Physicians dispense about FOUR billion prescriptions for drugs every year in the United States (about thirteen prescriptions a year for every man, woman, and child). So why change your diet and lifestyle when you can just use conventional medicine? Unfortunately, modern medicine isn’t nearly as effective as most people think. Doctors excel at treating acute conditions, such as fixing broken bones and suppressing infections, but for chronic diseases (Heart diseases, Diabetes, Arthritis among others) which are the leading cause of death and disability, modern medicine doesn’t have much to offer and, in fact, can sometimes do more harm than good. Here are some scientific facts and you can read more here;

1. Medicine and our existing healthcare system is the third leading cause of death (Medical Error)
2. Taking antioxidant supplements may be more than just a waste of money. People given 500 mg of vitamin C a day were found to end up with more oxidative DNA damage. The natural antioxidants in food work synergistically; it’s the combination of many different compounds working together that tends to protect you, not high doses of single antioxidants found in supplements. (Ref6)
3. Physicians dispense about four billion prescriptions for drugs every year in the United States (about thirteen prescriptions a year for every man, woman, and child) (Ref10)
4. One unifying diet found to best prevent and treat many of these chronic diseases is a Whole-food, plant based diet, defined as an eating pattern that encourages the consumption of unrefined plant foods and discourages meats, dairy products, eggs and processed foods (Plant-Based Diet)

So, what happens when you pop a pill? Anti-inflammatory drugs, for example, inhibit the effects of key enzymes that cause tissue to swell and send alarm signals to your brain. Anti-ulcer drugs block the production of stomach acid, which is needed for digestion. Drugs that treat high blood pressure either block the hormones that regulate the complex process for controlling blood pressure or prevent their release. Drugs that treat depression inhibit the normal regulation of certain neurotransmitters in the brain. The problem is that the specific biological target a drug blocks because it is related to a disease state in one place in the body may be important for normal functioning in other places within the body. That is indeed what happens. With blood pressure medication, blood pressure may be going down, but keeping it down knocks out your sexual potency. Your ulcer may be under control because of anti ulcer drug, but it may be causing anemia. Or your arthritis pain may now be manageable due to the powerful anti-inflammatories you are taking, but those same anti-inflammatories may be contributing to your risk for Kidney disease. Bottom line is any drug or medicine when taken produces a desired effect (suppressing cold or pain) in one area of your body, but also produces undesirable effects (also known as side effects) in other parts of the body. 

Instead of popping a pill to suppress symptoms such as pains, aches and colds, what happens if we simply change the way we eat and fix the root cause of all symptoms, which in most cases is poor immune function? it turns out the same foods (fruits, vegetables and whole grains) that fix the heart, also fix the lungs, also fix the kidneys and so on. In my opinion food is not just a great alternative, but in fact it is the only choice we have if we are serious about improving our overall health and the health of the planet. If you are new on this journey follow the Going Yogue Nutrition Plan to get started. Happy health!