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US Ranked Worst Health Care System, While the NHS Is the Best

  • July 14, 2017

You’ve probably heard it before, but New Scientist is saying it again: In a list of 11 wealthy nations, the U.S. has one more time ranked dead last in quality of health care. Five standards were studied, and the U.S. failed in all of them, compared to their counterparts. Access to health care for low income persons fared the worst.

It hasn’t been that long since I discussed the 10 ways the American health care system fails us, beginning with the glaring fact that we spend the most money on health care, but get the least in return when it comes to health and mortality. Not only that, our chronic disease rates are extraordinarily high while we drop the ball when it comes to managing patient care. We also are the most frequent victims of medically errors.

When you add in the embarrassing statistics for our maternal and infant mortality rates — which are higher than the struggling countries of Bosnia, Slovenia and Belarus — you can’t help but think something is seriously wrong with health care in the U.S. With half of Americans chronically ill, it’s no wonder that for the first time in 20 years, Americans’ life expectancy has actually declined.

This is due in part to the fact that nearly 60 percent of the American diet comes from ultra-processed foods, which are full of sugars and artificial ingredients that basically are killing us. This doesn’t have to happen: Reclaiming your health is not rocket science. Lowering your consumption of added and natural sugars is at the top of the list if you’re overweight, insulin resistant or struggle with any chronic disease. This includes sugar from refined non-vegetable fiber carbs such as potatoes, bagels and breakfast cereal. My free optimal nutrition plan — the conventional food pyramid turned upside-down — will lead you through the needed changes one step at a time.