Sunday, November 15, 2009

The Ills Of Pills

The Ills Of Pills


At some point in our lives, we must visit a doctor. For some of us, it’s just once a year.
For others, it’s every six months. And for still others it may be every month or more often.

Chances are the doctor may be the last person you see in this life, which is why I always carry photos of my loved ones with me, just in case I wanna look at them one last time.

I saw the doctor the other day, unfortunately in his office, and the doctor asks me:
“So, what prescription medications are you currently on, Frank?”
I answer:
“Atorvastatin, for my high cholesterol.”
And the doctor says:
“And what else?”
“That’s it”, I say.
The doctor gives me an odd, bewildered look and says:
“Hm, most men your age are on more than one prescription medication by now. Congratulations, you must be pretty healthy.”
And I say:
“I guess I am. I feel pretty healthy, most of the time, except when I feast on the casino all-you-can-eat buffet!”
And he says:
“I know what you mean.”

Now I suppose I could lower my cholesterol by becoming a strict and devout vegan. I might even go with ONLY raw foods, because “they” say cooking destroys all the natural nutrients in food. I don’t know about that, but I do know you cannot beat lox and cream cheese and onion and tomato, on a toasted bagel. And I do know I will NEVER be a strict and devout vegan.

That established, I currently take one prescription medication, (atorvastatin, for high cholesterol), and the following over-the-counter supplements, which may or may not be doing a damn thing for me.

1 – a prostate formula for a healthy prostate
2 – fish oil, because “they” say it’s good for me
3 – fiber, because “they” say it’s good for me, and I must properly and thoroughly cleanse my colon, for some reason
4 – a multiple vitamin, again because “they” say it’s good for me, and it’s nearly impossible to consume all those fruits, vegetables, proteins, and nutrients “they” say I am supposed to eat each and every day
5 – spirulina, again because “they” say it’s good for me
6 – ginkgo biloba, because, you know…
7 – CoQ10, because, you know…

These days, if you have something wrong with you, there’s a pill for it.

In the good ol’ days if you were anemic, or had really bad diarrhea, or had the flu, etc…etc…, you had a good chance of dying from it.

Not today. There’s a pill for that. There’s no question that in 2009/2010 we’re living healthier lives. Yes, this is open to debate and opinion. Overall our life expectancy is longer.
Our quality of life is better too. And we do have a lot of pills that treat and/or cure illness.

That said, perhaps taking too many pills is not good for us? I’m no doctor or research scientist, I just know when I’m hurting, I have to take a pill, and count my blessings that it’s not every day, and it’s not a prescription pain killer. As of this piece, I count my lucky stars, and then some, I am only on atorvastatin.

Stay tuned.

Peace, love, namaste, shalom, heal the world, be the change, and whatever. Yada, yada, yada…

Frank Landfield
November, 2009

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