HERBS OR DRUGS?
(Page 6 of 7)
EVEN OUR WATER IS ON DRUGS
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Many studies have surfaced in the past few years detailing
the appearance of drugs of all kinds, including
antibiotics, antidepressants and hormones, in our water
supplies. Some of these substances have been documented as
causes of genetic mutations in small fish and amphibians.
The primary methods of water treatment in the United States
fail to remove all of these micro-contaminants from our
drinking water, although some studies indicate that
activated charcoal filtration appears most effective.
The FDA has said drug residues in water supplies are at
such low levels that they are unlikely to pose risks to
human or aquatic life. But little research exists on how
much of this micro-contamination out-bodies can tolerate or
what is likely to happen when Substance A mixes with
Compound B plus a little fertilizer or pesticide runoff
from local fields. Perhaps nothing, perhaps a lot. The
point is, no one knows.
"The unnatural synthetic drugs our genes are just now
experiencing are much more likely to accumulate in the
environment and to harm the human body than natural
compounds our genes have known for 7 million
years," Duke says. "Researchers have estimated that up to
80 percent of drugs taking by people and livestock are
excreted and thin go hack into the environment. If more and
mere synthetic drugs are made and sold, isn't it reasonable
to believe that these substances will increasingly show up
in our drinking water? I would certainly expect that even
low levels of some drugs in our water will have an effect.
Fish and frogs' sex lives today our lives tomorrow."
Given medical care's skyrocketing cost and the tact that
cheap, sale and effective herbal alternatives exist lot-
many companies ills, maybe insurance companies will lead
the way to prevention and more natural treatments. A clash
among titans is sure to ensue— Forbes
magazine ranks the pharmaceutical industry as the most
profitable industry in the country, one that's not likely
to go quietly into that good night.
But this doesn't mean we arc cut the mercy of the drug
companies and an overly influenced medical profession. We
should review reliable research on whatever medicines we
consume—whether herbal or synthetic—and we
should ask who paid for that research. The Internet makes
it possible as never before to do our own research,
carefully and with a grain of salt. Quackery and deception
abound and we need to be informed enough to spat
it—on either side of the medical divide.
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