Course Introduction for 'Nutrient Thieves in Your Medicine Cabinet'.

Your Body

 
Think about your body for a minute...from head to toe.  It is comprised of several systems that all need to be functioning together.  This synchronization not only keeps you alive, but keeps you able to do all that you do.  One or more compromised systems can end life as you know it, leaving you scrambling to survive.

 
Your doctor will test, diagnose, and prescribe various treatments and drugs for the conditions diagnosed.  I have been told by doctors that I may not want to take certain drugs because of side effects, but never in my decades of experience with doctors have I ever been told of the dangers of nutrient depletion due to any drugs given.  These two issues can be one and the same.

 
When I learned that side effects and nutrient depletion were linked, that is when the light bulb came on for me.  Before that, I had been alert to things like a medication causing side effects similar to the condition they were supposed to be treating.   I had actually gotten quite upset with a doctor who had given me ulcer medication without testing me for ulcers.  But, he felt all right giving me a prescription that could have given me ulcer-like symptoms.  How would he ever know whether it were an ulcer causing me problems or the medication he gave me, if they both had the same potential?  I never took any of those pills and left his office never to return.

 
Today with all the processed to death foods, the genetically modified organisms, the insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, added colors, added sugars, and on and on, we are eating far less nutrient dense foods.  Our air and water are polluted.  We are exposed to xenoestrogens and phytoestrogens daily.  Our bodies cannot thrive long term with this type of diet in a world where we need to combat chronic stress and a toxic environment.

 
What happens next?  We start to get sick.  High blood pressure or sleeping issues, or something else is wrong.  We go to the doctor wanting a quick fix.  That quick fix is usually found in one or more prescriptions.  Will you ever do what it takes to truly fix the problems or will you end up on drugs for the long term?  That is the decision you face.

 
When we started I asked you to think of your body from head to toe.  Now let’s think of the interdependent systems within the mechanical self, your body.  You have a skeletal system, a nervous system, a respiratory system, an endocrine system, a digestive system, a urinary system, a reproductive system, and a circulatory system.  Add to that your muscles, the ligaments, and tendons, the brain, a network of lymph nodes, and your senses of smell, taste, vision, touch, and hearing.  This synchronized mechanical self requires good fuel, good sleep, exercise and stretching, regular maintenance, and regular check ups to run at its best. 

Your bones need to stay strong for you to retain your upright shape, to protect more vulnerable systems and organs, to move in balance and comfort instead of pain, and to protect your joints from unnecessary stress and strain.  Many elements work together to support bones and an often unrecognized relative, our teeth.  Dental issues can be a good indicator of bone problems.

 
Over the years, calcium has been touted as the nutrient for bones.  But, there are so many elements needed for the health of bones.  Calcium is only one of those and it depends on others to be used properly.  Many of those elements are other minerals. Medications, like asthma inhalers, that weaken bones can interfere with the body's use of calcium, or other nutrients involved in bone maintenance.

 
In 2000 I had my first real dental issues.  About a year and a half later I fell and broke a bone in my right foot.  No one asked for a bone density test even though I was over 50 and a broken bone should have triggered that.  I asked for it once I was healed and was told I had osteoporosis.

 
Since then I have come back to osteopenia to the point that some doctors have told me that I must have never had osteoporosis.  Their rationale is that the original test was wrong.  I don’t think it was wrong.  Bones are constantly remodeling, and I have spent years working to maintain my bones. 

 
I take a liquid formula called Osteoprocare that contains D3, calcium, iron, iodine, magnesium, zinc, selenium, copper, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, chloride, potassium, boron, chondroitin, silicon, vanadium, and glucosamine.  I take extra magnesium, a mineral that works to support enzymatic reactions in the body, as does zinc. www.designsforhealth.com I also take strontium, another mineral not found in most formulas, but often used with bone cancer clients to maintain skeletal integrity.  

  
There are many kinds of drugs that interfere with calcium.  I had been taking prescription anti-inflammatories due to chronic pain from an old back injury.  Around the time I broke my foot, I also got off prescription anti-inflammatories and onto proteolytic enzymes.  I had not taken the drugs regularly because I never felt any real relief from them. I will never know how much of my bone loss was caused by the medications.

 
This subscription course is designed to give you the information you need to know what drugs take what nutrients from you, and what you need to do to replenish your body.  Over-the-counter or prescription medications can all interfere with normal body processing of vitamins, minerals, and herbs.  In replacing them, there are various forms of individual nutrients that may be better for one or more reasons than other forms.

 
All it takes is one drug to start taking nutrients from what may be an already undernourished body, but what if you are taking more than one?  See the problem?  It is compounding and if you continue to treat your body like a junk yard, it will give you back pain and illness.  Maybe it is time to treat it as though it is the only body you will ever have, and give it what it needs to support you in health.

 
That journey begins with knowing your body and what is being taken from you by the medications and your lifestyle.  Some people have to stay on medications, but do you really?  Or is it only convenience that keeps you from making better choices?  And what will that convenience cost you later?  If you can make changes, you can begin to change your life and your health now.

 
I am not a doctor.  What I am is a certified holistic health practitioner, healthy aging coach, speaker, and senior health advocate.   You are responsible for your decisions and for your own education into and beyond what I offer.

What I believe is that ‘Health is life’s bottom line.’ I want us all to be the healthiest we can be so we have a world of people able and willing to contribute to a healthy planet.  To have that become a reality, we need to each be responsible for our own foundational health.

 
I do hope you join me in this course series “Nutrient Thieves in Your Medicine Cabinet”, contact me to speak with your group, or make the decision to get my healthy aging coaching.  To begin, contact me, Linda Mac Dougall, at [email protected] with the subject line ‘course intro’.  Contact me now!