There are many options to achieving better health without necessarily needing a prescription. In the United States we use more pharmaceuticals than any other nation on Earth and spend the most too. We spend on average $1000 per person per year.
Link to the article and image above https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/americans-spend-much-pharmaceuticals
Additional links on U.S. pharmaceutical use vs. the world:
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/Wellness/pharmaceutical-ads-good-bad-consumers/story?id=9925198
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3278148/
Research has shown that,”The average American views 100 minutes of televised direct-to-consumer drug advertising for every minute spent with his or her physician.”
http://www.annfammed.org/content/7/1/41.full.pdf+html
The CDC found that, “82 percent of American adults take at least one medication and 29 percent take five or more.”
https://www.cdc.gov/medicationsafety/basics.html
Are you ready for a challenge? You might be worried for yourself or someone you care about and their use of medications. Oftentimes, even in normal circumstances it is easy to take medications prescribed by different doctors and end up being on a path without a clear destination. Pausemeds would like you to write down each medication in a row and under each medicine listed, write out to the best of your ability answers to the following:
- How did you hear about this medication?
- When did you start taking it?
- What issue or ailment were you hoping it would help?
- Has it it helped?
- Are there other options besides medications that will help that problem?
- How much longer are you going to need to take it?
- How much does it cost?
With this list of medications and the questions answered in hand, you can go to a medical professional and work with them on a clear path forward.
Healthy choices in diet and excercise.
Let’s look at diet and exercise and how it can contribute to positive health outcomes. We all know that what we eat and what we do has a great effect on our health. Exercise is a basic building block of good health. Not everyone is the same and running 5 miles a day is certainly not possible for many but is there something you can do to move your body and enjoy the outdoors? Taking a walk everyday after lunch even if it is only 5 minutes could be a simple way to start a positive change.
What we eat and how much is another way we can help out our health. It is an essential part of good health outcomes and one that is almost entirely in our control. In the United States time is tight and quick meals are often very inexpensive meals but not always the best choices. Salt, sugar and fat in reasonable amounts are necessary but a diet of too much processed, mass produced and drive thru meals can lead to heath problems. One easy change is to buy apples, bananas or other fruit for quick snacks. A portion of vegetables can be added to any meal. For instance dinner can have a mix of broccoli and cauliflower after 5 minutes in boiling water. It is that easy. Planning to incorporate a small and gradual change in food and activity each day can really add up. Your diet and weight can change and you can help your heath in many ways by focusing on that. Being overweight is often related to other health ailments like diabetes, joint pain and high blood pressure. It also can make heath care more expensive for you. From the CDC page below: “The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the United States was $147 billion in 2008 US dollars; the medical cost for people who have obesity was $1,429 higher than those of normal weight.”
https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html
Resources on weight, exercise and food choices:
https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/index.html
https://health.gov/moveyourway
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Prescriptions, positive health outcomes and you. 