I rarely watch TV, but after getting a taste of a morning news program while I was waiting to have blood drawn recently, I decided to conduct a little experiment and watch an hour of mainstream news.
All I can say is it was sickening, and I couldn’t even make it a full hour. And I’m not even talking about the sensationalism and fear mongering oozing from the actors, er, I mean newscasters. That’s a whole other animal.
What I’m referring to is in the span of just 45 minutes that I watched this garbage, I saw 10 drug commercials.
Ten!
Although it disgusted me, I was not surprised. The media receive between 70-90 percent of their advertising revenue from the pharmaceutical industry…so you certainly won’t see anything about the merits of a healthy diet or vitamins. It’s all drugs, baby.
Here are my observations.
The pattern
Every drug commercial follows a specific pattern.
First, an attractive man or woman sadly explains how their condition was so painful, or difficult, or limited their ability to enjoy life and their time with loved ones.
Boo hoo.
But then…the magic starts.
Because once the person discovered the “wonderful” drug being advertised, their lives completely turned around for the better!
YAY! Everyone is so happy now!
And of course, the final message is that if you want to feel this way, ask your doctor if XYZ drug is right for you!
Pay attention to the background content
There’s one significant difference when it comes to drugs which sets them apart from commercials for things like laundry detergent, shampoo or peanut butter.
Side effects.
A (typically only partial) list of potential side effects (which, depending on the drug, can include things like liver failure, anaphylaxis or even death) is spoken in the background by an unseen person who is talking so fast they would put an auctioneer to shame.
This dialogue is juxtaposed with the smiling, happy, shiny people on the screen so as to divert the consumer’s attention from the fact that this crap could make them sicker or even kill them.
And it works like a charm.
We’re the leaders!
Did you know that in most countries, prescription drugs can only be advertised to physicians?
Direct-to-consumer advertisement of prescription drugs is ONLY allowed in the US and New Zealand.
And if you don’t think advertising like I described above has an impact on our drug purchases, you couldn’t be more wrong.
Although the US comprises only about 5 percent of the world’s population, we consume 75 percent of the world’s prescription drugs!
That’s nothing to brag about.
Plus remember, most doctors don’t have time to research all these drugs—they typically rely on what the slick company sales rep tells them.
And you can rest assured that the side effects and adverse reactions are seriously downplayed. Several ex-drug rep whistleblowers have grown a conscience and come forth telling their stories of how they were instructed to do exactly that.
End the cycle of manipulation
If you want to stop this cycle of manipulation and instead help your body to naturally achieve health, then turn off the TV and take action.
Here are 5 of the most significant measures you can take toward preventing or saying goodbye to a sickly, diseased, medicated, side effect-suffering, and nutrient-depleted existence:
1- Start with your diet
There's no getting around it. If you want anything that resembles health, you MUST eat nutritious real foods.
“Real foods” are foods that do not come with a bar code and a list of chemicals you can’t pronounce. Real foods are fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, poultry, wild-caught fish, eggs, and healthy fats like real butter (never margarine), coconut oil and olive oil.
And if you’re frequently bothered by digestive difficulties, that’s a sign that you may be low in one or more digestive enzymes. This is especially true if you use acid reducers, are over age 50 or have had a less-than-stellar diet for most of your life.
But a complete enzyme formula like Digestizol Max can help where your body may be running short.
Digestizol Max’s thorough blend of 15 natural, plant-derived enzymes will help pave the way for more complete digestion, plus its blend of soothing herbs will help calm a stressed GI tract.
2- Support your gut
Processed foods and refined carbs (which are so prevalent in our typical diets) are murder on your gut microbiome, as are many medications—especially antibiotics, acid reducers and birth control pills.
Since your gut houses 70-80 percent of your immune system, the protection of these intestinal inhabitants is NOT something you can afford to be without!
A full-spectrum, multi-strain probiotic supplement like Super Shield can help ensure your body has a health-supporting population of these helpful microbes.
Super Shield’s carefully selected blend of 13 potent, robust probiotic strains helps support your friendly flora population so it can better protect you, as well as encourage more regular BMs and less gas and bloating.
3- Move it
It’s crucial to get some form of exercise on most days—even a brisk walk counts!
You can also squeeze in exercise by taking little measures such as parking far from the door at the mall (as long as it’s safe, of course), taking the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator, or even walking around your office perimeter every hour or so.
4- Reduce stress
Stress is harmful to your health in countless ways, including destroying your friendly intestinal microbes!
Do whatever you need to do, keeping in mind that exercise is an excellent way to reduce stress.
5- Curb inflammation
Inflammation is a cause or contributing factor to a whole slew of diseases and conditions, so it’s crucial to fight back at it and keep it at bay.
Having a nutritious whole foods diet is a great start, and you can also embrace the awesome power of Nature’s anti-inflammatory superstar—Omega-3 fatty acids!
Unfortunately, the average person gets very few of these soothing fats in their diets. Our food supply contains merely a fraction of the Omega-3 EFAs that it once did, since the animals raised for our consumption are no longer allowed to graze freely and are instead fed a grain-based diet.
To make sure your body maintains a health-supporting level of Omega-3 EFAs, supplementation with a pure pharmaceutical-grade fish oil formula like VitalMega-3 is crucial.
VitalMega-3 provides a soothing 1,200 mg of anti-inflammatory Omega-3 fats in every 2-capsule dose, including EPA and DHA—the fats that are critical for your brain and cardiovascular health.
Do it now
Sad as it is to say, our current state of "health" is NOT health at all! Over-reliance on prescription drugs to create false health is more like it.
But you CAN make a huge difference and help to create TRUE real health from within.
Do it now—you’ll never regret it.
To your health,
Sherry Brescia
I would appreciate knowing the size of the capsules and gel caps for your products. I have difficulty swallowing large caps, and gel caps are even a bigger problem. I would like to add fish oil to my supplements, but I have too many bottles of unused supplements because I discover when I open the bottle that they are much too big. As a result, I just don’t bother ordering them.
Thank you.
Coming from Australia where prescription drug ads are not permitted on TV; On my trip to the US I was shocked to see wall to wall drug ads on TV. A prescription drug should only ever be discussed and recommended by your doctor, not by a drug company in conjunction with a TV network.
When, my family Doctor left, I ended up with a “new” Doctor – well we got off on the wrong foot right away! I told her right away that I was NOT TAKING ANY FURTHER PAIN PILLS – well guess what her response was “Well you are 73 years old” – I totally flipped out and asked her “what the hell does my diagnosis have to do with my age?” With the shortage of family doctors, I had no choice but deal with this Doctor. I went above her head and contacted my surgeon who repaired my broken hip after a fall 3 years ago. I finally had a CT Scan and the results were, that I had Lumbar Spinal Stenosis – I have suffered in pain for nearly 3 years and all my family doctor was interested in was, prescribe pills and more pills instead of reviewing my file where, it clearly states I have the Degenerative Disk Disease and Osteoarthritis -now she has put me back almost 3 years, preventing any kind of treatment! I know that, I have ruffled a few people in my clinic but, too dam bad! This is my health and I have taken responsibility for it! This “prescribing” pain pills has to STOP! Doctors have to take time in reviewing our files (like they did years ago) PRIOR to prescribing any kind of PILLS!!! I’m finally receiving some medical help!!! I am constantly in excruciating pain and hopefully I can get help for my condition!!! Marty
I agree I had a stent fitted 4 years ago I came out of hospital with a long list of drugs like every one ele did in that ward I was told they would be reviewed every so often bit sadly I still have the pills I am led to believe they are helping me so on no account could get rid of any even through I have had side effects oh yes they changed my pills for more pills but I am told not to leave any off I have tried to find alternative but then I worry cause if I go to the doctors for anything they always say are yiu having your pills so I am made to feel I am shorting my life I now have orstiarthus and cause of my heart medication I carnt take anything fir it so I have an injection well it helps fir about 6 wks and I can only have 2 a year so I am stuck I feel like throwing tbe whole lot in the bin I live reading your advice and alway agree so now I have to deside what to do
Thank you for continually advocating for healthy alternatives to prescription drugs. I could go on and on about my husband’s UC issues and his healing with (your) probiotics, correct supplements and of course a very whole food diet! God bless you for your efforts in education us on a better path to health!