I am speaking of the drug ads. The pharmaceutical companies have saturated the media via newspapers, magazines, TV and the Internet on how to stay healthy with drugs.

One example is a cholesterol-lowering medication. The ad information depicts cholesterol as being a "bad guy" that clogs our arteries, causing heart disease and stroke and has to be battled with drugs.

Well, the truth is that every cell in your body needs cholesterol to survive, that's why our body makes it to begin with.

Cholesterol drugs shut down part of your liver, where it's made. This in turn creates a host of serious side effects such as heart conditions, fatigue, depression, nerve and memory loss to name a few.

Now, they want to give these drugs to children as young as 8.

Calcium and osteoporosis medication is another example. Lack of calcium in one's diet is not the cause of osteoporosis, yet the drug ads make you believe that their medications are going to prevent bone loss.

My father used to say "if something is not working right ... then change what you are doing." We are now drowning in the cost of health care.

We must change. The medical profession must change in the way it approaches health care. For example, when a patient is overweight or has diabetes, they should be referred to a personal trainer and a nutritionist for three months (at their own expense) and then to report back with the results before considering prescription drugs.

Drastic results can be achieved in weeks through exercise and dietary changes.

These diseases can be reduced and health-care costs can be drastically reduced or controlled with education and lifestyle changes.

Craig Bowman

St. Catharines