Take a Pill... Why not? Its easier than eating right!

I hear people talk about their health every day, and what I can never understand... is why someone would rather take shot, or a pill, or a whole bottle of pills every day, than just make a few changes to their lifestyle.

Just about every illness known to man kind is affected by what we eat. Whether we are eating pills, or food, or junk food, its what we eat that drives our entire lives. Many of the pills that people consume are literally poisoning their bodies. Whether it is an over the counter item or a prescription, before you choose to swallow something you should consider the "side effects" or residual effects the item may have on your health. Just because you can purchase something at the store does not mean that it is harmless.

The FDA controls the drug market, over the counter and prescription. You can go to their site and research any drug that you wish to find information on. This particular page shows the Q & A information for Tylenol (Acetaminophen) and the drugs that have it in them. It has been proven that this long time "cure all" for headaches, fever, teething, body aches, flu, sleeplessness and many other ailments causes liver damage when taken for too long of a period, or too much at a time. http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm168830.htm . The FDA will only post information that has been proven by studies. They also will pull a drug off the market if there is proof that it is harmful. This is great but what if they haven't been convinced to do a study yet? Or what if the study is still on going like the one for Tylenol? Its been proven that it is dangerous, but it is still being prescribed and available over the counter. Acetaminophen is the most common drug that is involved in overdoses and death in the US, partly because it is included as an ingredient in many over the counter items. People do not realize that they already have it in their system and then take two for pain. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1008683-overview According to this site http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/11017.php 450 people die every year from overdoses of this drug alone.

The FDA site mentions that you should not take more than recommended, nor should you take it for extended periods. It also states that you shouldn't take it if you consume alcohol, or if you have liver damage.

My concern with this information is that many people have a poorly functioning liver. Through poor diet choices, consumption of over the counter drugs, prescriptions and alcohol consumption your liver may not be working at its optimum levels. If your liver is weak, or not functioning well and you add any drugs to your system, it taxes your liver even more. Your liver cleanses many of the toxins in your body. If your liver is already overloaded from day to day work, and you add more toxins, like acetaminophen or pseudoephedrine, you could be doing more harm that good.

We need to take control of our own health. Eating a healthy diet, getting 30 minutes of exercise 5 times a week and avoiding foreign substances, like acetaminophen, are very important. Pain and fever are the bodys way of telling you that there is an imbalance. If you take a pill to make the pain or fever go away, you are not treating the illness. You are only prolonging the inevitable, and hampering your body's ability to fight off the illness. There are times when there is no other choice than to take medicines or prescriptions to treat an ailment, but we need to be more careful to avoid these things unless it is medically necessary. Do not self medicate, and do not accept a pill for something that you can control or cure by dietary changes and a little exercise.

For many common viruses and illnesses time is the real answer for healing, but there are many natural remedies which will not damage your internal organs. Of course as with anything if you take the wrong supplement, or too much you can have detrimental effects. Taking too much Iron can make you ill. If you think you need to take a pill (supplement or drug) to prevent or cure an ailment, please seek the advice of a qualified holistic or functional medical professional.