The Dr. Josh Axe Show - Best Natural Alternatives for Common Prescription Drugs

Starting point is 00:00:00 Did you know that nearly 70% of Americans are on at least one prescription drug and more than half take two or more? What if I told you, though, every single drug has a side effect, even if it's not listed on the bottle, did you know that every medication, everything from a baby aspirin to a thyroid medication deplete your body, deplet your body, to plate your body? Deplete your body. And today I'll be exposing how these common medications deplete your body and what you can do instead. I'll be going through how to use this, not that. So if you're wondering, what would I take instead of a thyroid medication or instead of a statin drug or instead of an antibiotic, I'll go through the alternative natural food, herb, and nutrient to help your body using food as medicine. Welcome to the Dr. Joshak Show.

Starting point is 00:01:03 So the vast majority of Americans, nearly two-thirds, take at least one prescription drug. And about 25% take two or more drugs right now. And you might already know this, but this is mind-blowing. If you are 60 years or older, almost 90% of people are taking a prescription drug. Most men are on prescription drugs by the age of 40, and most women by the age of 15, such as birth control, drugs for acne, ADHD, could also be even antidepressants. We're seeing especially young girls get on drugs earlier and earlier. And by 2026, spending on prescription drugs is expected to reach 860.

Starting point is 00:01:44 75 billion. We spend way, way more on drugs and medications in this country than anywhere else in the world. Yet, when you compare us to the other, the 11 largest nations, we rank dead last in overall quality of life and health. And when you compare us to the top 42 industrialized nations, we rank around 39 or 40. So we spend the most on drugs and medications. Yes, we have, yet we have way worse health. You know, here's what a lot of people don't realize. medications block nutrient absorption in the gut and flush out more nutrients and increase nutrient demand. Every cell needs a daily bath of vitamins and minerals and phytonutrients, and when that's disrupted, side effects occur. It could be lower energy.

Starting point is 00:02:33 It could be mood changes, weaker immune system, or even weight gain. And it's also estimated that up to 30% of drug side effects are actually due to nutrient depletion. Yet here's the most shocking thing. it's not on the label. You know, on the drug where it says this list of side effects, like may cause nausea, drowsiness, cancer, all kinds of things, those side effects are on the label, it doesn't list off all of the nutrients

Starting point is 00:02:58 that are depleted in your body. So you really don't know all the side effects that are happening by you taking whatever prescription drug you're taking. And the truth is there are all natural alternatives. The only reason today why people are spending so much on drugs and medications, is because of profit. Pharmaceutical companies make so much money off of medications, off of shots, off of all of these drugs, that they cannot make money off of turmeric. You know why? Because you can grow turmeric in your own backyard. You can grow blueberries. You can, you know, my wife and I were on a walk yesterday afternoon and milk thistle was growing all over the side. I could have easily, very easily cut off some milk thistle, gone home, boiled that up and had a natural

Starting point is 00:03:43 estrogen cocktail to help clear out excess estrogen for my body. It's one of the greatest hormone balancers in the world, and it's on the side of the road. Pharmaceutical companies cannot make money off you because of that, and they're pouring billions, hundreds of billions of dollars into marketing drugs. And the problem is these medications, they don't address the root cause of your health problems. Basically, they just mute your symptoms. And many of these drugs are intended for short-term use but are taken long-term. Antidepressants are a great example of that. I think antidepressants, if someone is having a major, major episode of clinical depression, they were meant to be on there for maybe two weeks, maybe up to three months maximum. But what most doctors

Starting point is 00:04:27 are doing is they're saying, you need to be on this drug the rest of your life, or they're even recommending these drugs for things that aren't actually even depression. They're recommending them to, you know, a lot of high school girls. And this over-prescribing happens because, there's too much money involved and our doctors are not educated on natural ways of healing. I want to share my very first ever patient I ever had. His name was Ron. He came in to see me. This is when I was in student clinic before I even had my own functional medicine clinic. And he came in and his side effects where he had muscle atrophy. His hair was thinning and falling out. He started having depression. He was very sick. And I said, what did your doctor have you do?

Starting point is 00:05:09 He said, my doctor put me on a no fat diet, not low fat, no fat diet, and he put me on a high dose of a statin drug. And I said, Ron, this is not your issue. Okay. He said, well, I said, how did you feel before? He said, well, I felt fine. I just, I went in for a lab test, and my cholesterol levels total were over 200. And I said, well, Ron, let's go ahead and actually get to the root of your issue, okay? Why is your cholesterol high in the first place?

Starting point is 00:05:34 I'm guessing that there was a little bit of maybe metabolic issues. Your blood sugar was a little too high. Maybe there was a lack of antioxidants in your diet. And there was inflammation. So let's go ahead and change this. So I put them on a diet that was more of a Mediterranean diet. It was a lot of, you know, pomegranates, extra virgin olive oil, wildcaught fish, walnuts, those sort of foods. And we're able to get them off the statin drug.

Starting point is 00:06:00 And then I put them on coenzym Q10, some herbals. and I had him start drinking turmeric tea. After three months, hair grew back, muscle started coming back, and he said, I'm in better shape now than I was 15, 20 years ago. And if he would have continued to follow his doctor's orders of being on this prescription drug, it likely would have killed him or taken years off his life.

Starting point is 00:06:22 And the reality is, is that drug that he was taking that statin drug, depleted his body of coenzym Q10. Actually, your brain and nervous system were made up of around 25% cholesterol. So you actually cause degenerative. increasing your risk of conditions like dementia when you're on these drugs. So there is not a single drug you could take, even a baby aspirin, okay?

Starting point is 00:06:44 They add the word baby in front of it like it's some harmless thing. No, aspirin causes GI bleeding. In fact, aspirin and acetaminophen, these inset drugs are like the 15th leading killer in the United States. And so because of all the GI bleeding damage to the liver. If you damage your liver and your digestive system, that's a problem. That's a big, those are major organs that control a lot of the functions of your body. You know, before I opened my functional medicine clinic, I took an oath.

Starting point is 00:07:12 It's called the Hippocratic Oath, and it was first do no harm. And the reality is these medications are doing harm. And when you're taking a drug or medication, you could have easily changed your diet, walked more, taken a vitamin mineral or an herb instead. And doctors, when they're prescribed, drugs. They are first doing harm. They are almost all breaking the Hippocratic oath and harming their patients. Now, I want to walk you through the most common medications and their side effects and what to do instead. Okay. First here, fatigue. About 20% of all medical visits are related to fatigue.

Starting point is 00:07:49 Now, this can be caused by, if we're looking at more of a root cause, low vitamin B12, low iron, low enzyme Q10, or even low magnesium. And these are often depleted by statin drugs, metformin, beta blockers, and birth control. This is also linked to cortisol suppression from things like prednisone and low thyroid hormones, from SSRIs or overuse of levo thyroxin. Did you know that? Levothyroxin, these thyroid medications can actually disrupt your cortisol production, making you tired, causing you to gain excess weight.

Starting point is 00:08:19 Another big reason why people take medications today are mood issues like depression, anxiety, even irritability. About one and four American adults experience a mental illness, including anxiety. and depressive disorders. Low vitamin B6, folate magnesium, and vitamin D can impair neurotransmitter production.

Starting point is 00:08:41 SSRIs may cause emotional blunting while benzodiazepines can cause rebound anxiety. Now let me mention this. You've probably seen this before or read this before where they've said

Starting point is 00:08:53 many school shooters and it's not a few, I think many of the school shootings today, the kids or the people that have been the primary assassins were taking antidepressant drugs, anti-anxiety drugs, ADHD drugs. They were taking some sort of drugs that change their neurochemical state. Okay. And here's what, so SSRIs, here's what they say, it causes emotional blunting.

Starting point is 00:09:24 Here's what happens. When you take an SSRI in an antidepressant drug, the reason why you're less depressed is you no longer, it sort of blocks your ability to understand the consequences of your actions or you're less able to connect with reality of what your future might be. So it relieves anxiety and depression for some people because they think, well, you know, they're not, they're not necessarily, it's, it depresses and blunts out the pain that you have in your life. Okay. So it sort of dampens that. But here's the other thing it does it doesn't allow you to fully understand the consequences of your actions so think about that this is why somebody would commit suicide or shoot another person they don't fully they're sort of

Starting point is 00:10:13 blunted and dampens their ability to fully understand what they've done or what they're going to do the outcome of what they're doing so they'll they'll shoot somebody or they'll or they'll commit suicide Think about how dangerous that is and how that these drugs are prescribed for children, for high schoolers, for people that are already emotionally unstable. And then you're just given a drug and said, hey, just, you know, we're not even going to monitor you. Just go ahead and take this drug that's going to completely alter your mental state. It's absolute insanity when the reality is this. Study after study after study shows there are herbs like saffron. There are nutrients like vitamin D.

Starting point is 00:10:57 There are things like exercise that can be a better cure than the drug itself. Hair loss are thinning. 40% of women report experiencing hair thinning by the age of 50. Now, oftentimes this is connected to hormone imbalances, oftentimes caused by stress. It can also be triggered by birth control, thyroid medications, corticosteroids. But this is linked to deficiencies as well. Zinc, selenium, biotin, and iron. Why not rather than trying to take one of these other medications?

Starting point is 00:11:23 Why don't we try taking some nutrients? immune dysfunction. You know, a lot of people are taking drugs for if they have a cold or a flu. Almost every time this is linked to vitamin D deficiency, zinc, vitamin C, selenium. Take these nutrients instead. We know antibiotics damage the gut microbiome and because of that suppress the immune system. Weight gain or difficulty losing weight. There are so many people taking things like GLP1, even things for blood glucose like insulin or metformin. You know, a lot of these drugs damage your mitochondria. They cause you to lose muscle mass.

Starting point is 00:12:04 They age you prematurely. They call something called inflammation where your body ages too quickly. Nobody wants that, but that's the side effect of a lot of these drugs. Digestive problems, bloating, constipation, diarrhea. You know, 15% of adults say they suffer from some form of IBS. That's irritable bowel syndrome. Now, this can be caused by gut floor disruption from antibiotics or magnesium loss from if you're taking diuretics or slow bio flow. Of course, oral contraceptives cause that.

Starting point is 00:12:32 I mean, I will tell you, birth control pills are one of the most damaging drugs out there. And most women just think it's a vitamin or something. Like, it's not that bad for you. It's one of the single worst drugs you could ever take because of what it disrupts in the body. You know the number of women who take contraceptive drugs and later on they have digestive issues? is autoimmune disease or a thyroid condition. It's prevalent. And the reality is, if you have digestive problems, drink some ginger tea.

Starting point is 00:13:01 Try taking a probiotic supplement. Try eating more probiotic foods or getting more prebiotic foods. Just good fiber like pumpkin and carrots and blueberries. There are easy ways to heal the body that don't require a drug or surgery. Here's another big reason why people go to see their doctor. Low libido or sexual dysfunction. Well, there's another one for low libido and sexual dysfunction for taking birth control bills. Also, side effect of SSRIs, antidepressants, statin drugs, beta blockers.

Starting point is 00:13:32 Can I mention another problem with all these drugs? It keeps you from actually getting to the root of your issue. Most people who have depression, they go in and get to put on an antidepressant, rather than going and saying, why am I depressed in the first place? Is it because I lack a sense of purpose? Is it because I'm too focused on myself? Is it because I have an imbalance where I'm not eating while I'm eating way too much sugar? Is it because I'm not spending enough time just outdoors in the sunlight?

Starting point is 00:14:01 Is it because I'm not deeply and truly connected to my maker God? Is it because I'm not using my gifts and skills that God gave me to serve humanity? Get to the root of those deeper issues. It literally keeps you from growing. It keeps you from becoming a better you. It keeps you from becoming who God designed you to be when you're taking a life. of these antidepressant like drugs. You know, studies show that as many as 70% of adults taking SSRIs like Lexapro experience some form of sexual side effect. This is often linked to hormone

Starting point is 00:14:33 suppression or altered neurotransmitter levels, but it never gets to the root of the issue. You know, if somebody has muscle weakness or cramping, oftentimes this is low magnesium or potassium, brain fog issues. Now, sometimes that's a call, it's caused by issues like mold toxicity. or could be due to low B12 or CO-10. But if you take a drug like an antibiotic or antidepressant to treat brain fog or memory problems, you're never getting the root. And why not just take something that actually works like ginkobeloba, omega-3 fatty acids, or Bacopa, or Lions made mushroom?

Starting point is 00:15:08 There are so many other things that work and are more effective that let you get to the root of the issue. Now listen to this. One in three adults report not getting enough sleep or not sleeping well, maybe waking up in the middle of the night, having trouble falling asleep. Now, this is often tied to melatonin issues. Did you know the SSRI drugs, these antidepressants, throw off your melatonin levels so you don't get as well sleep. So then you have insomnia, so then you have other issues. SSRIs are connected with melatonin depletion and magnesium deficiencies as well in many cases.

Starting point is 00:15:41 Or PPI's and diuretics can cause magnesium issues as well. So these drugs are causing a lot of the symptoms you might be having. Skin issues like dryness, rashes, and acne are typically caused from zinc deficiencies, poor methylation, vitamin A issues, vitamin E deficiency, selenium issues. And oftentimes it's a diet issue when you have skin issues. It's diet and hormone related. And so typically it's, hey, let's just clean up your diet. Let's start doing things to get rid of the excess estrogen. I mentioned milk thistle earlier. There's all kinds of things you can do to help heal your skin.

Starting point is 00:16:16 Of course, birth control pills, steroids, you know, taking acutane, you know, these sort of drugs contribute and just make a lot of these issues worse. Bone loss or osteoporosis. You know, we know that this is linked to calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D deficiencies. Well, did you know that PPI's corticosteroids, thyroid meds deplete your body with long-term use of a lot of these nutrients? Now, a lot of economists are saying a recession may be on the horizon. And that's why I believe now is the time to take steps towards protecting your financial health,

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Starting point is 00:17:45 So the reality is for many of you, if you have, if you've taken one drug or numerous drugs and you have numerous side effects or numerous conditions, it's in all likelihood many of your conditions are due to the sign effect of a drug, okay? And what I want to do now is walk you through the top drugs, their side effects, and what to do instead. So right now I'm going to go through how you should be taking this, not that. Okay. First up, antidepressants SSRIs. These are used to boost. Serotonin for depression anxiety, stats are 13% of U.S. adults use them. Here's the risk.

Starting point is 00:18:23 Emotional blunting, sexual dysfunction, withdrawal, and suicidal thoughts. The main nutrients lost are vitamin B12 and melatonin. Okay. When you're low in B12, your energy is really going to suffer. You're going to feel tired. You're not going to feel like going out and doing things like exercising or, you know, going out and spend more time with your family and melatonin. that's going to disrupt your sleep, that's going to make the depression worse. So what actually

Starting point is 00:18:50 happens when you get on antidepressant drugs, you become more dependent on the drug because you're even more tired so your mood could be even worse, and so you have to start relying on this, but it depletes your body of B12 and melatonin. There's a study that found that SSRIs are often no more effective than a placebo for mild and even moderate depression. Here's a quote from one of the most compelling studies. Milder depression might be managed initially by either watchful waiting or by lower intensity non-medication treatments such as exercise, self-management, psychotherapy. There's other things, self-help, just reading self-help books. And one study, they found that the herb saffron was shown to be as effective as Prozac for mild

Starting point is 00:19:35 depression. So I want you to try this, not that. Instead of SSRIs consider saffron, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin D. also sunlight exposure time in nature a gratitude practice regular exercise all help and then here's the other big thing get to the root of why you're feeling depressed in the first place see a pastoral counselor go to church consider things like cbt or m dr therapy where you're actually getting in and thinking about what's my purpose who am i in this world and uh how can i live my best life possible. You know, Jeremiah 2911 says, for I know the plans I have for you, saith the Lord,

Starting point is 00:20:21 plans to help you, not harm you, plans for a hope and a future. I mean, the reality is that if you just go and take an antidepress and do nothing else, you're never going to get to the root of why you're feeling depressed. I found this for myself. When I'm feeling depressed, oftentimes, listen, and sometimes it's normal to be sad. You know, I lost my father-in-law last year. I went through a major health crisis a couple years ago. Like I've had, and you know what? I cried, I mourned, I was sad, I was depressed for a time. But then, you know what, I cling to hope, I claim to Christ, I clung to God, my family. And because of that, I was filled back up with hope.

Starting point is 00:20:58 I was filled back up with gratitude. There are times and seasons, as Solomon talks about, a time to mourn and a time to praise, right? So I think having that understanding, that spiritual, that supernatural, that spiritual, that supernatural, that religious, understanding will help. But for many people, we cover it up with a drug or a pill rather than pharmaceutical rather than ever getting to the actual root of the issue. And so I want to encourage you to try these natural therapies, saffron, omega-3s, vitamin D, getting out in the sun, gratitude practice, and actually serving and getting connected to something like church or synagogue, those things, rather than taking an antidepressant, which will only make your symptoms worse over time.

Starting point is 00:21:48 Number two, stimulants like Adderall. These are used to boost dopamine for focus and for conditions like ADHD. Now, I know this very well because I was the child that was diagnosed with ADHD growing up. I was prescribed Ritalin in high school, in Adderall in college. Now, I only took it for three days and got off it because I started feeling like a zombie. This drug is prescribed to over 6 million U.S. children. risks, anxiety, appetite loss, insomnia, dependence. And it's worse than that.

Starting point is 00:22:18 It's a change in personality. It depletes your body of B vitamins and magnesium, which by the way, part of the reason why your child has ADHD in the first place is because they have a deficiency of B vitamins and magnesium. Here's the other thing. ADHD is not a, I don't think it's a medical condition per se. I think the majority of it is due to a personality. Like for myself, listen, I was a boy that was loved exercise, that loved to be outdoors and outside.

Starting point is 00:22:50 I mean, in Ohio, I'm stuck in a classroom for, you know, eight hours a day. It just, it didn't fit with my personality until do not move for all day. That just doesn't make sense. And so the reality is, sometimes we need to do a better job of catering to the personality of the child. And listen, there are so many psychologists. that have talked about what I just talked about. The ADHD is one of the most over-prescribed issues. And this is when you can really change with lifestyle.

Starting point is 00:23:20 When I was in high school, I barely passed. I mean, I graduated like a 2.0 GPA. I barely graduated. When I got to college, I had a 3.1 GPA, a similar thing in med school, in chiropractic school. And then when I went to John Hopkins, I graduated with a 3.9 GPA. What was the difference? I ate better. I studied things I was more interested in.

Starting point is 00:23:40 I had more time for activities. just sitting that long in one classroom and I knew how to take care of it I started taking B vitamins in a number of things if if I would have just got stuck if I would have just been prescribed this drug and taken it there are side effects of how it actually depletes your brain of certain neurochemicals over time studies show the El Tyrosine and rhodola rosaea which is an adaptogenic herb improve your focus without crashes rodeoel in particular is really amazing for this and support serotonin levels and increases your focus in memory and learning. Rather than Adderall, try rhodiola tyrosine, try omega-3 fatty acids, try protein-rich breakfast and getting

Starting point is 00:24:23 rid of excess sugar. Also, there's a great treatment I really like for ADHD, and it's called neurofeedback. Really helps decrease the sympathetic state of your brain, increase the parasympathetic. That helps as well. And also just scheduling in time for exercise and activity. and not just sitting still in doing things you're really interested in. Okay. But I would say omega-3 fats, rhodiola rosea, methylated B vitamins, are the most important supplements to consider for trying this, not that, when it comes to ADHD.

Starting point is 00:24:55 Number three, statin drugs. These are used to lower your cholesterol. One in four adults over 40 take them. Wow. Nutrients lost when you take statin drugs, co-enzym Q10, vitamin D, vitamin K, vitamin D, vitamin K, vitamin, vitamin, E, vitamin A. So these fat soluble vitamins, if you don't have them in co-enzym Q10, your heart starts to break down. And I mean, isn't this crazy? People take statin drugs to fight heart

Starting point is 00:25:21 disease, yet one of the things it does is makes your heart sick. And it damages your heart and the mitochondria in your heart. We know co-enzym Q10 is critical for heart function. Vitamin K, E, and A are critical for brain and neurological function. So it literally starts to break down your nervous system and tissues. There is a. study on statins and shows that it greatly depletes Coenzyme Q10 contributing to muscle pain and fatigue. Okay. So statin drugs are one of the most damaging things you can ever take. And let me talk about why you get high cholesterol in the first place.

Starting point is 00:25:55 You consume too much sugar or there's too much stress and that starts to damage your arterial walls. Let's say you get sugar in your bloodstream and your body creates inflammation. What happens then to your arteries is they start to get nicks in them, okay? and they start to get damaged. Well, your body, your liver, starts sending cholesterol to the artery. Imagine it like a pipe that is about to be broken,

Starting point is 00:26:19 and it's your body's patch and repair substance. That's what cholesterol is. Okay. Now, what happens over time, if you keep getting more and more scarring and damage the artery, it'll start to get more and more narrow. And over time, of course,

Starting point is 00:26:31 if it gets too narrow, that can cause a heart attack or stroke of some sort of cardiovascular event, right? But the reason why cholesterol, is laying down in the first place is inflammation. Your body's trying to heal itself, okay? And what you should do instead is change your diet, consume a biblical diet, high in pomegranate, it's an extra virgin olive oil, or a Mediterranean diet, which is many of the same things. It's omega-3 fatty acids, more antioxidants, more fiber, more phytonutrons from things like turmeric and green tea.

Starting point is 00:27:03 You know, statin drugs are one of the most ridiculous drugs ever created because they do absolutely do not get to the root of the issue. Here's what you want to do instead. Okay, by the way, there's one study that found that berberine, which lowers blood glucose levels, has cholesterol lowering effects that can be comparable to statin drugs. What you want to do instead of statins is, number one, adjust your diet. More omega-3s, less sugar, more fiber, way more antioxidants from things like berries, okay? You want to exercise, you want to lose some of the weight, and then I would recommend

Starting point is 00:27:37 supplements like berberine, omega-3 fatty acids, red yeast rice is great as well. And there are many others. Green tea is good, garlic is good, hawthorn berry is very good. These are all very, very effective at lowering cholesterol, very effective. And that's what you should do instead. Okay, birth control pills. They prevent ovulation and pregnancy. These are used by 25% of U.S. women between the ages of 15 and 49. The risks, mood swings, nutrient depletion, increased risk of clotting, and increased risk of hypothyroidism.

Starting point is 00:28:17 Okay. Nutrients lost, folate, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, zinc, selenium, coenzyme Q10, and probiotics. And it's actually even more extensive than this, but these are the main ones in clinical studies that birth control pills have been shown to deplete. Did you know there's a study that shows that if you've taken birth control pills for long term, up to around 10 years, your chance of getting hypothyroidism goes up 287 percent? Well, think about it.

Starting point is 00:28:45 If you deplete your body of B vitamins and selenium and zinc, these are in B12, this is critical for thyroid hormone production and for methylation. So, of course, if you take birth control pills, you're going to end up with an issue like hypothyroidism. Also, it increases your risk of leaky gut syndrome because it depletes so much zinc from your body. Of course, we know that you can't just take a supplement to keep you from getting pregnant, right? You need to do more family planning and family awareness. But it's important to understand that birth control pills are some of the worst drugs you can take. The pill can increase your risk of thrombosis, stroke, actually certain types of cancer as well. Because think about it.

Starting point is 00:29:27 If you're depleted in immune boosting nutrients like zinc, and selenium, of course you're going to have an increased cancer risk. The reality is when done correctly, the fertility awareness method and family planning is around almost 99% effective. It's very, very effective. So what I would encourage you to do rather than the pill is try fertility awareness method. My wife and I, my wife used a something called the lady comp. I think there's something called the lady comp, baby comp. You can Google this on line. These are little systems of her taking her temperature. And it works, right? There are lots of things you can do now for hormone balance and get your hormones back on track. Vitex known as Chaspery is

Starting point is 00:30:14 great for progesterone support. Seed cycling and dietary cycling can be gray. Liver detox, like taking milk thistle for regulating periods, more magnesium. These things are great to get your hormones back on track. But again, major, major problems there with birth control pills. and so you want to do this, not that, in terms of family planning. Number five, inseds like ibuprofen. These are used to reduce pain by inhibiting inflammation by inhibiting prostate gland and synthesis. Okay, here's the big risk of inseds. Gut damage, ulcers, hypertension, liver damage, kidney stress when used long term.

Starting point is 00:30:52 Okay, nutrients lost, zinc, vitamin C, folate, and glutathione. Glutothion is your body's master antioxidant for detoxification. Cynch is your body's repair mineral. It's also critical for sperm production and for tissue regeneration and healing. I printed off an article for my dad. My dad is a military guy, was in the past. He's very into fitness and working out. My dad is 75 years old, still water skis three days a week, still wait trains, runs and walks. I mean, he's really amazing shape. And he would take this insides or ibuprofen on just a regular basis. And there was a study that, that I found showing that it actually decreases muscle regeneration.

Starting point is 00:31:36 So it keeps your body from putting on as much muscle when you take insed drugs because you reduce that type of inflammation. Actually, that's part of what helps your body build muscle and regenerate and heal. And so because of that, that actually was the tipping point for my dad saying, okay, I'm not going to continue to take these insed drugs anymore because my dad wanted to be fit and healthy for long term. There is a study on insides, and here's what they found. Nsides reduce protective prostaglandins in the stomach, especially for those with a history of ulcers.

Starting point is 00:32:06 Now, by the way, I think one of the side effects of inseds, and I haven't seen this study, but what I think this is alluding to as well is it likely harms or might reduce BPC 157. It's known as body protective compound, that peptide in your stomach acid. So we're seeing that insides damage your stomach and stomach acid. They alter it. So if you ever heard of taking BPC 157 some of these things for healing and tissue regeneration, well, Neds, there's a chance, I believe, block that. Ns may also risk your risk of blood pressure and paracidney function, increase your risk of a heart attack,

Starting point is 00:32:44 contribute to liver toxicity, a number of problems, okay? So there are numbers, by the way, this isn't one study. One of the studies is based on 15 clinical studies looking at all this information. There's a 2021 study that reviewed 15 randomized controlled clinical trials and found that curcumin from turmeric relieved osteoarthritis pain and stiffness as well or better than inseds minus all the potential serious side effects. So why not use turmeric or curcumin instead of an inset when it's just as effective or more according to 15 randomized clinical trials? So instead of inseds, do curcumin? cuman and turmeric. Also consider ginger, magnesium, basuelia, which is from frankincense, infrared sonnas, or hot and cold therapy, and general movement and physical activity,

Starting point is 00:33:39 these things are much more effective than inseds, especially, and by the way, my favorite blend is to do turmeric and ginger together because ginger, that warming spice, will increase the absorption of the turmeric. So you could do turmeric ginger tea, you can take them as capsules, but much more effective than insets. Number six, proton pump and hemperors, PPIs like Plyssac. These reduce stomach acid to treat gurd and ulcers. There are over 15 million Americans using these. They increase your risk of fractures, kidney disease, infections, and nutrient malabsorption.

Starting point is 00:34:12 They deplete your body of magnesium, calcium, iron, B12, and zinc. Here's what to do instead. DGL licorice root extract. Much, much, much more effective. So DGL licorice root. extract and soil-based probiotics would be more effective here's what to do instead DGL licorice root extract okay is probably the most effective thing in addition digestive enzymes bedian with 8cl consuming smaller meals so not overeating and eating you know at least three to

Starting point is 00:34:45 four hours before you go to bed so eating an earlier dinner doing that sort of intermittent fasting where you're eating within a 10-hour window are all just as effective or more really just the dietary walking around your meals is also very effective number seven is metformin this is a drug used to manage blood sugar in type two diabetes the risks are GI gut damage and nutrient loss okay but metformin big thing it really it does is it deplet your body of B12 and folate okay these B vitamins and now I want to say this metformin was originally taken from I believe lilacs flower and this complex

Starting point is 00:35:24 is found in there and they took a very similar they took that similar compound and made it synthetically and that's what metformin is a lot of these drugs are the idea was taken from plants however they were made synthetically so it's it's like okay you have sugar in in blueberries but now you're going to take and process that or it's like high fructose corn syrup it's like okay well yes they both have sugar but one is isolated and very different okay um and now it's going to damage your body so metformin and can i tell you something it absolutely blows my mind There are longevity experts. There are people, I've even seen people, I believe this is true.

Starting point is 00:36:00 I've seen David Sinclair. I've seen Peter Attia. I have seen numerous doctors that call themselves integrative doctors or more doctors that recommend some things more naturally still recommend, even for healthy individuals metformin. It doesn't make a lot of sense. It causes nutritional deficiency loss like B12 and folate. We know this. Actually, there's a study showing.

Starting point is 00:36:24 that it can increase your risk of neuropathy. And there are studies showing there are natural alternatives that don't have the same side effects like berberine. Okay, berberin. This is an extract from bayberry leaf that's been used in Ayurvedic medicine for 3,000 years. It improves insulin sensitivity and has lipid lowering effects. So rather than metformin, try berberine.

Starting point is 00:36:48 Also, you know some other things that work incredibly well? Cinnamon. Chromium. a high fiber and high protein diet. Intermittent fasting, reducing your sugar and carbs and exercise. These things all work. You know, I have helped thousands of patients reverse type 2 diabetes when many other doctors have said it's irreversible.

Starting point is 00:37:06 Okay. And all you have to do is balance blood sugar via diet and lifestyle. Yet doctors are still prescribing a drug like metformin that's going to increase your risk of nerve degeneration. Not smart. Okay. So rather than metformin, triberine, cinnamon. and chromium are much more effective.

Starting point is 00:37:26 Number eight, anihistamines. This could be Benadryl, could be Claritin. These are used to reduce allergy symptoms. Their side effects, drowsiness, brain fog, sometimes constipation, and then increased dementia with long-term use. The nutrients lost, possibly vitamin C and zinc due to suppressed immune activity. Now, listen, I want to say some drugs are more damaging than others. I would say that, you know, if you.

Starting point is 00:37:53 you have a child or you as a person are absolutely incapacitated due to allergies. There might be a time or place to take this once or twice for a few times, but then you want to go and find the natural solution. As a natural alternative, quercetin and stinging nettles act as natural mass cell stabilizers. Okay. So you want to do quercetin and stinging nettles three times daily. These help reduce histamine release. There's also foods that are more increased histamine and foods that lower histamine. You could look up what foods those are.

Starting point is 00:38:23 anti-histamine foods and consume some of those. And then over time, there are therapies to get rid of seasonal allergies. There's something called slit therapy. There's also LDA therapy. One is where you basically take what you're allergic to. Could be tree pollen, could be ragweed, or it could be even a food like dairy. And you take the allergen, you inject it just underneath the skin once a month. You can do this with kids too.

Starting point is 00:38:53 You inject it underneath the skin. And over about one, anywhere from a three month through a two-year period, your body, it's a natural immunization in a way. Your body is naturally becoming immune to the thing through micro exposures over time. And that can help with these seasonal allergies as well. Here's another big one is you can take bee pollen. Bee pollen and local honey. Local bee pollen and local honey have these microbes where you get microdosing of those as well over time. And so if you want to do something instead of an anihistamine, naturally immunize yourself with using food as medicine, also quercetin, stinging nettles, bromelin, vitamin C, saline rins. And then these natural therapies like Slid, that's SLIT therapy and LDA therapy. This is low dose allergen. LDA, low dose allergen therapy. You can also do it under your tongue or just right under your skin. And actually, there's a lot of people that don't know. There are these natural,

Starting point is 00:39:49 treatments for allergies. And sometimes allergies can also be caused by poor methylation issues and other deficiencies. And so there are ways to get to the root cause. But rather than this, not that, rather than antihistamines, quercetin, nettles, bromlin are great natural replacements, as is raw local honey. Number nine, benzodiazepines like Xanax and Valium, these are anti-anxiety drugs and also used to treat sleep. Over 30 million U.S. adults have taken them. Risk is dependent. memory issues drowsiness withdraw and falls in the elderly nutrients lost many B vitamins almost all of them including B6 magnesium and gaba depletion of course that's so important for our just even memory and brain in our mood so you know Xanax and Valium are are I mean by the way

Starting point is 00:40:42 there are so many women taking these in young women I'm talking about girls in their teens and their 20s taking these drugs on a regular basis you know we see see these movies. There's a movie that I'm trying to think what it's called. It's got a Ashton Coucher in it. But anyways, the mom is in this movie and she's like drinking red wine and just popping Xanax is like all movie. And this is the reality of a lot of, you know, a lot of women today. They are just numbing their pain. They're just numbing it and not getting the root of it. You know, a few years ago, I went through one of the toughest seasons. of my life with an injury.

Starting point is 00:41:21 And one of the things I realized at that time was I needed to get better sleep in order to heal. And during that time, rest, healing, recovery, and overall deep sleep was so, so important. And one of the things that happens sometimes and keeps me from getting that deep restful sleep is I get too hot at night or too cold. And because of that, comfort became incredibly important to me. And that's why I love cozy earth. Their bamboo viscous sheets are the most breathing. temperature regulating sheets I've ever used.

Starting point is 00:41:52 Even during the hottest summer nights, I sleep cooler and wake up feeling refreshed. Also, their studio pants and all-day teas are incredibly soft, perfect for rest, recovery, and just everyday life. Try them during the hottest nights of the year. If you're not in love, return them, hassle-free.

Starting point is 00:42:10 Plus, they come with a 10-year warranty on all betting products. That's a decade of cool quality sleep. Trust me, you'll feel the difference, difference the very first night. Go to cozy earth.com and use the code axe, that's AXE, for 40% off, sleep cooler, lounge lighter, stay cozy. You know, long-term use of taking these drugs like Xanax, increased risk of dementia and cognitive decline. There's one study found as an alternative taking L-theonine combined with magnesium, improved anxiety and sleep

Starting point is 00:42:46 quality. And also non-pharmacological therapies should be a first line against chronic anxiety, right? You know, if you are anxious, ask why you're anxious, you know what book constantly talks about anxiety, nonstop throughout the entire book, the Bible? The Bible is constantly saying, don't worry, don't be anxious about anything. But via prayer, via petition connecting with God, make your request known to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, right? And so there are verses in the Bible. The Bible is constantly telling Joshua, don't be afraid, telling other people don't be anxious. So what's the solution? The solution is connection with your making, having faith over fear,

Starting point is 00:43:30 over worry, over anxiety. That is a solution. If you are just going to go and try and numb out with Xanax, you'll never become who you were called to be. You'll never have a deep, intimate relationship with your creators oftentimes and others, because these drawings, drugs blunt your ability to fully connect and think. So again, I think when we're talking about issues like depression and anxiety, if you want to get to the actual root, it's less about taking a vitamin or supplement. It's more about spiritual rehab, spiritual reconnectivity, finding your purpose, your true identity, finding that in God and in Christ.

Starting point is 00:44:09 If you do that, that's going to create the greatest level of healing. Now, listen, there are times when you're doing something that you could be anxious about. And it's okay to take natural supplements and therapies for that, right? I think God created us to eat certain foods and take certain herbs to help us. In that case, again, theanine, magnesium, chamomile tea, ashwaganda. Of course, also journaling, prayer, breathwork, getting better sleep, all of these things can help. But, you know, when it comes to these, you know, the benzodiazepines like Xanax and Valium, they are never getting the root of your shoe. And they're causing all these other nutritional deficiencies that are going to leave you tired. Think

Starting point is 00:44:49 about it depletes your body of all B vitamins. You're going to be tired. You're not going to methylate probably. You're going to end up with another condition if you stay on these drugs. Okay. So try this, not that. Try thionine, magnesium, camomile, prayer and deep connection with God instead of benzodiazepines. Number 10, sleep aids. Like Ambien, okay? Or Tylenolone. PM. These are used to relieve insomnia. Risk, dependence, groginess, memory problems, impaired REM sleep. So of course, you're not going to think as well or be as productive when you're taking sleep aids. You'll feel really groggy. The nutrients lost are melatonin, B6, and magnesium. There's a study. Regular use is linked to dementia and increased mortality risk. Okay.

Starting point is 00:45:34 Increases your risk of death taking sleep medications. In sleep meds alter your natural. sleep cycles and they damage your body your your brain's ability to repair itself your brain cannot heal and repair if you take those drugs what you want to do instead of a sleep drug or medication is try magnesium try glycine try tart cherry juice try just better sleep hygiene wearing blue blocker sunglasses at night read or listen to an audio book instead of watching tv have your room dark and cold use some white noise maybe even try neurofeedback therapy those sort of things, but try these natural alternatives instead of sleep medications. It'll do your body so much good. And then 11 is corticosteroids. These are, like prednisone, these are used to reduce inflammation.

Starting point is 00:46:19 Oftentimes, they're used for autoimmune diseases or allergic reactions. They'll cause weight gain, osteoporosis, mood swings, blood sugar imbalances. The nutrients lost include calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, and vitamin D. This is critical for building strong bones. We know this, right? steroids weaken your tissues. They weaken your bones. They weaken your ligaments and tendons. They weaken your body. Do this, not that.

Starting point is 00:46:46 Instead of corticosteroids, use turmeric, omega-3 fatty acids, and basuelia. It's much more effective. Number 12, thyroid medications. Now, the biggest risks are heart issues like heart palpitations and even bone loss. The nutrients lost are selenium, zinc, iron, iodine and vitamin B12. Okay. Now let me ask you this.

Starting point is 00:47:09 If you're taking a thyroid medication, has your doctor ever told you they sat down with you and said, listen, I'm going to put you on this thyroid drug, and it's going to deplete your body of selenium, zinc, iron, iodine, B12. So I'm going to deplete your body of selenium, which is critical for thyroid hormone production. I'm going to plate your body of zinc,

Starting point is 00:47:25 your main immune mineral. I'm going to plate your body of iron, the most important mineral for building your blood. I'm going to plate your body of B12, that your most important nutrient for energy. Did your doctor ever sit you down? and tell you that by taking a thyroid drug, you're going to be depleted in all of these nutrients? No, okay?

Starting point is 00:47:41 Now, there is a study that shows that aschwaganda and selenium supplementation support thyroid function. There's another study that found that some patients remain symptomatic despite normal TSA levels. Okay. So sometimes your blood works normal, even though you take the medication, you don't feel a lot better. I've seen this a lot where people with hypothyroidism, they take the medication. and it might change their symptoms some, but they actually still don't feel great. And the reality is that you're not getting to the root of why do you have hypothyroidism in the first place?

Starting point is 00:48:14 It's not because you have a levo-thyroxin deficiency. Now, obviously it's because you have a T-SH imbalance or a T-3 or T-4 deficiency, but oftentimes we talked about this earlier, another drug could have caused this deficiency, like birth control. And what did a birth control? What did birth control pills do? depleted your body of B vitamins, selenium, zinc, a number of nutrients that are important for methylation and for thyroid hormone production.

Starting point is 00:48:41 So if you have hypothyroidism, the first thing you should do is go and get the right type of lab work to look to see what vitamins and minerals and amino acid you're deficient in, and then you could supplement with those, right? When I have patients coming with hypothyroidism, I would never, you know, just tell them, hey, I would encourage you to go see this doctor and get prescribed this drug. Let's get to the root of your problem. It tends to be a mitochondrial issue and connected to sometimes the adrenals in the gut. So let's go and take things to support that.

Starting point is 00:49:12 Let's do a lot of adaptogenic herbs like Ashwaganda, maybe Shasandra, maybe Rodiola Rosaea, maybe ginseng, maybe for Scoli. Let's do some adaptogenic herbs. Let's do some vitamins and minerals. Let's do some a methylated B vitamin complex. Let's do some selenium as well. Okay, let's do that. Let me look at your diet. And let's really look at stress.

Starting point is 00:49:34 Let's really lower that down. And let's really enhance the health of your gut microbiome. Okay. Really high dose probiotics. And I've helped so many women get off thyroid medications completely because we finally got to the root of the issues. Okay. But most doctors will not take the time with you to actually. Do you know the average doctor visit is seven minutes?

Starting point is 00:49:54 That's how much time your doctor will take with you. Seven minutes. And it's just a cookie cutter approach rather than finding something that's personalized for what you're body actually needs. Instead of levothyroxin, consider ashwaganda and other adaptogenic herbs. Consider selenium, methylated B vitamins. And also consider using something more natural like armor or nature throid where they're using the nutrients, I'm sorry, the hormones from a bovine from cows or from pigs and using those hormones. Or here's another thing that causes thyroid issues or that can help is taking peptides that support the thyroid.

Starting point is 00:50:35 Like thymulin, it would be one example of that. But again, there are many, many other things. Or take a thyroid glandular itself. It would be one of the best things you could do to help reverse hypothyroidism and to use this rather than that. Number 13, opioid painkillers like oxycodone and hydrocodone. Okay, these are used for pain. One in three Americans have used prescription opioids. One in three, risks are addiction, tolerance, constipation, depression, overdose, and liver damage.

Starting point is 00:51:07 Nutrance lost, magnesium, B12, folate, and I also believe probably gluteithion. There are studies, the opioid crisis, it's one of the most greatly overprescribed medications, according to the CDC and the NIH. There's a study that found that acupuncture and low-level laser, like cold laser therapy. reduces chronic pain without dependence. Non-opioid options should be the first line for chronic pain. And what you tend to want to do, if you've got major pain, now listen, if you've just had your wisdom teeth removed or you just had surgery and you need to be on it for a couple

Starting point is 00:51:47 days, that's one thing, okay? But long-term use as soon as you possibly can, you want to go and do something like acupuncture, CBD, curcumin found in turmeric. physical therapy, breathwork, emotional trauma therapy, a highly anti-inflammatory diet with lots of bone broth and herbs and vegetables and certain types of fruit like pineapple and kiwi and figs have these anti-inflammatory compounds in them. You want to do those instead of taking these cortical steroids as soon as you can, or these opioid painkillers as soon as you can. The last but not the least drug you want to get off of or stay away from at all costs are antibiotics. antibiotics. Antibiotics are used to kill bacterial infections. Here's the reality, though. More often, they're prescribed to kill viral infections, and they are useless. The side effects? Got microbiome

Starting point is 00:52:43 disruption, antibiotic resistance, yeast infections, allergies, autoimmune disease, cancer. Antibiotics not only killed bad bacteria, they killed a good bacteria in your gut. 70% of your immune system lives in your gut. So if you damage your gut, you now weaken your entire immune system. Well, of course your chance of cancer goes up. Of course your chance of autoimmune disease goes up. Of course your chance of food allergies and sensitivities. Because you just killed all the good guys in your gut, some of which can almost never be replaced according to studies. The nutrients lost when you take antibiotics. Of course, number one are good bacteria along with B vitamins, magnesium, vitamin K2.

Starting point is 00:53:29 And really, here's the other thing. It's not just the nutrients loss. You also aren't absorbing nutrients well. You're also going to lose zinc and iron and other things that are really dependent upon good nutrient absorption and good bacteria in your gut. There was a study that was published, and they found the overuse of antibiotics has been linked now to super bugs and poor microbiome health. So now we're having these bacteria that are even harder to kill, like MRSA, and C-DIF,

Starting point is 00:53:57 on a regular basis. Okay. This is published in the World Health Organization and Journal of American Medical Association. There's a study that found that propolis, garlic, and oil of oregano have shown to be broad spectrum antibiotics and also have antiviral properties. So they're effective against a bacteria and a virus where a traditional antibiotic is only effective against bacteria. I will tell you personally, I think one of the one of the many things, along with, I would say shots and insed use and the mother's gut microbiome health and a number of other things that's contributing to the autism crisis is antibiotic use. We know that if mothers take them, it greatly damages the effects the epigenetics of the child. I mean, so antibiotic use is one of

Starting point is 00:54:46 the worst things you could do is overusing antibiotics. I think that antibiotics are overused probably about 90% of the time. I think it's that frequent or more. Okay. And we could do away with about 90 percent of the usage and just replace it with oil of oregano garlic propolis vitamin C zinc high dose probiotics there's also something called phages or bacteria phages we could use as well you know a good clean diet i mean you know there are so many other things that are much more effective than antibiotics that are not going to have the side effect so rather than using antibiotics use oil of oregano garlic propolis zinc and vitamin C and probiotics instead of antibiotics.

Starting point is 00:55:30 Here's a reality. By addressing the root cause of the issue, your body can heal reliance on drugs will keep you sick. You know, with diabetes is an example of this, diabetics will go and take insulin and metformin. Let's say those didn't exist. Let's say we just literally, we removed metformin, nobody could take it, and nobody could take insulin.

Starting point is 00:55:50 Diabetics would be forced to, in many cases, change their diet, because that would be the only thing they could do. They would change their diet. They would try berberine. They would try cinnamon. They would try chromium. They would make these changes, get more active.

Starting point is 00:56:01 They would be better. There are some drugs where if it was completely done away with, like metformin, the world would be a, you know, and statin drugs, the world would be a much better place because we would only be able to get to the root of the issue. And that's not happening today. The reality is our medical system, it should only be used to treat emergencies. And outside of that, we should be using things that are natural like foods, herbs, and lifestyle medicine.

Starting point is 00:56:25 Instead of managing your symptoms with a medication, you want to work with a practitioner who can help you uncover the real reason your body is imbalanced. Again, with anxiety and depression, is there maybe due to a nutritional deficiency like vitamin D and not enough sunshine? Or maybe it's unprocessed emotional trauma or relationship strain. Maybe it's gut inflammation and therefore nutritional deficiencies. Maybe it's chronic stress and poor sleep, but you want to actually get to the root of the issue. we're not doing that very often today, and you want to be able to do that if you truly want to be able to heal. So I want to encourage you, if you're on a medication or you have a condition or a symptom, I want you to think about for yourself how to use this, not that. Instead of the insides,

Starting point is 00:57:13 can you use turmeric, okay? Can you eat more fruits and vegetables and get more omega-3 fatty acids? Like just adding some walnuts to your diet. You know, some simple things you can do to get to root of your issues. Okay. I want you to think about how to do that for yourself here. And the other thing is, almost every medication depletes nutrients in some way and has major side effects. Okay. So find that natural alternative to do instead. I know many of you already doing this. I applaud you for doing this. But listen, millions of people don't know the truth about the side effects of medications and that there are absolutely natural alternatives that you can do instead. Now, listen, I do think there's a time and a place if you're in an emergency.

Starting point is 00:57:54 to take a medication for a short period of time. But as soon as that crisis is over, a couple hours, a few days, few weeks, then finding that natural replacement as soon as possible to help your body heal. Now, I want to mention this because I get asked this all the time, hey, are there any practitioners that practice the way that you're talking about? If you do need a practitioner, listen, many of you can do this on your own with certain things, right?

Starting point is 00:58:20 You can just find that swap. But for some of you, maybe you have a more serious condition with autoimmune disease or hypothyroidism or hormone imbalance or infertility and you really want help, then, you know, I'd encourage you seek out the help of a practitioner that practices personalized functional medicine. There is a group that I am a part of called the Health Institute. You can go to the health institute.com or look up the longevity clinic in the future. That clinic's not quite open yet, but right now, look up the health, go to the health institute.com. You can schedule a call with a health practitioner that I've trained, okay? You can actually get blood work done to look at your organ age and nutritional deficiencies to help you discover some of this as well.

Starting point is 00:59:04 So if you're a person wanting to really get to the root of the issue, again, you know, you can find a good practitioner to help you. It could be the Health Institute or someone else that you know it practices the way that practices personalized cellular or personalized. is functional medicine. Okay, so I want to encourage you to do that. But again, there's so many just swaps and replacements you can do to get to the root of your issue. I want to encourage you to do that.

Starting point is 00:59:27 All right, I want to say this. Thank you so much for tuning in here to the show. Remember each and every week I'm diving deep into the science and the principles of how you can heal physically, mentally, and spiritually. Also, make sure to subscribe, like and share. Do you know the number one thing you can do to support the show is subscribe to the show? I'm so grateful for all you subscribers. And the next thing is share.

Starting point is 00:59:47 Share on social media. Just help us get the word out that you can take this, not that. There are totally natural alternatives people can take outside of drugs and surgery to help you heal. Thanks so much for watching. I'll see you on the next episode.

The Dr. Josh Axe Show - Best Natural Alternatives for Common Prescription Drugs

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