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Hard to imagine the holiday season encompasses the deadliest days of the year healthwise for Americans. In fact, more Americans die from heart attacks and other natural causes on Christmas (more than 12 percent above the norm), the day after and on New Year's Day than on any other days of the year, according to researchers.
Death by the numbers over the last two weeks of the year as documented by researchers over a 26-year period (not including suicides, murders, accidents or weather-related deaths):
- A 4.65 percent jump in heart-related deaths.
- Nearly a 5 percent spike in non-heart-related fatalities.
Scientists estimate the holidays accounted for slightly more than 42,000 additional deaths during the holidays from 1973-2001. The only changes in the numbers occurred in 1973 and 1981, years when oil shortages or the economy restricted travel away from home.
Although researchers speculate the increase in holiday deaths may be partly due to patients' tendencies to delay seeking medical care until after the holiday season, this wouldn't explain the spike in deaths observed among nursing home patients.
Statistics like these point out to me that there's no better time to take control of your health than RIGHT NOW! There's no better way to get going on your journey toward optimal health, than to determine a road map by retooling your diet based on your body's unique nutritional type.
Heart Center Online December 14, 2004
Yahoo News December 13, 2004