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Prescription number one from doctors should be diet and exercise. Pills should be temporary or a last resort. Doctors putting you on lifetime medication for a condition that is created or exacerbated by a poor diet, lack of exercise and/or excess weight is the pharmaceutical industry's profit strategy. Don't go along with it.
Prescription number one from doctors should be diet and exercise. Pills should be temporary or a last resort. Doctors putting you on lifetime medication for a condition that is created or exacerbated by a poor diet, lack of exercise and/or excess weight is the pharmaceutical industry's profit strategy. Don't go along with it.
I wish it were that simple. Most people don't WANT to make lifestyle changes. They want pills so they can keep eating at Outback Steakhouse and Cheesecake Factory. We could save so much in healthcare $$$ if people took charge of their own health, but I have plenty of contemporaries who have given up on that or it's too late and the damage has already been done. And yes, I KNOW there are awful diseases and accidents that happen to people that they can't control. There but for the grace of God go I- but maybe if we could prevent more of what's preventable there would be more resources to take care of the rest.
In my humble opinion..... The people (like me) who gained weight over the years have reached for food when there is a lot of stress going on in their lives. And when the stress has somehow lessened, we are already in the bad habit of eating poorly/frequently.
And yes, I KNOW there are awful diseases and accidents that happen to people that they can't control. There but for the grace of God go I- but maybe if we could prevent more of what's preventable there would be more resources to take care of the rest.
Yes and yes. There are many things outside our control in terms of health, but there are so many where our choices can have such a profound impact. Even when dealt a hand of cards that's not the best it can often be at least mitigated to some extent by better choices. Not always. I get that. But when it can and people choose not to it's very sad. When I see it in my own friends it seems somehow rooted in depression, resignation. And that is sad in itself.
My ex —who is still my dear friend— is one of those people. He used to be fit, healthy, full of life, and now he's way overweight, HBP, drinks, smokes a little, is on antidepressants and who-knows-what-else, he never stops working, never sits still, never gets out of his busy professional life... and I can see that he's killing himself slowly.
Prescription number one from doctors should be diet and exercise. Pills should be temporary or a last resort. Doctors putting you on lifetime medication for a condition that is created or exacerbated by a poor diet, lack of exercise and/or excess weight is the pharmaceutical industry's profit strategy. Don't go along with it.
Yes I agree. Diet/exercise/lifestyle changes should be the first thing to try. Instead many doctors just go for the pills first. That's what happened in my brother's case. Lifestyle changes weren't even suggested so he asked for a referral to a dietician to try that first. In his case the changes weren't too drastic and his cholesterol count came down. He then found a new doctor in his network.
Yes I agree. Diet/exercise/lifestyle changes should be the first thing to try. Instead many doctors just go for the pills first. That's what happened in my brother's case. Lifestyle changes weren't even suggested so he asked for a referral to a dietician to try that first. In his case the changes weren't too drastic and his cholesterol count came down. He then found a new doctor in his network.
Exactly. Glad your brother found a dietician and a new doc.
Lifestyle changes are hard and many people just aren't motivated to change. And the healthcare system reinforces the "pop a pill to cure everything" mentality, so patients expect that kind of treatment. Plus, it's expeditious. 10 minute app't, no problem, here's a Rx.
I wish it were that simple. Most people don't WANT to make lifestyle changes. They want pills so they can keep eating at Outback Steakhouse and Cheesecake Factory. We could save so much in healthcare $$$ if people took charge of their own health, but I have plenty of contemporaries who have given up on that or it's too late and the damage has already been done. And yes, I KNOW there are awful diseases and accidents that happen to people that they can't control. There but for the grace of God go I- but maybe if we could prevent more of what's preventable there would be more resources to take care of the rest.
BINGO! Excellent article in the Atlantic magazine about this very topic titled: "The Worst Patients in the World"
"Americans are hypochondriacs, yet we skip our checkups. We demand drugs we don’t need, and fail to take the ones we do. No wonder the U.S. leads the world in health spending."
Well worth reading.
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