Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a “quick fix” for every ailment or disorder we humans are prone to? Today’s pharmaceutical industry would have you believe this is so, and I find it alarming how drug-dependent our society is becoming. For instance, have you ever tallied up the number of friends and acquaintances you have who are, or have been on anti-depressants? I was really startled at the results of my own impromptu survey – nearly all of them! Do I just have dysfunctional friends, or is this a disturbing trend?

Why is it acceptable to be dependent on prescription medications simply because they are sanctioned by the FDA and the legal system?

Remember Elvis? While serving as a credentialed Special Assistant in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs he died of an overdose brought on by his addiction to prescription medicines (coupled with some unfortunate eating habits). His autopsy indicated the presence of: Codeine, Morphine, Quaaludes, Valium, Diazepam, Placidyl, Amytal, Nembutal, Carbrital, Demerol, Sinutab, Elavil, Avental, and Valmid. At the time we thought it was sad, funny, ironic… But how many of us are now traveling the same road, if with somewhat more restraint?

New medications for every conceivable condition are flooding onto the market and mega dollars are spent to encourage their purchase. Adverts and infomercials for the latest life-enhancing products infest the media: “if you suffer from _________, talk to your doctor about _________”. I find it interesting that most of these products do not claim to cure their targeted afflictions – not like a course of penicillin for infection; rather, they promote ongoing (permanent?) usage to control the problem. I wonder if there’s a profit motive there?

Do we really know the effects of long-term use of these products? Then, of course, there’s the list of contraindications and possible side effects, many of them more drastic and disruptive than the original problem.

For instance, “also tell your doctor if you experience new or increased gambling, sexual or other intense urges while taking __________”. This leads me to envision some desperate, sweating, down-to-the-last-dollar craps shooter in Vegas seizing a hapless spectator and proceeding to copulate on the table. That’s one HELL of a side effect, and not a pretty mental picture.

Or how about “for erections lasting more than 4 hours, contact your doctor”? Isn’t that advertising at its finest, most manipulative – a come-on to try _________, cleverly disguised as a product warning?

Shouldn’t the endless lists of potentially dangerous side effects warn us that these are not necessarily benign products that act only on your targeted issue? That we may inadvertently incur more harm than is balanced by the relief we get? I saw my own father, toward the end of his life, taking 19 different medications a day. You can’t tell me all those in combination didn’t have some unforeseen effects.

If we find it necessary to utilize several products for distinctly different problems, what kind of interaction takes place? Isn’t it possible, even probable, that they will counteract each other, or combine into undesirable, even harmful compounds?

Even those of us who have healthy, well balanced lifestyles aren’t immune; good advertising strategy creates anxiety, then offers a solution to alleviate it. Thus it is implied that remaining healthy involves a proactive approach: practice preventive medicine by using these products, taking those supplements, getting the vaccinations.

Most, if not all of today’s pharmaceuticals are botanically derived, then chemically synthesized. It’s questionable whether they are improvements on the original, or merely a means of obtaining patent and profit.

Also, isolating single elements may mean that synthesized formulas lack other components in the Doctors preachingoriginal source that combine to facilitate healing, just as the body is unable to metabolize certain vitamins and minerals without the presence of others to promote absorption.

Wouldn’t it make sense to take a gentler approach first? Primum non nocere is a Latin phrase that means “First, do no harm”, and it’s a sound philosophy. Amazing results can be obtained simply by eating the right, nutrient-rich foods and learning about some of the time-tested natural remedies out there. Herbs, spices, whole and raw foods, teas and extracts can provide less traumatic solutions to many health issues. No doctor or drug company anywhere is going to take more interest in your wellbeing than you do, yourself, or have a bigger stake in maintaining it. So why not explore your options?