1. Series we watched this week (and you should too!)…
We finally watched the Painkiller series on Netflix. This drama, starring Matthew Broderick, exposes Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family’s role in creating the opioid epidemic that is STILL wreaking havoc on our country. It is a MUST WATCH series for everyone. I had recommended another series, called Dopesick, (on Hulu, starring Michael Keaton), also chronicling the opioid epidemic and Purdue Pharma’s role in it. I HIGHLY recommend watching both. Personally, I liked Dopesick better, but both series paint the accurate and very scary truth about how drug companies operate. They also highlight how the FDA and doctors somehow not only allow it to happen, but how they are active soldiers for these drug companies. Purdue Pharma bribed an FDA official, made up studies, lied about data, and pushed their drug that they KNEW was addictive and causing deaths. And medical doctors… like yours… fell for it. Ugh! This has resulted in OVER 1 MILLION overdoses in America. Anyone charged with murder? Nope! Watch these series. They tell the story everyone NEEDS to know. And let it be a lesson for us, as this is not the first time this has happened… and the same playbook is being used right now. See both trailers below…
2. Article I read this week…
An FDA advisory committee ruled last week that the popular drug, phenylephrine, which is found in many over-the-counter cold medications, does NOTHING. Yep… another healthcare system, drug company, and FDA mishap. This drug, on the market for almost 100 years, has NO BENEFIT. You can read this week’s blog post that I wrote about this by clicking here. And you can read one of the articles I read about this by clicking here. According to the New York Times, “The decongestant is in at least 250 products that were worth nearly $1.8 billion in sales last year, according to an agency presentation. Among the products: Sudafed Sinus Congestion, Tylenol Cold & Flu Severe, NyQuil Severe Cold & Flu, Theraflu Severe Cold Relief, Mucinex Sinus Max and others.” Phenylephrine has been deemed useless and “no more effective than a placebo.” The craziest part… these drugs will remain on the shelves for a while. So… buyer beware!
3. Wellness tip…
By now, you must know that expressing gratitude is one of the easiest, most powerful, and fastest ways to boost your health. It costs nothing, takes just moments, and has an immediate effect. Lately, in the morning while getting ready for work, just before going to sleep, if I wake up in the middle of the night, and/or if I have a moment in my car while driving, I drift into what I will call “strong gratitude.” I will flood my mind with anything and everything I am grateful for. And WOW! It instantly wipes away any negative emotions I am feeling, fills my heart, and lights me up. Life can be bad, and it is at times, but there is ALWAYS some good. I know this is one thing that comes up probably more than anything else in these Friday’s Findings, but there’s a reason for that… IT IS POWERFUL! Take a moment RIGHT NOW, close your eyes, and rattle off as many things as you can that you are grateful for in your life. Your spouse, your job, the air you are breathing, your heart that beats all day long, the sunshine, food, water… Take a moment right now and do that, and I promise your health and mood will be boosted.