Is Grandma鈥檚 doctor slowly harming her through over-medication? I鈥檓 being facetious here, as no doctor wants to injure patients. But remember, today is not the horse-and-buggy era of medical practice. Today, rushed doctor visits and potent drugs can be a hazardous combination. So can you protect a beloved grandparent?
First, keep an eye on what grandparents are consuming. Studies show that 60 per cent of people over 65 take five or more prescription drugs. This includes one in five who take 10 or more drugs and one in 20 who take 15 or more. 鈥淧illitis鈥� has reached staggering levels and it is potentially harmful 鈥� especially when natural remedies may treat Grandma better.
Today, there鈥檚 a 30 per cent chance she鈥檚 taking a drug to lower blood pressure. And there鈥檚 a good possibility that it鈥檚 making her sleepy.
Make sure Grandma truly has hypertension before she resorts to drugs, as, once started, it may mean lifetime therapy. She may only have 鈥渨hite coat hypertension,鈥� a temporary increase in blood pressure when she鈥檚 visiting a clinic or doctor鈥檚 office.
Elderly patients need blood pressure readings taken by a nurse, or the purchase of a digital blood pressure cuff for home readings. These may show no hypertension. Sometimes, even the addition of magnesium such as MagSense will dilate arteries and reduce borderline hypertension. Many North Americans lack adequate amounts of this important mineral.
A number of other Grandmas are on antidepressant medication, frequently associated with side-effects. The elderly may need it, but for those with mild anxiety there is no harm to first see if other measures will ease the problem.
Harvard researchers showed that a program of exercise resulted in a 50 per cent decrease in depressive symptoms. This is the same amount of relief that occurs when patients take antidepressant medicine or receive psychotherapy. Researchers believe that physical activity improves the connections between brain cells. An added benefit is the camaraderie of exercising with others and having the brain focused on something other than personal problems.
Doctors should write prescriptions for the elderly to have a pet dog or cat to treat depression and anxiety.
Former U.S. president Harry Truman once remarked: 鈥淚f you want a friend in Washington, buy a dog.鈥� Older people are happier when Whiskers curls up on their lap, or Fido at their feet.
Historians will be appalled that, today, almost 40 per cent of people over age 65 are using cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs). This, even though CLDs are known to harm liver and kidneys, degenerate muscle tissue, are linked to cancer, result in severe emotional problems and increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes.
Sytrinol, may be a better option for Grandma. It鈥檚 a safe natural plant sterol, helps to lower blood cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, the bad cholesterol, and increases HDL, the good cholesterol.
Sytrinol works by decreasing the oxidation of LDL, a factor in plaque formation in coronary arteries, decreases inflammation of arteries linked to heart attack, and lubricates blood platelets to decrease the risk of clot formation.
Unfortunately, few doctors know that high doses of vitamin C and lysine help to prevent atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries), a major risk for coronary attack. High doses of C lower blood pressure the longer it is taken.
Regrettably, it鈥檚 highly unlikely that Grandma will be informed of these natural remedies. So make sure you or Grandma ask if a natural remedy is available. It makes sense as 100,000 people die annually from drug complications in North America.
To my knowledge, no one dies of natural remedies.
A surprising update: Several people I know have died of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, but did not use high doses of vitamin C.
I find it interesting that, so far, none of my readers can tell me of one person on high levels of C who has died of Alzheimer鈥檚.
But the question is why? Since high doses of C help to keep brain arteries open, more oxygenated blood reaches the brain and this might protect cells from degeneration. And remember, high doses of C also increase immunity, and decrease the risk of arthritis, cataracts and even wrinkles.
