Eat well to cut your medical bills while staying healthy
If you do not smoke or drink excessively, what you eat may influence your health more than other actions.
Eight of 10 leading causes of death including coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes are diet related.
Nearly five per cent of the population is diabetic and cases are increasing among teenagers because of change in lifestyle and obesity. It is estimated that in 2010 there will be 300 million diabetics worldwide and a majority will be in sub-Sahara Africa.
The cost of managing diabetes is beyond of the reach of many Kenyans 70 per cent of who cannot afford a meal a day.
Take the case of a civil servant who was referred to Xenihealth clinic after she was diagnosed with diabetes and put on insulin that cost Sh11,800 per month.
She worked with a nutritionist for two years and managed to lose 14kg enabling him to reduce his insulin intake by two-thirds and cost to Sh300 per month.
Another case involves an overweight 68-year-old male who had been on insulin for ten years, had two strokes and high blood pressure. His medical bill was more than Sh20,000 per month. After visiting the Xenihealth he was given a meal and exercise plan. In two weeks his insulin intake was down and within six months he was taken off medication for diabetes. The patient wondered why his doctors had not referred him to a nutritionist earlier.
Weight loss
Imagine how much money would have been saved had he consulted a nutritionist earlier? Obesity increases risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, gout, sleep apnea, and osteoarthritis, infertility, depression, and fatigue. Treating diabetes or hypertension in an overweight cannot is difficult.
High cholesterol that can be lowered with proper nutrition is a risk factor for heart disease.
High blood is the primary reason for visiting a physician, according to 1991 outpatient claims information from the Health Insurance Association of America. The US Joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure recommends that overweight patients with stage one high blood pressure try to control the condition with weight loss and other lifestyle modifications for at least three to six months before initiating drug therapy.
Other lifestyle modifications include restricting dietary sodium and alcohol intake and ensuring adequate intakes of dietary potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Good nutrition can help a patient with hypertension decrease the dosage and cost of drugs by thousands of shillings.
In response to the challenge of containing health care costs while maintaining quality of care, many countries have integrated health care systems or networks — from family-oriented preventive primary care in the outpatient setting to acute care in hospitals, home care, and long-term care in with nutrition experts involved throughout.
But this is not the case in Kenya.
