Today everything comes with a label of ingredients and warnings. Although the warning labels are clear the ingredients most often can not even pronounced or spelled. The simple and safe rule of thumb that can easily be applied is that if you can not pronounce it do not eat it and try to only eat and drink what is found natural in nature. The same should be applied with pain relief.
How Do You Spell Relief?
Do you spell it A-S-P-I-R-I-N, V-A-L-I-U-M, M-O-T-R-I-N, or T-Y-L-E-N-O-L? There are literally thousands of ways many people spell relief, but most boil down to D-R-U-G-S. People take a lot of drugs: billions of pills, powders, potions and lotions. Why shouldn’t we? We’re exposed to thousands of TV and radio commercials, newspaper and magazine advertisements, soap operas and prime time shows all saying the same thing: “Just take a little pill; everything will be alright.”
Is relief important? Of course it is. If you’re in pain or suffering, that’s all you can think of: “Let me get rid of this headache,” “If only the pain would go away,” “I wish I could find a position that’s comfortable,” “if only the fever would break,” or “if only I could breathe freely.” There are times when medication is necessary and desirable but we must remember that the medication is only a mask for the real underlying problem.
What About Grandpa?
But what of the grandpa who gulps down a dozen aspirin tablets a day for his arthritis? What of the person taking drugs for “everyday” headaches? What of those who take blood pressure or cholesterol medication for years? What of the woman who runs to the medicine cabinet every month for menstrual discomfort? What of the person who regularly swallows Prozac, Valium or alcohol to get through the day? The amount of drug use in society is staggering and has been increasing for decades. As early as 1974, the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain revealed that every 24 to 36 hours, somewhere from 50% to 80% of adults in the United States and the United Kingdom swallow a medically-prescribed drug. All this drug taking might spell relief, but does it spell health?
Are Drugs Making Us Healthier?
If drugs made people healthy, then those that take the most of them should be the healthiest on the planet! But are they not the sickest? In part, that’s because drugs cause health problems. According to one study, 106,000 people (on average) die each year in the U.S. from properly prescribed medications in hospitals. Another 2.2 million are seriously harmed and require additional hospitalization due to adverse drug reactions. Since hospital drug use accounts for just half of all prescription drug use, the numbers for the entire U.S. population are at least double: 212,000 deaths and 4.4 million hospitalizations per year. Malpractice and medication mistakes cause an additional 180,000 deaths per year and hospital infections kill 103,000 people per year. That’s a total of 495,000 deaths each year! Is it any wonder that modern medicine is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. and quite possibly kills as many people as the second cause of death – cancer?
The drugs lie to you. They make you think you are healthy when you are feeling no pain. The bodily malfunction, however, still exists. Drug use often takes your attention away from correcting the causes of your illness or condition. Symptoms are often warning signals telling you that something is wrong. While you take medicines to feel better, your health may continue to deteriorate. More importantly, it has long been recognized that suppressing symptoms or acute disease may in fact cause chronic disease.
The World’s Best Drug Store
Your body manufactures antibiotics, insulin, painkillers, blood pressure and heart drugs, hormones, chemicals and hundreds of other drugs (many still undiscovered) to regulate your brain chemistry and mood, digestion, elimination, growth and blood chemistry. The greatest drug store in the world is your own marvelous body, as long as your body is functioning properly – that’s where chiropractic care helps.
Chiropractors and their expert teams help you keep your body functioning properly by locating and correcting a very common condition that causes dis-ease or body malfunction. If you know someone living on medication, please tell them there may be a better way; tell them about chiropractic. They’ll thank you.
For Your Health,
Dr. Wendy Lanser, DC