Best Natural Alternatives for Common Prescription Drugs

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Did you know that nearly 70% of Americans are on at least one prescription drug and more than half take 2 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, depletes your body of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids?

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 non- 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. Josh Axe Show.

Hi, everybody.

So the vast majority of Americans, nearly 2/3, take at least one prescription drug, and about 25% take 2 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 $875 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 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, 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 that— on the, 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 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 of the road.

I could have easily, very easily cut off some milk thistle, gone home, boiled that up, and had a natural estrogen cocktail to help clear out excess estrogen from 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 2 weeks. Weeks, maybe up to 3 months maximum. But what most doctors 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 overprescribing 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. Well, 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 were 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? 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. I said, how did you feel before?

He said, well, I felt fine. I went in for a lab test and my cholesterol levels total were over 200. I said, well, Ron, let's go ahead and actually get to the root of your issue. Why is your cholesterol high in the first place? I'm guessing that there was a little bit of 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. I put him on a diet. That was more of a Mediterranean diet. It was a lot of pomegranates, extra virgin olive oil, wild-caught fish, walnuts, those sort of foods. We were able to get him off the statin drug, and then I put him on coenzyme Q10, some herbals, and I had him start drinking turmeric tea.

After 3 months, hair grew back, muscles 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. And the reality is, is that drug that he was taking, that statin drug, depleted his body of coenzyme Q10.

Actually, your brain and nervous system are made up of around 25% cholesterol. So you actually cause degeneration, 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? 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 NSAID 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, that's a problem. That's a big— those are, these are major organs that control a lot of the functions of your body.

You know, before I opened my functional medicine I took an oath. 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 prescribing 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.

Now, this can be caused by— if we're looking at more of a root cause— low vitamin B12, low iron, low coenzyme 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 levothyroxine.

Did you know that levothyroxine, these thyroid medications, can actually disrupt your cortisol production, making you tired, causing you to gain excess weight. Another big reason why people take medications today are mood issues like depression, anxiety, even irritability. About 1 in 4 American adults experience a mental illness, including anxiety and depressive disorders.

Low vitamin B6, folate, magnesium, and vitamin D can impair neurotransmitter production. 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 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 changed their their neurochemical state.

And here's what— so SSRIs, here's what they say, it causes emotional blunting. Here's what happens. When you take an SSRI, an antidepressant drug, the reason why you're less depressed is you no longer— it sort of blocks your ability to fully 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, They're not necessarily as— 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 this.

This is why somebody would commit suicide or shoot another person. They don't fully— they're sort of blunted. And dampens their ability to fully understand what they've done or what they're gonna do, the outcome of what they're doing. So they'll shoot somebody 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, 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, there are things like exercise that can be a better cure than the drug itself. Hair loss or 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. 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, 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 GLP-1, 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. They age you prematurely. They cause something called inflammaging 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. 15% Of adults say they suffer from some form of IBS. That's irritable bowel syndrome. Now, this can be caused by gut flora disruption from antibiotics or magnesium loss from if you're taking diuretics or slow bile flow. Of course, oral contraceptives cause that. I will tell you, birth control pills are one of the most damaging drugs. Out there.

And most women just think it's, 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, autoimmune disease, or a thyroid condition? It's, it's prevalent.

And the reality is, if you have digestive problems, drink some ginger tea. Try taking a probiotic supplement. Try eating more probiotic-rich 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 pills. Also, side effect of SSRIs, antidepressants. Statin drugs, beta blockers. 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 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 well? I'm eating way too much sugar. Is it because I'm not spending enough time just outdoors in the sunlight?

Is it because I'm not 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 lot of these antidepressant-like drugs.

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 suppression or altered neurotransmitter levels, but it never gets to the root of the issue. If somebody has muscle weakness or cramping, oftentimes this is low magnesium or potassium.

Brain fog issues, now sometimes that's caused by issues like mold toxicity or could be due to low B12 or CoQ10. But if you take a drug like an antibiotic or antidepressant to treat brain fog or memory problems, you're never getting to the root. And why not just take something that actually works like ginkgo biloba? Ginkgo biloba, omega-3 fatty acids, or bacopa, or lion's mane mushroom.

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. 1 In 3 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 that 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, or PPIs 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 deficiencies, selenium issues, And oftentimes that'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. Of course, birth control pills, steroids, you know, taking Accutane, you know, these sort of drugs contribute and just make a lot of these issues worse. Bone loss or osteoporosis. We know that this is linked to calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D deficiencies.

Well, did you know that PPIs, 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 Just like you would protect your physical health.

Historically, during economic uncertainty, gold and silver have doubled or more in value. I want to tell you that personally, I've always been a believer in biblical wealth. You know, the Bible talks about us having things like land and gold and silver and livestock to support ourselves economically.

And I remember even my dad when I was young, I remember being 8 years old, my dad actually gave me my first uh, you know, piece of silver because he always believed in diversifying, and it really always served our family. Now today, when buying gold, I personally trust Preserve Gold, and right now they're offering a free wealth protection guide.

Uh, you can actually get this guide, you just need to text AXE to 50505 or visit preservegold.com/axe. And 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 side 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: 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 or, you know, going out and spending 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 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, 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 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 EMDR therapy, where you're actually getting in and thinking about what's my purpose, who am I in this world, and how can I live my best life possible? You know, Jeremiah 29:11 says, for I know the plans I have for you, saith the Lord, 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 antidepressant, 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 clung to hope, I clung to Christ, I clung to God, my family. And because of that— I was filled back up with hope. 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 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, you know, 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. Number 2, 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 and Adderall in college. Now, I only took it for 3 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. 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 part— a bit— the majority of it is due to a personality. Like for myself, listen, I was a boy that loved exercise, that loved to be outdoors and outside. I mean, in Ohio, I'm stuck in a classroom for 8 hours a day. It just didn't fit with my personality. I'm told, do not move 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, that ADHD is one of the most overprescribed issues. And this is one you can really change with lifestyle. When I was in high school, I barely passed. I mean, I graduated with like a 2.0 GPA.

I barely graduated. When I got to college, I had a 3.1 GPA. Similar thing in med school, in chiropractic school. And then when I went to Johns Hopkins, I graduated with a 3.9 GPA.

Wow.

What was the difference? I ate better. I studied things I was more interested in. I had more time for activities and not just sitting that long in one classroom. And I knew how to take care of it. I started taking B vitamins and a number of things.

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 that L-tyrosine and rhodiola rosea, which is an adaptogenic improve your focus without crashes.

Rhodiola in particular is really amazing for this and supports serotonin levels and increases your focus and memory and learning. Rather than Adderall, try rhodiola, tyrosine, try omega-3 fatty acids, try protein-rich breakfasts and getting 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.

What's that?

That helps as well. But, and also just scheduling in time for exercise and activity and not just sitting still and 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. Number 3, statin drugs. These are used to lower your cholesterol.

1 In 4 adults over 40 take them.

Wow.

Nutrients lost when you take statin drugs: coenzyme Q10, vitamin D, vitamin K, vitamin E, vitamin A. So these fat-soluble vitamins, if you don't have them and coenzyme Q10, your heart starts to break down. And, and, and I mean, isn't this crazy?

People take statin drugs to fight heart disease, yet one of the things it does is makes your heart sick and it damages your heart and, and the mitochondria in your heart. We know coenzyme 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 show— 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, and let me talk about why you get high cholesterol in the first place. 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 and it starts, 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, if it gets too narrow, that can cause a heart attack or stroke or some sort of cardiovascular event, right? But the reason why cholesterol is laying down in the first place is inflammation.

It's your body's trying to heal itself, okay? And what you should do instead is change your diet. Consume a biblical diet high in pomegranates and 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 phytonutrients from things like turmeric and green tea.

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 supplements like berberine, omega-3 fatty acids, red yeast rice is great as well. And then there are many others.

Green tea is good, garlic is good, hawthorn berry is very good. These are They're 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.

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%. Well, think about it. If you deplete your body of B vitamins and selenium and zinc, these are all— and 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, if you're depleted in immune-boosting nutrients like zinc and selenium, of course you're going to have an increased cancer risk.

Right.

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, we— she— my wife used a, um, something called the Lady-Comp. I think there's something called the Lady-Comp, Baby-Comp.

You can Google this online. These are little, you know, 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 chasteberry, is great for progesterone support. Seed cycling and dietary cycling can be great. 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 5.

NSAIDs like ibuprofen. These are used to reduce pain by inhibiting inflammation, by inhibiting prostaglandin synthesis. Okay, here's the big risks of NSAIDs: gut damage, ulcers, hypertension, liver damage, kidney stress when used long-term. Okay, nutrients lost: zinc, vitamin C, folate, and glutathione. Glutathione is your body's master antioxidant for detoxification.

Zinc 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 3 days a week, still weight trains, runs and walks. I mean, in really amazing shape.

And he would take this NSAID, ibuprofen, on just a regular basis. And there was a study that I found showing that it actually decreased decreases muscle regeneration. So it keeps your body from putting on as much muscle when you take NSAID drugs because you reduce that type of inflammation. Uh, actually, that's part of what helps your body build muscle and regenerate and heal.

And, 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 NSAID drugs anymore, because my dad wanted to be fit and healthy, uh, for long term. There is a study on NSAIDs, and here's what they found. NSAIDs reduce protective prostaglandin in the stomach, especially for those with a history of ulcers.

Now, by the way, I think one of the side effects of NSAIDs— 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 NSAIDs damage your stomach and stomach acid. They alter it.

So have you ever taken or heard of taking BPC-157, some of these Things for healing and tissue regeneration. Well, NSAIDs, there's a chance, I believe, block that. NSAIDs may also raise your risk of blood pressure, impair kidney function, increase your risk of a heart attack, contribute to liver toxicity, a number of problems. Okay? So there are numbers. And 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 NSAIDs, minus all the potential serious side effects.

So why not use turmeric or curcumin instead of an NSAID when it's just as effective or more according to 15 randomized clinical trials? So instead of NSAIDs, do curcumin and turmeric. Also consider ginger, magnesium, boswellia, which is from frankincense, infrared saunas or hot and cold therapy, and general movement and physical activity.

These things are much more effective than NSAIDs, 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 could take them as capsules, but much more effective than NSAIDs. Number 6, proton pump inhibitors, PPIs, like, like Prilosec.

These reduce stomach acid to treat GERD and ulcers. There are over 15 million Americans using these. They increase your risk of fractures, kidney disease, infections, and nutrient malabsorption. They deplete your body of magnesium, calcium, iron, B12, and zinc. Here's what to do instead. Instead, DGL licorice root extract. 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, betaine with HCl, consuming smaller meals, so not overeating, and eating Eating at least 3 to 4 hours before you go to bed, so eating an earlier dinner, doing a sort of intermittent fasting where you're eating within a 10-hour window, are all just as effective or more. Really, just dietary walking around your meals is also very effective. Number 7 is metformin.

This is a drug used to manage blood sugar in type 2 diabetes. The risks are gut damage and nutrient loss. But metformin, big thing it does is it depletes your body of B12 and folate, these B vitamins. Now, I want to say this. Metformin was originally taken from, I believe, lilacs, a flower. This compound is found in there.

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. Right. Like, okay, you have sugar in, in blueberries, but now you're gonna 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 that absolutely blows my mind? There are longevity experts, there are people— I've even seen people— I believe this is true— I've seen, um, 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 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. Berberine, 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. 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, 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, tributamine, cinnamon, and chromium are much more effective. Number eight antihistamines. 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.

Mm-hmm.

Now listen, I want to say some drugs are more damaging than others. I would say that, you know, if 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 mast cell stabilizers. Okay, so you want to do quercetin Yeah. And stinging nettles 3 times daily. These help reduce histamine release. There's also foods that increase histamine and foods that lower histamine. You can look up what foods those are, antihistamine 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, It could be ragweed, or it could be even a food like dairy. You take the allergen, you inject it just underneath the skin once a month. You can do this with kids, too.

You inject it underneath the skin. Over anywhere from a 3-month to a 2-year period, your body— it's a natural immunization, in a way. Your body is naturally becoming immune to the thing through microexposures 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 micro dosing of those as well over time. And so if you want to do something instead of an antihistamine, naturally immunize yourself with using food as medicine. Also quercetin, stinging nettles, bromelain, vitamin C, saline rinses, and then these natural. Therapies like SLIT, that's S-L-I-T 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 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 Rather than this, not that. Rather than antihistamines, quercetin, nettles, bromelain are great natural replacements, as is raw local honey. Number 9, 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 dependence, memory issues, drowsiness, withdrawal, 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 memory and brain and our mood. Xanax and Valium are— by the way, there are so many women taking these, and young women.

I'm talking about girls in their teens and their 20s taking these drugs on a regular basis. We see these movies. There's a movie that—.

The Matrix.

I'm trying to think what it's called. It's got Ashton Kutcher in it. But anyways, the mom is in this movie and she's like drinking red wine and just popping Xanax 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 to the root of it.

You know, a few years ago I went through one of the toughest seasons of my life with an injury. 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.

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Even during the hottest summer nights, I sleep cooler and wake up feeling refreshed. Also, their Studio Pants and All Day Tees 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. Plus, they come with a 10-year warranty on all bedding products. That's a decade of cool, quality sleep.

Trust me, you'll feel the difference the very first night. Go to cozyearth.com and use the code AXE— that's A-X-E— for 40% off. Sleep cooler, lounge lighter, stay cozy. You know, uh, long-term use of taking these drugs like Xanax, increased risk of dementia and cognitive decline.

There's one study found the— as an alternative, taking L-theanine combined with magnesium improved anxiety and sleep quality. And also, non-pharmacological therapies should be a first line against chronic anxiety, right? Uh, 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 Maker, having faith over fear, over worry, over anxiety. That is the 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 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. 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, ashwagandha. 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 to the root of your issue. And they're causing all these other nutritional deficiencies that are going to leave you tired. Think about it. It depletes your body of all B vitamins. You're gonna be tired. You're not gonna methylate properly.

You're gonna end up with another condition if you stay on these drugs. Okay, so try this, not that. Try theanine, magnesium, chamomile, prayer, and deep connection with God instead of benzodiazepines. Number 10, sleep aids like Ambien, okay, or Tylenol PM. These are used to relieve insomnia. Uh, risks: dependence, grogginess, 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, increases your risk of death taking sleep medications.

And sleep meds alter your natural sleep cycles and they damage your body, 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 audiobook 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. Oftentimes these are 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. Instead of corticosteroids, use turmeric, omega-3 fatty acids, and boswellia. 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.

If you're taking a thyroid medication, has your doctor ever told you— they sat down with you and said, listen, I'm gonna put you on this thyroid drug and it's gonna deplete your body of selenium, zinc, iron, iodine, B12. So I'm gonna deplete your body of selenium, which is critical for thyroid hormone production. I'm gonna deplete your body of zinc, your main immune mineral.

I'm gonna deplete your body of iron, the most important mineral for building your blood. I'm gonna deplete your body of B12, your most important important nutrient for energy. Did your doctor ever sit you down and tell you that by taking a thyroid drug you're gonna be depleted in all of these nutrients?

No.

No, okay. Now there is a study that shows that ashwagandha and selenium supplementation support thyroid function. There's another study that found that some patients remain symptomatic despite normal TSH levels, okay. So sometimes your blood work's normal even though you take the medication. 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, is that you're not getting to the root of why do you have hypothyroidism in the first place. It's not because you have a levothyroxine deficiency.

Now obviously it's because you have a TSH imbalance or a T3 or T4 deficiency, but oftentimes— we talked about this earlier However, another drug could have caused this deficiency, like birth control. And 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.

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 acids you're deficient in, and then you could supplement with those, right?

When I have patients come in with hypothyroidism, I, I would never, you know, have— just tell them, hey, go— I would encourage you to go see this doctor and get prescribed this drug. It's, let's get to the root of your problem. It tends to be a mitochondrial issue and connected to sometimes the adrenals and the gut. So let's go and take things to support that.

Let's do a lot of adaptogenic herbs like ashwagandha, maybe schisandra, maybe rhodiola rosea, maybe ginseng, maybe for scoliosis. Let's do some adaptogenic herbs. Let's do some vitamins and minerals. Let's do some methylated B vitamin complex. Let's do some selenium as well. Okay, let's do that. Let me look at your diet. Let's really look at stress.

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 7 minutes?

That's how much time your doctor will take with you, 7 minutes. And it's just a cookie-cutter approach rather than finding something that's personalized for what your body actually needs. Instead of levothyroxine, consider ashwagandha and other adaptogenic herbs.

Consider selenium, methylated B vitamins, And also consider using something more natural like Armour or Nature-Throid where they're using the nutrients— I'm sorry, the hormones from 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, like thymulin. It would be one example of that.

OK.

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. 1 In 3 Americans have used prescription opioids. 1 In 3.

Risks are addiction, tolerance, constipation, depression, overdose, and liver damage. Nutrients lost: magnesium, B12, folate, and I also believe probably glutathione. There are studies— opioid crisis, 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 Without dependence, okay? 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 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.

Okay.

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 that have these anti-inflammatory compounds in them. You want to do those instead of taking these corticosteroids 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 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? Gut microbiome disruption, antibiotic resistance, yeast infections, allergies, autoimmune disease, cancer.

Antibiotics not only kill the bad bacteria, they kill the 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 cancer— 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. Okay, and, and really, here's the other thing: it's not just the nutrients lost.

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, uh, good bacteria in your gut. There was a study that was published and they found The overuse of antibiotics has been linked now to superbugs and poor microbiome health.

So now we're having these bacteria that are even harder to kill like MRSA and C. diff on a regular basis. 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 NSAID use and the mother's gut microbiome health and a number of other things, that's, that's contributing to the autism crisis is antibiotic use.

We know that if mothers take them, it greatly damages the— affects the epigenetics of the child. I mean, so antibiotic use is one of 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% 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 bacteriophages 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 effects.

So rather than using antibiotics, use oil of oregano, garlic, propolis, zinc, and vitamin C, and probiotics instead of antibiotics. Here's the reality. By addressing the root cause of the issue, your body can heal. Reliance on drugs will keep you sick. 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 removed metformin. Nobody could take it and nobody could take insulin. 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, they would be better.

There are some drugs where if it was completely done away with, like metformin, the world would be a— 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. 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 it 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 Or 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 NSAIDs, 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 the 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 are 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 to take a medication for a short period of time.

But as soon as that crisis is over, a couple hours, a few days, a 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— now listen, many of you can do this on your own with certain things, right? You can just find that swap.

But for some of you, maybe you have a more serious condition, autoimmune disease or hypothyroidism or hormone imbalance or infertility, and you really want help, then I'd encourage you seek out the help of a practitioner that practices personalized Cellular medicine or personalized functional medicine. There is a group that I am a part of called The Health Institute.

You can go to thehealthinstitute.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 thehealthinstitute.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.

So if you're a person wanting to really get to the root of the issue, again, you can find a good practitioner to help you. It could be the Health Institute or someone else that you know practices personalized cellular or personalized functional medicine. 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. 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. 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.