4 Dangerous Drugs – Doctors Gave Your Grandparents

4.  Cigarettes

Cigarettes with unknown contents claimed to provide temporary relief for everything from asthma to colds, canker sores, and bad breath. They were “not recommended for children under 6.” As the effects of nicotine became more apparent, cigarette companies had to be more subtle in their marketing.

During World War II, soldiers were issued free cigarettes, courtesy of the tobacco companies, resulting in millions of nicotine-addicted G.I.s returning home after the war.

Natural approaches to asthma:

Asthma is primarily an inflammatory condition so any whole foods that decreases inflammation helps.

Studies have shown that intakes of apples, tomatoes, carrots, green leafy vegetables and generally lots of fresh fruit and vegetables reduces the prevalence of asthma.

Omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation and asthma. Omega-3s are found in flax seeds, walnuts, beans and winter squash. Each of these foods have amazing additional benefits – again without side effects.

But We Know Better Now, Don’t We?

We certainly have come a long way since the era of patent medicines. Our understanding of how chemistry interacts with our bodies is increasing daily. But is it far enough?  Future generations may well laugh at our present day advertisements for Viagra and sleep medication and we already cringe at the destructive effects of chemotherapy and radiation.

I don’t want to pick on any doctors specifically or in general. They just tend to represent (sometimes unknowingly) the established medical and pharmaceutical industries.

Sometimes the same thing happens in the natural health field; new discoveries which at the beginning sound like the cure for everything turn out to be not appropriate for everyone and in some cases are even harmful.

As I said before though, I am very cautious of any new discovery that has not been verified by time. By “time” I don’t mean months or years of testing but rather decades or centuries of use!

At Real Food For Life, we understand that peak health has been enjoyed by millions over the centuries using only simple whole foods traditional in their culture. We call these power foods and they are probably in your kitchen right now. Read about the 5 Sources of Power in Powerfoods.

It is up to us to take responsibility for our own health and educate ourselves. We can’t expect a government organization to do it all for us.

This is what many of the people are doing within Care2: learning and sharing and participating. We congratulate you on your efforts.

I’m sure you know of other deadly medications and procedures that have been offered to the public. Please leave your comments below.