Failures of modern medicine

Although the title of today’s article might raise a few eyebrows, it’s meant to bring awareness to a serious situation that is a leading contributing factor to our ill states of health.

Let’s play an imagine game:
Let’s say there’s a 45 year-old woman who’s under chronic stress.  She craves carbs and she’s putting on weight.  She has heartburn all the time and she’s having trouble sleeping. 

From a holistic perspective, here is what’s going on:

Her chronic stress is causing her adrenal glands to crank out the hormone cortisol, and this is triggering her carb cravings and resulting weight gain. 

Plus stress and high cortisol levels are causing imbalances in her other hormones and this is affecting her sleep.

And since stress takes energy away from digestion, that’s causing her heartburn.

What this woman may hear from her doctor:
He does bloodwork and sees her cholesterol is elevated.  (This is the result of her body trying to correct the stress-induced hormonal imbalances.  Cholesterol is used to make hormones and her body senses she needs more.)

He also notes her blood glucose is elevated.  (Stress causes surges of glucose into the bloodstream.)

He takes her blood pressure and sees that she’s in pre-hypertension at 130/85.  (The high blood glucose levels from stress can cause inflammation in the blood vessels and drive up blood pressure.)

Here’s what he does:

• He prescribes Nexium for her heartburn.
• He gives her Crestor to lower her cholesterol.
• He suggests Ambien to help her sleep.
• He cautions her about her blood pressure, glucose level and weight gain and tells her to go on a diet and exercise.

And guess what—the underlying cause of ALL of her problems (STRESS) remains unaddressed.
Fast forward a few months…
 
 
This woman is on three medications, still craving carbs and putting on weight (because she’s still stressed), the Crestor is giving her muscle weakness so she can’t exercise, she’s constipated because of the Nexium and has memory loss and anxiety because of the Ambien.

This is a perfect example of a failure of modern medicine. 

Modern medicine is disease-focused
Modern medicine focuses on anything BUT health--instead its focus is on the treatment of symptoms, sickness and disease.

They’re two entirely different things!

Health is NOT merely the absence of disease--it’s a state of balance where your body is working like it's supposed to!

Plus it’s important to realize that all of your body’s systems are connected and affect each other. 

Looking at the woman in my example: Her emotional stress (the nervous system) affected her adrenal glands and hormones (the endocrine system) which in turn triggered high blood pressure (the cardiovascular system) and heartburn (the digestive system).

So to just “pick and choose” symptoms without looking at the entire picture can cause many an over-medicated, chronically ill individual.

So what IS the answer?
If you’ve been in a cycle of poor health, taking one medication after another and never seem to improve, it’s time to take the bull by the horns and start to focus on real health:

Ask questions
Don’t be afraid to ask your doctor questions or get second opinions.

Ask about medications side effects or get on the internet and check them out yourself.  

Ask about trying lower, safer doses of drugs you may be on, or natural alternatives to medications (such as fish oil for high blood pressure or arthritis). 

If your doctor refuses to answer your questions, find another who will.

Reduce stress
Do whatever works for you—even some deep breathing 3-4 times a day can help.  Plus you can’t beat regular exercise when it comes to stress relief.  

Eat your way to better health
I know it’s not easy to change old habits, but even small steps in the right direction can make a big difference in your health!

• If you’re a soda lover, try swapping one of your sodas for water or club soda with a splash of lemon or lime.
• Try pan-seared meats instead of deep-frying.  There are many delicious spice mixes out there.
• Reach for protein snacks like nuts, cheese, yogurt or a hard-boiled egg instead of chips or crackers.  They’ll help even out your blood sugar.
• Try to work in one green vegetable every day—even a small tossed salad!
• Switch out your bagel or donut for oatmeal or scrambled eggs for breakfast.  You’ll stay fuller longer and be better nourished.

If you need more ideas or want some great recipes, check out Great Taste No Pain.

Bring your gut into balance
Stress and the Standard American Diet can be murder on your gut flora, where the majority of your immune system resides!

Without the full functioning power of your immune system, it’s just a matter of time before sickness or disease will strike.

So it’s important to help repopulate your supply of friendly inhabitants and support better immune health with a daily probiotic formula like Super Shield.
 
See how much better you can feel when you focus on creating health!