Do you see what I see?

Are you on drugs?

You may be surprised to know that 51% of insured Americans are taking prescription drugs to treat at least one chronic health problem. Many are on multiple medications. Shockingly, nearly ½ of women ages 20-44 are being treated for a chronic condition. Antidepressants are the most commonly prescribed medication in this group. Most of these ‘users’ wont be weaning off of these drugs anytime soon if Big Pharma has their way. They favor the ‘customer for life’ marketing technique. It seems to be working quite well. In fact, just this week, the American Academy of Pediatrics announced its recommendation to give kids as young as 8 years old cholesterol-lowering drugs, a.k.a. ‘statins’. Up until now statins have been most popular among people over 40. This I believe is definitely going to be a record breaking year for the pharmaceutical companies when you factor in the New Adult Vaccine Schedule—which suddenly and quietly (almost like magic) appeared on the CDC’s website earlier this year. Didn’t hear about that on the 6 o’clock news, did ya? Do you see what I see? They are giving kids adult drugs and adults kid-vaccines! We are the only country on the planet with an adult vaccine schedule. A little perspective please: in 1980, 20 vaccines were included on the childhood vaccine schedule. Now there are 68 on the childhood vaccine schedule and an additional 73 for American adults. Anyone checking into the potential cumulative detrimental effects?! Earlier this week, Dr. Stephen Daniels, a prominent member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Nutrition Committee, was interviewed regarding the Academy’s statin-for-kids recommendation. He stressed the importance of these drugs as a preventive measure for our nation’s children. He is also a former Merck consultant. Hmmmm.

Holy Double Hypocrisy, Batman! The lesser known quote from Hippocrates needs a booster shot right about now, “Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food”. But wait, there’s more. The most famous Hippocratic qu-oath that all M.D.’s take, “First, do no harm” has just been compromised. Ever look at the side effects of statin drugs? Just google it, you’ll see what I mean. I’m thinking some of them seem—not so good. For example, statins compromise the immune system in a variety of ways. They interfere with selenium and Coenzyme Q 10, nutrients which support the immune system. So for those of you who are statin users, be sure to supplement with these 2 nutrients. Ask your doctor to explain the functions of these 2 immune enhancers. If he or she can’t answer—run don’t walk out the door and find one who is ‘in the know’. This may prove to be difficult since only 6% of M.D.’s have any specific training in nutrition. I believe this is a major bummer since most chronic degenerative diseases in our society of excess are actually diseases of nutrient deficiency.

Bottom Line: Our bodies are a ‘cellular community’ of over 50 trillion cells. These cells have an inherent desire to remain vital and thrive. So, no matter where you are on the health/disease spectrum, some important points to ponder are:

1. do the best you can with what you’ve got

2. try not to ‘should’ on yourself (“I should have eaten better, exercised more, smoked less, etc…”)

3. realize that your overall health depends on the health of each and every one of your 50 trillion cells.

You deserve vibrant health. The foundations include: superior nutrition, regular

exercise, adequate sleep, deep breaths throughout the day (oxygenation), optimal hydration and avoidance of various immune suppressing toxins.