I no longer have time to do consultations.
Why are drugs usually overemphasized?
Doctors generally believe whatever drug companies want them to believe. The enormously rich and powerful pharmaceutical industry influences physicians in myriad ways. Some of their brainwashing is relatively benign, such as when drug companies hire gorgeous reps (their latest hot recruits are ex-cheerleaders, believe it or not) to give freebies to doctors, such as pens, notepads, coffee mugs, penlights, books, stethoscopes, pizza, and even an occasional one-on-one date with the rep. However, other brainwashing tactics are not so harmless, such as when drug companies fund several studies and choose to publish only the ones showing the greatest efficacy for their drugs while suppressing the studies showing no benefit or even net harm. This cherry picking process makes drugs seem to be more helpful and less risky than they actually are. The truth eventually comes out in some cases, but that is the exception, not the norm. Consequently, people pay billions of dollars every year for drugs that are marginally effective. By pinning their hopes on those drugs, patients and doctors often stop looking for more effective or alternative therapies — that's the real danger. Once people think they've found a viable treatment, it is human nature to put their faith in that solution and not consider others.
Take something as common as diabetes. You might think that a disease that prevalent would be managed very well by most doctors because they are so familiar with it. However, almost every doctor fails to recommend some things that diabetics should do. The scorecard of physician advice is even worse for less common diseases. The bottom line is that doctors usually do not do everything possible to foster your health and speed your recovery from disease.