In the United States, doctors write nearly 4 billion prescriptions per year, and that number keeps climbing. That’s about 13 prescriptions for every man, woman, and child! More than half are prescribed two or more drugs, and 20% are prescribed 5 or more medications. Two of the most commonly prescribed drugs are simvastatin for cholesterol and lisinopril for blood pressure. But how well do these drugs actually work? Misplaced overconfidence in the power of medication for disease-prevention is the main reason doctors and patients alike undervalue the power of diet and lifestyle interventions.
Regarding statin drugs, the best they may be able to offer in terms of absolute risk reduction for a heart attack or death is about 3% over 6 years (click here). Meanwhile, a whole-food, plant-based diet may work 20 times better, potentially offering an absolute risk reduction of 60% after fewer than 4 years. Further, patients with significant heart disease who adhered to a plant-based diet experienced 99.4% less cardiac episodes (click here). Because statins may not work in the near-term in 97% of the cases, a realistic understanding is necessary of the limited a role the contents of your medicine cabinet plays compared to the contents of your refrigerator.
Comments: When it comes to cholesterol. blood pressure, and blood-thinning drugs, the chance of even high-risk patients benefitting from them is often less than 5%. For the millions of people who don’t actually benefit from drugs, the issue is not simply a matter of the money spent or the side effects experienced. The great tragedy is the millions of lost opportunities to address the root causes of disease and to experience the power of nutrition. To learn more about the power of nutrition vs. drugs, read How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease by Dr. Michael Greger (click here).
