Transcript Slide 1

Eating Ourselves To Death
Reducing health care costs
and improving care
Joel Fuhrman, MD
Copyright © Joel Fuhrman, M.D., 2010
Healthy Life Expectancy
• Health care spending (more medical care) does
not improve healthy life expectancy.
• 22 industrialized countries spend less than half
of U.S. per person medical expenses and have
a significantly better healthy life expectancy.
Copyright © Joel Fuhrman, M.D., 2010
Health Life Expectancy and Per Person
Medical Expenses in 22 Countries
World Health Organization Healthy Life Expectancy Estimates
http://www.who.int/whr/2001/en/annex4_en.pdf
Copyright © Joel Fuhrman, M.D., 2010
Health Care Costs
For a person with 3 risk characteristics
• High Cholesterol
• Overweight
• High Blood Pressure
Health care costs is more than three times higher
than average costs per person
Scholze J, et al. Epidemiological and economic burden of metabolic syndrome and its consequences in
patients with hypertension in Germany, Spain and Italy; a prevalence-based model. BMC Public Health.
2010 Sep 2;10:529.
Copyright © Joel Fuhrman, M.D., 2010
Health Care Costs Increasing among
the overweight and diabetic
Expenditures on prescription drugs grew 40% from 2005 to
2010 due to the combined affect of more people suffering
from diabetes, and the use of more expensive treatments.
10% of the population with chronic diseases utilize 90% of
health care spending
Approximately 50% of the British population are overweight
www.diabetes.co.uk/nhs/
Copyright © Joel Fuhrman, M.D., 2010
Heart disease, Hypertension and
Diabetes is preventable and reversible
Compelling data from nutritional studies, population
surveys, and interventional studies supports the
effectiveness of a healthy, plant-based diet to lower
cholesterol, lower blood pressure, arrest, prevent, and
reverse heart disease.
Physicians practicing Lifestyle Medicine focusing on
educating and motivating individuals to make substantial
changes in their diet-style to achieve the best outcomes
at the lowest costs.
Breslow JL. Cardiovascular disease myths and facts. Cleve Clin J Med 1998;65(6):286-287. Ornish D,
et al. Intensive lifestyle changes for reversal of coronary heart disease. JAMA 1998;280:2001-2007.
Copyright © Joel Fuhrman, M.D., 2010
Dr. Fuhrman’s Nutritarian
Food Pyramid
Copyright © Joel Fuhrman, M.D., 2010
Fill Up on Nutrient Rich Food
Copyright 2010 Joel Fuhrman, M.D. All Rights Reserved
Losing weight permanently
without yo-yo dieting
Average weight loss over 2-years 53 pounds. Nobody who
adopted the program put weight back on once it was lost.
Sarter B, Campbell TC, Fuhrman J, Effect of a high nutrient density diet on long-term weight
loss: a retrospective chart review. Altern Ther Health Med, 2008. 14(3): p. 48-53.
Diabetes Research Study Results
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All patients off diabetic meds
Average HbA1C in normal range (7.7  5.7)
All patients with high triglyceride normalized
Average systolic blood pressure 145  118.
Dunaief D, et al. Glycemic and cardiovascular parameters improved in type
2 diabetes with the high nutrient density diet. Journal of Nutrition, Health and
Aging 2010;14(6):500. Results presented at the International Academy on
Nutrition and Aging (IANA) Conference on Monday, July 26, 2010
Adrienne
123 lbs in 1 year!
May 11, 2009
319 lbs
May 13, 2010
196 lbs
Tony
His diabetes is gone and his weight is stable!
Rebecca Has Lost 330 lbs
“Before I had to keep eating just to feel okay.
Dr. Fuhrman set me free. It’s like being let out of prison.”
Julia
Lost 105 lbs and went from a "cardiac cripple" to a
healthy, happy human being
Scott
“Eat For Health is not a ‘diet’ and it’s not about a goal weight. I’m
just doing what’s healthy for my body, and the results follow.”
Before
After
501 lbs
182 lbs
Charlotte
Lost 130 lbs and no longer suffers with chronic disease
Case study # 5
Emily, lost 100 pounds in one year,
no longer depressed and sick
Jodi
Suffering from psoriatic arthritis most of her life, finally
resolved her health conditions, lost weight, and is off
medication.
The Fountain of Youth
• Plant-based diet containing high micro nutrient
containing foods - vegetables and beans,
mushrooms, onions, seeds, nuts, fruit
• Limit (or eliminate) unhealthy foods– including
processed foods and animal products
• Modern nutritional science provides substantial
evidence that food choice is the major
determinant of health and health care costs.
Copyright © Joel Fuhrman, M.D., 2010
"Households should select predominantly
plant-based diets rich in a variety of
vegetables and fruits, pulses or legumes, and
minimally processed starchy staple foods."
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/Y2809E/y2809e08.htm#bm08