Reform Health Care- YES!!
1/21/2011: Health care in America has become a pharmaceutical nightmare. Which drug will you need is the apparent question. This is not always bad except when it is the entire point of view. The majority of modern health care has become a maintenance of disease.
Why do we accept that disease is inevitable, permanent and sometimes fatal? Why do we submit to drug prescriptions as the answer to our pains and ailments.
Let me be clear that drugs have a very useful place, are very helpful and sometimes the best choice. The general overuse of prescription medicine has however led to several problems: Continued symptoms and more drugs, more drugs for side-effects of previous drug, stress of expense, lack of hope and energy to seek a better treatment, sometimes death.
A logical approach to a problem such as an ulcer is to take care of the symptom of course. But is taking care of the symptom with (Prilosec, for example) which will stop stomach acid secretion, which will change the pH in the gut, prevent proper digestion of protein and prevent absorption of minerals such as calcium thereby leading to osteoporosis, and paralyze the muscles of the stomach opening, preventing proper function – is this the drug you should take for years in order to not feel disomfort.
An alternative approach would be to analyze the patient’s diet, is there a food allergy problem, is there blatant coffee, stress and alcohol problem? Is there another medication that injured the stomach? Screen for H. pylori, a bacteria that causes ulcers.Treat with deglycerrhizinated licorice extract, slippery elm powder and l-glutamine to soothe and heal the stomach. Address digestive function, eating habits including eating on the run. What is the history of toxins, some of which can damage cells in the stomach that produce stomach acid. Most importantly, know that gastritis, or the feeling of discomfort and burning in the stomach can be caused by LACK of stomach acid. Yes the very thing most medications inhibit. The antacids and proton pump inhibitors are often the very thing you don’t want.
Proper digestive function is outlined in Guyton’s book of Physiology. We want to restore normal function, not inhibit normal function. Naturopathic doctors work by analyzing symptoms to determine what has gone wrong, what is out of balance and why. It is the patient’s responsibility to work with dietary advice, changing unhealthy habits such as eating while running out of the house stressed to not be late.
There are plenty of herbal medicines and homeopathic medicines that help to restore balance and mitigate symptoms. If you have been on Prilosec or other rx’s for a long time, please do not attempt to stop them on your own. It is tricky, requires careful and proper treatment and it will take time. Remember normal function of all organs is what will have you feeling good and having energy.
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