We’ve all seen the commercial for the current drug of choice on TV – some person in pain or looking sad and unable to enjoy life to the full. Enter this “wonderful” drug; now they are smiling and doing all the things their hearts desire! If you pay attention, the next thing you hear is a laundry list of possible side effects! From every commercial I’ve seen – the side effects sound worse than the original ailment!
So are we just trapped in this catch-22: We can improve a physical condition but the price we pay is the side effects that come along with the medication? Let’s take one of the most common and popularly prescribed types of drug as an example: antidepressants.
At least half of all Americans take at least one prescription drug, with one in six taking three or more medications and the number of Americans using antidepressants has doubled in only a decade. Keep those statistics in mind.
I heard about a study reported in JAMA on a video from Longevity Now Conference by Dr. Hyla Cass – using 6 placebo controlled, double blind studies of 718 patients over at least 6 weeks on either an antidepressant or a placebo revealed that although those with the most severe depression had some benefit from the drugs, all others, those with mild, moderate and some suffering with severe depression had the same beneficial results with the placebo, except without side effects!
And those side effects are pretty nasty! They include:
Fatigue, nausea, weight gain, brain fog, impaired judgment, blood sugar imbalances, sexual dysfunction, heart problems, increased suicide risk.
That last one is extremely alarming. Actually over 700 published studies concluded that people on these drugs are twice as likely to attempt suicide as those on a placebo or natural nutrients to nourish their brains and balance them out. However, it’s a lucrative business and doctors are writing more and more prescriptions for these moneymakers.
Your brain only weighs about 3 lbs but it uses about 20% of the nutrients you take in because without proper nutrition it cannot make neurotransmitters, the messenger brain chemicals.
The choice is always yours – you can take a drug, which is a “quick fix” to mask symptoms and deal with the resulting side effects or you can get to the root of the issue, find out what nutrients you are lacking or deficient in and work toward balancing your system. It takes a bit longer – but you reap side benefits instead of dealing with side effects.
Here’s a great quote that sums it up nicely: “Never take a pill that has more side effects than you have symptoms.” Very wise advice!
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3-D Vitality 