A front page Associated Press article (Forum, May 14) reported on a study indicating that most Americans are taking prescription drugs. The subheading read "Advertising, improvements in treatment are credited," which makes it sound like high prescription drug use is a good thing. On the contrary, the overuse of prescription drugs is a leading cause of the nation's health crisis.
Few prescription drugs deal with the underlying cause of illness. Unless we address the woeful nutrition that leads to chronic illness, prescription drugs just paper over one emerging problem at a time as people take more and more drugs and get sicker and sicker. And prescription drugs are a leading cause of injury and death. Estimates put legally prescribed prescription drugs as high as fourth when it comes to what kills us.
The problem is indeed exacerbated by advertising. It's also made worse by pharmaceutical influences on medical education. Misinformation is pervasive.
The cholesterol theory of heart disease has been completely debunked, but it persists thanks to the momentum behind the food and drug industries that continue to capitalize on the unwarranted concern.
Another example is the vilification of saturated fats. Assumptions and bad science have given us a dietary fat theory of heart disease and weight gain that's a complete fallacy. Studies have shown that low-fat diets hurt children, yet schools still strive to provide low-fat meals. Narrow jaws and crooked teeth are tell-tale signs that a child has received insufficient saturated fat. Consider breast milk - it's a rich source of saturated fat. Mother Nature didn't get it wrong, but our health-care system sure has.
