An informative article on over medicated seniors.  In my practice, one of the many things that shocks me is when i read the entrance forms filled out by patients and read how many meds people are taking.  Shock and awe.  This is especially true for seniors.  It comes as no surprise then that the same over medicated people complain of low energy and a general sense of “i don’t feel well“.  How can they feel well on 8 to 10 different medications?  If they were to print out a list of all the side effects of the prescriptions that they take, it would be as thick as the novel War and Peace. 

The following is purely fictional, but this is how I imagine how a person can end up with so many meds. 

Senior patient:  “Doc, my knee hurts”

Doctor:  “Take these anti-inflammatories and take a couple of over the counter pain pills”

Few Months Later

Senior Patient:  “Doc, my stomach hurts lately”

Doctor:  “Better take these pills then”

Few Months Later

Senior Patient:  “Doc, lately i’ve had very low energy.  I don’t feel like doing much anymore”

Doctor:  “Try these antidepressants”

Few Months Later

Senior Patient:  “My legs have been sore.”

Doctor:  “The results of your bone scan came back, you better get on these”

Few Months Later

Senior Patient:  “Doc, i don’t know what it is lately, but i’ve had some dizzy spells.”

Doctor:  “You better start taking a statin drug and water pill”

Few Months Later

Senior Patient:  “Doctor, my memory is terrible, and i think i have Fibromyalgia”

Of course, this was purely for entertainmen purposes only, but you can see that each of the recommended meds simply dealt with a side effect of the previous prescription.

An article like this makes me laugh.  I understand the point that the author is trying to make, just because you think a food is healthy, it may not be.  case in point - yogurt.  the author of the article correctly points out that most of the yogurt we eat has as many grams of sugar as a candy bar.  However, in all my years in practice, i have never heard a person blame a banana for their weight problem, nor have i ever been able to say “if you cut back on the banana’s your weight would fly off”

If ever there was a time to stand up to Health Canada, it is now.  Just to hightlight a few of the problems with the proposed bill;

- You can be fined or jailed for giving your kids or friends a natural product!

- Health Canada could designate any natural product as a drug, therefore making it only available via prescription.  I can only imagine the following conversation taking place;

                 Patient:  “Doc, could i get a prescription for Vitamin C?” 

                 Physician:    ” Why do you need that snake oil for?”

- Many of the natural products that are available today would be illegal.

 Now, there are many other very troubling aspects of this Bill.  Truly scary stuff that completely removes the checks and balances necessary in Government.  The other day i heard an Member of Parlement on T.V. say something to the effect of “don’t worry about it”, however if you are a Canadian and are using Natural health products, then you should be very worried.

Here is a link to read.  Here is another must read. 

 I would also suggest this site, a call to action.

 My two cents is as follows.  When government goes after pharmaceutical companies (hard to imagine, doesn’t happen nearly enough), big pharma who holds a patent, which means they have exclusive rights to sell drug X, is easily able to defend themselves.  The reason, they have Drug X, they have the patent, all people who are taking drug X are lining the pockets of the company.  Simply stated, big bucks to throw at lawyers, legislators etc…

On the flip side, a natural health company has no patent protection (how can someone patent vitamin C?).  simply walk into a health food store and look at all the vitamin C choices you have, each made by a different company.  Sure the total sales of Vitamin C in Canada might be big, but it is divided among a few hundred companies.  This means that if the Government decided to go after Vitamin C, who will fight for it.  Certainly not a company who makes small margins selling it.  This is what’s happening.  The billion dollar natural product industry is represented by thousands of small/medium companies who cannot defend their rights.

And, lets not kid ourselves.  Bill C-51 stinks of big pharma.  We have to get off our butts and do something.

Bill C 51 has passed its second reading in the Canadian parliament and soon will become law in Canada.This bill was intended to boost protection for Canadian consumers with a tough and comprehensive overhaul of food and product safety.On the surface this law looks good because of lead laced toys coming in from China and bacteria infested foods being imported.However this legislation gives government bureaucrats at Health Canada sweeping new powers to seize natural products that they deem to be unscientific.The problem with Health Canada is that i dont trust them.Approximately seven years ago Health Canada decided one day quite arbitrarily that Kava Kava a natural product that had been around for thousands of years had to be banned. This decree came from Health Canada with no recourse for thousands of patients who had safely used Kava for sleep disorders and anxiety.As a practioner i could no longer recommend Kava and be covered by my malpractice insurance.You see Health Canada generally is made up of doctors and bureaucrats that have no fondness for natural products. As a matter of fact left to them they would rid the market place of safe and effective natural products.Folks write your MP , the minister of health or even the prime minister to put a stop to this bad legislation

An eye opening video.  Congratulations Dunkin Donuts!  You’ve most likely created one of the worst drinks in the world, let alone America.  Do you think that a drink like this should have a warning on it?  How about one that reads “If you are diabetic, may cause death” or “Will make you fat”.  Can you imagine the lethargy that most people would experience within an hour of consuming this drink?

The problem with a drink like this is that most people still do not associate liquids with calories and fat.  Most assume that “it is only a drink, it’s not like i’m eating a candy bar”.  2300 hundred calories, over 100 grams of fat!!! 

I was interviewed on the radio out of New Brunswick the other day asking me my opinion on Macleans magazine article “How vitamins can be hazardous to your health“.  I mentioned to the program’s host that part of the motivation for this article was the medical establishment sense of loss of control.  You see everyday millions of ordinary people take vitamins or supplements much to the dismay of the “establishment”.  The medical people motivated big time by the pharmaceutical industry want the general public to go back to the days of never questioning your doctor’s authority over your body.  They want you to believe that only medical doctors and pharmacists are smart enough to decide what is good for you or not.

Most people will never tell their doctor what vitamins or supplements they are taking because they don’t appreciate getting lectured or having their doctor roll their eyes as if the patient was an idiot.  To the doctors reading this blog a word of advice, the train has already left the station and there will be no turning back to the way it used to be.  People are just too intelligent for that to happen.