More evidence that health doesn't come in a bottle.
Do you remember the Pokemon Go craze that swept across our nation a few years ago? I admit that for a few weeks my sons and I jumped full force into the game.
Consequently, I thought it was really funny when I came across a satirical Slate.com article by Jacob Brogan, Henry Grabar, and Chris Kirk titled,
“Pokemon or Cholesterol Medication? — the most important quiz of our time”.
I laughed as I identified super sounding, action-type names as either a Pokemon or a cholesterol drug.
Then it hit me.
This is a perfect example of the slick and clever marketing campaigns that make a chemical concoction sound like some sort of hip and desirable, super-powered elixir that I need right now.
Big Pharma is a trillion dollar industry and plenty of those dollars go into determining the best way to convince you and your doctor that you need their drugs.
Global pharmaceutical sales are projected to reach $1.3 trillion in 2018. See More Here
In 2012, the pharmaceutical industry spent more than $27 billion on drug promotion.
More than $24 billion was spent on marketing to physicians and over $3 billion was spent on advertising to consumers, mainly through television commercials. See More Here
At best, cholesterol drug benefits are dubious. See more Here. It’s highly debatable if high cholesterol is a true or an invented problem. See More Here
Aspirin is no better.
Taking a Daily Aspirin Can Help You Die Sooner
Health just can’t be bottled or prescribed. No one can hand it to you after a lifetime of neglecting it.
Science backs this up with yet another study recently released showing that aspirin fails in helping otherwise healthy people avoid heart disease. Aspirin did, however, help healthy people die earlier of other conditions.
The study summary I linked above is easy to read, but to make it even easier, here’s a list of the findings:
- Daily aspirin failed to help generally healthy older people reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Daily aspirin raised overall deaths, especially from cancers.
- Daily aspirin increased major bleeding (in your gut and in your brain).
There remains one group that seems to benefit from daily aspirin use. Those with a very high risk for a cardiovascular event (greater than 20% over 10 years). For everyone else, daily aspirin does more harm than good.
None of this is actually new news. Multiple studies over the past several years have shown negative results or mixed results for daily aspirin use.
As much as human nature loves an easy (and cheap) answer, health forever will be a quality that’s nurtured from the inside.
Get up and move your body. Eat your veggies. Live with a peaceful mindset. Question every pill the media sells you (don’t be afraid to question your doctor as well).
I urge my patients and my clients to be aware that popular media is superb at planting ideas that we then accept as fact. Dig deeper each and every time you’re making a choice about your health and healthcare. Educate yourself on consequences and side effects.
Be honest about your lifestyle and take responsibility for it. In the meantime, remember that you were born to be healthy.
You can have a good laugh by taking the Pokemon or Cholesterol Drug quiz yourself Here at This Link.
all images open source from pixabay.com
Comments / 0