Posted by Dave Price:
Americans Sicker Than Brits
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1146666937.shtml
According to a somewhat surprising new [1]study:
White, middle-aged Americans â even those who are rich â are far
less healthy than their peers in England, according to stunning new
research that erases misconceptions and has experts scratching
their heads.
Americans had higher rates of diabetes, heart disease, strokes,
lung disease and cancer â findings that held true no matter what
income or education level.
"I knew we were less healthy, but I didn't know the magnitude of
the disparities," said Gerard Anderson, an expert in chronic
disease and international health at Johns Hopkins University who
had no role in the research.
Let's get this out of the way first: despite some intimations to the
contrary early in the article, the difference has nothing to with
Britain's socialized medicine.
However, Britain's universal health-care system shouldn't get
credit for better health, Marmot and Blendon agreed.
Both said it might explain better health for low-income citizens,
but can't account for better health of Britain's more affluent
residents.
Marmot cautioned against looking for explanations in the two
countries' health-care systems.
"It's not just how we treat people when they get ill, but why they
get ill in the first place," Marmot said.
In fact, logically it really has nothing to do with the medical
system's efficiency at all. Health care doesn't keep you from getting
sick, it treats you after you get sick.
So why do Americans get sick more often? The study says exercise and
obesity can't explain it, so I'll offer another possible explanation:
Tea.
Britons obviously consume much more tea than we do (it's their
national tradition), as do the Japanese. Both have similarly lower
rates of chronic disase than we do. There are [2]mountains of
empirical evidence showing tea reduces the risk of many chronic
illnesses like heart disease and some types of cancer, particularly
over the long term. Even the [3]mechanisms are now fairly
well-understood.
While the FDA still isn't [4]on board, at least in regards to
breast/prostate cancer, the overall evidence is strong enough that
anyone who has concern for their long-term health should probably be
drinking tea, taking a green tea supplement, or both.
References
1. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060503/ap_on_he_me/sick_america;_ylt=ApwGI2_a4VR7yCf_3J4qmU2s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3czJjNGZoBHNlYwM3NTE-
2. http://www.celestialseasonings.com/research/greentea/bib_research.php
3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3125469.stm
4. http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2005/NEW01197.html