The 4th Leading Cause of Death-It's Preventable and Not What You Think!

Interviewer: Well, doctor, you've written a number of books. One of the more recent deals with prescription drugs, and it seems like so many people are not just on one, but multiple prescription drugs. Can people do anything to reduce that number? 

Dr. Murray: Absolutely. It's an absolutely incredible situation. The average person over the age of 55 is on eight or more drugs at any single point in time. The average person over the age of 55 receives 35 prescriptions each year, and we've got to do something to change that. The majority of these prescriptions are for conditions that really owe their origin to diet, lifestyle, attitude, and the lack of key nutritional support. So that's really where our focus should be, instead of the quick fix with the drug prescription.

Interviewer; When you're on so many, why is that potentially bad?

Dr. Murray: Adverse drug interactions. It's a huge, huge problem. Drug reactions kill over 100,000 people each year, making it the fourth leading cause of death in America. A lot of times these drug interactions are the real culprit.

Interviewer: Mm-hm. When you get different drugs for different conditions combined, isn't that potentially dangerous as well?

Dr. Murray: Yeah. Poly-pharmacy, or the taking of many drugs is a big issue right now, and we've got to change it. We've got to start looking at the core issues of what's going on with people's health and what they need to do to take charge so they're not on so many prescriptions.

Interviewer: How does somebody start to do that?

Dr. Murray: Well, I think just by asking the right questions. "What do I need to do in my life in terms of diet, lifestyle, and my attitude, and proper supplementation to really take charge of my health?" It's pretty simple stuff a lot of times. Most people know what they need to do with their lifestyle. They need to get exercise. They need to avoid harmful health habits like cigarette smoking or drinking alcohol excessively. They need to get a good night's sleep. Those are common sense things.

As far as diet goes, that too is often just a lot of common sense approaches to improving their diet, and we've just got to start taking those steps. As far as attitude goes, that's just becoming a better guardian of our thoughts. The research is clear. People who are more optimistic, who look at the bright things in life, they live longer. They're healthier and they're happier. It goes a long way to living a better quality life.

So, learning how to regulate the way in which you communicate to your subconscious mind is really important. So becoming a guardian of your thoughts and actions as well.