Have you ever had a family member come home with a drug sample? Kind of like those Wal-Mart product samples you can get in the mail except it's handed to you in good faith by an authority. Prescription medicines are the first go-to solution of doctors for almost any type of ailment.
Recently, Mayo Clinic research found that 70% or 7 out of 10 people in the U.S. are on prescription drugs. Twenty percent are on five or more prescriptions. Shocking as that may seem, it isn't really when one considers that some of those prescriptions were most likely given to combat the side effects of the original prescriptions.
Strangely, or not so strangely, 7 out of 10 deaths each year are from chronic disease like heart, strokes, and cancer. Almost one out of every two Americans suffered from a chronic illness in 2005. (Source) This system is working out great - just not for U.S. patients.
The most common drugs are antibiotics, antidepressants, and pain killers (opioids).
Dr. St. Sauver of Mayo Clinic said:
Often when people talk about health conditions they’re talking about chronic conditions such as heart disease or diabetes. However, the second most common prescription was for antidepressants — that suggests mental health is a huge issue and is something we should focus on. And the third most common drugs were opioids, which is a bit concerning considering their addicting nature.
The research found that women and elderly were most likely to have prescriptions. Not to unfairly stereotype but this makes sense as far as vulnerability goes and adherence to checkups. Women are considered to be more in tune with their bodies and elderly people are likely to have more health issues. In young and middle-aged adults antidepressants and painkillers are the most common prescriptions. Between just 2007 and 2010, the percent of people using at least one prescription drug in the last month increased by 50 percent. Go to SSRIStories.com to carefully consider the sometimes deadly side-effects of antidepressants. You might recall that prescription drug deaths now outnumber traffic accident deaths as of 2009. Consider that antibiotics can destroy gut health, lead to obesity, and increase bacteria resistance.
A campaign using heavy celebrity support has been launched to support the new Healthcare law. Pills have been introduced to treat obesity, and now "smart" pills can track your digesting them and let doctors know if you've behaved.
Spending on prescription drugs reached a whopping $250 billion in 2009 alone - that was 12% of the year's total personal health care expenditure. It's been concluded that mass spending will continue to increase. No ... really? Big Pharma, the Med Mob, and Insurance companies aren't leaving the hot tub anytime soon - especially if there are willing customers struggling just to survive.
What does this all mean? It means that breaking life-dependence on this enslavement system requires a whole new paradigm. Just because it is covered by insurance (designed that way on purpose) doesn't mean it's in our best interest or that the cause of a problem will be discovered and addressed. Thinking in terms of banking and investing might actually put it in perspective. Cheap food and sick-care might be inexpensive for now, but is actually a deduction from you - your body being the account. Think of what an addition and investment in thriving in freedom looks like for you - and then invest in You!
There are at least dozens of ways to approach depression, bacterial infections, hearth health, and pain. The latest research is finally starting to concede that brain function is connected to good microbial gut health. Even just by approaching that, one could potentially knock out three or more of the above issues.
