Aryana Libris

Author : Kroner Zina
Title : Vitamins and minerals
Year : 2011

Link download : Kroner_Zina_-_Vitamins_and_minerals.zip

Introduction. PROACTIVE VERSUS REACTIVE MEDICINE: PUTTING YOURSELF IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT. Half of all insured Americans are on prescription medications, according to a study done in 2007 by Medco Solutions Inc., a company that manages prescription medications for about one in five Americans. Specifically, approximately, two-thirds of women 20 years old and older, one-quarter of kids up to the age of 18, about one-half of adult men, and three-fourth of seniors are on at least one prescription medication. Among the seniors, 28 percent of women and nearly 22 percent of men take five or more medicines regularly. Do these statistics reflect worsening health of the American population, more aggressive prescription writing by physicians, lack of a systematic approach to get to the foundation of a problem, greater push by pharmaceutical companies to “get the word out” about certain drugs, or a potpourri of reasons? Whatever the cause, this is a phenomenal statistic that needs to be actively and seriously addressed on multiple fronts. This statistic reflects a trend in American medicine that embraces a reactive rather than proactive approach to medicine. We are taught as physicians to focus on the presenting complaint and react to it once it has already peaked. We react to it by doing the appropriate tests, referring to specialists, and of course by prescribing medications. With this medical approach, the patient feels comforted that his or her medical care is in the hands of a wellwishing medical system. She or he tends to not question cause, rationale, or evidence supporting a particular plan of action and may unfortunately wind up taking a passive approach to the medical condition thereby relying solely on the medications given. This scenario is common but is not the rule. I want to encourage serious discussions between you and your doctor on a number of fronts. First, there should be dialogue about the root cause(s) of your medical issue. You should not be satisfied with simply accepting a medical label, such as chronic fatigue syndrome, or irritable bowel syndrome without delineating an appropriate cause and plan of action. Being told that you have heartburn or anxiety and treating it only with a medication is inappropriate. Many patients and holistic practitioners take it upon themselves to take and prescribe, respectively, a unique concoction of supplements, disregarding all side effects and negative research. Their approach is such that supplements can do no harm and that medications are not a cure-all. This premise is of course skewed as well. In this book, I will bring to light many of the common supplements, as they may play a significant role in helping to improve a variety of medical illnesses. I will discuss the supplements’ mechanisms of action, the research behind them, and their evidence-based risks and benefits that you have to be aware of. Simply knowing this information allows you to be more involved with your own medical care. This book is not an endorsement of supplements, but a way for you to find out the fact versus the fiction behind the popularly used supplements. It must be brought to your attention that every single study included in this book is from prominent medical journals that your physician is expected to read on a regular basis. The excuse that there is not enough evidence in the medical literature to actually recommend certain supplements on a regular basis is wrong and is a reflection of physicians not reading the journals that are put out by the very organizations that they belong to. We should all expect a lot from our physicians. Physicians are there for you, not instead of you. My view of a physician is one who is sincere and has a close relationship with his or her patients; one who always practices a cause-oriented approach for every medical sign and symptom; one who is not quick to give a medication or neutraceutical to cover up a problem; one who discusses a variety of medical options, both medicinal and natural alike, addressing the risks and benefits of both; and one who always uses evidence-based medicine while staying abreast of the most current and pertinent medical literature. Unfortunately, the state of medicine today makes the physician and patient feel rushed during an office visit. Most of the 10–15 minutes of time allotted to your physician to spend with you is spent on relatively urgent medical issues, checklist preventive medicine, and of course paperwork. ...