FIVE STEPS TO BECOMING DRUG FREE ©Paula Rothstein

It is estimated that in the United States last year, nearly $2 Trillion was spent on treating disease with a very small amount being spent on prevention. Despite this massive expenditure, the United States is ranked a paltry No. 37 by the World Health Organization, a number used to convey quality and success. In fact, we are sandwiched between Slovenia and Costa Rica! We are hopelessly failing because our approach relies almost exclusively on prescription drugs and not on prevention. More Americans than ever before are afflicted with diseases which are largely preventable such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

In alternative health matters, individuals play a more active and centered role with regards to their health. These individuals are better informed via the Internet and various health publications offering alternative explanations and remedies of which one’s physician might be unaware.

To fully address and resolve a health condition, five basic questions must first be answered:

1. Is the condition caused by deficiency of something – what must be done to get better (e.g. Vitamin D, magnesium, electrolyte or essential fatty acid deficiency)?

2. Is the condition caused by something one needs to avoid – what is making it worse? (example: wheat or milk allergy, gluten intolerance, processed carbohydrates, artificial sweeteners, sugar, caffeine, etc.)

3. Is the condition caused by something that needs to be eliminated? (example: heavy metal poisoning, parasites, toxic relationship or destructive job, etc.)

4. Is there a past interference that is preventing healing and restoration? (e.g. trauma, burn, surgery, scar from an infection, emotional event that has been imprinted into the autonomic nervous system).

5. Is there an emotional behavior or a core belief that impedes progress and recovery? (e.g. excessive worry to the point it is detrimental, eating the wrong foods repetitively).

The following is information that I believe would be useful at a physical exam: (i) a reading of one’s nutritional status; (ii) analysis of antioxidant activity in the body; (iii) assessment of one’s toxic burden. We have the ability to obtain this information and it would certainly prove useful in the prevention of disease. Someone could very quickly learn what dietary changes are necessary to sustain good health and assess the strength of one’s immune system. The truth is, 100 years have been lost chasing disease rather than approaching health. The European system of healthcare, as well as eastern countries like Japan offer an integrative approach to healthcare, offering natural alternatives in addition to prescription drugs. We call that “quackery” here in the U.S. and blacklist doctors for such behavior. Instead, we are limited to the chemical approach and it is literally killing us.

Often times, it is merely the act of placing your symptom into the hands of conventional medicine that can lead to endless tests and eventually a prescription drug and quite often a series of drugs and additional health challenges. Many patients enter their doctor’s offices with an annoyance and over time this small thing gets bigger and begins to multiply because the root cause is never addressed. That is the nature of chemical dependence and the drug companies are profiting enormously from society’s indifference.

Make no mistake, the pharmaceutical drug companies want you and you do not need to be sick for them to want you. They want your inability to sleep, your anxiety, restlessness, sadness, compulsive behavior, disorientation. They want your addiction, flu-like symptoms, your aching muscles. They want your child’s mind and body. They most definitely want to drug the elderly. The pharmaceutical drug companies will attempt to profit from your every grievance until you have absolutely nothing left to complain about because you are either dead or without money or insurance, whichever event occurs first.

Meanwhile medical practitioners cower in fear of lawsuits from patients and rightfully so for these are litigious times. As a result, it has become increasingly difficult to receive a thoughtful diagnosis for these doctors cannot practice independent thinking. Both the doctor and patient would prefer the pill a day approach rather than a complete overhaul of one’s diet and lifestyle. The doctor’s existence is justified as the dispenser of pills but not when he or she sends you on your way with a grocery list.

We are a toxic people in love with our chemicals. The love affair should have ended many years ago as the red flags furiously waved but we remain in this abusive relationship for it would require a great deal of discipline to get out. We are both the abusers and the abused – consuming endlessly the things we should not consume and polluting a world we should actively protect.

Thankfully, we now have the Internet and the information moving rapidly through its wings is responsible for exposing a great deal of deception. We now find kindred spirits who have learned a lesson and are willing to share. We now can research health and if you choose to look today, you will find solutions to your problems. All be it a maze to carefully navigate through, the answers are there and many truly heroic health professionals are hard at work providing guidance that is quite contradictory to that which is being promoted by conventional medicine and its drug industry counterpart. In fact, I believe the scrutiny of trans fats today and the impending ban of this dangerous ingredient is due to the ready access of information. Many health professionals knew for decades about the dangers of trans fats but the public did not understand. Now they do and there is a demand for change.

The five steps set out in this article are an excellent tool to help you find the trigger of your symptom. If you are tired of living with the side effects of drugs, now at the start of the new year would be a great time to make the necessary life changes to get well. At your next doctor’s visit, arrive with knowledge, research your condition and research any drug prescribed by your doctor. Understand that a potential side effect is a POTENTIAL side effect. If the drug causes, for example, kidney failure in rare instances, you could indeed damage your kidney. Are the risks as noted on the drug sheet ones worth taking?

Alternative health arms the patient with the knowledge and tools necessary to embark on a healthy, drug free life. Quite a different thing from modern medicine. It is believed that the two types of patients – those choosing all things natural and those choosing chemicals – are becoming more distinct. Of course, this clarity makes choosing one’s path that much easier. Intent is of the utmost importance if you are to progress beyond symptom suppression and instead develop a life state which is fulfilling and healthy.