Gaia: healing through mindchange - Doctors cause one third of deaths

Death by Medicine

http://MiKaEl.gaia.com — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 20:03:46 GMT

Gary Null offers some new figures on the "Death by Medicine."

Here is the beginning of the article. Check also his web site www.garynull.com for lots more on adverse drug reactions and alternative treatments.

Death by Medicine

By Gary Null, PhD; Carolyn Dean MD, ND; Martin Feldman, MD; Debora Rasio, MD; and Dorothy Smith, PhD

Something is wrong when regulatory agencies pretend that vitamins are dangerous, yet ignore published statistics showing that government-sanctioned medicine is the real hazard.

Until now, Life Extension could cite only isolated statistics to make its case about the dangers of conventional medicine. No one had ever analyzed and combined ALL of the published literature dealing with injuries and deaths caused by government-protected medicine. That has now changed.

A group of researchers meticulously reviewed the statistical evidence and their findings are absolutely shocking.4 These researchers have authored a paper titled "Death by Medicine" that presents compelling evidence that today's system frequently causes more harm than good.

This fully referenced report shows the number of people having in-hospital, adverse reactions to prescribed drugs to be 2.2 million per year. The number of unnecessary antibiotics prescribed annually for viral infections is 20 million per year. The number of unnecessary medical and surgical procedures performed annually is 7.5 million per year. The number of people exposed to unnecessary hospitalization annually is 8.9 million per year.

The most stunning statistic, however, is that the total number of deaths caused by conventional medicine is an astounding 783,936 per year. It is now evident that the American medical system is the leading cause of death and injury in the US. (By contrast, the number of deaths attributable to heart disease in 2001 was 699,697, while the number of deaths attributable to cancer was 553,251.5)

We placed this article on our website to memorialize the failure of the American medical system. By exposing these gruesome statistics in painstaking detail, we provide a basis for competent and compassionate medical professionals to recognize the inadequacies of today's system and at least attempt to institute meaningful reformNatural medicine is under siege, as pharmaceutical company lobbyists urge lawmakers to deprive Americans of the benefits of dietary supplements. Drug-company front groups have launched slanderous media campaigns to discredit the value of healthy lifestyles. The FDA continues to interfere with those who offer natural products that compete with prescription drugs.

These attacks against natural medicine obscure a lethal problem that until now was buried in thousands of pages of scientific text. In response to these baseless challenges to natural medicine, the Nutrition Institute of America commissioned an independent review of the quality of "government-approved" medicine. The startling findings from this meticulous study indicate that conventional medicine is "the leading cause of death" in the United States .

The Nutrition Institute of America is a nonprofit organization that has sponsored independent research for the past 30 years. To support its bold claim that conventional medicine is America 's number-one killer, the Nutritional Institute of America mandated that every "count" in this "indictment" of US medicine be validated by published, peer-reviewed scientific studies.

What you are about to read is a stunning compilation of facts that documents that those who seek to abolish consumer access to natural therapies are misleading the public. Over 700,000 Americans die each year at the hands of government-sanctioned medicine, while the FDA and other government agencies pretend to protect the public by harassing those who offer safe alternatives.

A definitive review of medical peer-reviewed journals and government health statistics shows that American medicine frequently causes more harm than good.

Each year approximately 2.2 million US hospital patients experience adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to prescribed medications.(1) In 1995, Dr. Richard Besser of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated thenumber of unnecessary antibiotics prescribed annually for viral infections to be 20 million; in 2003, Dr. Besser spoke in terms of tens of millions of unnecessary antibiotics prescribed annually.(2, 2a) Approximately 7.5 million unnecessary medical and surgical procedures are performed annually in the US,(3) while approximately 8.9 million Americans are hospitalized unnecessarily.(4)

As shown in the following table, the estimated total number of iatrogenic deaths-that is, deaths induced inadvertently by a physician or surgeon or by medical treatment or diagnostic procedures- in the US annually is 783,936. It is evident that the American medical system is itself the leading cause of death and injury in the US . By comparison, approximately 699,697 Americans died of heart in 2001, while 553,251 died of cancer.(5)

Table 1: Estimated Annual Mortality and Economic Cost of Medical Intervention

Condition	Deaths	Cost	Author
Adverse Drug Reactions	106,000	$12 billion	Lazarou(1), Suh (49)
Medical error	98,000	$2 billion	IOM(6)
Bedsores	115,000	$55 billion	Xakellis(7), Barczak (8)
Infection	88,000	$5 billion	Weinstein(9), MMWR (10)
Malnutrition	108,800	-----------	Nurses Coalition(11)
Outpatients	199,000	$77 billion	Starfield(12), Weingart(112)
Unnecessary Procedures	37,136	$122 billion	HCUP(3,13)
Surgery-Related	32,000	$9 billion	AHRQ(85)
Total	783,936	$282 billion

Using Leape's 1997 medical and drug error rate of 3 million(14) multiplied by the 14% fatality rate he used in 1994(16) produces an annual death rate of 420,000 for drug errors and medical errors combined. Using this number instead of Lazorou's 106,000 drug errors and the Institute of Medicine 's (IOM) estimated 98,000 annual medical errors would add another 216,000 deaths, for a total of 999,936 deaths annually.

Table 2: Estimated Annual Mortality and Economic Cost of Medical Intervention

Condition	Deaths	Cost	Author
ADR/med error	420,000	$200 billion	Leape(14)
Bedsores	115,000	$55 billion	Xakellis(7), Barczak (8)
Infection	88,000	$5 billion	Weinstein(9), MMWR (10)
Malnutrition	108,800	-----------	Nurses Coalition(11)
Outpatients	199,000	$77 billion	Starfield(12), Weingart(112)
Unnecessary Procedures	37,136	$122 billion	HCUP(3,13)
Surgery-Related	32,000	$9 billion	AHRQ(85)
Total	999,936

The enumerating of unnecessary medical events is very important in our analysis. Any

The adress of the full article is here:

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2004/mar2004_awsi_death_01.htm

Re: Doctors cause one third of deaths

http://MiKaEl.gaia.com — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 15:59:04 GMT

O.K., here is another adress for the same article on the high rate of deaths through medical treatment in the USA. And an interesting site for an "ALTERNATIVE DOCTOR."

http://www.alternative-doctor.com/home_page_articles/Dr_%20Barbara_Starfield.htm

Doctors cause one third of deaths

http://MiKaEl.gaia.com — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 02:22:11 GMT

I remember hearing the news on the radio in Hamburg, Germany, in 1973 when I had just dropped out of medical school because I felt the way the hospital dotors treated the patients was really unbearable. I was confirmed in my impression and it took me 5 yerars to go back to university.

The really amazing thing, however, appears to me that this kind of news appears so much against main stream propaganda that it is almost subversive, and since my computer has been unable to connect to the internet recently, already i begin to get paranoid and wonder if the pharmaceutical industry will come and shut down my computer or sabotage me in other ways for publishing these news.

P.S.: This was supposed to be a small topic, not a discussion board which engulfed all previous posts. I don't want to dwell on the negative past for long.

Your's,

Mikael

Re: Death is caused by self destructive behavior

http://MiKaEl.gaia.com — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 19:08:33 GMT

Well, I wrote a layout suggestion for the site yesterday and asked you members to discuss it and to sugest your own topics, but when I posted the entry I only got saa error message and everything was lost.

So I gave up and just placed what had come to my mind.

Please take these discussion boards as suggestions and put up your own if you like. Or lets discuss where we are going right here.

I have no internet connection at home since two weeks and have a hard time staying in touch.

sorry,

mikael

Re: Death is caused by self destructive behavior

Sun, 02 Apr 2006 05:30:54 GMT

ditto...looking forward to more...

Melis

Re: Death is caused by self destructive behavior

http://diana.gaia.com — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 21:05:57 GMT

OK, MiKaEl, Of course we will, that's why we are here for! Just do what you have to do, correct whatever you want and give us green light to start all over! Diana :-)

Re: Death is caused by self destructive behavior

http://MiKaEl.gaia.com — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 20:50:21 GMT

Hey friends,

sorry, but it seems I messed up the whole pod.

I wanted to share that info on how the death rates go down when doctors go on strike and thought to try creating a discussion board at the same time.

Now everything is under the wrong topic and I can't even find a link to place new topics. And definately no link to correct and edit my moistake.

I wrote to the technicians for help, but you might have to be very patient with me for a while.

Sorry again,

Milkael

Re: Death is caused by self destructive behavior

Sun, 26 Mar 2006 05:14:54 GMT

Mikael...Echo... Thanks for your words... it's hard for me to look back and think that I might have done anything so unusual because it seemed such natural response to what was going on in my life at the time...I simply made a choice based on the realization (the epiphany) that I wanted to live. And I mean LIVE. Which I had not been very good at doing at all. Echo - I'm really glad to hear that you're making such an effort for yourself. I have a friend who recently quit smoking and has been climbing the walls. I keep reminding her that it's the single most loving act that she can do for herself and that she wouldn't be making this choice unless some part of her was desperately asking for her own love. I ask you to listen for that voice because it too is asking for your own love. We contend with so many unconscious battles within ourselves that it's sometimes hard to find a self to love at all! My own experience tells me that the inner wars calm down when we remove those layers of self-inflicetd hatred from our bodies/minds. When we've begun to lift the mucky veil we can start to clear a path towards peace. But that's the hard part because exposure/vulnerability can be painful and is often the reason we find it so unbearable to let go of our addictions to begin with. The truth hurts but it also heals. And yes Mikael, to go beyond the self and take care of our environment as wholistically as possible is to love ourselves inside out. If we can't embrace our whole selves how can we even begin to nurture the planet? And with that I think I need some chocolate... Keep it shining! Melis

Re: Death is caused by self destructive behavior

http://echo227.gaia.com — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 22:20:47 GMT

Awesome!! I have been coming to the same conclusions in the last few weeks. I've been trying to stop smoking for some time and drinking too. In the last few weeks it finally really sunk in what it was really about. Self loathing BS. I can't possibly hate myself that much....so I stopped. I quit smoking, drugs are out (unless I ever make it to Brazil) and I slowed waaay down on the drinking. That one will be a little tougher for me. I've grown too dependent on it in social situations. Although I am aware of it and that's pretty good for right now.

Thanks so much for sharing that. It really helps me stay focused on my new path, to know someone else experienced something similar.

k

Re: What is Stress?

http://MiKaEl.gaia.com — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 19:36:58 GMT

"Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness, and can, to a large extent, be eliminated. Stress is not something "that happens to us," but rather something that develops from within our own thinking. From the inside out, we decide what is and what is not going to be stressful."
Richard Carlson, "You Can Be Happy No Matter What," page 94

Re: Death is caused by self destructive behavior

http://MiKaEl.gaia.com — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 00:35:43 GMT

You appear to me as a great exception in the current presentation of humanity. I suppose you must have had some very supportive influences to be able to self recognize your self- destructive habits and go straight to the solution of recovering the spirit. (One of these days I'll ask for your permission to quote you as an outstaning genius in intuitive self knowledge.)

All the people I know, and especially the drinkers, need to go almost to death before they realize that they are committing a slow form of suicide, rather than celebrating life as they call it.

And look at the daily little suicides of pollution and global warming? Isn't that aslo an addiction and does it have the ame solution: Spiritual living?

Glad you umped right in here.

Mikael

Re: Death is caused by self destructive behavior

Thu, 23 Mar 2006 00:40:39 GMT

I love this topic Mi Ka El. I think with the exception of fire arms and microbial agents I've probably dabbled in just about everything on the "Causes of Death" list...eek! About seven years ago I had a major epiphany. I became aware that all of these bad habits of mine were really just self-loathing acts. Somehow - without effort I went T-total overnight and overhauled my life. For several years I sought to explore why I was so hell bent on hurting myself (when all along I thought I was having fun). This self-examination led to an opening up to an embracing of spirit (mine/yours) that changed me deeply as well as the way I now relate to the world at large. I'm no longer a complete T-totaler although I'm close - but then I've rid myself of destructive cravings (well, except for dark chocolate which - in the amounts I've been known to consume could do some damage... lol) Ultimately - I don't personally accept the concepts of addiction as they are traditionally presented (powerless 12 step stuff). I believe that if we can change the fundamental underlying belief of a self-destructive act and replace the behavior with something better the compulsion(s) to abuse (anything) will generally disapear. I welcome your thoughts... Thanks for this thought provoking Pod! Peace Melis

Re: Death is caused by self destructive behavior

http://MiKaEl.gaia.com — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 17:04:42 GMT

Sorry about the chart without info.

It shows the causes of death in the USA according to this source:

McGinnis JM. Feoge WH. Actual Causes of Death in the United States, Journal of the American Medical Association, 1993; 270(18):2207-2212.

Doesn't it demonstrate that most causes of death are behavior related. So why do we bother with medicine then instead of changing our behavior?

Are we all addicted to self destructive living?

Death is caused by self destructive behavior

http://MiKaEl.gaia.com — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 16:58:59 GMT

Cause	Number of Deaths per Year
Tobacco	400,000
Diet/Activity Patterns	300,000
Alcohol	100,000
Toxic Agents	90,000
Microbial Agents	60,000
Firearms	35,000
Sexual Behavior	30,000
Motor Vehicle	25,000
Illicit Use of Drugs	20,000
Total	1,060,000

What is Stress?

http://MiKaEl.gaia.com — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 16:52:49 GMT

Stress has been blamed for most modern illness.
From high blood pressure to a weakness of the immune system with frequent colds up to cancer or diabetes consequences of stressful living seem the be at the orign of disease.

But what is stress? Isn't stress only stressfull if I think it is? Is stress dependent on what I tell myself?

There are certain stressors which affect most people:
Physical stressors such as too much noise, activity, pollution, confusion.
Emotional stressors such as cheating of a partner, death of a loved one, accident of a child, fear of failure, etc.

On the other hand people found it stressfull when Columbus sailed over the horizon into "hell." A misbelief, which made people faint on the beach. And if I tell myself that a partner's behavior affects only the partner I can be free from the stress of his/her unexpected behavior.

Or: once I realize that my anger only hurts me and I stop replaying thoughts of resentment in my head and choose forgiving to get free from the past, I avoid many consequences of chronic anger, such as high blood pressure or stomach ulcers.

So do we only have to change our minds about our expectations and stress to be free from its negative consequences?

What do you think?

Claiming health is healthy

http://MiKaEl.gaia.com — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 16:35:00 GMT

I am convinced that the main reason why I don't catch the flue of my patients is my conviction that I don't need it, don't want it, and it can't get me because I trust that I camn fight it off.

But is it true?

We could say that the fear of a disease is one of the main reasons why we succumb to a disease. Along the lines of thought that we get what we expect, that the mind expands what it focuses on, it seems a rasonable assumption.

But what about AIDS? Is AIDS so dangerous because we are so afraid of it?

Any experiences?