No, for a change, I am not referring to Hillary Clinton. I am talking about “medical” recommendations by America’s leading physicians and pharmacies. Let’s look at the cholesterol  flip flop for example. At first cholesterol was clogging arteries and killing people. A campaign was initiated against the “wrong” kind. Hundreds of diets were spawned to help us from becoming victims to the cholesterol assault on our arteries and veins. Millions of people were encouraged, myself included, to begin taking cholesterol reducing pill supplements like lipitor. The next news we hear is that cholesterol is a life giving nutrient ( see Dr. Douglass on nagging health advice) which the body makes for itself when our diet doesn’t provide enough of it. Estimates of acceptable levels are now two to three times the earlier levels.    

     How about the incredible edible egg? For awhile eggs held the spotlight among finger pointing physicians looking for causes of heart disease. It wasn’t until a massive 800,000 strong study showed egg eaters to have a much lower rate of heart attacks and strokes than egg avoiders before the onus on eggs was removed. And to think I almost gave up eggs! 

      What is happening is the intellectual integrity of our doctors has been corrupted by the drug and pharmacy companies. The truth is we can no longer trust the advice we get from our own health care professionals. It now seems they will push whatever these suppliers tell them to; of course these drug companies are strictly profit driven. Furthermore, studies show that over half of the authors writing clinical guidelines receive financial support from the companies whose drugs they are reviewing. Talk about the fox guarding the hen house.    

     Here is another example of drug company muscle flexing. We all must hear at least ten ads for sexual performance enhancing drugs daily. As a male I am offended by the constant innuendo by drug companies about my inability to perform adequately in the sack. It is my lifelong experience that no woman has ever had a sexual desire anywhere close to mine. I have never met a male who has uttered the words “I can’t keep up with her in bed”. If I continue to hear these ads I will eventually assume I have a problem and will probably buy some pills just to see if I can do better. Before that happens, I hope they find a pill for women so the drug companies can dog them for awhile.     

     The point is, to sell a product to a few needy, they are guilting the many. Drug companies will promote whatever makes them money, whether we need it or not. So beware. If you can’t trust your doctor or druggist, who can you trust? Yourself, of course. No one knows you better than yourself.