Dear Reader,
If you have chronic pain you know you can live without it. Well you don’t need drugs to do it.
You know that drugs can only treat symptoms without dealing with the underlying problem. What’s worse, most painkillers can put your health in serious jeopardy.
Did you know that animal studies show that even aspirin can interfere with your body’s ability to absorb vitamin C? It may alleviate some of your pain, but it’s also robbing you of a powerful immune booster and antioxidant, especially if you take it regularly.
Aspirin, acetaminophen (Tylenol®), ibuprofen (Motrin®) and naproxen (Aleve®), all lead to serious health problems in studies – most of which, you never hear about. To take a recent example, a study out of the Harvard School of Medicine tracked the use of OTC painkillers among 16,031 male health professionals over a four-year period. Those who took Tylenol® six or seven days a week had a 34 percent greater risk of high blood pressure compared to non-users.
Those who took aspirin had a 26 percent greater risk and those who took NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) had a 38 percent higher risk. The more pills they took, the higher the risk. Those who took between 6 and 14 pills a week, raised their risk of high blood pressure by 53 percent (acetaminophen) and 32 percent (aspirin). Did your doctor tell you this?
Chronic high blood pressure can lead to kidney damage, stroke, and heart attack. This is a sobering fact, especially when you consider that many doctors suggest people over 65 should take aspirin regularly as a way to prevent heart disease.
What modern medicine’s misguided approach fails to take into account is that the underlying cause of chronic pain—inflammation—can result from a variety of conditions related to diet, environmental factors, even household products. And as they do harm to your body, these pain drugs don’t do anything to address those conditions.
In my own medical practice, I opt for natural traditional treatments that work with your body to relieve pain, like white willow bark, ginger, and natural sulfurs.
I also recently came across an expert in pain management whose treatments provide real and lasting pain relief—without endangering your health. His name is Jesse Cannone, and I’ve found that his take on dealing with pain jibes with my own work.
Unlike the typical healthcare practitioner, Jesse’s got a handle on the real causes of chronic pain and found ways to deal with them—drug free.
For example, he focuses on the role free radical damage plays in provoking an inflammatory response in your body. Jesse’s also taken the environmental factors that contribute to pain into account . . . and offers real solutions. Here are just a few of them:
Eat a healthy organic diet To heal chronic pain disorders, you must receive adequate and balanced levels of (1) macronutrients—complex carbohydrates, proteins, fats; (2) fiber; (3) micronutrients—vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. Without the right amounts of all three your detoxification system breaks down, leaving you vulnerable to toxins, heavy metals and dangerous chemicals in your personal environment (all of which contribute to chronic pain).
Filter your water and air: Water pollution has been shown to have significant health implications ranging from ailments to neurological damage. Air filtering is also important as we spend 80 to 90% of our time indoors. A recent study pointed out that chemical pollutants in indoor dust and air have been associated with cancer, allergy, asthma and damage to the nervous system
My advice is to skip the drugs and treat the real culprit behind pain. For more information on Jesse’s natural therapy for pain, click HERE.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
1 Das et al. “Vitamin C aspirin interaction in laboratory animals.” Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. 1992. 17(6):343-6.
2 Forman et al. “Frequency of Analgesic Use and Risk of Hypertension Among Men.” Archives of Internal Medicine. 2007. 167(4):394-399.