As excerpted from the October 26, 2009 Chicago Tribune’s Blog:

There’s more to health than health care

By Judith Graham and Julie Deardorff, Chicago Tribune reporters

As a young cardiologist, Steve Devries (left) noticed a disturbing pattern: His patched-up heart patients kept returning for repairs. It happened so often that Devries decided there must be another way to advance patients’ health.

Today, his thriving Chicago practice focuses exclusively on preventing disease, and Devries is far more likely to counsel patients about diet, sleep habits and exercise than to prescribe high-tech scans or cholesterol-lowering drugs.

Motivated by a growing sense that America’s health care system is broken, doctors such as Devries and public health experts are turning to preventive medicine for a potential fix. And lawmakers, eager to curb rising health care costs, are paying close attention.

Statins can reduce risk of heart events by one-third. But studies have shown the Mediterranean diet is associated with a 72 percent reduction in cholesterol levels, Devries said.

You can also read the article here.