How Dietary Supplements Reduce Health Care Costs Posted on Jun 12, 2013 In WEIGHT LOSS, DIET & HEALTH Finding answers to the health benefits and cost savings of taking nutritional supplements, the Lewin Group looked only at rigorous scientific studies documenting this. Using the Congressional Budget Office’s accounting methods to determine the savings in health care costs by taking just four specific nutrients for just pennies a day, the study looked at vitamin D, folic acid, omega-3 fatty acids, and a combination of lutein and zeaxanthin. Studies in the past have shown that just 400 IU of vitamin D reduced bone loss and hip fractures in Medicare-age citizens. Over a five-year period, there would be a savings of $16.1 billion for this alone. Recent studies actually show that the optimal level of vitamin D supplementation should be somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 IU. These studies show additional health benefits such as adequate vitamin D levels which are critical for calcium absorption, immune system health, protection of DNA, and cardiovascular health. The Lewin Group found these studies showed that individuals who consumed at least 1800 mg of Omega-3 fatty acids in supplementation had decreased risk of cardiac arrhythmias, improved cell membrane function, reduced inflammation, lowered cholesterol and blood pressure, and decreased risk of having a heart attack. The Lewin Group stated that this level of supplementation with 1800 mg of Omega-3 fatty acids would prevent 374 thousand hospitalizations for heart disease over a five-year period in the Medicare-age population and would save $3.2 billion. Folic acid supplementation in women of childbearing age has been shown in these studies to significantly reduce what is referred to as neurotube defects in children. These are problems like spina bifida or hydrocephalus. Women need to be taking folic acid at the time they become pregnant to have the positive health benefits for their babies. Once pregnant, it is too late to then start taking folic acid with the proven reduction in defects. There are 44 million women in the US who are presently not taking folic acid supplementation; however, if even 11 million of these women would begin taking just 400 to 800 mcg of folic acid in supplementation there would be a savings of $1.3 billion over a five-year period. Finally, they looked at some very convincing data of individuals who take lutein and zeaxanthin in supplementation as a way of reducing the incidence of age-related macular degeneration. This is one of the leading causes of blindness in the US where individuals lose their central vision and usually end up in nursing home care. Their review of the medical literature showed that by people supplementing their diets with lutein in zeaxanthin, 190 thousand individuals would avoid dependent care, resulting in a savings of $3.6 billion over a five-year period. Taken together, these four simple interventions, which costs just pennies a day, could produce a savings of $24 billion dollars over five years. This does not take into account those individuals who are younger than 65 except in the folic acid group. My research of the health benefits of taking nutritional supplements over the past 17 years has shown that this estimation of the health benefits and cost savings you can receive by taking nutritional supplements is just the tip of the iceberg. Due to our consumption of low-nutrient, high-caloric foods that are green harvested, shipped long distances, genetically modified, and nutrient depleted, we are not getting the minimal nutrients our bodies need. However, my research reveals that we need much more than RDA levels that the government recommends. I recommend that all of my patients take what I refer to as cellular nutrition. This is defined as taking the essential nutrients at their optimal or advanced levels or those levels that have been shown to provide a health benefit in our medical literature. It is encouraging to see how just taking four of these recommended nutrients at their optimal levels provide such a significant health cost savings. Imagine the health benefits and savings in health care costs we could experience if everyone was taking nutritional supplements.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 20:33:27 +0000
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