Drugs, Supplements, Food. Danger!
Aug 27, 2023OK, let’s get our heads about us. Food is for the most part safe, but you’ve heard enough about food borne illnesses, toxic ingredients, and reactions (especially if you’ve watched Poisoned on Netflix) to know, we should have some modicum of care in deciding what we eat.
Here’s a good rule. Be aware of the sources and quality of your food. Eat Organic, Grass-Fed, Pasture-Raised, and "light-filled." That’s an easy one.
Drugs? Different story.
Lots of people take lots of drugs and according to my colleague, Dr. David Blyweiss, anyone taking more than 3 medications concurrently is at some risk of drug interaction.
Is this a serious issue?
It sure is.
The FDA reports millions of hospitalizations annually in the U.S. related to Adverse Drug Reactions* (ADRs) with over 100,000 hospital deaths as reported in 2018. It’s estimated that near 4 times the number of ADR hospital deaths occur in ambulatory facilities and nursing homes, with another significant percentage dying at home. The numbers have since escalated.
How in the world can this be true? Well, let's look at the statistics and the whole thing starts to make sense.
Over 70% of Americans diagnosed with at least one chronic disease report taking at least 5 different medications (including purported herbal remedies). 71.9% of medical visits result in the prescription of at least one medication, and if we want to get a sense of which direction things are going in, we have to consider that over 27% of American teens are on at least one prescription medication.
With very little scrutiny overseeing individual prescriptive interaction, and the cacophony of TV commercials with their catchy jingles creating a sense that "the med is the answer," it's no wonder we're seeing hospitalization and deaths caused by the very substances many medical treatment protocols are built upon.
Based on everything I've seen, studies, reviewed, and explored . . .
It’s fair to say most, if not all,
of these ADR deaths were preventable.
It's also important to note that some supplements interact negatively with prescription drugs and few people have a single medical practitioner examine the totality of their prescriptions and supplement choices.
As I released my prior Blog Post, The 6 Power Supplements That Work (for health, weight loss, sexual performance, immunity, and disease reversal), I have also initiated a new offering at Infinite Impact,
A Personalized Prescription and Drug Review and Assessment.
Dr. Blyweiss will do a full review of your prescriptions, supplements, conditions, and desires to ensure that you’re safe and that you’re headed toward the outcomes you seek. Having reviewed supplement regimens with thousands of clients, I can also predict, for those who take a number of product, the review will save you money by consolidating your choices.
Read the Blog Post, THE 6 SUPPLEMENTS THAT WORK
REGISTER FOR A DRUG AND SUPPLEMENT ASSESMENT
(in person or remote)
While many younger folks, in the age ranges between 20 and 55, trust supplements and believe that things sold without need for prescription are safe, caution is warranted in this area too. The supplement industry has long been infiltrated by sellers notorious for mislabeling products, misrepresenting products, and in far too many cases, including potentially dangerous herbs or even traces of prescription medications in supplements considered safe.
Reference: Cohen PAAvula BKatragunta KTravis JCKhan I. Presence and Quantity of Botanical Ingredients With Purported Performance-Enhancing Properties in Sports Supplements. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(7):e2323879.
Regardless of your age, if you're using more than 3 prescription meds, or more than 1 prescription in conjunction with a number of supplements, a Drug & Prescription Assessment is going to prove well worth the minimal investment.
Be safe. Be Powerful. Be Smart. Be Better,
Phil Kaplan
Infinite Impact
844 IMPACT9 (467-2289)
* Reference: Preventable Adverse Drug Reactions, FDA, 2018
