China Supplies The U.S. With 97% Of All Antibiotics & Most Other Drugs

The coronavirus has shed light on a Chinese monopoly on U.S. medical supplies and prescription drugs. China sells the United States an estimated 97% of all antibiotics used and 80% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients needed to produce drugs.

If China shuts the door on exports of medicines and the ingredients to make them, within a couple of months our pharmacies would be empty. Our healthcare system would cease to function. That’s how dependent we are.”

Gibson, Law Enforcement Today, Feb, 2020

It’s not the first time the issue has come up. Rosemary Gibson is the co-author of China Rx: Exposing the Risks of America’s Dependence on China for Medicine. He has been sounding the alarm on national media for some time.

We can’t make penicillin anymore. The last penicillin plant in the United States closed in 2004.”

Gibson, NBC News Sept, 2019

Medicines can be used as a weapon of war against the United States. China Rx: Exposing the Risks of America’s Dependence on China for Medicine. Supplies can be withheld. Medicines can be made with lethal contaminants or sold without any real medicine in them, rendering them ineffective.”

Gibson, Politico, Dec 2019

The FDA says it is better monitoring the drug supply for potential shortages, including 20 products that may be at risk due to the current pandemic, which is raising concerns about our convoluted pharmaceutical supply chain.

Coronavirus highlights a growing vulnerability: Not only are many medications used in the United States manufactured overseas but critical ingredients — and the chemicals used to make them — also are overwhelmingly made in China. As much as 90 percent of drugs sold in Americans are generic. Most of the generic drugs produced outside of China use ingredients that come from China.  The supply chain is so complicated and obscure that it’s difficult to predict where critical shortages could emerge.

Related: Coronavirus – Your Guide to the Covid-19 Pandemic


Trump Wants Death Penalty For Dangerous Drug Dealers – But who Are the Dangerous Ones?

President Trump suggested drug dealers in the United States should face harsher punishments, including the death penalty or life in prison, during a campaign rally last Saturday. Trump praised Singapore and China for their “zero tolerance policy” regarding drugs, and likes the idea for the U.S.

I think it’s a discussion we have to start thinking about. I don’t know if we’re ready. I don’t know if this country’s ready for it.”

The president seems to be inspired by the Filipino President whose violent war against drugs has led to thousands of deaths, including small-time drug users and innocent people for whom he says is simply “collateral damage.”

That means if we catch a drug dealer, death penalty.”

Last year we know Trump congratulated the Philippines President Duterte for his efforts in eradicating drugs from the country thanks to a leaked transcript of their phone call.

I just wanted to congratulate you because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem. Many countries have the problem, we have a problem, but what a great job you are doing and I just wanted to call and tell you that.”

At Saccone’s campaign rally last Saturday, Trump said that we should handle drug dealers like murderers..

You kill 5,000 people with drugs because you’re smuggling them in and you’re making a lot of money and people are dying and they don’t even put you in jail. That’s why we have a problem, folks. I don’t think we should play games.”

These remarks are consistent with the speech he made at the White House Opioids Summit last week when he suggested that drug dealers should have to face the death penalty.

Some countries have a very, very tough penalty — the ultimate penalty. And, by the way, they have much less of a drug problem than we do.” – Trump said during last week’s summit

The Real Drug Dealers

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collected data that shows that more people die from legally prescribed drugs than from heroin and cocaine combined. The CDC says the situation as an “epidemic.”

And the rates are skyrocketing thanks to America’s opioid dependence.

America represents just five percent of the world’s population but we consume 75 percent of the world’s prescription drugs according to Drugfreeworld.org.There’s a misperception by many people that because pharmaceutical drugs are regulated that they are safer. But when misused or taken without a doctor’s prescription drugs can often kill as easily as street drugs.

Prescription drug deaths for 2016 were tallied at 63,600, up from 52,000 in 2015. 2017 and 2018 look to continue the trend. It’s so bad that we actually except our average lifespan to have declined in 2017, and the trend is looking no better for this year.

In other words, the pharmaceutical companies, the companies supposedly in the business of saving lives, are responsible for a drop in the life expectancy of the entire United States.

Let that sink in.

And these numbers, of course, do not represent all of the other deaths caused by pharmaceutical companies. Big Pharma is killing us.

If you think about it and consider the toxicity and ineffectualness of drugs to actually rid disease, the pharmaceutical companies are killing us at a rate that far exceeds anything else.

Pharmaceutical companies are the dangerous drug dealers we need to put a stop to. We at OLM do not condone the death penalty, we like to see people get well, not get killed. But wouldn’t it be nice if someone had the scruples and fortitude to go after the real bad guys?

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An Alternative to Prescription Painkillers: A New Epidemic

The world and its people are clearly in a lot of pain. Whether it’s physical pain or emotional pain, the response of the medical community has been to prescribe drugs to medicate it. Using prescription drugs like Vicoden and Percoset to treat chronic physical pain results in approximately 17,000 deaths each year in the U.S. alone. That’s an increase of more than 400% since 1999. Even over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen can prove dangerous with prolonged use or taken in large doses.

While the U.S. leads the world in addiction to prescription opioid painkillers, Australia currently ranks second. The Australian Medical Association recently declared the rising statistics a “national emergency”. Nearly all countries have reported an increase of addiction to prescription drugs. According to the Psychology Today, a large percentage of people receiving drug treatment in Europe are addicted to benzodiazepines. This class of prescription drug is commonly used to treat anxiety and includes popular drugs like Xanax.

Alternatives to the Use of Prescription Drugs to Manage Pain and Anxiety

To avoid the added pain of addiction, people are looking for alternative treatments for chronic pain.

Exercise and Meditation

Exercise can reduce pain in a number of ways. It strengthens muscles, increases joint mobility, releases natural pain-killing endorphins, and improves sleep. Relaxation can also be an effective tool in treating both pain and anxiety by decreasing stress and muscle tension. Meditation techniques can also reduce stress and adding yoga can make you stronger and more flexible in the process.

Massage Therapy

Massage therapy has been proven to be hugely beneficial in treating chronic pain, both physical and emotional. There have been multiple studies that concluded massage was superior to relaxation and acupuncture in managing back pain. The benefits of massage are also more long-lasting than other types of treatments, for up to a year past the end of active treatment in some cases. More proof lies in the fact that many insurance companies now cover therapeutic massage.

Massage has proven effective in treating chronic shoulder pain, headaches, fibromyalgia, and carpal tunnel syndrome. It has also been demonstrated to improve grip strength, increase range of motion, and decrease anxiety and depression. Despite its many benefits, many people still aren’t able to take advantage of its benefits. The most common reasons are the lack of time and cost. Taking a pill only takes a moment. A therapeutic massage requires travel time in addition to the hour it takes for the massage. Massage usually costs approximately $100 per session.

Massage Chair

One increasingly popular alternative for busy people who want to manage pain or stress and avoid prescription drugs is a massage chair. Utilizing every form of state-of-the-art technology now available, massage chairs have come a long way from the first models. Today’s models include a wide range of features such as 16 settings from light massage to deep tissue massage, a heated lumbar and seat region, shiatsu massage for neck and shoulders, and special rollers designed for foot massage. Some even have a full-body stretch feature that helps exercise seldom-used muscle groups.

Massage therapy can literally be a life-saving choice in the treatment of chronic pain. Just as importantly, it can enhance your quality of life by reducing stress, anxiety, and depression while increasing flexibility, mobility, and relaxation. Unlike the epidemic of prescription drug addiction, a global epidemic of relaxation would be a welcome one.

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Crazy Pills: Over-the-Counter and Prescription Meds Linked To Dementia

A new study clearly shows common over-the-counter medications widely used for asthma, allergies, and insomnia increase the risk for dementia. The study also found that the risk may not be reversible, even after several years off of these medications.

The drugs studied are anticholinergic drugs, which block a neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, in the central and the peripheral nervous system. These drugs are available over-the-counter and through prescriptions. Many are used on a regular, long-term basis to treat a variety of medical complaints including:

  • allergies and allergic reactions
  • motion sickness
  • irritable bowel syndrome
  • insomnia
  • colds
  • ulcers
  • asthma
  • excessive sweating
  • COPD
  • urinary incontinence
  • depression
  • smoking cessation
  • cough suppressant
  • muscle relaxer
  • Parkinson’s disease

These drugs include:

  • Zyban
  • Wellbutrin
  • Dramamine
  • Cogentin
  • Chlor-Trimeton
  • Benadryl
  • Sominex
  • Advil PM
  • Unisom
  • Robinul
  • Atarax
  • Atrovent
  • Oxivent

The study showed the risk of dementia rises when these anticholinergic medications are used at higher doses or for longer periods. It is not unusual to find these drugs used in combination, especially with the elderly population. For instance, one individual may be using a sleep aid, an allergy medication, and a medication for depression. If all of these drugs are anticholinergic drugs, the accumulative effect increases exponentially, raising the risk of dementia.

Earlier studies had shown these medications increased the risk of dementia; however, these studies also concluded cognitive decline decreased when these drugs were discontinued. The new study, a more longitudinal study, suggests that years after continuation, the risk of dementia remains higher for people who have used more of these drugs or used them for a longer period of time, suggesting a cause and effect even when the drugs were discontinued years prior to the development of dementia.

The study showed that even low amounts over long periods of time increased the risk of dementia. While the study focused on older adults, what about children and young adults? How many children and younger adults are regularly taking anticholinergic over-the-counter or prescription medications for allergies or asthma? How many adults of all ages are taking anticholinergic over-the-counter or prescription sleep aids?

This should be a wake-up call for all of us to remember that medications treat symptoms, not the cause of disease. To get well, to be truly well, we must give the body the nutrients it needs to heal. We must detox. We must live lives that are as clean as possible: clean food, clean water, clean environment. It has been made clear over and over that we cannot trust pharmaceutical companies! If you have been taking any pharmaceuticals, it’s time to detox. Start with this Cheap and Easy Detox Plan and consider following the 80% Raw Food Diet.

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Why I Stopped Taking Prescription Drugs

My mother was the first in our family to question conventional medicine. When I was a four, I was diagnosed with severe ADHD and learning disabilities. While the doctor insisted that Ritalin was the only viable treatment and was urgently needed, my mom researched alternative treatments and successfully managed my symptoms through diet alone. Unfortunately, she did not learn about alternative treatments for the asthma, bronchitis, sinus infections, and ear infections that plagued her, my brother, and me for many years. Removing dairy from our diet helped, but each of us still took antibiotics four or five times a year for many years.

Our slow change from conventional medical treatment to alternative medicine was made through a combination of excellent care from a chiropractor who practiced Contact Reflex Analysis with supplementation and my mother’s health crisis. After so many years of antibiotic treatments, she developed chronic autoimmune disease and refused the only treatment offered—steroids. Due to our chiropractor, she had learned enough about supplements to know that they could treat the cause, not just the symptoms. And since my aunt suffered from lupus, my mother had seen, firsthand, the damage done by conventional treatment.

After my mother (with the help of our chiropractor) treated both strep throat and pneumonia with supplements, healing faster than she ever had with antibiotics, she was determined the she and her children would never use antibiotics again unless an illness was life threatening and there was no alternative.

The last time I took antibiotics

Our immune systems slowly healed. Within a few years, serious yearly respiratory infections were a thing of the past. When I caught a cold, it was just a cold. It didn’t develop into asthmatic bronchitis or pneumonia anymore. And then, I no longer caught colds. But one day I came down with a nasty case of impetigo—a staph infection with pus filled sores erupting all over my body. Yes, it was gross. Squeeze on of those suckers and pus squirted all over the place.

When my mom found out about it, she panicked. She figured that I had staph in my blood and this infection was her exception to the rule of no antibiotics. Sepsis can kill. She didn’t even consider treating it with supplements. She took me straight to the emergency room for IV antibiotics.

For some reason, the doctor refused to treat me with IV antibiotics, simply prescribing oral medication. I promptly had an allergic reaction to the medication, so it’s a good thing I didn’t get that IV. I immediately stopped taking the antibiotics and visited the chiropractor. The right supplement cleared it up very quickly. It’s been seventeen years since that day, and I have never taken another antibiotic. Neither has my mom.

My immune system is incredibly healthy due to my diet and lifestyle. I don’t get sick. I now know how antibiotics destroy the bacteria in the gut—the very bacteria that comprises 80% of our immune system. At the same time it disrupts the balance of good bacteria to bad bacteria and allows Candida to overgrow.

Antibiotics are chemotherapy. We tend to reserve that word for the worst, most destructive pharmaceuticals, but the reality is, all pharmaceuticals (including all antibiotics) are chemicals used for therapeutic purposes—chemical therapy. They are used to kill the invading pathogen. None of them are used to support and aid the immune system, to help it do its job. This is the primary difference between alternative and conventional medicine.

If your immune system has been compromised by  antibiotics, checkout the first article below.

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