The US does not have a health care system; we have a disease-management system. It’s a system that is largely dependent on expensive drugs and invasive surgeries as opposed to preventive measures and simpler, less expensive treatment alternatives.

In short, it’s a system rooted in an ideal of maximized profits instead of helping people maintain or heal their health. The result of such a system is that Americans spend twice as much on health care per capita than any other country in the world.

In fact, according to a series of studies by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co, the US spends more on health care than the next 10 biggest spenders combined: Japan, Germany, France, China, the U.K., Italy, Canada, Brazil, Spain, and Australia.

Despite that, we rank dead last in terms of quality of care among industrialized countries, and Americans are far sicker and live shorter lives than people in other nations.

In US health care, the more invasive options — drugs and surgery — are employed FIRST, and then, when the patient has exhausted all conventional avenues, he or she will sometimes turn to alternative therapies or nutritional interventions out of what is often described as sheer desperation.

But, frequently, this is what ends up saving that person’s life. Now, the cat is out of the bag so to speak, and increasing numbers of Americans fed up with conventional medicine are seeking “alternative” avenues of care. Describing them as alternative isn’t really accurate, though. More aptly, these alternative methods are the ones that made the most common sense all along.

One-Third of Americans Seek Common Sense ‘Alternative’ Care

The most recent National Health Statistics Report combined data from nearly 89,000 adults to estimate the use of complementary health approaches in the US. Overall, 34 percent of US adults used a complementary health approach in 2012,¹ and 5 percent used them as their sole source of medical care.

Non-vitamin, non-mineral dietary supplements was the most common alternative approach used, with fish oil ranking top on this list. Other commonly used approaches include:

     •   Deep-breathing exercises
     •   Yoga, tai chi and qi gong
     •   Chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation

Past research has found that even more Americans — up to 63 percent — may use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM),² while the rate is even higher among health care workers than it is among the general population (some might say ironically so).

In fact, 76 percent of health care workers use CAM, according to research in the journal Health Services Research.³ Even more revealing, health care providers, including doctors and nurses, were more than twice as likely to have used practitioner-based CAM, and nearly three times as likely to use self-treatment with CAM, during the prior year than support workers.