What is Your Prescription Medication Doing To You?

The Yin and Yang of Prescription Medications

Correct the Problem or place the blame?

America has a drug problem, but it's not the one you think. We are one of the largest drug consuming countries in the world of prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is we are extremely gullible when it comes to issues concerning our health. The hundreds of millions of advertising dollars spent by the drug companies seems to be successfully convincing people that there is a safe drug for just about everything.

But drugs are not without dangerous side effects and they are not always the most effective method of dealing with problems over the long run. We still know very little about the long-term effects of many of the top-selling drugs in this country. Adverse reactions to prescription drugs is now the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S.

In 1994 there were over two million adverse drug reactions recorded. This indicates that modern medicine does not understand biological drug reactions as well as it would like us to believe. According to Dr. David Williams of Alternatives, "In a majority of instances, patients taking prescription medications are simply guinea pigs in a long-term experiment. The long-term outcome is often more serious or life threatening than the original untreated problem."

With the amount of alternative information now available to the general public, this web site included, one would think that prescription drug use would be slowing down. In fact, the opposite is true. This brings us back to the gullibility of the general population. The master marketers, the pharmaceutical companies, have the most credible sales force in the world -- doctors. Pushing drugs has never been easier. And now that pharmaceutical companies have begun advertising direct to consumers, doctors are pressured to prescribe even more.

How Can We Protect Ourselves?

FIRST: Don't take any drug or hormone unless it is absolutely essential and there are no alternatives. Make an effort to find natural methods of improving the problem. If you are already taking a drug, discuss natural alternatives with your doctor. If your doctor is not inclined to cooperate, find a doctor who will. You can start by calling the American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM) at 800-532-3688 for a member list or click on Physician Reference from the Index page.

SECOND: Don't abruptly stop taking your medication. It doesn't take long for your body to become dependent on some medications. Instead, work with your doctor to taper off your dosage as a new therapy is added.

THIRD: Change your attitude toward the "practice" of medicine. It's not about medicine or treating bad health. It's about producing good health. Drugs won't get you there and most of the time they will set you back by suppressing a symptom that is pointing to the real problem. Instead of treating the symptom, treat the cause. The symptom will then disappear. Only then will you experience a true cure.

FOURTH: Be aware that drugs are energy consumers. According to the world-renowned philosopher Oscar Ichazo, founder of the Arica School, drugs consume energy at a rate much greater than our natural ability to replace it. In his opinion, some of the most damaging "drugs" to your vital energy are alcohol, heroin and opiates, tobacco, cocaine, barbiturates, antidepressants, amphetamines, marijuana and caffeine.