drugs drugs everywhere and not a drop to drink

I'm not surprised, are you? 41 million people affected by pharmaceuticals found in drinking water? I'd heard about that years ago, when studies were done to find out why young girls were getting their periods sooner, developing sooner, and getting cancers sooner. Birth control pill hormones excreted into the toilets. I'm not scared, just convinced now, and I'm glad to see that other people are actually looking into it. We can't keep on going like this. I trace it all back to one truth that I'm positively sure of - we cannot do anything that isn't 100% natural. We shouldn't eat it, put it on our body, put it in our water or air or land.

But if we attempt to define "natural" we can get in trouble, so let me try to clarify. As much in its natural state as possible. If it's dug up from the earth, or plucked from a tree. We eat as close to live food as possible, not something sitting in a box on a shelf for 4 years, designed to let it be ABLE to sit for years without spoiling, hence all the preservatives. But I digress.

Pharmaceuticals - I have a headache - I pop an aspirin. I have high cholesterol. I don't need to exercise or watch my weight, or watch what I eat, I just need lipitor. I have heart problems, diabetes, restless leg syndrome, anxiety, depression, arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome. There are pills for absolutely everything. Now walk into a health food store and look at the shelves. Rows and rows of supplements and homeopathic solutions, healthy food and reference books. Bill had a screaming (emphasis on the screaming) ear ache. Swanson's had white willow bark garlic oil that I heated up and put 3 drops into each ear. He immediately stopped screaming - ear ache gone. He had a sore throat - I gave him honey and lemon and a dehumidifier - sore throat gone. We're a people of quick fixes - now now now, and it's poisoning us. I'm not melodramatic (though I know I can be) - I'm being truthful. Mom is now on 165 pills a week, albeit some of them are supplements. But that's just too much. We're treating one part of our bodies, then another, until all we are are pieces taking pills. What happened to the whole person? That's why I love naturopathic medicine so much - they treat the WHOLE system, not just parts. The theory is that our body is uber-intelligent, and given our support, will take care of us just fine. "Medicines" don't heal or cure, they just mask and shut up our body's mechanisms, block them from doing their work, shut them down. And I believe that.

So we're slowing shutting down our bodies by inhibiting them from doing their work. We're not asking, "How can I help you today?" We're saying "Shut up and get back to work - I don't want to hear any bitching from you," and we pop an aspirin. I had a really tough headache the other day, and I thought, "in past years I would've taken a Tylenol for it," but I realized I hadn't taken any OTC's in over 2 years, and no meds (except for one that I quit 1 1/2 years ago) for almost 5 years. I wasn't about to start. Instead, I took some deep breaths, moved into my headache, moved into my head, sat with it, felt what it felt like, massaged my temples and my whole head, realized I was under some stress, apologized to my head, then just stayed in my body. Mary Struck once told me that we judge our pains by saying they're bad. Why not just accept and acknowledge that we feel all sorts of different ways, and that not one way is better than another? When we do that, we're judging, and it seems to make it worse. So I do that, and the dialogue goes something like this:

"I'm feeling achey and hot right now - my throat is sore - I feel tired."

That's it. Now, "YUCK - I'm sick - I feel horrible - I need to feel better."

This is the way I feel now. Later I'll feel differently. Now, what about people with REAL problems? Severe heart problems? Bad diabetes? Am I saying to not give them meds? One of the things I'm passionate about is education, and including exercise, nutrition and alternative help for ALL medical "problems." I think most "problems" are CAUSED, or at least exacerbated, by unhealthy lifestyles. It's never too late - high fructose corn syrup, excess salt, white flours, inactivity, stress. Heck - just eliminating those as much as possible will improve your life immensely.

It's not too late, but gosh, I hate hearing about about these drugs in our water - it's sad to me. If it affects us (and I know it does), what's it doing to the rest of the wildlife? Sigh. So that's my thoughts for the day. NO MORE DRUGS. Hugs and snugs.