By Dr. Jeff Ptak
According to US Gov’t statistics, if you live to be 40, your chances of living to be 70 or 80 are about identical to a 40 year old who lived 200 years ago. That is right. Said a different way, if you got to see your 40th birthday in 1800, your chances of living to a ripe old age are about the same as a 40 year old in year 2000. We’re not living longer! I’ve always thought that was pretty incredible. After all, we’re told over and over (and over) that medical care is the reason we’re living longer. How many newscasts begin with statements such as “The reason people are living longer is because of ‘Medical Science’ or ‘Modern Medical Miracles’ etc, etc?” That is simply not true. I mean, look at the ages at death of many of those men who signed the Declaration of Independence. You see people dying in their 70s, 80s, and 90s!
Now, if you consider the fact that “Modern Medicine” can attach tubes to the body of a very sick, old person and keep them “alive” for an extra few months or years you might be able to say that modern medicine has kept them alive. If that is what our idea of life is.
But, as Ivan Illich has stated in Medical Nemisis so long ago, medicine is incidental to a living healthy life. Now the average of life expectancy has increased. The average life expectancy a couple hundred years ago may have been in the 40s, but that was not because we’re “living longer.” It is because fewer babies are dying. Average life expectancy means this – two babies are born. One dies in his first year of life (heaven forbid) the other lives to be 70. What’s the average life expectancy? 35 years! In a society where there is no hot and cold running water, no sanitation, no indoor plumbing, scant fresh food, animals living with you in a hut, overcrowded conditions, over work, famine etc… the young, the weak die. And they die in inordinately high numbers. That skews the statistics down. In our more prosperous society, where most babies live (although the US is 21st in infant mortality, but that is another story and some sources say it is as high as 28th) the average life expectancy is skewed higher. But, comparing adults only, we are not living longer now than we were in 1800.
But I got a real surprise the other day. The ante was upped recently. This is from Scientific America December 1999 p.106 Can Human Aging Be Postponed? by Michael R. Rose. I am contacting the author for the sources he relied upon. The first sentence is the most exciting one —
“People who survive past 65 these days are only slightly more likely to enjoy a robust old age than their counterparts were 2,000 years ago. Medical researches have devised useful therapies for disorders that become more common with advancing age such as cancer and heart disease. And over the past 120 years, sanitation systems and drugs that combat infectious disease have increased life expectancy in the developed nations by reducing premature death. But nothing delays or slows the innate processes that causes adults to age, to suffer a decline in physiological functioning as they grow older.”
The other story — Why is the US 21st in infant mortality. Many feel the blame is on childhood immunizations. Japan was 19th in infant mortality. Then 37 babies died following pertussis (the P in DPT) shots, a 3-judge panel in a Japanese prefecture upped the minimum age babies can be vaccinated to 2 years. Below the age of 2 it was illegal to vaccinate a child in Japan. When that occurred three things happened — Crib death (SIDS) virtually disappeared, infantile seizures dropped dramatically and the Japanese infant mortality rose from 19th to 1st, where it remains today. Japan currently has the lowest infant mortality rate in the world.
I would like to end on this note — Rand Corporation performed a three-year randomized study on the benefits of Chiropractic for people 75 years and older. Yes they were adjusted for three years before results were in and here is what Rand Corporation found —
87% described their health as good to excellent vs. medical care patients (67%)
Chiropractic patient’s were less likely to take prescription drugs and more likely to exercise regularly and participate in community activities.
The study revealed better overall health and higher quality of life among those receiving chiropractic health care.
Generally, the Chiropractic patient reported fewer health problems — 15% fewer reported two or more chronic problems — 22% fewer suffered with symptoms of arthritis — 15% less time in nursing homes — 21% less time in hospitals.
While people over 65 account for 12.6% of the population, they purchase 31% all prescribed medications, account for 31% of all hospital discharges and are responsible for 42% of days of care in non-federal hospitals.
These are folks that started care at 75 years of age or older. Imagine the possibilities if we all started care in our youth and maintained that wellness care over our lifetime.
With One Vision, With One Mission.
planetc1.com-news @ 10:22 am | Article ID: 952284125
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