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Just How Many Doctors Have Ties to the Drug Industry ... and What Does
This Mean for YOUR Health?
by BodyEcology.com

Doctors and drug companies: too close for comfort? Did you know that
most doctors have financial ties to pharmaceutical companies that can
directly influence what drugs they prescribe to patients? Some
questionable tactics used by the pharmaceutical industry are geared to
increase THEIR profits at the expense of YOUR health and wallets.

When we go to the doctor, we go with the belief that they have our
best interests at heart. And for the most part, they do.

But unfortunately, among the chaos and confusion of the current health
care system, the pharmaceutical industry is turning doctors into
"middle men" that should have you thinking twice before agreeing to
prescription drugs.

Big Pharma and Your Physician

Recent drug scandals (like the Vioxx lawsuit) have brought to light
the conflicting interests at play between consumers, physicians and
the pharmaceutical industry.

Pharmaceutical companies sway doctors to prescribe their drugs using a
variety of tactics, including:1

Free small gifts like pens, notepads and water bottles.
Free meals at the office or restaurants. Usually a drug rep will talk
about the benefits of a new drug during these meals, or they will just
drop off pertinent literature while the office staff eats.
Free drug samples. Drug reps give out billions of dollars worth of
free samples to doctors each year, especially for more expensive
drugs. Once a patient starts on a drug, they tend to stay on it, even
if it is more expensive than a comparable brand.
Attractive and personable sales reps. Doctors admit that if one rep is
nicer than another, they will prescribe that rep's drug, all else
being equal.
Paid consultancies for no specific work, published articles, board
appointments, and paid speaking engagements are other ways that the
pharmaceutical industry financially rewards doctors who prescribe
their drugs.
Travel and entertainment. These tactics are becoming less acceptable,
but lavish "meetings" take place at resorts where big pharma picks up
the tab.
Overall, pharmaceutical companies spend an estimated $13,000 per year
per physician on marketing and promotions.2

From an industry standpoint, estimates show that promotions and
marketing cost the pharmaceutical industry $27 to $57 billion a year
in the United States alone. World wide, estimates are as high as $739
billion!3

The medical field claims to voluntarily regulate their involvement
with big pharma, but the obvious conflict of interest has begun to
pose major problems and result in patient deaths.

You probably remember the highly publicized cases involving Vioxx,
antidepressants for children, and spinal implants made by Medtronic.
These drug company scandals occurred because doctors over-prescribed
some medicines AND because drug companies withheld negative side
effects about others.

The most significant outcome wasn't that one drug company profited
more than another based on superior marketing; the real significance
was that patients died unnecessarily.

You see, doctors are in many ways only as informed as drug companies
want them to be, and even though physicians mean well, they frequently
lack the time they need to really examine the drugs that are available
and are sometimes motivated by the money.

Recently, however, the Journal of the American Medical Association
featured an article that contains a call to action, asking doctors,
medical schools and the pharmaceutical industry to re-examine their
ties. This call to action asks all parties to do a better job of
policing these connections, to be more informed and to provide
unbiased information to their patients.

Still, as a consumer, it's in your best interest to take an active
role in your health care decisions. With second opinions and resources
like the Internet, it's getting easier for consumers to take charge of
their health.

Big Pharma and YOU

If you're a regular reader of the Body Ecology Newsletter, then you've
probably realized that we have a healthy appreciation for doctors and
health care providers. At the same time, we also urge you to look at
your reasons for taking antibiotics, prescriptions and over-the-
counter drugs.

For the most helpful and in-depth insights on your nutrition and
health, sign up now for the FREE Body Ecology Newsletter. You'll also
get a BONUS GIFT worth $14.95 FREE!.

While many drugs are life saving, ALL drugs have a positive and a
negative side to them. And prescriptions taken over a long period of
time have harmful affects on your health. To learn more, read: How
this All-Too-Common Habit is Making Your Blood Dangerously Acidic.

Our society finds it infinitely easier to pop a pill for any ailment,
rather than addressing the root cause of the symptom or symptoms. This
applies to everything from minor symptoms to chronic disorders,
whether physical or emotional.

Prescription drugs, though, are often not the best or only answer. The
first and foremost step is assessing your diet and improving it. Add
proper sleep, some daily sunshine and exercise, and then see if your
symptoms don't disappear. A gluten-free, casein-free, sugar-free
antifungal diet often solves even long term health issues like
diabetes, obesity, autism and heart problems. Tests and visits to your
holistically-oriented physician can confirm this.

The current allopathic approach of Western medicine, combined with the
confusion of competing drug companies, means that the real loser in
all of it is most often the patient.

While prescription drugs can be necessary and beneficial in some
cases, it's best to educate yourself about their oftentimes
significant side effects...side effects that even your physician might
not even be aware of.

It may be easy to point fingers and place blame: the health care
system, doctors, pharmaceutical companies...but that's a recipe for
sapping your energy and well being.

Instead, take charge of your own health. Seek out second
opinions...including options that are more natural and more tuned into
nature. Do your due diligence. And more importantly, focus on
prevention. The 7 Principals of the Body Ecology way of life will lead
you to the answers you need to be well. The Principal of Cleansing to
remove the many toxins our cells are storing and the Principle of Acid/
Alkaline to balance the acid/alkalinity of our blood are too musts to
focus on. The Principle of Step By Step tells you want to do first and
how quickly you step towards wellness. Very importantly, The Principle
of Uniqueness reminds us that no one diet, exercise routine or even
drug fits all. You are an experiment of one when it comes to what
works in YOUR body.

Following a healthy eating plan, such as the Body Ecology program
which you will discover in the acclaimed FREE Body Ecology newsletter,
can do wonders for boosting your natural immunity and health.

The Body Ecology system takes a preventative approach to heatlh and
healing. Learn to use healing foods to help your body NATURALLY regain
health. You'll find more information about fermented foods and drinks,
probiotics, and plenty of other recipes in The Body Ecology Diet, by
Donna Gates.

The New Wave: Integrative Medicine

Across the nation, though, doctors are realizing that 10 minute visits
and multiple prescriptions are not the answer to the obesity,
osteoporosis, heart disease, Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), cancer,
and arthritis epidemics.

More and more doctors, prompted by demand from patients, are
recognizing that proper diet, exercise, and rest, and alternative
therapies can often heal patients more effectively than the band-aid
offered by prescription drugs.

I see this demand for better health care as I watch the parents of our
BEDROK group. Their children have autism but did not when they were
born. The vaccines have played a key role in the lost of their child,
and they are highly suspicious of the medical profession, the CDC and
the drug companies. They are a formidable group and are leaving no
stone unturned. Bright, well educated and successful at what they do,
our parents question, doubt, challenge and compare results and
information. Working right beside them with the same dedication are
the doctors in organizations like Defeat Autism Now and USAAA (US
Autism and Asperger's Association). Many of these doctors have an up-
close-and-personal interest in what's happening to our children
because they, too, have an autistic child. They don't want them on
drugs either. These open-minded, open-hearted physicians are changing
the face of medicine and the American Pediatric Association is
watching them closely. After all, they are providing the kind of care
parents really want!

The Body Ecology program advocates healing your body using food as
your medicine, both for treatment AND prevention.

Using the wisdom of our bodies and Nature, our 7 Universal Principles,
and our fermented foods Body Ecology will help you create and restore
true health and vitality from before birth and beyond. We are unique
because of our focus on digestion and rebuilding immunity with
fermented foods. We show you how to establish your inner ecosystem by
populating your intestines with microflora (healthy bacteria and
yeast) that keep you healthy and strong.

Body Ecology's fermented foods and drinks are packed with beneficial
microflora. These probiotics can boost your immunity and help prevent
the root cause of imbalances that lead to illness and disease.

Talk with your doctor about an integrative approach to your health,
and keep in mind that there ARE good doctors out there too.

work hand-in-hand with your holistically-oriented doctor or
naturopath. Together they can provide you with a team of experts to
help you heal and stay well. But remember, YOU are responsible for
YOU.

Create your own call to action and let's work together to change the
face of medicine: let your friends and family know about the conflict
of interest at play in the pharmaceutical industry. Pass this article
on to them so that they too can make better choices.

And if you are not already, be sure to subscribe to the FREE Body
Ecology newsletter ... you will receive an instant audio bonus that
sells for $14.95 but is yours FREE.

Sources:

Brennan, Dr. Troyan, et al, "Health Industry Practices That Create
Conflicts of Interest," JAMA. 2006;295:429-433.

2 Gagnon, Marc-André, Lexchin, Joel, "The Cost of Pushing Pills: A New
Estimate of Pharmaceutical Promotion Expenditures in the United
States," PLoS Med, 3 Jan 2008.
http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.0050001&ct=1

3 ibid.

Campbell, Eric G et al., "Institutional Academic-Industry
Relationships," JAMA. 2007;298:1779-1786. http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/298/15/1779

Connolly, Ceci, "Distance Sought Between Doctors and Drug Industry,"
Washington Post, 25 Jan 2006.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/24/AR2006012401483.html

Copyright © 2008 Donna Gates; all rights reserved
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