DRUG DEPENDENCY AND MEDICAL TREATMENTS

Why is it that there is so much drug dependency in modern times? All medications have their side effects. People are not accostumed to read the small letters of the possible side effects of taking such and such a tablet, capsule, injection etc. They are therefore pretty much unaware of the damage that they do.

If one for example takes a medication for the liver this might temporarily help or relieve this problem but in the long run it affects another organ which then needs to be treated with another drug or visiting another specialist or doctor, or they give us a pill to treat the liver or any other organ and at the same time another pill to protect the stomach from the effect of that pill. In this way people are going around a viscious circle.

We continuously see doctor´s offices filled with patients that are looking for help to relieve the symptoms of their particular illness. Even most doctors are unaware that they are just permanently treating the symptoms of their patients illness and not its cause.

How is it possible that doctors are so blind? This has to do with the education the doctor has recieved during his medical training years. The whole education in the field of medicine all over the world is based on treating symptoms rather than examining or searching for the cause. Their treatment consists of drugs and surgery.

Although it is scientifically proved that that food plays a major role in the development of sickness not more than 10% of the time dedicated in medical school is given to studying food and its relation to illness.

Furthermore this education is influenced by the meat, sugar and dairy industry which makes it still more misleading.

Since their knowledge in this subject is so scarce when a patient comes to the doctors office who wants to know more about this issue the doctor directs him or her to a licensed government dietitian who is once again trained or sponsored by these same industries.

This gives us a picture of an example of the joint programs of the pharmaceutical and food industry which directs the university studies of medicine and its outcome.

How can it be that the universities are controlled by the pharmaceutical, chemical and food industries?

If we observe our society we see it fragmented into different compartments. There is the ministry of health, ministry of agriculture, food, commerce, industry etc. to whom we all pay taxes to mantain this system. Going one step further all the governments in the world are contributing to the umbrella organization giving out general guide lines on health issues and when you examine this more carefully you realize that this organization manipulates numbers and even promotes the symptomatic treatment of diseases.

Although there are independent scientific researchers doing research on diseases,they have no voice in the OFFICIAL establishment, neither are their results published in the scientific journals, on the contrary the official researchers are hired and funded by the powers mentioned above to tighten the grip on the general unaware population. This umbrella organization is known as the World Health Organization when it should be called the World Pharmaceutical Organization which is linked with the multinational food coorporations and international chambers of industry and commerce.

On a different level it is so well organized that no opposition is allowed and all that has to do with alternative treatments is considered nonsense, ridiculised and classified as not proven.

If we want to have a look at the bigger picture we begin to realize that the human population is considered by those multinationals as "units to be exploited". Treating symptoms is key to generating money whereas treating the causes dissolves the money making system. If we do not want to be one of these "units" we need to make a personal effort to find the cause of our problem.

For example, if we take a tree as an example, it consists of leaves, stem and root. When the leaves start discolouring or falling, medical science would approach it by treating one of the leaves with medication. This leaf would become healthy again but another one would start falling off. Treating the next leaf could cause a third one to fall and so on until all leaves loose their natural capacity of self generation. On the other hand if we turned our attention to the root of the tree and see the nutrients it gets from the soil and its environment and improve that condition all the leaves would become healthy again without any other intervention.

This is our path towards independence and learning to listen to the wisdom of our human body. Lets remember that any animal (that is free) knows how to recuperate itself from sickness utilising its own instinct.

This approach means that all kinds of supplements, medications or surgery (with the exception of a very few special cases) should be avoided being from natural food stores or pharmacies.

As an example we can visualize the intestinal flora as an amazing functioning factory with lots of busy employees all working in harmony. When food enters the factory all the employees are busy decomposing and extracting the essential nutrients that is going to be used for repairing and regenerating tissues, organ systems etc. throughout the body. This is true when our inmune system is intact. When we start taking vitamins, supplements etc. it is like sending all our employees on holiday except for the guardian who keeps the life light on, though on a lower flame and intensity. When any bacteria, virus or foreign agent enters the factory there are no workers or employees to create the necessary quality antibodies which are usually there when the body is working at its full potential. This is what we call in modern society that our inmune system is weak or broken down.

From this point of view it is ridiculous that we should be frightened (in most cases) by a tiny insignificant virus invading our system because when our system is functioning normal with all its employees doing their part we can create any antibody to neutralize the effect of any virus. It is as if a positive charge enters our system and we create a negative charge to neutralize it, and viceversa.

VITAMINS

When one is eating a balanced diet of whole grains, fresh vegetables, sea vegetables, leafy greens, seeds, beans, fermented products like miso and tamari and fruit, this diet itself supplies the essential vitamins that the body requires, without the need to use any other supplements. These foods are among the most vitamin rich foods known.

Vitamin A which aids normal growth and development is supplied in abundance in the form of beta carotene or pro vitamin A. This is converted by usable vitamin A by the liver. Excellent sources of this are found in yellow and orange vegetables and leafy greens.

B complex vitamins helps the body digest and use the energy in carbohydrates, and fosters resistance to infection. The best source are whole grains.

Vitamin B12 needed in minute quantaties (a few thousandth of a miligram per day) helps prevent cell and nerve degeneration and aids in the formation of red blood cells - is often found as a bacteria or mold on the skins of organically grown fruits and vegetables. Miso and tempeh also contain small but significant amounts of vitamin B12.

Vitamin C protects the nerves, glands, and connective tissues from oxidation and aids in the absorption of iron. This diet also supplies this in enough quantaties. The best sources are leafy greens, broccoli, fresh fruits and vegetables.

Vitamin D is not really a vitamin since it is synthesised in the body. It plays a role in the body´s absorption of calcium, and it is important in the health of bones and teeth. This vitamin is not taken in sufficient quantaties from food alone - it is formed as a result of sunlight´s action on cholesterol- like substances on the skin. Children in particular need regular exposure to sunlight - (15-30 minutes of facial exposure per day).

Vitamin E is believed to be an antioxidant- a substance that protects important molecules and structures in the cell from being damaged by oxygen. You can find healthful amounts of vitamin E in whole grains, unrefined vegetable oils, seeds, nuts, vegetables, leafy greens.

This diet provides more than enough vitamins to mantain optimal health, without the danger of vitamin toxicity or buildup.

So as you see vitamins exist naturally in whole foods and should be consumed in whole form. Vitamin pills and other nutritional supplements became popular in recent decades to offset the deficencies caused by modern food processing. In essence the vitamins and minerals that are taken out of whole wheat, brown rice, sea salt and other whole unrefined foods to make white flour, white rice, table salt, and other refined foods are sold back to the consumer in capsule form. When taken in this unnatural way as a supplement to our regular food, vitamin pills produce a chaotic effect on the body´s metabolism.

One of the reasons that vitamin supplements are so popular is the massive advertising and promotion they recieve (mostly sponsored by large pharmaceutical companies).

Many people inadvertently destroy many vitamins that they consume in food. For example washing with harsh soap strips away the vitamin C that is part of the acid mantle protecting the skin.

Sugar and alcohol can neutralize the vitamins B1, B6 and folic acid.

Smoking interferes with the body´s intake of vitamin C.

Excess protein or liquid in the diet can wash a variety of other vitamins out of the body.

Antibiotics, laxatives, aspirin, many prescription drugs, and stress destroy even more.

Most of the vitamin supplements in the market are synthesized from coal tar and other petroleum derivatives.

Vitamin manufacturers warn us that large doses of supplemental vitamins A, B complex, C, D and E can harm the body. In addition, the use of smaller amounts of these synthetic vitamin supplements may lead to a gradual buildup of vitamin toxicity.

For example according to medical researchers, megadoses of niacin can cause a wide variety of symptoms including abnormal heart rhythms, headache, cramps, nausea and vomiting.

Excessive vitamin B6 can cause severe nervous-system dysfunctions.

Too much vitamin C can cause mild diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and in some cases precipitate kidney stones.

Large amounts of vitamin A or D can cause acute or chronic toxicity.

In addition many vitamins and mineral pills, tablets and capsules contain fillers, binders, disintegrating agents, lubricants, artificial colors and flavors, and synthetic coatings that may also be harmful.

MINERALS

Minerals help keep energy level high, nerves tranquil, muscles, heart, hair and blood healthy. Important in the formation of bones, teeth and nails. They serve to mantain inmunity from disease, regulate blood pH (the relative acidity or alkalinity of the blood). Minerals in our blood can neutralize excesses of acid or alkaline ash, the residue left behind from the digestion and the metabolizing of foods.

After years of a diet high in acid forming food such as red meat, sugar, poultry, eggs, tropical fruits, fats, and oils, the body becomes over acidic. More calcium begins to leave the body than stays inside it, causing bones to weaken and teeth to decay.

As is the case of most supplemental vitamins, the minerals added to foods or found in pills do not come from food sources at all, but rather from mines and quarries (via laboratories).

Minerals found naturally in food are always combined by nature with specific amino acids, and sometimes with a vitamin too. The body easily recognises minerals in this form, and knows how to use them efficiently. As food additives or dietary supplements, however, minerals tend to confuse the body more than help it. Taking too much of a particular mineral can set up a chain reaction which unbalances all the other mineral levels. This doesn´t mean that taking an iron pill for a few days will cause illness. It probably doesn´t make any difference. But if iron or other supplemental minerals are used over a longer period of time, they may upset all of the major mineral balances that are important to health. Taking an iron pill to treat anemia actually may make the problem worse. When an individual takes an iron pill, his or her sodium level goes up due to adrenal stimulation. The elevated sodium lowers the magnesium level. This also brings the calcium down, the potassium up, and the copper and zinc down- ultimately lowering iron even further.

In other words no mineral works alone, they all work in harmony to balance one another. Extreme diets, supplemental minerals, and some pathological conditions can overwhelm the delicate mechanisms that mantain the minerals in proper proportion. Healthy people eating a balanced whole foods diet will be able to keep their minerals in the proper ratio to one another. In fact no matter what your physical condition is, food is the safest and best place from which to get your minerals.

(Vitamins and mineral information from Michio Kushi)