4 Dangerous Drugs Doctors Gave Your Grandparents

Written by Randy Fritz, co-creator with Diana Herrington at Real Food for Life

Many of the drugs that we know are illegal and dangerous, like heroin, were  once easily bought at the corner drugstore and recommended by doctors. When you  see the old advertisements for these substances, sometimes you cringe, and  sometimes you can’t help but laugh!

This is why I am cautious with any “new” health advance that has not yet  stood the test of time. I will explain more on this later.

Many of the medicines of the 19th and early 20th century contained  psychoactive drugs – alcohol, opium, and cocaine. Doctors didn’t know how these  drugs worked but they gave some small relief since you were actually slightly  high or drunk. Meanwhile nature took it’s course and if it could, the body  naturally healed as it would have anyway without the medicine.

1.  Heroin

 

The German company Bayer, which now produces one of the most popular pain  medications on earth, aspirin, also developed heroin and sold it at your local  drugstore.

In fact, when a chemist first developed ASA (aspirin) and presented it to  Bayer, management was not interested right away.  They were more excited  with another drug they had rediscovered – diacetylmorphine. They trademarked  this drug “heroin” because early testers said it made them feel heroisch (a  German word for heroic).

Heroin was marketed as a non-addictive morphine substitute  and cough suppressant. Medicines containing “smack” were sold  in stores just as aspirin is today. The American Medical Association gave heroin  its stamp of approval in 1907.

According to a Bayer watchdog group, Bayer promoted heroin for use in  children suffering from coughs, colds and “irritation”  as late as 1912.

Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup contained 65 mg of morphine, another opiate  analgesic, per fluid ounce and was used “for children teething.”

This seems amazing to us now because we know so much more, but people somehow  survived! The body is amazing.

Natural Alternatives:

For coughs:  Honey and finely ground black pepper is a time tested  ayurvedic remedy for cough and sore throat used for  centuries.

For colds: Many powerfoods are rich in antioxidants  necessary to prevent colds and infections before they happen. They also support  the immune system once you have a cold. There are many examples:

• Broccoli: is a rich source of the premier antioxidant  nutrient—vitamin C,  plus the flavonoids that allow vitamin C to recycle  effectively, plus carotenoids lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-carotene,  other powerful antioxidants.
• All alkaline foods: create balance in the body.  An  acidid body is an inflamed, unsettled body with unbalanced immunity.  Alkaline-forming foods include lemons, spinach, zucchini, watermelon, millet, almonds, and raspberries and even weeds like dandelions. Each one of these foods offers a host of  powerful health benefits which you can enjoy with no long list of side  effects.

2. Cocaine

In the US, cocaine was sold over the counter until 1914 and was commonly  found in products like toothache drops, dandruff remedies, and medicinal  tonics.

Coca leaves, which can be transformed into the more concentrated cocaine,  have been used for centuries in native cultures in South America for day to day  remedies and religious ceremonies.

In America and Europe, the coca leaves were combined with wine “to invigorate  the mind and decrease depression and sleepiness.” It was suggested that you  should take a full glass with or after every meal. Children should only take  half a glass.

Coca-Cola was invented in the late 1800s as a “coca wine,”  but the alcohol and cocaine were later replaced with syrup and coca leaves,  respectively.

It was considered “a valuable brain tonic, and a cure for all nervous  affections — sick head-ache, neuralgia, hysteria, melancholy.”

Natural alternatives for energy and mental  clarity:

Green tea: the second most popular beverage  on earth enlivens the body, mind,  and spirit without overstimulating it. It  also helps with weight loss, cancer and heart disease,

All fruits are smart carbs and thus contain natural sugars for  energy, but are full of the micronutrients which actually make you smarter and  balanced instead of just high on white sugar and chemicals.

3.  Opium

Opium poppy seed (from which heroin is processed) has been cultivated for  food, anesthesia, and ritual purposes since at least the new stone age.

In the 18th century, opium was found to be a good remedy for nervous  disorders: to quiet the mind, help the insane, and to treat insomnia.  In  the American Civil War, the Union Army used 2.8 million ounces of opium  tincture and powder and about 500,000 opium pills. It was called “God’s Own  Medicine.”

Until 1970, Paregoric, whose main ingredient was powdered opium, could be  purchased at a pharmacy without a medical prescription.

4.  Cigarettes

Cigarettes with unknown contents claimed to provide temporary relief for  everything from asthma to colds, canker sores, and bad  breath. They were “not recommended for children under 6.” As the effects of  nicotine became more apparent, cigarette companies had to be more subtle in  their marketing.

During World War II, soldiers were issued free cigarettes, courtesy of the  tobacco companies, resulting in millions of nicotine-addicted G.I.s returning home after the  war.

Natural approaches to asthma:

Asthma is primarily an inflammatory condition so any whole foods that  decreases inflammation helps.

Studies have shown that intakes of apples, tomatoes, carrots, green leafy vegetables and generally lots of fresh  fruit and vegetables reduces the prevalence of asthma.

Omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation and asthma. Omega-3s are found in  flax seeds, walnuts, beans and winter squash. Each of these foods have amazing additional  benefits – again without side effects.

But We Know Better Now, Don’t We?

We certainly have come a long way since the era of patent medicines. Our  understanding of how chemistry interacts with our bodies is increasing daily.  But is it far enough?  Future generations may well laugh at our present day  advertisements for Viagra and sleep medication and we already cringe at the  destructive effects of chemotherapy and radiation.

I don’t want to pick on any doctors specifically or in general. They just  tend to represent (sometimes unknowingly) the established medical and  pharmaceutical industries.

Sometimes the same thing happens in the natural health field; new discoveries  which at the beginning sound like the cure for everything turn out to be not  appropriate for everyone and in some cases are even harmful.

As I said before though, I am very cautious of any new discovery that has not  been verified by time. By “time” I don’t mean months or years of testing but  rather decades or centuries of use!

At Real Food For Life, we understand that peak health has been enjoyed by  millions over the centuries using only simple whole foods traditional in their  culture. We call these power  foods and they are probably in your kitchen right now.

It is up to us to take responsibility for our own health and educate  ourselves. We can’t expect a government organization to do it all for us.

This is what many of the people are doing within Care2: learning and sharing  and participating. We congratulate you on your efforts.

I’m sure you know of other deadly medications and procedures that have been  offered to the public.