Throughout time there have always been two opposing points of view as to how to maintain good health, or how to regain it after having lost it. This conflict has continued since ancient times .... and no doubt will continue well into the future.

One 'side' believes good health is as a result of outside intervention... drugs, surgery etc. The other 'side' believes that good health results from living in harmony with natural law... correct nutrition... cleanliness etc.

Both sides tended to be critical of the other... nothing much has changed over the ages.

Modern mainstream western medicine takes the 'outside' approach. However, in recent years the "inside" approach which has always been the underlying principle behind Chinese traditional medicine has gained much ground. The increase in the popularity of the 'Inside' approach is no doubt due to a combination of several factors:

• Known Prescription drug side effects
• Dissatisfaction of traditional mainstream medicine
• Increasing cases of medical 'misadventure'. (Hospitals are places to stay away from.)
• Awareness that good health is primarily a personal responsibility... not of overworked physicians.
• An increasing awareness that the medical industry is highly influenced by drug companies and that there are often better, safer and more economic natural alternatives to drugs.
• Major Drug recalls have evidenced that many potential prescription drug side effects are not known .... and may never be

In spite of this justified 'swing' away from mainstream medicine and the growing importance of prescription drug side effects, mainstream medicine does have a place in everyone's health program ... part from the obvious ones in treating accident cases or chronic urgent illness. So, if you are already a proponent of the "inside" approach don't overlook the benefits that mainstream medicine can offer to you in your overall quest for good health and longevity. These benefits are primarily in the early detection of a pending disease that you may not as yet be aware of!

Prescription drug side effects: A potential conflict

Let's say your tests show that your cholesterol is 'out of whack', your 'mainstream' physician may first propose lowering your intake of diet cholesterol. That's unlikely to be successful as ingested cholesterol only makes up a relatively small percentage of blood cholesterol.

They will next likely propose one of the cholesterol lowering drugs commonly known as "statins". These are drugs that work by blocking an enzyme that your liver needs to manufacture cholesterol. (Up to 80% of your blood cholesterol is manufactured by your liver, NOT from the ingestion of cholesterol within your diet).

These drugs are very powerful and statin drug side effects are serious, including death. In fact Bayers were recently forced to withdraw their statin drug from the market place because of "unacceptable" levels of fatalities. In spite of such prescription drug side effects, sales of statin drugs amount to billions of dollars per year and are commonly prescribed.

It's ironic that there are natural alternatives to these statin drugs which can assist in lowering cholesterol, and do it safely, and without side effects. But the general public hears very little about them as they are not patentable and there is not the financial incentive for the big corporate's to promote them.

The same principle applies for many different ailments. There can be many legitimate methods of treatments. What is important is that you seek out the natural alternatives and apply them before agreeing to subject yourself to negative Prescription drug side effects.

Pharmaceutical drugs are "blockers" and do not normally heal the underlying ailment. They generally work by suppressing natural functions such as certain enzymes mentioned earlier when giving the "statin" example. Because of this process, results are often "instant" and as such there is sometimes a place for these powerful prescription drugs in the case of life threatening emergencies.

In contrast, natural products such as herbs, vitamins, etc. are "enablers". They work at correcting the cause of the ailment which is often a nutrient deficiency of some sort. The results are not immediate and have to be measured in weeks, or even months.

If you have a serious ailment, work with your physician to try and correct it... by first using natural remedies. If she or he is not familiar with the treatment you would like to try, do some further research and get hold of supporting information so you are in a better position to discuss the options intelligently. If your physician has a closed mind to natural remedies it may be wise to ask around and find another qualified physician with an open mind. The consequences of prescription drug side effects are too serious.