Medical Care: The Third Leading Cause of Death

Let’s face it folks it is a lot easier to stay healthy than it is to deal with being ill. Especially when you consider that medical care is the third leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer. Dr. Greger correctly points out that a healthy lifestyle can prevent many of the most common health conditions. Let’s look at some of the statistics:

1. Prescription drugs kill an estimated 100,000 Americans every year.

2. There are 7,000 deaths from getting the wrong medicine.

3. There are 20,000 deaths from other errors in hospitals.

4. 225,000 people dead from iatrogenic (“relating to medical care”) causes.

5. In an outpatient setting, side-effects from prescription drugs send millions to the hospital and result in perhaps 199,000 additional deaths.

6. The Institute of Medicine estimated that deaths from medical errors may kill up to 98,000 Americans.

These are significant numbers. Imagine if people gave up the junk food, fast food, added sugars and ate more vegetables and fruit. Chronic illness would plummet and so would healthcare spending. Click here for the stats on the Annual Causes of Death in the USA. 

For more information about healthy eating and lifestyle choices, please contact the acupuncture and integrative medicine practice of Dr. Scott Denny with practice locations in Davie, Pompano Beach and Boca Raton, Florida. Please also visit www.drscottdenny.com to complete your complimentary health analysis and receive a copy of Dr. Denny’s free eBook.