Maine Natural Health | Media

American’s Health Care Crisis

Americans as a whole are less healthy today than in the past, and it is fair to say that the life expectancy of our children and their children maybe less than that of our generation. Lifestyles have changed much in the way of fast-paced, stressful environments, which involve less exercise and more fast foods and prepared foods (high glycemic index, processed foods).

While obesity is often the focus of health issues and productivity loss, I believe that it is secondary to “metabolic run down”. The first step to regain health is to increase our metabolic activity. Fat storage or the opposite of fat burning is largely under the control of intracellular organelles called mitochondria. Muscles are full of mitochondria. When mitochondria are functioning in an optimal way to burn fat and generate energy (ATP), we burn calories, rather than store them. When this happens, calorie (food) ingested are burned rather than stored in fat masses such as mesenteric fat. This calorie diversion affects certain inflammatory parameters but more importantly begins to reverse obesity, which can prevent or reverse serious chronic conditions such as type II diabetes.

Over 100 million Americans (about 30% of our population) have at least one of seven chronic, serious and potentially deadly diseases. According to a recent Milliken Institute report (www.millikeninstitute.org), these diseases include heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, pulmonary conditions, and mental disorders. Also noted in this report were the effects of these conditions on the overall economy, as well as the human body:

The impact of these diseases on our economy is $ 1.3 trillion/year. This staggering cost can be divided into $1.1 trillion for productivity loss. Further, if these trends continue, by 2023, this cost will swell by 42% or to $4.2 trillion! If we REDUCE these trends by 25%, then we will save the healthcare/economy about $1 trillion annually and increase our nation’s GDP by about $900 billion. In particular, lowering obesity rates will save over $60 billion/year in direct costs. Related statistics from The Silver Book (www.silverbook.org), states that “lost workdays and lower employee productivity because of hypertension cost $279.5 billion- the highest amount among chronic diseases.” I believe that there is a path to better health that we can all take which will decrease the incidence of the 7 deadly disease groups and increase our health and productivity.

Practically, how do you achieve these results? First of all, be concerned about what you eat, but do not diet! Don’t eat processed foods which are full of quick release foods that drive calories into your body at such a rate that your metabolism can‘t keep up. When this happens, calories are stored as fat. You should eat more natural, wholesome foods without all the preservatives. Second point, exercise in ways that increase muscle mass first (not necessarily cardio exercise, but muscle stimulating exercises) Trainers call these exercises two –dimensional exercises. Thirdly, take supplements that are actually designed to help you build muscle mass, stimulate your mitochondria, control hunger and increase energy is a safe manner. While the biochemical reasoning is complex, it is logical to state the greater the fat content, the greater the inflammation load on our bodies. The bottom line is that we need to control inflammation naturally by daily use of high potency omega-3 oils and the use of protein products that stimulate muscle maintenance or growth without stimulating insulin release. Lastly, drug therapy may be necessary but it should always be the last resort.

This concept is simple: exercise, build muscle mass, eat sensibly, and assist your body’s recovery by taking properly designed supplements that affect inflammation and muscle mass. Remember, you are in charge of your health.

Dr. Jeff Leighton is the founder and CEO of Maine Natural Health Company. He has applied his training in chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine to design and bring to market, human therapeutics. He was Principal Scientist at Burroughs Wellcome and Vice President of Research at Glaxo with worldwide responsibility for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. He also consults widely for the pharmaceutical industry. For more information, call 236-6850 or email at jeff@mainenaturalhealth.com.