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thirty-nine separate stud-
ies, found that almost 7% (one out of fifteen) of all hospitalized patients
have experienced a serious adverse drug reaction, one that "requires hos-
pitalization, prolongs hospitalization, is permanently disabling or results
in death."15 These are people who took their medicine as directed. This
number does not include the tens of thousands of people who suffer from
the incorrect administration and use of these drugs. Nor does it include
adverse drug events that are labeled "possible" effects, or drugs that do
PROBLEMS WE FACE, SOLUTIONS WE NEED 17

not accomplish their intended goal. In other words, one of fifteen is a
conservative number.1 5
If nutrition were better understood, and prevention and natural treat-
m e n t s were more accepted in the medical community, we would not be
pouring so many toxic, potentially lethal drugs into our bodies at the
last stage of disease. We would not be frantically searching for the new
medicine that alleviates the symptoms but often does nothing to address
the fundamental causes of our illnesses. We would not be spending our
money developing, patenting and commercializing "magic bullet" drugs
that often cause additional health problems. The current system has not
lived up to its promise. It is time to shift our thinking toward a broader
perspective on health, one that includes a proper understanding and
use of good nutrition.
As I look back on what I've learned, I am appalled that the circum-
stances surrounding the way in which Americans die are often unneces-
sarily early, painful and costly.

     AN EXPENSIVE GRAVE
We pay more for our health care than any other country in the world
(Chart 1.6) .
We spent over a trillion dollars on health care in 1997.17 In fact, the
cost of our "health" is spiraling so far out of control that the Health
Care Financing Administration predicted that our system would cost 16
trillion dollars by 2030.17 Costs have so conSistently outpaced inflation
that we now spend one out of every seven dollars the economy pro-
duces on health care (Chart 1.7). We have seen almost a 300% increase
in expenditures, as a percentage of GDp, in less than forty years! What is
all the extra financing buying? Is it creating health? I say no, and many
serious commentators agree.
Recently the health status of twelve countries including the U.S.,
Canada, Australia and several Western European countries was com-
pared on the basis of sixteen different indicators of health care efficacy. 19
Other countries spend, on average, only about one-half of what the U.S.
spends per capita on health care. Isn't it reasonable, therefore, for us to
expect our system to rank above theirs? Unfortunately, among these
twelve countries, the u.s. system is consistently among the worst per-
formers.lI In a separate analysis, the World Health Organization ranked
the United States thirty-seventh best in the world according to health
care system performance. 20 Our health care system is clearly not the best
THE CHINA STUDY
18

CHART 1.6: HEALTH CARE EXPENDITURES PER PERSON, 1997 $USI7

     3912
4000 r-

3000

     ..
     2364 2175 2047
     ~

     ..
     1760
2000 ~
     1391
     • 870
1000

     r
     o
     ro
     c
     ro
     >-      ~
     Vl c u ro ~
     "0
     c
     ro ro 0.
     ::) ::) 0
     c ro
     ~
     E ...., ~
     ro L.L
     (jj U
     19

     CHART 1.7: PERCENT OF U.S. GOP SPENT ON HEALTH CAREI7, 18

     14

     12

     10

     8

     6

     4

     2

     0
     1990 1997
     1960 1970 1980

in the world, even though we spend, far and away, the most money on
it.
Too often in the United States, a doctor's treatment decisions are
made on the basis of money, not health. The consequences of not hav-
ing health insurance, I suspect, have never been more terrifying, and
close to 44 million Americans are uninsured. 21 It's unacceptable to me
19
     PROBLEMS WE FACE, SOLUTIONS WE NEED

that we spend more money on health care than any other country on
this planet, and we still have tens of millions of people without access
to basic care .