All rights reserved. One pill makes you larger and one pill makes you small. And the ones your mother gives you don't do anything at all. A chilling thought - but that's how many people die each day from prescription drugs, says the San Diego, Calif., nutrition and autism researcher.
Drugs are a big business.
Rimland also likes pointing out that the 3,000-page Physicians Desk Reference, a compendium of prescription drugs, would probably be only about 100 pages long if all the drug side effects, warnings, and contraindications were deleted. That's an example, he says, of how dangerous prescription and OTC drugs are. In contrast, natural therapies, which include vitamin and mineral supplements and herbal remedies, can often do the job of drugs, but with greater safely and at a lower cost. Vitamins and minerals also play roles in normal biochemistry and maintaining, so they're less likely to cause side effects. Of course, if you're taking medicine to treat a chronic condition, please work with your physician to transition from one treatment to another.