'Alternative' Medicine Is MainstreamThe evidence is mounting that diet
and lifestyle are the best cures for our worst afflictions.By DEEPAK
CHOPRA , DEAN ORNISH , RUSTUM ROY and ANDREW WEILIn mid-February, the
Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and the
Bravewell Collaborative are convening a "Summit on Integrative Medicine
and the Health of the Public." This is a watershed in the evolution of
integrative medicine, a holistic approach to health care that uses the
best of conventional and alternative therapies such as meditation,
yoga, acupuncture and herbal remedies. Many of these therapies are now
scientifically documented to be not only medically effective but also
cost effective.President-elect Barack Obama and former Sen. Tom Daschle
(the nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services) understand
that if we want to make affordable health care available to the 45
million Americans who do not have health insurance, then we need to
address the fundamental causes of health and illness, and provide
incentives for healthy ways of living rather than reimbursing only
drugs and surgery.Heart disease, diabetes, prostate cancer, breast
cancer and obesity account for 75% of health-care costs, and yet these
are largely preventable and even reversible by changing diet and
lifestyle. As Mr. Obama states in his health plan, unveiled during his
campaign: "This nation is facing a true epidemic of chronic disease. An
increasing number of Americans are suffering and dying needlessly from
diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, asthma and HIV/AIDS,
all of which can be delayed in onset if not prevented entirely."

--
Posted By Jeff Sutherland to Dr. Jeff Sutherland's Electronic Medicine
at 3/21/2009 06:31:00 AM