The Ill-Effects of Side-Effects
Every drug on the market, whether prescription or over-the-counter, carries some type of side effect. It may be as mild and obvious as headaches, dizziness, nausea, muscle pain, or more hidden and sinister, because it doesn't immediately give you a signal. It could be altering the way your liver and kidneys filter out toxins or how your pancreas produces enzymes. It could alter the sensitivity of your hormones, immune, cardiac or brain communication. The scary part is – you can't immediately see these symptoms.
Even worse, according to a new study on Drug Safety, most doctors dismiss the side effects you are having as being connected to the drug. Drug companies market aggressively to doctors, touting the benefits of using their products. Unfortunately, studies also show that most doctors aren't educated on the side effects their patients may be having as a result of their medications.
This is troubling, when you consider the first rule of the physician is to "do no harm." It's amazing how many doctors are in denial about the many symptoms that begin to follow a patient after starting a particular drug protocol. What makes it worse is that many of the successive symptoms are treated with additional medications. This only leads to more side effects and compounds the risk of drug interactions.
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Seniors are the most susceptible. The last report I saw showed the average senior citizen was taking from 3-7 different medications. Who knows how many of the problems that people are suffering from are truly a result of the different side effects from each drug interacting with others. When drugs are tested for safety, they are tested on individuals who only take that one medication. No one knows how these different drugs interact with each other. People who are taking statin drugs begin to overlap that with their diabetes, arthritis, allergy, high blood pressure or depression medication are truly playing a game of 'chance.'
The thought that just one drug may be potentially harmful, or fatal, is of great concern. This is why the FDA oversees the approval process. However, to ignore the potential adverse side effects and risk of mixing two or more drugs is crazy. Add to that the fact that many doctors don't even acknowledge the various side effects, and you are definitely going down a slippery slope.
It was Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, who said over 2,400 hundred years ago, "let food be your medicine and let medicine be your food". We all know that fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds have a positive, healing effect on the body. We also know that processed, refined, junk food has a negative, destructive affect. The question is, which type of food do you eat more of? The body has its own built in intelligence to heal itself, but if we confuse and interfere with its normal process with junk foods and various drugs, we could definitely be upsetting the apple cart.
If you are struggling with your health and are ready to get to the cause of the problem, with a more natural, holistic approach… I encourage you to take our 'on-line health quizzes," which will help you figure out the root of the problem, rather than just treating the symptoms. Remember, most medications only address the symptoms – they don't address the true cause of the problem.
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Dr. Len Lopez is a nutrition and fitness expert and author of "To Burn or Not to Burn, Fat is the Question." His approach to health is "restore function and you restore health!" If you want to learn more about natural healing listen to Action Steps for Health, go to www.DrLenLopez.com or call (972) 458-0099. We invite you to take an 'on-line health quiz' to see how well your body is functioning.
