Risks and Benefits of Medication

Why this resource is helpful:

"As naturopathic doctors, prevention of disease is a top focus. Our goal is to teach our patients how to take care of themselves so that they do not end up needing to take medication regularly. One of the things we love best is when we are able to help people improve their health enough to reduce or even discontinue medications! The point must be made that there is a time and a place for meds: someone who has malignant hypertension, advanced diabetics, people with stomach ulcers to name a few. However, too many people take prescription and over-the-counter medications without questioning what the physical cost is. All drugs have side effects. Look at their names, they inhibit, antagonize or block normal function.

For example, acid blockers impede efficient digestion which leads to unhealthy changes in the intestinal system (see: "leaky gut") and malnutrition. Statin drugs deplete CoQ10 which is an antioxidant that is crucial for energy production in the cells of our body. What muscle needs the most energy because it is beating all the time, and it reduces your exercise tolerance. This can lead to muscle weakness, cramping, and pain. How can that be good for your heart? Again if you really need statin drugs to lower your cholesterol, do not go off of them but we can work with you to treat the cause. In fact, it is not the Cholesterol that is the issue it is the inflammation in the artery and a subject for another blog.

Whenever possible, we at Journey to Wellness prefer to use diet, lifestyle, and natural substances to restore balance, and reduce inflammation for our patients. We are licensed as primary care physicians in Oregon and Washington and can prescribe medication as if we have to. However, we find that we are able to get good results working with gentler tools such as nutrition, and botanical medicine. We may recommend certain supplements to address imbalances in our patients but diet and lifestyle are really central to what we do. You can"t supplement your way out of a poor diet and bad habits! That is just like taking a green band-aid on a symptom instead of a pharmaceutical. Let"s treat the cause"

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