Thank you to all who submitted their questions this week. I have picked one to elaborate on. Please keep sending your questions.

Get rid of the pharmaceuticals

Every five minutes ………..someone in the United States dies due to receiving a properly prescribed pharmaceutical drug.

• Generally, 51% of FDA-approved drugs have serious adverse effects not detected prior to approval.
• Each year prescription drugs injure 1.5 million people so severely they require hospitalization.
• prescription drugs cause 100,000 deaths annually.
• 1 in 10,000 human guinea pigs will suffer fatal side effects from the drug they are testing.

Every year $400 million is spent to recruit participants to undergo clinical trials. Some are in controlled labs and others are not. The human guinea pigs who test these drugs agree to take the drug as prescribed, and then report all symptoms and side effects or they are recruited to test the interactions of combining drugs. Scary stuff! But these Professional human lab rats make a lot of money doing this.

. The problem is these human guinea pigs are suppose to try one drug, be truthful about their medical, drug-abuse and sexual history. Most do not tell the truth. Some are not even taking the drug and reporting false claims. Others are jumping from one drug trial to another ( not allowed, but because of the heir privacy, no one knows) to make more money and are not giving legitimate claims on the real benefits or dangers, side effects of a particular drug. With circumstances like this a lot of drugs that are beneficial never make it to us consumers because the testing was not properly done. On the dangerous side of this - A lot of drugs do make it past the FDA and into the market that end up giving consumers serious side effects and or death from taking prescription drugs or the combining and uncertain combination of certain drugs.

These drug companies and the FDA in some cases after having been approved find out about serious side effects yet do nothing about it - the product continues to be marketed to us consumers. Because of the long Court process to prove with out a doubt.

There are more drugs and herbal supplements out there than you can believe, that do not even contain what they claim to contain.

Again, Some people need long term prescription medication but most people taking these drugs do not need them long term or if at all.

You take the drug - experience unwanted and sometimes unbearable side effects -then sometimes because of those side effects you have created another problem - that requires medication- more side effects and unneeded stress on your system. Then - you can’t even stop taking these drugs because of terrible side effects of stopping them. You have to take other drugs to get off the ones you are taking.

In the meantime think about all these things in your system. Some will go away immediately and others will stay with you for years.

Because it is more profitable for medical companies to develop drugs and products that consumers use for long periods of time - if not indefinite - they create customers for life. Maintance drugs- that you are expected to take for the rest of your life. Originally these drugs ( long ago) were developed for short term use but profit outweighed curing people the first or second time around.

In Alternative and Holistic Medicine, the goal is to treat the CAUSE of the disease and not just the SYMPTOMS.

Medicines, over the counter drugs and Prescription drugs treat only the disease and do nothing to prevent the disease. They are designed to keep you coming back for more. ( profit and long term patients)

The four most popular drugs out there today are related to the top four most common diseases and ---

all of which can be fixed by modifying your behavior in lifestyle, diet and exercise.

Healthy lifestyle changes can yield AMAZING results and eliminate all four of the top most common diseases the people have today.

All four are linked to Lack of exercise and diet -the foods we eat and are sedentary lifestyles.

To lower your ( LDL) “Bad” cholesterol - add or increase

• soluble fiber; Oatmeal, oat bran, kidney beans, apples, pears, barley and prunes.
• Walnuts and almonds can help reduce blood cholesterol levels.
• omega-3 fatty acids you can get this from ground flaxseed or canola oil. Or from fish. highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids are in mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna and salmon. ( it is best to bake or grill it )
• Olive oil contains a potent mix of antioxidants that can lower your "bad" (LDL) cholesterol but leave your "good" (HDL) cholesterol untouched
• Margarines, orange juice and yogurt drinks fortified with plant sterols can help reduce LDL cholesterol
• By reducing or completely eliminating all SATURATED FATS .like those in meat and some oils.

Saturated and trans fats are the ones you want to eliminate or reduce. Remember your body needs some fats. good fats like monounsaturated. Add more fruits, vegetables and salads to your diet.

To help control heartburn it is important to eat on schedule.

• Try to eat your meals around the same time everyday.
• Maintain your weight Excess pounds put pressure on your abdomen, pushing up your stomach and causing acid to back up into your esophagus.
• fatty or fried foods, alcohol, chocolate, peppermint, garlic, onion, tomatoes, caffeine and nicotine may make heartburn worse for most people.
• Do not eat white at night. White bread is a very common heartburn starter for a lot of people. If you have to eat white bread - do it early in the day.
• Do not eat a large meal late at night.
• Do not lie down to eat or lie down right after eating. Take a short walk first then sit or lie down for a while.

You want to avoid having to seek medical help or develop long term damage. Try those natural remedies above before it is to late.

• Practice relaxation or slow, deep breathing
• Don't smoke
• fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy foods. Get plenty of potassium, which can help prevent and control high blood pressure. Eat less saturated fat and total fat
• Decrease the sodium (salt ) in your diet.
• Losing 5-10 lbs will have incredible results.
• Reduce stress as much as possible
• Get more quality sleep

The amount of serotonin in your brain, which has a calming effect can be reduced by;

• Carbohydrate-rich meals and snacks complex carbohydrates (starches) and fewer simple carbohydrates (sugars). Complex carbohydrates take longer to metabolize, which helps prevent a sudden drop in blood sugar.
• Eat more frequently .going to long between meals can cause trembling, nervousness and irritability.
• Include some foods that contain tryptophan, an amino acid that your body converts to serotonin. Milk, bananas, oats, soy, poultry ( of course) , cheese, nuts, peanut butter and sesame seeds .
• Drink plenty of water
• Avoid or limit caffeine and alcohol.
• Counseling and therapy ( with out drugs!)

Along with diet modification , Exercise plays a HUGE role in cholesterol, heartburn, high blood pressure and depression.

The best advice is if you are not already engaged in some sort of aerobic activity two to three times a week - then begin now. Get up and go walk, clean house, dance…..Just do something for at least 30 -60 minutes a day. Or at least three times a week.

Decide what exercise you would like to participate in and begin immediately. Alternative exercise such as yoga, tai chi have been shown to reduce weight and help with things such as heartburn, cholesterol, anxiety/ depression and hypertension.

If you are overweight losing just 5 to 10 lbs can drastically change how you feel and help ( or eliminate) manage all the things we have discussed in this article.

Other ideas to try is meditation, guided imagery, reiki, self hypnosis. All of which the author offers through his online wellness website - www.covelyconsulting.com

So, As you can see there are a lot of methods and ways of going about preventative health than popping another pill. Medications usually mask the causes and treat only the symptoms. By following the prescribed lifestyle modifications a have written above , most people can avoid the need for prescription meds or lower their dose.

Try these things and watch how quickly your life starts to transform. Just notice how better you feel after two - three months of these all natural lifestyle and diet modifications.

Chet C. Covely, LWMS, HLC, RH is a certified Holistic Health practitioner and Certified Holistic fitness practitioner. To learn more about Chet and the services he offers log on to www.covelyconsulting.com and register for a free lifestyle evaluation.