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66 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intriguing Facts on the Drug Companies, and how to break free from drugs, June 28, 2009
This book is destined to become a classic among those that shift the paradigm from toxic drug use to natural healing! It is very reader friendly for the layman. In the first chapter, Murray illustrates how the drug companies only care about money, not health. (When I first discovered this years ago, it was like finding out your mother had Munchousen syndrome by proxy---a mental disorder in which moms poision their kids!) Dr. Murray packs the chapter with shocking facts: Though the USA buys 40% of the world's drugs, we rank 42 in life expectancy. $57 billion is spent on marketing to MDs, and twice as much is spent on marketing as on drug research. Their research is suspect, since they hire for-profit research companies and are also able to suppress the research that doesn't show the drug as effective. In the last 20 years, 2 million have died from adverse drug reactions! In chapter 2, Dr. Murray explains that the knowledge of the body as self-healing has been forgotten by doctors. He points out that many drugs are really little more than a placebo effect, harnessing the power of the patient's mind to heal the body. Murray teaches us how drugs merely relieve symptoms but absolutely do not cure. One can never heal without getting to the root of the illness. As an expample, he had a patient with high blood pressure. Instead of giving him drugs, Murry learned the guy was jogging near the freeway, which made him breathe in lead. Once he switched to the beach, the blood pressure normalized! In several of the chapters, Dr. Murray takes us on a detailed journey of common health disorders (such as headaches, osteoarthritis, asthma and more) and points out the pitfalls and side effects of drug treatment and the simplicity and effectiveness of natural remedies. After that, he exposes the cholesterol myth and shows the more sinister side of drug companies, explaining that "six of the nine expert members of the government panel that drafted the new cholesterol guidelines had either recieved grants from or were paid consulting or speakers' fees by the companies taht make some of the most popular statin drugs." He says that the levels of "normal" cholesterol were lowered just so more people would go on drugs! (There is a great deal of other shocking material like this in this book.) Murray shows us many other gems, such as how we were scammed into taking SSRIs and obesity is a common side effect though it is STILL not listed as one. (Decades ago, I took Prozac and gained 40 pounds within MONTHS!) Dr. M. points out that many drugs actually CAUSE the symptoms they are supposed to be treating, so you get addicted to them! Examples include headache medicine and NSAIDS used for joint pain (which destroy the carilage!).He also shows us how to critically analyze media stories that belittle natural remedies like fish oil or Saint John's Wart. He tops the book off with a detailed chapter on how to get well and stay well. Though I have read hundreds of nutrition books (have even written one myself!) I was pleased to learn many new facts, such as that Vitamin D is anti-aging! I was criticized as being "negative" when I put exposed the drug companies in an appendix of my book, The Live Food Factor. But people need to be deprogrammed! I applaud Dr. Murray's courage to take on the medical establishment, and I hope this book gets into the hands of all doctors and patients, as well as health seekers everywhere!
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35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Interesting Approach to Healthful Living, June 25, 2009
The first thing I did when I received this review copy was to Google "Bastyr University" and find out exactly what the N.D. degree means since that is the author's official medical degree. I'd recommend any reader do that first before reading the book. "The university is located north of Seattle, Washington. Named by the "Princeton Review' as one of the 168 best medical schools in the country, the School of Naturopathic Medicine at Bastyr University is committed to developing leaders in the evolving field of natural medicine. Bastyr's fully accredited naturopathic doctor (ND) program is internationally renowned for its rigorous curriculum, comprehensive clinical training and ground breaking research." The University also gives various kinds of degrees in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, Nutrition, Health Psychology, Herbal Sciences, Exercise Science and Wellness, and has graduate schools of Midwifery Certification and Applied Behavioral Science. With the book author's medical credentials out of the way, the reader can then dive into this interesting study done by "one of the world's leading authorities on natural medicine." He is co-author of "Textbook of Natural Medicine" and has written 20 other books as well. "Naturopathic medicine," unlike conventional or "allopathic medicine" that focuses primarily on treating disease rather than promoting health, naturopathic "is a system that emphasizes prevention, treatment and the promotion of optimal health through the use of natural, nontoxic therapies." The author warns the readers that "when people refer to me as an expert in alternative medicine, I usually correct them. I am a proponent of what I like to describe as `rational' medicine, which combines the best of both conventional medicine and alternative methods." The book contains eleven major chapters that include "A Matter of Trust--Making Medicine or Making Money: The Number One Thing that they Don't Want you to Know: An Overlooked Goal of Healing--Removing Obstacles to a Cure: Functional Medicine Versus the Treatment of Disease: Is Symptom Relief a Path to Bad Medicine: Creating a Market Versus Providing a Cure; Exploiting the Cholesterol Myth: Drugs are Less Powerful than Our Attitude: Drugs Cannot Overcome a Poor Diet or an Unhealthy Lifestyle: Looking Behind the Headlines and Through he Bias: and How to Get Well. Stated simply, that is what is included in this book along with dozens of examples and nearly a hundred pages of Appendix, Notes an a very good Index. This is another very good book of common sense backed up with studies that help prove the common sense. In addition to pointing out the way to naturally maintain optimum health and wellness, as the book's title indicates it also exposes much of the current medical culture of treating illness mostly with drugs alone. Americans have come to expect to substitute healthful lifestyles with short cuts and quick fixes provided by taking pills. Even medical doctors don't know the full truth behind some of drugs they recommend. "The drug industry spends about $60,000 in marketing per physician annually." "Drugs like Paxil, Zolft, and Prozac contribute to obesity, but weight gain is not listed as a common side effect of those drugs" and it hardly needs to be said that patients taking those drugs don't need the kind of extra stress and worry produced by uncontrolled obesity. A couple more quick samples of the kind of information provided by this volume are that "Olive oil contains a heart-protective monounsaturated fatty acid, oleic acid. It also contains several antioxidant agents that prevent circulating LDL cholesterol from becoming damaged and then subsequently damaging the arteries." As most of us have heard for years, "Fish oils can also lower the risk of many cancers--particularly breast, prostate, colon and lung cancer--and many other chronic diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, asthma, depression, diabetes, high blood pressure, macular degeneration, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis." I found this book fascinating, but I should probably mention that I grew up as a devoted Christian Scientist, and many of these healthful lifestyle practices were a part of my everyday life without my having any idea why. I'm definitely not a doctor, diet guru, exercise fanatic or somebody who has ever paid much attention to medical theories so I can't vouch for how much of this book's information is true, but it does seem to square with my life experience. Every reader will have to judge that for themselves. One minor recommendation for this volume that I encountered first-hand was that as soon as I'd finished it, two adult members of my family were arguing about who would get to take the book home. It was out of my hands in a flash.
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29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting reading, August 31, 2009
Overall the quality of this book is very good. The author starts out with a compelling discussion about research methods used by the pharmaceutical companies. He then provides an overview of common disorders, mentions traditional conventional treatment methods and then discusses alternatives that may prove helpful. If you are hoping to find some new nuggets of information, they are included. Also included however are many of the "standards of care" and many of the alternative approaches have already been covered extensively in other sources. When discussing the issue of cholesterol, he points out the "traditional values" but only touches on the issue of cholesterol molecule size. No mention is made of "oxidized cholesterol" which even cardiologists are pointing out is now a significant risk factor. When discussing BMI, the author defends the validity of the measurement, taking sides with insurance companies. While mention is made of muscle mass, nothing is noted regarding those who have large frame (skeletal) sizes. Current research suggests a waist size of half your height may be an ideal measurement. However, the book holds to the old 40 inch rule for males. To summarize, there are good sections to the book. If you are new to the topic of alternative health, then it could be a 5 star publication. The author does a very good job of contrasting conventional medicine with some alternatives that you may find helpful.
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