There are pills for when you or your child’s attention wanders from time to time. You can buy pills to
reduce or end pre- or post-menstrual aches and pains (which often occur in woman with endometriosis). If
you have an unwanted pregnancy, there are pills to induce an abortion. If you cannot curb your appetite,
you can suppress it just by popping a pill. If you complain to your doctor about not having an appetite, he
can prescribe a pill that can increase it for you. There are pills for allergies and to attract the opposite sex
(based on pheromones). Mood-enhancing and anti-stress pills also abound. Eventually, your dependency
on pills will make you depressed. But, of course pills exist for that condition, too. Taking antidepressants
doesn’t really resolve depression, though; in fact, the use of such drugs can drive you to take your own
life.
If you search for it long enough (just use Google search on the Internet), you can find a pill for every
physical and emotional difficulty you can think of.
Pill-Popper Drama Unfolding
“Medical practice has neither philosophy nor common sense to recommend it. In sickness the body is
already loaded with impurities. By taking drug-medicines more impurities are added, thereby the case is
further embarrassed and harder to cure.” ~ Elmer Lee, M.D., Past Vice President, Academy of Medicine.
The famous physician, Dr. William Osler, expressed the dilemma of taking medicinal drugs in just a
few simple words. “The person who takes medicine must recover twice, once from the disease and once
from the medicine.” Be careful to check for the side effects of any prescription medicine you may be
considering; they are always listed on the instruction list accompanying the drug. But also be aware that
many potential side effects are not listed, including death. Only when serious side effects get reported
frequently by practicing physicians, may the FDA sometimes (when under public pressure) actually order
the withdrawal of a drug.
A frequent side effect of medical drugs that is hardly ever mentioned is the development of an
addiction to them. The best-selling author of Confessions of a Medical Heretic, Dr. Robert Mendelsohn,
said this: “We are prone to thinking of drug abuse in terms of the male population and illicit drugs such as
heroin, cocaine, and marijuana. It may surprise you to learn that a greater problem exists with millions of
men and women dependent on legal prescription drugs.” Just because prescription medicine is legally
available and given to you by your doctor, does not mean it is any less addictive than hallucinogenic
drugs.
Senior citizens in particular should be cautious when taking medicines prescribed by their doctors. A
new study from Duke University reveals disturbing evidence that more than 20 percent of all seniors who
are prescribed drugs are receiving medications that are known to be harmful to older patients. Another
study published in the Lancet Neurology (May 1, 2007) showed that seniors who regularly take regular
aspirin and warfarin to prevent strokes could instead actually be increasing their risk. Especially in
healthy older people over 75, aspirin may very well be doing more harm than good. The number of
strokes associated with these drugs increased by a factor of seven. The researchers concluded that the
increasing use of these drugs means that they may soon overtake high blood pressure as the leading cause
of intracerebral hemorrhagic stroke in those over 75.
Drugs can greatly interfere with the absorption of nutrients in everyone, and especially in seniors. For
instance, acid blockers (such as Prilosec and Nexium) have been shown to significantly decrease
absorption of vitamin B-12, which is one of the primary vitamins needed to prevent anemia.
Other medications related to nutrient-depletion are among the most frequently prescribed drugs on the
market. They include antibiotics, anti-depressants, anti-inflammatory drugs, blood pressure medications,
cholesterol-lowering drugs, estrogen, and tranquilizers. Any of these drugs can strip valuable vitamins and