The increased frequency of the loss of the normal sensory feelings in the extremities is both driven by the epidemic of

diabetes and a segment of apparent nerve damage independent of diabetes. Peripheral neuropathy now affects more

than 20 million Americans.

Blood lipid abnormalities have also reached epidemic proportions. According to the American Heart Association, at least

50 percent of our adult population, nearly 107 million people, suffers from lipid abnormalities that identify them at greater

risk of heart attack, stroke, and death. Heart disease is the number one killer of women and men in the United States.

Each year, more than a million Americans have heart attacks and about a half-million people die from heart disease.

Many health agencies are now recommending more medicines to be used on more patients in an attempt to achieve

lower and lower blood fat levels to ostensibly lower the risk for cardiovascular consequences. This is an issue I have

difficulty with, as I feel we should look at the causes and address them rather than overuse drugs to simply ‘manage’

these lipid issues.

Data developed by the Global Burden of Disease study conducted by the World Health Organization, the World Bank and

in established economies such as the United States. This is more than the disease burden caused by all cancers. Mental

A study in the September 2007 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry showed a 39-fold increase in the doctor visits

other epidemic disorders such as restless leg syndrome and ‘mental’ disorders. Medications to treat these disorders