on duty!
Cardiologists are part of the problem. Because they don’t even know the current science. Or if they do, they choose to ignore it!
Plus, the evidence on older patients is completely nonexistent. In fact, big pharma’s clinical studies purposely exclude older patients to make the outcomes look better. So, cardiologists have no idea whether their treatments will even work on older patients—those who may need it most—because it simply hasn’t been studied!
2.) It causes more harm than good
Modern medicine’s go-to treatments very often cause far more harm than good. That indictment is especially true of many newer prescription drugs.
For example, in the U.K., more people than ever are taking prescription drugs. In fact, half of adults are taking at least one drug, with one-quarter taking at least three drugs daily. Those numbers represent a nearly 50 percent increase during the past decade. And the problem of polypharmacy (taking multiple drugs at the same time) is even worse in the U.S.
Not to mention, all these drugs aren’t improving our health. In fact, far from it…
Dr. Peter Gotzsche, co-founder of the famed Cochrane Collaboration, estimates that prescription drugs are the third most common cause of death worldwide after cancer and heart disease.
With so many people taking prescription drugs today, it’s no wonder life expectancy in the U.K. has stalled out during the past decade.
And again, here in the U.S., the problem is even worse. Death rates here among white, middle-class, middle-aged adults have actually increased for the first time in recorded history. And the use and abuse of prescription pain drugs is one of the major reasons for this unprecedented increase.
3.) They “manage” chronic disease—instead of preventing or reversing it
The greatest burden on the healthcare system comes from treating people with chronic diseases—such as Type II diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.
But the system is set up to “manage” these diseases—not prevent or even reverse them!
Take Type II diabetes, for example.
In the U.K. alone, managing Type II diabetes uses up 10 percent of the entire national healthcare budget. Of course, Type II diabetes is also linked to heart disease and stroke, which are expected to surge as long-term consequences.
Doctors treat these patients by prescribing one bad drug after another. (The proliferation of Type II diabetes drugs simply reflects the growing “market” of people with this condition.)
But most drugs grant, at best, a marginal probability of benefitting the patient over the long-term. And most patients will ultimately experience no improvement in their long-term health outcomes. Translation: The drugs didn’t do a lick of good. (And they probably caused a slew of side effects.)
On the other hand, evidence suggests we can completely reverse this chronic disease in nearly two-thirds of cases with the correct diet and lifestyle, including the right dietary supplements! And many people experience an improvement in quality of life within weeks…or even days.
4.) Doctors fail to consider patient preferences and values
The mainstream likes to talk a lot about personalized medicine. But they fail to take the patient’s preferences into account. Because odds are, the patient will opt for fewer treatments if asked. (Smart patient!)
In the end, evidence shows that you’re better off avoiding most medical care, as famously suggested by the Nobel-prize winning cardiologist, Dr. Bernard Lown, in his concept of “avoidable care.”
You’ll live longer. And you’ll definitely have a much better quality of life.
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Source:
“Why modern medicine is a major threat to public health.” The Guardian, 8/20/2018. (theguardian.com/society/2018/aug/30/modern-medicine-major-threat-public-health)